Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856

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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications

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

Hierarchical effects of website aesthetics on customers’ intention to book on T

hospitality sharing economy platforms
⁎
Xiaowei Xua, , Thomas Schrierb
a
School of Business Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
b
Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The essence of the shared accommodation industry is the easing of market entry with online platforms. Since
AIDA model website design is an important visual component of content strategy, this study aims to understand whether and
Perceived privacy risk to what extent website aesthetics influences booking intentions and how this process is influenced by customers’
Search intention information privacy concerns. The attention-interest-desire-action (AIDA) model is utilized for the theoretical
Sharing economy platform
underpinning of this paper, which describes the cognitive steps that customers undergo when booking an online
Website aesthetics
accommodation. This study analyzes a dataset of 325 hospitality sharing economy platform (HSEP) users via a two-
stage structural equation modeling process. The results indicate that the AIDA model is applicable as a guideline
for uncovering the mechanism through which website aesthetics influences customers’ intention to book through
an HSEP. Practitioners should prioritize website design aesthetics because it activates customers’ booking in-
tents. Potential customers who perceive higher privacy risk overcome their concerns about privacy information
via more search effort on HSEPs.

1. Introduction
A sharing economy platform is part of a peer-to-peer business al-
lowing customers to share properties or resources through online
platforms (Hamari et al., 2015). Morgan Stanley Research estimated
that hospitality sharing economy platforms (HSEPs), such as Airbnb and
HomeAway, would account for approximately 20% of the global ac-
commodations market by 2018 (Skift, 2017). Previous researchers have
agreed that trust is extremely important to the sharing economy mar-
ketplace (Zervas et al., 2017). Given that the HSEP is the primary in-
terface between travelers and hosts prior to arrival, the design of an
HSEP matters since it only takes individuals 50 ms to gain a first im-
pression of a website page and 3.42 s to evaluate the credibility of the
website content (Fogg et al., 2003; Lindgaard et al., 2006).
In addition, because customers have already become accustomed to
booking accommodations through online travel agents (OTAs) and hotel-
branded websites, the aesthetic design of HSEP websites is important
since it could induce customers to remain on websites for more in-
formation instead of immediately clicking away. As a result, website
aesthetics servs as an antecedent of subsequent judgments of websites.
However, based on Cheng’s (2016) systematic review of the sharing
economy, few large-scale empirical studies have focused on the role of
website aesthetics in the current HSEP literature. Moreover, few studies
have emphasized website aesthetics as the starting point for website
evaluation.
Previous studies have utilized stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R)
theory (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974) to examine the impact of website
aesthetics or other website quality dimensions on customer purchase
intentions (Chang et al., 2014; Hsu et al., 2012; Kim and Lennon, 2013;
Wang et al., 2011). However, this model restricted researchers to de-
scribing how customers react to stimuli in an online environment using
three stages. In fact, booking an accommodation online is a complex
process that involves personal trade-offs among amenities, locations
and uncertainties (Mason and Roberts, 2004). Thus, the mechanisms
underlying the relationship between website aesthetics and booking
intentions merit a deeper exploration. Additionally, in contrast to
booking through OTAs and hotel branded websites, the booking of
accommodations on HSEPs usually requires additional steps, such as
uploading a driver’s license and linking to social network accounts as
parts of an ID verification process, and these requirements could raise
customers’ information privacy concerns because they might fear that
their personal information could be disclosed by hosts. Although studies
have demonstrated that perceived privacy risk has a negative impact on
online customers’ behavioral intentions (Kim and Lennon, 2013; Liao
et al., 2011), how this negative impact could be attenuated in the
context of HSEPs remains unexplored.

