A Probability of Revisitation Model: The Case of Winter Visits to the Grand Canyon

This paper finds that on average first-time visitors to the Grand Canyon are willing to travel significantly greater distances than repeat visitors. These findings are based upon a binary logit model of repeat visitations estimated from a recent sample of Grand Canyon visitors. This model expresses the probability of repeat visitation as a function of distance travelled and visitor demographic profiles. Included among the demographic characteristics are income, available leisure time, and the number of previous visits. An important managerial implication of this study - not only for the Grand Canyon but also for other tourist destinations - is the value of ‘probability of revisitation’ approach in identifying subtle market fragments. This opens the door to sophisticated marketing strategies that, in this case, cater to the separate needs and desires of repeat and first-time visitors to enhance revenue possibilities.     

Retailer use of a professional social media network: Insights from franchising

The adoption and use of a professional social media network by franchise chains is the focus of this paper. We draw on resource-based theory, institutional economic theories of incentives and externalities and multidisciplinary literatures on franchising, innovation adoption and interorganizational communication to link (i) franchisor characteristics and partnering strategies to the adoption and use of a professional social media network and (ii) the extent of use of this network by a franchisor to the number of followers of its network page. Hypotheses are empirically assessed using data on 500 US franchise chains from Entrepreneur’s Annual Franchise 500 for 2011, content analysis of LinkedIn pages for 317 franchise chains in 2011 and number of followers in 2015. One key finding is that franchisor adoption of LinkedIn is positively influenced by franchise chain size, franchising fees and franchisor marketing communications and negatively affected by franchise concept complexity. A second important finding is that, among franchisors who adopt LinkedIn, the extent of use of LinkedIn is positively impacted by franchise chain size, franchising fees and negatively affected by franchise chain age. A third notable finding is that the number of followers of a franchisor’s LinkedIn page in the short term is positively impacted by the extent of information about franchise chain and recruitment. A fourth key finding is that the number of followers in the longer term (2015) is positively impacted by whether the franchisor had a presence on LinkedIn in 2011 and, for these franchisors, by the number of followers in 2011.     

Approaches to managing co-production for the co-creation of value in a museum setting: when authenticity matters

ABSTRACT

This qualitatively-based empirical research explored the strategies used by two museums to manage their roles in co-production as well as how they manage, motivate and guide visitors through the process of co-production. We also gained insights into how visitors responded to these strategies. Our findings suggest that the two museums employ different strategies to co-produce the consumption experience and that their strategies were linked to the nature of authenticity that is apparent in the museums. Strategies included explicitly controlling the visitor experience through empowering visitors to design their own visitor experience. The success of these strategies relied on the two museums recognising the situational variables of the context of consumption and adopting appropriate strategies that enabled them and the visitors to leverage the value of the visitor experience. The findings from this study suggest that further research should be undertaken on how authenticity might be integrated into a service-dominant logic paradigm and service strategies aimed at enhancing the co-creation of value.     

The traditional marketplace: serious leisure and recommending authentic travel

ABSTRACT

Services reliant on revenue generated from tourism are often beholden to how authentic visitors perceive their offering to be. From a managerial perspective, this is exacerbated when they serve a dual-purpose, as both actively ingrained in local culture and showcased international tourist attractions. As such, this study contributes to Kolar and ?abkar’s (2010) consumer-based model of authenticity by assessing the relationships between serious leisure, object-based and existential authenticity, and visitor word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations in Iranian cultural tourism. Utilising partial least-squares structural equation modelling, and drawing upon responses from 615 visitors to the Tabriz Grand Bazaar, it thus extends the model’s applicability to the developing Middle Eastern context. The results extend extant research by emphasising the importance of object-based authenticity, as opposed to existential authenticity, in stimulating positive visitor WOM recommendations. Consequently, this study advances the prevailing understanding of the role of authenticity in stimulating positive behavioural intentions by highlighting how destinations can stimulate visitor recommendations.     

环境规制与外商直接投资研究

利用面板数据模型对环境规制与外商直接投资之间的关系进行实证分析。检验结果发现,环境规制对外商直接投资呈现负效应,但这种效应并不显著,人均GDP、市场化指数、基础设施状况、开放程度才是决定外商直接投资的决定因素。     

体验视角下提高游客满意度策略研究——以扬州古运河历史街区为例

为了满足游客的体验需求,本文对扬州的古运河体验、双东历史街区的服务体验、街区的设施体验、娱乐体验和环境体验等进行了探讨和问卷调查,了解游客不满的元素,最后探索出提高游客满意度的方法和策略,从而使游客获得不一样的体验,最终使得游客获得高质量的旅游体验。     

Are They Celebrity Followers? Examining the Third-Person Perception of Celebrity-Endorsed Advertising

This study explored how consumers' presumed influences mediated the impacts of source credibility and advertising skepticism on purchase intention in the context of celebrity-endorsed advertising (CEA). A national media consumer panel (N = 445) indicated the third-person perception (TPP) were positively correlated to celebrity expertise and attractiveness, but negatively influenced by advertising skepticism. Moreover, three celebrity credibility variables and advertising skepticism yielded direct effects on purchase intention. Indirect effects by the TPP were also generated on purchase intention. The TPP would mediate the impacts of celebrity credibility and advertising skepticism on purchase intention in response to various desirable/undesirable endorsers. Moreover, the TPP would decrease the impact of celebrity credibility, but increase the impact of advertising skepticism on purchase intention, indicating that the third persons' attitudes toward CEA may become a key reference in consumers' purchase intention processes.     

