Examining the Relationship Among Service Recovery, Affective Commitment, Calculative Commitment, And Trust for E-Travel Retailers

There is a gap in the literature with respect to studies that examined the importance of service recovery for Generation Y customers in an online travel context. This study examines various dimensions of commitment important to the development and maintenance of enduring relationships with Generation Y. The theoretical foundations for this study are based on social exchange theory, commitment-trust theory, and organizational commitment theory. The results of the study shows that affective commitment and trust are the most important constructs for building longterm relationships following service recovery; on the other hand, calculative commitment had negative impact on trust. The implications of these findings for both research and practitioners are discussed in the final section of the study

Outperformance in the Lodging Industry - Five Financial Signals to Watch

Economic tides fall and rise, as everyone with any amount in a 401K plan can attest. So how does a lodging firm stay ahead of the pack when many get drifted away? Clearly there are some firms that stay the course and thrive in periods of adversity. This study identifies five financial signals for lodging firms to keep a close eye on for a better future

Online Hotel Booking Experience: Flow Theory, Measuring Online Customer Experience and Managerial Implications

The past decade has perceived a significant development of various Internet technologies including HTML5, Ajax, landing pages, CSS3, social media and SEO to name a few. New web technologies provide opportunities for e-commerce companies to enhance the shopping experiences of their customers. This article focuses the phenomenon of online experiences from a services marketing aspect by concentrating online hotel booking. Successful lodging management strategies have been associated with the creation of experience, which in turn leads to fruitful performance outcomes such as superior financial performance, enhanced brand image, customer loyalty, positive word of mouth and customer satisfaction. E-commerce researchers and practitioners also focus on the phenomenon of online customer experiences. Plentiful of previous studies investigated the precursors and consequences of positive online customer experiences by utilizing various marketing and Information Systems theories, and it was found that online customer experience has numerous positive outcomes for e-commerce companies. This study analyses the previous studies on customer experiences by utilizing flow theory and develops a conceptual framework of customer experiences. Later it proposes and tests a measurement model for online customer experiences. Our findings indicate that for successful e-commerce practices, online shoppers need to reach a state of mind where they engage with the website with total involvement, concentration and enjoyment. The traditional approaches to attract customers in brick-and-mortar commerce are not applicable in online contexts. Therefore, interaction, participation, co-creation, immersion, engagement and emotional hooks are important in e-commerce. Managerial and theoretical implications of positive online customer experiences were discussed

Florida Turnpike Service - Retail Store Project

This report summarizes the findings of the Florida Turnpike Service Plaza retail Store survey, which was conducted October/2010- February 2011. Customers were surveyed in five service plazas, specifically Turkey Lake, Port St. Lucie/Ft. Pierce, West Palm Beach, Canoe Creek, and Fort Drum. A focused group research was also conducted by the Rosen College Faculty. Rosen\u27s College- University of Central Florida- graduate and undergraduate students collected data using intercept method of data collection. Customers inside the 5 plazas were randomly selected to participate in the study. A total of 419 surveys were collected across the 5 plazas, after removing the outliers and the incomplete surveys 415 surveys were used for data analysis

Barriers to Information Technology Change Project in Hotels

The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers and the sources of resistance to information technology (IT) change projects in hotel firms and evaluate strategies adopted in seeking to overcome these barriers. Based on an in-depth literature review, the authors developed an interview protocol. The authors will start collecting empirical data soon from the Information Technology Managers and the Hotel General managers in hotels in Orlando, FL. Based on the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first research projects in the field that will provide empirical evidence on barriers to IT change projects and appropriate strategies in hotel companies

Investigation of the Exraction Processes and Performance Properties of Kudzu Fibers

While kudzu was introduced into the Southeastern United states for soil erosion and increase of land fertility, the plant has become unmanageable and is rapidly spreading to Canada. Japanese traditional craftsmen extract long, white fibers by labor intensive practices not feasible for 21st century commercial fiber production. This research investigated extraction by boiling, retting or fermentation, enzymatic combinations, and mild chemical processes. Two types of fibers were resultant- soft fibers and compact woody fibers. These fibers types were assessed for microscopic visual appearance, elemental analysis using EDAX SEM, and tensile strengths for the four extraction processes. In all extraction cases, the resultant amount of woody kudzu fibers was 2-5 times that of soft fibers. Breaking elongation of both soft and woody fibers was very high as compared to that of cotton fibers. Chemical processes improved the strength of soft fibers to a very high degree, averaging 19.89kg/tex

A quantitative study exploring the difference between gaming genre preferences

Abstract Although gaming technologies have been in use for more than thirty years, there is a lack of academic research in this area. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to identify the difference between age and gender in gaming genre preferences. A cross sectional online survey was administered with a sample size of 408. It was found that there is a statistical difference between age groups and their gaming preferences with the older generation focusing more on strategic gaming offerings while the younger generation tended to side more with action games. The findings of this study provide insights for game developers

Attributes Influencing Meeting Planners\u27 Destination Selection: A Case of Orlando, Florida

The current study used Orlando, Florida as a case study, and investigated whether there are differences between the three meeting planner types (association, corporate, third party) in regard to destination selection attributes. The study further identified attributes that affect future bookings to Orlando. Data were collected from a nationwide survey of meeting planners with a usable sample of 2,388 completed phone surveys and 118 completed online questionnaires. One significant difference was found between the three meeting planner types. This research was performed in the midst of the recent recession and explored the impact the recession has had on planning meetings. Some effects of the economic downturn on the events industry are decreased attendance and more conservative budgets. Most association meeting planners did not cancel or postponed their events, although all planners agree that attendance to their meetings decreased. Third-party planners seemed to be the most sensitive to budget allocations

Identifying structural asymmetries by jointly estimating tourism expenditure intensity and extensity

tle:ce36e6da-46a6-472d-ae44-d3e962fac7c6:afee126f-04b2-41a9-a6dd-b29b7c6c20ab:1This article proposes a structural framework for the joint estimation of tourists’ daily personal expenditures (intensity) and length of stay (extensity). We reconceptualize commonly accepted exogeneous determinants of both outcomes into a set of exogenous antecedents pre-existing the travel decision and a set of endogenous mediators that capture the role of market exchange after the travel decision and corresponding choices are made. Findings reveal that the effects of some exogenous factors, such as gender, income, and motives on total spending are fully mediated within the intensity and extensity components, absent of any direct impacts. Other factors, such as nationality, appear not to influence spending due to offsetting mediated effects. As these forces are difficult to discern via reduced-form modeling, the proposed structural framework provides tourism managers with deeper insight into the footprints of established expenditure determinants, potentially improving upon the efficacy of marketing strategies

A cross cultural study of gender differences in omnichannel retailing contexts

This research examines gender difference in omnichannel experience in modern shopping malls, combining personal, physical and virtual encounters. It proposes a new theoretical model: the gender-based shopping mall omnichannel experience model. Data was collected using 1139 questionnaires completed by millennial shoppers in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. Data was analysed using partial least squares. The results showed a shift in males shopping behaviour as they pay more attention to peer interaction on social platforms, service excellence, convenience, diversity and personalisation in shopping malls than female shoppers, while aesthetics and privacy are more important for female shoppers