Why do satisfied customers switch? Focus on the restaurant patron variety-seeking orientation and purchase decision involvement

Company efforts to make customers switch from competitive brands to their own or induce them to repurchase their own brands are very important in their marketing activities and in this regard studies of customer variety-seeking orientation and level of involvement in decision making play a crucial role in explaining customers’ product selection activities. The purpose of this study intends to examine interrelationships among customer satisfaction, loyalty, and switching intent in family restaurants and verify the moderating effect of customer variety-seeking orientation and purchase decision involvement. A total of 305 patrons in Korea participated. The results showed a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Participants expressing a high level of satisfaction were more likely to switch restaurants. Whether customers feel loyalty determines their switching intent. There were moderating effects related to customer variety-seeking orientation in the causal relationships between customer loyalty and switching intent. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.     

The impact of CSR on relationship quality and relationship outcomes: A perspective of service employees

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing attention over the past decade. While many studies examined an impact of CSR on consumers, only dearth of research is found that attempts to understand the impact of CSR on employees from the relationship marketing perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of CSR in predicting relationship quality and relationship outcomes. The four dimensions of CSR used in the study include economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects. Data were collected via survey from employees of franchised foodservice enterprises located in South Korea. The findings of the study show that not all dimensions of CSR have the same effect on relationship quality. While economic and philanthropic dimensions have a significant influence on organizational trust, only ethical dimension has a positive effect on job satisfaction. As expected, relationship quality has a significant impact on relationship outcomes.     

人格特质对旅游管理专业实习生留职意愿影响研究——组织社会化的中介作用

文章以旅游管理专业大学本科实习生为例,实证分析实习生人格特质与其在本行业留职意愿之间的关系,并探讨组织社会化的中介作用.结果显示,外倾性、勤勉正直性人格特质对留职意愿具有显著的正向预测作用,情绪敏感性人格特质对留职意愿具有显著的负向预测作用;工作胜任社会化、组织文化社会化在外倾性人格特质和留职意愿的关系中起完全中介作用;工作胜任社会化、人际关系社会化在勤勉正直性人格特质对留职意愿的影响中起部分中介作用.据此,文章最后提出了相关建议.     

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: Testing the effect of environmental friendly activities

The present study proposed and tested Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model to explain the formation of hotel customers' intentions to visit a green hotel. The findings showed the TPB model has a good fit to the data and better predictive power for intention than the Theory of a Reasoned Action model. Based on theoretical support and suggested modification indices, a refined TPB model was developed. Consistent with the theory, the results of a structural equation analysis revealed that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control positively affected intention to stay at a green hotel. Further investigation indicated the paths between these predictors and intention did not statistically differ between customers who actively practice ecofriendly activities and those who are not often engaged in environmentally conscious behaviors in their everyday lives. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Consumers’ responses to ambivalent online hotel reviews: The role of perceived source credibility and pre-decisional disposition

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is prevalent in today's lodging market and has potential to influence consumers’ decision making. This study investigated how the presence of online reviewers’ personal identifying information (PII) may affect consumers’ processing of ambivalent online hotel reviews and hotel booking intentions. The results of an experiment with a sample of 274 undergraduate students indicate that the presence of PII positively affects the perceived credibility of the online reviews. When coupled with ambivalent online reviews, the presence of PII significantly lowers consumers’ hotel booking intentions.     

旅游电子商务成熟度对在线旅游预订意向的影响——以携程旅行网为例

旅游服务商为了抢夺市场份额,纷纷投资进行技术改造和产品扩张,促进旅游电子商务不断走向成熟。近年来,IT管理的成熟度理论开始应用于旅游电子商务领域,旅游在线预订及其影响因素研究也日渐增长。但是在学术界,旅游电子商务成熟度对在线旅游预订意向的影响研究却十分少见。文章以携程旅行网为例,基于文献研究提出相关概念模型,运用探索性因子分析及结构方程模型,探讨旅游电子商务成熟度对在线旅游预订意向的影响机制。确认旅游电子商务成熟度的4个维度均正向影响顾客信任,但交易机制对顾客信任的效用最大,其次是信息质量;4个维度中,顾客为中心、服务响应正向影响顾客的积极态度,以服务响应对积极态度的效用最大;旅游电子商务成熟度的4个维度通过顾客信任和积极态度这两个中介变量影响在线旅游预订意向,且顾客信任和积极态度是完全中介效用,统计意义上,顾客信任对积极态度没有显著影响。     

机制设计视角的O2O模式科学性分析

O2O模式的升级与转型是目前电商行业的热点问题。运用机制设计理论,分析O2O不同经营类型的科学性,验证不同O2O类型与盈利模式间的关系。理论分析发现:相对于独立型与复合型团购,平台型团购能够较好地处理传统营销中买卖双方的信用关系,具有机制设计上的优势性。实证分析显示:平台型团购的盈利模式侧重于新型的增值业务收入,独立型与复合型团购侧重于商品的进销差价等传统盈利模式,消费者投诉绝大部分集中在独立型与复合型团购。     

Do global airline alliances influence the passenger's purchase decision?

This study examines the influences of airline global alliances on the purchase intention of international air passengers in Taiwan. The findings indicate positive relationships between global airline alliances, brand equity, brand preference and purchase intention with a moderation effect of involvement impacting on the relationship between global airline alliances and brand equity, and the relationship between brand preferences and purchase intention. In particular, for highly involved passengers, the effect of global airline alliances on brand equity, and brand preference on purchase intention, is significant.     

Quality,Satisfaction and Customers’ Future Intention: The Case of Hotels’ Fitness Centers in Cyprus

In an era of fierce competition, financial hardship, and volatile customer expectations the hospitality industry is seeking out new revenue centers that can both enrich the customer experience, and contribute to financial success. Capturing the attention of the industry, fitness centers have become a fundamental component of the contemporary hospitality experience with numerous strategic, operational and tactical implications. Responding to the need for further empirical investigation, the study, by adopting a quantitative methodology, holistically investigates quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intention in fitness centers currently operating in upscale hospitality establishments in Cyprus. Findings suggest that satisfaction with the provision of fitness services in hotels is primarily associated with the dimensions of employee behavior and workout facilities. Moreover, workout facilities was the only quality dimension which was significantly associated with the respondents’ intention to renew their membership, whereas a strong relationship between satisfaction and future intention was substantiated.     

Some Determinants of Core Competencies: Evidence from a Binary-Logit Analysis

Despite the increasing recognition of the salience of core competencies in the process of competition, the notion of core competencies has remained largely ambiguous in the literature. Neither is it clear what strategies, institutions, and resources are necessary for developing and sustaining core competencies. This paper uses the binary-logit model to explore the determinants of core competencies, and identifies investment in intangible assets, marketing/promotional activities and firm size as significant determinants of core competencies. An evaluation of the technology strategies of two competence-seeking firms also points to the increasing salience of intangible assets, decentralization/globalization of the R&D function, and the intensive search for knowledge and capabilities.