Transformations  in
Business & Economics

INVOLVEMENT AND INVITING COMPANIONS: BEHAVIOR OF MEMBERS IN VIRTUAL TRAVEL COMMUNITIES
Tingting Yi, Ying Wu, Ning Niu

ABSTRACT. With the growing of information technology and self-arranged traveling trend, more and more tourists look for travel companions in virtual travel communities (VTC) while similar researches have not been wide enough. This research examines members of VTC, on the basis of involvement theory, using factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the influence between users' involvement and the intention and behavior of inviting travel companions in VTC. The result shows that, firstly, the involvement can be categorized into three dimensions, namely personal, informational and situational dimension. Secondly, all of them positively influence the intention of inviting travel companions. The situational involvement as a factor of influence has the highest ranking. Thirdly, involvement not only indirectly influences the behavior of inviting companions, taking the intention as a mediator, but also directly impacts on the inviting behavior. The research enriches the theory of involvement. Discussions and implications with the reference to the conclusion for the future practices in management are also proposed  .

KEYWORDS: involvement, virtual travel community, inviting travel companions.

JEL classification: M31.