Coping with the risk of internet connectivity in hotels: Perspectives from American consumers traveling internationally

• Published in: Tourism management (1982) 2017-08, Vol.61, p.380-393
• Main Authors: DeFranco, Agnes, Morosan, Cristian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Benefits; Coping intentions; Hotels; Mobile commerce; Risk
• ISSN: 0261-5177; 1879-3193
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.022

A reliable and secure Internet connection may represent the only viable solution for international travelers to complete communication tasks in hotels (e.g., talking with loved ones at home, engaging in work-related activities, accessing restricted resources). Yet, the current cyber-environment accessible by connecting a mobile device to the Internet is characterized by a certain degree of risk, to which consumers generally respond via coping mechanisms. Based on data from a sample of 1017 American consumers who traveled internationally, this study validated a conceptual model that explains consumers' intentions to cope with the risk of connecting their mobile devices to hotel networks in order to access the Internet. The study recognizes consumers’ risk-benefit calculative mechanisms that influence coping intentions, and the roles of knowledge, habit, and convenience orientation in influencing the benefit-risk dyad. •The study conceptualized coping intentions regarding the task of connecting mobile devices to hotel networks.•The task conceptualized in this study reflects IS utilization that is integral to the contemporary hospitality experience.•This study offered a contextual conceptualization of risk based on three distinct dimensions.•This study elucidated the role of habit as an antecedent of benefit and risk: a differential effect on the dyad.