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The study aims to develop a theoretical model that portrays the antecedents of emotional attachment in the travel context by combining branding, marketing and information systems theories.

The authors gather empirical data through a Web-based questionnaire from 236 respondents. The proposed theory-driven model is examined empirically by using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

The findings suggest that social media rewards and benefits impact users’ brand commitment. Social media interactivity and rewards help building a stronger brand image. Brand commitment and brand image, in turn, affect emotional attachment positively.

Other unexamined constructs may add to the explanation of building brands using social media platforms. As this is an exploratory study in relation to enhancing emotional attachment in an online travel setting, other constructs such as brand page commitment, annoyance, social benefits and telepresence may be considered in future studies.

Practitioners might encounter ways to influence favorable perceptions and brand commitment when consumers use social media sites. The model addresses questions regarding the significant role of social media activities on influencing brand image and brand commitment that in turn influence the development of a strong emotional attachment.

This study examined the effects of social media activities including interactivity, psychological benefits and rewards on brand image and brand commitment, and the effects of brand image and brand commitment on emotional attachment in the travel context. The results offer further verification for the theory-based model presented in the study. Evidently, statistically significant and meaningful associations exist among the factors.

The key contribution of this study is that it presents and validates a theory-driven model that reveals the antecedents of sustainable emotional attachment. The proposed framework stresses the positive relationships among constructs and offers research basis for expansion in other settings.

本论文结合品牌、营销、以及信息系统等理论, 建立了一个理论模型以描述在旅游情境中影响情感依恋的各种要素。

作者通过网络问卷的形式收集了236份数据, 并且通过验证性因素分析和结构方程模型的手段来实际测量以理论为基础建立的模型。

本论文研究结果表明社交媒体的奖励和好处影响用户的品牌承诺。社交媒体的交互性以及奖励帮助建立更强的品牌形象。品牌承诺和品牌形象对情感依恋有着积极促进的作用。

社交媒体平台的品牌建立模型还存在一些其他变量尚未开发测量。本论文只是开拓了网络旅游平台的情感依恋研究的方向, 其他变量比如品牌专页承诺、烦恼、社交好处、以及网真等, 应该在未来的研究中得以深入。

执业者可能会遇到多种方法, 通过社交媒体网站的方式影响消费者的主观感知和品牌承诺。本论文提出的模型可以帮助执业者解决关于社交媒体活动对品牌形象和品牌承诺显著影响从而达到强烈情感依恋效果的诸多问题。

本论文研究了旅游产业中, 社交媒体活动, 包括交互性、心理好处和奖励对品牌形象和品牌承诺的影响, 以及品牌形象和品牌承诺对情感依恋的影响。研究结果进一步深入测量了提出的理论模型。很显然, 数据分析结果表明模型结构之间存在显著有意义的联系。

本论文最重要的贡献在于它提出并验证了一个理论模型, 显示可持续情感依恋的动力起因。本论文提出的模型强调了结构之间的积极联系, 并且为在其他情境中的研究延申做出启示。

The purpose of this research is to examine the dining out activities of Gen Y's in the United States. In particular, it focuses on dining frequency, restaurant selection, restaurant segments and demographic features of Gen Yers.

Empirical data for this study were collected from 631 Gen Y's living in the United States.

The research findings reveal a nascent exploration of eating out preferences of the Gen Y population in an industrialized country in the food service context.

Generation Y is a lucrative and growing customer group for the US foodservice industry. They dine out more frequently than the rest of the population and their dining out preferences are different from other cohorts.

This study offers some practical implications on Gen Y's dining out behavior for food service industry and restaurateurs.

When customers decide to dine out, they choose a restaurant for both physiological and psychological reasons. The psychological reasons include the hedonic/enjoyment goal of the consumer. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether dining experiences that provide a positive or negative hedonic value will influence positive word of mouth (PWOM), switching intentions (SI) and willingness to pay (WTP).

Two survey-based experiments using student (N = 112) and general restaurant consumer samples (N = 270) were conducted to test the proposed theoretical model. The student sample provided internal validity, whereas the general consumer sample provided external validity for the study. Two types of manipulations were used to manipulate positive and negative restaurant service encounters. The second study randomly assigned participants into positive or negative scenarios.

The results suggest that positive (negative) service encounters lead to higher (lower) hedonic value. Higher hedonic value leads to PWOM, WTP and reduced SI. The findings of this study would assist restaurant managers and service scholars by bridging the gap between experiential and relationship marketing.

