Measurement and Management Issues in Customer Satisfaction Research: Review,Critique and Research Agenda: Part Two

Abstract

A two-part article was designed to review the main areas of agreement and disagreement in the debate over customer satisfaction and its measurement. The preceding article presented a synthesis of views in regard to the definition of customer satisfaction; the similarity, difference, and causality between customer satisfaction and service quality; and the use of the Expectancy-Disconfirmation Paradigm in the measurement of customer satisfaction. This second article undertakes a critical review of the debates relating to the reliability and validity of the Performance alone and the Weighted Importance-Performance models in assessing customer satisfaction. Further discussions pertaining to culture-satisfaction relationship, who should determine satisfaction (the researcher or the customer) and whether the measurement of customer satisfaction is an end in itself are presented. Finally, possible barriers that exist in the way of developing and implementing effective satisfaction improvement programmes are reviewed, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

A behavioral urban recreation site choice model

Abstract

A multinomial logit site choice model (MNL) derived by utility maximization and based on reported travel distance and perceived site attributes was estimated for 21 forest‐related urban recreation sites in Chicago. Reported travel distance was the dominant explanatory variable. Perceived site attributes included stimulating/educational, quiet, safe, and forested. When estimated for subsets of the 21 sites, the coefficient for travel distance remained stable in sign, magnitude, and significance, while coefficients for “quiet” and “forested” changed in sign and significance. This supports the application of travel cost models at the urban scale, but suggests that site choice criteria may be sensitive to variables not included in the study.     

The effect of online reviews on hotel booking intention: The role of reader-reviewer similarity

Due to the experiential nature of travel-related products, online reviews have become an increasingly popular information source in travel planning and have a profound effect on consumers’ buying decisions, particularly in hotel booking. On the basis of homophily and similarity-attraction theory, we posit that review valence is positively related to consumers’ hotel booking intentions, and expect this relationship to be moderated by surface- (demographic) and deep-level (preference) similarities. The findings from two experiments conducted in Germany and Macau indicate that review valence significantly affects hotel booking intention, and that reader-reviewer demographic similarity moderates this effect. This three-way interaction reveals a substituting moderation effect between demographic similarity and preference similarity. One practical implication is that travel websites should find methods of exposing users to reviews written by those with either similar demographic characteristics or preferences, which facilitate travelers’ decision-making processes.     

Tourists’ willingness to pay for an accommodation: The effect of eWOM and internal reference price

Understanding the determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) is an important challenge especially for practitioners. This study evaluates the effect of external information (eWOM valence and volume) and internal information (internal reference price) on consumers’ WTP for an accommodation. The results of an online experiment (n = 766) show a direct effect of valence on WTP which is strengthened by both volume and the internal reference price. Consumers with high reference prices are more sensitive to the effect of an increase in valence. Moreover, internal reference price has a non-linear influence on WTP. The findings suggest the relevant role of eWOM as well as internal reference price in determining consumers’ WTP. The inclusion of these two variables in dynamic pricing strategies could lead to greater benefits for hospitality managers.     

Exploring the comparative importance of online hotel reviews’ heuristic attributes in review helpfulness: a conjoint analysis approach

Online travel reviews have become increasingly important as a result of the intangible and heterogeneous characteristics of the tourism industry as well as the recent diffusion of social media. This exploratory case study intends to examine the comparative importance of the six heuristic attributes (reviewer location, reviewer level, reviewer helpful vote, review rating, review length, and review photo) with respect to review helpfulness in the online hotel review context. Moreover, the salience of the individual levels within each review attribute and the importance of the attributes in positive and negative review-rating groups are compared. In total, 1,158 reviews of a hotel on TripAdvisor were collected and analyzed through conjoint analyses. This study found that the review rating and reviewer helpful vote attributes are the two most important factors. Finally, three major propositions are suggested based on findings of the study, and several theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Associative and dissociative comparative advertising strategies in broadening brand positioning

When marketplace dynamics prompt a familiar brand to change its positioning, consumers often meet such attempts with resistance. This research demonstrates how familiar brands can incorporate new attribute information into the brand's position via comparative advertising in order to broaden the brand's marketplace positioning. Study 1 shows how the use and nature of comparative advertising affects the ability of a familiar brand to broaden its positioning. Studies 2a and 2b demonstrate that a comparative advertising strategy that incorporates a specific sequencing of dissociative and associative comparative advertisements best broadens brand positioning.     

青海省玉树州相对资源承载力评价

采用修正后的相对资源承载力模型从时间和空间对玉树州资源承载力进行评价,结果表明:1999—2008年间,玉树州相对资源承载力处于富余状态,但富余量在逐渐减小;土地资源承载力远大于经济资源承载力,其中牧草地资源和林地资源对综合资源承载力贡献最大;资源承载力空间分布特征明显,主要表现为东西部和南北部的资源承载力分布差异。     

网络虚拟财产应受法律保护

网络虚拟财产是在智力劳动的基础上形成的,可以用金钱货币购买的主要存在于网络世界中的财产,具有财产属性和价值。网络虚拟财产虽然存在于无形的网络中,是虚拟的,但又是客观存在的事物,是现实生活中财产的另一种存在形式,它们应该被法律加以认可,并依靠法律来调整,以保护网民的合法权益。     

I love the product but will you? The role of interpersonal attachment styles in social projection

Individuals often have a need to predict the preferences of others (e.g., offering a recommendation, gift giving). In doing so, it is not uncommon that individuals project their attitudes and preferences onto others. Extant consumer research literature related to social projection focuses largely on particular situational variables that influence social projection. The current research adds to a smaller body of consumer research which focuses on specific characteristics of consumers’ selves that may drive an individual's tendency to project his/her attitudes onto others. Specifically, the present paper explores an individual‐level moderator of social projection, namely, interpersonal attachment style. Across five studies, interpersonal attachment style, and attachment anxiety, specifically, is shown to influence social projection. In addition, the mechanism underlying this relationship is demonstrated. The results show that high (vs. low) anxious attachment individuals tend to naturally consider more counter‐valence attributes of a product, that is., liked attributes of a disliked product and disliked attributes of a liked product, and this availability of counter‐valence attributes lowers social projection. Important theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

国土空间规划视角下生态空间管制分区的理论思考

研究目的:揭示生态空间的概念内涵与认知局限,探讨面向国土空间规划的生态空间管制分区优化逻辑。研究方法:文献资料法和归纳演绎法。研究结果:(1)生态空间具有实体、功能、管理等多维属性,蕴含了生态系统服务的多样性、生态空间功能的复合性、生态服务价值的人本性三重内涵;(2)生态空间管制分区的认知存在三方面的局限,即价值取向上难以统筹要素、功能与格局,操作模式上忽略社会文化功能的权衡,实施路径上未能建构分级分类体系;(3)国土空间规划对生态空间管制分区提出了底线保障、精细治理、人本服务三个层次需求;(4)生态空间管制分区可遵循以生态功能为研判依据、生态要素为空间载体、分级分类高效管理为落脚点的理论逻辑,建构以功能权衡、要素统筹、分级分类为次序的实施路径。研究结论:深化生态空间的理论认知,厘清国土空间规划对生态空间管制分区的核心需求,优化生态空间管制分区的理论逻辑与实施路径,才能有效地支撑生态文明新时代的空间治理现代化目标。