Contingency variables for customer share of visits to full-service restaurant

This study sought to reveal the direct effect and/or moderating effects of contingency variables in relation to customer share of visits. The hypotheses of this study were tested based on responses from 277 general U.S. full-service restaurant customers, using a series of (moderated hierarchical) regression analyses. The direct effects of social switching costs, lost benefits costs, procedural costs, and intrinsic inertia were positive whereas that of intrinsic variety-seeking was negative on customer share of visits. Consumer involvement and perceived brand heterogeneity were found to enhance the effect of brand preference on customer share of visits.     

Influences of price,service convenience,and social servicescape on post-purchase process of capsule hotels

A capsule hotel is a new affordable type of hotel that attracts backpackers and young tourists. This study proposes a research model to verify the influences of perceived price, service convenience, and social servicescape on functional and experiential values, and then on repurchase intention and electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM). Research results show that tourists’ perceived price and service convenience affect functional value. Service convenience and social servicescape influence experiential value. Functional value and experiential value encourage guests to repurchase capsule hotels and share positive eWOM. This study aims to inspire research interest in capsule hotels and to provide practical implications for hotel operators.     

Analyzing changes in hotel customers’ expectations by trip mode

With the emergence of Web 2.0, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) shared through social networking sites has become the primary information source for many travelers. An enormous quantity of reviews has been posted by customers, and has become a valuable means by which hoteliers can better understand customer satisfaction and expectations. Efforts have been made to analyze these parameters in terms of customers’ backgrounds. Although customer expectations vary according to background, whether or not this is still the case across different trip modes remains unknown. In this study, an eWOM dataset was obtained from an online source and sentiment mining used to improve its quality by imputing missing values. A complete analysis of customer profiles and their contrast by trip mode was then conducted using association rule mining. The empirical results demonstrate differences in both customer expectation and satisfaction when the same traveler engages in different trip modes.     

Using social networking websites as a selection tool: The role of selection process fairness and job pursuit intentions

A growing trend in the hospitality industry is openly encouraging applicants to join their social networking sites as part of their recruitment process (0080 and 0185). However, there is a dearth of studies examining how applicants perceive and react to the use of social networking websites in the recruitment and selection process. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine how applicants react to the use of social networking websites as a selection tool. Using experimental methods, participants attending a career fair for hospitality jobs completed a questionnaire after reading about a hospitality company that does or does not use social networking sites in the selection process. The results showed that perceived fairness and job pursuit intentions of applicants were lower for an organization that used social networking websites as a selection tool than an organization that did not use social networking websites as a selection tool.     

Influence of sustainable hospitality supply chain management on customers’ attitudes and behaviors

This study aims to identify the impact of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management actions on customers’ attitudes and behaviors including satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services utilizing data collected from U.S. consumers who frequently stay at hotels. Findings suggest that while both environmental and economic dimensions’ actions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management have positive influences on customer satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services, the social dimension actions are found to have a positive influence on customer satisfaction and a negative influence on customer willingness to pay a premium. Results also indicate that customer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between social dimension actions and customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction positively influences customer loyalty, which ultimately increases customer willingness to pay a premium. The implications of the research findings are provided.     

Personalisation–privacy paradox: The effects of personalisation and privacy assurance on customer responses to travel Web sites

Personalisation refers to individualizing products, services, and contents according to customer interests and preferences. In order to deliver appropriate personalised offerings, firms inevitably need to collect rich customer data profiles. Prior research suggests that personalised services lead to positive customer responses such as increased willingness to disclose personal information and make purchases. However, another stream of research emphasizes negative outcomes of personalisation – namely, privacy concerns surrounding the use of personal information and associated negative effects on behaviour. The objectives of this study are twofold: (1) to examine how privacy assurance affects proximal outcomes of personalisation, such as perceived usefulness and privacy concerns; and (2) to identify the role such outcomes play in predicting customer behavioural responses, such as willingness to disclose personal information and make purchases. Our findings show that enhancing privacy assurance increases the perceived usefulness of services and decreases customer privacy concerns. Moreover, customer behavioural responses are positively related to the perceived usefulness of services and negatively associated with privacy concerns. However, despite the positive effects on perceived usefulness and purchase intentions, personalisation has no effect on privacy concerns and intentions to disclose personal information.     

