A STUDY ON BRAND EQUITY OF

ONLINE TOURISM ENTERPRISES

BASED ON USER VALUE
CO-CREATION
Han Shen, Xinge Li and Yangfan Zhang

ABSTRACT
With the development of tourism industry, online travel agencies (OTA)
have gradually become an important channel for tourism product supplies
and sales. Some OTAs provide consumers with a platform for tourism guid-
ance and online travel sharing. They not only satisfy some tourists’ desire to
share their experiences but also provide reference for more consumers to
choose travel products. This process is the process of value co-creation by
customers and online travel companies. This study is conducted under DART
theory, a theoretical framework of value co-creation composed of four dimen-
sions, namely dialog, access, risk-assessment, and transparency. Brand equity
is divided into four aspects: brand loyalty, brand awareness, customer per-
ceived value, and brand image. This study uses the structural equation model
to investigate the impact of customer value co-creation behavior on brand
equity of online travel enterprises and interprets the process and mechanism
of customer value co-creation behaviors for online travel business brand
equity, which provides more efficient strategies and methods for platform
interaction and value co-creation.
Keywords: Value co-creation; DART model; online travel agencies;
brand equity; travel experience sharing; online interaction

Advances in Hospitality and Leisure, Volume 14, 111 130

Copyright r 2019 by Emerald Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 1745-3542/doi:10.1108/S1745-354220180000014007
111
112 HAN SHEN ET AL.

INTRODUCTION
As an important part of the tourism industry chain, online travel websites have
become the most common channel for tourists to obtain travel information, pro-
ducts reservation, and service evaluation. Online travel agencies provide online
review platforms for consumers, where users publish and share their travel
experiences, post private travel tips, and communicate with each other. A large
proportion of the value of these online travel websites comes from consumers’
creation. This value creation process is jointly completed by enterprises and con-
sumers, which is called customer value co-creation. Value co-creation is an
important research field of service economy in recent years. This study took
online travel guide websites such as Mafengwo and Qyer as examples and used
structural equation modeling to study the impact of customer value co-creation
behavior on brand equity of online travel websites, and provides corresponding
strategies and methods for online platform interaction and value creation.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of consumer value co-
creation behavior on brand equity of online travel websites. In this paper, we
test the reliability and validity of the questionnaire; propose 12 hypotheses on
the influence of value co-creation on brand trust, consumer perceived value,
brand loyalty, and brand association; and construct a structural equation model.
This paper makes a new contribution to the literature, by constructing, validat-
ing, and modifying DART theory in the online travel community context.
Online travel guide websites such as Mafengwo and Qyer were taken as
examples in this study. Mafengwo is a user-generated content (UGC) commu-
nity, the biggest Chinese travel experience online community. It focuses on
travel guidance and sharing travel stories, and presents product links from
Airbnb, Booking, Agoda, etc. Qyer is a Chinese leading travel search engine. It
provides consumers with real-time search for airline tickets, hotels, conference
venues and vacation products, travel products group purchases, and other travel
information services. It also provides travel industry partners with online tech-
nology and mobile technology solutions.
Based on the study of the online value co-creation behaviors on these plat-
forms, the authors conduct a quantitative research and discuss the role of value
co-creation in travel industry in China. According to the analysis results, corre-
sponding strategies and methods for online platform interaction and value co-
creation were proposed.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Value Co-creation Theory
The value co-creation theory gradually formed in the last decade. Prahalad and
Ramaswamy (2000) pointed out that customer is an important asset for enter-
prises. With the deepening of the communication between consumers and enter-
prises, customers’ access to information increases, and consumers begin to judge
the pricing mechanism and negotiate with the company. This change requires
the transformation of company’s operational modes, such as financial systems,
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 113

