Expectation Formation in Case of Newer Hotels: The Role of Advertising, Price, and Culture

Advertisement and price cues are important sources of information that influence tourists? service expectations, particularly in the case of newer, less-established hotels. However, it is not clear if such hotels benefit from promising more or less through their advertisements; or price high or low through their price cues. Extant research is also uncertain about the role of culture in moderating the impact of advertisement and price cues on expectations. Using an experimental setup with 218 tourists from three different countries, this study finds that a newer hotel is likely to be better off by offering more service promises through its advertising and high price cues to its prospective visitors. The results suggest that culture influences how tourists process advertising cues but has no influence on price cue influence. The study provides insights for managers on how to develop a segmentation strategy using the cultural profiles of tourists

How service design cues help in service failures

Terres, M. D. S., Herter, M. M., Pinto, D. C., & Mazzon, J. A. (2020). The power of sophistication: How service design cues help in service failures. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19(3), 277-290. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1816By analyzing three experimental studies, this research tests how and when sophisticated service environment designs (compared to modest service designs) can minimize consumers' negative emotions and increase repurchase intentions after a failure. Drawing on part-list cueing literature, this research proposes that when a service failure occurs in a sophisticated (vs. modest) environment, consumers will rely on the sophisticated style of design as cues for service quality. We argue that sophisticated (vs. modest) service designs work as strong cues for quality that restrict the retrieval of negative information by consumers and can minimize the negative impacts of service failure, reducing consumers' negative emotions and increasing repurchase intentions. We further advance our theorizing by showing how choice failure consequences (i.e., the risk or consequence related to the service choice) moderate the effects via associative pathways of retrieval. The findings contribute to theory and practice by revealing how service designs can serve as cues to mitigate adverse consequences of service failure.authorsversionpublishe

A cross validation of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) with Private Labels in Spain

Molinillo,S., Ekinci, Y., Japutra, A. (2014)'A cross validation of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) with Private Labels in Spain'. in Martínez-López, Gázquez-Abad, J.C. and Sethuraman, R. J.A. (eds.) Advances in National Brand and Private Label Marketing. Second International Conference, 2015. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, pp. 113-125In recent years a number of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) models and measurement scales have been introduced in the branding literature. However, examinations of brand equity in Private Labels (PL) are rather limited. This study aims to compare the validity of the two prominent CBBE models those introduced by Yoo and Donthu (2001) and Nam et al. (2011). In order to test the models and make this comparison, the study collected data from 236 respondents who rated private labels in Spain. A list of 30 different fashion and sportswear PL was introduced to respondents. These brands do not make any reference to the retail store in which they are sold. Research findings suggest that the extended CBBE model introduced by Nam et al. (2011) and Ciftci et al. (2014) is more reliable and valid than Yoo and Donthu’s model for assessing PL. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Moving from a Product-Based Economy to a Service-Based Economy for a More Sustainable Future

Traditionally, economic growth and prosperity have been linked with the availability, production and distribution of tangible goods as well as the ability of consumers to acquire such goods. Early evidence regarding this connection dates back to Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), in which any activity not resulting in the production of a tangible good is characterized as unproductive of any value." Since then, this coupling of economic value and material production has been prevalent in both developed and developing economies throughout the world. One unintended consequence of this coupling has been the exponential increase in the amount of solid waste being generated. The reason is that any production and consumption of material goods eventually generates the equivalent amount of (or even more) waste. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that, with today's manufacturing and supply chain management technologies, it has become cheaper to dispose and replace most products rather than to repair and reuse them. This has given rise to what some call a disposable society." To put things in perspective: In 2012 households in the U.K. generated approximately 22 thousand tons of waste, which amounted to 411 kg of waste generated per person (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 2015). During the same time period, households in the U.S. generated 251 million tons of waste, which is equivalent to a person generating approximately 2 kg of waste every day (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). Out of these 251 million tons of total waste generated, approximately 20% of the discarded items were categorized as durable goods. The disposal of durable goods is particularly worrisome because they are typically produced using material from non- renewable resources such as iron, minerals, and petroleum-based raw materials

Do Empowered Front-Line Employees Perform Better? A Non-linear Approach and the Role of Service Complexity

This study re-examines the influence of front-line service employee empowerment on their performance, following a non-linear approach and integrating the role of service complexity. For that purpose, data were collected through a quantitative survey on 240 front-line employees in two major UK cities (London, Leeds). The study’s results indicate that empowerment has a significant impact on their performance and that this impact is non-linear (quadratic). Specifically, the relationship between empowerment and performance is negative for low-level empowerment and positive for high-level empowerment. In addition, the study’s results show that the nature of this relationship is different for different levels of service complexity. Specifically, for low-complexity services, the relationship between empowerment and performance was found quadratic, whereas for high-complexity services the relationship was found positive and linear. Based on the study’s main conclusions important implications for both academics and practitioners are presented

What Makes Theatrical Performances Successful in China's Tourism Industry?