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: xiaoweix@swufe.edu.cn (X. Xu), schriert@iastate.edu (T. Schrier).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2019.100856
Received 30 November 2018; Received in revised form 2 May 2019; Accepted 2 May 2019
Available online 03 May 2019
1567-4223/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
X. Xu and T. Schrier
Based on the foregoing discussion, this study aims to answer the
following research questions. How and to what extent do website aes-
thetics affect booking intentions? What role does information privacy
play in this process? In order to answer these questions, this study uses
the attention-interest-desire-action (AIDA) model (Strong, 1925) as its
theoretical underpinning, with website aesthetics regarded as an ex-
ternal stimulus. The AIDA model originated in conventional marketing
and advertising, mapping out four stages that occur: from the product
awareness stage to the purchase decision (Cramphorn, 2006; Lavidge
and Steiner, 1961; Rawal, 2013). It is intuitive that HSEP customers will
undergo the steps defined by the AIDA model prior to booking an ac-
commodation. Marketing strategies that use AIDA principles increase
customers’ trust level (Hadiyati, 2016), and having a website with high-
quality aesthetics is the first step in gaining customers’ attention and
building their initial trust in the HSEP. However, the principle of this
model has not been fully employed to understand the design of websites
(Sun et al., 2016). The effectiveness of this model in predicting actual
customer behavior, as well as the existence of an advertising hierarchy,
has been challenged by earlier researchers (Bendixen, 1993; Vakratsas
and Ambler, 1999). However, Barry (2002) argued that, rather than
discarding the hierarchy-of-effects model, researchers should shift their
focus from validating the model to more accurately measuring the
complex process by which people process information and form atti-
tudes.
The purpose of the current study is threefold: (1) to test the ap-
plicability of the AIDA model in relation to the website design since it
was previously used in the traditional marketing context; (2) to uncover
the mechanism underlying website aesthetics and booking intentions
according to the AIDA model; and (3) to examine the impact of per-
ceived privacy risk on the desire and action stages of the AIDA model.
Empirical findings from this study are expected to contribute to the
emerging literature related to HSEPs and to yield insights into the ap-
plicability of the hierarchy-of-effects model. For practitioners, this
study should provide information useful to predicting booking inten-
tions and help them to decide which aspects should be emphasized
when utilizing a website as a marketing strategy.
2. Theoretical background and research model
2.1. AIDA model
Since the late 1990s, the AIDA model has been widely used to
measure the effectiveness of advertising and to provide guidance on
attracting customers. This model suggests that customers move through
four steps when they make purchase decisions, and advertisers could
convert shoppers into purchasers via the following sequences: (1) at-
tract customers’ attention; (2) obtain interest of customers by helping
them realize the benefits of products or services; (3) create positive
belief in customers; and (4) induce customers to perform a purchase.
Like all other research models, this model has its limitations.
Weilbacher (2001) argued that the hierarchy model of advertising ef-
fects could be applied only to the field of advertising and not to other
marketing communication components. The author further indicated
that such models fail to consider customers’ personal experience. This
argument is supported by Hall (2002) and Schultz (2002). However,
Barry (2002) later defended the hierarchy-of-effects model, suggesting
that it is an appropriate framework for any form of marketing com-
munication, as they all share a common goal of persuading customers to
purchase.
The appropriateness of using the AIDA model in the context of study
is twofold. First, HSEP serves as a powerful marketing communication
channel, as it presents customers with each accommodation and host
information by use of texts, icons, graphics, online messages, and a
direct link to request a book or an instant book. Second, HSEP custo-
mers will go through the steps defined by the AIDA model prior to
booking an accommodation. Marketing strategies that use AIDA
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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
principles increase customers’ trust level (Hadiyati, 2016). Having a
website with high-quality aesthetics is the first step in gaining custo-
mers’ attention and building their initial trust in the HSEP: customers
are willing to spend substantial time on a website only if its design
caught their eye.
Pradipta and Purwanto (2013) were among the first to use the AIDA
model to investigate the impact of website design and structure on
purchasing decisions. They proposed visual appeal, ease-of-use and
interactivity, trustworthiness and convenience, and purchase decision
to represent the parts of the AIDA model. Recently, using decision tree
methods, Sun et al. (2016) identified eight travel website evaluation
attributes based on the AIDA model and found that information quality
was the most important attribute influencing customers’ decision-
making. Unlike previous studies that identify the variables that involve
in the decision-making process according to AIDA model separately,
this paper examines the impact of website aesthetics on booking in-
tention based on a four-stage linear sequential process of the AIDA
model. Variables in each AIDA stage were identified by considering
prior researchers’ concerns regarding the validity of the AIDA model.
2.1.1. Attention and interest
Website aesthetics constitute the first step of the AIDA model for
attracting customers’ attention. An unattractive website might cause
users to leave the site before completing their desired tasks, even if the
website offers special benefits, such as a lower rate (Wang et al., 2011).
Based on the definition of website aesthetics provided by Wang et al.
(2011) and the elements of website aesthetics provided by Park et al.
(2007), website aesthetics in this study refer to the extent to which the
proper use of color, fonts, and combinations of various attributes could
yield an impression of beauty, creating a first impression before cus-
tomers further interact with the website. Cunliffe (2000, p. 297) also
stated that, “poor web design will result in a loss of 50 percent of po-
tential sales due to users being unable to find what they want, and a loss
of 40 percent of potential repeat visits due to the initial negative ex-
perience.”
The best way to keep a customer interested in browsing a website is
to effectively present the benefits and features of products and services
(Hadiyati, 2016). According to Hartmans (2017), the total number of
listings on Airbnb is greater than that of the top five major hotel brands
combined. In addition, because all of the accommodation information
on HSEPs is host-generated content, and the amenities and services
provided on different listings vary across different hosts, customers
might be required to spend more effort and time to go through the
accommodation information before finding an accommodation that
best suits their needs. A large amount of information must be filtered
and searched for users to find exactly what they want. Cognitive
overload, namely, the amount of mental processing power needed to
book with HSEPs, can cause customers to lose interest in exploring a
website (Wang et al., 2014). A website with easy navigation and easily
digestible content can keep customers engaged by simplifying the
process by which they find information and understand the presented
information. Therefore, perceived information quality and perceived
ease of navigation have been proposed as elements that capture Interest
in the AIDA model.
Perceived ease of navigation is derived from Davis’ (1985) tech-
nology acceptance model (TAM). In the 1990s, perceived ease of use was
defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a technology
will be effortless. With the emergence of Internet-based technologies,
the concept of ease of use has shifted its focus from ease of reading and
understanding information to ease of locating information. According
to Loiacono et al. (2002), ease of use in the context of a website has two
dimensions: ease of understanding and ease of navigation. This study
focuses on ease of navigation, which refers to the degree to which a
person believes that it is easy to find relevant information on a website
(Park et al., 2007).
One reason that customers leave a website is that the information
X. Xu and T. Schrier
was not engaging or was unhelpful to them in achieving a purchase
goal. Perceived information quality is especially important in an online
context since it can reflect or seem to reflect the quality of products or
services (Wang and Strong, 1996). In this study, information quality
