Tour Leaders' Impression Management and Job Performance: Exploring the Moderating Role of Tourists' Self-Monitoring

A tour leader (TL) is a first-line service provider whose performance shapes a tourist's experience and satisfaction during a journey. We examine the moderating effects of the self-monitoring level of group package tour members on the relationship between the use of impression management (IM) tactics by TLs and tourists' subsequent job performance ratings (PRs) of a TL. Data from 485 responses of tourists from 59 outbound tour groups in Taiwan revealed that TLs' use of positive IM tactics – that is, ingratiation, self-promotion, and exemplification – is positively related to tourists' PRs. In contrast, their use of non-positive IM tactics – that is, supplication and intimidation – is negatively related to tourists' PRs. Furthermore, tourists' self-monitoring appears to weaken the effects of supplication and intimidation on their PRs. We also found that tourists' level of self-monitoring is a stronger moderator when TLs use supplication than when they use other tactics.     

参团游客对旅行社服务质量的期望与感知实绩研究

关于参团游客对旅行社服务质量的预期和感知实绩的研究是改进旅行社服务质量,提高游客满意度的理论依据.本研究通过紧急事件访谈与问卷调查的方法,对参团游客对旅行社服务质量的期望与实际感知进行了研究,并利用IPA方法进行了分析探讨.结论认为,参团游客对旅行社服务质量主要关注产品服务质量、营业点服务质量、导游服务质量和营销服务质量,其中产品设计质量尤为重要;但游客的总体感知实绩并不理想,12个要素均需进一步改进,其中导游导购服务、产品种类多样化、价格公道和导游讲解水平是目前我国旅行社服务质量改进的关键因素,这一结论对旅行社服务质量改进具有现实意义.     

关于准入制度与导游管理体制的思考

很多研究从不同视角就导游管理问题进行了深入探讨,提出的对策主要是两个方面:严格导游职业准入制度和完善相关管理体制。文章认为,职业准入制度的主要功能对于解决我国导游服务中存在的市场机会主义问题并不具有针对性,对于真正实现导游数量控制、提高导游服务质量作用有限。加强监管的思路是合理的,但如何监管需考虑行业管理制度与企业微观机制的衔接和相互影响,从制度建设方面引导旅行社自身组织结构优化。从市场关系看,导游具有独立性,又对旅行社具有从属性,旅行社才是市场责任主体,其追求利益的方式影响企业组织结构,决定了旅行社与导游之间的关系,进而影响导游的行为和服务质量。旅游行业管理应该建立以旅行社为核心的行业治理模式,明确和强化旅行社的质量责任主体地位,促进导游服务质量提升。     

Quality Selection Criteria of Travel Intermediaries

ABSTRACT

The study explores the selection criteria conducted by travel agencies, evaluating travel intermediaries (destination tour operator) founded on the visionary perspectives of product managers and front-line employees (tour leaders) of Taiwanese travel agencies. Statistically, data accumulated from the 36 product managers and 36 tour leaders by the critical incident technique indicates that local coaches, drivers, and local guides are monumental on group package tour (GPT) service sectors. Meanwhile, another critical issue being scrutinized is the selection scenarios, as to which prices are exponentially executed by product managers, whereas tour leaders tend to be destination tour operator qualities-oriented fundamentally. In order to enhance the destination tour operator service qualities, the research conducts relatively objective selection criteria in selecting the well-qualified and appropriate travel intermediaries as commissioners on the cutting edge travel agencies domain. More substantially, the revealed scenarios of destination tour operators supply the populously rivalous market, China, a relatively credential reference on selecting the well-suited Travel Intermediaries.     

Leadership through service: An exploratory study of the leadership styles of tour leaders

The group package tour is one of the main modes of outbound travel in many parts of Asia. Tour leaders are part of the product and are therefore key front-line players in the tourism industry as they service guests during a journey. A tour leader’s style of leadership transforms a tourist visit from a tour into an experience and is a critical factor affecting a tourist’s satisfaction with their tour. This study identifies the various different styles of tour leadership using in-depth interviews to collect data. Three dimensions of leadership style in tour leaders were found: concern for tasks, concern for customers, and concern for controlling the group climate. The authors discuss the implications of their findings and make recommendations for travel agencies.     

Selling Strategies and Shopping Behavior—An Example of Taiwanese Guided Package Tourists to Mainland China Destinations

China has become the most visited destination in the world for international tourists. The number of Taiwanese tourists going to China on guided tours has increased; “shopping” and “optional tours” are the two most controversial consumption experiences for them due to price competition. This study aims to investigate the Taiwanese guided package tourists’ shopping intentions and behavior when traveling in China and also to examine how their shopping behaviors are influenced by sales representatives, local tour guides, and other tour participants. This study found that benefits sought, perceived sympathy, and social acceptance are often used by service providers to persuade tour participants to buy. It is expected that the study can contribute to tourism industry theory, and help the travel industry to improve the quality of guided package tours to China.     

