Using Performance Measurements to Explore the Influence of Service Quality Dimensions on Customer's Perception of Overall Value of a Nature Based Tourism Outfitter

ABSTRACT

Customers of leisure services have increased their expectations of experience providers in recentyears. As the competition among service providers has increased for customers, service providers have begun to focus efforts on assessing the quality of the experiences they provide for their guests. Using the findings from their investigations, leisure service providers seek to modify current program offerings, add new experiences that enhance the perceived quality of their experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of using service performance measurements to determine if customer's perception's of service performance significantly predicts their perception of trip value, likeliness to recommend, and likeliness to repurchase from the same outfitter, and overall quality in the context of white water rafting. A total of 309 guests of an outfitter were surveyed for this study. Service performance was measured within the context of four company-specific dimensions (Reservation, Transportation. Facilities, and Guides). MANOVA and discriminant analyses were used to test each of the four hypotheses. Results of the MANOVA revealed that reservations, facilities, transportation and guides do significantly predict, overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend the experience next year, and overall quality. However, only transportation and facilities were significant when asked about repurchasing the trip from the same outfitter next year. The strongest predictor resulting from the discriminant analyses for three variables (overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend these outfitters and overall quality) was reservations. In contrast the strongest predictor of repurchasing the experience from the same outfitter was transportation.     

Situational and subjective determinants of satisfaction in marine recreational fishing

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of tangible trip outcomes and subjective evaluations on overall trip satisfaction in marine recreational fishing. The paper proposes a model of fishing satisfaction that integrates subjective and situational factors as well as consumptive and nonconsumptive elements of the experience. A replicated analysis of separate samples of Delaware and Maryland fishermen was used. Findings demonstrate that a significant portion of the variance in satisfaction could be explained by a set of identifiable components of the total experience. Overall satisfaction was influenced most strongly and most directly by subjective evaluations of specific aspects of the experience. Situational outcomes influenced overall satisfaction in a more indirect manner as they were filtered through various subjective evaluations. The proposed fishing model suggests that consumptive outcomes are more important than they appear from the typically weak correlations found between satisfaction and objective harvest measures.     

The Potential of Interdisciplinarity for Leisure Research

Abstract

Knowledge about preferences for campsite attributes is needed so that management strategies can be guided by users’ preferences for settings and experiences. However, results of campsite choice studies have shown great variability across settings. Reexamination of this research shows a hierarchical typology of attributes: most important are necessity attributes, which supply basic camping needs, followed by experience attributes, which enhance preferred experience outcomes, and finally amenity attributes, which are relatively minor but can improve site quality. A survey of Whitewater boaters confirmed the predicted order of attribute importance and generally supported the proposed definitions of attribute types. A tentative model of campsite choice is offered in which sites are evaluated first for their ability to provide necessity attributes, then experience attributes, and finally, if more than one potential site remains, amenity attributes. Constraints may cut the evaluation process short anytime after the initial (necessity attribute) stage.     

Information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound travelers‐a comparison of business and leisure travelers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the information search behavior of Hong Kong's inbound tourists, in particular business and leisure travelers. The study clearly shows that business and leisure travelers demonstrate different information search behavior. ‘Personal experience,’ ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Airlines’ and the ‘Internet’ are most frequently relied upon by business travelers in searching for travel information, while leisure travelers prefer ‘Travel agency/tour company,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ The study also reveals that the total number of information sources used and the length of pre‐trip planning lead‐time are significantly different between these two groups of travelers. First time travelers also have a longer pre‐trip planning lead‐time than repeat travelers. Furthermore, business and leisure travelers perceive the levels of influence of several information sources, including ‘Corporate travel departments,’ ‘Friends or relatives,’ ‘Travel guide books,’ and the ‘Internet,’ differently. These information sources were classified into five different dimensions, including ‘Media,’ ‘Neutral,’ ‘Retail,’ ‘Interpersonal,’ and ‘Personal experience.’ Analysis based on travelers' purpose for traveling and demographic information was performed. Leisure travelers perceive the level of influence of ‘Neutral’ sources as significantly higher, and those with lower household incomes perceived the level of influence of ‘Personal experience’ as lower. The results of this study will allow marketers in Hong Kong to better understand travelers’ information search behavior so that they can more effectively tailor their marketing strategies to these two major markets.     