human resources evaluation, etc. Meanwhile, consumers are changing from pas-
sive observers of a production process to active participants.
Under the traditional model, value creation takes place within the enterprise
and consumers are excluded from the process, while high-quality interaction allows
individual consumers to participate in value creation. Value co-creation is not cus-
tomer-centric; it means that consumers and enterprises create value together. For
the establishment of value co-creation interaction, the Dialog, Access, Risk-
Assessment, and Transparency (DART) theory can be used as a framework.
The concept of value co-creation appeared in China relatively late, and most
of the studies still remain on the analysis of the logic, paradigm, and development
process of value co-creation theory. Wu and Chen (2012) summarized the forma-
tion and development of value co-creation theory. Ren, Xu, and Liang (2014)
established a hypothesis model based on the DART theory, developed question
items through questionnaires, verified the influence of dialog, access, risk-
assessment and transparency on value co-creation, created a theoretical model of
value co-creation, and contributed to the scale development of the theory.
Co-creating value in travel experiences mainly focuses on making consumers,
destination setting, and tourism service enterprises participate in the creation
process. Prebensen, Chen, and Uysal (2014) proposed that if consumers have
become a part in value creation process, that is, become co-producer, consumer
perceived value is more likely to improve the travel experience. Travel experi-
ence and tourist loyalty can also be influenced by other factors. Li (2013) investi-
gated 565 tourists by questionnaire and constructed a structural equation model.
The findings show personal characteristics, leading position, information
exchange, and tourist site supply have influence on value co-creation behavior,
which affect both tourism experience value and tourist loyalty. Ranaswamy and
Francis (2010) proposed that value co-creation is not limited to the introduction
of consumer at the end of the value chain. In fact, all stakeholders in the entire
value chain, from shareholders to raw materials supplies, can be integrated.
With the improvement and development of the aforementioned theories,
some scholars began to use value co-creation for analysis. Prebensen, Chen, and
Uysal (2017) brought forward a theoretical framework to analyze the dimen-
sions of value co-creation behaviors in tourism and their impact on the travel
experience. Zhang, Cai, and Zhao (2015) analyzed the role of value co-creation
theory in actual situation based on DART theory. Enterprises can communicate
with customers through the network platform and establish a relatively complete
customer value co-creation system to make their products more competitive.

Brand Equity
Keller (1993) proposed the concept of brand equity from the perspective of con-
sumers, that is, differentiated responses to brand marketing resulted from brand
knowledge in consumers’ minds. Brand knowledge is an important factor of cre-
ating brand equity. He divided the concept of brand knowledge into two dimen-
sions: brand recognition and brand image, and proposed Consumer-Based
Brand Equity (CBBE) model, based on consumer brand equity model.
114 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Blackston (1995) understood brand equity as brand value and brand conno-
tation. Brand connotation includes brand characteristics, brand association, and
brand personality. Aaker (2012) defined brand equity as a series of brand assets
and liabilities related to a certain brand, brand name, and logo which can
increase or decrease the value of the company and/or consumers through pro-
ducts or services. He believes that based on the perspective of consumers, brand
equity could be divided into five dimensions: brand awareness, brand associa-
tion, perceived quality, proprietary brand equity, and brand loyalty.
By comparing different definitions of brand equity, three representative con-
ceptual models of brand equity were summarized: financial accounting concep-
tual model, market-based brand power model, and consumer-based concept
model. Lu, Huang, and Luo (2000) put forward the concept of brand equity
based on “brand value,” which has become a mainstream understanding of
brand equity concept in China.
In the Internet era, consumers pay more and more attention to the consumer
experience, and countless consumers’ experience and cognition constitute the pre-
resources for consumer value co-creation. Based on the online community plat-
form, Guan, Geng, and Chen (2018) proposed that consumer experience has been
positively applied to brand equity. Ma, Cheng, and Bu (2014) constructed a con-
ceptual model based on consumer perspectives and investigated the impact of
brand alliances on brand equity. The results show that brand equity, match degree
of the partner brand, and brand evaluation perform a positive relationship.
The subject of this research is the influence of customer value co-creation on
the brand assets of online travel companies. Therefore, the theory related to
brand equity studied in this paper is based on the theoretical model of consu-
mers. Lassar, Mittal, and Sharma (1995) interpreted brand equity as five dimen-
sions: social image, perceived performance, value, trustworthiness, and brand
attachment. Motameni and Shahrokhi (1998) summarized previous achieve-
ments and proposed four dimensions of brand equity: brand awareness, brand
association, perceived value, and brand strength.
With the rapid development of the Internet, the concept of brand equity has
gradually been adopted by Internet companies. Christodoulides and Chernatony
(2004) studied both online brand equity and nononline brand equity. For online
brand equity, ten dimensions based on consumer measurement are proposed:
online brand experience, interaction, customization, relevance, website design,
customer service, order fulfillment, brand relationship quality, brand commu-
nity, and weblog. This is a complete theoretical result that combined the brand
equity theory with the network brand. Christodoulides, Chernatony, Furrer,
Shiu, and Abimbola (2006) proposed a two-tier measurement model for online
retail and service brand equity, namely emotional connection (attribution, care,
resonance), online experience (easy to use, navigation, speed), service response
(responsive, interaction), trust (security and privacy), and order fulfillment
(accuracy and delivery).
A series of studies on the dimensions of brand equity were conducted. Wei
and Wang (2003) investigated the factors of brand equity, and through the
empirical research and data analysis of 100 large and medium-sized enterprises,
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 115

they summarized five key factors of brand equity composition: the brand’s mar-
ket, consumer value orientation, brand positioning, brand innovation capabili-
ties, and brand market execution. Jin (2007) combined the content
characteristics of local website brand, built a consumer-based website brand
equity model based on brand equity and online marketing-related theories, and
proposed that the website’s brand equity consists of five dimensions: website per-
ceived quality, brand experience, brand attraction, brand relationship, and
brand loyalty. Li (2014) used brand loyalty and brand association to analyze the
two dimensions of brand equity and used customer perceived value and brand
trust as intermediate variables to study the impact of e-commerce platform ser-
vice quality on brand equity.