refers to the extent to which a website is a good source of information
and is helpful in providing a user with accurate and detailed informa-
tion (Park et al., 2007; Wen, 2012).
2.1.2. Desire and action
Desire is the stage during which customers form a favorable attitude
toward a product or service (Wijaya, 2015). Since HSEPs are char-
acterized by intangible services and unfamiliar hosts, customers tend to
rely on online review systems to create trust prior to booking an ac-
commodation (Ert et al., 2016). Hawlitschek et al. (2016) also indicated
that the basic steps for HSEP customers are “search,” “book,” and
“travel.” Therefore, performing an information search is an essential
process for customers who desire to book a specific accommodation.
The results of studies have suggested that customers’ online shopping
behaviors consist of two stages: information searching and purchasing
(Darden and Dorsch, 1990). This process was described by Foss and
Bower (1986) as a subgoal-goal hierarchical relationship. Search in-
tention in this study context refers to the extent to which an individual
would like to browse, differentiate, and monitor accommodation in-
formation (Tuu and Olsen, 2012).
Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Ajzen, 1991), purchase
intention can predict actual purchase behavior. In this study, booking
intention, as proposed in the action stage, refers to the probability that
the customer will book accommodations on the website (Ponte et al.,
2015).
2.2. Familiarity and perceived privacy risk
Weilbacher (2001) pointed out that the AIDA model ignored the
impact of personal experience. To address this concern, perceived fa-
miliarity was incorporated into the model. Familiarity was originally
defined as the amount of direct and indirect knowledge possessed by an
individual (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987), formed through cumulative
prior interpersonal interaction experiences (Rindfleisch and Inman,
1998). Based on the definition provided by Casaló et al. (2008), fa-
miliarity in this study refers to customers’ degree of knowledge about
the website interface and online shopping procedures.
Ranzini et al. (2017) indicated that perceived privacy risk serves as
a major obstacle to using sharing economy services. The reason might
be that booking accommodations on HSEPs involves the sharing of
personal information because customers are required to verify their IDs,
link their social network site (SNS) accounts, or even upload a personal
photograph to an HSEP account before they can make purchases
(Fagerstrøm et al., 2017). Based on the definition of perceived privacy
risk given in the context of SNS, in this study, the term refers to the
extent to which customers believe that booking on HSEPs has uncertain
negative consequences related to privacy (Krasnova et al., 2010). Both
HSEP customers and hosts tend to evaluate the trustworthiness of each
other from online exchanges or disclosures of information (Ranzini
et al., 2017). It would be interesting to investigate how customers’
perceived privacy risk could be offset in the process of booking ac-
commodations on HSEPs.
2.3. Hypotheses
2.3.1. Website aesthetics and perceived ease of navigation
The correlation between aesthetics and usability has been ex-
tensively investigated in the field of Human-Computer Interaction
(HCI), in which usability has been assessed by task completion time or
ease of use (Tractinsky et al., 2000; Hassenzahl, 2004). However, these
investigations have been correlational in nature and yielded incon-
sistent findings (Hassenzahl, 2004; Van Schaik and Ling, 2009). Only a
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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
few studies in the HCI field have examined a possible causal relation-
ship between these two variables (Hassenzahl and Monk, 2010; Lee and
Koubek, 2010), and no consensus has been reached regarding a causal
direction (Tuch et al., 2012). These inconsistent findings suggest that
the causal relationship between aesthetics and usability might not be
seen in a different domain. It is also noted that the aesthetic-usability
relationship has not been linked to behavioral constructs and lacks
application to users of e-commerce websites. To gain further support for
a causal relationship between aesthetics and usability, the following is
proposed.
• Hypothesis 1 (The Website Aesthetics and Navigation
Hypothesis): Perceived website aesthetics significantly influences per-
ceived ease of navigation.
2.3.2. Website aesthetics and information quality
Few studies have examined the impact of perceived website aes-
thetics on information quality. The halo effect, a well-documented so-
cial-psychology phenomenon, can be observed when individuals who
are physically attractive tend to be rated favorably on other attributes
(Asch, 1946). By extension, it could be assumed that websites that are
visually appealing could influence customers’ evaluations of other
website attributes. Hence, the following is proposed.
• Hypothesis 2 (The Website Aesthetics and Information Quality
Hypothesis): Perceived website aesthetics significantly influences per-
ceived information quality.
2.3.3. Perceived ease of navigation, perceived information quality and
search intention
Research has indicated that customers’ intentions to use websites
could be a direct outcome of experiencing website quality (Moon and
Kim, 2001). In the fields of information systems and retail, both per-
ceived information quality and perceived ease of use have been found
to influence technology adoption and online purchases (Belanche et al.,
2012; Park and Stoel, 2005). With a particular focus on information
search behavior, Tuu and Olsen (2012) found that website quality as a
whole significantly influenced Internet search behaviors. On this basis,
the following is proposed.
• Hypothesis 3 (The Information Quality and Search Intention
Hypothesis): Perceived information quality significantly influences
search intention.
• Hypothesis 4 (The Navigation and Search Intention): Perceived
ease of navigation significantly influences search intention.
2.3.4. Search intention and booking intention
The relationship between search intention and purchase intention
was empirically tested by Shim et al. (2001), who showed that custo-
mers’ intentions to search for product attributes online were a de-
terminant of customers’ purchase intentions. In the context of tourism,
travel information searching and product purchasing were two pre-trip
stages (Jun et al., 2007). Lee et al. (2007) examined travelers’ online
shopping behaviors and extended the theory of reasoned action by in-
cluding both search intention and purchase intention. Although pre-
vious researchers have emphasized the importance of information
searching as a prerequisite for making travel decisions, the relationship
between search intention and purchase intention has not been well
studied, especially in the hospitality industry. Hence, the following is
posited.
• Hypothesis 5 (The Search Intention and Booking Intention
Hypothesis): Search intention significantly influences booking inten-
tion.
X. Xu and T. Schrier
2.3.5. Familiarity and behavioral intentions
Familiarity has been widely examined by marketing researchers
because of its impact on reducing customers’ uncertainty, forming trust
perceptions, and making decisions (Bettman and Park, 1980;
Bhattacherjee, 2002; Gefen, 2000). With the growth of the Internet,
Marchionini and White (2007) proposed the concept of familiarity with
systems that help users to search comfortably, as well as familiarity
with products. Since HSEPs are a relatively new way of booking ac-
commodations, it is less easy for new users to make purchase decisions
using HSEPs. Conversely, experienced users might find the decision-
making process relatively simple since they are less likely to become
confused or lost while exploring an HSEP (Chen et al., 2011). As a
consequence, the following is assumed.
• Hypothesis 6 (The Familiarity and Search Intention
Hypothesis): Familiarity significantly influences search intention.
• Hypothesis 7 (The Familiarity and Booking Intention
Hypothesis): Familiarity significantly influences booking intention.
2.3.6. The role of perceived privacy risk
Numerous studies have examined the role of perceived risk in a
retail environment (Chang and Tseng, 2013; Nepomuceno et al., 2014).
Customers are often hesitant about making purchase decisions since
they are uncertain about whether the value of the products or services
meets their buying goals (Roselius, 1971), that is, customers undergo a
certain degree of perceived risk in most purchase decision-making
processes (Cox and Rich, 1964). With the rapid growth of e-commerce,
perceived risk has become one of the barriers that prevent customers
from purchasing online (Forsythe and Shi, 2003). A number of re-
searchers have indicated that customers search for more information
when they have greater perceived risk of the travel products or services
that they are considering in their decision-making processes (Fuchs and
Reichel, 2006; Gursoy and McCleary, 2004). In the context of HSEPs,
the exchange of data occurs between customers and platforms, as well
