1-s2.0-S0268401224000057-main

International Journal of Information Management 76 (2024) 102757
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt
Research article
Artificial intelligence innovation of tourism businesses: From satisfied

tourists to continued service usage intention
Edward C.S. Ku a, *, 1, Chun-Der Chen b, 2
a
National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Department of Travel Management, No.1, Songhe Rd., Xiaogang Dist., Kaohsiung City 81271, Taiwan, ROC
b
Department of Business Administration, Ming Chuan University, No. 130, Jihe Rd., Shihlin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan, ROC
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The study analyzes how tourism businesses satisfy customers through artificial intelligence innovation services.
Artificial intelligence Based on the socio-technical system perspective and emotions, the research framework was proposed and
Socio-technical systems analyzed using the partial least squares (PLS-SEM) approach. By collecting questionnaire data over two years
Emotions
(2022 and 2023 from Beijing, Hangzhou, Taipei, and Singapore) and conducting in-depth interviews with a well-
Tourism businesses
known travel agency and AI service development company in Taiwan, this could thus provide a combination of
Functional benefits
quantitative and qualitative evidence to enhance the study’s validity. Our research findings indicate that AI
innovation and new product advantage significantly enhance functional benefits, strengthening tourist satis
faction and continued AI service usage intention. However, the moderating effects of positive user experience
and perceived anthropomorphism are not supported. Building upon the previous research results, this study
proposes relevant theoretical contributions, practical implications, and insightful suggestions for tourism busi
nesses seeking to implement AI services to improve customer satisfaction.
1. Introduction Hotels have also integrated room keys with mobile apps, enabling guests
to access their rooms directly by scanning the app on a door lock (Binesh
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant impact on tourism busi & Baloglu, 2023). In food service, robots are used in food delivery and
nesses (Dwivedi et al., 2021; Hradecky et al., 2022) as AI is based on the automated ordering systems (Rasheed, He, Khizar, Abbas, 2023). Travel
capabilities of machines to perform cognitive functions related to the agencies have introduced chatbots to assist travelers with itinerary
human mind through computation (Dwivedi et al., 2023; Hradecky planning and recommendations (Lalicic & Weismayer, 2021).
et al., 2022). From the socio-technical systems perspective, tourism AI-powered services have significantly enhanced the travel industry’s
products provided by tourism businesses will integrate a large amount of service processes, product quality, and customer satisfaction.
data processed in a cloud computing system (Ben Yahia et al., 2021; From the perspective of AI innovation, researchers have conducted
Schuhbert et al., 2023). Moreover, in a sharp benefit of robotics service transformational studies on the functions and strategies of AI applica
(Rasheed, He, Khizar, Abbas, 2023; Wong, Tan, Ooi, Dwivedi, 2023), tions (Lv et al., 2022; Schuhbert et al., 2023). Tourism businesses play a
analyzing the interactive use of social and artificial intelligence tech dual role in the industry. On the one hand, they enhance resource dis
nologies can help develop more intelligent applications for tourism tribution to gain a competitive advantage and satisfy tourists (Diaz et al.,
companies and improve tourist satisfaction, which is of great help to 2023). On the other hand, these businesses provide experiential services
tourism businesses. that deeply resonate with tourists, often leveraging AI innovation.
This study analyzes how tourism businesses can satisfy their cus Accordingly, from the perspective of emotions, perceived anthropo
tomers through AI innovations and applications. Since 2021, the tourism morphism (Spatola & Wudarczyk, 2021) and positive user experience
industry has witnessed an increase in innovative AI services. For (Serrano et al., 2021) attract tourists repurchase behavior, which may
example, the hotel industry has adopted unmanned check-in services cause alternate emotional reactions that affect brand loyalty to tourism
that allow guests to verify their identities through facial recognition. businesses.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: edwardku@mail.nkuht.edu.tw (E.C.S. Ku).
1
ORCID: 0000–0002-4412–4908
2
ORCID: 0000–0002-2840–984X
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2024.102757
Received 2 August 2022; Received in revised form 6 November 2023; Accepted 15 January 2024
Available online 25 January 2024
0268-4012/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
E.C.S. Ku and C.-D. Chen International Journal of Information Management 76 (2024) 102757
Tourism businesses have applied AI services to examine the re to the company. Tourism businesses must strengthen and develop
lationships among the service quality of businesses, perceived value, and long-term relationships between brands and consumers (Khan & Abbas,
tourist satisfaction (Dwivedi et al., 2023). From a competitive perspec 2023), and incorporating green marketing can enhance experiential
tive, functional benefits from tourists are a significant factor for tourists, marketing practices.
and AI innovation can enhance the advantage for tourism businesses. On
the other hand, the anthropomorphism of AI applications can foster a 2.3. AI innovation in tourism businesses
warmer service experience (Kaya et al., 2022). Thus, tourism businesses
need to consider how to use AI innovation to transform user experiences Tourism businesses develop when it is increasingly difficult for en
into more valuable services, employing a flexible business model. The trepreneurs to distance themselves from elements that maintain specific
innovation and transformation of tourism businesses revolve around strategic thinking and behavior (Zaragoza-Saez et al., 2022) (Dwivedi
consumer experiences. In addition to modular merchandise services, et al., 2021). AI innovation allows tourists to express travel experiences
tourism businesses could provide AI-based customized services in to bypass tourism businesses (Suder et al., 2022). It also clarifies some of
response to the tourism supply chain, speed up development, and utilize the reforms of AI on tourism business operations, focusing on enhancing
cross-industry cooperation and cross-domain integration to create a resource distribution to gain a competitive advantage (Krakowski et al.,
unique service experience for tourists. 2022; Sun, Xu et al., 2022) and satisfy tourists (Li & Zhang, 2022).
The structure of this study is as follows: First, we outline our research Accordingly, AI also plays a vital role in innovation and sustaining
objectives, purposes, and theoretical background, followed by a detailed competitive advantages for tourism businesses; however, critical dif
description of the methodology and the use of PLS_SEM for the statistical ferences regarding the effects of diverse, dynamic capabilities remain.
analysis, which leads to our results. Finally, we discuss the implications Tourism businesses must adopt AI as a unique business model and
of our results and provide recommendations for future studies. carefully select cooperative suppliers in dynamically competitive
environments.
2. Literature review The development of artificial intelligence has improved the pro
duction efficiency of Chinese enterprises (B.B. Xie, Gong et al., 2023; C.
2.1. The perspective of socio-technical systems H. Xie, Gong et al., 2023; Yang et al., 2023), and the incorporation of
artificial intelligence is critical to building intelligent automation tech
The socio-technical system perspective refers to the combination of nologies for a sustainable future of tourism (Tong et al., 2022); the ap
“society” and “technology” as a complex, interdependent system which plications of AI in tourism businesses scenarios, travel distribution,
explains and improves the design and performance of organizational outbound travel, and travel itinerary planning include (1) The interac
techniques (Wang, Dilanchiev et al., 2022). From this perspective, tion between "technology and people," such as the impact of
tourism businesses must rely on vast amounts of tourist-related data human-computer interaction on services, and human-machine hybrid
processed in cloud computing systems. organization (Rasheed, He, Khizar, Abbas, 2023); since the tourism in
We argue that AI innovation (Dwivedi et al., 2021; Wong, Tan, Ooi, dustry is Taiwan’s most valuable economic industry, the Taiwan Lantern
Dwivedi, 2023) and new product advantage (Kumar, 2023) are two Festival, for example, makes full use of AI innovative technology to
determinants from the socio-technical system perspective. Research on allow the public to enjoy the 360-degree lantern festival scene, creating
tourism products suggests that product advantage can be fully satisfied mobile business opportunities and multimedia services to market city
by businesses’ information and communications technology (ICT) tourism < https://www.ndc.gov.tw/nc_8456_29930> (2) The relation
innovation (Kumar, 2023). These technological developments increased ship between technology and emotions in service (Allal-Cherif, 2022);
the number of potential tourists, usage for sharing destination infor with the support and encouragement of China’s national policies, the
mation, and shared experiences, thereby favoring the tourism number of innovative artificial intelligence entrepreneurs has increased
businesses. significantly (Miao, 2020); and (3) Service failure and service recovery
In tourism business development, AI depends on ICT innovation. caused by AI assist (Lv et al., 2022) (Kim et al., 2023), it is essential to
Tourism businesses collect and transmit essential data by establishing understand consumer responses to AI and its sustainable development.
high-speed communication networks (Bencsik et al., 2023; Waqar et al., Tourism businesses need AI and employees with specific skills to provide
2023). The interaction between society and technology helps tourism instant tourist service.
businesses develop competitive information (Abou-Foul et al., 2023; Ben We integrate the views of AI using two approaches: socio-technical
