Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Electronic Commerce Research and Applications

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecra

The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case

of online hotel booking
Anil Bilgihan a,⇑, Milos Bujisic b
a
College of Business, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
b
Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 1945 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The primary objective of this research is to develop a theory-based model of utilitarian and hedonic web-
Received 11 February 2014 site features, customer commitment, trust, and e-loyalty in an online hotel booking context. Structural
Received in revised form 26 May 2014 Equation Modeling was deployed to test research hypotheses. Findings highlight the importance of
Accepted 8 September 2014
creating loyalty by focusing on both hedonic and utilitarian features. Affective commitment is more influ-
Available online xxxx
enced by hedonic features whereas calculative commitment is driven by utilitarian ones. Both commit-
ment dimensions sway customers’ trust towards the online vendor and trust is an important antecedent
Keywords:
of e-loyalty. Findings confirm that web design features are important for online relationship marketing.
Relationship marketing
Website features
Both commitment dimensions were found to be precursors of trust whereas affective commitment is the
Customer loyalty precursor of e-loyalty.
E-commerce Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Hotel booking

1. Introduction
Lately, online shopping has witnessed a remarkable leap for-
ward (Chiu et al. 2014, Kim et al. 2006, Luo et al. 2012) with sales
growing more than 19% a year (Internet Retailer 2011) and has
become an important distribution channel or business model for
many companies (Chiu et al. 2014). Worldwide retail online sales
had already reached approximately $1 trillion by the end of 2010
(Goldman Sachs 2011). More than 60% of US online users made a
purchase online in 2009 (Forrester Research 2009). The Cisco IBSG
Economics and Research Practice predicts that e-commerce will
reach almost $1.4 trillion in 2015 globally (Bethlahmy et al.
2011). Forrester Research estimates that online shoppers will
spend $327 billion in 2016 in the US alone, up 45% from $226 bil-
lion in 2012, and 62% from $202 billion in 2011 (Forrester Research
2012). However, regardless of the rapid growth in online shopping,
many customers indicate that they are unsatisfied with their
online purchase experiences (Luo et al. 2012). This calls for more
research to better understand the factors that affect customers’
evaluations in their online shopping behaviors (Luo et al. 2012).
In a similar vein, electronic distribution of various services
including hotel rooms, flights, travel packages, attraction tickets,
cruises, and car rentals has been on the rise due to many advanta-
ges to both consumers and e-tailers. Over the last decade, the
Internet has developed into being one of the most significant
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: abilgihan@fau.edu (A. Bilgihan), Bujisic.1@osu.edu (M. Bujisic).
channels for hotel room distribution (Doolin et al. 2002, Thakran
and Verma 2013). The Internet allows potential guests to gather
information about hotel amenities and facilities in a utilitarian nat-
ure since they can compare prices without contacting a hotel’s
sales representative or travel agent and prepare their travel itiner-
aries while looking at a screen (Runfola et al. 2013). Because of the
high acceptance of e-commerce, successfully adopting a more
effective e-commerce channel has become a significant matter
for hospitality businesses (Kim et al. 2006).
E-commerce in hospitality and tourism has progressed in recent
years from the preliminary sales of less-complex products such as
airline tickets, accommodations and car rentals, to embrace more
complex products including vacation packages and cruises
(Beldona 2005; Inversini and Masiero 2014, Nusair and Parsa
2011). However, during this evolution, it is usually claimed that
online travel portals have fallen behind when creating a pleasant
online environment for customers (Hassan 2013). We hypothesize
that developing compelling and useful online shopping portals
would help e-commerce companies build and maintain relation-
ships with their customers. We further hypothesize that customer
commitment in online environments will be established via web-
site features.
It is important to understand consumer behavior in online envi-
ronments and develop strategies to increase customer loyalty
towards the website. From a theoretical perspective, it is important
to develop a model that explains the antecedents of relationship
marketing in e-commerce. Even though hotel reservations consti-
tute the second most frequently purchased travel product online

