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This paper aims to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness of online reviews and crowd cues on restaurant selection. In addition, the authors also examine the moderating role of perceived crowding and gender in this process.

The proposed hypotheses were tested with survey data (N = 200) collected from customers visiting full-service restaurants in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using SEM through Smart PLS.

The findings supported that the perceived usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding have a positive effect on a consumer's purchase intentions, i.e. their decision of restaurant selection. Besides, a higher level of perceived crowding strengthens the relationship between the perceived usefulness of online reviews and their purchase intentions. This finding delineates that consumers prefer to dine in a crowded place with useful online reviews in an unfamiliar place. Finally, the results show that the effect of the usefulness of online reviews on purchase intentions does not vary with respect to gender (no significant contingent effect). However, the effect of perceived crowding varies with respect to gender – male customers have higher intentions to join crowded restaurants as compared to females.

Limitation of this study is its cross-sectional research design; data were collected in a single time frame. Longitudinal research design can be used to get in-depth knowledge of this phenomenon. Secondly, a non-probability sampling technique was used in this study, future research can used probability sampling technique to enhance generalizability of the study. Moreover, this study focused on the human crowding aspect, future studies can cover both aspects of crowding (human crowding and spatial crowding) in retailing or other service sectors (Blut and Iyer, 2020).

This study has multiple practical implications.

This study extends the current research on usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding by investigating its direct and conditional effects. Specifically, the authors contribute in extant research by explaining its differential effects for male and female customers, when they select which restaurants to dine.

This paper seeks to revisit the interrelationship among tourists’ perceived value of the destination, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty in the heritage tourism site of Hoi An. In addition, the moderating role of tourists’ perceived crowding, which has become remarkably common at the site, in such a triangle relationship will also be explored. In other words, this study aims to validate an extended model of perceived value – tourist satisfaction – destination loyalty – perceived crowding.

The study collects data from 403 tourists who visited Hoi An during peak season through an online questionnaire. The data were later analysed using AMOS and Warp partial least squares.

The results validate the significant and positive correlation among perceived value, customer satisfaction and destination loyalty. Also, perceived crowding was confirmed to affect the relationship among these three variables negatively. In terms of academic contributions, this paper empirically proved that low levels of tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty among tourists who highly value their visiting experience at World Heritage Sites (WHS) can be caused by perceived crowding.

So far, current literature has investigated the direct (either positive or negative) relationship between perceived crowding and post-visit behaviours of tourists (Nie et al., 2022; Papadopoulou, Ribeiro, & Prayag, 2023; Stemmer, Gjerald, & Øgaard, 2022). Broadening this area of research, the authors of this paper used the social interference theory and the stimulus-overload theory to explain the low level of tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty among tourists who highly value their visiting experience at WHS.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the continuance usage of livestreaming commerce. The proposed antecedents of livestreaming commerce continuance usage are social presence, perceived crowdedness, need for arousal, susceptibility to informational influence, and perceived value, whilst trust in broadcasters is treated as the moderating factor.

A survey was conducted using a questionnaire designed specifically for this purpose, which was completed by 388 Malaysian consumers aged 26–40 years who have prior experience with livestreaming commerce. The authors tested the framework using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique and complementary by performing artificial neural network (ANN) analysis.

The results indicate several significant relationships, whereby social presence, perceived crowdedness, susceptibility to informational influence, and trust in broadcasters significantly influence perceived value, whereas perceived value significantly influences continuance intention. In addition, trust in broadcasters moderates the relationship between perceived value and continuance intention.

The current study adds significantly to the body of knowledge about livestreaming by examining the direct determinants of perceived value and thus delineating how perceived value influences continuance intention. The findings yielded also illustrate the role of trust in broadcaster as the moderator of the link between perceived value and continuance intention.

This study aims to compare the performance of self-service kiosks in a quick-service setting with the performance of cashiers. In particular, this study explores both internal responses and external responses between the two ordering methods with the moderating role of crowdedness.

This study develops a theoretical framework based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model. A 2 × 2 field experiment was conducted in a real quick-service outlet to collect data.