METHODOLOGY
Model Construction
This paper uses DART model of value co-creation theory as a theoretical
model. Consumers and enterprises engage in dialog through the market. Dialog
means interaction, deep participation and the willingness, and behavior ability.
In the process of dialog, both consumers and enterprises are working together to
solve problems on an equal footing.
However, in actual situations, dialog sometimes cannot be carried out
smoothly because consumers have difficulties in obtaining relevant information.
In traditional systems, enterprises often rely on unequal information to gain
profit. Through general connectivity, it is possible for the customer to obtain the
information they need by enterprises and other customers. Therefore, access and
transparency are of great importance for the implementation of dialogs.
Dialog, access, and transparency make consumers more involved in the value
creation process. Consumers and enterprises become value creators. They
demand more information about products and services, but will also assume
more responsibility for risk. Thus, the fourth dimension in the model is risk-
assessment. DART model theory adopted in this paper is shown in Fig. 1.
According to the relevant literature on brand equity and the combination
with online travel companies, four dimensions are selected in this paper for
brand equity: brand trust, customer perceived value, brand loyalty, and brand
association.
Brand trust refers to the sense of security generated by consumers interacting
with brands and has a sense of reliability and trust in their interests and benefits.
This paper uses Elena and Jose (2001)’s research on brand trust of e-commerce
platforms, which concluded that brand trust consists of two dimensions: reliabil-
ity and intentionality.
Customer perceived value is a trade-off between the perceived benefits of the
e-commerce platform brand and the costs it pays when consumers purchase pro-
ducts or services online, which results in an evaluation of the overall utility of
the e-commerce platform brand (Zeithaml, 1988). Customer value perception in
academia generally tends to use two perspectives: customer value gain and
116 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Dialog

Transparency Co-creation of value Access

Risk-assessment

Fig. 1. DART Model.

customer value loss. Customer value gain mainly includes functional value,
social value, emotional value, and intellectual value; customer perceived value
loss mainly includes monetary cost, energy cost, and psychological cost.
A loyal consumer means barriers to entry, price premium base, reaction time
to competitor innovation, and barriers to prevent vicious price competition
(Aaker, 2012).
Keller (1993) used different brand association facets to measure brand image
and classified the connotation of brand association into three types: attribute
association, that is, attribute association has descriptive characteristics about
products or services; benefits association, that is, personal value that consumers
give to the attributes of a product or services, and is also what consumers think
the product or service can do for them; attitude association, the consumers’
overall brand evaluation, which is the basis for forming consumer behavior.
Based on the aforementioned value co-creation theory and the selection of
brand equity dimensions, we built the model as follows as shown in Fig. 2.

Hypothesis Test
Brand trust can be divided into brand reliability and brand intentionality
(Elena & Jose, 2001). It refers to the sense of security that consumers interact
with the brand and a subjective willingness to trust the brand to perform what it
claims to have. The dialog in the value co-creation theory enables consumers to
communicate and interact well with the brand and avoid misunderstanding and
delay in solving problems. The access to co-creation of value theory ensures con-
sumers’ mastery of brand information and enhances their trust and sense of
security. The risk-assessment makes the consumers reduce the concerns arising
from the interaction with the brand, makes it more willing to interact with the
brand, and enhances the reliability of the brand. Therefore, we make the
assumptions of the value creation theory and brand trust:
H1-1. The dialog of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on
brand trust.
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 117

Value co-creation Brand equity

Dialog Brand trust

Access Consumer
perceived value

Risk-
assessment Brand loyalty

Transparency Brand
association

Fig. 2. The Model of Impact of Value Creation on Brand Equity.