This study aims to explore the factors affecting the success of a popular tourist product, namely, theatrical performance, within the context of China's tourism industry and develop a model based on previously successful productions. Using qualitative software, 22 Chinese-language articles on theatrical performances are analyzed to generate a list of success factors, classified as internal and external. The internal factors are storyline and performing, market positioning and marketing strategy, investment and financial support, operation and management, performing team, outdoor venue, indoor/outdoor stage supporting facilities, continuous improvement, and production team. The external factors are collaboration between cultural industries and local tourism, government support, privatization, and social and cultural effect. This study also provides suggestions for the future development of theatrical performances in China

How gaming tourism affects tourism development through word-of-mouth communication regarding a destination: applying the integrated satisfaction theory

This study applies the concept of integrated satisfaction to investigate the effects of satisfaction with gaming and non-gaming experience on word-of-mouth communication regarding gaming destination. A survey in Macau (n = 298) indicates that integrated satisfaction has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between non-gaming satisfaction and word-of-mouth, and integrated satisfaction has a moderating and partial mediating effect on the relationship between gaming satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Therefore, gaming tourism enlarges the effect of the non-gaming tourism experience. Besides, gaming activities cause positive word-of-mouth communication for repeat tourists. This study extends our knowledge in gaming tourism and integrated satisfaction theory

Metaverse-Retail Service Quality: A Future Framework for Retail Service Quality in the 3D Internet

This paper argues that service quality in retailing in 3D Collaborative Virtual Environments (aka Metaverses) is distinct from service quality in the more familiar 2D mainly menu-driven web internet store (e-SQ). The study identifies and conceptualises the determinants of Metaverse Retailing service quality (MR-SQ) through a combination of focus groups and Critical Incident Technique. A set of four overarching determining elements of MR-SQ was revealed including customer service, product dimension, store dimension and 3D platform dimension. These incorporate some of the features found in 2D e-SQ but importantly the study indicated new characteristics, unique to MR-SQ. The CVE context presents opportunities for retailers in enhancing social experience, responsive service and creative co-production opportunities. It is within these gaps that respondents identified in 2D retailing that current CVEs and the future Web 3.0 hold appealing prospects for enhancing and producing creative and co-operative online retailing service quality (MR-SQ). The study provides a framework for guidance for retailers as well as for future research. Summary Statement of Contribution: The paper establishes new understanding of the determinants of Metaverse Retailing-Service Quality (MR-SQ). For virtual worlds in general and for service quality in particular, this study shows new MR-SQ dimensions, overlapping dimensions with different meanings to MR-SQ compares to e-SQ, and similar dimensions in both MR-SQ and e-SQ

Hybrid cloud computing architecture based on open source technology

The advance of technologies such as distributed computing, Internetand grid computing, have enabled Cloud Computing to become part of a new model of computing and business. Cloud Computing is transforming the traditional ways in which companies use and acquire Information Technology (IT) resources. After an initial boom in Public Cloud, companies begun to mount hybrid Clouds that offer the advantages of Cloud Computing in addition to the privacy of data they consider strategic. A hybrid Cloud solution allows the integration of both systems. Leading companies in cloud solutions have understood this evolution and begun to offer hybrid solutions. Moreover, many of these companies are taking the next step by offering solutions based on open source standards that allow a high degree of interoperability and portability

How Do I-Deals Influence Client Satisfaction? The Role of Exhaustion, Collective Commitment, and Age Diversity

This paper introduces a multi-level perspective on the relationships of idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) with organizational outcomes (i.e., client satisfaction) and investigates how and under which conditions these relationships manifest. Based on contagion theory, we proposed that the positive effects of i-deals will spill over within organizational units (indicated by reduced emotional exhaustion and enhanced collective commitment), which leads to increased customer satisfaction. Moreover, it was postulated that the effects of i-deals would be more prominent in units with high age diversity, as i-deals are more important in units where people's work-related needs are more heterogeneous due to the higher diversity in employee age. A study among 19,780 employees and 17,500 clients of a German public service organization showed support for the contagion model and showed that i-deals were negatively related to individual emotional exhaustion and subsequently positively to collective commitment within units and client satisfaction measured six months later. Emotional exhaustion and collective commitment mediated the relationships between i-deals and client satisfaction. Finally, we found that the relationships between i-deals and emotional exhaustion and client satisfaction were more strongly negative in units with high age diversity rather than in units with low age diversity, indicating the benefits of i-deals within units with high age diversity to reduce emotional exhaustion and enhance client satisfaction