2014 dissertation for MSc in International Business Management. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. Good customer experience is a driver to increased customer satisfaction,
leading to customer loyalty. This is prominent in the context of experience
economy industries, an industry where the main purchase is an experience.
Previous conflicting theory depicts innovation as a positive influencer and
non-influencer of customer satisfaction. To add value, a new research is
proposed by incorporating two new elements. 1 - Innovation in the forms of
customer related, innovation a customer directly experiences, and cocustomer
related, innovation a customer directly experiences and aides in the development process. 2 - The research uses two separate kinds of customers, loyal and non-loyal. This sets the stage for the research question: what is the relationship between innovation influence and different levels of customer loyalty? The hypotheses will test the correlation between the influences of the two innovation forms amongst loyal and non-loyal customers. The chosen industry is U.S. amusement parks and the sample population will be its customers. The research method will incorporate a normative questionnaire regarding participant opinions and behaviours towards certain elements. The data concluded that innovation plays little to no positive influence on customer opinion or behaviour. Conversely, the scientific testing discovered a significant positive correlation between the influences of the two innovation forms amongst loyal customers. Therefore, if your loyal customers are positively influenced by new products or services, they will be positively influenced by co-creating new products or services. Recommendations for a different industry context and a more varied description of customer loyalty are proposed for further research