Yahia et al., 2021). Therefore, entrepreneurs must consider emerging systems and the perspective of emotions. Previous research has exam
technologies as critical indicators for transforming tourism businesses. ined robot-based applications and services in the restaurant industry,
the impact of AI on restaurants’ operational costs, and the quality of
2.2. The perspective of emotions service to tourists (Nam et al., 2021). Similarly, hotels use AI technology
to solve factors such as tourist data information, booking uncertainty,
Various conceptual paradigms in many AI-related disciplines and other factors with their parallel processing capabilities, adapt
consider emotional perspectives (Jiang et al., 2022; Li et al., 2023). ability, and good fault tolerance (Shuqair et al., 2022). Moreover, AI can
From the perspective of emotions, perceived anthropomorphism solve operational problems through nonlinear analysis and compensate
(Chiang et al., 2022; Spatola & Wudarczyk, 2021; B. Li et al., 2023; Y. Li for the inadequacies of traditional lodging industry forecasting methods
et al., 2023) and positive user experience (Gunay et al., 2022; Hsu & (Wang, 2022). AI algorithms have also been used by travel business
Lee, 2023) play crucial roles. Customer emotion mediates the relation marketers to forecast tourism demand (Li et al., 2021). Companies
ship between voice AI service failure and customer complaint behavior leverage AI innovation to adjust to sudden variations, risks, and op
(B. Li et al., 2023; Y. Li et al., 2023), implying that enterprises’ AI-based portunities in their operational strategies.
chatbots can affect customers’ emotions and develop countermeasures. Tourism businesses want to manage their environments to benefit
Previous studies have demonstrated that brand experience significantly from AI innovations. Moreover, dynamic capability theory
emotionally affects brand loyalty (J.N. Sun, Xu et al., 2022; Y. Sun, Xu indicates that tourism businesses must integrate adjustable resources
et al., 2022), especially the relationship between consumer passion for a and best practices in an information-rich environment to successfully
brand, self-brand connection, and brand emotion. Furthermore, because explore the basis of competition, which meets tourist demand for
tourists’ views are internal and personal, brand experiences must be products and services in a fluctuating and fast-moving market environ
attuned to their unique and complex emotions ( (Wang et al., 2023), as ment. From an emotional perspective, the triggering effect of a deep
their emotional response to the brand is the main reason for their loyalty emotional connection between tourism businesses and consumers grows
2
to establish a strong emotional bond. 2023), as well as interpersonal communication. Tourists value tourism
business services and products’ prestige, exclusivity, and fashion. From
3. Hypothesis development a social identity perspective, recognizing tourism businesses allows only
a few people to access unique travel products.
Fig. 1 shows the relationships between the essential constructs When tourism businesses provide excellent AI services and innova
analyzed in this study. tive products, tourists naturally prefer these businesses over competi
tors, as they perceive them to offer superior service quality. Brand
3.1. AI innovation and the functional benefit of tourism products preference is demonstrated by tourists who have positive beliefs about
tourism businesses, which improves the overall evaluation of the prod
Innovation refers to introducing a new object or idea that becomes a uct, thereby leading us to the first hypothesis.
part of a dynamic process (Kumar et al., 2023). AI innovation includes Hypothesis 1. AI innovation in tourism businesses is positively related
product and process innovations (Hradecky et al., 2022). Previous to the functional benefits for tourists.
research has indicated that product and process innovation is essential
for technological change and economic development (Zhou et al., 2022;
3.2. New product advantage with AI innovation of tourism businesses
Trevlopoulos et al., 2023). Tourism businesses continue experimenting
with new materials or methods to find more suitable products and ser
The product advantage of tourism businesses refers to the benefits of
vices that appeal to tourists. This emphasizes breakthroughs in techno
new products that tourists expect (Fraccastoro et al., 2021; Kan et al.,
logical research and the development of product functions, market
2023). Additionally, the product advantage represents the superiority
definitions, and segmentation behaviors to impart new value to
and uniqueness of a product in the market compared to others (Yuk &
products.
Garrett, 2023). Moreover, the product advantage of tourism businesses
Previous literature on new products showed that scholars have also
is positively related to operational performance (Nayak et al., 2021;
proposed aspects of product innovation to observe (Monteiro & Adler,
Suryani et al., 2022). When tourists perceive that tourism businesses can
2022) and divided the degree of product innovation into tourist view
provide innovative product attributes superior to competitors, highly
points (Kan et al., 2023; Sigalat-Signes et al., 2020). Tourist viewpoints
innovative services become a competitive advantage for tourism busi
are the attributes of innovation, adoption risk, and established behav
nesses. Therefore, highly innovative products contribute to the compe
ioral pattern changes. These are crucial factors when considering the
tition of tourism businesses.
degree of product innovation from a tourist’s perspective. The tourism
Developing new advantages for tourism products is crucial in the
business perspective includes familiarity with the environment, appli
rapidly growing and competitive environment. Previous research has
cability of new product development, and technological and marketing
shown a significant relationship between cultural sharing and the choice
aspects. These are crucial factors regarding the degree of product
of tourism products (Kan et al., 2023). Tourists often expect AI services
innovation from a tourism business perspective.
to yield optimum results and benefits (Paul et al., 2023; Radhakrishnan
Besides, functional benefits are regarded as the external advantages
et al., 2022). In new normal circumstances, tourism businesses must
of products or services and are usually related to the product attributes
offer unique benefits that surpass standard tourism products to cater to
tourists select (Ku, 2020; Zhang et al., 2023). Previous research has
tourists’ needs.
stated that the functional benefits of products affect customer and
Successful tourism businesses provide tourists with the products they
organizational performance indicators and are related to corporate
need, satisfy their expectations, and provide unique benefits. In this
business and long-term financial performance (Foroudi et al., 2020).
study, tourism businesses that provide product advantages through AI
Thus, the functional benefits of tourism products allow tourists to
innovation affect tourists’ product preferences and choices. Thus, Hy
experience the actual or technical advantages of a specific product or
pothesis 2 is proposed as follows:
service for tourism businesses, increasing their value.
Functional benefits are related to potential needs as recognized by Hypothesis 2. Tourism businesses’ new product advantages positively
society or through personal expression (Huang et al., 2022; Le et al., relate to tourists’ functional benefits.
Fig. 1. Research model.
3
3.3. Satisfaction of the tourism businesses Nilashi et al., 2022) and AI service adoption (B. Li et al., 2023; Y. Li
et al., 2023; Schuhbert et al., 2023). Specifically, AI service satisfaction
The selection process for tourism businesses is considered satisfac drives tourist choice behavior in social exchanges.
tory when the degree of satisfaction is related to the characteristics of Tourism businesses should provide accurate travel information so
the selection set (Huang et al., 2018). The factors affecting tourist that tourists’ beliefs about the quality of information positively affect
satisfaction with tourism businesses include service design, service their intentions to reuse AI services. In other words, business operations
support, knowledge analysis capabilities, and customer service in a competitive environment depend on whether they are qualified to
innovation. help tourists complete their travel tasks and, thus, their effect on
Previous studies have shown that effective online travel services can continued decision-making. Similarly, when tourists feel that tourism
ensure good service quality for tourists while increasing their service businesses need to be more trustworthy or that staff are unwilling to
value (Foroudi et al., 2020; Le et al., 2023). Accordingly, a unique provide sincere help, they may be more willing to choose tourism
functional advantage is the time and effort spent searching for specific products via AI innovation. This leads us to Hypothesis 5.
services that stimulate tourists to adopt AI services.
Hypothesis 5. Tourist satisfaction positively impacts the continued AI
In addition, tourism businesses offer opportunities and advantages
service usage intention.
for experiential marketing that improves the satisfaction levels of tour
ists through emotional and functional values related to perceptions and
3.5. The positive user experience
AI service quality. Tourism businesses that adapt accordingly will gain
in-depth capabilities related to strategic thinking on tourists’ experi
Positive user experiences refer to the memory of real situations that a
ences, formulate effective marketing strategies, and build an operating
tourist revisits based on activities, consequences, and satisfaction with
environment that maximizes the value of the experience. Therefore,
the knowledge (Huang et al., 2021; Priya & Sharma, 2023). Prior
Hypothesis 3 is as follows:
research has argued that AI services deliver functional and emotional
Hypothesis 3. The functional benefits of tourism products are posi value to tourists (Elkhwesky & Elkhwesky, 2023). The product advan
tively related to tourists’ satisfaction with tourism businesses. tages of tourism businesses, based on insights from positive psychology,
can help tourists realize pleasant, meaningful, and virtuous experiences.
Researchers have argued that AI provides product advantages and
3.4. Continued AI service usage intention of tourism businesses
