The value chain's use for the service industry

The value chain model (Porter, 1985) has been originally developed for manufacturing. Therefore, applying it to the service industry may cause several problems. This study examines the value chain's use for the service industry with particular reference to the hotel rooms division. Findings from the research show that the value chain technique is also useful for service organizations but its meaning in the strategic process is different from that for the manufacturing industry.     

Value of a hotel stay: a case study in Hong Kong

This study examines the value of a hotel stay from the perspective of hotel customers and hotel service professionals. Respondents, including hotel customers and hotel service professionals, were asked the extent of their agreement or disagreement with statements related to four different value dimensions: functional value, emotional value, social value, and customer-perceived sacrifices. Results showed that there are significant differences between the hotel service professionals’ perceived value of the hotel stay and customers’ perceived value of the hotel stay. The differences are found in social value and customer-perceived sacrifices.     

The effect of relational benefits on perceived value in relation to customer loyalty: An empirical study in the Australian coffee outlets industry

Retaining and cultivating customer loyalty has become increasingly important for coffee outlet marketers and operators due to the highly competitive environment. This study aims to develop and test a model investigating how relational benefits enhance perceived value to win customer loyalty. Using a self-administered questionnaire survey, 949 respondents from coffee outlets were used for this study. The findings show that relational benefits have direct effect on perceived value and customer loyalty. In addition, relational benefits also have indirect effect on loyalty via perceived value. Finally, perceived value positively influenced customer loyalty. The findings suggest that coffee outlet operators with a better understanding of their customers’ perceptions, and help them in developing competitive strategies that differentiate themselves from competitors and win customer loyalty in an aggressive market.     

Customer Preferences for Social Value over Economic Value in Restaurants

The purpose of this study was to examine a model of value proposition of benefits, willingness to disclose personal information, and customer loyalty in a restaurant context. The results of an empirical study indicated that social value proposition had a stronger positive effect on willingness to disclose information, behavioral, and attitudinal loyalty, respectively; whereas economic value proposition only had a positive effect on behavioral loyalty. Given that there have been few prior studies examining value proposition with decomposition of economic and social benefits, the model verified in this study serves as a guide for managerial strategies and future studies.     

基于顾客价值的经济型酒店顾客满意度测评研究

培育和维护满意的顾客是经济型酒店获得和保持竞争优势的重要条件,而顾客对酒店产品感知利得和利失的比较对顾客满意度的形成具有重要的影响。该研究以现有的顾客满意度理论为基础,结合经济型酒店的顾客需求和产品服务特征,从顾客价值获得的角度构建经济型酒店的顾客满意度测评模型,建立了顾客满意度测评指标体系,并进行了实证分析。研究表明,经济型酒店的卫生状况、支持系统、交通便利程度以及价格等方面的顾客满意度较低。最后,根据实证分析结果提出了经济型酒店提高顾客满意度的建议和对策。     

我国饭店企业顾客价值实证研究

本研究在整合现有顾客价值理论的基础上,对饭店顾客价值的构成维度进行了实证分析,并基于调研数据对饭店顾客价值与其购买行为之间的关系进行了验证.期待相关的研究结论能有利于饭店企业基于顾客价值的构成维度针对性和系统性地提出顾客价值的提升策略,以服务于饭店企业获取竞争优势的战略目标.     

Do members want the bells and whistles? Understanding the effect of direct and partner benefits in hotel loyalty programs

ABSTRACT

As a way of increasing the perceived value of hotel loyalty programs, hoteliers are partnering with non-hotel brands to differentiate and drive member engagement. We examine the effect of such strategic alliances on the loyalty to a member program and further test a structural equation model with n = 469 active loyalty members. Our model investigates whether tier status and satisfaction function as mediators of the effects of a strategic alliance on brand loyalty. Our findings indicate that the benefits that loyalty programs and partnerships with non-hotel brands offer can positively influence brand loyalty when the member’s tier status and satisfaction mediates.     

CSR and customer loyalty: The roles of trust,customer identification with the company and satisfaction

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a crucial construct in hospitality companies. One of the main reasons is due to the idea that CSR influence consumer loyalty. This paper presents a model of influence of CSR on hotel customer loyalty by simultaneously including trust, customer identification with the company and satisfaction as mediators by showing the direct and indirect effects among these constructs. In the proposed model, loyalty is indirectly affected by perceived CSR, via the mediation of trust, identification and satisfaction. Empirical testing using a survey of Spanish hotel consumers confirms most of our hypothesized effects except the effect of customer trust on customer identification with the company. Finally, managerial implications and limitations of our findings are discussed.     