as offline between customers and hosts; as a result, there is a need to
explore whether perceived privacy risk serves as a catalyst for or ob-
stacle to customers performing searches online, Thus, the following is
proposed.
• Hypothesis 8 (The Privacy Risk and Search Intention
Hypothesis): Perceived privacy risk significantly influences search in-
tention.
• Hypothesis 9 (The Privacy Risk and Booking Intention
Hypothesis): Perceived privacy risk significantly influences booking
intention.
Previous studies have examined the moderating effect of perceived
risk in the online context and found that perceived risk could attenuate
the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and usability
on behavioral intentions (Belanche et al., 2012; Casidy and Wymer
2016). Belanche et al. (2012) suggested, as an explanation, that cus-
tomers who perceived a high level of risk would be more likely to at-
tempt to eliminate uncertainties while interacting with a website.
In light of the perceived risk perspective introduced by Bauer
(1960), which assumes that customers will undertake action to reduce
the risk to an acceptable level in a given situation, this study attempts to
examine whether customers who have a high level of perceived risk will
be more likely to make purchases through a search process that helps
them believe that a negative consequence is unlikely to occur. Thus,
this study posits that, in a perceived high-risk situation, customers will
be more prone to search carefully for information about accommoda-
tions before they make actual purchases since they must interact with
the website to overcome their fear of inappropriate disclosure of per-
sonal information. In turn, when the perceived privacy risk is low,
customers tend to feel less threatened by uncertain and ambiguous si-
tuations and are less likely to search for perfect solutions. Thus, the
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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
following hypothesis is offered.
• Hypothesis 10 (The Privacy Risk Effect on Search and Booking
Intention Moderation Hypothesis): Perceived privacy risk moder-
ates the relationship between search intention and booking intention.
2.3.7. The mediating effects
Since this study aims to uncover the cognitive process between
website aesthetics and booking intentions, the mediating roles of in-
formation quality, ease of navigation, and search intention were also
examined. Thus, the following hypotheses are proposed.
• Hypothesis 11 (The Website Aesthetics Effect on Search
Intentions Moderation Hypothesis): Website aesthetics indirectly
influences search intentions via perceived information quality and per-
ceived ease of navigation.
• Hypothesis 12 (The Website Aesthetics Effect on Purchase
Intentions Moderation Hypothesis): Website aesthetics indirectly
influences purchase intentions via perceived information quality, per-
ceived ease of navigation, and search intentions.
2.3.8. Control variables
Several control variables were included in the data analysis to en-
sure that the results are not due to covariance with other variables. The
literature suggests that sociodemographic factors, such as gender, age,
income, and level of education, can affect behavioral intentions
(Forsythe and Shi, 2003). Prior experience was not included as a control
variable since familiarity was conceptualized as an interchangeable
term for user experience (Gefen, 2000). Additionally, since Airbnb is
the market leader in HSEPs (Oskam and Boswijk, 2016), and brand
awareness has a significant impact on customer decision making
(Macdonald and Sharp, 2003), this study controlled for whether or not
customers used Airbnb to book accommodations.
The proposed model is presented in Fig. 1.
3. Methodology
3.1. Data collection
Data were collected from April 6, 2016, to May 23, 2016 via the
Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform because of its large and
scalable workforce, relatively low cost, high response speed, and re-
sponse accuracy (Buhrmester et al., 2011; Dedeke, 2016). Two
screening questions were asked to ensure that the participants resided
in the United States and had utilized a hospitality sharing economy
platform to book an overnight accommodation in the previous
12 months. The participants were asked to identify the sharing
economy platform that they had used to book an overnight accom-
modation within the previous 12 months. Four hundred participants
were requested from MTurk. $0.50 was paid to each participant who
completed the survey.
3.2. Survey instrument
The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section in-
volved questions designed to measure seven constructs: (1) perceived
website aesthetics; (2) perceived ease of navigation; (3) perceived in-
formation quality; (4) search intention; (5) perceived privacy risk; (6)
familiarity; and (7) booking intention. The second section included
questions about demographic characteristics, along with one question
that asked for the name of the HSEP most recently used by respondents
for booking overnight accommodations.
Perceived ease of navigation and perceived website aesthetics were
each measured using four items adapted from Park et al. (2007). Three
items were used to assess information quality, with two items from Wen
(2012) and one item from Park et al. (2007). Three items measuring
X. Xu and T. Schrier
Fig. 1. Research model showing the hypothetical relations between the studied variables.
perceived privacy risk and four items measuring booking intention were
adopted from Ponte et al. (2015). To assess familiarity, four items were
adapted from Chiu et al. (2012). Finally, search intention was measured
by two items adapted from Gefen and Straub (2000) and one newly
added item.
For all of the measures, a five-point Likert scale was utilized, with
answers ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Additionally, three attention check questions were randomly dispersed
throughout the questionnaire to identify participants who were not
playing attention to the survey content. Each attention check required
participants to provide a specific response.
3.3. Data analysis method
Descriptive statistics consisting of means, standard deviations, fre-
quencies, percentages, and skewness were obtained by using SPSS
software, Version 23.0. After screening for missing data and checking
for common method bias, non-response bias and normality, a two-step
approach recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988) was used,
using Mplus software, Version 7.0, to analyze the data. The first step
involved analysis of the measurement model to validate the factorial
structure of the proposed model, while the second step tested for a
structural model for examining the causal relationships among the la-
tent variables. Both the measurements and the structural models were
assessed based on the following indices: the Chi-square (χ2) test, root
mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the non-normed fit indices
(NNFI), and the comparative fit index (CFI). Latent moderated structural
equations (LMS) were used to estimate the moderating effect (Klein and
Moosbrugger, 2000).
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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
4. Results
4.1. Characteristics of respondents
After 75 participants who failed to pass at least one of the three
attention check questions were eliminated, a total of 325 responses
were retained for further analysis, and no missing values were found. As
shown in Table 1, the respondents who used HSEPs to book an over-
night accommodation over the previous 12 months were predominately
female (63.4%). Approximately half of them were between 25 and
34 years old. Regarding education level, 36.6% of the sample finished
high school, 45.8% acquired a university degree, and remainder ob-
tained an advanced degree. Nearly 74% of the respondents were Cau-
casian. In terms of income, 62.7% of the respondents had an annual
income of $40,000 or greater. The purpose of their most recent trip was
leisure for 67.7% of the respondents, followed by visiting family or
friends (15.4%). Regarding respondents’ booking experiences, more
than 70% of the respondents booked their most recent overnight ac-
commodations on Airbnb.com, followed by VERO.com, HomeAway.
com, and CouchSurfing.com.
4.2. Checking for non-response bias and common method bias
In order to test for non-response bias testing, early and late re-
spondents were compared using the t-test (Armstrong and Overton,
1977). The first 75% of returned surveys were compared with the last
25% on demographics (gender, age, and education), as well as across 25
key measurement items. No significant differences were found for any
of the 28 comparisons. An assessment for common method bias (CMB)
was conducted since this study used self-reported variables. Harman’s
single factor test was performed by running an exploratory factor
analysis using an unrotated solution with all of the variables (Podsakoff
et al., 2003). No single factor emerged, which indicated that CMB was
X. Xu and T. Schrier Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856