travel experiences to match tourists’ needs in tourism businesses (Yoon
et al., 2020). AI technology on user engagement and conversion leads to
Continued service usage intention by tourists reflects a motivational
higher transactional activity and increased sales performance (Rad
influence that drives their behavior (Leung et al., 2022; Alalwan, 2020).
hakrishnan et al., 2022). Using emotional perspectives, the relationship
Although mainstream AI service research has explored the determinants
between tourists and tourism businesses’ innovation of tourism products
of tourist acceptance and the use of tourism businesses, the ultimate
can be better understood by incorporating personalized recommenda
success of innovative technologies depends more on tourists’ willingness
tions in the user experience.
to continue using them. To identify the main predictors of customers’
continued intention to use AI services online, Kim et al. (2017) argued Hypothesis 6. Positive user experience moderates the relationship
that if customers perceive that using AI services is functional for between AI innovation and functional benefits.
selecting tourism products, they will have a positive attitude. To test
Positive user experiences are crucial in the interaction between
these hypotheses, Kim et al. (2017) surveyed over three hundred users of
tourists and AI service usage (Elkhwesky & Elkhwesky, 2023). This
AI tourism services. They found that perceived usefulness, enjoyment,
interaction highlights the relationship between tourist experiences and
and social influence were significant positive predictors of attitude.
the hedonic benefits of interacting with AI services tourism businesses
Moreover, they also found that attitude significantly predicted
offer.
continued intention to use the services. Similarly, continuous use
Tourism businesses provide tourists with unique functional benefits.
intention is crucial for tourism businesses’ survival and customer
In addition to mapping emotions to gain a comprehensive understanding
retention in terms of market competition.
of tourists’ travel experiences, tourism businesses help improve itinerary
Previous research has also pointed out that satisfactory AI services
planning and overall travel experiences.
provide tourists with an unforgettable travel experience (Thumrongvut
et al., 2022; Pitakaso et al., 2023) and that AI services affect the ad Hypothesis 7. Positive user experience moderates the relationship
vantages of tourism products (Bedue & Fritzsche, 2022; Zhang et al., between new product advantages and functional benefits.
2021). Tourists’ travel experiences are usually related to their travel
impressions and knowledge of past destinations, such as what they see 3.6. Perceived anthropomorphism of AI
and hear and the destination experience.
Participating in tourism reduces daily life pressures for tourists and Perceived anthropomorphism refers to giving branded products and
enhances their knowledge as travelers. It offers leisure and entertain services a human-like form and human characteristics, including AI
ment, activates their bodies, and minds, and fosters self-recognition, innovation appearance and personality (Pelau et al., 2021); perceived
emotional relief, and satisfaction. Thus, frequent travelers actively anthropomorphism aims to create a more "emotional" human-computer
seek to increase these positive experiences. This leads us to Hypothesis interaction experience (Priya & Sharma, 2023).
4: Prior research has argued that perceived anthropomorphism has a
substantial positive impact on the perceived usefulness of AI (B. Li et al.,
Hypothesis 4. The functional benefits of tourism products are related
2023; Y. Li et al., 2023; Tojib et al., 2022). Research has also suggested
to tourists’ continued intention to use AI services.
that textually perceived anthropomorphism represents a new commu
Tourists’ AI service usage determines consumers’ repeated purchase nication strategy for the tourism business (Chen et al., 2021). Many
decisions (Jo & Hi, 2023), depending on their determination of previous tourism marketers use perceived anthropomorphism strategies to evoke
tourism businesses’ satisfaction decisions. In addition, from the consumers’ willingness to repurchase tourism products.
perspective of the socio-technical system, the intention to continue using Tourists evaluate brand consumption based on valid subjective re
specific tourism businesses is closely related to the behavior of tourists sponses to a target tourism product or service. Perceived anthropo
(Karampournioti & Wiedmann, 2021). Tourist satisfaction with prod morphism of AI means that tourists will be attracted to buying tourism
ucts critically affects future tourism service usage behaviors (Ku, 2022; products that meet their needs. Likewise, brand trust will be associated
4
with the quality of tourism businesses, leading us to Hypothesis 8. (Maier et al., 2023).
Data collection for the first stage occurred in March 2022, and the
Hypothesis 8. The perceived anthropomorphism of AI moderates the
second stage was in April 2023. In the first stage, 800 tourism businesses
relationship between the functional benefits of tourism products and
were selected, with 200 companies chosen from each of the four major
tourists’ satisfaction levels with tourism businesses.
international cities mentioned above (Dwivedi et al., 2021). Question
Users can measure the quality of AI according to the degree of safety, naires were distributed via email, and measures were taken to verify IP
reliability, anthropomorphism, convenience, diversity, and privacy addresses and prevent duplicate responses. 371 completed question
protection of enterprises using AI (McLean et al., 2021; pp, 7, 1123, naires were received in this stage, resulting in a response rate of 46.38%.
1114; Park & Namkung, 2021). Previous research has shown that users In the second stage (Year 2023), 150 companies were selected from the
tend to disclose more personal information to human-servant and same four major international cities, distributing 600 questionnaires.
robot-mentor intelligent agents than human-mentor and robot-servant Subsequently, 279 completed questionnaires were received, yielding a
intelligent agents (Zhang & Rau, 2023). The more familiar tourists are response rate of 46.5%.
with luxury brands, the stronger their desire for perceived anthropo
morphism of tourism AI innovation products. In addition, tourism 4.2. Measures
businesses’ AI services may affect tourists’ brand attitudes and purchase
intentions toward brands with different personalities (Yang & Hu, Questionnaire items were developed by conducting a literature re
2022). view of related topics. We adopted a structure that can be used as a
When tourists learn about tourism brands related to their identity, research model for related research and revised some wording following
they pay premium prices for branded products with AI innovations our investigation. Thus, we identified 25 potential survey items. Opin
(Guan et al., 2021). Therefore, tourism companies should consider ions were indicated using a 5-point Likert scale (Table 1), where
innovative AI products’ cognitive and emotional components. There 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.
fore, we argue that the perceived anthropomorphism of AI moderates The questionnaire was constructed based on existing measures
the relationship between the functional benefits of tourism products and deemed suitable for this study. We edited and modified the English
tourists’ continued intentions to use AI services. Therefore, Hypothesis 9 questionnaire and translated it into Chinese. From a content validity
is proposed as follows. perspective, three professors focused on tourism management and two
on information management were invited to refine and verify the survey
Hypothesis 9. The perceived anthropomorphism of AI moderates the
items for translation accuracy. We invited 40 employees in tourism
relationship between the functional benefits of tourism products and
businesses to participate in the pretest, 20 participants for the Chinese
tourists’ continued intention to use AI services.
version of the questionnaire and 20 participants for the English version.
Participants were required to evaluate whether the research content was
3.7. Control variables easy to understand and correlated with the context.
Control variables (CV) are used to examine the influencing factors 5. Study 1
outside the theoretical model that explain the variance in the dependent
variable. Prior studies have argued that the classification of tourism 5.1. Method
businesses (Li et al., 2021) and location (Suder et al., 2022) may influ
ence tourists’ continued AI service usage intention regarding the AI First, regarding the sample of Study 1, the data collected in March
service of tourism products. In this study, as the sample collection is 2022 revealed that nearly 38.5% of the respondents were males, and
from a multinational sample, we state these two factors as CV, which more than 60% were over 41 years old. Among the participants, 49.1%
controls for the practical analysis of AI services of tourism industry belonged to restaurants, and 43.4% came from Hangzhou (Table 2).
businesses. Besides, as with all self-reported research, common method bias
(CMB) can arise from various sources, such as positive user experience
4. Research design and satisfaction (Liang et al., 2007). A Harmon one-factor test was
conducted on the seven potential variables in the research model to
The study conducted a two-period questionnaire survey (Study 1 and assess the severity of CMB in this study. The results showed that the
Study 2); tourism businesses are the target samples in the research, and explained covariance of the seven potential constructs was 22.47% in
AI service usage in restaurants, hotels, and travel agencies is selected as the data collected in 2022 and 43.25% for Year 2023, indicating the
the sampling framework; this study also employed interviews with three absence of common method bias in the analytical results.
experts to enhance the validity of causal relationships (Study 3); ac A PLS-SEM analysis was employed in this study using SmartPLS
cording to Jung and Park (2018) guidelines, interviews were confirmed Version 4 to assess reliability, validity, and hypothesis analysis.
experts and an interview outline was provided (please view Appendix Convergent validity was examined first, and all indicators demonstrated