Exploring tour guiding styles: The perspective of tour leader roles

Although previous studies have investigated the tour leadership styles of tour leaders, no scale is available for evaluation. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement for assessing tour guiding styles from the perspective of tour leaders' roles. Following in-depth interviews, content analysis, and a Q-sort method, we generated the initial items. Twelve tour guiding styles were extracted from an exploratory factor analysis on 243 tour leaders. A confirmatory factor analysis on 474 tour members was then performed to identify the validity of the 43-item tour guiding styles scale. This study extends current knowledge of the tour guiding styles of tour leaders and provides a foundation for building future theoretical concepts of related constructs. The scale provides a useful tool for tour leaders to measure their guiding styles. Furthermore, the results can serve as a reference for travel agencies in arranging tour leaders.     

Hotel booking through online travel agency: Optimal Stackelberg strategies under customer-centric payment service

Facing stiff competition, online travel agencies (OTAs) are dedicating to provide customer-centric payment service in hotel online booking, which poses challenges for hotels and customers to make optimal strategies. This paper studies the optimal Stackelberg decisions and strategic interactions of a hotel and a customer in online booking through online travel agencies with customer-centric payment service. The results show that refund rate has great effect on the customer's payment decision, while transaction cost has great influence on the hotel's operational decision. When the refund rate is greater than a threshold, the customer prefers online payment. Being a leader in the Stackelberg game, the hotel can induce customers to choose the payment option with the lowest transaction cost by setting a refund rate.     

The Use of Stated Preference Model in Travel Itinerary Choice Behavior

Abstract

This study uses the Stated Preference Method and Multinomial Logit Model to examine the choice behavior of a sample of consumers who chose between six tour alternatives that differed according to five variables: specifics of tour, price, duration of tour, types of flight, and arrangement of free time. The results indicate that most of the consumers were affected by the price of the travel product when they were selecting the package tour. The duration of tour and type of flight were important factors to respondents under 40 years old. The older the tourists were, the more attention they paid to the contents of the tours. After estimating by MNL, the results also showed that the goodness-of-fit of the model was reasonably good. By conducting a strategic simulation of the third tour alternative, which had a higher market share, the best strategy was to reduce the price by 5% in order to increase the market share. The study demonstrates the usefulness of the stated preference model in the analysis of choice behavior for travel itinerary.     

Social Media as a New Play in a Marketing Channel Strategy: Evidence from Taiwan Travel Agencies' Blogs

With social media playing an increasingly important role in marketing strategies for travel agencies, this study explores travel agencies that develop their own travel blogs as a marketing channel in order to differentiate their products or services and their strategic performances. The paper herein adopts a two-stage research design, with the first stage developing a three-round Delphi research. According to this research, Taiwanese travel agencies consider four external environment forces, five internal motivations for investment, four developing differentiated strategies, and four channel performance measurement indicators for managing travel agencies' own blogs as a marketing channel. The second stage explores a quantitative survey, Structural Equation Modeling, with the structural equation testing the business model of a travel blog marketing channel strategy. Finally, the findings provide innovative approaches for effectively exploiting differentiated marketing channel strategies when targeting maximum profits.     

Relationship between the arrangement of shopping activities and consumer prepurchase perceptions of group package tours

Shopping is an indispensable part of a group package tour and an activity that substantially affects the travel experience and quality. However, few studies have focused on shopping-spot types and arrangements. This study examined the effects of shopping-spot types and arrangements in trip itineraries on consumer prepurchase perceptions. Survey data were collected from 282 outbound tourists in Taiwan. A 2?×?2 mixed factorial design was employed to test the hypotheses. Our main results demonstrate that a process-oriented shopping spot combined with an official tour itinerary was preferred by consumers. By contrast, a product-oriented shopping spot combined with a tourist shopping habitat was less preferred by consumers. The findings suggest strategic directions for travel managers to design package tour itineraries and conduct marketing planning. Managerial implications of this study and future research directions are discussed.     

Electronic Commerce

Abstract

Electronic commerce is booming because of faster and newer technologies being introduced. On-line travel will be a $20 billion industry by the year 2001, compared to $2.5 billion in 1998 (Travel Weekly, May 12, 1999). Based on this research, it is obvious that the Internet and E-commerce is affecting travel agencies' bottom line. Almost half of our respondents had heard of business closures and three fourths of southeastern agencies have adopted some type of service charge. Findings indicate that over one fifth of all customers are calling in with Internet-based researched travel itineraries. Does this finding foreshadow the future?     

European Silk Road Tourists' and Their Tour Guides' Perceptions of Product and Service Quality

Abstract

The development potential of the China Silk Road tour has been recognised by international organisations. In a preliminary survey product and service quality perceptions of 78 European Silk Road tourists and of 20 guides were assessed. The tourists were quite critical of food served outside their hotels, the interest created by the attractions, the friendliness of locals and the price and quality of souvenirs. In nearly all these aspects tour guides' assessment differed substantially from their clients'. These results indicate a need for product and service quality improvements, including tour guides' training, to realise the undoubted potential of China Silk Road tours.     

