The creation of memorable dining experiences: formative index construction

Memorable experiences in restaurant settings are not well understood, and little is known about what they represent and how they should be measured. This study filled this knowledge gap by developing a formative index to assess and measure memorable dining experiences (MDE). Drawing upon strategic experiential modules, MDE was conceptualized as a second-order formative construct consisting of five first-order dimensions including sensory, affect, behavioral, social, and intellectual. This study adopted a mixed methods approach combining in-depth interviews and an online survey to determine and evaluate the underlying structure of MDE. Using PLS-PM as the analytical technique, the results of the data supported that MDE was a second-order formative construct, with 37 items capturing the five first-order dimensions. The study provided a comprehensive conceptualization of the MDE and a measurement scale with strong psychometric properties to help hospitality managers create and measure such experiences to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Detailed implications for academics and practitioners are provided.     

Understanding the usability of retail fashion brand chatbots: Evidence from customer expectations and experiences

The existing literature suggests that chatbots tend to provide automated and generic responses that may not fully address complex customer inquiries, particularly when additional guidance is required. To improve the usability of retail fashion brands, this study examines how socially constructed experiences and expectations influence customer interactions. Data was collected from various sources, including online reviews, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, to enhance the credibility of the results. The research reveals that individuals in the retail industry demand a broader variety of fashion products and more sophisticated capabilities to bolster the reminiscence of their shopping experiences. Retail fashion chatbots hold potential in recommending items that align with customers' preferences and goals, yet it is crucial for developers and brand managers to address numerous usability challenges and provide multilingual assistance to boost user engagement. Moreover, optimizing fashion retail chatbots is vital to reduce battery consumption, curtail instances of conversation window freezing, and hasten response times. This study provides a novel research framework that offers valuable insights on how to enhance the retail customer experience by improving interactivity, compatibility, credibility, and other factors that promote the use and adoption of retail fashion chatbots.     

Drivers of brand community engagement

Brand community engagement is evolving as a prominent relationship marketing variable that yields promising outcomes for the firms. Drawing upon the relevant premises of social exchange theory, this paper proposes a theoretical model portraying the role of online brand community based benefits (experience based and self-esteem based) and the community relationship investment in predicting the levels of brand community engagement.Data collected through a survey questionnaire technique from 925 members of the firm created online brand communities was employed to test the measurement and structural theory using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling respectively. The empirical results reveal that the customers’ experiential and self-esteem based benefits drive their brand community engagement. The perceived community relationship investment of the members also drives their brand community engagement positively. The sequential structural model also supported a positive impact exerted by brand community engagement on brand community commitment and brand loyalty. Additionally, it is observed that the focal brand ownership moderates the effect of community benefits and community relationship investment on brand community engagement.This study contributes to the nascent academic research on online brand communities and to the existing understanding of the brand community managers in managing customer engagement in online brand communities, thereby of profound theoretical and managerial relevance.     

Exploring tourists' nostalgic experiences during culture festivals: the case of the Sung Chiang Battle Array

This study uses the means-end chain (MEC) approach with fuzzy conceptualization and incorporates Kano's model to elicit perceptions of nostalgic experiences and to explore preferences for Sung Chiang Battle Array (SCBA) cultural festivals. We provide a hierarchical value map that fuses attribute–consequence–value chains and Kano's model to distinguish the relationships between the factors of nostalgic experience and tourist satisfaction. Fuzzy linguistics is adopted to address the ill-defined nature of tourists' linguistic judgements so that they can be interpreted for the proposed MEC. By applying the ‘laddering' technique to interviews with 178 tourists, the resulting linkages strengthen the ability to probe outcomes and values and to derive a cognitive representation of nostalgic meanings. The findings of this research imply that, overall, tourists experience three different dominant perceptual orientations for nostalgic experiences in SCBA cultural festivals: ‘Learning and the challenge of a new experience', ‘Culture and art appreciation', and ‘The link between history and emotion'. The study's findings have implications for researchers and practitioners interested in nostalgic tourism.     

城乡收入差距治理——国际经验与广西路径

在综述美国、欧盟等发达地区治理城乡收入差距经验的基础上,结合广西地区的实际情况,对缩小城乡差距的具体路径进行探讨,并从农业发展模式、稳定农产品价格、城乡一体化治理等5个方面提出了相关对策建议。     

制订高职市场营销人才培养方案的几点体会

文章在对佛山市场营销人才需求进行调查的基础上,结合制订市场营销人才培养方案的实践,从5个方面谈了制订高职市场营销专业人才培养方案的体会。     

Tourists' memories,sensory impressions and loyalty: In loco and post-visit study in Southwest Portugal

This study aims to offer some insights on the contribution of sensory diversity as perceived by tourists to memorable destination experiences and to explore the connection between long-term memory of sensory impressions and destination loyalty. The vital role of the sensory dimension of tourist experiences is stressed by current tourism research and supported by a multidisciplinary view on the role of the five external senses in human perception, memory, and behavior. While the marketing management approach highlights the importance of considering multisensory information in the process of facilitating positive and memorable destination experiences, there is a lack of empirical research to validate the theoretical literature. A two-step exploratory study was conducted in loco and six months after tourists' visits to Southwest Portugal. The findings suggest that perceived richer sensory tourist experiences may have a significant role in the long-term memory of individuals’ experiences, encouraging favorable tourist behavior towards destinations.     

The criticality of transferable skills development and virtual learning environments used in the teaching of project management

Studies have found the development of transferable skills and the provision of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to be crucial to students who are learning project management. Taking these factors into consideration, this article explores why project management students have emphasized the importance of these two critical learning and teaching parameters in their developmental needs. The study was conducted utilizing focus groups consisting of 88 students in a UK higher education institution. Overall, we found the existence of five critical and applied themes grouped against transferable skills and the provision of VLEs under which students' needs could be classified.     

英国城乡的发展经验及启示

英国在城乡建设发展方面采取有效手段,积极推进城乡一体化建设,取得了很大成功.英国的经验可为我国当前推进城乡一体化建设、解决"三农"问题提供有益借鉴.     

借鉴国外经验 加强我国知识产权管理

我国加入WT0后，与发达国家在知识产权领域的竞争日趋激烈。本文从国际知识产权领域的现状和加入WT0后我国与发达国家在知识产权领域的竞争态势出发，分析探讨了我国在知识产权管理中存在的问题，提出了加强我国知识产权管理的对策建议。