1), which gained a deeper understanding of the applications and limi standardized factor loadings greater than or equal to 0.7. Additionally,
tations of AI innovation in tourism businesses. the average variance extracted (AVE) values for each construct were all
above 0.5, and both Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR)
4.1. Sampling process values exceeded 0.7 (Benitez et al., 2018). These findings indicate
satisfactory reliability and convergent validity for all construct items
First, tourism businesses in Beijing, Hangzhou, Taipei, and Singapore (Table 3).
were invited to participate based on the research purpose, as these cities Furthermore, the discriminant validity of the constructs was
have had a significant adoption of AI services in tourism businesses for assessed. The AVE values for each construct were higher than the cor
more than three years. Second, the management level was randomly relation coefficients with other constructs in the study model (Table 4).
selected by the participating tourism businesses. The survey was then The Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio was also calculated, with all
emailed to the person in charge of the AI service with a hyperlink to the values below 0.9 (B.B. Xie, Gong et al., 2023; C.H. Xie, Gong et al.,
electronic research questionnaires. The key personnel distributed the 2023), indicating satisfactory discriminant validity.
survey to their staff, prioritizing management-level employees. This
study adopted a two-stage questionnaire survey approach to address
concerns about temporal causal relationships in cross-sectional studies
5
Table 1
Item in survey.
Construct Item Factor Loadings Factor Loadings References
(2022/3 for Study (2023/4 for Study
1) 2)
Artificial Intelligence Innovation (AII) AII1 The development and experimentation of artificial 0.868 0.824 Olan et al. (2022);
intelligence involves organizational strategy. Huang and Rust
AII2 The efficiency of artificial intelligence is improved with 0.829 0.786 (2021)
strategic intelligence.
AII3 An artificial intelligence system supports organizational 0.765 0.753
strategies by reviewing processes where intelligent
strategy can be implemented.
AII4 Artificial intelligence is essential for enhanced 0.869 0.840
organizational performance.
New Product Advantage (NPA) NPA1 The quality of the tourism product compared well with 0.905 0.869 Cui and Wu, (2017)
similar competitor products.
NPA2 The product was of higher quality than competing 0.903 0.867
products available to tourists.
NPA3 The tourism product solved problems tourists had with 0.847 0.807
competitor products.
NPA4 The tourism product offered unique benefits to tourists. 0.762 0.698
NPA5 The tourism product performance met established 0.850 0.816
standards better than the competition.
Functional Benefits (FB) FB1 The tourism products provided by tourism businesses 0.789 0.786 Ku (2020)
provide excellence in service quality
FB2 The tourism products from tourism businesses provide 0.909 0.894
various benefits of membership service.
FB3 The tourism products tourism businesses provide are 0.856 0.840
superior service quality of service centers.
Positive User Experience (PUX) PUX1 Tourists love tourism products because of their shape, 0.892 0.883 Yoon et al. (2020)
design of artificial intelligence, and material qualities of
the products.
PUX2 Artificial intelligence services are easy to use and 0.801 0.751
functionally simple in tourists’ life.
PUX3 Tourists cherish these artificial intelligence services 0.855 0.829
because they are significant to them.
PUX4 Tourists like artificial intelligence services because they 0.838 0.813
express their self-perception, energetic, explorative, and
healthy
PUX5 Tourists gladly followed the artificial intelligence 0.868 0.825
services’ design style to show their respect to the
product’s members and its tradition
Perceived Anthropomorphism (PA) PA1 Artificial intelligence appears anthropomorphic voice. 0.910 0.881 Lee and Chen (2022)
PA2 Artificial intelligence displays anthropomorphic- 0.944 0.903 Huang and Rust
friendly interactive services. (2020)
PA3 Artificial intelligence appears anthropomorphic 0.883 0.854
appearance.
PA4 Artificial intelligence demonstrates anthropomorphic 0.905 0.782
thinking.
Satisfaction (SAT) SAT1 Tourists are satisfied with their decision to purchase 0.888 0.889 Huang et al. (2018)
tourism products from the tourism business.
SAT2 Tourists’ choice to use our artificial intelligence service 0.889 0.876
was a wise one
SAT3 Tourists are happy with their earlier decision to use the 0.838 0.823
tourism business.
SAT4 Tourists found deciding which products to put in the 0.923 0.912
shopping cart interesting.
SAT5 Several good options were available for tourists to 0.848 0.848
choose between them from the tourism business.
SAT6 Tourists would purchase tourism products from the 0.917 0.906
tourism business in the future.
Continued Artificial Intelligence Service CUI1 Tourists intend to continue shopping with artificial 0.889 0.874 Leung et al. (2022)
Usage Intention of Tourism Businesses. intelligence support rather than discontinuing.
(CUI) CUI2 Most tourists intend to continue shopping with artificial 0.822 0.813
intelligence support instead of using any alternate
means.
CUI3 Overall, Tourists continue to shop for the artificial 0.895 0.890
intelligence service as much as possible.
5.2. Results satisfaction and between functional benefits and continued artificial
intelligence service usage intention. Unexpectedly, perceived anthro
The hypothesis testing results for the data collected in 2022 are pomorphism negatively modified the relationship between functional
presented in Fig. 2. Regarding the main effects, all hypotheses are sup benefit and continued artificial intelligence service usage intention
ported except for the impact of artificial intelligence innovation on (β = − 0.080, t = 2.65).
functional benefits. However, perceived anthropomorphism signifi
cantly moderates the relationships between functional benefits and
6
Table 2 and 2023 are presented in Fig. 4. All main effects were significant,
Demographic characteristics of responding (2022 data for Study 1). supporting hypotheses H1 to H5. Artificial intelligence innovation and
Year 2022/3 [N = 371] new product advantage positively and significantly influenced func
tional benefits and new products. Functional benefits positively and
Number Percentage (%)
significantly influenced satisfaction and continued artificial intelligence
Classified of Hotel 164 44.2 service usage intention, while satisfaction positively affected continued
Tourism Business Restaurant 182 49.1
Travel Agencies 25 6.7
artificial intelligence service usage intention. The factor with the most
Location Beijing 85 22.9 significant impact on functional benefits was new product advantage,
Hangzhou 161 43.4 while satisfaction had a more substantial influence on continued artifi
Taipei 60 16.2 cial intelligence service usage intention. The explanatory variance (R-
Singapore 65 17.5
square) for the antecedents on the dependent variables was 55.1% for
GEN Male 143 38.5
Female 228 61.5 functional benefit, 36.4% for satisfaction, and 62.3% for continued
AGE Under 30 years 5 1.3 artificial intelligence service usage intention. The moderating effects of
31 − 40 years 141 38.0 positive user experience and perceived anthropomorphism were not
41 − 50 years 119 32.1 supported, as the effects were negative. Therefore, hypotheses H6–H9
51 − 60 years 93 25.1
Above 60 years 13 3.5
are not supported.
POSITION CEO 76 20.5
Manager 121 32.6 6.3. Control Variables
Supervisor 154 41.5
Officer 20 5.4
This study also discusses the influence of control variables (CV). By
EDUCATION High school 18 4.9
College/University 278 74.9 comparing three models—one including only the theoretical variables,
Graduate Institute 75 20.2 one including only the control variables separately, and one including
1–5 years 89 24.0 both—the results summarized in Table 6 indicate that the control vari
EXPERIENCES 6–10 years 98 26.4 able accounts for a small fraction of the variance in continued AI service
usage (6.6%). However, adding the theoretical variables increases the R-
square value of continued artificial intelligence service usage by 50.5%
6. Study 2 (from 6.6% to 57.1%). In contrast, adding the control variables to the
theoretical variables only results in a minimal increase of 0.9% in the R-
6.1. Method square value of continued AI service usage (Table 8).
The data collected in April 2023 revealed that nearly 37.2% of the
respondents were males, and more than 70% were below 41 years old.
Among the participants, 47.7% belonged to restaurants, and 51.9%
came from Hangzhou (Table 5). Table 4
As indicated in Table 6, data from Year 2023 indicates satisfactory Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio (2022 data for Study 1).
reliability and convergent validity for all construct items. Furthermore, AII CUI FB NPA PA PUX
the discriminant validity of the constructs was assessed. The AVE values
Artificial Intelligence
for each construct were higher than the correlation coefficients with
Innovation
other constructs in the study model. Continued artificial 0.580
In addition, as shown in Table 7, all HTMT values are below 0.9, intelligence service
indicating satisfactory discriminant validity (B.B. Xie, Gong et al., 2023; usage intention
Functional benefits 0.675 0.816
C.H. Xie, Gong et al., 2023).
New Product Advantage 0.786 0.722 0.844
Perceived 0.530 0.846 0.782 0.671
6.2. Results Anthropomorphism
Positive user Experience 0.583 0.590 0.648 0.636 0.630
Satisfaction 0.403 0.601 0.530 0.545 0.561 0.469
The hypothesis testing results for the data collected in 2023 are
depicted in Fig. 3. All hypotheses are supported in terms of the main Note:
effects, except for the impact of artificial intelligence innovation on 1. AII, Artificial Intelligence Innovation; NPA, New Product Advantage; FB,
Functional benefits; PUX, Positive User Experience; PA, Perceived anthropo
functional benefit. However, neither positive user experience nor
morphism; SAT, Satisfaction. CUI, Continued artificial intelligence service usage
perceived anthropomorphism yields a significant moderating effect.
intention of tourism businesses.
In addition, the results of the total data analysis for the years 2022
Table 3
Correlation among constructs and the square root of the AVE (2022 data for Study 1).
Mean SD Cronbach’s Alpha Composite Reliability AVE AII CUI FB NPA PA PUX SAT
AII 3.464 0.631 0.853 0.855 0.695 0.834