H1-2. The access of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on

brand trust.
H1-3. The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand trust.
H1-4. The transparency of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand trust.
In this study, customer perceived value is divided into functional value and
emotional value. The functional value mainly refers to the value perception of
the product information richness, convenience of shopping, and cost savings
that consumers can experience in the shopping process (Yang & Zhou, 2006).
The functional value of customer perceived value includes whether the informa-
tion provided on the site is rich, whether the update is timely, whether it helps
customers, and so on. Emotional value refers to the emotional effects that con-
sumers obtain from products or services, such as whether or not they are happy
when using the site. The dialog, access, and transparency of value co-creation
strengthen the communication between consumers and these travel guide web-
sites. The website will better understand the consumers’ expectations and needs
so that consumers can get what they need in the use process. Meanwhile, risk-
assessment makes consumers feel more comfortable using the website.
Therefore, we make the following assumptions:
H2-1. The dialog of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on cus-
tomer perceived value.
H2-2. The access of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on cus-
tomer perceived value.
H2-3. The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on customer perceived value.
H2-4. The transparency of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on customer perceived value.
118 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Brand loyalty means a consumer’s preference for a brand, including market

barriers, price premiums, reaction time for competitor innovation, and barriers
to guard against vicious price competition (Aaker, 2012). In this research, we
investigated brand loyalty, which includes whether a certain website is a priority
choice for users and compared to other substitute products that this website is
still the first choice for users (Jin, 2007; Yoo & Donthu, 2001). In value co-
creation theory, good communication makes consumers more accustomed to
and prefer to use a certain tourism guide website. Its risk-assessment also
enhances brand trust and thereby enhances brand loyalty. Therefore, we make
the following assumptions:
H3-1. The dialog of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on
brand loyalty.
H3-2. The access of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on
brand loyalty.
H3-3. The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand loyalty.
H3-4. The transparency of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand loyalty.
Brand association includes attributes, interests, and attitudes. Combined with
online travel strategy website, brand association can specifically investigate
whether consumers can recall the identity of the website and interface character-
istics, and whether the tourism strategy can remind the website. The value co-
creation theory enables consumers to have a stronger sense of participation in
travel guide websites, deepening their impressions of various aspects of the web-
site and creating a more real and profound brand image. Therefore, we make
the following assumptions:
H4-1. The dialog of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on
brand association.
H4-2. The access of value co-creation has a significant positive effect on
brand association.
H4-3. The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand association.
H4-4. The transparency of value co-creation has a significant positive effect
on brand association.

RESULTS
Based on the aforementioned assumptions and analysis, literature review, and
the related research on the tourism guide website, we designed the measurement
items of independent variables, four dimensions of value co-creation theory, and
dependent variables, four dimensions of brand equity. Finally we got the follow-
ing variable measurement items (Table 1):
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 119

Table 1. Measurement Items.

Variable No. Content Source

Dialog DIA1 I am able to easily express my Prahalad and Ramaswamy

opinion. (2004), Zhang et al. (2015)
DIA2 I am able to easily
communicate with other users
of the website and post
comments.
DIA3 The service staff of the
website will help me at any
time and efficiently.
Access ACC1 The website’s information
catalog is clear.
ACC2 I am able to easily find the
information and products
I need on the website.
ACC3 The website information is
updated and released in time.
ACC4 The website’s tourism
strategies have a great
influence on the choice of my
travel products.
Risk assessment RIS1 The website does not reveal
my personal information to
other websites.
RIS2 Relevant product links the
website provide is of high
reliability.
RIS3 The website is registered and
withdrawn without
restrictions, costless, and free.
Transparency TRA1 The travel guides on the website
are written by real users.
TRA2 Numbers of comments,
favorites, likes, etc., are all
real data.
Brand Reliability REL1 The website gives me access Elena and Jose (2001), He
trust to the travel guides or (2006)
products I want.
REL2 The website meets my
expectations.
REL3 I have confidence in the
development of the website.
Intentionality INT1 The website is sincere in
solving my problems.
INT2 The website will do its best to
satisfy me.
Consumer Functional FUN1 The website offers a wide Wang and Fesenmaier (2004),
perceived value range of travel guides and Bourdeau, Chebat, and
value products. Couturier (2002), Yang and
FUN2 The website provides real- Zhou (2006), Lei and Zhang
time updates. (2012)
120 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Table 1. (Continued )
Variable No. Content Source

FUN3 The website saves my time,

energy, and money.
Emotional SEN1 The website’s design is Bourdeau (2002); Zhao,
value beautiful. Shan, and Liu (2013)
SEN2 Using the website makes me
feel full of fun.
SEN3 Using the website helps me to
learn a lot.
SEN4 Using the website makes me
feel very enjoyable.
Brand association BAS1 I am able to recognize the Yoo and Donthu (2001),
website in various similar Jin (2007)
websites.
BAS2 When it comes to travel
guides, I think of the website.
BAS3 I am able to quickly think of
the website’s symbols, logos,
and interfaces.
BAS4 I am able to quickly think of
the website’s characteristics.
Brand loyalty BRL1 I think I am loyal to the website.
BRL2 The website is my first choice for
browsing travel guides.
BRL3 If I am able to fine relevant
travel guides on this website,
I will not go to others.