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
1567-4223/Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
2 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
(Card et al. 2003); limited research has investigated the factors that
influence loyalty in an e-travel context.
The primary objective of this study is to develop a theory-based
model of utilitarian and hedonic website features, customer com-
mitment, trust, and e-loyalty. This model investigates the relation-
ship between website features and loyalty, as well as the
relationship between various components of customer commit-
ment, online trust and customer loyalty.
2. Literature review
2.1. Website features
As a contemporary marketing channel, the Internet differs from
traditional commerce structures in various ways requiring further
explanation. A unique characteristic of online shopping suggests
that customers have to base their judgments on service/product
information presented (e.g. room pictures, virtual tours, product
information, customer reviews) on the websites. Specifically, con-
sumer purchasing decisions are usually based on the appearance
and website design elements including pictures, virtual tours,
graphics, quality information, and video clips of the product (e.g.,
Chiu et al. 2014, Hong et al. 2004, Kolesar and Galbraith 2000). This
is especially important for online hotel room reservations due to
the characteristics of service products (e.g. reducing the perceived
risk of intangible product prior to purchase). Consequently, the
promise of e-commerce and online hotel room reservation is deter-
mined by, preeminently, user interfaces and how people interact
with computers and websites (Griffith et al. 2001, Hong et al.
2004). Better website designs and easier navigations nurture shop-
ping enjoyment (Floh and Madlberger 2013). Recently, the social
aspect of e-commerce design has also emerged as an important
concept (Huang and Benyoucef 2013) which highlights the impor-
tance of Web 2.0 tools and online communities.
Previous research identified that the positive outcomes a cus-
tomer seeks from using the Web can be categorized as: (a) hedonic
shopping orientations obtained when the Web is used for the enjoy-
ment of the online experience itself (e.g. taking the virtual tour of
the hotel room, looking at the pictures of the amenities offered by
the hotel); and (b) utilitarian shopping orientations resulting from
achieving a particular goal including the purchase of an item (e.g.
comparing the prices, looking at the location of the property)
(Fischer and Arnold 1990, O’Brien 2010). The online hedonic orien-
tations are grounded on enjoyment, pleasure, fun and amusement
via Web interaction, whereas utilitarian shopping orientations are
related to achieving a particular goal (Babin et al. 1994, Holbrook
and Hirschman 1982, O’Brien 2010). Consequently, a customer’s
attitude about the product/service offered by the company is
shaped by the degree to which an online hotel booking website ful-
fills the utilitarian or hedonic requirements of the customer.
Based on a literature review of the online shopping behaviors, it
is suggested that a website should be designed based on hedonic
and utilitarian aspects (Poyry et al. 2012). Previous research (e.g.
Childers et al. 2001, Ha and Stoel 2009; Mahfouz et al. 2008; Shen
and Khalifa 2008) classified the features of e-commerce websites
as explicitly utilitarian or hedonic.
Utilitarian features of the website are imperative for e-retailers.
These features were outlined as physical presence (Rafaeli and Noy
2005), utilitarian facet (Ha and Stoel 2009), or shopping as problem
solving (Childers et al. 2001). Those features are aligned with utili-
zation strategies (Fan and Poole 2006) suggesting an approach to
focus on designing, enabling, and enhancing valuable, functional,
and user-friendly tools. Characteristics of the utilitarian features
include accessibility, ability to effectively search for information,
and the provision of comprehensive product and service informa-
tion. For users seeking utilitarian features, web designers need to
Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
be aware of the availability of information and intuitive design
interfaces that facilitate the use of the site for information searches
(Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003). Herrero and San Martín (2012)
investigated the adoption of tourism accommodation websites
and found that the intention to use such websites is determined
by the usefulness and ease of use of websites as perceived by vis-
itors. Their results indicate that adequacy of information positively
influences the website’s perceived usefulness, whereas the interac-
tivity and navigability have a positive effect on their perceived ease
of use. In the context of online hotel booking, the focus should be
on effective and reliable search systems, easy navigation, and
orderly presentation of complete and consistent information. Such
characteristics in the online hotel booking context include location,
attractions nearby, restaurants, amenities, and prices.
On the other hand, hedonic features focus on fun, fantasy-
driven, and arousal-laden shopping (Childers et al. 2001; Suki
2010). The hedonic features represent the interactive and social
aspect of an e-commerce website (Chiu et al. 2014, Ha and Stoel
2009). Hedonic features are strongly connected to leisure activities
with a focus on the fun-based aspects of using information systems,
encouraging prolonged rather than the productive use (Van der
Heijden 2004). The value of a hedonic website feature is a function
of the degree to which the user experiences fun when using the
website. Therefore, developers employ tactics that are classified as
the inclusion of hedonic content: animated images and a focus on
colors, sounds, social components and esthetically appealing visual
layouts. Accordingly, hotel companies should be mindful of the
social richness (Lombard and Ditton 1997), and create opportunities
for the consumer to be an actor in the virtual environment. Enabling
the multi-way communication between different social avatars can
shape the social online experience (Mahfouz et al. 2008). Hedonic
features also include strategies such as ‘‘gamification’’, a trending
topic that supports user engagement and enhancing positive pat-
terns in service use by providing ‘‘gameful’’ experiences (Hamari
et al. 2014). Such strategies motivate behavioral outcomes.
2.2. Customer commitment
Customer commitment is considered as a key element in long-
term relationships (Dwyer et al. 1987, Morgan and Hunt 1994a).
Moorman et al. (1993) have defined commitment as ‘‘an enduring
desire to maintain a valued relationship’’ (p. 316). Several studies
have recognized a multidimensional nature of commitment
(Allen and Meyer 1990, Bansal et al. 2004, Pritchard et al. 1999).
The first dimension is emotional and the second one is cognitive
or economic. These two dimensions are often recognized in litera-
