Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Tourist Behaviors: A Review and Conceptual Framework

This paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing tourist behaviors and identifies three categories of behaviors based on the applications of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the processes underlying these influences. Our findings indicate that tourist behaviors in the Before-Travel, During-Travel, and After-Travel stages differ significantly in terms of the applicability and process through which Hofstede’s cultural dimensions operate. The results of our analysis suggest three categories of behavioral patterns, namely, “Social Interaction Driven Travel Behaviors,” (SID), “Risk Tendencies Driven Travel Behaviors,” (RTD), and “Collectivity Orientation Driven Travel Behaviors,” (COD). SID relates to the evaluation of travel experiences in the after-travel stage. The dominant cultural values associated with SID are Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, and Power Distance. These three values act either independently or in pairs or all three together. RTD relates to the consumption of travel products in the during-travel stage, and COD relates to the formation of travel preferences in the before-travel stage. Individualism/Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance are associated with both RTD and COD. However, the underlying processes differ for these two categories of travel behaviors. In addition to their independent influences on travel behaviors, these two values associated with RTD and COD also have an interactive effect. For RTD, the Uncertainty Avoidance motive determines the Individualism/Collectivism outcome, whereas, for COD, the opposite is true: the Individualism/Collectivism determines the Uncertainty Avoidance outcome. The paper also discusses the application of a fifth cultural dimension, Confucian Dynamism (short-term versus long-term orientation), for the study of tourists’ behaviors.Hofstede’s cultural dimensions; tourist behaviors; traveller’s behaviors; Confucian Dynamism

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions and Tourist Behaviors: A Review and Conceptual Framework

This paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing tourist behaviors and identifies three categories of behaviors based on the applications of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the processes underlying these influences. Our findings indicate that tourist behaviors in the Before-Travel During-Travel and After-Travel stages differ significantly in terms of the applicability and process through which Hofstede's cultural dimensions operate. The results of our analysis suggest three categories of behavioral patterns namely "Social Interaction Driven Travel Behaviors" (SID) "Risk Tendencies Driven Travel Behaviors" (RTD) and "Collectivity Orientation Driven Travel Behaviors" (COD). SID relates to the evaluation of travel experiences in the after-travel stage. The dominant cultural values associated with SID are Individualism/CollectivismMasculinity/Femininity and Power Distance. These three values act either independently or in pairs or all three together. RTD relates to the consumption of travel products in the during-travel stage and COD relates to the formation of travel preferences in the before-travel stage. Individualism/Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance are associated with both RTD and COD. However the underlying processes differ for these two categories of travel behaviors. In addition to their independent influences on travel behaviors these two values associated with RTD and COD also have an interactive effect. For RTD the Uncertainty Avoidance motive determines the Individualism/Collectivism outcome whereas for COD the opposite is true: the Individualism/Collectivism determines the Uncertainty Avoidance outcome. The paper also discusses the application of a fifth cultural dimension Confucian Dynamism (short-term versus long-term orientation) for the study of tourists' behaviors.En este artículo se desarrolla un marco conceptual de análisis de patrones de conducta del turista e identifica tres categorías de conducta basadas en las aplicaciones de dimensiones culturales de Hofstede y los procesos subyacentes de estas influencias. Nuestros resultados indican que las conductas del turista en los estadios de Antes-del-viaje Durante-el-viaje y Después-del-viaje difieren significativamente en términos de la aplicabilidad y el procesos a través de los cuales las dimensiones culturales de Hofstede operan. El resultado de nuestro análisis sugiere tres categorías de patrones de conducta a saber “Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a Interacción Social” (SID por sus siglas en inglés) “Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a Tendencias de Riesgo” (RTD por sus siglas en inglés) y “Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a la Orientación Colectiva” (COD por sus siglas en inglés). SID se relaciona con la evaluación de las experiencias de viaje en la fase posterior al viaje. Los valores culturales dominantes asociados con SID son Individualismo-Colectivismo Masculinidad-Feminidad y Distancia del Poder. Cada uno de estos tres valores actúa independientemente en pareja o los tres a la vez. RTD se relaciona con el consumo de productos de viaje en la fase de la travesía en sí y COD se relaciona con la formación de las preferencias de viaje en la fase previa al viaje. Las categorías Individualismo-Colectivismo e Incertidumbre-Prevención están asociadas tanto con RTD como con COD. Sin embargo los procesos subyacentes difieren de estas dos categorías de conductas de viaje. Además de las influencias independientes de conductas de viaje estos dos valores asociados con RTD y COD también ejercen efectos interactivos. Para RTD la motivación Incertidumbre-Prevención determina el resultado de Individualismo- Colectivismo mientras que para COD sucede lo contrario; es decir el motivo Individualismo-Colectivismo determina el resultado de Incertidumbre-Prevención. El artículo también argumenta la aplicación de una quinta dimensión cultural Dinamismo Confuciano (orientación a corto plazo frente a orientación a largo plazo) del estudio de las conductas de los turistas