Table 1 recommended cutoff of 0.70 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). The construct
Respondents’ demographic profiles. validity was determined through tests of convergent and discriminant
Demographic Characteristics n % validity. Convergent validity was supported by the finding that the
average variance extracted (AVE) values were greater than 0.50, while
Gender discriminant validity was present because all of the correlations be-
Female 206 63.4
tween each pair of latent constructs were less than the square root of
Male 119 36.6
the AVE for each construct (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) (see Table 3).
Age
18–24 73 22.5
25–34 169 52.0
4.4. Testing the structural model and the mediating effects
35–44 51 15.7
45–54 19 5.9 The goodness-of-fit indices for the hypothesized model without
55 and older 13 4.0 control variables (M0) indicated a reasonable fit to the sample data: S-
Highest Education Bχ2 (263, N = 325) = 459.060, p = .000, CFI = 0.950, NNFI = 0.943,
Some High school 0 0.0 RMSEA = 0.048 (90% CI: 0.041–0.055). Examination of the structural
High School Degree/G.E.D. 17 5.3
parameter estimates for the model indicated that all of the hypothesized
Associates Degree 32 9.9
Some College 69 21.4
causal relationships were supported (see Table 4). Five control vari-
Bachelor’s Degree 148 45.8 ables were then included in the model (M1), resulting in an acceptable
Graduate Degree 57 17.7 model fit: S-Bχ2 (378, N = 325) = 677.238, p = .000, CFI = 0.935,
Ethnicity NNFI = 0.927, RMSEA = 0.050 (90% CI: 0.043–0.055). The results of
Caucasian/White 240 73.8 the structural model remained the same. As illustrated in Table 4,
Asian 24 7.4 perceived aesthetics significantly influenced perceived ease of naviga-
African American/Black 31 9.5
tion (β = 0.71, p < .001) and information quality (β = 0.65,
Hispanic/Latino 22 6.8
Native American/Alaska Native 3 0.9 p < .001). It was revealed that perceived aesthetics accounted for
Other 5 1.5 50.8% and 42.0% of the variance in perceived ease of navigation and
Household Annual Income
information quality, respectively. Both perceived information quality
Less than $19,999 43 13.2 (β = 0.29, p < .001) and perceived ease of navigation (β = 0.20,
$20,000–$39,999 78 24.0 p < .001) had impacts on search intention, in turn leading to booking
$40,000–$59,999 68 20.9 intentions (β = 0.42, p < .001). Therefore, H1-H5 were all supported.
$60,000–$79,999 52 16.0
In addition, perceived privacy positively impacted search intention
$80,000–$99,999 33 10.1
More than $100,000 51 15.7 (β = 0.16, p < .01), while perceived privacy risk negatively influenced
booking intention (β = -0.21, p < .001). Finally, familiarity had a
Primary Purpose of Most Recent Trip
Pleasure 220 67.7 positive effect on both search intention (β = 0.29, p < .001) and
Visiting Family, Relatives, or Friends 50 15.4 booking intention (β = 0.35, p < .001). The explained variances for
Business 32 9.8 search intention and purchase intention were 34.6% and 52.4%, re-
Education 17 5.2 spectively. Hence, H6-H9 were all supported. None of the control
Health 1 0.3
variables (age, gender, income, education, and Airbnb users) had a
Religion 0 0.0
Other 5 1.5 significant effect on search intention (β = 0.03, −0.04, 0.00, 0.02,
−0.01, respectively) or booking intention (β = 0.01, 0.06, −0.06,
Most Recently Used HSEP
Airbnb.com 230 70.8 0.04, −0.03, respectively), indicating that the results were not due to
VBRO.com 28 8.6 covariation with these control variables.
HomeAway.com 26 1.8 One of this study’s purposes is to show how search intention-
CouchSurfing.com 17 5.2 booking intention relations differ according to risk perception. Using
Others 24 7.4
the XWITH command in Mplus, version 7.0, an interaction term was
created by multiplying the perceived privacy risk by search intention.
not present in this study. Since model fit indices have not been developed for the LMS method,
the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) test was used to determine whether the
structural model without the interaction term (M1) showed a significant
4.3. Testing the measurement model loss in fit relative to the structural model with the interaction term (M2)
(Klein and Moosbrugger, 2000). The test statistic for the LLR test is
The descriptive statistics for all of the measurement items are shown often denoted as D, which approximately follows a χ2 distribution. D
in Table 2. An inspection of skewness results indicated that the data was calculated using the formula provided by Maslowsky et al. (2015).
were mildly skewed since several indicators had skewness values ex- The results of the LRT test indicated that M2 was also a well-fitted
ceeding an absolute value of 1 (Hair et al., 1995). In order to deal with model (D = 8.63, Δdf = 1, p < .001). The interaction term was sig-
non-normality, Satorra-Bentler’s (S-Bχ2) scaled test statistics were ap- nificant in predicting booking intention (β = 0.18, p < .01).
plied in SEM to correct the standard errors for parameter estimates To determine the size of the interaction effect, R2 changes resulting
(Satorra and Bentler, 2010). Following this procedure, the internal from the interaction effects were examined by subtracting the R2 of
consistency of each measurement scale was checked by calculating Model 1 from the R2 of Model 2 (Maslowsky et al., 2015). The result
Cronbach’s alpha values. The Cronbach’s alpha scores ranged from 0.78 indicated that an additional 4.4% of variance in booking intention was
to 0.93, exceeding the commonly accepted benchmark of 0.70 explained by the interaction of search intention and perceived privacy
(Nunnally, 1978). risk. This moderating effect is shown in Fig. 2. This plot was obtained
The measurement model was validated by confirmatory factor from the Loop plots option in Mplus and created using R Studio. As
analysis (CFA). The results indicated an acceptable measurement model predicted, at high levels of perceived privacy risk (mean + standard
fit: S-Bχ2 (254, N = 325) = 370.523, p = .000, CFI = 0.971, deviation), booking intention (plotted using latent variable scores with
NNFI = 0.965, RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI: 0.029–0.046). The internal a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one) increases rapidly when
validity of the items was assessed using composite reliability (CR). The search intention increases. However, at low levels of perceived privacy
CR values ranged from 0.78 to 0.93, which were greater the risk (mean – standard deviation), booking intention increases

