Role of internet marketing in changing the consumer behaviour: A qualitative analysis about Airlines in London

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, it would give me great pleasure to show my gratitude to my professor, for his propositions, remarks, understanding and patience. It would also be an honour to express gratitude to my parents, my mother, my father, my sister and my brother for their endless support in my life and allowing me to make all my decisions. I would also like to take the opportunity to show appreciation to my co-workers for their expert cooperation on every occasion. I would also like to be grateful to the Department, managers of the university, instructors and students who have supported me throughout this research.

DECLARATION

I declare that the content presented in this thesis/dissertation is, in my understanding and opinion, original and has not been presented for scholarly assessment in the past, either completely or partly, for an academic degree at this educational institution or elsewhere. I would also like to admit that I have studied and understood the principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines of the University regarding the higher academic degree research award and to my dissertation. I would also like to declare that I have abided by the University's principles, prerequisites, processes and guidelines.

ABSTRACT

The consumer behaviour regarding the internet service offers numerous advantages, which enables marketers and organisations in understanding the factors that distinguish consumer characteristics, develop creative strategies and marketing programs tailored to the market needs, generate a more accurate definition of service characteristics, generate less waste of resources etc. The deeper the knowledge of characteristics of the target market, the easier it will be to develop effective marketing programs. The new consumer behaviour, as well as marketing and branding in recent years have taken a 180 degree turn, for example it is more concerned about the identity of a company, business or organisation. The identity of a company today is much more than a way to build a relationship with the consumer, since one of the most important components of identity is the power it has to influence consumer behaviour when choosing a product. The purpose of conducting this study is to identify the usefulness of internet technology in the field of marketing and how it influences the behaviour of consumers particularly in the field of tourism.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Research Background1

Research Objectives4

Research questions4

Structure of the Thesis4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Section 1: Internet Marketing, Airline Industry and British Airways6

British Airways and technology7

Response of British Airways to technological changes7

Hi quality technology provider8

Bi-annually strategies review policy8

Exclusive relationship with technology suppliers8

Introducing new technology team8

E-Ticketing9

Mobile boarding pass9

Intranet9

Service oriented protocol10

British Airlines Competition10

Use of Internet Marketing to Attract Consumers11

Consumer's Access to Information12

Dynamic packaging14

Online vs. Traditional Booking14

Changes in Online Marketing15

Section 2: Internet and Tourism Industry16

Electronic tourism (E-tourism)16

Electronic Tour Operators17

eTravel agencies17

Destination, Tourism Services and Experiences18

Section 3: Consumer Behaviour21

Consumer Characteristics21

Cultural Characteristics22

Social Characteristics23

Personal Characteristics24

Psychological Characteristics25

Online Consumer Characteristics27

Cultural Online Characteristics27

Social Online Characteristics27

Personal Online Characteristics28

Psychological Online Characteristics29

Section 4: Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Industry30

Factors Influencing Online Consumer Behaviour in Tourism30

Culture influences31

Social influences33

Personal influences34

Psychological influences36

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY39

Research Design39

Sampling Design39

Interview ...