How Super Are Video Supers? A Test Of Communication Efficacy

Interest in the role of video supers-superimposed video presentations of verbal information-has grouwn among consumers, advertisers, the television networks, and public policymakers, as supers have become prevalent in television commercials. The authors empirically address the communications efficacy of video supers in a sample of 200 different commercials that contain video supers Drawing on a theory of modality effects, the authors examine the comprehensive of video supers relative to commercial content. The authors develop hypotheses and analyze structural determinants of video super comprehension, such as presence of a voice-over, rate of presentation, and presentation size. The findings are supportive of the predictions and suggest that viewer opportunity to process information in a video super might be a critical element in any strategy to increase viewer comprehension rates

The financial services industry and society: the role of incentives/punishments, moral hazard, and conflicts of interests in the 2008 financial crisis

Purpose – This paper aims to present an analysis of the role of financial incentives, moral hazard and conflicts of interests leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The study’s analysis has identified common structural flaws throughout the securitization food chain. These structural flaws include inappropriate incentives, the absence of punishment, moral hazard and conflicts of interest. This research sees the full impact of these structural flaws when considering their co-occurrence throughout the financial system. The authors address systemic defects in the securitization food chain and examine the inter-relationships among homeowners, mortgage originators, investment banks and investors. The authors also address the role of exogenous factors, including the SEC, AIG, the credit rating agencies, Congress, business academia and the business media. Findings – The study argues that the lack of criminal prosecutions of key financial executives has been a key factor in creating moral hazard. Eight years after the Great Recession ended in the USA, the financial services industry continues to suffer from a crisis of trust with society. Practical implications – An overwhelming majority of Americans, 89 per cent, believe that the federal government does a poor job of regulating the financial services industry (Puzzanghera, 2014). A study argues that the current corporate lobbying framework undermines societal expectations of political equality and consent (Alzola, 2013). The authors believe the Singapore model may be a useful starting point to restructure regulatory agencies so that they are more responsive to societal concerns and less responsive to special interests. Finally, the widespread perception is that the financial services sector, in particular, is ethically challenged (Ferguson, 2012); perhaps there would be some benefit from the implementation of ethical climate monitoring in firms that have been subject to deferred prosecution agreements for serious ethical violations (Arnaud, 2010). Originality/value – The authors believe the paper makes a truly original contribution. They provide new insights via their analysis of the role of financial incentives, moral hazard and conflicts of interests leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.Propósito – Este artículo tiene como objetivo presentar un análisis del papel de los incentivos financieros, el riesgo moral y los conflictos de intereses que llevaron a la crisis financiera de 2008. Diseño / metodología / enfoque – El análisis del estudio ha identificado fallas estructurales comunes a lo largo de la cadena alimentaria de titulización. Estos defectos estructurales incluyen incentivos inapropiados, ausencia de castigo, riesgo moral y conflictos de intereses. Esta investigación ve el impacto total de estas fallas estructurales cuando se considera su coexistencia en todo el sistema financiero. Los autores abordan los defectos sistémicos en la cadena alimentaria de la titulización y examinan las interrelaciones entre los propietarios de viviendas, los originadores de hipotecas, los bancos de inversión y los inversores. Los autores también abordan el papel de factores exógenos, incluidos la SEC, AIG, las agencias de calificación crediticia, el Congreso, la academia empresarial y los medios comerciales. Recomendaciones – El estudio sostiene que la falta de procesos penales de ejecutivos financieros clave ha sido un factor clave en la creación de riesgo moral. Ocho años después de que terminara la Gran Recesión en los EE. UU., La industria de servicios financieros continúa sufriendo una crisis de confianza con la sociedad. Implicaciones prácticas – Una abrumadora mayoría de estadounidenses, el 89 por ciento, cree que el gobierno federal hace un mal trabajo en la regulación de la industria de servicios financieros (Puzzanghera, 2014). Un estudio sostiene que el actual marco de presión empresarial socava las expectativas sociales de igualdad política y consentimiento (Alzola, 2013). Los autores creen que el modelo de Singapur puede ser un punto de partida útil para reestructurar las agencias reguladoras para que sean más receptivas a las preocupaciones de la sociedad y menos receptivas a los intereses especiales. Por último, la percepción generalizada es que el sector de servicios financieros, en particular, tiene un desafío ético (Ferguson, 2012); quizás habría algún beneficio de la implementación del monitoreo ético del clima en empresas que han sido sujetas a acuerdos de enjuiciamiento diferido por graves violaciones éticas (Arnaud, 2010). Originalidad / valor – Los autores creen que el artículo hace una contribución verdaderamente original. Proporcionan nuevos conocimientos a través de su análisis del papel de los incentivos financieros, el riesgo moral y los conflictos de intereses que llevaron a la crisis financiera de 2008

