Search results
1 – 9 of 9Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou, Irene Kamenidou and Constantinos-Vasilios Priporas
The current paper aims at exploring negative aspects in reviews about Airbnb listings in Athens, Greece.
Abstract
Purpose
The current paper aims at exploring negative aspects in reviews about Airbnb listings in Athens, Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
The aspect-based sentiment approach (ABSA), a subset of sentiment analysis, is used. The study analyzed 8,200 reviews, which had at least one negative aspect. Based on dependency parsing, noun phrases were extracted, and the underlying grammar relationships were used to identify aspect and sentiment terms.
Findings
The extracted aspect terms were classified into three broad categories, i.e. the location, the amenities and the host. To each of them the associated sentiment was assigned. Based on the results, Airbnb properties could focus on certain aspects related to negative sentiments in order to minimize negative reviews and increase customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
The study employs the ABSA, which offers more advantages in order to identify multiple conflicting sentiments in Airbnb comments, which is the limitation of the traditional sentiment analysis method.
Details
Keywords
Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou, Apostolos Lepetsos and George Siomkos
This paper aims to examine consumer reactions during product-harm crises by measuring the impact of perceived risk, blame and trust on consumer purchase intentions. Moreover, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine consumer reactions during product-harm crises by measuring the impact of perceived risk, blame and trust on consumer purchase intentions. Moreover, the role of perceived crisis severity is examined as affecting the three main endogenous variables of the conceptual framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses the real-scenario approach for empirically testing the proposed conceptual framework. Participants were called to assess the story of a defective product (i.e. a soother that was recently recalled).
Findings
Results of the equation modeling demonstrate that perceived severity significantly influence trust and blame while it does not affect perceived risk. In addition, trust, blame and perceived risk notably affect purchase intentions.
Practical implications
Based on the study’s results, companies could implement appropriate strategies for reducing the negative consequences of a product-harm crisis.
Originality/value
The paper presents four key originality traits: Crisis management from the consumer perspective has received little attention. The relationship between trust, perceived risk and purchase intentions has not been explored in the crisis management field. Attribution of blame is a new variable added to the perceived risk-trust-purchase intention model. Perceived severity is examined as a moderator affecting the main endogenous variables of the conceptual framework.
Details
Keywords
Spiros Gounaris, Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou and Kalliopi C. Chatzipanagiotou
Although many authors argue that practising marketing internally facilitates the implementation of the market orientation concept, systematic empirical research to explore the…
Abstract
Purpose
Although many authors argue that practising marketing internally facilitates the implementation of the market orientation concept, systematic empirical research to explore the validity of the argument remains surprisingly scarce. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate empirically the relationship between market orientation (MO) and internal‐market orientation (IMO) as well as their joint effect on customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The findings ground on data collected from dyads of financial services providers and their customers. The former provided the information pertaining to the company's degree of MO and IMO adoption as well as on perceived employee value, while the latter were asked about perceived customer value, perceived service quality and their satisfaction with their provider. In total 127 dyads are employed in the analysis.
Findings
The findings show that MO and IMO are two inter‐related concepts, probably falling under the marketing philosophy umbrella. Through MO adoption, customer perceived value and customer perceived quality of the service increase. Through IMO adoption, the company improves the level of employee perceived value, which also results in higher levels of customer perceived service quality. Interestingly enough, IMO adoption is also found to have a direct impact on customer perceived service quality.
Research limitations/implications
The major implication from the study is that adopting a market orientation does help improve customer satisfaction but this objective is better served when developing a more holistic view of marketing and trying to simultaneously offer value to other company stakeholders, such as the employees. The major limitation of the study is the focus on services. When it comes to manufactured goods, customers receive significant value from the tangible parts of the product and consequently further investigation is required before any generalization can be made on the basis of the strength of the relationships that this study reveals.
Practical implications
The most significant implication for practitioners is the need to strike the right balance between the company's internal and external orientation. To achieve this, companies have to invest in integrating the marketing and the human resource functions, in much the same manner in which they attempt to integrate marketing with other company functions that also influence customers' experiences.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study to investigate the inter‐relationship and the joint effect of two well established notions, i.e. that between MO and IMO, and thus offers the required support to normative arguments regarding the need to sustain a balance between the company's external and internal focus.
Details
Keywords
Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou, George Siomkos, Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou and Amalia Triantafillidou
This paper aims to investigate the consumer responses associated with crises in the hotel industry. More precisely, the current research explores the factors that affect consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the consumer responses associated with crises in the hotel industry. More precisely, the current research explores the factors that affect consumer attitudes (i.e. impressions, perceived social responsibility, and future purchases) during a hotel crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment was conducted relying on four factors: the hotel's reputation, the extent of the crisis, external effects from regulatory agencies, and press and organisational response. Respondents were randomly assigned to 36 treatment groups (three levels of crisis extent×two levels of hotel corporate reputation×two levels of external effects×three levels of hotel response). Scenarios were developed, each describing one of the 36 treatments.