Information Search Behavior and Tourist Characteristics

SUMMARY

The Internet as a new form of media is impacting tourist information provision and acquisition. A better understanding of the use of the Internet and other information sources by tourists will benefit the marketing efforts of destination organizations. Based on a general consumer behavior theory by Berkman and Gilson (1986), this study examined the relationships between tourists' use of the Internet vs. other information sources and their characteristics. It was found that demographic characteristics of gender and household income and situational factors of trip purpose and travel party type were significantly related to tourists' choices of information sources; and such behavior was associated with their trip outcomes of accommodation types and expenditure. The study's implications were discussed in the context of destination marketing.     

Retention of Hourly Hotel Employees

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to explore the reasons behind hourly employee turnover in the hotel industry. Data was collected from 230 hourly employees in ten small and medium-size hotels located in the Southeast U.S. The results empirically confirmed that hourly employees' retention was predicted by self-fulfillment and working conditions rather than monetary rewards. More specifically, employees who were more likely to stay with their current employer: were not interested in finding another job, had a positive experience with their hotel's company policies, were satisfied with their current job, attributed a higher level of importance for paid vacation, had a positive experience with regard to their hotel's humane approach to employees, and did not attribute a high level of importance for having a fun and challenging job.     

Customer Satisfaction and Behavioural Intentions in a Rural Community Museum Environment

Abstract

This paper examines a cornerstone concept of mainstream marketing theory relating to the importance of customer satisfaction as an influence on future behavioural intentions. The underlying premise is that visitors to a tourist attraction whose expectations are met or exceeded will be satisfied with their experience, and that the degree of perceived satisfaction will positively correlate with their stated intention to repeat purchase and to recommend the experience to others. This paper reports an exploratory project to test the above proposition within a tourism industry context, specifically with reference to the museum sector. The study measures visitor satisfaction levels and future intentions to revisit or recommend the Matakohe Kauri museum in Northland, New Zealand-a rurally isolated tourist attraction which is heavily dependent on referrals to support its continued existence. Research was undertaken by means of a two part structured interview technique, conducted on site with 141 respondents on six separate days in September and October 1996. Visitor expectations were established by questioning prior to entry, whilst a subsequent exit interview captured respondents' perceived degree of satisfaction with their visit. The second interview included a measure of stated intention to return and to recommend the museum to others. Provisional indications are that perceived levels of satisfaction have little bearing on the visitor's stated intention to return to the attraction; however, a significant relationship exists between perceived satisfaction and intention to recommend to others. The results of this research will prove valuable as a foundation for a recommended programme of further research to more rigorously assess the performance of customer satisfaction theory within a rural folk museum environment.     

The Impact of Consumer Involvement on the Consumers' Perception of Service Quality-Focusing on the Korean Hotel Industry

Abstract

The consumers' evaluations of service quality may be impacted by their assessments of the actual service received, the service provider, and/or the service facility. Within a service marketing context, the more an individual believes the service is personally relevant, the more involved the individual may become with various aspects of the service. This study integrates these two important variables in consumer behavior, which are consumer involvement and service quality. This paper investigates the effect of consumer involvement on the consumer's perceived service quality by focusing on the Korean hotel industry.     

Hotel Guests' Cumulative Satisfaction Updating Process in the Context of Service Failure and Service Recovery

ABSTRACT

Consumers constantly revise their satisfaction judgments as they gain new service experience. While some researchers found that consumers weigh their prior cumulative experience more heavily than their most current individual service encounters when updating their cumulative overall satisfaction, others found the opposite result. Following the development of the literature, this study investigated customers' satisfaction updating process in the context of service failure and service recovery in the hotel industry. The results of the data analysis show that when updating overall satisfaction, participants weighed their current service encounter satisfaction more heavily than prior cumulative overall satisfaction, regardless of different levels of service failure and service recovery. The findings of this research also suggest that once customers experience service problems, it is difficult to bring customers' satisfaction level back to where it was.     