A cluster analysis of tourist attractions in Spain: Natural and cultural traits and implications for global tourism

Purpose - Natural and cultural tourism are important motivators for international tourism. Spain has impressive tourist attractions that are outstanding on the natural and cultural tourism dimensions. The purpose of this paper is to identify traits of the most attractive destinations in Spain and to understand the relative importance of natural, cultural, and dual (natural and cultural) attractions to target consumers. Design/methodology/approach - The authors compare the level of tourism in the 17 major regions of Spain and identify the key natural, cultural, and dual attractions using a two-step cluster analysis to ascertain the relative importance of the three types of attractions. Findings - The findings of the cluster analysis suggest that natural attractions had the highest importance, followed by dual attractions, with cultural attractions having the lowest importance in affecting the level of tourism in a region. The study identified four categories of regions resulting from “high vs low” total number of attractions by “high vs low” levels of tourism (operationalized via the number of tourist-nights). The regions with high levels of tourism were either located in the bodies of water (a group of islands) or on ocean/sea(s) surrounding Spain. The study suggests placing greater emphasis on promoting cultural attractions in Spain. Practical implications - The findings suggest that there is a need to put more emphasis on promoting the cultural attractions in Spain. Spain is a diverse country with huge potential for tourism from people all over the world, due to its diverse geography and rich history. Originality/value - To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes 17 regions of Spain in relation to their tourism characteristics, identifying attractions that are not sufficiently leveraged, and suggesting strategies for identifying opportunities for the tourism industry in Spain

‘Born to Shop’: Malls, Dream-Worlds and Capitalism

It has been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a new generation, untouched by the previous communist regimes, has come to adulthood throughout the post-communist world. The Iulius Group’s logo – ‘Born to shop!’ – suggests that these are born shoppers: the capitalist babies of Central and Eastern Europe who are sustaining the largest growth in retail and shopping malls in Europe. With no living memory of shortages, queuing, or government restrictions, they know only the limit of their own – or their parents’ – pocket/credit. Their world could not be more different from the one that their parents and grandparents experienced: both the abundance of goods and services, as well as the opulent settings under which they are now sold, offer striking visual contrasts to the not-so-distant past. In addition, the very experience of consumption is directly connected to the way in which the current social fabric – and new social divisions within it – is interwoven with the physical and architectural changes taking place in the urban setting

Tscale: A new multidimensional scaling procedure based on tversky's contrast model

Tversky's contrast model of proximity was initially formulated to account for the observed violations of the metric axioms often found in empirical proximity data. This set-theoretic approach models the similarity/dissimilarity between any two stimuli as a linear (or ratio) combination of measures of the common and distinctive features of the two stimuli. This paper proposes a new spatial multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure called TSCALE based on Tversky's linear contrast model for the analysis of generally asymmetric three-way, two-mode proximity data. We first review the basic structure of Tversky's conceptual contrast model. A brief discussion of alternative MDS procedures to accommodate asymmetric proximity data is also provided. The technical details of the TSCALE procedure are given, as well as the program options that allow for the estimation of a number of different model specifications. The nonlinear estimation framework is discussed, as are the results of a modest Monte Carlo analysis. Two consumer psychology applications are provided: one involving perceptions of fast-food restaurants and the other regarding perceptions of various competitive brands of cola soft-drinks. Finally, other applications and directions for future research are mentioned.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45750/1/11336_2005_Article_BF02294658.pd

Memes, Memetics and Marketing: A State-of-the-Art Review and a Lifecycle Model of Meme Management in Advertising

