The purpose of this study was to propose a theory-driven model to understand the relationship among social website interactivity, brand experience, brand choice, price premium, and buying intention within the context of online travel agencies (OTAs) websites. The moderating role of consumer age was also investigated. Results suggested the inclusion of social website interactivity in the design of OTA websites enhanced branding elements, which influenced customers’ willingness to pay the price premium and to return in the future. The strength of the relationships among these constructs varies across young consumers (aged between 18 and 25) and older consumers (aged above 25). Moreover, results suggested that social website interactivity influenced price premium and buying intentions through brand experience and brand choice. This study offers specific theoretical and practical implications.

Introduction

Social website interactivity (SWI) in website design has been recognized as an important feature for building a brand (Voorveld, van Noort, & Duijn, 2013). Social interactivity refers to the act a user performs when navigating a website. SWI, a subsection of website interactivity, pertains to the interaction between websites and consumers, which is believed to impact consumers’ behavioral intentions (Aluri, Slevitch, & Larzelere, 2015). In this sense, SWI serves as a fundamental competency that contributes to the development of strong relationships with consumers via the reciprocal communication between systems and users (Barreda, Bilgihan, Nusair, & Okumus, 2016). SWI has been shown to induce positive attitudes toward branded websites through the elaboration of product-related information (Palla, Tsiotsou, & Zotos, 2013). Although a growing body of research has been concerned with website interactivity and its potential effect on developing online branding (Wang, Hsu, Huang, & Chen, 2015), there remains limited research on how SWI influences both brand building and behaviors. Due to the pervasive usage of internet, the quality of a brand’s online presence has become a critical factor for brand communication and customer relationship management. Research has suggested that brand choice, brand experience, and price premium influences customers’ behavioral intentions (Morgan-Thomas & Veloutsou, 2013).