Influencing factors on restaurant customers’ revisit intention: The roles of emotions and switching barriers

This study was designed to examine the relationships among consumption emotions, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, and revisit intention. Four positive and negative categories of switching barriers (preference, switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives) were identified through a qualitative approach. Using structural equation analysis, the proposed relationships were tested in a full-service restaurant setting. The results showed that multiple components of consumption emotions significantly affected customer satisfaction, and satisfaction mediated the effect of emotion factors on revisit intention. The findings from the tests for metric invariances also indicated that the strength of the relationship between satisfaction and revisit intention was different across high- and low-switching barrier groups. In particular, the satisfaction-revisit intention relationship was stronger in each low-switching barrier group than in each high-switching barrier group.     

Developing and validating a mobile catering app success model

This study develops and validates a mobile catering app success model based on the e-commerce system success model and marketing literature. Specifically, a research model which describes the relationships among system quality, information quality, service quality, product quality, perceived price, perceived promotions, perceived value, user satisfaction, intention to reuse, and eWOM is examined. Data collected from an online survey are analyzed against the research model using PLS-SEM. The results indicate that product quality, perceived price, perceived promotions, and eWOM can be added to the e-commerce system success model to form a mobile catering app success model. Additionally, the findings show that perceived value influences eWOM more strongly than does user satisfaction while user satisfaction affects intention to reuse more strongly than does perceived value. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for developing a successful mobile catering app.     

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.     

Understanding Active Loyalty Behavior in Hotel Reward Programs Through Customers’ Switching Costs and Perceived Program Value

Whether loyalty programs have become part of the lexicon of buzzwords or not, the hotel industry continues to adopt loyalty/rewards programs as a major channel to nurture customers’ active loyalty as well as to reap return business. This study examins the structural relationships among perceived program value, switching costs, and active loyalty. The proposed model is supported by an online survey dataset collected from United States (US) tourists. The findings show that perceived program value is less effective in driving active loyalty compared with switching costs. This implies a need for strategic thinking on the part of hoteliers and the industry. Rather than aggressively spending money or copying schemes used by competitors to gear up program value, the value of a defensive tactic of increasing switching costs should be considered.     

Voicing out or switching away? A psychological climate perspective on customers’ intentional responses to service failure

This research explores why customers who experience service failure are willing to complain directly to service providers but unlikely to switch to other service providers. We bring in the concept of psychological climate for communication safety (PCCS) to the service failure context and explore how customers’ perception of the social environment as open and supportive for communication affects their complaint and service switching intentions and behaviors. We further identify customer harmony enhancement as an important personality trait predictor of PCCS. Based on two field studies and one scenario-based experimental study, our findings consistently show that PCCS mediates the positive effect of customer harmony enhancement on customer complaint intentions. Customer harmony enhancement exerts a positive indirect effect on customer complaint behavior serially through PCCS and customer complaint intentions. However, our findings relating to customer service switching intentions are inconsistent across the three studies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

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.     

Switching intention model development: Role of service performances,customer satisfaction,and switching barriers in the hotel industry

The intricate relationships among core service and service encounter performances, customer satisfaction, and switching barriers in the formation of satisfaction and switching intention were examined in this study. A field survey was conducted at upper-midscale hotels. The results of the structural analysis revealed that both core service and service encounter performances significantly affected customer satisfaction, and satisfaction completely mediated the effects of service performances on switching intention. In addition, findings from the tests for metric invariances indicated that components of switching barriers (switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives’ attractiveness) moderated the relationships between satisfaction and switching intention. In particular, the role of satisfaction derived from service performances in decreasing hotel guests’ intention to switch is greater when they perceive high switching costs, relational investment, and lack of alternatives’ attractiveness. Based on study findings, theoretical and practical implications are identified and discussed.     

Why do people share their travel experiences on social media?

Tourism practices and destination decisions are more and more affected by the opinions of trusted friends channeled through social media, and it is therefore of great interest to explore the role that this plays in the travel context. It is also valuable to understand the behaviour of people commonly known as “lurkers”, who travel but do not share their experiences with others. We draw on social influence theory and its three constructs – identification, internalization, and compliance, as well as the users’ personality, to investigate these issues. Based on 381 responses, findings reveal two dominant reasons: first, perceived enjoyment was the most important motive for travellers to share their travel experiences on online networks and travel websites. Second, security and privacy issues are the top latent reasons. This study extends the tourism literature by combining all online behaviours into one single model. We also provide suggestions for further research.     