ture as affective commitment and calculative commitment
(Evanschitzky et al. 2006).
Affective commitment has received significant attention in
marketing literature (Gundlach et al. 1995, Kumar et al. 1995a,b,
Morgan and Hunt 1994b). The definition of affective commitment
in marketing is very similar to the one used in organizational
behavior studies (O’Reilly and Chatman 1986, Allen and Meyer
1990). Allen and Meyer’s (1990) affective commitment scale was
used to create a relationship commitment instrument in Morgan
and Hunt’s (1994) study. Fullerton (2005a) concluded that affective
commitment helps create a marketing relationship. Further, rela-
tionships that are built on affective commitment are more stable
because customers tend to have a positive rapport with the organi-
zation they identify themselves with.
Calculative commitment is defined as the intent to continue the
relationship, considering switching costs and lack of alternatives
(Bendapudi and Berry 1997). This type of commitment is different
from affective commitment because it is based on cost oriented cal-
culations and not a true emotional relationship. The customer does
not have to have a true desire to develop a long-term relationship
 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
but might feel that it is more convenient or more cost effective to do
so, compared to switching to more expensive alternatives (Allen
and Meyer 1990). Therefore, the nature of calculative commitment
is tied to the quality and availability of alternatives.
2.3. E-loyalty
The notion of e-loyalty extends traditional brand loyalty to the
technology-mediated online consumer experience (Corstjens and
Lal 2000; Reichheld and Schefter 2000; Schultz and Bailey 2000).
The term e-loyalty is specified as the ‘‘intention to revisit a web-
site’’ (Corstjens and Lal 2000; Gommans et al. 2001). However,
loyal behavior may also be tied to repurchasing from an online
vendor (Srinivasan et al. 2002). This study defines e-loyalty as
the perceived loyalty towards a hotel booking website (e.g.
www.hilton.com) with the intent to either revisit the site or make
a reservation from it in the future. Creating loyal customers is vital
to firm’s strategy and survival (Taylor and Baker 1994), and has the
capability to increase revenues and profitability (Aaker 1996;
Heskett 2002; Srinivisan et al. 2002). E-loyalty is derived from
the ease of ordering, product information and selection, on-time
delivery, customer confidence, adequate privacy policies, online
resources, and e-commerce quality (Wolfinbarger and Gilly
2000). Luarn and Lin (2003) highlighted that ‘‘understanding how
or why a sense of loyalty develops in customers remains one of
the crucial management issues of our day’’ (p. 156).
E-loyalty was shown to be related to brand loyalty (Grommans
et al. 2001). Uncles et al. (2003) recognized three different concep-
tualizations of brand loyalty. The first one is based on the willing-
ness to develop a relationship with a company. The second one is
based on the customer’s purchasing behavior. The final one is
based on the number of moderators of purchasing behavior, such
as purchasing situation and individual differences and characteris-
tics. Oliver’s (1997) a four-stage loyalty model is deeply connected
with pervious frameworks. He recognized that different types of
loyalty occur over time in a consistent sequence and inferred that
the four main types of loyalty are: cognitive loyalty, affective loy-
alty, conative loyalty and action loyalty (Oliver 1999). This model
extends the ‘‘cognitive-affective- conative’’ sequence with the
introduction of observable purchasing behavior.
Grommans et al. (2001) argued that the e-loyalty concept
extends directly from the brand’s loyalty concept. Specifically, e-
loyalty exists is an online consumer behavior that is an online rep-
resentation of the brand loyalty. Even though theoretical concepts
for both e-loyalty and brand loyalty are the same, e-loyalty has
several unique characteristics (Grommans et al. 2001). Value prop-
ositions, brand building, trust and security, website and technology
and customer service have been shown to be the main drivers of
e-loyalty (Grommans et al. 2001; Schultz 2000).
Literature considers the measurement of customer loyalty in
two dimensions (e.g., Kandampully and Suhartanto 2003). The
behavioral dimension focuses on a customer’s actual loyalty
behaviors, such as repeat purchases from the same brand and pro-
viding positive WOM (Word of Mouth). On the other hand, the atti-
tudinal dimension describes the consumers’ intention to engage in
such loyalty behaviors. Even though these two dimensions fail to
capture all four developmental stages of customer loyalty that
Oliver (1999) contends, researchers and practitioners utilize them
because they still tend to capture the most important aspect of loy-
alty from a company’s perspective.
2.4. Model of the website features and loyalty in hotel context
This study proposes a model of online customer relationship
and integrates an understanding of the commitment dimensions.
Given the importance of two distinct website features, this study
Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
3
examines whether website features impact the commitment to a
website. As shown in Fig. 1, hedonic and utilitarian website fea-
tures are hypothesized to be first order independent variables.
Since hedonic features are related to the fun, amusement, and plea-
sure, and affective commitment is related to the emotional attach-
ment, a strong positive relationship between hedonic website
features and affective commitment is expected.
2.5. Hypothesis development
As presented in Fig. 1, this study proposes a model to under-
stand why online customers commit to an e-tailer (specifically to
the hotel booking website) by an integrated model that includes
shopping value feature dimensions (hedonic and utilitarian), com-
mitment dimensions (affective and calculative), trust and loyalty.
Previous research shows that quality attributes have a positive
effect on customer satisfaction (Cole and Scott 2004, Hung and Hsu
2013, Orel and Kara 2014). Several studies have examined the
effect of satisfaction on commitment (Fullerton 2005b,
Evanschitzky et al. 2006, Yi et al. 2011). Fullerton 2005a,b argued
that quality and satisfaction have a positive effect on affective
and calculative commitment. On the other hand, Evanschitzky
et al. (2006) have shown the positive effect of different perfor-
mance features on affective commitment, while calculative com-
mitment was influenced by the scarcity of alternatives and
availability of options. Similarly, Garnier (2009) shows that hedo-
nic and utilitarian search engine website features have a positive
effect on affective commitment. Based on the previous research it
is expected that hedonic and utilitarian website features in the
hospitality e-commerce environment have a positive effect on both
affective and calculative commitment.