Meeting Planners' Use of the Internet to Plan Group Meetings

Abstract

Despite the fact that hospitality web sites are proliferating and opportunities to complete sales transactions via the Internet increase daily, no research exists on meeting planners' use of the Internet to plan group meetings. Guided by Hoffman and Novak's (1994) Model of Planned Behavior this study focused on determining what variables are related to a meeting planners' intent to use and current use of the Internet to plan group meetings. Three hundred sixty-two planners of the Chicago Chapter of Meeting Professionals International were surveyed via a faxed instrument. Planners' attitudes, beliefs about norms, and perceived behavioral control were found to be significantly related to their usage of the Internet. Additionally, results confirmed that meeting planners view the Internet as having positive qualities and benefits in planning group meetings and that it is a cost effective planning tool.     

Product shift in recreation settings: Findings and implications from panel research

Abstract

Resource managers often rely on data from recreation users as one of the inputs for long‐term decisions, but product shift (users responding to changing social or environmental conditions by changing their definition of the recreation experience) may confound the reliability of such information. In this study, we used panel data to examine the product shift phenomenon related to social conditions and describe resulting management implications. The same individuals who participated in a 1977 study of floaters on the Rogue River were contacted in 1991. As predicted by the product shift phenomenon, results indicated that in a situation in which use levels are increasing (a) visitors are more likely to change experience definitions than to become dissatisfied, (b) experience definitions change toward higher density experiences, (c) on‐river encounter norms increase, and (d) perceived crowding does not change. Other findings ran counter to product shift theory: Norms for off‐river encounters did not increase to accommodate additional contacts, and user satisfaction decreased slightly. Management implications suggest a need for well‐defined experience opportunities as well as objective monitoring to document site characteristics over time.     

Factors contributing to perceptions of recreational crowding

Abstract

This paper examines perceptions of crowding in a river recreation setting, using an alternative to the conventional crowding measure and a diverse set of potential predictor variables that have not been examined concurrently in previous studies. Analysis focuses on differences between three groups of respondents: crowded floaters, whose enjoyment was reduced by encounters with other people; neutral floaters; and those floaters whose enjoyment was increased by the visitor density they encountered. Findings support some previous arguments that crowding is related more to visitors’ expectations, preferences, and previous experience than to actual or perceived encounter levels. Further, perceptions of crowding were found to be related to encounter expectations and preferences at specific river locations (e.g., at put‐in and rapids) and to perceptions of other aspects of trip quality.     

Narratives of Negotiation and Transformation: Women's Experiences within a Mixed-Gendered Gym

ABSTRACT

Those within the fitness industry claim that gyms provide accessible space for women (of certain economic status) to engage in activities that will increase their health. As such, gyms are marketed as safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces. Yet when viewing gym spaces through a feminist-informed lens, it becomes clear that gyms are not always innocuous spaces. They often reflect and perpetuate gendered power relations and highly prescribed cultural expectations for femininity around women's bodies, appearances, strength, and abilities. This narrative inquiry sought to illuminate women's gendered experiences within a for-profit mixed-gendered gym space. Through the use of unstructured life story interviews, this research highlights the dominant gendered expectations that women perceived within the gym and how these expectations influence women's gym use. The narratives also exposed several ways that gyms can be changed in order to facilitate more positive gym experiences for women.     

A latent growth model of destination image's halo effect

By disentangling the static and dynamic components of a latent growth model, this study demonstrates how tourists' mere presence may influence the evaluation of the destination's products because of the halo effect of their perceived destination image. The results show that destination image positively influenced product evaluations. However, while visitors had more favourable initial product evaluations and purchase intentions, these enhanced evaluations decayed over time once the visitors returned home. Further, the effects were less pronounced for high-involvement visitors, who were more knowledgeable about the product. These findings imply that cross-sectional studies may yield an incomplete picture regarding the effects of destination image. This study also demonstrated how to apply latent growth modelling to longitudinal tourism research.     