Determinants of brand equity in cultural organizations: the case of an art exhibition

The purpose of this research is two-fold. First, to explore the factors that help to create brand equity in cultural organizations from the visitor viewpoint and second, to examine the impact of cultural brand equity on visitor satisfaction as well as on future intentions. A model of the relationships is developed and empirically tested using data collected from visitors attending The Ages of Mankind cultural exhibition in Castilla and León, Spain. In the present study, evidence is found to support the propositions that brand equity is closely linked to the particular image it conveys, to the event's recognition, the quality of the exhibitions and the cultural values it transmits. Brand equity also impacts visitor perception of the most recent exhibition, as well as future intentions to attend or even pay an admission fee.     

How credibility affects eWOM reading: The influences of expertise,trustworthiness, and similarity on utilitarian and social functions

In online information settings, a few people tend to contribute, while the majority of people consume. For this latter group of readers, electronic word of mouth (eWOM) provides information about products or service experiences that rarely are available from manufacturer-controlled sources, which makes this source of information especially helpful. In turn, eWOM influences readers' attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Manufacturers also hope to monitor and positively influence eWOM content, such as by supporting and building brand communities. But eWOM readers might doubt the credibility of information if it is mostly positive, and the usefulness of eWOM information depends on its credibility. This study offers an empirical and theoretical validation of how specific utilitarian and social functions of eWOM affect attitudes toward and intentions to read eWOM. In particular, trustworthiness is the most important credibility dimension; it affects both functions. Perceived expertise also enhances the utilitarian while similarity improves the social function of eWOM.     

Determinants of Visitors’ Intentions to Consume and Recommend Local Agro-Food Products

Previous research has revealed the relevance of consuming local food products in the visitor experience and in maintaining the sustainable development of tourism destinations. By reviewing the available studies in the field of tourism, attempts have been made to identify those factors influencing the consumption of local food products during a trip. However, few studies have analysed visitors’ behaviour in terms of their intentions to search for and recommend these products after returning to their home countries. The present study addresses this gap by analysing the factors that influence visitors’ intentions. A total of 500 international tourists in Portugal were interviewed and several linear regression models were used. The evaluation shows that the attributes of local agro-food products, food-related personality traits, and the motivations behind consuming these kinds of products emerge as the most important factors that influence visitors’ intentions to consume these products and to recommend them after a trip. However, the results also show differences in the determinants in terms of type of local agro-food product under analysis, as well as differences between the intention to consume and the intention to recommend. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are also presented.     

The Impact of Interactivity and Design Sophistication on the Performance of Commercial Websites for Small Businesses

This study of small businesses involved in Internet-based electronic commerce focuses on the relationship between the design of a website and its performance. Specifically, this study examines the relationships between two design constructs, the level of interactivity and design sophistication, and two performance measures, an overall measure of performance and the number of visitors to the site. Furthermore, the study explores the role of two contingency variables, market turbulence and the age of the website, on these relationships. The results indicate that the level of interactivity of a website is positively associated with overall performance, but not associated with the number of visitors. Furthermore, market turbulence moderates the relationship between interactivity and performance so that the two constructs are positively associated under high levels of market turbulence but not associated under low levels of market turbulence. Results also show that design sophistication is associated with a greater number of visitors but not with overall performance. These findings suggest that the performance of a website is affected differently by different design constructs and that multidimensional measures of performance are necessary to properly evaluate performance.     

The effect of interactivity of brands’ marketing activities on Facebook fan pages on continuous participation intentions: An S–O-R framework study

Social media platforms have become crucial in helping brands build their marketing activities. We investigate the effect of interactivity of brands' marketing activities on Facebook fan pages on continuous participation (i.e., commenting and sharing) intentions. The S–O-R (stimulus-organism-response) framework is used to examine consumers' psychological states (perceived brand fan page experience and attachment) and subsequent behavioral responses (continuous participation intentions) after being stimulated (social media marketing activity interactivity). Using an online questionnaire, this study surveyed the top 15 brands' Facebook fan page users worldwide. We obtained 216 valid responses and used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. Results show that the more interactive a brand's marketing activities are on its Facebook fan page, the higher the perceived experience. In addition, perceived experience positively affects brand fan page attachment. Perceived experience and brand fan page attachment positively affect continuous participation intentions. Perceived experience partially mediated the relationship between interactivity and continuous participation intentions. Brand fan page attachment also partially mediated the relationship between perceived experience and continuous participation intentions.     