Hedonic features evoke fun and fantasy, and influence affective
commitment (Babin et al. 2005). Value and the affective emotions
of consumers are important in generating long-term relationships
in an online context (Kim et al. 2008). Specifically, the hedonic
shopping value generates long-lasting relationships in services
(Carpenter 2008, Chiu et al. 2005). Emotional pleasure is deter-
mined by the hedonic value of the service (Fiore, Jin, and Kim
2005), leading towards the intention to engage in e-shopping
(Chiu et al. 2014, To et al. 2007). In addition, experiential needs
motivate consumers to engage in online shopping (Ha and Stoel
2009). The hedonic shopping value has been found to be important
for loyal customers, and helps in building close emotional links
with target customers (Butz and Goodstein 1996). Therefore, the
following hypothesis is posited.
H1. Hedonic website features have a positive effect on affective
commitment.
Value dimensions have positive influences on commitment
(Pura 2005) and value added services generate high customer com-
mitment (Paguio and Ali 2011). Value influences relationship com-
mitment (Wahab 2011). In the e-commerce environment, the
competition is intense. There are almost an infinite number of
options and available alternatives that are only one click away.
Therefore websites rely on their own unique features to develop
calculative commitment (Bridges and Florsheim 2008). We extend
the previous research to assume that calculative commitment can
be influenced by the experiential needs of consumers (hedonic val-
ues) and therefore lead to the below hypothesis.
H2. Hedonic website features have a positive effect on calculative
commitment.
Previous research found that the utilitarian value of service
offerings increases positive consumer emotions (Babin et al.
4 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Fig. 1. Model of online shopping commitment.
2005) and consumer engagement is motivated by fulfilling utilitar-
ian needs (Childers et al. 2001). Utilitarian values, namely flexibil-
ity, increases commitment (Eaton 2003) and ease of use increases
participation (Sinclair et al. 2005). Also, usability of the e-service
increases commitment (Casaló et al. 2007). Perceived ease of use
and usefulness (Gefen and Straub 2000) determine IT adoption.
Ease of use of e-service has a positive influence adoption likelihood
(Featherman et al. 2010). Customers’ repurchase intention is
increased by the perceived usability of the website (Zhang et al.
2011). In order to be successful, e-commerce websites must be per-
ceived as useful, easy to use, easy to understand and easy to navi-
gate (Smith 2008). Since the utilitarian shopping value has a
positive influence on consumers’ experiential needs, we hypothe-
size that:
H3. Utilitarian website features have a positive effect on affective
commitment.
Previous studies have examined various influences on affective
and calculative commitment (Van Goolen and Campo 2008), such
as the relationship between switching costs and calculative com-
mitment (Yanamandram and White 2010). Nusair et al. (2013)
recently identified the positive effect of perceived utility of a web-
site on calculative commitment. Calculative commitment in the
online shopping context is seen in a site’s ease-of-use, transaction
speed, and convenience of 24-h access (Johnson 2007). As a result
of utilitarian website features, customers should be more likely to
stay in the relationship because of the benefits gained from the
website. Based on previous findings stating that consumers’ per-
ception of the utilitarian value of service can influence calculative
commitment, the following hypothesis is posited.
H4. Utilitarian website features have a positive effect on calculative
commitment.
Fullerton (2003) described affective commitment as a psycho-
logical motivation to be in a long-term relationship. This relation-
ship develops identifications and attachment to a company
(Fournier 1998). Affective commitment has a direct effect on trust
and loyalty (Harrison-Walker 2001). Customers that identify them-
selves with a company or a brand tend to express positive feelings
about the company. The emotional attachment created by the
Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
affective commitment is reflected in customer trust and behavioral
intention (Dick and Basu 1994; Fullerton 2003). Since previous
research supports that consumer values (hedonic and utilitarian)
influence affective commitment, it is a considerate interest to also
look into the influence of affective commitment on long-term rela-
tionships between the e-users and hotel website. It was found pre-
viously that affective commitment has a positive influence on
usage behaviors (Malhotra and Galletta 2005) and it also enhances
long term relationship for e-travel vendors (Nusair 2010). Trust is
believed to be the key to these relationships (Corbitt et al. 2003).
Customers’ trust levels in online shopping are likely to be influ-
enced by the website quality and users’ web experience (Corbitt
et al. 2003). Therefore, led to the formation of the below
hypothesis.
H5. Affective commitment has a positive effect on trust in online hotel
booking.
Few studies have empirically tested the relationship between
customer commitment and customer loyalty (Sivadas and Baker-
Prewitt 2000), and there is no consensus relative to the relation-
ships between quality, commitment and customer loyalty. Cole
and Chancellor (2009) claim that the relationship between quality
and customer loyalty is mediated by experience quality and
reported that the entertainment attribute of quality has a direct
impact on customer loyalty. It has been shown that a customer’s
affective commitment positively influences affective loyalty and
enjoyment (Ha and Perks 2005, Homburg et al. 2006, Janda and
Ybarra 2005, Jin et al. 2008, Khalifa and Liu 2007, Kim et al.
2008, Ranaweera et al. 2008, So et al. 2005. Brand loyalty is also
increased when customers show high affective commitment
(Mattila 2006, Čater et al. 2011). Therefore, the following hypoth-
esis is proposed:
H6. Affective commitment has a positive effect on loyalty to the hotel
booking website.
Calculative commitment is defined as the intention to stay in a
relationship because of the scarcity of alternatives and high
switching costs. After a certain time, customers tend to develop
an emotional attachment with the website (Dowling and Uncles
1997). Customers tend to stay in such relationship because they
 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
do not wish to look for alternatives or believe that they would not
be able to find any adequate ones. Burnham et al. (2003) argued
that the high perceived costs of switching is the main reason
why customers tend to stay in otherwise undesirable relationships.
The development of calculative commitment has a strong effect
both on trust and loyalty. The development of a relationship and
attachment to the establishment tends to have a positive effect