Creating Shared Value Through Implementing Green Practices for Star Hotels

This study expands the concept of shared value through the value chain to include green practice innovation in star hotels in Taiwan. By employing the Delphi method, 44 green innovation indicators were established for star hotels to create an instrument to help address green practices’ implementation. Through creating shared value by using the top 18 indicators among eight dimensions, this study explores the preliminary green innovation framework to configure the value chain and to propose a conceptual model based on a shared value perspective. The findings contribute to the current literature by including green innovation processes into the shared value concept to complement the existing value chain design, and by addressing whether the green innovation indicators examined pertain to a value chain or process analysis. The results provide substantial contributions on how star hotels can efficiently implement green practices to simultaneously approach economic profits and environmental protection.     

Guest Satisfaction Barometer and Benchmarking

Abstract

An increasing number of companies use customer satisfaction data for improvement programs, strategic decision making, and compensation schemes. Typically, single companies carry out satisfaction measurement for their own purposes. As a consequence, results are not comparable with other companies. Thus, valuable information on competition is not available and benchmarking is not possible. Moreover, in order to use satisfaction data for decision-making, it should be measured continuously and systematically. In practice, however, many firms do not have the required resources or competencies to carry out these research activities on their own. As a result, there is a lack of reliable data. The implementation of a customer satisfaction barometer seems to be a promising approach. It facilitates competitive benchmarking and delivers valuable information for quality improvement. provide participating hotels with information on overall satisfaction, attribute satisfaction, price satisfaction, complaining behavior, loyalty, word-of-mouth, etc.; (3) to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as improving opportunities; and (4) to provide participating hotels with data for competitive benchmarking. Thirty-seven hotels participated in the pilot phase and data from more than 3,500 guests were collected. In order to illustrate the ideas of the guest satisfaction barometer and the benefits for the participating hotels, the authors first describe the basic ideas and guiding principles of the barometer and report some empirical findings to demonstrate how benchmarks can be used to improve quality and satisfaction. The paper closes with a summary of the experiences and some recommendations for future applications.     

Customer engagement with tourism social media brands

In tourism, customer engagement has been found to boost loyalty, trust and brand evaluations. Customer engagement is facilitated by social media, but neither of these phenomena is well-researched in tourism. This research contributes in two ways. First, we validate the Customer Engagement with Tourism Brands (CETB) 25-item scale proposed by So, King & Sparks (2014) in a social media context, and offer an alternative three-factor 11-item version of the scale. Second, we replicate their proposed structural model, and test our alternative model, to predict the behavioural intention of loyalty from engagement, and to test customer involvement as an antecedent to engagement. Ultimately, we propose a customer engagement scale and a nomological framework for customer engagement, both of which can be applied in both tourism and non-tourism contexts. Managers of tourism brands on social to better assess the nature of customer engagement with the parsimonious 11-item scale.     

The role of loyalty programs in boosting hotel guest loyalty: Impact of switching barriers

This study examines the relationships among the perceived value of a loyalty program, customer satisfaction with a loyalty program, affective commitment, switching barriers, and customer brand loyalty in the hotel context. An online survey method with a quantitative approach was used. Our results from a structural equation model revealed that the perceived value of a loyalty program is essential in the formation of customer brand loyalty. Lastly, findings from an indirect analysis showed that affective commitment and switching barriers mediated the relationship between the perceived value of a loyalty program and customer brand loyalty. Overall, our research will help researchers and practitioners demonstrate to the industry that the loyalty program is a crucial strategy for customer loyalty and helps develop competitive loyalty programs for success.     

Satisfying and Delighting the Rural Tourists

ABSTRACT

This study applies the concept of customer delight and the model proposed by Oliver, Rust, and Varki (1997 Oliver, R. L., Rust, R. T. and Varki, S. 1997. Customer delight: Foundations, findings and managerial insight. Journal of Retailing, 73(3): 311–336. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and modified by Finn (2005 Finn, A. 2005. Reassessing the foundations of customer delight. Journal of Service Research, 8(2): 103–116. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to the context of rural tourism. The model is applied to rural tourism lodgings in northern Portugal and validated using PLS technique. The results suggest that satisfaction is a more significant determinant of loyalty than delight and disconfirmation is an important predictor of both satisfaction and delight. This study further supports the conceptualization of customer delight and customer satisfaction as distinct constructs. Results may help managers of rural tourism accommodations to develop and implement more successful relationship marketing strategies.     