Sampling Technique
In this study, the questionnaire was edited online and posted on “Questionnaire
Star,” a professional questionnaire platform in China. The link of this question-
naire was distributed over WeChat, the most widely used social media in China,
which provides instant messaging and social media services, with 1 billion users
at the beginning of 2018. From May 3, 2016 to May 6, 2016, the questionnaire
was distributed in the method of snowball sampling. A total of 245 question-
naires were collected, of which 245 were valid, with an effective rate of 100%.
This paper uses SPSS and LISREL software to analyze the sample data.

Demographic Characteristics
The demographic characteristics of sample are as follows (Table 2):

Model Test
The normal distribution of sample data is a prerequisite for using structural
equation model. Under normal circumstances, SPSS statistical software was
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 121

Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Sample.

Number Percentage Number Percentage

Gender Income (RMB/m)

Male 95 38.8 No income 113.0 46.1
Female 150 61.2 Under 2,000 26.0 10.6
2,001 4,000 53.0 21.6
Age 4,001 6,000 37.0 15.1
Under 20 9 3.7 6,001 10,000 9.0 3.7
20 25 146 59.6 Above 10,000 7.0 2.9
26 30 14 5.7
31 35 23 9.4 Occupation
36 40 30 12.2 Student 131.0 53.5
41 50 19 7.8 Staff 30.0 12.2
51 60 4 1.6 Manager 12.0 4.9
Education level Civil servant 22.0 9.0
Junior high school and 6 2.4 Farmer 3.0 1.2
below
High school and 31 12.7 Technical worker 16.0 6.5
secondary school
Undergraduate and 188 76.7 Self-employ 2.0 0.8
junior college
Graduate and above 20 8.2 Retiree 2.0 0.8
Total 245 100.0 Unemployment-waiting 4.0 1.6
people, lay-off
Others 23.0 9.4

used to calculate the sample data skewness and Kurtosis coefficient to determine
whether the sample is normally distributed. In this study, the absolute value of
the skewness coefficient is less than 3, and the absolute value of the Kurtosis
coefficient is less than 8. The sample data are basically distributed normally.
Reliability, which is the consistency and reliability of the questionnaire, is often
expressed as internal consistency. In general, α value of the total table is prefera-
bly above 0.8, indicating a good reliability between 0.6 and 0.7. Through SPSS
validity test, we can get the α value of total value as 0.980, with high reliability.
Validity reflects the extent to which the questionnaire accurately measures
things. This research used SPSS 22.0 to conduct Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and
Bartlett test. The test result of KMO is 0.966, indicating that the scale has a good
validity, suitable for the next step analysis. The factor loading for each item is
shown in Table 3:

Structural Equation Model Correction

A total of 8 latent variables were established in this research. The exogenous
latent variables were dialog, access, risk-assessment, and transparency.
122 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Table 3. Factor Loading for Each Observed Variable.

Latent Variable Observed Variable Origin Factor Loading

Dialog DIA1 1.000 0.629

DIA2 1.000 0.701
DIA3 1.000 0.658
Access ACC1 1.000 0.718
ACC2 1.000 0.748
ACC3 1.000 0.619
ACC4 1.000 0.668
Risk assessment RIS1 1.000 0.670
RIS2 1.000 0.643
RIS3 1.000 0.661
Transparency TRA1 1.000 0.669
TRA2 1.000 0.686
Brand trust Reliability REL1 1.000 0.782
REL2 1.000 0.769
REL3 1.000 0.674
Intentionality INT1 1.000 0.698
INT2 1.000 0.775
Consumer perceived value Functional value FUN1 1.000 0.770
FUN2 1.000 0.714
FUN3 1.000 0.707
Emotional value SEN1 1.000 0.774
SEN2 1.000 0.815
SEN3 1.000 0.709
SEN4 1.000 0.784
Brand association BAS1 1.000 0.750
BAS2 1.000 0.797
BAS3 1.000 0.803
BAS4 1.000 0.852
Brand loyalty BRL1 1.000 0.732
BRL2 1.000 0.795
BRL3 1.000 0.613

Endogenous latent variables were brand trust, customer perceived value, brand
association, and brand loyalty. In this research, AMOS was used for data analy-
sis. CMIN/DF (ratio of chi-square and degrees of freedom), normed fit index
(NFI), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), incremental fit index (IFI), comparative fit
index (CFI), and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) were
selected to measure the model fit. The saliency of some of the routes did not
meet the criteria. Therefore, the model needed to be corrected.
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 123