Market Orientation and Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Travel Agencies in Taiwan

This paper reports the results of a study that found evidence to support the importance of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the relationship between market orientation and financial performance. The performance of travel agencies in Taiwan was examined with data collected through a questionnaire survey completed by the managers of 292 travel agencies in Taiwan. Analysis using structural equation modelling revealed that market orientation influences the financial performance of travel agencies indirectly through customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Neglecting customer satisfaction may negate any improvements in the level of performance that have been gained by adopting a market orientation. It was found that market orientation does not affect financial performance unless the two mediators, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, are applied concurrently.     

Establishing a model of low-carbon tour promotion for use by travel agencies from the perspective of shared value theory

Low-carbon tourism represents a new trend in the area of tourism development. This study applies shared value theory to investigate promotional campaigns for low-carbon tourism, while also discussing the effect of such campaigns on the image and operating performance of tourism businesses. 368 samples from Taiwan were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that the promotion of low-carbon tours by travel agencies has a beneficial influence on their image as a “social business,” as well as overall performance. Additionally, employees working in long-standing travel agencies are more likely to believe that promoting low-carbon tourism will benefit their company's social business image, while employees with less seniority are more likely to think that agencies with a positive social image enjoy better business performance. This study confirms that low-carbon tours, public attitudes, and government-certified signs are important factors in promoting low-carbon tourism.     

Tour Leader Attachment and Customer Citizenship Behaviors in Group Package Tour: The Role of Customer Commitment

The tour leader plays a critical role in travel decisions. Recently, the attachment theory has been extended into the domain of travel behavior. However, little academic attention has been paid to the attachment of tour leader. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of tour leader attachment on customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs). Furthermore, the study investigated the extent to which customer commitment mediates the relationship between tour leader attachment and CCBs. Online survey data from 459 tourists indicate that tour leader attachment is positively related to CCBs. Furthermore, customer commitment mediates the relationship between tour leader attachment and CCBs. Implications of these findings as well as future research are subsequently discussed.     

When does a service guarantee work? The roles of the popularity of service guarantees and firm reputation

Despite substantial research on service guarantees in the literature, little study has examined how the popularity of service guarantees (SG) in a particular industry affects the effectiveness of SGs. Through four studies, the authors demonstrate an interactive effect between the market-level factor (the popularity of SGs) and the firm-level factor (firm reputation) in affecting consumer's responses to a travel agency's actions in (not) offering an SG. When offering SGs is popular in a given market, consumers perceive a loss from the absence of SGs, and a high-reputation agency will outperform a low-reputation agency in consumer service evaluation when neither agencies offer SGs. However, if both agencies provide guarantees, the SG offered by the high-reputation agency does not necessarily lead to greater service evaluation than that offered by the low-reputation agency. The results reverse when offering SGs is rare in the market, as consumers perceive a gain from the presence of SGs.     

Restaurant servers’ perceptions of customer tipping intentions

Customer reactions to service encounters have been studied with surprisingly little emphasis on how servers’ perceive customers. If tips are an incentive to reward service then beliefs about consumers’ tipping habits may impact service delivery. An extensive survey of restaurant servers revealed that regular patrons and males were thought to be the best tippers; teenagers the worst. Females perceived males, African-Americans and foreign customers to be better tippers than did males; self reported tip income for males was greater than for females. Server ethnicity was not a factor. Systematic monitoring of these server perceptions may ensure more homogeneous service delivery.     

Online Shopping of Travel Products: A Study of Influence of Each Dimension of travelers' Attitudes and the Impact of travelers' Online Shopping Experiences on Their Purchase Intentions

This study examines the impact of three attributes (perception of convenience, perception of merchandise options, and perception of value) on travelers' attitudes toward different online agencies online shopping for travel products and the impact of online shopping experiences on their online purchase intentions. The collected data arises from an Internet survey of registered members of an online travel service company that caters to leisure travelers. The study finds that perceptions of convenience and value are two valid dimensions that measure travelers' attitudes. Findings also confirm that those two attitudes' attributes and travelers' online shopping experiences exert significant influence on their online purchase intentions. Travelers have a more positive attitude toward travel portal websites than toward companies' branded websites in terms of perception of convenience, perception of merchandise options, and perception of value.     

An analysis of e-business adoption and its impact on relational quality in travel agency–supplier relationships

This study analyzes how managers of retail travel agencies perceive the antecedents and consequences of adopting e-business in their supplier relationships. A comprehensive model integrating its antecedents and relational effects is developed and empirically tested using SEM. The study surveyed 101 travel agents in Spain. Research findings indicate that customer pressure has a strong influence on e-communication practices. E-communication with the travel agency's supplier and the pressure exerted by the sector are the main antecedents for e-procurement. Effects of e-business on relational quality are contradictory. E-procurement influences negatively on trust. Conversely, e-communication has a positive impact on trust, thus having a favorable impact on perceived reciprocity and travel agent's commitment to its supplier. Main findings indicate that the use of the Internet is largely driven by normative pressures, and this coercive power has a detrimental impact on trust. To avoid such negative consequences, perceived reciprocity is a prerequisite for committed supplier relationships.