Abstract
The original contribution of this thesis is that it establishes evidence of the correlation of a personality construct to online purchasing behaviour. The thesis research question is to establish if there is a correlation between personality characteristics and online consumer behaviour variables during the process of online hostel bookings. To establish the validity of the research question the researcher presents evidence of the changes in approach in consumer behaviour in hospitality and tourism by researchers over the years. It establishes the gap of information in the literature and the gap of empirical information about the effects of personality in the consumer behaviour process. The thesis reviews personality schools of thought and establishes the locus of control construct as one of the more appropriate constructs, for the goals of this research. Following from the review of the consumer behaviour models available in literature, the thesis presents evidence for the use of the technology acceptance model in combination with the locus of control. It discusses methodological paradigms and the philosophical approach behind them and sets out the various methods available to the researcher in analysing primary data. The research design utilises a quantitative research tool that engaged with 602 guests of a London based hostel, as well as a qualitative tool with 43 from the same sample. This allows the researcher to establish evidence of a link between the locus of control construct and the technology acceptance model variables. The qualitative data allows for some deeper understanding between the relationships of the variables. The thesis findings suggest a link between personality and the consumer behaviour process. It also suggests that in the context of online consumer behaviour, the locus of control has a significant positive relationship with perceptions of ease of use of a hotel website, and that the online user and the actual consumer can often be two different people, resulting in a higher number of internals appearing as the majority of consumers that utilise the Internet for online purchases. Finally the findings suggest that the technology acceptance model can be extended in certain research contexts (such as non habitual online purchases of leisure accommodation) to account for personality variables that may enhance the predictability and understanding of the consumer behaviour process. The study concludes that the evidence of this research suggest a high proportion of internal locus of control for hostel guests who engage in online bookings. The study further concludes that consumers with high internal locus of control tend to perceive usefulness of online booking tools in a more positive way thus suggesting some predictability value of this personality construct within the limitations of the research.