The effect of limits in retail advertisements: A reactance theory perspective

It is not uncommon for retailers to impose limits (e.g., “limit one per customer”) on advertised products. The attitudinal and behavioral effects of such advertised limits have been largely unexplored. The present research uses psychological reactance theory to generate insight into the effects of advertised limits. It was found that limits are both capable of attracting and repelling consumers depending upon the severity of the limit. In the experimental context that was used, age and income were found to be positively related to the effectiveness of limits.     

The Influence of Home Page Complexity on Consumer Attention,Attitudes, and Purchase Intent

The Web is an increasingly important component of promotional strategy for many organizations. To date, most advertising research has focused on banner ads. In the present study, home pages as promotional vehicles are evaluated. Specifically, we examine the influence of perceived home page complexity on communication effectiveness, as measured by attention to the home page, attitude toward the home page, attitude toward the company, and purchase intent. Qualitative research is used to identify important factors that appear to influence perceptions of home page complexity, including home page length, number of graphics, number of links, amount of text, and use of animation. A pretest experiment further aided in the selection of appropriate factors and factor levels to manipulate in a subsequent, main experiment. The findings in the main experiment suggest that consumers respond more favorably toward home pages that fall in a moderate range of perceived complexity.     

Tourism in the UK - an Industry Riding on the Exchange Rate

This article analyses trends;s in real expenditure on travel in the UK since 1972. It examines the relationship between expenditure and employment and outlines some of the issues which are involved in attracting travellers to the more peripheral parts of Great Britain. In spite of the recent upsurge in real spending by domestic visitors the general trend since 1972 has been more or less constant. By contrast, there has been a definite upward trend in real expenditure by overseas visitors, although there have been marked fluctuations around this trend. Throughout the period, there was a close inverse relationship between variations in real spending by foreigners and sterling's effective exchange rate.     

外商投资的区域聚集及其对经济增长的影响分析:以江苏省为例

本文在现有理论文献的基础上,从经济规模、地区劳动力和土地面积多角度构建了外资利用水平的无量纲指标:业绩指数、人均指数、地均指数以及综合指数;提出用综合指数的离散系数来表征利用外资的区域聚集度;在此基础上,建立了计量经济模型,探讨外资聚集度对经济增长的影响。并以江苏省为例,展开实证分析。     

Dimensions and Levels of Trust: Implications for Commitment to a Relationship

Previous research has found that trust is positively related to commitment in buyer-seller relationships. However, the validity of this finding is questionable because trust has been operationalized in many different ways. For example, prior research has not distinguished among levels of trust (interpersonal or organizational trust) and dimensions or motives of trust (credibility or benevolence). In this study, we distinguish among the levels and dimensions of trust. The results indicate that trust in a sales representative (interpersonal credibility) is more strongly related to commitment than trust in an organization (organizational credibility). In contrast, trust based on organizational benevolence is a stronger predictor of commitment than interpersonal benevolence.     

Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it,why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions

Nowadays social network influencers play an important role in marketing by introducing products to their audience. In this article, we investigate the persuasion cues related to beauty and fashion influencers present on YouTube and Instagram. More precisely, we investigate how the para-social interaction (PSI) the audience creates with the online influencer, along with their perceived credibility, are related to the purchase intention and how they are, in turn, related to the social and physical attractiveness and attitude homophily. We base our research on four beauty influencers popular in France and control our results by the age of the participants and by the influencer. We find that attitude homophily is positively related to PSI but, surprisingly, the physical attractiveness shows negative relationship or no evidence of relationship. Both credibility of the influencers and PSI exhibit significant and positive relationships to purchase intention.     

网络口碑可信度影响因素的实证研究

网络口碑的盛行引起了消费者和营销者的关注,口碑营销也借助网络口碑得到了新的发展。网络口碑影响力的大小和网络口碑营销的成功与否主要取决于网络口碑可信度的高低。通过实证研究,本文发现消费者和信息发布者的关系强度、消费者对于网络口碑传播平台的依赖程度、消费者感知的网站有用性、消费者感知的风险程度和消费者的信任倾向都显著正向影响消费者的网络口碑可信度。     

浅议黑龙江省吸引外商投资的机制——与部分沿海发达省份的比较

黑龙江省与江苏省、浙江省和广东省等沿海省份之间在吸引外商投资机制方面存在较大差异,这些差异可以从物质环境吸引机制、信用环境吸引机制、政治环境吸引机制、交通条件吸引机制、经济容量吸引机制、经济结构影响机制等方面进行考察。黑龙江省应该根据自身特点,扬长避短、变短为长,完善吸引外商投资的机制,而不能盲目照搬沿海发达省份的经验。