The significance of three paths, namely brand association, risk-assessment for

brand association, and transparency for brand association, is significantly low
than other paths (p > 0.01), indicating that the relevance is not significant. The t-
value of the risk-assessment for the brand association is less than 1.96.
Therefore, the three paths of acquisition for brand association, risk-assessment
for brand association, and transparency for brand association were released.
According to the characteristics of various online travel companies surveyed, we
found that registration to these travel websites only requires username and pass-
word, and is free for using. These are common features and basic characteristics
of such websites and are rarely considered by consumers as the basis for select-
ing a website brand. Therefore, the impact of risk-assessment, an exogenous var-
iable, on brand equity was minimal and has been eliminated. Excluding the
exogenous risk-assessment and then carrying out AMOS, it is found that the sig-
nificance of four paths, namely dialog for brand trust, dialog for brand loyalty,
access for brand loyalty, transparency for brand loyalty, is not strong and the
normalized correlation coefficient is low. Therefore, the four paths are released.
After the aforementioned correction process, the significance of each path
meets the standard (p < 0.01), and the normalized correlation coefficient and t-
value are within the acceptable range. MI is modified based on MI index pro-
vided by AMOS, and the residual error correlation is established to make the
degree of fit meet standard. After the aforementioned amendments, we use
AMOS to rerun the model and get the results as shown in Table 4.
The significance of all path coefficients corrected by the model meets the stan-
dard. The fitness index of six index measurement models, CMIN/DF: 3.355,
NFI: 0.867, GFI: 0.800, IFI: 0.902, CFI: 0.902, and RMSEA: 0.098 also reaches
the standard. So the revised model meets the criteria and can be accepted.
According to the output of AMOS, risk-assessment in the value co-creation
theory is removed, and therefore its relevant assumptions are not valid. Six
paths are released during model adjustment. Based on data analysis results, the
dialog of value co-creation has a significant positive impact on brand association
and brand loyalty; the access of value co-creation has a significant positive
impact on brand trust and customer perceived value; the transparency of value
co-creation has a significant positive impact on brand trust and consumer per-
ceived value. Therefore, hypothesis test results are shown in Table 5.
Based on the aforementioned results, we adjust the initial structural model
and add the standardized path coefficients, and thereby obtain the results of the
structural equation model, as shown in Fig. 3.

DISCUSSION
The Internet has become an indispensable part of people’s lives. As a type of
tourism enterprises that use the Internet platform for development, the online
travel enterprises have become an important development model for the tourism
industry. An important feature of online travel companies is the extensive and
deep participation of consumers. The participation of consumers has become an
important source of the value creation of these websites. It can be said that the
124 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Table 4. AMOS Output after Model Modified.

Variable/Merit Path Coefficient t-Value p-Value

Dialog DIA1 (λX1) 0.694 11.654 ***

DIA2 (λX2) 0.746 13.956 ***
DIA3 (λX3) 0.769
Access ACC1 (λX4) 0.805 11.566 ***
ACC2 (λX5) 0.819 11.452 ***
ACC3 (λX6) 0.801 11.531 ***
ACC4 (λX7) 0.678
Transparency TRA1 (λX11) 0.794 17.888 ***
TRA2 (λX12) 0.830
Brand trust REL1 (λY1) 0.733
REL2 (λY2) 0.766 12.784 ***
REL3 (λY3) 0.706 13.397 ***
INT1 (λY4) 0.741 12.369 ***
INT2 (λY5) 0.782 13.066 ***
Customer perceived value FUN1 (λY6) 0.787
FUN2 (λY7) 0.739 12.982 ***
FUN3 (λY8) 0.745 13.058 ***
SEN1 (λY9) 0.716 12.401 ***
SEN2 (λY10) 0.724 12.641 ***
SEN3 (λY11) 0.733 12.769 ***
SEN4 (λY12) 0.750 13.168 ***
Brand association BAS1 (λY13) 0.844
BAS2 (λY14) 0.884 19.626 ***
BAS3 (λY15) 0.887 19.592 ***
BAS4 (λY16) 0.906 18.771 ***
Brand loyalty BRL1 (λY17) 0.786
BRL2 (λY18) 0.853 17.061 ***
BRL3 (λY19) 0.736 14.133 ***
Dialog ——> Brand association γ 0.929 13.872 ***
Dialog ——> Brand loyalty 0.943 13.101 ***
Access ——> Brand trust 0.625 11.227 ***
Access ——> Customer perceived value 0.634 10.327 ***
Transparency ——> Brand trust 0.808 13.434 ***
Transparency ——> Customer perceived value 0.777 14.102 ***

Notes: ***p < 0.01. All path coefficients are standardized path coefficients.

value of these websites is largely created by online travel companies and consu-
mers. This research analyzes the interactive platform of online travel enterprises
such as Mafengwo and Qyer to study the impact of consumer value co-creation
on brand equity of online travel enterprises. We used the DART theory of value
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 125

Table 5. Hypothesis Test Results.