The current research investigates the dining out experience with a holistic lens.

Advances in technology and in subsequent guest-related amenities have the potential to improve the guest experience and also increase both guestroom revenues and ancillary room revenues. Innovative technologies will be one of the prime differentiators of hotel companies in the twenty-first century. However, it is important for hoteliers to answer questions such as which technology amenities do their guests desire when choosing overnight accommodations? Further, what are the importance levels assigned by guests of these various technology amenities? This study aims to answer the question of how leisure travelers may differ or be similar to business travelers with regard to in-room technology amenities.

The target population of this study consisted of 2,500 US residents whose email addresses were randomly drawn from a national database company. A series of t-tests and ANOVA were conducted to answer the research questions.

High-speed internet access and guest device connectivity were perceived more important by business travelers than by leisure travelers.

Recognizing guests’ technology needs and answering those needs are important for hotel operators to remain competitive. While some segments perceive more value in certain technologies, for others it might be an indifferent amenity.

The amount of time guests spend in their rooms directly correlates to increased revenues from in-room dining, in-room amenities offered and, in general, all pay-for-use products and services such as the internet and movies. Therefore, with the right assortment and offering of technology amenities, hotels will increase their revenues from these ancillary revenues. Moreover, a hotel property with the right mixture of desired in-room amenities and services can charge higher rates for their guestroom sales.

The results of this study provide insights into the changing attitudes toward in-room entertainment technology that many hotel developers should take note of.

This study aims to identify the causes of the academia-industry divide in hospitality marketing research in the form of the “Research Devaluation Map” and offers ideas for discussion points and suggestions for change.

The conceptualization of the Research Devaluation Map was developed at an invitational thought-leadership conference. The authors were asked to produce a forward looking, critical reflection of hospitality marketing scholarship. The authors generated a preliminary idea and developed a methodology for its implementation. They then proposed a framework that explicated the divide between hospitality marketing research and industry practice and a list of discussion points regarding possible solutions.

The issues currently challenging the hospitality research field are found to include the choice of research topics (the “what”), the methods used in research (the “how”) and the systemic factors that shape the academic culture (the “systemic”). These three factors lead to a mutual devaluation of the academic–industry relationship in hospitality marketing, causing a schism between research and industry practice.

The Research Devaluation Map serves as a springboard for future research studies, providing a framework for naming and operationalizing the antecedents and results of the divide between hospitality marketing research and practice.

This paper takes a holistic look at the gaps in current hospitality marketing research and puts forth a framework to explain the roots of these issues. While certain of these issues are known to both researchers and practitioners, the originality of this paper lies in the creation of the Research Devaluation Map that identifies the causes and results of the disconnect between research and practice.

In an era where complex technological advances increasingly govern service delivery, it is incumbent on service firms to pioneer innovative strategies to sustain customer engagement and cultivate loyalty. This conceptual paper examines the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of online customer communities, with a particular focus on its creation, management and enhancement facets. The authors explore how AI can revolutionize the dynamics of customer interaction, feedback mechanisms and overall engagement within the service industry.

This conceptual paper draws from marketing and management literature focusing on customer communities and AI in service and customer engagement contexts with a robust future research agenda.

A classification of online customer community engagement is provided along with a conceptual framework to guide our understanding of the integration of AI into online customer communities.

This exploration underscores the imperative for service firms to embrace AI-driven approaches to online customer community management, not only as a means to optimize their operations but as a vital strategy to stay competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape. This paper examines the novel combination of AI with online customer communities and provides the framework in the form of an input-process-output (IPO) model for future research into this integration.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a critical reflection on the role of hospitality in society. Specifically, this research criticizes contemporary conceptualizations of hospitality in academic research and practice and suggests a reconceptualized approach for capturing the full potential of hospitality to elicit transformative social change.

This paper is based on a critical analysis of hospitality research and practice as reflected in the extant literature. A typological approach to conceptualization is used to develop a framework that views hospitality from three distinct epistemological pathways.

Hospitality has largely been conceptualized as an industry- or a business-level context in which economic activity takes place, a pathway referred to as application. This paper offers the hospitality-oriented society of tomorrow (HOST) framework, which urges researchers and practitioners to explore two additional pathways – infusion and transformation – through which hospitality can contribute to society. The nonrecursive relationships between these three pathways and the five pillars of sustainable development espoused by the United Nations 2030 Agenda are proposed to form the basis of future inquiry into the role of hospitality in society.