Theme restaurants’ servicescape in developing quality of life: The moderating effect of perceived authenticity

This study was designed to investigate the role of servicescape, customer emotion, satisfaction, and perceived authenticity (PA) in the generation process of theme restaurant customers’ quality of life. We employed a survey methodology that used the data collected from theme restaurant customers, conducted structural analysis, and tested for metric invariance. Results showed that our theoretical model explained a sufficient amount of variance in overall quality of life; the hypothesized relationships in our research framework were generally supported; and customer emotion, satisfaction, and subjective well-being were significant mediators. Moreover, the proposed moderating impact of PA was partially supported. Overall, our empirical findings provide a significant contribution toward advancing the knowledge of how servicescape dimensions, customer emotion, satisfaction, subjective well-being, and quality of life are related. Finally, we share insight into how these relationships are affected by PA in the formation of theme restaurant customers’ quality of life.     

Does employee satisfaction influence customer satisfaction? Assessing coffee shops through the service profit chain model

This study examines the interrelations between service climate, organizational identification, employee job satisfaction, and customer perceived value and satisfaction. To achieve this, we apply the service profit chain model to South Korea’s coffee shop industry. Data were collected from 263 employees and 973 customers in Daegu. The hypotheses were tested by conducting a path analysis to investigate the relationship between the variables. Organizational identification and job satisfaction were found to be positively correlated with each other. Additionally, job satisfaction was correlated with customer perceived value, which, in turn, was correlated with customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that a good work environment and service-related training can create a positive service climate for employees, which can subsequently improve customer satisfaction. This study is unique in its application of the service profit chain model on the coffee shop industry in Korea.     

The role of customer behavior in forming perceived value at restaurants: A multidimensional approach

With the increasing involvement of customers at restaurants, their behaviors have become an indispensable part in formation of perceptions of value. To examine such a subtle and complicated process, this study applies a multi-layer/multi-dimension approach to examine how customer behavior predicts perceived value, which in turn leads to satisfaction. Particularly, customer behavior, assessed with a hierarchical framework, includes two dimensions: participation behavior (with four sub-dimensions: information seeking, information sharing, responsible behavior, personal interaction) and citizenship behavior (with four sub-dimensions: feedback, advocacy, helping, and tolerance). Customer perceived value consists of three dimensions: economic, individual, and relational values. Data collected from 514 respondents reflect those with dining experience at restaurants. The results show that a customer’s perception of value gains greater impact from citizenship behavior than participation behavior. The findings of the study contribute to the evolving knowledge of customer behavior and offer industry practitioners’ effective marketing strategies to maximize customer value.     

The mediating role of consumption emotions

Although the importance of affective reactions has been emphasized in the service industry, there are still relatively few empirical studies which conclusively explain how consumption emotions induce in a consumption situation and how such emotions play a role in customers’ satisfaction judgments in the context of ethnic restaurants. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine how differently positive and negative emotions mediate the influence of two fundamental values of ethnic restaurant consumption on levels of customer satisfaction. Data obtained through an online survey was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling analysis. Results demonstrate that utilitarian value directly and indirectly affects consumption emotions and customer satisfaction, whereas hedonic value only indirectly affects customer satisfaction through positive emotions. The findings suggest that not every perceived hedonic value leads to customer satisfaction unless customer experience positive emotions from such a value. In that regard, this study holds significant implications to ethnic restaurant marketers.     

The financial impact of online customer reviews in the restaurant industry: A moderating effect of brand equity

The salient impact of electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) on firm performance has been widely noticed by scholars and practitioners. While eWOM serves as an important source of information that helps reduce perceived uncertainty risks in service purchases, it is highly likely that other sources of information are simultaneously used with eWOM in the purchase decisions. Thus, this study empirically examined the financial effects of restaurant eWOM (review volume and review rating) and their changes in the presence of brand equity. Three-stage least squares analysis was employed in the empirical investigation. Our findings revealed that review volume and review rating contributed to restaurant profitability. Brand equity was found to moderate the effects of the review attributes on restaurants profitability, which implies that eWOM has a greater influence on the financial performance of weak-branded restaurants than strong-branded ones. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

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.