on trust (Dowling and Uncles 1997). In addition, loyalty is affected
positively because customers with lack of alternatives tend to
return to the same website. In order to keep customers with the
company, it is important to develop a company website that will
make consumers think that there is more to gain than to lose
through the particular online-transaction. Thus the following
hypotheses are posited:
H7. Calculative commitment has a positive effect on trust in online
hotel booking.
H8. Calculative commitment has a positive effect on loyalty to the
hotel booking website.
Trust in a company can play a significant role in determining a
customer’s actions regarding the company’s website. Trust is the
customer’s beliefs in the company’s benevolence, integrity, and
capability. According to the theory of planned behavior, beliefs
are significant predictors of intentions and subsequent actions.
Therefore, customers’ beliefs regarding the trustworthiness of a
company should affect their intentions to use the company’s
website.
Empirical research has shown that trust increases customer
intentions to purchase a service or product from a company on
the Internet (Jarvenpaa et al. 1999, Lynch et al. 2001). Perception
of trustworthiness can increase a customer’s intention to return
to a company both offline and online (Diamantopoulos and
Winklhofer 2001, Fukuyama 1996, Gefen 2002, Lynch et al.
2001). It is hypothesized that customers who trust a company
are more likely to use the company website, whether for a repeat
visit to the site or to make an actual purchase. The more a con-
sumer trusts a service provider, the more likely he or she will con-
tinue the relationship (de Ruyter et al. 2001). Cyr (2008) found
website trust is strongly related to loyalty. Consumers with a
higher level of trust in e-commerce are more likely to participate
in it (Corbitt et al. 2003). Kim et al. (2009) reported that online cus-
tomer trust is strongly related to loyalty. Therefore:
H9. Trust has a positive effect on loyalty to the hotel booking website.
3. Methodology
A descriptive cross-sectional survey was created using the
online questionnaire service, Qualtrics. This survey included four
sections. The first question was the screening question and asked
whether the respondent had booked a hotel room online in the past
three months. If they answered this question as ‘‘No’’, the survey
navigated the respondent to the demographic questions. The sec-
ond section included questions related to the respondents’ Internet
shopping behaviors, such as how often they shop online, which type
of products they purchase and how much they typically spend. The
third section included the questions that measure the study con-
structs. In this section of the survey, the study participants were
asked to rate their level of agreement with the statements regard-
ing their last online hotel booking experience using a seven point
Likert scale response format (see Appendix 1 for the variables that
are adopted in this study). In order to ensure construct validity, all
of the latent variables were measured using multiple-item scales
Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
5
adopted from previous research studies making only minor changes
of wording to tailor them to the e-commerce context. Finally, the
last section consisted of demographic questions.
A random sample of 5000 American consumers was selected
from a national database using a marketing company. A total of
549 responses were received with a 10.9% response rate. The data
was imported to SPSS to detect outliers and missing variables and
it was found that 186 of the respondents did not book a hotel room
online in the past three months, thus failed to satisfy the screening
question. Further, 29 of the respondents were eliminated from the
data analysis because of missing data. This yielded a net sample of
334.
Of the respondents, 45 percent were male and 24 percent were
between ages of 35 and 44. In terms of yearly annual household
income, 32 percent of the respondents stated that they have an
income of $100–150 k (see Appendix 2 for participants’ demo-
graphic information). The sample demographic pulsation is similar
to the e-buyers population demographic information reported in
Hernández et al. (2011) and Wang et al. (2011), therefore indicat-
ing the validity of the study participants.
4. Results
4.1. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling
(SEM) in Amos 20. This statistical technique empowers researchers
to simultaneously test a set of interrelated hypotheses by estimat-
ing the relationships among multiple endogenous and exogenous
variables in a theoretical model (Gefen and Straub 2000). Following
the procedures of the two-step approach (Anderson and Gerbing
1988) and to achieve strong validity and reliability, a confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA) was deployed. The initial step included a
deployment of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to test for unidi-
mensionality. During this process, it is recommended that items
clearly load on a single and appropriate factor. If an item fails to
have a substantially high loading on any factor, it could be
removed from the analysis and the EFA is computed on the remain-
ing subset (Floyd and Widaman 1995). Until a clear factor structure
emerges, inappropriately loading items can be deleted and the
analysis repeated (Hinkin 1998). At this stage, two of the loyalty
measurement items (LOY1 and LOY2) were dropped after EFA
due to cross loadings with affective commitment factor.
The final measurement model indicated a good level of fit:
v2(174) = 136,229, the goodness-of-fit indices: GFI = 0.91
RMSEA = 0.042, CFI = 0.95, and NFI = 0.95. Table 1 shows the reli-
abilities of all constructs were above the threshold value of 0.7
(Chen and Hitt 2002) supporting the reliability of the measure.
Additionally, all composite reliabilities were greater than 0.80 and
all average variance extracted (AVE) estimates were greater than
0.50 ensuring that, on average, the measures share at least half of
their variation with the latent variable (Fornell and Larcker 1981)
(see Table 1). All standardized factor loadings for the items were
also found to be significant (p < .01), in support of convergent valid-
ity (Anderson and Gerbing 1988). The AVE criterion was met for
each of the latent variables, which supports the reliability of the
measures. The AVE exceeded the square of correlations between
constructs, confirming discriminant validity (Hair et al. 2010). This
suggests that the hypothesized measurement model fits the data
reasonably well, and the posited dimensions and facets showed
acceptable reliability, convergent and discriminant validity.
4.2. The proposed model and hypotheses testing
After the confirmation of the unidimensionality of each con-
struct, the structural model was deployed to test the hypotheses.
6 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