The HOST model provides a framework whereby stakeholders within and outside of the traditional contours of the hospitality industry can benefit from a broader conceptualization and implementation of the hospitality phenomenon.

The paper offers a thought-provoking assessment of the fundamental tenets of hospitality as an academic discipline and social phenomenon. It offers a unique framework that should inform the evolution of hospitality research and practice if the discipline is to bolster its social significance.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of service recovery experiences on customer engagement in negative word-of-mouth (WOM) in the hotel industry and explore the psychological motives and mediating mechanisms driving consumer behavior.

A scenario-based experimental design on Qualtrics was used, with a pre-test (N = 200). The main study data were collected using Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform.

Findings reveal that negative service experiences lead to higher engagement in negative WOM compared to positive and satisfactory recovery service experiences. Even well-executed recovery efforts may not completely eliminate negative WOM. The mediating role of emotional responses is substantiated, as heightened negative service experiences result in more intense negative emotional responses, leading to increased engagement in negative WOM.

The study emphasizes the importance of service recovery strategies and the need for businesses to consistently strive for exceptional service quality. It also highlights the complexity of customer reactions to service experiences, suggesting that further research is needed to explore the factors that minimize negative WOM across various service contexts.

This study aims to investigate the relationships between electronic word of mouth (eWOM) source credibility, perceived risk and information usefulness and how they influence tourists’ destination visit intention and online review involvement.

Data for this quantitative study were collected via an online survey from 460 participants and analyzed using a partial least squares analysis.

All four dimensions of eWOM source credibility reduce travelers’ perceived risk associated with destination visits, among which homophily has the greatest influence. Lower levels of perceived risk are associated with higher perceived information usefulness, thus boosting tourists’ eWOM involvement and intention to visit a destination.

Results offer practical implications for how the tourism industry can exploit eWOM as an information source that consumers frequently consult. The results are also valuable for Destination Marketing Organizations, allowing them to determine what type of information promotes positive tourist attitudes and behaviors toward destinations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies to examine the interaction between eWOM credibility, perceived risk and information usefulness and their effect on consumer behaviors in the tourism context.

eWOM 来源可信度对目的地访问意愿和在线参与的影响：以中国游客为例

本研究调查了 eWOM 来源可信度、感知风险和信息有用性之间的关系, 以及它们如何影响游客的目的地访问意图和在线评论参与度。

这项定量研究的数据是通过对 460 名参与者的在线调查收集的, 并使用偏最小二乘法分析。

eWOM 来源可信度的所有四个维度都降低了旅行者与目的地访问相关的感知风险, 其中同质性影响最大。较低的感知风险水平与较高的感知信息有用性相关, 从而提高游客的 eWOM 参与度和访问目的地的意愿。

本研究结果为旅游业如何利用 eWOM 作为消费者经常咨询的信息源提供了实际意义。结果对 DMO 也很有价值, 使他们能够确定哪些类型的信息可以促进游客对目的地的积极态度和行为。

本论文是首批研究 eWOM 可信度、感知风险和信息有用性之间的相互作用及其对旅游背景下消费者行为的影响的研究之一。

Hospitality businesses have been challenged to pick fitting electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) management strategies, yet accurate return on investment assessments and contextual contingencies interpretation essential for leveraging eWOM power are largely absent. This study aims to fill these gaps and develop a tool aiming at more holistic and accurate eWOM management assessment.

An agent-based model is developed based on eWOM-related hospitality/business theories and empirical evidence on the NetLogo 6.0.2 platform, wherein a series of simulated experiments are conducted.

Simulation patterns suggest that conformity to the majority’s choice of eWOM usage can be beneficial for consumption satisfaction, yet conformity to a group’s eWOM posting choice can compromise satisfaction. Compared to the brief reputation-boosting benefit of exaggerated advertising, honesty in advertising is preferable given its compatibility with competing eWOM distribution and long-term reputation benefits.

A preliminary tool is developed for hospitality businesses that aids the clearer interpretation of and more accurate/cost-efficient assessment of effectiveness in managing eWOM distribution. Generic directions for improved eWOM management are also provided.

A prototype model is established that surpasses existing models in its ability to capture the complexity of eWOM management and more accurately assess management effectiveness. The authors also reveal emerging novel patterns concerning the interactive dynamics of eWOM behaviors and contextual influences. The research also adds to the scarce agent-based model applications in hospitality research/practices and recommends future potential applications.