Exploring the nature and processes of experiential marketing as delivered in context of the luxury airline service

Abstract The constant demand of the luxury air travel market has remained the growth and lead to the strong competition. Moreover, due to the high profitability of the market, the premium cabin travelers have been considered as the major source of providing a high proportion of the company’s revenue. Therefore, in order to stay competitive in this market and to attract or remain the key customer segment, it is essential to have a deeper understanding of the consumption experiences of luxury air travelers. The aim of the study is to explore the nature and processes of experiential marketing as delivered in context of the luxury airline service. The study involved a comprehensive theoretical review on the four standpoints, including the concept of experiential marketing, customer experience, the nature of luxury, and the valued-based luxury consumption segmentation. This study adopts the perspectives of experience economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1998) and the experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999) to understand the nature of experiential marketing. And the study reviews the customer experience management (Schmitt, 2003) to highlight the important of the customer experience. Furthermore, based on the conceptual model of Wiedmann et al. (2009), the study evaluates the role and nature of luxury value, and identifies the motives of the luxury consumption behavior. Through conducting the in-depth qualitative research, the findings revealed that anticipating customers’ demands individually and offering beyond their expectations are viewed as the critical elements to influence customers’ intention of luxury consumption. Moreover, airlines considered the customization and flexibility of service as the keys of offering luxury value and personalized experiences to their target passengers. However, airlines should be aware of the sufficient manpower of service providers could lead to an issue and affecting the confidence of cabin crew while providing the service to passengers. The research questions of the study are as follows: (1) From the services providers’ perspective, what is the role and the nature of value creation through the mechanism of experience marketing delivered in the context of the luxury airline service industry? (2) From the services receivers’ perspective, what is the role and the nature of value creation through the mechanism of experience marketing delivered in the context of the luxury airline service industry

Top-down effects of filter-feeding fish and bivalves moderate bottom-up effects of nutrients on phytoplankton in subtropical shallow lakes: An outdoor mesocosm study

Biomanipulation has been widely used in the ecological restoration of eutrophic lakes for decades. However, biomanipulation is prone to failure if external nutrient loads are not reduced. In order to explore the importance of filter-feeding fish and bivalves on algal control, an outdoor mesocosm experiment was conducted using different nutrient concentrations. Four treatments simulating daily loads of nutrients in Lake Taihu were studied: current, two times, and three times average daily loads of nutrients with both fish (Aristichthys nobilis) and Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) and as a control current daily loads without fish or bivalves. Results showed that stocking of filter-feeding fish and bivalves (80 g m-3 bighead carp; 200 g cm-2 clams) at two times daily nutrient loads could effectively control water column Chl a concentrations and phytoplankton biomass. At higher nutrient concentrations (TN & GE; 260 & mu;g L-1 d-1; TP & GE; 10 & mu;g L-1 d-1), top-down control of filter-feeding fish and bivalves was less effective and bottom-up effects resulted in significant increases of Chl a concentration. Thus, as phytoplankton biomass in freshwater ecosystems is determined by both the top-down effects of predators and the bottom-up effects of nutrients, external loadings should be controlled when filter-feeding fish and bivalves are used for algal control to ensure the efficacy of biomanipulation.A combination of filter-feeding fish and clams suppressed phytoplankton, which could not be affected by low-level nutrients.Bottom-up effects at high-level nutrients on phytoplankton overcome top-down effects, indicating that nutrient levels should be controlled to optimize the effect of the intervention.imag

Nutrient enrichment homogenizes taxonomic and functional diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in shallow lakes

Eutrophication alters the trophic dynamics in lakes and may result in biotic homogenization. How nutrient enrichment drives patterns of taxonomic and functional (i.e., trait‐based) homogenization of macroinvertebrate assemblages at within‐lake (local) and among‐lake (regional) scales is, however, not well understood. Taxonomic and functional compositions of macroinvertebrate assemblages in 41 lakes of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River were analyzed at within‐lake and among‐lake scales. Our results indicated that there was a significant difference in macroinvertebrate assemblages among lakes under different trophic status, and that total phosphorus was the major environmental factor that regulated both taxonomic and functional beta diversity of macroinvertebrate assemblages. That the abundances of pollution‐tolerant species (e.g., Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Microchironomus tabarui) increased with trophic state contributed the most to among‐lake dissimilarity. Functional beta diversity was significantly positively correlated with taxonomic beta diversity, while functional beta diversity was on average lower than taxonomic beta diversity. A combination of univariate and multivariate techniques revealed that nutrient enrichment homogenized taxonomic and functional diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in shallow lakes at within‐lake and among‐lake scales, and that there was an overall trend toward taxonomic homogenization that exceeded the trend of functional homogenization. Thus, taxonomic and functional compositions should be considered simultaneously to improve understanding of the response of aquatic communities to anthropogenic disturbance, as the loss and gain of species may be influenced by species‐specific features, and functional composition may exhibit a relatively high correspondence with changes in environmental conditions