Table 1
Item loadings, construct reliability and average variance extracted.

Variable Coefficient a Standardized loadings Construct reliability (CR) Variance extracted (AVE)
HED1 0.81 0.78 0.96 0.82
HED2 0.83
HED3 0.69
HED4 0.72
UTIL1 0.91 0.76 0.88 0.73
UTIL2 0.82
UTIL3 0.76
UTIL4 0.84
ACO1 0.83 0.78 0.95 0.75
ACO2 0.87
ACO3 0.79
CCO1 0.85 0.82 0.89 0.75
CCO2 0.93
CCO3 0.79
TRU1 0.82 0.81 0.88 0.74
TRU2 0.78
TRU3 0.75
LOY3 0.81 0.71 0.78 0.62
LOY4 0.84
LOY5 0.74
LOY6 0.67

LOY1 and LOY2 were dropped after EFA due to cross loadings with affective commitment.

The goodness-of-fit measures were used to assess the model fit.
The overall fit indices for the proposed model were acceptable,
with v2/df = 1.43, RMSEA of 0.033, NFI of 0.95, CFI of 0.96, and
GFI of 0.92. All the above fit indices for the final model indicated
an acceptable structural model fit. Additionally, the explained vari-
ances (R2) were 32% for calculative commitment, 46% for affective
commitment, 52% for trust, and 67% for loyalty.
Nine hypothesized paths were tested for significance in the cur-
rent research. The results of the study, as shown in Table 2 and
Fig. 2, indicate that eight of the paths were significant in the struc-
tural model. Two of the paths were significant at p < .001, six paths
were significant at p < .01, and one path was not significant.
Hypothesis 1, stating hedonic website features have a positive
effect on affective commitment, was supported. The results
revealed a path coefficient between the two constructs of .81,
which was positively significant at p < .001. Hypothesis 2 stated
that hedonic website features have a positive effect on calculative
commitment. This hypothesis was supported with a path coeffi-
cient between the two constructs of .51 (p < .01).
Hypothesis 3 stated that utilitarian website features have a
positive effect on affective commitment, and was supported. The
results revealed a path coefficient between the two constructs of
.42, which was positively significant at p < .01. Hypothesis 4 stated
that utilitarian website features have a positive effect on calcula-
tive commitment. This hypothesis was supported with a path coef-
ficient between the two constructs of .88 (p < .001).
Hypotheses 5 and 6, stating that affective commitment has a
positive effect on trust and loyalty, were supported with a path
coefficient of 0.38 (p < .01) and 0.79 (p < .01) respectively.
Hypothesis 7 stated that calculative commitment has a positive
effect on trust in online hotel booking. This hypothesis was sup-
ported with a path coefficient between the two constructs of .21
(p < .01). However, hypothesis 8, which stated that calculative
commitment has a positive effect on loyalty to the hotel booking
website, was not supported. The path coefficient between the two
constructs was .09 which was not significant with (p > .05).
Finally, hypothesis 9 was supported. A path coefficient between
trust and loyalty was positive and statistically significant
(st.coef = .69; p < .01).
5. Discussion and conclusions
The primary objective of this study was to develop a theory-
based model of utilitarian and hedonic website features, customer
commitment trust and e-loyalty. Leaning on relationship market-
ing and customer value theories, we explained how to build long
lasting relationships with customers in e-commerce contexts.
Earlier research highlights the utilitarian nature of online shop-
ping, suggesting customers are seeking for utilitarian benefits in
e-commerce. However, our findings suggest that utilitarian natures
are necessary, but not sufficient condition for building customer

Table 2
Test of path coefficients significance.