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X. Xu and T. Schrier Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856

Table 2
Descriptive statistics and reliability analysis of constructs and their measurements.
Variables α Mean S.D. Skewness

Perceived Website Aesthetics (PWA) 0.85

This website looks attractive 4.25 0.68 −0.77
This website looks organized 4.29 0.60 −0.48
This website uses colors properly 4.23 0.70 −0.62
This website uses fonts properly 4.21 0.68 −0.59

Perceived Ease of Navigation (PE) 0.83

I can go to exactly what I want quickly 3.99 0.84 −0.64
The search functions on this website is helpful 4.26 0.65 −0.45
This website has well-arranged categories 4.14 0.73 −0.60
This website does not waste my time 4.08 0.76 −0.43

Perceived Information Quality (PIQ) 0.78

This website provides accurate information about accommodation (e.g., room availability, room pictures) 4.18 0.66 −0.35
This website provides in-depth descriptions of accommodation and their services (e.g., room amenities, facility information, location, 4.16 0.68 −0.62
surrounding area information)
This website is a very good source of information 4.23 0.63 −0.29

Search Intention (SI) 0.84

I would use this website to inquire about accommodation ratings 4.34 0.71 −1.07
I would use this website to check accommodation reviews 4.36 0.71 −1.06
I would use this website to compare similar, competitive accommodations 4.30 0.81 −1.42

Perceived Privacy Risk (PPR) 0.88

I am concerned about the privacy of my personal information during a transaction 2.59 1.16 0.46
I am concerned that unauthorized persons have access to my personal information 2.52 1.13 0.58
I am concerned that this website will use my personal information for other purposes without my authorization 2.42 1.10 0.53

Familiarity (FAM) 0.91

I am familiar with this website 4.45 0.65 −1.12
I am familiar with searching for overnight accommodations on this website 4.48 0.62 −0.99
I am familiar with the purchasing process of this website 4.38 0.65 −0.85
I am familiar with inquiring about accommodation ratings at this website 4.29 0.77 −0.96

Booking Intention (PI) 0.93

The probability I would consider booking an accommodation from this website is high 4.50 0.65 −1.22
If I were to book an accommodation, I would consider booking it from this website 4.47 0.62 −0.99
The likelihood of my booking an accommodation from this website is high 4.37 0.70 −1.14
My willingness to book an accommodation from this website is high 4.38 0.70 −0.94

Table 3 between 0.25 and 0.42, and 0.07 and 0.21, respectively, which ex-
Composite reliability, AVE, correlations between constructs and square root of cluded zero and supported the proposed hypotheses H11 and H12. The
AVE. results of hypothesis testing are summarized in Table 4.
CR AVE PWA PE PIQ SI PPR FAM PI
5. Discussion and implications
PWA 0.92 0.73 0.85
PE 0.83 0.56 0.64 0.75
PIQ 0.78 0.54 0.56 0.37 0.73 Although the focus of this study, the impact of website quality on
SI 0.78 0.54 0.50 0.42 0.48 0.73 customers’ booking intentions on accommodation booking websites, is
PPR 0.89 0.72 −0.25 −0.37 −0.29 −0.05 0.85 not new to the e-commerce and hospitality literature, relevant studies
FAM 0.92 0.73 0.53 0.51 0.53 0.47 −0.27 0.85
PI 0.93 0.76 0.62 0.51 0.48 0.58 −0.32 0.60 0.87
in the context of sharing economy platform features with consumer-to-
consumer (C2C) business models have been rare. This study shows four
Note: Correlations and square roots of AVE (in bold) shown on lower left and sequential stages from website aesthetics to booking intentions, invol-
diagonal, respectively; CR = composite reliability; AVE = averaged variance ving perceived ease of navigation, perceived information quality and
extracted. search intention.

marginally as search intention increases. Therefore, H10 was sup-

ported: perceived privacy risk positively moderates the relationship
between search intention and booking intention. Fig. 3 shows the result
of structural model (M2) analysis with standardized regression coeffi-
cients.
4.5. Tests for indirect effect
In terms of mediating effects, website aesthetics indirectly influ-
ences search intentions (β = 0.33, p < .001) and purchase intentions
(β = 0.14, p < .001), thus lending support to H11 and H12. The
mediating effect of search intention was verified using a bootstrapping
method (with N = 5000 bootstrap resamples) outlined by Preacher and
Hayes (2008). The 95% confidence intervals for the indirect effect of
website aesthetics on search intention and booking intention were
5.1. The role of website aesthetics
The results confirm that a causal relationship exists between website
aesthetics and ease of navigation, consistent with the findings of
Tractinsky (2004) but differing from those of Tuch et al. (2012), who
found no relationship between the two variables. The results also
complement previous findings revealing the website aesthetic-usability
relationship (Tractinsky et al., 2000) by shedding light on the sig-
nificant impact of website aesthetics on perceived information quality.
The results indicate that website aesthetics affect perceived information
quality and perceived ease of navigation, implying that aesthetic ele-
ments could mitigate the effect of cognitive load. This result provides
more specific evidence for the idea that “what is beautiful is usable” by
suggesting that “what is beautiful contains better information.”
This study also confirmed that website aesthetics could produce a

