A FACET-BASED TOURISM ADVERTISING RESPONSE MODEL: ASSESSING MODERATING EFFECT OF TRAVEL DECISION FLEXIBILITY

Abstract

Advertising is regarded as one of the most important and effective communication methods in tourism (Kim, Hwang & Fesenmaier, 2005; Morgan & Pitchard, 2001). Researchers have extensively analyzed travelers' responses to advertising exposure based upon a variety of perspectives including the hierarchy-of-effects model, and more recently, the dual process advertising model (Lavidge & Steiner, 1961; Petty, Briñol, & Priester, 2009; Te'eni-Harari, Lampert, & Lehman-Wilzig. 2007). Fundamentally, these models focus attention on the factors effecting the destination decision. However, a number of tourism scholars have argued that travel decision making is a complex/multifaceted process whereby travelers are required to make many sub-decisions rather than a single independent choice of a travel destination (Decrop & Snelders, 2004; Jeng & Fesenmaier 2002). As such, these studies suggest that most tourism advertising response models have been over simplified and therefore, offer little insight into the factors affecting the travel decision-making process (Choi, Lehto, Morrison, & Jang, 2012; Hyde, 2004; 2008). Further, Belk (1974; 1975), among others (Aqueveque, 2006; Kim & Chintagunta, 2012; Kim & Moon, 2009; Wakefield & Inman, 2003), argued that situational variables explain considerably more variance in consumer response to advertising than individual-related variables. Within the context of travel, Jeng and Fesenmaier (2002) and more recently, Gretzel, Fesenmaier and O'Leary (2006) and Hwang and Fesenmaier (2011) examined the ordering and extent to which travelers are willing to change their travel decisions. Jeng and Fesenmaier (2006) found that, for example, decisions regarding travel party, destination and attractions to visit are not likely to be changed once made; this finding contrasts to travel decisions regarding restaurants and shopping which are less likely to be firmly planned in advance, and therefore travelers are more likely to change depending upon the situation. Following Jeng and Fesenmaier (2002), it is posited that travel planning is a multi-stage contingent process and because of these various decisions that comprise trip planning are situational whereby travelers may change their trip plan depending the trip decision as well as their involvement, prior knowledge, the number of alternatives considered, and the nature of the travel party. As a result, it is argued that the degree to which travelers are willing to adapt their plans will affect the nature and extent to which they process travel advertising. Based upon these two sets of arguments, this dissertation seeks to: (1) develop a destination advertising response model that incorporates the various facets comprising travel decisions (e.g., places/attractions, additional destinations, accommodations, restaurants and shopping stores); and, (2) examine the role of decision flexibility on the facet-based advertising model. A pilot study was first conducted to test if the theoretical constructs in the proposed tourism advertising response model are valid. The results of the pilot study indicate that most of proposed constructs that form the travel advertising response model and decision flexibility are valid and reliable; however, the analyses indicate that there are two forms of decision flexibility: 1. Pre-trip flexibility and 2. En-route flexibility. Pre-trip flexibility relates to travel decisions/plans regarding places/attractions, additional destinations and accommodations, while en-route flexibility involves decisions regarding restaurants and shopping visited during the trip. Based on the findings of the pilot study, the main study was conducted to test the proposed relationships within the core tourism advertising model. The results of these analyses indicated that many/most of the hypothesized relationships are supported. Additionally, the moderating effects of decision flexibility on traveler's responses to travel advertising were examined. The results of these analyses indicate that Pre-trip flexibility significantly moderates the relationship between attitudes toward advertising and travel products, whereby high and low flexible travelers tend to have a strong positive attitude toward destination advertising; this compares to middle flexible travelers who have a significantly lower attitude toward the travel advertisements. The results of these analyses also indicate that en-route flexibility has very limited moderating influence on the how travelers perceive travel advertising. The findings of this study suggest that destination marketing organizations need to consider the various sub-decisions that comprise the travel decision making process. Further, destination marketing organizations need to take into account the degree to which potential travelers are willing to change their trip plan in that it appears to substantially influence a crucial aspect of traveler's response to advertising; these findings are especially important as travelers have begun to use mobile technology to guide their travel decision which, in turn, should enable destination marketers to develop customized advertising strategies depending on the various travel products purchased.