Hypotheses Standardized path coefficients t Support

H1: Hedonic ? Affective commitment 0.81* 8.71 Yes
H2: Hedonic ? Calculative commitment 0.51** 6.12 Yes
H3: Utilitarian ? Affective commitment 0.42** 5.24 Yes
H4: Utilitarian ? Calculative commitment 0.88* 9.16 Yes
H5: Affective commitment ? Trust 0.38* 4.01 Yes
H6: Affective commitment ? Loyalty 0.79* 7.16 Yes
H7: Calculative commitment ? Trust 0.21* 2.20 Yes
H8: Calculative commitment ? Loyalty 0.09 ns 1.89 No
H9: Trust ? Loyalty 0.69* 7.90 Yes
*
p < .001.
**
p < .01.

Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Fig. 2. Structural model with path coefficients and explained variances of dependent variables. ⁄p < .001.
commitment in online environments. Our findings further
highlight the importance of creating loyalty by focusing on both
hedonic and utilitarian features.
As our results show, affective commitment is influenced more
by hedonic features. On the other hand, calculative commitment
is driven by utilitarian ones. Both commitment dimensions influ-
ence customers’ trust towards the online vendor. We confirm that
trust and affective commitment are the precursors of customer e-
loyalty. This relationship can similarly be explained through brand
loyalty. Specifically, trust and affective commitment were shown
to have a positive effect on brand loyalty (Sirdeshmukh et al.
2002), and brand loyalty was shown to be highly correlated with
e-loyalty (Grommans et al. 2001).
The notion of customer value considers what customers want
and believe they get from buying a product (Woodruff 1997) from
an online vendor. Online shopping produces both hedonic and util-
itarian outcomes (Babin et al. 1994). As Babin et al. (1994)
acknowledged two decades ago, ‘‘the consumer is portrayed, in a
shopping context, as both intellectual and emotional’’ (p. 653). This
approach recognizes that not all consumer behavior is directed
toward satisfying some functional needs. This is especially impor-
tant during the dreaming stage of decision making. Customers may
visit the hotel booking website and be immersed in the pictures
and virtual tours, and at a later stage decide to purchase. Hedonic
consumption experiences are important in e-commerce in addition
to rational choices. The total value of online shopping experience
includes both the hedonic and utilitarian beliefs and perceptions
of a product. Thus, website features that encompass both dimen-
sions are likely to perform better. We hypothesized that website
features will create customer loyalty by the mediating roles of
customer commitment. It was found that hedonic and utilitarian
features are important variables influencing future consumer deci-
sions through relationship marketing. Hedonic features transfer to
later consumption experiences by triggering affective commit-
ment, whereas utilitarian features found to have a strong effect
on calculative commitment.
The hedonic aspect of web performance is the evaluation of a
website based on the assessment by users regarding the amount
of fun, playfulness, and the pleasure they experience or anticipate
from the website. These hedonic features had significant effects on
both calculative and affective commitment. The findings of this
Please cite this article in press as: Bilgihan, A., Bujisic, M. The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.
Electron. Comm. Res. Appl. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001
7
⁄⁄
p < .01.
study suggest that hotel booking websites could create positive
shopping experiences and commitments if they focus on hedonic
features such as virtual tours and innovative website designs. Sim-
ilar to the way a hotel employee might provide a good impression
to guests, a well-designed hotel website can provide good impres-
sions about the property to online customers before guests actually
experience or stay at the property (Bilgihan et al. 2013).
E-commerce websites that incorporate games, enable co-creation
possibilities, build online communities, and create a pleasing
online experience are likely to succeed.
Utilitarian features are the goal-directed website design fea-
tures. These features represent an assessment of a website based
on the evaluation by users regarding the instrumental benefits
they obtain from its’ non-sensory attributes. They are related to
the performance perception of usefulness, value, and wisdom
(Batra and Ahtola 1991). These features call users to visit a website
out of necessity instead of recreation needs; consequently, this
characteristic of performance is evaluated according to whether
the particular purpose is accomplished (Davis et al. 1992; Venk-
atesh 2000). However, it was found that utilitarian features had a
significant positive effect on both affective and calculative commit-
ment. Reliable, effective, functional, practical, ordered, necessary,
wise, and correct features are needed to create customer commit-
ment in online shopping. Our findings support that consumer
rationalism is an important precursor of future intentions by the
mediating role of calculative commitment.
Affective commitment helps create marketing relationships,
which are more stable because customers tend to have a positive
rapport with the organization they identify themselves with. Affec-
tive commitment was also found to be positively related to both
trust and loyalty. Results from marketing literature indicated that
affective commitment is positively related to involvement, loyalty
and attachment (Gundlach et al. 1995).
Calculative commitment is defined as the intent to continue the
relationship, considering switching costs and a lack of alternatives
(Bendapudi and Berry 1997). The findings of this study indicate
that calculative commitment is positively related to trust but not
to loyalty. One of the explanations for this result could be that trust
mediates the relationship between calculative commitment and
loyalty. This finding is even more probable considering that trust
had a significant positive effect on loyalty.
8 A. Bilgihan, M. Bujisic / Electronic Commerce Research and Applications xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

