An Examination of the Vaal River Carnival Attendees’ Perceptions of Service Quality Towards Satisfaction and Future Behavioural Intentions

Carnival events have become pivotal in the growth of tourism initiatives to many destinations. Tourist experiences of event captivities touted the dawn of carnival events as valued visitor destinations. Accordingly, gaining insights on the event attendees’ perceptions of service quality rendered at carnival events is crucial in growing visitor continued support and tourism at large. The impact of carnival events is gradually being examined in tourism marketing research since such occasions are sought to attract tourists through cultural and heritage services that enhance life experiences. This study investigates the Vaal River Carnival attendees’ service quality perceptions towards their satisfaction and future behavioural intentions at an event hosted in Vanderbijlpark town, Gauteng province. A cross-sectional approach of gathering data using convenience non-probability sampling procedure was adopted. On-site questionnaire survey method was employed to collect data from 400 respondents. The study results highlight constructive and negative views of the respondent’s experiences. The respondent’s satisfaction with the event’s level of service quality were high and positively impacted their future behavioural intentions. However, the event managers are advised to exigently deal with challenges of inadequate parking space and traffic jam linked to the event

Outcomes of relationship quality in business-to-business contexts: A South African concrete product market perspective

Business to business (B2B) relationships in South Africa's concrete product market are characterised as transactional, asymmetrical and adversarial. This study examines the outcomes of relationship quality satisfaction in South Africa's construction industry. Quantitative data was collected from 560 concrete product suppliers in South Africa. Expectation, involvement and flexibility emerged as the major factors that favourably influence perceptions of relationship quality. Moreover, the study showed low levels of trust, forgiveness, and communication between concrete product suppliers and civil contractors. Increased collaboration, trust and communication are recommended as strategies for managing incidences of conflict. The findings of this study underscored the need by concrete product suppliers (CPS) and civil engineering managers to improve the quality of communication. To be effective, communication should be planned in a manner that is proactive such that market information is timeously shared in a way that minimises risk exposure. Quality communication may also be enhanced by leveraging the power of internet enabled channels, whilst being attentive to reduce incidence of information leakage. The study findings also suggest the need to invest in trust building, since lack of trust breeds uncertainty which compromises project quality