How social comparison influences reference price formation in a service context

What is the influence on reference price when the source of price information is anonymous versus social? This article investigates the formation of reference prices given an observed sequence of past prices in a service context. An experimental study suggests that, considering the same price information, if the source is social (i.e., the prices paid by colleagues), then consumers want to pay less. More specifically, social comparison changes the way individuals weigh information, attributing more importance to the lowest historical prices and to the range in price variations

Strategic and tactical price decisions in hotel revenue management

Dynamic pricing techniques allow using a number of variables in a tactical way compared to standard catalogue prices. This study merges in a conceptual model the relevance of the tactical and the strategic dimension of these variables, classified according to their tangible, reputational or contextual nature. To empirically validate the hypotheses, a database of 21.596 price observations was retrieved from booking.com. The study presents a hedonic price function, using the Shapley-Owen decomposition of the Rsquared to elicit the importance of each group of factors. Further, a hierarchical cluster analysis measures the presence of heterogeneity across operators. The results show that online reputation is gaining importance over the traditional star rating. Despite the tangible variables remain of paramount importance, the findings suggest the relevant role of contextual variables in short-run price variations. The players operating in the tourism and hospitality industries should integrate these findings when designing pricing strategies

Turning ideas into products:subjective well-being in co-creation

New services, like fabrication spaces, 3D printer rentals and virtual marketplaces, have made it easier for empowered consumers to co-create innovative products without almost any involvement of traditional companies. Adopting a consumer-grounded view, this work takes a step forward from the existing service literature by investigating the link between psychological motives and happiness in co-creation. Specifically, the study measures how community affiliation, personal growth, and utilitarian motives are predictors of subjective well-being. The results illustrate that community affiliation and personal growth motives predict high scores of subjective well-being, while utilitarian motives do not. In addition, empowered consumers who co-create with others are happier than consumers who create alone. This indicates that direct interactions are not only a powerful platform for service co-creation, but are also predictors of subjective well-being. We discuss the implications for traditional companies and for decision makers regarding the benefits offered by digital fabrication services

The impact of communication and proximity on citizens’ sustainable disposal of e-waste

Purpose – This paper demonstrates how decision-makers can enhance citizens' sustainable e-waste disposal through bin proximity and ad hoc communication. Specifically, we discuss a 2-year research project in Northern Italy where we documented the number of products disposed sustainably in four towns. Design/methodology/approach – The project involved five main groups of stakeholders: i) four municipalities, ii) one social purpose organization employing people with disabilities (i.e., Andromeda), iii) one provider of bins (i.e., PubliCittà), iv) another social purpose organization entity (i.e., Fondazione CRT) and v) the University of Portsmouth. After conducting three online pilot tests to confirm our expectations regarding enhancing citizens’ sustainable e-waste disposal, we successfully implemented the field pilot program in a small municipality and three other towns. Finally, we measured our program's impact on citizens' actual recycling rate for the three target municipalities. Findings – We found that the positioning of drop-off bins in such a way as to reduce their distance from as many households as possible, along with the use of communication that facilitates the understanding of information related to sustainable disposal schemes, can improve the citizens’ sustainable disposal of e-waste. After the intervention, the sustainable disposal of exhausted batteries, toners, and electronics significantly improved in the three municipalities that adopted the disposal scheme (Saluggia, San Benigno Canavese, and Santhiá). Research limitation – We believe it would be cautious to consider potential differences in recycling cultures and facilities before implementing the program in other countries. Practical implications – Our contribution shows decision-makers how to design disposal schemes to enhance citizens' sustainable behavior effectively. We demonstrate how the thoughtful and responsible use of marketing levers can improve environmental sustainability and social development. Social implications - This paper impacts society by changing citizens’ disposal behavior, reducing harm to the environment and human wellbeing, and supporting the inclusion of disadvantaged people in sustainability-oriented programs. Originality – The structured and equitable engagement of scholars with multiple stakeholders can lead to the co-creation of societal value and knowledge and improve the well-being of numerous stakeholders. The collaboration between academics and practitioners enables the definition of effective strategies by observing the actual disposal behavior of individuals (i.e., citizens). It offers a direct and measurable impact on society. The involvement of social purpose organizations reinforces the shared primary aim of achieving measurable social and environmental impact

The influence of e-word-of-mouth on hotel occupancy rate

Purpose Online consumer reviews have become increasingly important for consumer decision-making. One of the most prominent examples is the hotel industry where consumer reviews on websites, such as Bookings.com, TripAdvisor and Venere.com, play a critical role in consumers’ choice of a hotel. There have been a number of recent studies analyzing various aspects of online reviews. The purpose of this paper is to investigate their effects in terms of hotel occupancy rates. Design/methodology/approach This paper measures through regression analysis the impact of three dimensions of consumer reviews (i.e. review score, review variance and review volume) on the occupancy rates of 346 hotels located in Rome, isolating a number of other factors that might also affect demand. Findings Review score is the dimension with the highest impact. The results suggest that after controlling for other variables, a one-point increase in the review score is associated to an increase in the occupancy rate by 7.5 percentage points. Regardless the review score, the number of reviews has a positive effect, but with decreasing returns, implying that the higher the number of reviews, the lower the beneficial effect in terms of occupancy rates is. Practical implications The findings quantify the strong association of online reviews to occupancy rates suggesting the use of appropriate reputational management systems to increase hotel occupancy and therefore performance. Originality/value A major contribution of this paper is its comprehensiveness in analyzing the relation between online consumer reviews and occupancy across a heterogeneous sample of hotel

Personal or product reputation? Optimizing revenues in the sharing economy

The emergence of peer-to-peer platforms, known as the sharing economy, has empowered people to market their own products and services. However, there are information asymmetries that make it difficult to evaluate the reputation of the seller a priori. This article examines how sellers have to enhance their personal reputation to optimize revenues. The study proposes a revenue model where, given a frontier that depends on the shared assets, the maximization of revenues depends on reputational factors of the person and of the product. An empirical validation of the framework has been conducted in the context of Airbnb, a popular sharing economy travel platform. The sample comprises 981 establishments across five European cities. The findings suggest the crucial importance of personal reputation along with some distinctive reputational attributes of the product itself. These results emphasize the role of trust and personal branding strategies in peer-to-peer platforms