Multiple Stakeholder Market Orientation: A Conceptualization and Application in the Field of Destination Marketing

The market orientation (MO) paradigm suggests that generating and reacting to information from the product market facilitates the development of sustainable competitive advantage and enhanced organizational performance. However, the proliferation of MO as the dominant empirical approach for the investigation of the marketing concept has not gone unchallenged. Recently, proponents of “the stakeholder marketing movement” have suggested that the customer- and competitor-centric approaches characteristic of the currently accepted MO paradigm marginalize the increasingly important role of salient external stakeholders in the process of value creation. In the spirit of the stakeholder marketing perspective, the present research proposes a more broadly defined conceptualization of MO that acknowledges the role of salient external stakeholders in value creation, a phenomenon referred to herein as multiple stakeholder market orientation (MSMO). From the theoretical perspective of both stakeholder theory and the resource-based view of the firm, MSMO is positioned as a more appropriate conceptualization of the MO paradigm in terms of Kotler’s (1972a) generic concept of marketing as well as Vargo and Lusch’s (2004) service-dominant logic of marketing. Using these frameworks, a conceptual framework is derived in which MSMO is hypothesized to affect the development of relationally-based marketing assets. In turn, the competitive advantages attributable to these assets are proposed to positively affect organizational performance. This framework is developed and empirically tested within the context of the destination marketing industry. Because destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have a broad set of market and non-market stakeholders, this industry is an ideal context for the operationalization of MSMO as conceptualized above. In order to test the proposed framework, Churchill’s (1979) construct development process was used to develop measurements of the multidimensional MSMO, three stakeholder-specific asset categories (customer-based assets, industry-based assets, and politically-based assets), and organizational performance. Upon establishing operational definitions for these constructs, a measurement instrument was developed and disseminated to a sample of 600 destination marketing executives in the U.S. Using structural equation modeling, responses to the survey were used to (1) verify the proposed dimensional structure of MSMO and (2) test the relationships among MSMO and the asset- and performance-based constructs proposed within its nomology

Environmental attitudes, motivation, and attachment: Toward a model of nature-based tourism

As research in the field of nature-based tourism (NBT) continues to expand, researchers are increasingly adapting constructs such as attitudes, motivation, and attachment to capture the unique behavior associated with the visitation of natural areas. Unfortunately, the relationships among these constructs are not well understood. In order to facilitate a better understanding of these constructs as they apply to NBT, our research proposes and empirically tests a theoretically-based model of NBT behavior whereby NBT motivation mediates the relationship between environmental attitudes and place attachment. Results of the analyses are presented followed by a discussion of important findings and implications

Just Looking: Tourist Gaze and the Theme Park Experience

What makes a memorable theme park experience? New research led by UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management\u27s Assistant Professor Wei Wei looks at how visitor experience is influenced by the \u27tourist gaze\u27—the consumption of visual experiences, as well as other services, in a tourism destination. With important implications for theme park operators and managers, the study focuses on visitors\u27 visual interactions with fellow visitors and finds they have a significant impact on visitors\u27 emotions and the quality of their overall experience

Precipitation of ordered dolomite via simultaneous dissolution of calcite and magnesite: New experimental insights into an old precipitation enigma

7International audienceIn the present study, we demonstrate that ordered dolomite can be precipitated via simultaneous dissolution of calcite and magnesite under hydrothermal conditions (from 100 to 200°C). The temperature and high-carbonate alkalinity have significantly co-promoted the dolomite formation. For example, when high-purity water was initially used as interacting fluid, only a small proportion of disordered dolomite was identified at 200°C from XRD patterns and FESEM observations. Conversely, higher proportion of ordered dolomite, i.e. clear identification of superstructure ordering reflections in XRD patterns, was determined when high-carbonate alkalinity solution was initially used in our system at the same durations of reaction. For this latter case, the dolomite formation is favorable therefrom 100°C and two kinetic steps were identified (1) proto-dolomite formation after about five days of reaction, characterized by rounded sub-micrometric particles from FESEM observations and by the absence of superstructure ordering reflections at 22.02 (101), 35.32 (015), 43.80 (021), etc. 2thetha on XRD patterns; (2) proto-dolomite to dolomite transformation, probably produced by a coupled dissolution-recrystallization process. Herein, the activation energy was estimated to 29 kJ/mol by using conventional Arrhenius linear-equation. This study provides new experimental conditions to which dolomite could be formed in hydrothermal systems. Temperature and carbonate alkalinity are particularly key physicochemical parameters to promote dolomite precipitation in abiotic systems

