The power of website quality in driving customer loyalty in hotel industry: exploring a mediation model

Purpose This study aims to propose and test a conceptual model that represents customer perceived ethicality (CPE) and customer perceived website service quality (CPWSQ), in which both are combined to investigate the underlying mechanism by which hotel website quality (HWQ) influences customer loyalty (CL). Design/methodology/approach This study uses quantitative and partial least square structural equation modeling to analyze the data collected from 457 hotel guests. Findings The findings confirm that HWQ is positively associated with CL, CPE and CPWSQ. Moreover, CPE and CPWSQ mediates the relationship between CPE-CL and CPWSQ-CL. This study also validated that CPE and CPWSQ are positively associated with CL. Originality/value This study contributes to ethical and consumer behavioral literature by demonstrating the influence of HWQ on CL, CPE and CPWSQ. Furthermore, it uncovers the mechanisms through which HWQ affects CL, using signaling theory and stakeholder theory, which prior studies ignored.