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X. Xu and T. Schrier Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856

Table 4
Results of hypothesis testing.
M0 M1 M2 Test Result
Add Control Variables Add Interaction Term

Direct Effects
H1 Perceived Website Aesthetics → Perceived Ease-of-Navigation 0.71*** 0.71*** 0.71*** Supported
H2 Perceived Website Aesthetics → Perceived Information quality 0.65*** 0.65*** 0.65*** Supported
H3 Perceived Ease-of-Navigation → Search Intention 0.18** 0.20*** 0.18* Supported
H4 Perceived Information Quality → Search Intention 0.30*** 0.29*** 0.31*** Supported
H5 Search Intention → Booking Intention 0.42*** 0.42*** 0.46*** Supported
H6 Familiarity → Search Intention 0.29*** 0.29*** 0.30*** Supported
H7 Familiarity → Booking Intention 0.36*** 0.35*** 0.30*** Supported
H8 Perceived privacy risk → Search Intention 0.17** 0.16** 0.18**
H9 Perceived privacy risk → Booking Intention −0.21*** −0.21*** −0.25*** Supported

Moderating Effect
H10 Perceived privacy risk × Search Intention → Booking Intention 0.18** Supported

Total Indirect Effects

H11 Website aesthetics → Search Intention 0.32*** [0.19 ∼ 0.47] 0.33*** [0.20 ∼ 0.48] Supported
H12 Website aesthetics → Booking Intention 0.14*** [0.01 ∼ 0.27] 0.14*** [0.01 ∼ 0.27] Supported

Note: CI = Confidence interval; *p < .05; **

p < .01; ***
p < .001.

and perceived ease of navigation were effective in determining custo-

mers’ intentions to use a website for information seeking, supporting
previous findings suggesting that the experience of using a website
during the information-search phase was influenced by both informa-
tion quality and system quality factors (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996).
This outcome indicates that both extensive information and well-de-
signed navigation are vital for attracting customers.

5.3. The search intention-booking intention relationship

Another key finding of this study is that search intentions lead to

Fig. 2. The moderating effect of perceived privacy risk. Note. The dotted lines
show 95% confidence bands.
better online experience by enhancing customers’ perceived ease of
navigation and perceived information quality. When the external in-
formation source (website aesthetics) effects and internal information
source (perceived privacy risk and familiarity) effects on two types of
behavioral intentions are compared, website aesthetics is found to have
a greater indirect effect on search intention (β = 0.33, p < .001),
whereas familiarity has a greater effect on purchase intention
(β = 0.35, p < .001). These findings could be explained by the ela-
boration likelihood model (ELM), which suggests two routes to persua-
sion: central and peripheral (Petty and Cacioppo, 1983). HSEP custo-
mers might tend to rely on website aesthetics when performing online
searches as a process of seeking peripheral information. In contrast,
when making booking decisions, HSEP customers might tend to follow
a central cognitive process by integrating their existing knowledge to
make reasoned decisions.
5.2. Impact of perceived information quality and perceived ease of
navigation on search intention
The results of this study indicate that perceived information quality
booking intentions, indicating that intention to search could increase
the probability of purchase intent. This finding extends Shim et al.
(2001), whose study was performed in the context of searching for
goods to the context of searching for overnight accommodations. This is
consistent with the previous premise that travel information searches
and product purchases during the pre-trip stage are closely related (Jun
et al., 2007), perhaps for two main reasons.
First, in contrast to OTAs and hotel branded websites that offer
several rooms to travelers, HSEPs provide a market in which hosts
generally offer a single accommodation. If customers start performing
searches for a specific accommodation, the likelihood of booking is
greater because of product scarcity. Second, the products (single ac-
commodations) on HSEPs differ from traditional hotel accommodations
in that a hotel’s room inventory could be distributed across different
channels (e.g., OTAs, hotel branded websites, direct sales, etc.).
Additionally, since traditional hotels are able to list their available ac-
commodations on multiple channels, the number of bookings made
through their own websites actually increases, a phenomenon referred
to as the billboard effect (Anderson, 2009). Since the accommodations
on HSEPs are usually listed only on the HSEP, the billboard effect does
not exist for HSEPs. As such, the HSEPs tend to have high booking
conversion rates.
5.4. The role of perceived privacy risk and familiarity
When the impact of familiarity on two behavioral intentions was
examined, the relationship was the same as that reported by Shim et al.
(2001), implying that familiarity can act as a subjective mechanism that
facilitates both search and purchase behaviors.
In the case of perceived privacy risk, its positive impact on search
intention contrasts with previous findings, which suggested that per-
ceived privacy risk negatively influences use intention. The privacy
paradox (Barnes, 2006) phenomenon, which surfaced in earlier re-
search on social networking sites (SNS), could be a reason why