CUI 3.831 0.65 0.839 0.852 0.756 0.495 0.869
FB 3.726 0.701 0.807 0.817 0.723 0.562 0.675 0.851
NPA 3.575 0.697 0.877 0.888 0.733 0.678 0.626 0.717 0.856
PA 3.769 0.787 0.943 0.943 0.814 0.476 0.758 0.681 0.611 0.902
PUX 3.463 0.716 0.903 0.911 0.721 0.509 0.521 0.557 0.56 0.581 0.849
SAT 3.773 0.679 0.944 0.946 0.782 0.361 0.54 0.465 0.492 0.53 0.434 0.884
Note:
1. The main diagonal shows the square of the AVE (averaged variance extracted).
2. AII, Artificial Intelligence Innovation; NPA, New Product Advantage; FB, Functional Benefits; PUX, Positive User Experience; PA, Perceived Anthropomorphism;
SAT, Satisfaction. CUI, Continued Artificial Intelligence Service Usage Intention of Tourism Businesses.
7
Fig. 2. Results of hypothesis testing (Study1: 2022 data)].
employed enterprise interviews to enhance the validity of causal re

Table 5
lationships. Senior executives from Cowell Information Co., Ltd.
Demographic characteristics of responding (2023 data for Study 2).
<https://www.cowell.com.tw/> , a prominent information technology
Year 2023/4 [N = 277] company based in Taiwan, and QbiAI Co. <https://ai3.cloud/> , a well-
Number Percentage (%) known AI company providing various solutions including system inte
Classified of Hotel 94 33.9 gration, customer service system, AI intelligent robot services, were
Tourism Business Restaurant 132 47.7 interviewed as part of the research process. These interviews aimed to
Travel Agencies 51 18.4 gain a deeper understanding of this study’s proposed research frame
Location Beijing 98 43.3 work and uncover meaningful insights and potential explanatory factors
Hangzhou 118 51.9
Taipei 38 16.7
based on the quantitative research findings from the past two years.
Singapore 23 10.1 Established in 1989, Cowell Information has primarily served well-
GEN Male 103 37.2 known travel agencies as its major clients and has experienced
Female 174 62.8
AGE Under 30 years 11 3.9
31 − 40 years 187 67.0
41 − 50 years 61 21.9 Table 7
51 − 60 years 9 3.2 Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio (2023 data for Study 2).
AII CUI FB NPA PA PUX
POSITION CEO 53 19.1
Manager 67 24.2 Artificial Intelligence
Supervisor 85 30.7 Innovation
Officer 72 26.0 Continued Artificial 0.514
EDUCATION High school 8 2.9 Intelligence Service
College/University 211 76.2 Usage Intention
Graduate Institute 58 20.9 Functional Benefits 0.591 0.698
1–5 years 68 24.5 New Product Advantage 0.741 0.700 0.845
EXPERIENCES 6–10 years 80 28.9 Perceived 0.490 0.790 0.704 0.654
Above 11 years 129 46.6 Anthropomorphism
Positive User Experience 0.509 0.529 0.576 0.594 0.579
Satisfaction 0.498 0.745 0.612 0.632 0.679 0.577
7. Study 3
Note:
1. AII, Artificial Intelligence Innovation; NPA, New Product Advantage; FB,
7.1. Method Functional benefits; PUX, Positive User Experience; PA, Perceived anthropo
morphism; SAT, Satisfaction. CUI, Continued Artificial Intelligence Service
In addition to conducting quantitative research, this study also Usage Intention of Tourism Businesses.
Table 6
Correlation among constructs and the square root of the AVE (2023 data for Study 2).
Mean SD Cronbach’s Composite AVE AII CUI FB NPA PA PUX SAT
Alpha Reliability
AII 3.600 0.57 0.816 0.819 0.643 0.802