Findings
The results revealed that reputation, external effects and organisational response significantly influenced consumers. Specifically, consumers were more likely to have a positive impression of a hotel in crisis, to perceive the hotel as being more socially responsible, and to revisit the hotel when it was highly reputed, accepted responsibility, and was viewed favourably by the media. The extent of the crisis was found to be an insignificant factor.
Practical implications
Hotel managers could incorporate the results of this study into their crisis management plans. As consumer attitudes are explored, the hotel might begin to achieve more effective crisis management strategies.
Originality/value
There is a lack of research investigating hotel crisis management from the customer's perspective. By adopting effective crisis management practices, hotel managers could reduce the negative outcomes of crises such as fires.
Details
Keywords
John Kehagias, Emmanuel Skourtis and Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou
Using the product classification proposed by the Commodity School as it was originally expressed and later developed, this research aims to focus on defining pricing strategies…
Abstract
Purpose
Using the product classification proposed by the Commodity School as it was originally expressed and later developed, this research aims to focus on defining pricing strategies for specific corporate objectives, that is, profit increase, market share increase, and prevention of new competitors from entering the market.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to investigate the relationship between four consumer product categories and alternative pricing strategies in light of various corporate objectives, a set of research questions and propositions was formed and tested on the basis of data reflecting opinions expressed by marketing executives through a mailed survey in Greece.
Findings
For convenience and preference products, the low‐price strategy is used more often, irrespective of corporate objectives, whereas the high‐price strategy is used more often, irrespective of corporate objectives, for specialty products. For shopping products, the low‐price strategy is used more often when the main corporate objectives are increased market share and the prevention of new competitors from entering the market, but when the main corporate objective is increased profits, the high‐price strategy tends to prevail.
Research limitations/implications
The current research could be further expanded to cover other related topics such as the pricing policies and specific pricing methods that are used in the four product categories in combination with the pricing strategies they relate to and serve.
Practical implications
For marketers, the development of the proposed framework can serve as a basis for pricing decisions, provided, of course, that they use research‐based information about the extent to which their products have the attributes of a certain product category.
Originality/value
As the literature review revealed, no conceptual links have been made between the three important parameters examined, that is, product categories, corporate objectives, and pricing strategies, that can form a pricing framework for consumer products. This research serves as a starting point for developing such a three‐point framework.
Details
Keywords
Amalia Triantafillidou, Christos Koritos, Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou and Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most important characteristics of the religious package tour as perceived by consumers who travel to the Holy Land and to examine…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most important characteristics of the religious package tour as perceived by consumers who travel to the Holy Land and to examine the marketing components that play an important role for pilgrims.
Design/methodology/approach
In‐depth interviews were conducted with Greek Orthodox travellers who were about to leave for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Content analysis was used in order to analyse the transcribed interviews.
Findings
Results show that regarding the product mix, hotel ratings and extra benefits are considered of minor importance by the interviewed travellers. However, the tour guide and the trip's schedule and program are the most important factors that influence consumer decisions regarding the purchase of a specific tourism product. In addition, the travel agent's reputation for organising religious trips plays a crucial role. Alternatively, price does not seem to influence travellers to sacred places.
Practical implications
Travel agents that offer tour packages to pilgrims, as well as tourism companies wishing to promote pilgrimages can take into consideration these findings in order to design effective marketing plans.
Originality/value
Although tour packages for pilgrims are profitable, only few studies have focused on this type of traveller. As travel for religious purposes increases, the design of an effective marketing plan may help to further develop the market for pilgrimages.
Details
Keywords
George Siomkos, Amalia Triantafillidou, Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou and Ioannis Tsiamis
Product‐harm crises have become an almost familiar phenomenon in today's business environment as technology becomes more vulnerable. Even if a product‐harm crisis is associated…
Abstract
Purpose
Product‐harm crises have become an almost familiar phenomenon in today's business environment as technology becomes more vulnerable. Even if a product‐harm crisis is associated with the company that manufactured the defective product, the entire industry may be affected. Not only consumers of the affected company, but also consumers of competitors are affected by the crisis. The paper seeks to deal mainly with the situation of competitors and examines the potential opportunities and threats that may arise when another company in the same industry faces a product‐harm crisis.
Design/methodology/approach
For the purposes of this paper, an experiment was conducted that relied on four important influential factors of crisis management (i.e. corporate reputation, crisis scope, external effects, and organisational responses). The crisis was described through a hypothetical scenario. Consumer attitudes towards competitive products were used to determine impending prospects and threats.
Findings
The paper's results demonstrate that consumers are very receptive in buying competitor brands, especially when the extent of the crisis was medium or high and the company involved in the crisis had shown low levels of social responsibility.
Originality/value
Previous research studies on crisis management mainly focus on the affected company and how it confronted the crisis. The paper approaches crisis management from the competitor's perspective. Because a crisis may influence the entire sector, adequate preparation and effective crisis management skills are essential assets for competitors.
Details