Exploring the nature and processes of experiential marketing as delivered in context of the luxury airline service

Abstract The constant demand of the luxury air travel market has remained the growth and lead to the strong competition. Moreover, due to the high profitability of the market, the premium cabin travelers have been considered as the major source of providing a high proportion of the company’s revenue. Therefore, in order to stay competitive in this market and to attract or remain the key customer segment, it is essential to have a deeper understanding of the consumption experiences of luxury air travelers. The aim of the study is to explore the nature and processes of experiential marketing as delivered in context of the luxury airline service. The study involved a comprehensive theoretical review on the four standpoints, including the concept of experiential marketing, customer experience, the nature of luxury, and the valued-based luxury consumption segmentation. This study adopts the perspectives of experience economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1998) and the experiential marketing (Schmitt, 1999) to understand the nature of experiential marketing. And the study reviews the customer experience management (Schmitt, 2003) to highlight the important of the customer experience. Furthermore, based on the conceptual model of Wiedmann et al. (2009), the study evaluates the role and nature of luxury value, and identifies the motives of the luxury consumption behavior. Through conducting the in-depth qualitative research, the findings revealed that anticipating customers’ demands individually and offering beyond their expectations are viewed as the critical elements to influence customers’ intention of luxury consumption. Moreover, airlines considered the customization and flexibility of service as the keys of offering luxury value and personalized experiences to their target passengers. However, airlines should be aware of the sufficient manpower of service providers could lead to an issue and affecting the confidence of cabin crew while providing the service to passengers. The research questions of the study are as follows: (1) From the services providers’ perspective, what is the role and the nature of value creation through the mechanism of experience marketing delivered in the context of the luxury airline service industry? (2) From the services receivers’ perspective, what is the role and the nature of value creation through the mechanism of experience marketing delivered in the context of the luxury airline service industry

Eutrophic water or fertile sediment: which is more important for the growth of invasive aquatic macrophyte Myriophyllum aquaticum?

Invasive macrophyte Myriophyllum aquaticum is capable of assimilating nutrients from both the sediments and the water column. However, which is the major source of nutrients supporting M. aquaticum growth under various nutrient regimes has not been well documented. Here we conducted a two-factorial outdoor experiment (three levels of nutrient loading and two types of sediments) from 23 May to 27 June 2016, to assess M. aquaticum responses to different nutrient levels in the water column and the sediment. Results showed that concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll a in the water column increased in the treatment groups, but decreased slightly in the control group (nutrient-poor sediment and no nutrient addition). Sediment type had a significant effect on the growth M. aquaticum, while there were no significant effects of nutrient loading levels and the interactions between the two factors. Mean relative growth rate, mean plant height, mean stem diameter, the number of lateral branches and roots in the nutrient-rich sediment treatments were 1.6, 1.2, 1.6, 3.2 and 5.9 folds greater than in the nutrient-poor sediment treatments, respectively. These results suggest that nutrient-rich sediment has a positive effect on the growth of M. aquaticum. This study reveals possible expansion mechanism of the exotic M. aquaticum in China, and may provide valuable information on the ecological restoration of eutrophic freshwaters

Responses of Different Submerged Macrophytes to the Application of Lanthanum-Modified Bentonite (LMB): A Mesocosm Study

Lanthanum-modified bentonite (LMB) has remarkable efficacy on eutrophication control, but the reduced bioavailable phosphorus and formed anaerobic horizon from LMB may be harmful to submerged macrophytes. We conducted this study to explore the influence of LMB on Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria natans in mixed-species plantings. The concentrations of TP, TDP, SRP, and TDN in the LMB treatments were lower than the Control, but the Chl a concentration in the HLMB treatment (850 g m−2) was higher than the Control by 63%. There were no differences of V. natans growth among the treatments. For H. verticillata, its biomass, RGR, height, branch number, root number, and length in the LLMB treatment (425 g m−2) were lower than the Control by 48%, 22%, 13%, 34%, 33%, and 8%, respectively. In addition, the biomass of H. verticillata was 62%, the RGR was 32%, the height was 19%, the branch number was 52%, the root length was 40%, and the root number was 54% lower in the HLMB treatment than those in the Control. In summary, LMB had negative effects on submerged macrophytes with underdeveloped roots. Submerged macrophytes with more developed roots are preferred when using combined biological–chemical methods for water restoration

Responses of Different Submerged Macrophytes to the Application of Lanthanum-Modified Bentonite (LMB): A Mesocosm Study