5.1. Theoretical and practical implications which influenced the validity of participants’ responses. Although
it was assumed that the respondents completed the survey objec-
The results of this study provide several important theoretical tively, the reliability could have been affected by respondents’
and practical implications. In the first place, a comprehensive the- beliefs, attitudes, reward drive and desire to provide honest
oretical model of relationship between website features, commit- answers. In general, feedback from participating respondents did
ment and loyalty is developed. This model indicates that not mention that this was a concern.
e-commerce and online booking websites should focus on both The instruments used in the survey could potentially be a lim-
hedonic and utilitarian features in order to increase customer loy- iting factor. These instruments were tested for validity and reliabil-
alty. In practical terms, this means that the interactive and social ity. Nevertheless, additional follow-up studies could further
aspects of an e-commerce website presenting hedonic features improve those. Finally, the main study sample was obtained from
should be improved. For instance, Marriott’s Travel Brilliantly a US-based marketing company. Therefore, findings cannot be gen-
(https://travel-brilliantly.marriott.com) challenges their customers eralized beyond that target population.
to help ‘‘shape the future of travel’’ by asking them to share their
groundbreaking ideas about how to improve the modern travel Appendix 1. Measurements used in the study
experience. Members of such platforms receive both hedonic and
utilitarian benefits from interacting with like-minded customers
and gaining mutual assistance. In online environments, social rela-
tionships create a sense of community. Additionally, websites Construct Questionnaire Items
should work on their functionality, practical design and user
friendliness. This, in turn, should improve customer loyalty and Hedonic Features (adopted HED1. This online booking
develop trust with online hotel booking websites. from Kim and LaRose experience was truly a joy
2004, self-created) HED2. Compared to other
things I could have done, the
5.2. Future studies and limitations time spent booking was truly
enjoyable
The study findings should provide valuable guidelines for future HED3. I felt the excitement of
research stream in hospitality e-commerce. Future studies are hunt
advised to test the model in different situations (e.g. leisure travel- HED4. I like email alerts of
ers vs. business travelers) as different motivations may have a special offers from this
strong effect on the shopping experience. It is recommended for booking website
future studies to reexamine the model and collect data during Utilitarian Features (adopted UTIL1. I use this website’s
the online booking. Participants would not have to recall their last from Kim and LaRose search engine for finding the
booking experience but simply evaluate the present one, improv- 2004, self-created) room I want
ing the overall validity of the results. UTIL2. I use this website for
Future studies should also test true causality using an experi- product price information
mental design. The present study was not directly testing causality UTIL3. I feel really smart about
since it was based on survey design and SEM analysis. This type of this booking experience
analysis only assumes causality based on theoretical support with- UTIL4. I read the reviews
out being able to examine it directly. All of the significant relation- written by other travelers
ships that were detected in the present study could be further Affective Commitment ACO1. I enjoy discussing the
tested for causality using scenario based experimental design in (adapted from Allen and good aspects of this website
which different websites with different hedonic and utilitarian fea- Meyer 1990) with other people
tures would be created. This would help researchers recognize spe- ACO2. It is easy to become
cific website features that have the strongest positive effect on attached to this website
customer e-loyalty and overall satisfaction with the website and ACO3. This website has a great
booking experience. Additionally, results from this study could deal of attraction for me
be used to develop similar models in other e-commerce settings Calculative Commitment CCO1. I am afraid something
since it is expected that hedonic and utilitarian website features (adapted from Allen and will be lost if I stop using this
have a similar effect on customer behavior regardless of the e-com- Meyer 1990) website
merce setting. CCO2. To stop using this
Finally, future studies should focus on the analysis of different website would require
variables that moderate the relationship between website features considerable personal sacrifice
and customer behavior. Customer characteristics such as demo- CCO3. Some aspects of my life
graphics and personality traits could act as moderators. would be affected if I stop
This study had several limitations. The main limitation of the using this website now
study was that the survey was conducted in an online environment Trust (adopted from Morgan TRU1. This website can be
and therefore asked participants to revoke memories about their and Hunt 1994) trusted at all times
last hotel booking experience. Unless the experience left a truly TRU2. This website can be
strong impression on participants, they would not be able to counted on to do what is right
express their opinion regarding specific details that were asked TRU3. This website has high
in the survey. This could also create a potential non response bias. integrity
A number of potential participants would not qualify to complete e-loyalty (adopted from LOY1. I seldom consider
the survey if they had not booked a hotel online in the previous Chang and Chen 2009; Li switching to another hotel
three months. et al. 2006) booking website
Additionally, the questionnaire length and the time needed to
complete the survey might have caused questionnaire fatigue,

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