The results reveal that customers reported a better experience when using self-service kiosks compared to placing orders with cashiers. However, cashiers generated more revenue for the quick-service outlet than kiosks. Significant interaction effects were found for external responses. Customers spent more time placing orders with cashiers than with kiosks in less crowded periods, while cashiers generated more sales than kiosks during busier periods.

This study enriches the hospitality and tourism literature by applying the S-O-R framework in an experimental design incorporating both internal and external responses. The findings on the interaction between ordering methods and crowdedness on external responses provide practical insights for quick-service restaurant operators to find a balance between technology and human services.

自助服务机可否超越收银员? 以刺激 – 机制 – 反应 (SOR) 模型作为理论框架的点餐体验研究

本论文在快餐环境下比较自助服务机与收银员的业绩表现差异。具体而言, 本研究从内部和外部反映两方面探索了两种不同点餐方法以及就餐环境拥挤程度作为调节变量。

本研究借用刺激 – 机制 – 反应 (SOR) 模型作为理论框架, 以快餐店为环境进行了2x2 实验。

研究结果显示, 相比较餐饮收银员, 消费者对自助服务机更加较积极的顾客反应。但是餐厅收银员会产生相对较高的销售额。针对对外反应, 研究结果呈现显著的交互作用。 消费者在相对不拥挤的环境下更愿意花时间借助自助服务机点餐, 但是收银员比自助服务机在高峰时段更能产生较高销售额。

本研究借助SOR的理论框架用实验法来研究消费者内部和外部反应, 从而进一步充实了酒店和旅游文献。基于点餐方法和拥挤程度的交互作用, 本研究结果为快餐产业实现人工和科技的平衡提供了实践意义。

自助服务机 S-O-R 理论框架 快餐厅 拥挤程度 内部反应 外部反应

研究型论文

This paper aims to illustrate the potential of high-frequency data for tourism and hospitality analysis, through two research objectives: First, this study describes and test a novel high-frequency forecasting methodology applied on big data characterized by fine-grained time and spatial resolution; Second, this paper elaborates on those estimates’ usefulness for visitors and tourism public and private stakeholders, whose decisions are increasingly focusing on short-time horizons.

This study uses the technical communications between mobile devices and WiFi networks to build a high frequency and precise geolocation of big data. The empirical section compares the forecasting accuracy of several artificial intelligence and time series models.

The results robustly indicate the long short-term memory networks model superiority, both for in-sample and out-of-sample forecasting. Hence, the proposed methodology provides estimates which are remarkably better than making short-time decision considering the current number of residents and visitors (Naïve I model).

A discussion section exemplifies how high-frequency forecasts can be incorporated into tourism information and management tools to improve visitors’ experience and tourism stakeholders’ decision-making. Particularly, the paper details its applicability to managing overtourism and Covid-19 mitigating measures.

High-frequency forecast is new in tourism studies and the discussion sheds light on the relevance of this time horizon for dealing with some current tourism challenges. For many tourism-related issues, what to do next is not anymore what to do tomorrow or the next week.

This research initiates high-frequency forecasting in tourism and hospitality studies. Additionally, we detail several examples of how anticipating urban crowdedness requires high-frequency data and can improve visitors’ experience and public and private decision-making.

This study aims to identify motivations for visiting Kyoto's prominent religious attractions using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) text analysis of online reviews; establish linkages between push motivational factors and pull factors of the religious sites, forming distinct tourist typologies; and suggest strategies for Kyoto's destination marketing based on the findings.

This study analyzed 37,772 TripAdvisor reviews for Kyoto's top 25 religious sites from the pre-pandemic period (March 2020). LDA topic modeling extracts 18 underlying thematic dimensions from the review texts. Axial coding of these dimensions revealed five distinct tourist motivation typologies.

Five motivation typologies emerged: cultural seekers drawn to Japan's unique heritage, nature lovers attracted by scenic landscapes, chrono-seasonal experiencers seeking distinct seasonal views, crowd-avoiders prioritizing less congested visits and city wanderers engaging in local activities.

The findings offer valuable guidance for destination marketers and managers in Kyoto, enabling the development of targeted strategies to enhance visitor experiences and manage overcrowding at popular religious sites.

This research provides novel insights into nonreligious tourists' motivations for visiting religious sites in a crowded destination. By identifying distinct motivation-based tourist typologies, the study informs strategies for enhancing visitor experiences tailored to diverse needs, contributing to tourism literature and practical destination management.