The concept of the meme has promised to transform our understanding of culture in the same manner as the gene has transformed our knowledge of biology. Yet, memetics has failed to live up to its promise of delivering a more complex and complete model of culture. This paper addresses why the science of memetics has failed to live up to its early promise. It assesses memetics\u27 contribution to explanatory targets of culture, marketing and advertising. The paper analyzes why memetics has received a more positive reception among physical and mathematical sciences than from the social sciences. The social sciences have not been especially receptive to memetics\u27 two over-arching theoretical metaphors of genetics and of viruses of the mind. Nonetheless, a review of popular and successful social media campaigns reveals the popularity of viral themes in the construction of these campaigns. The paper argues that memetics would benefit from the development of a propositional network of empirically testable hypotheses. A lifecycle model of meme management is developed and several testable propositions for memetics in advertising contexts are offered. Finally, we evaluate the prospects for memetics in marketing and call for new theoretical approaches to memetics that rely less on biological, deterministic models of behaviors, and which draw from recent trends in the literature of sociobiology and cultural transmission. The integration of these new theoretical developments into memetics will allow for the integration of cognitive models, in a new and more open model of memetics.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/business_books/1003/thumbnail.jp

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions and Tourist Behaviors: A Review and Conceptual Framework

This paper develops a conceptual framework for analyzing tourist behaviors and identifies three categories of behaviors based on the applications of Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the processes underlying these influences. Our findings indicate that tourist behaviors in the Before-Travel During-Travel and After-Travel stages differ significantly in terms of the applicability and process through which Hofstede's cultural dimensions operate. The results of our analysis suggest three categories of behavioral patterns namely "Social Interaction Driven Travel Behaviors" (SID) "Risk Tendencies Driven Travel Behaviors" (RTD) and "Collectivity Orientation Driven Travel Behaviors" (COD). SID relates to the evaluation of travel experiences in the after-travel stage. The dominant cultural values associated with SID are Individualism/CollectivismMasculinity/Femininity and Power Distance. These three values act either independently or in pairs or all three together. RTD relates to the consumption of travel products in the during-travel stage and COD relates to the formation of travel preferences in the before-travel stage. Individualism/Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance are associated with both RTD and COD. However the underlying processes differ for these two categories of travel behaviors. In addition to their independent influences on travel behaviors these two values associated with RTD and COD also have an interactive effect. For RTD the Uncertainty Avoidance motive determines the Individualism/Collectivism outcome whereas for COD the opposite is true: the Individualism/Collectivism determines the Uncertainty Avoidance outcome. The paper also discusses the application of a fifth cultural dimension Confucian Dynamism (short-term versus long-term orientation) for the study of tourists' behaviors.En este art?culo se desarrolla un marco conceptual de an?lisis de patrones de conducta del turista e identifica tres categor?as?de conducta basadas en las aplicaciones de dimensiones culturales de Hofstede y los procesos subyacentes de estas?influencias. Nuestros resultados indican que las conductas del turista en los estadios de Antes-del-viaje Durante-el-viaje?y Despu?s-del-viaje difieren significativamente en t?rminos de la aplicabilidad y el procesos a trav?s de los cuales las dimensiones?culturales de Hofstede operan. El resultado de nuestro an?lisis sugiere tres categor?as de patrones de conducta a?saber ?Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a Interacci?n Social? (SID por sus siglas en ingl?s) ?Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a Tendencias de Riesgo? (RTD por sus siglas en ingl?s) y ?Conductas de Viaje Dirigidas a la Orientaci?n Colectiva? (COD?por sus siglas en ingl?s). SID se relaciona con la evaluaci?n de las experiencias de viaje en la fase posterior al viaje. Los?valores culturales dominantes asociados con SID son Individualismo-Colectivismo Masculinidad-Feminidad y Distancia?del Poder. Cada uno de estos tres valores act?a independientemente en pareja o los tres a la vez. RTD se relaciona con el?consumo de productos de viaje en la fase de la traves?a en s? y COD se relaciona con la formaci?n de las preferencias de?viaje en la fase previa al viaje. Las categor?as Individualismo-Colectivismo e Incertidumbre-Prevenci?n est?n asociadas?tanto con RTD como con COD. Sin embargo los procesos subyacentes difieren de estas dos categor?as de conductas de?viaje. Adem?s de las influencias independientes de conductas de viaje estos dos valores asociados con RTD y COD tambi?n?ejercen efectos interactivos. Para RTD la motivaci?n Incertidumbre-Prevenci?n determina el resultado de Individualismo-?Colectivismo mientras que para COD sucede lo contrario; es decir el motivo Individualismo-Colectivismo determina el resultado de Incertidumbre-Prevenci?n. El art?culo tambi?n argumenta la aplicaci?n de una quinta dimensi?n cultural?Dinamismo Confuciano (orientaci?n a corto plazo frente a orientaci?n a largo plazo) del estudio de las conductas de los?turistas