Between Authenticity and Ethnicity: Heritage Tourism and Re-ethnification Among Diaspora Jewish Youth

Heritage tourism takes on a new meaning when conceived and implemented in the framework of a diaspora – homeland context. Trip organisers utilise heritage tourism that identifies the signifiers of national collective identity or Peoplehood and construct an experience of authenticity that supports a newly reconstructed narrative of personal and collective identity that bridges the diaspora and homeland identities. This paper examines into the differential consequences of heritage tourism on the ethnic identity of diaspora travellers from North America and the former Soviet Union to their homeland, specifically contrasting Jewish tourists from different diaspora localities making an otherwise almost identical birthright Israel trip. For both groups, Jewish ethnic identity was strengthened, particularly their emotional attachment to Israel. However, the difference between the two groups was found in the actual factors that explain this post trip attachment to Israel. The experiential component was more prominent among participants from the former Soviet Union, while among North American student participants, Jewish background as well as their higher pre-trip motivations provide an explanation for their high post-trip scores of attachment to Israel. Israel thus serves as the liminal domain of diaspora tourists, where existential authenticity and pre-trip ethnicity as latent as the latter may be, intertwine experientially to generate an expansion of the frame of individual identity of diaspora tourists in their homeland.     

Social media picture posting and souvenir purchasing behavior: Some initial findings

Almost one-half of pleasure travelers post travel pictures on social networking sites (Lo, McKercher, Lo, Cheung, & Law, 2011). Hence, this research explores whether travelers who post pictures on a social media site(s) of their trip otherwise known as ‘trip picture posters’ (TPPs) have different souvenir purchasing behaviors than those who do not engage in trip picture posting (non-TPPs). Findings indicate that TPPs are more apt to use souvenirs as gifts and souvenirs as evidence than non-TPPs. Further TPPs are more prone to purchase local and regional specialty items than non-TPPs. From a theory-building perspective, this study is one of the initial attempts to cross-pollinate the research streams of souvenir purchase behavior and social media usage. From a practical lens, these findings suggest that TPPs should be targeted with specific souvenir promotions.     

Luxury hotels going green – the antecedents and consequences of consumer hesitation

Abstract

Luxury hotels might hesitate to operate in a more environmentally friendly way because they worry such practices will harm their performance. However, hotels can have a significant impact on the natural environment. Building on protection motivation theory, this study examines consumers’ evaluations of luxury hotels that are becoming more environmentally friendly by investigating the influences of perceived risks (i.e. functional, financial, hedonic, and self-image risks) on consumers’ hesitation and subsequent purchase intentions. Additionally, the moderating effect of consumers’ green hotel knowledge on the influences of perceived risks on hesitation is examined. Questionnaires were completed by 548 participants from Taiwan and revealed that perceived risks can significantly influence hesitation, which can in turn affect purchase intentions. Furthermore, green hotel knowledge moderates the influence of perceived functional and hedonic risks on hesitation. This study’s contributions to the luxury product consumption literature and sustainable tourism studies are discussed.     

The Importance of Food Safety in Travel Planning and Destination Selection

Summary

This study investigates the strength of the relationship between the destination choices of respondents and the perceived risk of food-borne illnesses, as well as respondents' sources of information regarding food safety prior to traveling. Results indicate that food safety was of secondary importance to respondents with frequent travelers more willing to discount the use of food safety in their travel decisions. Female respondents were likely to regard food safety as more important than their male counterparts. Africa was the top region that most respondents would avoid due to food safety concerns. Friends and relatives, travel agents, and magazines and newspapers were the most common sources turned to for health and food safety information. Travel agents were not perceived as a reliable source of food safety information.     

Differences in social evaluations and their effects on employee job attitudes and turnover intentions in a restaurant setting

The current research examines the effects of employees' social evaluations of their coworkers and managers on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. This study enhances existing literature on the perceived work environment of restaurants, with the inclusion of two fundamental social dimensions that people often use in order to evaluate other individuals or groups, namely: their perceived warmth and competence. Hierarchical cluster analyses demonstrated that employees tend to perceive their coworkers and managers in two opposing ways, and independent-samples t-tests showed that employees' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions differ significantly according to such divergent social perceptions. Managerial and academic implications are discussed in detail.     

Autonomy in trip planning and overall satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Tourists increasingly rely on Internet-based, autonomous resources to gather information, book, and pay for their trips; this increasing autonomy may affect their overall satisfaction. Using data about how Spanish tourists search for information and complete their bookings, this study analyzes the influence of tourist autonomy on overall satisfaction with the trip, as well as the effects of moderating characteristics related to both tourists and their trips. The results indicate a direct relationship between tourists’ autonomy and their overall satisfaction, as well as positive moderating effects of tourists’ previous travel experience and education, but negative moderating effects of trip complexity.