Do offline factors trigger customers' appetite for online continual usage? : A study of online reservation in the airline industry

Purpose – Although many studies have analysed the impact of online factors on the online behaviour of customers', there is also a need to consider the influence of offline factors on customers' propensity for online services use. The purpose of this paper is to highlight how offline factors trigger online continual usage by customers' of airline e‐ticket booking services. Design/methodology/approach – The paper proposes a conceptual model of the relationship between offline factors and customers' online continual usage behaviour. A convenient sample consisting mainly of undergraduate students was selected. The primary data were collected through a pencil‐and‐paper survey, and AMOS 18 was used to test for the hypothesised relationships. Findings – The results revealed that employee‐based service quality has a positive and direct relationship with pre‐existing offline trust and image, and no direct relationship with online continual usage. Surprisingly, and contrary to current literature, pre‐existing offline trust had no direct relationship with online continual usage. However, both pre‐existing offline image and subjective norms confirmed the literature and had a direct significant relationship with online continual usage. Research limitations/implications – This study used a sample of mainly university students to test the proposed conceptual model. Thus, it might not be possible to generalise the application of the outcomes of this study to different populations. Practical implications – The results of this study confirm the importance of offline factors as a vital tool that support organisations' attempts to encourage their customers to continue using online channels, which are both efficient and convenient. The paper also offers decision makers general guidelines on managing offline factors to stimulate customers' online continual usage behaviour. Originality/value – The key contribution of this paper is a conceptualisation of predictors of customers' usage of online booking services, that takes into account the most researched offline factors cited in the literature.