Research Hypothesis Test
Result

The impact of value co- H1-1 The dialog of value co-creation has a significant Not
creation on brand trust positive impact on brand trust. valid
H1-2 The access of value co-creation has a significant Valid
positive impact on brand trust.
H1-3 The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on brand trust. valid
H1-4 The transparency of value co-creation has a Valid
significant positive impact on brand trust.
The impact of value co- H2-1 The dialog of value co-creation has a significant Not
creation on consumer positive impact on consumer perceived value. valid
perceived value H2-2 The access of value co-creation has a significant Valid
positive impact on consumer perceived value.
H2-3 The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on consumer perceived valid
value.
H2-4 The transparency of value co-creation has a Valid
significant positive impact on consumer perceived
value.
The impact of value co- H3-1 The dialog of value co-creation has a significant Valid
creation on brand loyalty positive impact on brand loyalty.
H3-2 The access of value co-creation has a significant Not
positive impact on brand loyalty. valid
H3-3 The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on brand loyalty. valid
H3-4 The transparency of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on brand loyalty. valid
The impact of value co- H4-1 The dialog of value co-creation has a significant Valid
creation on brand association positive impact on brand association.
H4-2 The access of value co-creation has a significant Not
positive impact on brand association. valid
H4-3 The risk-assessment of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on brand association. valid
H4-4 The transparency of value co-creation has a Not
significant positive impact on brand association. valid

co-creation and literature review on brand equity to establish a structural model

of value co-creation—brand equity, and conducted questionnaire surveys,
revealing the impact of consumer value co-creation on brand equity of online
travel enterprises.

The Impact of Consumer Co-creation of Value on Brand Trust

This research finds that among the four factors of value co-creation theory, the
impact of dialog and risk-assessment on brand trust is not significant, while the
126 HAN SHEN ET AL.

Y1

0.733
Y2
X1
0.766
0.694 Y3
0.706
X2 0.746 Y4
Dialog Brand trust 0.741

0.782
0.625 Y5
X3 0.769

Y6

X4 0.787
Y7
0.805
0.739
X5 0.745 Y8
0.819
Access Consumer
0.634 perceived 0.716
Y9
0.801 value
X6
0.777 0.724
0.678 Y10
0.733
X7
0.750 Y11
0.808

0.929 Y12

0.844
Brand Y13
X11 association 0.884
0.794
Y14
Transparency 0.887
0.830 0.943
X12 Y15
0.906

Y16
Brand 0.786
loyalty
Y17
0.8533

Y18
0.736
Y19

Fig. 3. The Results of the Structural Equation Model.

positive impact on brand trust (0.625) and transparency on brand trust (0.808)
are relatively large. This shows that the consumers’ access to brand-related
information, whether it comes from the website brand itself or other consumers,
is very valued. The access of such information makes its trust in the travel web-
site enhanced; at the same time, its transparency makes consumers believe that
they can obtain more real and effective advice through the website so as to
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 127

increase the website brand trust. Dialog interaction, as a basic form of co-
creation of consumers’ participation in website value, has no significant effect
on brand trust. The registration of each website requires basically a username
and e-mail address. It does not involve other personal privacy, and the registra-
tion is free. Therefore, the security risk is relatively low, and the impact of risk-
assessment on brand trust is low and not significant.

The Impact of Consumer Value Co-creation on Consumer Perceived Value

In this research, among the four factors of value co-creation DART theory, the
impact of dialog and risk-assessment on customer perceived value is not signifi-
cant, while the impact of access and transparency on customer perceived value
is significant and its standardized path coefficient is 0.634 and 0.777, respec-
tively. The effective access of information makes the use of travel website effec-
tive for the consumer and enables the consumer to achieve the purpose of
browsing travel websites and therefore has a positive influence on the functional
value of the customer perceived value; and such use process will also make con-
sumers feel good physically and mentally, and thus achieve better emotional
value. Transparency, on the other hand, allows consumers to obtain information
with a high degree of credibility. Consumers can find suitable tourism guidance
or products, and expand knowledge about tourism destinations, and thereby
increase the functional and emotional value.

The Impact of Consumer Value Co-creation on Brand Association

Based on the AMOS output results, among the four factors of value co-creation
DART theory, only dialog has a significant positive effect on brand association
in brand equity (0.929), and access, risk-assessment, and transparency are not
significant for brand association. This shows that consumers value smooth and
efficient communication, good communication methods, and platform design. A
good dialog can leave consumers a good impression on travel websites, help to
establish a good brand image, make consumers believe that the brand meets
their expectations, and be preferred in product competition.
From the research results, we can see that establishment of a good brand
image and relevant brand association is mainly in the process of dialog. The
interaction between each other makes this association established and deepened.
Unilateral access to information, risk-assessment, and transparency have no sig-
nificant impact on brand association.