8
X. Xu and T. Schrier
Fig. 3. A structural model (M2) with standardized regression coefficients.
customers often continue to use services or products although they are
worried about their personal information being collected as a result of
their use of an online service. Since the booking processes on HSEPs
involve posting public profiles and linking social media accounts to
build trust (Edelman and Luca, 2014), customers’ need to socialize with
others through social media information exchange apparently out-
weighs their desire to protect their personal information, while the
negative impact of perceived risk on purchase intention is consistent
with prior research (Forsythe and Shi, 2003). Gutiérrez et al. (2010)
indicated that customers’ perceived privacy risk tends to be lower
during the alternative evaluation process and higher in the purchase
process, which could explain the opposite effects of perceived risk on
search intention and booking intention.
Additionally, this study demonstrated that perceived privacy risk
and search intention can interact to produce an additional influence on
purchase intention in the HSEP setting. This result is consistent with
risk theory, indicating that, as privacy risk perception increases, cus-
tomers tend to be more engaged in information searches in the purchase
situation because their need for privacy reassurance tends to be rela-
tively greater (Mitra et al., 1999).
5.5. Theoretical and practical implications
From the theoretical perspective, this study makes three main
contributions. First, it contributes to the HSEP literature by focusing on
website design, which is regarded as a relatively small theme in the
current sharing economy academic literature (Cheng, 2016). Second, it
successfully extends the applicability of the AIDA model to an online
HSEP context and provides evidence to support the viewpoint of Barry
(2002) that the AIDA model could be implemented as a guideline for
understanding and refining the sequential stages that a customer un-
dergoes during the purchase process for a product or service. The sig-
nificant impact of familiarity in the last two stages suggests that further
application of the AIDA model should control for personal experience,
as pointed out by Weilbacher (2001).
The proposed hierarchy of effects model opens the black box of the
website aesthetics-booking intention relationship by verifying the ex-
istence of mediating effects of perceived information quality, perceived
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Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
ease of navigation and search intention on the relationship between
website aesthetics and booking intention. By examining the aesthetics-
usability effect during the stages of attention and interest, this study
also contributes to the literature on information systems by showing
causal effects from website aesthetics to perceived information quality
and perceived ease of navigation. This result is in line with the argu-
ment by Hassenzahl and Monk (2010) that website aesthetics serves as
starting point for judging other attributes of products or services. It is
also suggested that causal relationships might exist among website
quality dimensions identified by prior researchers (Bai et al., 2008;
Loiacono et al., 2002). The search-booking intention relationship in-
dicates that other types of behavioral intentions might occur in se-
quence as well. In addition, this study advances the idea that perceived
privacy risk might not be the main barrier to the use of HSEPs since it
positively moderates the relationship between search intention and
booking intention. This study adds to the e-commerce literature by
empirically examining the boundary conditions for the relationship
between search intention and booking intention.
Several managerial implications stem from the results, which sug-
gest that HSEP marketers and designers could use the AIDA model as a
guideline to attract website users’ attention and eventually convert
them into long-term clients. This study emphasizes website aesthetics
and the power of visual stimulation. It suggests that HSEP practitioners
should prioritize the visual appearance of websites to gain customers’
attention and build their trust. The goal of the second step is to increase
customers’ interest and generate customer engagement with the web-
site; having reliable navigation features and higher-quality content
could prevent customers from quickly abandoning the page. In the last
two stages, pre-purchase online information searching via review sys-
tems becomes an integral part of a customer’s decision-making process.
Hosts should encourage customers to post online reviews, and the
HSEPs should encourage customers to rate their hosts by sending re-
minder emails after checkout. It is also suggested that HSEP practi-
tioners add some signals of trustworthiness (e.g., credit score ranges,
digital badges) for hosts since customers are more willing to disclose
their private information to obtain a service if they feel the host has the
ability to protect their data. It is suggested that HSEPs first survey users’
risk perceptions with regard to disclosing personal information on
X. Xu and T. Schrier
social media accounts to accommodation hosts; for those who exhibit a
higher level of perceived privacy risk, HSEPs should perhaps avoid
asking customers to connect their social networking accounts to the
HSEP for additional verification, while hosts could emphasize how
much they value and how they protect the privacy of customers’ per-
sonal data.
Presenting a privacy policy, such as “We respect your privacy, and
we will never share your personal information with third-parties” could
lessen customers’ perceived privacy risks (Liao et al., 2011). However,
there is no need for HSEP practitioners who worry extensively about
customers with unusually high perceptions in the desire stage since
such customers would perform a risk-benefit analysis (Culnan and Bies,
2003) during the search process to assess the potential outcome relative
to the information disclosure. Therefore, it is important for hosts to
emphasize in their property descriptions the benefits and uniqueness of
their properties by listing services and amenities (e.g., bike trails, local
cuisine, surfing, etc.) that are not offered by booking via OTAs or hotel
branded websites. Additionally, on customer review pages, HSEPs
should enhance the filtering capability of customer reviews by allowing
customers to focus on the topics that matter most when making booking
decisions or focus on reviews written by customers who also have
privacy concerns.
A comparison of the effects of website aesthetics, perceived privacy
risk and perceived familiarity on two behavioral intentions suggests
that the effect of website aesthetics is weakened as customers move
toward the final stage of the decision-making process. Familiarity,
which stood out as a strong antecedent of booking intention, could be
enhanced by allowing customers to book accommodations through a
third-party payment processor with which they are familiar (e.g.,
Amazon Payment, Paypal, WePay). In addition, well-recognized and
easily understood icons (e.g., search icons, shopping-cart icons, chat
icons) could be utilized to enhance website familiarity since such icons
appear on almost every website.
6. Conclusion
This work investigated customers’ intentions to utilize HSEPs from a
digital marketing perspective. The results highlight the importance of
website aesthetics by revealing the mechanism through which they
influence the booking intentions of customers. This study shows that
the AIDA model is applicable in the context of online marketing, and
that the website aesthetics serves as a starting point for evaluating other
website attributes and subsequently activates search intentions. The
results also highlight the importance of perceived privacy risk in the
process of website aesthetics influencing booking intentions, particu-
larly because of its moderating role in the relationship between search
intention and booking intention.
Like other research efforts, this study is subject to certain limita-
tions. The study sample was recruited from MTurk, at which the sam-
pling pool was limited to people with access to MTurk, who might not
be representative of all HSEP users. Additionally, the sample consisted
of only individuals residing in the U.S., so an interesting route to extend
this research would be to repeat this study using samples consisting of
customers with different cultural backgrounds.
Additionally, the theoretical model might not have incorporated all
of the relevant variables into each part of the process of the AIDA
model. As pointed out by Lavie and Tractinsky (2004), website aes-
thetics has two dimensions: classical aesthetics and expressive aes-
thetics. In the stage of attention, this study focused only on classical
aesthetics, emphasizing orderly and clear design. Expressive aesthetics,
reflecting the creativeness and originality of the website design, was
overlooked. Future research could examine the impact of website aes-
thetics from both the expressive and classical perspectives and attempt
to determine which of the two has the stronger effect on users’ cognitive
processes. Additionally, in the stage of interest, future studies could
investigate the effects of other website evaluation attributes (e.g.,
10
Electronic Commerce Research and Applications 35 (2019) 100856
interactivity, personalization) to better understand how desire is cre-
ated in customers’ minds.
Finally, it would be interesting to examine more moderating vari-
ables (e.g., cancellation policy, trust propensity, task-oriented vs. task-
free customers) between search intentions and purchase intentions to
better understand how within-site search activities increase purchases.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for
the Central Universities (Grant No. JBK 1801039).
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