Visioning a hospitality-oriented patient experience (HOPE) framework in health care

PurposeThis paper considers the question: what would happen if healthcare providers, like their counterparts in the hospitality industry, adopted the principles of customer experience management (CEM) in order to facilitate a more holistic and personalized patient experience? It proposes an alternative vision of the patient experience by adding to an emerging hospitality–healthcare literature base, this time focusing upon CEM. A hospitality-oriented patient experience (HOPE) framework is introduced, designed to enhance the patient experience across all the touchpoints of the healthcare journey.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that draws upon three distinct literatures: hospitality literature; healthcare literature; and CEM literature. It utilizes this literature to develop a framework, the HOPE framework, designed to offer an alternative lens to understanding the patient experience. The paper utilizes descriptions of three unique patient experiences, one linked to chronic pain, a second to gastro issues and a third to orthopedic issues, to illustrate how adopting the principles of hospitality management, within a healthcare context, could promote an enhanced patient experience.FindingsThe main theoretical contribution is the development of the HOPE framework that brings together research on CEM with research on cocreative customer practices in health care. By selecting and connecting key ingredients of two separate research streams, this vision and paradigm provide an alternative lens into ways of addressing the key challenges in the implementation of person-centered care in healthcare services. The HOPE framework offers an actionable roadmap for healthcare organizations to realize greater understanding and to operationalize new ways of improving the patient experience.Originality/valueThis paper applies the principles of hospitality and CEM to the domain of health care. In so doing it adds value to a hospitality literature primarily focused upon extensive employee–customer relationships. To a healthcare literature seeking to more fully understand a person-centered care model typically delivered by a care team consisting of professionals and family/friends. And to a CEM literature in hospitality, which seeks to facilitate favorable employee–customer interactions. Connecting these separate literature streams enables an original conceptual framework, a HOPE framework, to be introduced.</jats:sec

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Market-Oriented Destination Marketing: An Operationalization

As competition among destinations has intensified, researchers have increasingly advocated for a market-oriented approach to destination marketing. Unfortunately, the unique stakeholder structure of the destination marketing environment precludes a direct application of the traditional market orientation paradigm to this domain. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to empirically develop an operational definition of the market orientation construct that can be applied to destination marketing organizations. Based on the tenets of stakeholder theory, this research proposes a multiple-stakeholder view of the marketing concept and develops its attendant operational construct. Referred to herein as a multistakeholder market orientation (MSMO), this construct is proposed and operationalized as reflective of the extent to which a destination marketing organization (DMO) implements the marketing concept across the stakeholder spectrum. The nomological validity of this construct is established by testing the effect of the proposed MSMO construct on DMO performance

Hospitality marketing research:recent trends and future directions

This article reviews the hospitality marketing research published in four top hospitality journals from 2008 to 2010 for the purposes of identifying significant trends and gaps in the literature. A total of 274 articles are reviewed and classified based on research topic, industry focus, and analysis technique as well as on a number of other methodological criteria. Significant topical and methodological trends are discussed. Important topical trends are synthesized and specific directions for future research are proposed. We conclude with the presentation and discussion of an organizational framework for future hospitality marketing research

Integrating the Tourist Gaze with the Social Servicescape: Implications for Creating Memorable Theme Park Experiences

This research examines how the social servicescape-directed gaze (i.e., perceptions of similarity, appearance, and behavior of other customers) influences theme park visitors’ affective states and experiences. A quantitative, survey-based research design was adopted with a total of 561 theme park patrons participating in the study. Results of structural equation modeling analyses reveal that similarity and behavior positively affect visitors’ feelings of arousal and curiosity, which in turn contribute to memorable theme park experiences. Other visitors’ appearances, however, are not a significant predictor of affect/experience. From a theory standpoint, this research represents a first attempt to study the tourist gaze at theme parks and makes a unique contribution by integrating the three dimensions of the social servicescape with the theoretical lens of the tourist gaze. Practically, this research provides suggestions for theme park management to create more memorable experiences by leveraging the social servicescape-directed gaze among visitors