CUI 3.974 0.564 0.824 0.836 0.739 0.430 0.86
FB 3.883 0.625 0.779 0.786 0.695 0.477 0.56 0.834
NPA 3.754 0.596 0.827 0.84 0.661 0.609 0.581 0.683 0.813
PA 3.961 0.642 0.904 0.91 0.723 0.429 0.69 0.592 0.566 0.85
PUX 3.625 0.656 0.882 0.896 0.679 0.43 0.458 0.484 0.501 0.516 0.824
SAT 3.857 0.634 0.939 0.941 0.768 0.436 0.662 0.527 0.552 0.631 0.526 0.876
Note:
1. The main diagonal shows the square of the AVE (averaged variance extracted).
2. AII, Artificial Intelligence Innovation; NPA, New Product Advantage; FB, Functional benefits; PUX, Positive User Experience; PA, Perceived Anthropomorphism;
SAT, Satisfaction. CUI, Continued Artificial Intelligence Service Usage Intention of Tourism Businesses.
8
Fig. 3. Results of hypothesis testing (Study2:2023 data)].
Fig. 4. Results of hypothesis testing (Combined)].
through the customer service system with CRM modules to create

Table 8
customer profiles, QbiAI helps enterprises improve service quality while
Comparison of the Structural Models.
enhancing customer brand loyalty.
Results Full Control- Theoretical- The researcher interviewed three experts, the general manager
model variables only variables only
model model
(Expert A) and marketing managers (Expert B) of Cowell Information, to
gather potential explanations and opinions regarding the company’s AI-
Number of paths in the 11 2 9
related products and processes. Besides, a marketing manager (Expert C)
model
Number of significant paths 5 0 5 of QbiAI Co. was accepted for interviewing for our study, as indicated in
in the model Appendix 1. These interviews aimed to supplement the quantitative
Variance explained in firm 57.1 6.6 56.2 analysis results obtained in this study. The research framework’s causal
performance (percent) relationships and overall research validity can be strengthened by
The theoretical variables 57.1-6.6 = 50.5 (percent)
explain additional
leveraging the collection and analysis of quantitative data from two
variance different periods and insights obtained through in-depth interviews.
The control variables 57.1-56.2 = 0.9 (percent) The expert interviews were conducted on September 1st and
explain additional September 5th, 2023. The researchers visited the experts at their com
variance
panies in person to carry out the interviews. The interview questions
were mainly based on the research framework and hypothesized causal
substantial growth alongside more than 800 customer organizations relationships proposed in this study, as well as the quantitative analysis
over the past 33 years (Cowell Information, 2023). The company spe results obtained in Year 2022 and 2023. In addition, the interviews were
cializes in information system development, particularly travel agency audio recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Two researchers
ERP systems, and has become a leading choice and premier brand in this then summarized and consolidated the key points from the interviews.
domain. In recent years, Cowell Information has allocated a significant
budget to develop innovative system services, including online payment
platforms, LINE AI marketing, and customer service chatbots. In addi 7.2. Results
tion, QbiAI was founded in 2018 and mainly provides “Intelligent
Robot” and “Customer Service System” to help customers integrate the 7.2.1. The effects of artificial intelligence innovation and new product
two products into existing enterprise systems. Through intelligent robots advantage on functional benefits
to solve repetitive problems and improve staff efficiency, as well as Firstly, regarding the impact of AI innovation on functional benefits,
the three experts believed that while existing AI innovations in the
9
tourism industry are still in the early stages, they have improved effi 7.2.2. The Effects of functional benefits on satisfaction and continued
ciency in travel tourism processes and customer value. For example, artificial intelligence service usage intention
Expert A mentioned: Regarding the impact of functional benefits on tourist satisfaction
and continued usage intention of AI services, the three experts believed
In addition to ERP systems, our company provides online payment and
that if consumers or tourists feel the products or services provided by
chatbot services. These capabilities have enhanced the service efficiency
restaurants or hotels can bring high value or benefits to them with the
and quality for our customers. As long as enterprises input their databases
help of AI-enabled features, users would feel their decision was correct.
into our system for training, our chatbots can provide answers based on
Such positive feelings or experiences would also improve their attitude
users’ questions. For instance, previously, many of our customers had to
or evaluation of the company and even strengthen users’ intention to
use human customer service to answer consumer inquiries, many of which
continue purchasing its products or services or even recommend them to
were repetitive and wide-ranging. Nevertheless, now, with the use of AI-
more people. Expert C stated:
enhanced chatbots with deep learning, our customers have found they
can address the vast majority of consumer questions, and consumers also Some restaurants now provide "food delivery robots" that consumers can
feel this service experience is quite good. order from by scanning a QR code on their table. Soon after, they see a
cute delivery robot slowly moving from the kitchen to their table. It then
Expert C also provided the following perspective:
says in an adorable voice, "Your order has arrived!" After the customer
While current AI innovations in the tourism industry may outwardly focus takes their meal and presses a confirmation button, the robot returns to
on customer interactions, they also offer vital strategic planning capa the kitchen. This innovative service experience of AI food delivery robots,
bilities for companies behind the scenes. As an example, restaurant together with the fully autonomous online ordering process, genuinely
ordering systems and delivery robots can compile data on customer order enhances consumers’ overall satisfaction and dining experience with the
history and robot delivery times over a service period. Applying big data restaurant. If I were the customer, I would want to keep returning to dine
analytics to these aggregated user preferences and behavioral insights at this restaurant and continue enjoying such service.
allows strategic targeting of marketing campaigns tuned to demand.
Expert A mentioned another example where AI robots can strengthen
Although not visible to consumers directly, AI-enabled data collection and
service experience:
analysis fundamentally serves as an innovation for firms’ operational
strategy and performance optimization. The hotel industry was severely impacted during the pandemic, forcing
layoffs of some service staff, and causing labor shortages. Nevertheless, at
In summary, the expert feedback provides real-world examples of
the same time, some hotels in mainland China or Taiwan transformed into
how fledgling AI applications drive quantifiable improvements in
so-called "quarantine hotels." For instance, travelers returning to Taiwan
tourism sector efficiency, quality, planning, and customer experiences,
from overseas must quarantine at a hotel for 10 to 14 days and test
validating the quantitative data on functional value creation. While
negative for COVID before being allowed to go home. Quarantine hotels
further innovation is still needed, these results confirm AI innovation is
used delivery robots to send meals and amenities during stays, avoiding
moving in the right direction toward generating benefits, highlighting
excessive contact and infection risk. The application of such AI robots in
areas to focus on ongoing development.
hotels was well-received.
Secondly, regarding the impact of new product advantage on func
tional benefits, the three experts also agreed that if the tourism industry Synthesizing the benefits and enhanced satisfaction described by
can continuously launch innovations and make consumers feel their Experts A and C regarding innovative AI robot services, as well as users’
product quality is superior to competitors or provides unique benefits, it intention to continue using such services, aligns with the quantitative
would naturally strengthen the functional benefits perceived by con analysis results from 2022 and 2023. The relevant hypotheses are thus
sumers or travelers. For example, Expert B stated: supported.
New product advantage is inherently significant, and it is directly related
7.2.3. The moderating effects of positive user experience and perceived
to the benefits felt by customers. For instance, Luxury Travel Hackers’
anthropomorphism
travel booking platform collaborates with internet celebrities or travel
First, regarding the moderating effect, positive user experience, the
KOLs to plan customized itineraries, attracting their fans to the platform
three experts also believed that the current AI innovations in the tourism
to purchase travel packages. This kind of product advantage makes cus
industry are still limited, and therefore, based on the "positive user
tomers feel it improves the equity or value they need (fans may want to
experience" defined in this study, their effects are minimal and cannot
travel abroad with the person they idolize or follow the itineraries rec
lead to decisive impact. As Expert A stated:
ommended by KOLs).
You asked whether the current AI used in the industry can make con
Expert C also mentioned:
sumers or travelers feel it is easy to use. I think this is possible, but you also
Our customers integrate our chatbots with their websites, Facebook, apps, asked whether the current AI could make them like travel products more
and other systems, allowing users to obtain desired information through or even feel that the AI reflects their sense of exploration and health
