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Electronic Travel Markets: Elusive Effects on Consumers' Search Behavior

This article examines the effect of Internet-based electronic markets on consumer search in the travel and tourism industry. Two experiments provide the empirical basis for the article. We address the question of whether consumer search in electronic markets is different from search in conventional markets. In this work we refine the efficiency of consumer search and its effects with the following questions: 1) Is consumer search in electronic markets more productive? 2) Is consumer search in electronic markets more efficient? Based on our analyses, we present propositions about major obstacles that have prevented current travel markets from reaching the hypothesized high efficiency related to electronic markets. The article ends with a critical outlook of the market development. Are there ways to overcome some of the observed obstacles and are there indications that the industry has understood the problems and is reacting?