Determinants and service quality dimensions of purchase intention towards peer-to-peer accommodation in Malaysia

• Main Author: Wong, Tze Sheng
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: HC79 Special topics Including air pollution, automation, consumer demand, famines, flow of funds, etc.
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/39080/1/24%20PAGES.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/39080/4/FULLTEXT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/39080/

Peer-to-peer accommodation is a type of accommodation that possesses unique characteristics which involves more personal interactions between host and guest. Peer-to-peer accommodation has been growing rapidly worldwide that it has changed the way travellers accommodate at their destinations. Thus, the purpose of this research is to understand the determinants and service quality dimensions of the purchase intention towards peer-to-peer accommodation in order to make this business model sustainable in Malaysia. This study also extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour impact on the peer-to-peer accommodation and identifies the strategies to overcome the challenges in the context of peer-to-peer accommodation in Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory sequential mixed methods approach is implemented in this study. Ten peer-to-peer accommodation hosts and 15 peer-to-peer accommodation guests are interviewed in the qualitative research approach. Subsequently, 391 samples are collected through the questionnaire survey in the quantitative research approach. The results revealed that feeling like a home, local cultural experience and price competitiveness of determinants as well as home facilities and personal advice of service quality dimensions significantly affect the purchase intention towards peer-to-peer accommodation with or without attitude as the mediator. This thesis also demonstrated the position of Theory of Planned Behaviour in the hospitality industry in term of its applicability whereby attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control were proved to significantly influence the purchase intention towards peer-to-peer accommodation. Additionally, this research unveiled the strategies to overcome the challenges of peer-to-peer accommodation during COVID-19, namely re-pricing, long-term rental and downsizing. Lastly, this thesis discussed its contributions in term of the theoretical implications and practical implications. As for theoretical contribution, the current research distinguished peer-to-peer accommodation from hotels in terms of the determinants of purchase intention and service quality dimensions. This research also demonstrated the applicability position of Theory of Planned Behaviour in the context of peer-to-peer accommodation in Malaysia. As for practical contributions, this research yielded enormously amount of precious managerial information for the practitioners in order to improve the overall peer-to-peer accommodation sector. In addition to making practical implications, this research also addressed the strategies to overcome the challenges of peer-to-peer accommodation during COVID-19 in Malaysia.