more conversational and direct interactions. For example, users can concepts; this would be difficult. Additionally, it is possible for AI to make
leverage the chatbot to inquire about room reservations, date changes, travelers feel it can cater to their styles or preferences, but as I mentioned
payment methods, pandemic-related policies, and measures, or even earlier, the AI currently used in the tourism industry is still at an early
recommend sightseeing spots near the hotel. These capabilities differen stage. To achieve such innovation is still premature.
tiate our customers’ products from competitors while also strengthening
Moreover, although new product advantages can significantly
the service quality improvements and more user-friendly experience
strengthen users’ perceived functional benefits (main effect), due to the
perceived by their consumers.
low level of AI service experience measured by "positive user experi
Therefore, new product advantage helps strengthen users’ percep ence", its influence on the relationship between positive user experience
tion of the product having superior service quality performance, as well and functional benefits is negligible under such circumstances. Since
as providing more value to their membership benefits. The experts’ Experts B and C’s opinions were similar to Expert A’s, synthesizing the
interview responses echo the relevant quantitative analysis results of quantitative analysis and expert interview results in this study, the
this study. moderating effect of "positive user experience" is thus not significant.
Besides, regarding the moderating effect of perceived anthropo
morphism, the experts also provided relevant perspectives. Overall, the
10
experts believe the level of anthropomorphism in current AI innovations businesses and satisfy their consumers; the comprehensive data analysis
in the tourism industry still needs to be improved. From the definition of of the two-year study indicates that all the main effects have a significant
anthropomorphism, AI services in the tourism industry need to make positive impact on the dependent variable. Both AI innovation and new
users feel there is a human-like appearance or personality, creating a product advantage significantly influence the functional benefits expe
human-computer interaction experience with human-like emotions or rienced by the respondents, with new product advantage having the
enthusiasm. However, the experts believe some processes or system most significant impact (Nayak et al., 2021). AI innovation has different
functions may utilize AI algorithms to improve efficiency but do not impacts on the functional benefits of the tourism industry, and the in
necessarily make users perceive a human-like appearance or emotions. terviewees in this study believe that artificial intelligence innovation
Moreover, physical service robots are more likely to evoke feelings of mainly focuses on improving operational efficiency and must be linked
anthropomorphism in users, but for online or digital services, percep to improving organizational strategies and establishing strategic part
tions of anthropomorphism may be very low or negligible. Expert C nerships in the future.
expressed his viewpoint: Second, based on AI intelligent service deep learning and neural
network analysis methods, managers can continuously improve con
I mentioned users can inquire about room reservations, date changes,
sumers’ perceived functional benefits of AI through human-computer
payment methods, and pandemic regulations through our developed
interaction; the respondents acknowledged that functional benefits
chatbot. However, this chatbot is just a dialog box without human-like
enhance tourists’ satisfaction and intention to continue using AI ser
appearance or emotions, similar to the popular ChatGPT, which pro
vices. Strengthening the functional benefits of travel products implies
vides possible answers based on prompts but is just an interactive dialog
better service quality for consumers, saving them time and effort and
box. However, in the next stage, we can consider improving our chatbot to
fostering the desire to continue using AI services in the future (Le et al.,
interact with travelers through a human-like interface on phones or
2023; Foroudi et al., 2020). However, none of the hypotheses related to
computers.
moderation effects received support. Positive user experience does not
Regarding the moderating effect of anthropomorphism in 2022 and significantly affect the relationship between AI innovation and func
2023 from this study, Expert B provided relevant possible explanations: tional benefits, and positive user experience negatively influences the
relationship between new product advantages and functional benefits.
In 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, industries like hotels and res
Moreover, perceived anthropomorphism does not significantly influence
taurants heavily used apps and online services to interact with consumers
the relationship between functional benefits and satisfaction, but it
and complete transactions. To retain customers, they proactively lever
negatively moderates the relationship between functional benefits and
aged various AI innovations through apps for intensive customer in
continued AI service usage intentions (Le et al., 2023; Foroudi et al.,
teractions, achieving noticeable effects. Although these online or robot
2020).
services differed from real humans, due to the physical distancing during
the pandemic where interactions were limited to phones or computers,
8.1. Theoretical contributions and implications
users may still have felt a certain level of human-like service, enhancing
the impact of functional benefits on satisfaction or attitudes (positive
Using a socio-technical system, this study is the first to evaluate AI
moderation effect).
innovation and new product competitive advantage in the context of the
However, by 2023, many countries lifted pandemic restrictions and in tourism industry during the pandemic-induced changes in the internal
teractions normalized, with travel rebounding and dine-in resuming. In and external environments of tourism businesses. The research high
this context, the AI innovations used are no longer considered "innovative" lights the significant role of AI innovation in socio-technical systems for
after widespread prior use. Moreover, from the definition of anthropo tourism business innovation. However, the outcomes brought by this
morphism, most AI services lack human-like appearance or enthusiasm/ approach still require improvement.
emotions. Hence, in 2023, users will likely have different strong percep The provision of AI services alone is insufficient, as is evident from
tions than when they first experienced AI services in 2022. the research findings of this study. AI services focus primarily on
improving products and planning processes for consumers. However,
Based on the experts’ conclusions, this study believes that for the
these improvements do not translate into enhancements in organiza
2022 analysis, perceived anthropomorphism positively and significantly
tional strategies. In this case, the short-term impact of AI services on
moderated the relationship between functional benefits and satisfaction.
providing new product advantages and increasing perceived functional
But for continued usage intention, the main effect is still substantive
benefits for consumers will not contribute to long-term strategic inno
functional benefits since actual perceived anthropomorphism was low
vation within the organization or facilitate extended effects in product
and did not have a decisive impact. Thus, for the functional benefits-
innovation or cross-industry collaborations. Therefore, consistent with
continued AI usage intention relationship, the moderating effect is
previous research, innovation in information technology must align with
likely insignificant or negative. By the 2023 analysis, with lower
corporate strategies. This alignment can lead to innovations in business
anthropomorphism perceptions post-pandemic, anthropomorphism
models, expanded opportunities for cross-industry alliances, and the
could not significantly moderate effects or even negatively impact
acquisition of more significant competitive advantages for organizations
relationships.
while simultaneously delivering more functional consumer benefits (El
Sawy et al., 1999).
8. Discussion
Furthermore, the non-significant moderation effects indicate the
limitations of the AI services currently employed by tourism businesses.
Although the literature and practical studies frequently mention the
Users’ perceptions of positive user experiences and anthropomorphism
numerous benefits of AI innovation for travelers in the process of
still need improvement and may result in adverse outcomes. Although
selecting and purchasing goods, based on a two-year survey conducted
previous studies have demonstrated the significant moderation effects of
across multiple countries in the tourism industry, this study reveals that
positive user experience and perceived anthropomorphism, in the
the benefits derived from AI innovation are still limited, indicating that
context of this study, AI services are still in their early stages with
there is room for improvement. This study conducted in-depth in
limited applications. Additionally, the limited or insufficient transaction
terviews with enterprises to better understand the extent of AI innova
records of consumers from different tourism businesses contribute to
tion adoption in tourism businesses and recommends further research in
users’ perceptions that the AI services offered do not provide tangible
this area.
benefits. Therefore, these findings prompt existing tourism businesses to
First, AI will significantly impact service innovation in tourism
consider how to design AI services to maximize their strategic and
11
operational benefits. benefits, integrate AI innovation with organizational strategies, and