The Relationships Between Casino Quality,Image, Value,and Loyalty

This research builds on the idea that casino customers’ subjective, global judgments of service quality are shaped by experience of its specific attributes, and examines how casino customers form their evaluative attitudes toward the casino experience in the Macau context. Using the data collected from 525 Macau casino customers, we first identify four casino quality dimensions; namely, supporting facilities, staff service, diversity, and equitableness. We then test and validate a proposed model for the structural relationships between casino image (as a consequence of the four quality dimensions), value, and loyalty. In particular, value is shown to be a mediator of the relationship between image and loyalty from the perspective of casino customers. The results of our study can show Macau casino operators what constitutes customers’ casino experiences and aid them in enhancing their image, perceived value, and customer loyalty toward casinos.     

Do reward programs truly build loyalty for lodging industry?

Hotel brands have sought numerous ways to build the relationship with their customers. Inspired by the airlines’ success, most major hotel chains have developed loyalty programs that reward customers for repeat business. However, the effectiveness of reward programs has been questioned. To explore reward programs’ potential to alter normal patterns to behavior, this research investigates how the timing of rewards affects customer loyalty for hotels and whether the effectiveness of these reward structures is moderated by customer satisfaction. This research also examines whether customer's value perception of loyalty program truly affect brand loyalty or program loyalty. In order to test the research framework, a 2 × 2 full-factorial, randomized, between-subject experimental design was conducted. In total, 209 respondents participated in the study. The results indicate that immediate rewards are more effective in building a program value than delayed rewards. Moreover, the value of loyalty program affects customer loyalty only through program loyalty to the extent that the program provides value to the customer. Finally, satisfaction plays an important moderating role on reward timing. Delayed rewards work better than immediate rewards only if customers are satisfied with hotel experience. In contrast, the immediate rewards in the dissatisfied experience become effective in their capacity to invoke customer loyalty.     

An Empirical Study of the Effect of Customer Participation on Service Quality

Abstract

Using 185 completed surveys from hotel customers in Tianjin, China, the authors conducted a multiple regression analysis of the effects of information collection, participation in service design and standard build-up, interaction with employees, and “word of mouth” communication with hotel customers. It was found that these four dimensions of customer participation had a direct relationship with service quality.     

Validating a customer well-being index related to natural wildlife tourism

This study reports an attempt to validate a customer well-being (CWB) index related to natural wildlife tourism. It was hypothesized that the CWB index related to wildlife tourism has a positive influence on travel outcomes (length of stay, number of visits, and total expenses), mediated by perceived value and customer loyalty. These hypotheses were tested using four waves of surveys of customers (overnight visitors) intercepted at the park in a two-year period. The survey data provided support for the hypotheses, which, in turn, lend validation support to the CWB index. Managerial implications of the customer well-being index are also discussed.     

Assessing Hotel Cost Control Through Value Engineering: A Case Study on the Budget Hotels in a Middle-sized City in China

This study employed a value engineering approach to identify and evaluate the factors integral to the efficiency of operation and management of the budget hotel sector in China. A combination of qualitative panel judgments and quantitative statistics was applied in the analysis of a Chinese budget brand which is publicly listed in the USA. Findings reveal that out of the six categories of costs identified, the two items of standard room cost and energy & maintenance achieved the ideal value, while lease rental and human resources are overvalued, with franchise fee and refurbishment cost being undervalued. The implication for hotel investors as well as operators is that for the budget sector to fully realize its potential, a delicate balance needs to be obtained so that resources can be more evenly distributed and customer experiences enriched.     

Engagement-Based Loyalty: The Effects of Social Media Engagement on Customer Loyalty in the Travel Industry

In this article, we investigate the relation between customer loyalty and social media engagement. Two dimensions of customer loyalty are considered: affective and conative loyalty. We distinguish two forms of social media engagement: consuming of social media (passive engagement) and contribution to social media (active engagement). In a survey among 1,050 customers of a travel agency, the level of engagement of customers with the company’s social media activities is measured in relation to their degree of loyalty. Results show a partial positive relationship between social media engagement and customer loyalty: only consuming social media is directly related to affective loyalty.     

An Overview of the Italian Hotel Industry Today

This study aims to describe how the Italian hotel industry is improving its competitiveness in the globalized economy in terms of innovation and supplementary services delivered to the customers. Innovation (as implementation of new technologies) and supplementary services represent the driver for the Italian hotel industry to increase the creation of value and to become more competitive in the international arena. This study serves as an initial first step as a pilot for a more comprehensive and larger study of the Italian hotel industry down the road.