This study examines the effects and driving mechanisms of relational bonds (i.e. financial, social, and structural bonds), live-streaming shopping atmosphere factors (i.e. suspense, entertainment, perceived crowdedness, and vicarious experience), consumer empowerment and customer commitment on consumers’ impulse consumption behavior. Additionally, the study examines the moderating influence of product involvement and collectivism.

An online survey was conducted with 665 valid respondents. The authors empirically validated the collected data through the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique, complemented by the artificial neural network (ANN) analysis.

The results suggest that financial bonds, structural bonds, suspense, entertainment, and vicarious experience promote consumer empowerment, which in turn leads to customer commitment and impulse consumption behavior. Second, collectivism moderates the relationship between customer commitment and impulse consumption behavior.

This study provides empirical evidence that relational bonds and live-streaming shopping atmosphere factors play predictive roles in enhancing consumer empowerment, which further promotes impulse consumption behavior through customer commitment. Also, collectivism is found as a moderator.

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced tourism destinations to reconsider organisational aspects related to health safety measures, as perceptions of health safety may have become particularly important for tourists. Using data from summer 2020, the period immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic, we investigate the factors that affected tourist perceptions of health safety.

Data come from a survey of tourist-card holders in Trentino, an Italian mountain destination. Through regressions, we assess the conditional correlation between health safety measure evaluations following a holiday and a set of covariates related to the features of the tourist area and the tourists themselves, as well as COVID-19 incidence in their province of residence in the months before the holiday.

Tourist-related features seem not to impact on perceived health safety, whereas some destination- and accommodation-related elements do. In particular, the number of tourist beds affects it negatively, and staying at a hotel does it in a positive way. COVID-19 incidence in one’s home province does not affect perceptions of health safety measures, which suggests a possible sample selection effect and/or the need for more fine-grained data.

This paper is one of the few on the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic using data from a large sample of actual tourists. Our findings point out the importance of the intrinsic features of some places and accommodation in influencing perceptions of safety. We discuss implications for scholars and destination managers.

This research explores why tourists are dissatisfied in places considered “wonders of the world”. The authors ask if the place does not match visitors' expectations or if other factors spoil the experience.

The authors analysed the lowest-rated reviews of these wonders on TripAdvisor. The authors identified the main causes of complaints and the problems tourists faced. The authors grouped the complaints into categories and used CoDa.

The results indicate that dissatisfaction does not stem from unmet expectations regarding the monument itself, but rather from other factors related to the quality of the tourist service.

The findings of this research can be implemented in those tourist spots that, despite their global popularity, have considerable proportions of unhappy visitors, not due to the attraction itself, but to shortcomings in its administration.

This study provides a deeper insight into the causes of complaints about some of the most renowned monuments, regarded as extraordinary places, where high satisfaction levels would be anticipated. It also contributes theoretically to the literature on customer complaints in tourist places.

The Abdoun Circle which is located in the prestigious part of Amman, changes its relationship with its users from that of an ordinary business district during the day to a very popular city night-life spot offering a variety of leisure services, mainly in the form of cafes and restaurants. This study focuses on that phenomenon of dual usage as it mirrors the major social and psychological implications of late modernity in Jordan, and adopts a transactional approach (Altman and Rogoff 1987) to explore and explain its complexity. Information for the study was obtained by observing, interviewing, and listening to a variety of opinions and voices. This process supported the development of the mutual definitions between the behavioural elements and the environmental feature elements of the studied phenomenon. The identified definitions to describe the district at night, which include pleasantness, crowdedness, complexity, variety, novelty, and dominance, in turn supported the development of a range of psychological and social benefits important to the users of the circle (i.e. new aesthetics, modernity, freedom, and opportunities to meet and socialize).

The analysis of additional data about the setting's formal and perceptual properties added the benefits of sociability and democracy, which combined with the previous benefits described, meant that the setting is seen and experienced by people from most age and social ranges, except for those from the upper class, as an outlet for pleasure in these modern times. This clearly indicates that Jordan has yet to experience a transition toward democracy and that these new public spaces, as the Abdoun Circle should be developed throughout the city in order to support the progression towards a socially balanced society.