improve user experiences and perceived anthropomorphism to maxi
8.2. Implication for practice mize the potential benefits of AI in the tourism industry.
In terms of practical implications, this study highlights the signifi

cant impact of both AI innovation and new product advantage on 8.3. Limitations and Future Research Direction
functional benefits, with new product advantage exerting a more sig
nificant influence. Therefore, it is recommended that organizations This study echoes the recommendations of Maier et al. (2023) and
prioritize the use of AI services to enhance consumer processes and the involves the collection and quantitative analysis of two annual samples
quality of purchased goods, enabling effective differentiation from from multiple countries. In addition, in-depth interviews were con
competitors. Additionally, expanding AI services to cover the pre- ducted with significant tourism businesses in Taiwan to enhance the
purchase, during-purchase, and post-purchase stages can give con credibility and validity of the research framework. However, due to the
sumers a better perception of new product advantages. early stages of AI services in tourism businesses, this study is subject to
For instance, in the context of travelers’ itineraries, the subsequent certain research limitations that can be addressed and improved in
step is to embark on an actual travel journey after making relevant future related studies.
product bookings. Travel agencies can leverage AI services to auto The first limitation pertains to the study participants. The question
matically remind travelers to purchase travel insurance or promptly naires were primarily distributed at the managerial level of tourism
notify them of any changes in boarding gates during a trip, thereby businesses to understand the impact of AI innovation services on orga
avoiding missed boarding times. Additionally, real-time weather con nizational strategies, performance, and user perceptions. Although this
ditions can be monitored at a traveler’s destination and provide timely study provides valuable insights and research implications, data were
reminders of potentially unforeseen circumstances. By strengthening AI not collected from the perspectives of general users or tourists. This
services throughout these three travel journey stages, travelers can limitation arises from ascertaining whether the surveyed individuals had
experience a higher degree of new product advantages and enhance used AI innovation services from a specific tourism business, encom
their perceived functional benefits. passing various types such as hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies. To
Secondly, in terms of AI innovation, as mentioned above, the impact overcome this limitation, future studies should collaborate with tourism
of AI innovation on organizational strategy and performance still needs businesses to distribute questionnaires directly to users and gain insights
to be improved. Accordingly, tourism businesses should consider inte into their perceptions.
grating AI service innovation with organizational strategies in the next The second limitation is associated with administering question
stage to enhance their competitive advantage and product innovation, naires over two years. The same organizations and respondents would
thereby providing consumers with more functional benefits; the appli not be guaranteed to be available for participation, and the years 2022
cation of artificial intelligence has significantly contributed to hotel and and 2023 coincided with the severe impact and subsequent recovery
restaurant services during the epidemic. In the future, as per experts’ from the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly affecting tourism businesses
suggestions from interviewers, examples such as ChatGPT and related worldwide and leading to numerous closures. Despite efforts to
plugins will serve as optimal paradigms. For instance, tourists can search distribute questionnaires across multiple countries over two consecutive
for flights, accommodations, car rentals, and more based on their travel years, it was only sometimes possible to receive responses from the same
destinations. ChatGPT can utilize data from affiliated tourism businesses companies, ensuring optimal data collection conditions. While this does
to provide tourists with the necessary information and connect them to not undermine the credibility and validity of the data collected, future
the booking buttons of partner enterprises, thereby facilitating the studies should strengthen the research framework’s credibility and
completion of transactions. Similarly, tourism businesses can expand causal relationships by collecting questionnaire data over multiple years
their organizational collaborations related to travel itineraries by from the same source.
exchanging product data and enriching each other’s databases.
The use of innovative artificial intelligence services by tourism 9. Conclusions
companies can create more innovative tourism products for both parties
and further enhance the functional benefits of consumers. Furthermore, This study presents empirical findings on the impact of AI innovation
by providing superior functional benefits to tourists, tourism enterprises and new product advantage on functional benefits and continued AI
can positively influence customer satisfaction and create expectations service usage intention in the context of socio-technical systems and
among future customers to utilize the innovative AI services provided by emotions. The results highlight the significance of AI innovation and
these enterprises when relevant needs arise. new product advantages in enhancing functional benefits for travelers,
Finally, although the hypothesized moderating effects of positive leading to increased satisfaction and intention to continue using AI
user experience and perceived anthropomorphism were not supported services. However, the proposed moderating effects of positive user
in this study and even yielded adverse effects, in-depth interviews experience and perceived anthropomorphism were not found to be
identified potential reasons. These include the limited availability of significant. Nevertheless, in-depth interviews revealed that tourism
data for training AI innovation services and the limited effect of businesses’ current AI innovation services have limitations and room for
anthropomorphism in existing AI systems used by tourism businesses. improvement. Therefore, further exploration and enhancements of AI
Considering these findings, tourism businesses should accumulate more innovation services are recommended. The research framework and
data on consumer preferences and behaviors through their organiza strategic recommendations proposed in this study have the potential to
tional efforts and by integrating external industry databases to train contribute to the digital transformation and sustained competitive
their AI systems. This will better align the AI innovation services pro advantage of tourism businesses.
vided with customer needs and enable precision marketing.
Furthermore, advancements in generative AI, such as avatar gener The author’s statements
ation websites like HeyGen or Movieo, continue to evolve. These ad
vancements enable AI services of tourism businesses to provide more The manuscript (Especially the revision) was conducted by Prof.
human-like experiences, with human-like appearances, movements, Edward Ku and Prof. Chun-Der Chen; we list the main contribution as
and multilingual conversation capabilities. follows: Conceptual designs: Prof. Ku, Data collection: Prof. Ku, Data
Overall, these practical implications emphasize the need for tourism Analysis: Prof. Chen, Revised manuscript: Prof. Chen and Prof. Ku, Final
businesses to strategically leverage AI services to enhance functional Approved: Prof. Ku.
12
Declaration of Competing Interest excellent guidance that significantly improved the manuscript. This
research was supported by the National Science and Technology Council
No. in Taiwan under contract number NSTC 112–2410-H-328 − 004.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the editor-in-chief and the two reviewers for their
Appendix 1. Qualitative Interviews Information
1. Respondents.
Company Position Working Experience Interview hours
Cowell Information General Manager 25 Years 3h

Cowell Information Marketing Manager 18 Years 3h
QbiAI Co. Marketing Manager 4 Years 3h
2. Interview guides:
• Q1: Recent AI innovation in the tourism industry

• Q2: What kind of advantages and functional benefits do you think products or services enhanced by AI can bring to companies?
• Q3: In what aspects do you think consumers can obtain satisfaction and contentment from products or services enhanced by AI in the tourism
industry?
• Q4: How do you think consumers will view these AI service innovations? In addition, what do you think about the anthropomorphizing of AI? How
will consumers feel about it? What aspects will it impact?
• Q5: Overall, are there any areas for improvement in the tourism industry’s current AI product or service innovations? How can they be improved?
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International Journal of Information Management 76 (2024) 102757

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Information Management

Artificial intelligence innovation of tourism businesses: From satisfied

Fig. 1. Research model.

AII 3.464 0.631 0.853 0.855 0.695 0.834

Fig. 2. Results of hypothesis testing (Study1: 2022 data)].

employed enterprise interviews to enhance the validity of causal re

AII 3.600 0.57 0.816 0.819 0.643 0.802

Fig. 3. Results of hypothesis testing (Study2:2023 data)].

Fig. 4. Results of hypothesis testing (Combined)].

through the customer service system with CRM modules to create

operational benefits. benefits, integrate AI innovation with organizational strategies, and

In terms of practical implications, this study highlights the signifi

Appendix 1. Qualitative Interviews Information

Company Position Working Experience Interview hours

Cowell Information General Manager 25 Years 3h

• Q1: Recent AI innovation in the tourism industry

References explanatory sequential design. Psychology & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1002/

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International Journal of Information Management 76 (2024) 102757

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Information Management

Artificial intelligence innovation of tourism businesses: From satisfied

Fig. 1. Research model.

AII 3.464 0.631 0.853 0.855 0.695 0.834

Fig. 2. Results of hypothesis testing (Study1: 2022 data)].

employed enterprise interviews to enhance the validity of causal re­

AII 3.600 0.57 0.816 0.819 0.643 0.802

Fig. 3. Results of hypothesis testing (Study2:2023 data)].

Fig. 4. Results of hypothesis testing (Combined)].

through the customer service system with CRM modules to create

operational benefits. benefits, integrate AI innovation with organizational strategies, and

In terms of practical implications, this study highlights the signifi­

Appendix 1. Qualitative Interviews Information

Company Position Working Experience Interview hours

Cowell Information General Manager 25 Years 3h

• Q1: Recent AI innovation in the tourism industry

References explanatory sequential design. Psychology & Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1002/

You might also like

employed enterprise interviews to enhance the validity of causal re

In terms of practical implications, this study highlights the signifi