Lanthanum-modified bentonite (LMB) has remarkable efficacy on eutrophication control, but the reduced bioavailable phosphorus and formed anaerobic horizon from LMB may be harmful to submerged macrophytes. We conducted this study to explore the influence of LMB on Hydrilla verticillata and Vallisneria natans in mixed-species plantings. The concentrations of TP, TDP, SRP, and TDN in the LMB treatments were lower than the Control, but the Chl a concentration in the HLMB treatment (850 g m−2) was higher than the Control by 63%. There were no differences of V. natans growth among the treatments. For H. verticillata, its biomass, RGR, height, branch number, root number, and length in the LLMB treatment (425 g m−2) were lower than the Control by 48%, 22%, 13%, 34%, 33%, and 8%, respectively. In addition, the biomass of H. verticillata was 62%, the RGR was 32%, the height was 19%, the branch number was 52%, the root length was 40%, and the root number was 54% lower in the HLMB treatment than those in the Control. In summary, LMB had negative effects on submerged macrophytes with underdeveloped roots. Submerged macrophytes with more developed roots are preferred when using combined biological–chemical methods for water restoration

Eutrophic water or fertile sediment: which is more important for the growth of invasive aquatic macrophyte

Invasive macrophyte Myriophyllum aquaticum is capable of assimilating nutrients from both the sediments and the water column. However, which is the major source of nutrients supporting M. aquaticum growth under various nutrient regimes has not been well documented. Here we conducted a two-factorial outdoor experiment (three levels of nutrient loading and two types of sediments) from 23 May to 27 June 2016, to assess M. aquaticum responses to different nutrient levels in the water column and the sediment. Results showed that concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus and chlorophyll a in the water column increased in the treatment groups, but decreased slightly in the control group (nutrient-poor sediment and no nutrient addition). Sediment type had a significant effect on the growth M. aquaticum, while there were no significant effects of nutrient loading levels and the interactions between the two factors. Mean relative growth rate, mean plant height, mean stem diameter, the number of lateral branches and roots in the nutrient-rich sediment treatments were 1.6, 1.2, 1.6, 3.2 and 5.9 folds greater than in the nutrient-poor sediment treatments, respectively. These results suggest that nutrient-rich sediment has a positive effect on the growth of M. aquaticum. This study reveals possible expansion mechanism of the exotic M. aquaticum in China, and may provide valuable information on the ecological restoration of eutrophic freshwaters

Spatial autocorrelation of phytoplankton biomass is weak in the rivers of Lake Taihu Basin, China

We investigated the characteristic of phytoplankton community structure across the entire Lake Taihu Basin (LTB), one of the most developed areas in China. A morphologically based functional group (MBFG) proposed by Kruk et al. (2010), especially potential toxic cyanobacteria (group III and VII), was also illustrated. Samples were collected at 96 sites along main rivers throughout the four seasons from September 2014 to January 2016. Significant differences in the phytoplankton community structure were observed at spatial (particularly between Huangpu/Tiaoxi and the other 4 river systems) and seasonal scales. On a spatial basis, high variability was observed in the mean phytoplankton biomass, with a relatively high value of 3.13 mg L−1 in Yanjiang system and a relatively low value in Huangpu (1.23 mg L−1) and Tiaoxi (1.44 mg L−1) systems. The mean biomass of potential toxic cyanobacteria accounted for 18.28% of the mean total biomass spatially, which was more abundant in Nanhe and Yanjiang systems. Spatial autocorrelation was weak for the total biomass and its four main components (bacillariophyta, chlorophyta, euglenophyta, and cyanobacteria) at whole basin scale regardless of season. Regarding the river system, significant autocorrelation was scarcely observed in all the river systems except Huangpu, especially in the inflows. The characteristic in terms of hydrological and environmental conditions may determine the community structure of the 6 river systems. Our study highlighted the importance of monitoring based on a large spatial scale, and more attention should be paid to potential toxic cyanobacteria for water quality management purposes

Effects of Water Depth on the Growth of the Submerged Macrophytes Vallisneria natans and Hydrilla verticillata: Implications for Water Level Management

Water level is one of the most important factors affecting the growth of submerged macrophytes in aquatic ecosystems. The rosette plant Vallisneria natans and the erect plant Hydrilla verticillata are two common submerged macrophytes in lakes of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. How water level fluctuations affect their growth and competition is still unknown. In this study, three water depths (50 cm, 150 cm, and 250 cm) were established to explore the responses in growth and competitive patterns of the two plant species to water depth under mixed planting conditions. The results show that, compared with shallow water conditions (50 cm), the growth of both submerged macrophytes was severely suppressed in deep water depth (250 cm), while only V. natans was inhibited under intermediate water depth (150 cm). Moreover, the ratio of biomass of V. natans to H. verticillata gradually increased with increasing water depth, indicating that deep water enhanced the competitive advantage of V. natans over H.verticillata. Morphological adaptation of the two submerged macrophytes to water depth was different. With increasing water depth, H. verticillata increased its height, at the cost of reduced plant numbers to adapt to poor light conditions. A similar strategy was also observed in V. natans, when water depth increased from 50 cm to 150 cm. However, both the plant height and number were reduced at deep water depth (250 cm). Our study suggests that water level reduction in lake restoration efforts could increase the total biomass of submerged macrophytes, but the domination of key plants, such as V. natans, may decrease