On the importance of matching strategic behavior and target market selection to business strategy in high-tech markets

Business strategy is fundamentally concerned with the actions required to create superior customer value in the firm’s target markets with the ultimate goal of achieving superior performance. Marketing theory suggests that two critical marketing activities required to achieve this end are: (1) the adoption of appropriate strategic behaviors (i.e., customer-oriented, competitor-oriented, technology-oriented) and (2) targeting of the appropriate market segments (i.e., innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards). This study builds on prior research which demonstrates that the strategic behavior—firm performance relationship is contingent on the firm’s strategy by examining this relationship in high tech markets and by considering the incremental contribution of appropriate target market selection. Responses from 160 senior marketing managers in high-tech firms reveal strong support for our framework. Thus, this study provides useful guidance to executives and managers in high-tech firms regarding the steps that they should take to increase their probability of success.

Supply chain integration and operational performance: The contingency effects of production systems

The boundary conditions of supply chain integration (SCI) have been widely studied in order to find out when SCI is applicable and effective. However, prior studies have mainly focused on external contextual factors, such as supply complexity, environmental uncertainty and country-level infrastructure. This study contributes to the SCI literature by examining the contingency effects of internal production systems on the relationship between supplier integration, customer integration and operational performance. Based on organizational information processing theory, we provide evidence to show that the impact of supplier and customer integration on operational performance varies across production systems, such as one-of-a-kind production, batch production and mass production systems. The empirical results also reveal how supplier and customer integration can be matched with different configurations of production systems in order to achieve the desired quality, flexibility, delivery or cost performance.     

Using verbal attention to enhance restaurant customer satisfaction and behavior

Managing and developing positive customer relationships is a critical factor in the success of a restaurant. In this study, waitresses either asked customers about their satisfaction with the food or service before proposing tea or coffee, or they directly proposed coffee or tea without asking about satisfaction. It was found that the number of customers who ordered coffee/tea was significantly higher when the waitress asked the customers about their satisfaction. The theoretical and practical interest of studying the effect of verbal communication toward customers is discussed.     

Empowerment in hospitality organizations: Customer orientation and organizational support

Although empowering employees has often been prescribed as an efficient strategy for hospitality organizations, the strategy alone cannot ensure success. Individual and organizational factors should be considered to increase employees’ perception of empowerment. This study examines the impact of employees’ customer orientation and organizational factors on the employee empowerment perceptions. Our findings, based on a survey of 203 guest contact employees, suggest that organizations should hire customer oriented people, guide them with service training, provide a reward system, and facilitate service standards communication in order to increase perceived empowerment. Implications of these findings for hospitality service managers are discussed.     

Destination attachment: Effects on customer satisfaction and cognitive,affective and conative loyalty

Tourists may develop attachment to a destination because of its ability in fulfilling specific goals or activity needs and/or because of its symbolic meaning and thus, attachment could be an important measure of tourist satisfaction and loyalty. Despite its significance, only limited research has been conducted to determine the likely influences of emotional associations or meanings tourists attach to the places they visit on their satisfaction and future behavior. This study therefore explores the role of attachment in predicting satisfactory holiday experiences and destination loyalty. Results of the structural equation modeling show that positive emotional and cognitive bonds with a place could indeed affect an individual's critical assessment of a destination and his/her loyalty to the place. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Hotel Attributes and Consumer Satisfaction: A Cross-Country and Cross-Hotel Study

The main purpose of this study was to identify the influence of the consumer’s country of residence on hotel service attributes’ contribution to consumer satisfaction. The hospitality services of Disneyland Paris in Paris, France, were analyzed in the context of the study. Data came from their seven hotels and comprised 47,885 valid questionnaires. The Tetraclasse model was applied to identify hotel attributes’ contribution to satisfaction and compare them for consumer segments from eight European countries and between hotels. Results showed that the four service attributes’ contributions are influenced by country of residence and vary between hotels.     

Impact of hotel-restaurant image and quality of physical-environment,service, and food on satisfaction and intention

This study developed a theoretical framework in which overall image, image congruence, and quality of physical environment, service, and food affect guests’ satisfaction and intentions to revisit a luxury hotel restaurant and visit other restaurants of the same hotel by considering the influence of conspicuousness as a moderator. The measurement model assessment revealed that all items included an acceptable level of measurement quality. Results of the structural analysis indicated that the research variables were in general significantly associated; quality dimensions and satisfaction had a mediating role; and the impact of satisfaction and overall image on decision formation was greater than that of other variables. Moreover, the structural invariance model assessment indicated that conspicuousness acted as a significant moderator. Overall, our proposed theoretical framework was found to include a sufficient power in predicting patrons’ intentions for luxury hotel restaurant products. Using this quantitative approach, our research objectives were wholly achieved.     

A preliminary study on customer expectations of hotel hospitality: Influences of personal and hotel factors

This study attempts to explain the influence of personal and hotel factors on the expectation level of hotel hospitality as well as to propose a scale to measure commercial hospitality for hotel services. A total of 101 local and international hotel guests were involved in the study. The results revealed that the expectations of hotel hospitality are influenced by personal factors such as gender, purpose of stay, nationality, and private domain of hospitality. The hotel's star rating is the only hotel factor that might have strong association with hotel hospitality.     

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.     

Effect of watermarks as visual cues for guiding consumer choice: An experiment with restaurant menus

Priming can influence preferences. In this experiment, we extend this idea by using watermark visual primes. On a restaurant menu cart, primes related to the sea, countryside (or no prime) were used with alone diners in a restaurant. The results show that, compared to the control no-prime condition, primes related to the sea significantly increased the consumption of fish dishes whereas primes related to the countryside did not significantly increase the consumption of meat dishes.