The Impact of Consumer Value Co-creation on Brand Loyalty

Based on the AMOS output results, among the four factors of value co-creation
DART theory, only dialog has a significant positive impact on brand loyalty in
brand equity (0.943), and access, risk-assessment, and transparency are not signifi-
cant for brand association. A loyal consumer means entering market barriers, price
premium bases, reaction time to competitors’ innovations, and barriers to guard
against vicious price competition (Aaker, 2012). Good dialogs help consumers
128 HAN SHEN ET AL.

establish a good interaction with online travel enterprises, increase mutual under-
standing, enhance consumer acceptance and preference of the brand, and cultivate
consumers’ spending habits, thus establishing consumer brand loyalty. As consu-
mers’ safety requirements for online travel websites, risk-assessment, and transpar-
ency are more basic and cannot be an important factor affecting their degree of
preference and loyalty. Access to information channels lacks interaction between
each other, and therefore there is no significant impact on brand loyalty.

CONCLUSION
According to the results of this study, the impact of consumer value co-creation
on brand equity of online travel enterprises was analyzed. The DART theory is
validated as a valid tool for the analysis of value co-creation on brand equity.
To achieve long-term development, an online travel company should estab-
lish its own brand and corresponding consumer base, cultivate consumer loyalty,
and set up a good image. The managerial implications are explicated in the fol-
lowing aspects:

Ensure Platform System Quality

The platform is a place where value co-creation activities take place, and it is also
the value of these travel websites. The important step for consumer participation
in value co-creation is to engage in dialog and interaction with the company or
other consumers through platform provided by the online travel enterprises.
Meanwhile, this platform is also a channel for consumers to obtain information.
First, it is necessary to ensure the normal operation of platform’s technical
equipment and help the background system malfunction not affect the normal
use. The good operation of the platform provides consumers with a
stable website environment so that consumers are able to use the website at any
time, complete the access and distribution of information, communicate with
other consumers, and generate trust on the platform.
Second, the design of travel websites should be simple and easy to use, with a
clear interface. The convenience of use can increase the functional value of consu-
mers, and gracefulness of page design will make consumers feel good physically
and mentally, which has a great influence on customer perceived value, trust and
preference of consumers on the travel website, and thereby affects brand equity.

Ensure Information Quality

The travel guidance on the website and related product links are its main products.
Consumers obtain the knowledge and products they want through browsing travel
guidance and actively participate in publishing and creation, and jointly create
values. The quality of travel guidance and product links is needed to ensure protec-
tion. Quality-assured information increase consumer trust and loyalty to the brand.
First, the comprehensiveness of information should be ensured. The compre-
hensive information and diverse categories will enable consumers to find what
they need more specifically and accurately so that the travel website can better
A Study on Brand Equity of Online Tourism Enterprises 129

meet the various needs of consumers, thus establishing a good brand image and
enhancing consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty. For example, travel websites
use tourist destinations as a standard of classification. They set up different sec-
tions of each destination such as food, accommodation, travel and play, and dis-
play various types of information in a clear and comprehensive manner.
Second, the information timeliness should be kept, that is, update the news in
time. With the rapid development of tourism, tourism destinations and tourism
enterprises are also constantly adjusting tourism products according to the needs
of consumers. Updating these changes in real time and providing the latest news
will help increase the functional value of the site's brand and increase consumer
confidence in it.
Besides, we should ensure information consistency. When a travel guide web page
is equipped with relevant product links, it is necessary to guarantee that the link is
consistent with the guideline description. It is not possible to link a travel guide that
does not match a travel product for a certain product. This enhances the reliability of
product information and makes consumers trust more in the website brand.

Build Platform Community

Users of travel websites are basically registered members and some anonymous
visitors, while large-scale interactive platform users are concentrated in interactive
media such as Wechat, QQ, and Renren. These are all the widely used online
communities in China, for example, Renren is a real-name social networking plat-
form in China. Users can interact with each other on this platform, share informa-
tion and user-generated content, play online games, listen to music, participate in
group purchases, and so on. QQ is an instant messenger tool, which supports
online chat, video calls, point-to-point resuming files, shared files, network drives,
mailboxes, and can be connected to a variety of communication terminals.
Therefore, travel websites should work with these interactive media to create plat-
form communities that enable content sharing and immediate delivery among
each other. For example, functions of microblogging forwarding, Wechat
moments, QQ space forwarding on the travel guidance release page make it possi-
ble to combine with these more used interactive media to broaden the consumer
circle and deepen the existing consumers’ dialog and interactions. They link the
travel guide website with their lives, and also facilitate the consumers to store and
collect travel guidance and travel information from the travel websites.

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