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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2000

Martina G. Gallarza, Irene G. Saura and Haydée C. Garcí

Tourism research is usually based on quantitative rather than theoretical and conceptual studies. However, as a new discipline this phenomenon needs a more theoretical approach…

Abstract

Tourism research is usually based on quantitative rather than theoretical and conceptual studies. However, as a new discipline this phenomenon needs a more theoretical approach. It could help to find an interdisciplinary consensus on tourism. The authors consider service marketing as an interesting approach from an intradisciplinary perspective. They think that it could be an instrument for a better understanding of tourism.

Details

The Tourist Review, vol. 55 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0251-3102

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Paurav Shukla, Janice Brown and Donna Harper

Image has been found to be one of the important influences in the selection of consumers' choice for visiting and investing in a destination leading to sustainable development…

1142

Abstract

Image has been found to be one of the important influences in the selection of consumers' choice for visiting and investing in a destination leading to sustainable development. Important determinants of tourism namely, knowledge of destination attractions and image association were employed in this research based on previous studies in a number of fields. The research reported in this paper presents the results of an empirical test of the determinants related to tourism using Liverpool as a case study because of its selection as the European Capital of Culture (CoC) for 2008. European Capital of Culture scheme has among its many objectives the idea of sustainable development for the chosen CoC. Combination of data collection methods was used for the research. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on destination image association by providing empirical evidence through the case study or Liverpool as well as how consumers relate to a destination and especially a CoC. One of the major findings of the study was the identification of image association clusters with regard to Liverpool as a CoC. We brand this clusters as the ‘tangible attractions cluster’ and ‘intangible attractions cluster’. The results of this research provide important implications for strategic image management and can aid in designing and implementing sustainable marketing programs for creating and enhancing tourism destination images.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 61 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2017

Martina G. Gallarza, Francisco Arteaga, Giacomo Del Chiappa, Irene Gil-Saura and Morris B. Holbrook

In the fertile line of research on consumer value from the services literature, a gap exists between theoretical and empirical knowledge, in particular regarding Holbrook’s…

5110

Abstract

Purpose

In the fertile line of research on consumer value from the services literature, a gap exists between theoretical and empirical knowledge, in particular regarding Holbrook’s conceptual value framework. The purpose of this paper is to find construct validity for a multidimensional value scale based on Holbrook’s proposal.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a literature review, a qualitative phase, and consultation with an expert, eight value scales (efficiency, service quality, play, aesthetics, status, esteem, ethics, and escapism as an adaptation of spirituality) are tested on a sample of 585 hotel customers and are further analyzed with simple and partial correlations, multiple regressions, and structural modeling.

Findings

Following the literature on the merits of Holbrook’s value typology, results are presented in three concatenated phases: validation of Holbrook’s eight value scales corresponding to his eight value types; interrelationships between these value types showing a predominance of the extrinsic-intrinsic and self-other dimensions; and construction of six indices based on the 2×2×2 matrix (self, other, extrinsic, intrinsic, active, and reactive) and a value index as a higher-order representation. The results support Holbrook’s typology, thereby supporting construct validity for the multidimensional scales.

Research limitations/implications

Implications for further conceptual research on value are presented. Meanwhile, the empirical study is context-specific, i.e. related to a hospitality experience.

Originality/value

Although Holbrook’s typology has gained widespread attention, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has tested all eight value types simultaneously in the same empirical work.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Martina G. Gallarza, Francisco Arteaga-Moreno, Giacomo Del Chiappa and Irene Gil-Saura

Within the abundant and not always unanimous body or research on conceptual and methodological approaches to consumer value in services, there are two areas of relative consensus…

2789

Abstract

Purpose

Within the abundant and not always unanimous body or research on conceptual and methodological approaches to consumer value in services, there are two areas of relative consensus: the multidimensional nature of value (intra-variable approach) and the existence of causal relations with other constructs (inter-variable approach). This work aims to contribute additional knowledge in both areas, with a joint approach in a structural model tested for hospitality services.

Design/methodology/approach

The study proposes four scales of intrinsic values (entertainment, aesthetics, ethics and spirituality as relaxation), based on Holbrook’s (1999) value typology, and a casual model to be used to measure the relationships between these four values and overall perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty. The model is tested with PLS on a sample of 585 hotel guests on the island of Sardinia (Italy).

Findings

The psychometric properties of all four value scales, created ad hoc, are tested and approved. Results on the causal model show contrasted links on the intra-variable approach, entertainment, aesthetics and spirituality (measured as relaxation), are positive antecedents of perceived value, while the path ethics-overall value is not confirmed. The value–satisfaction–loyalty chain is fully confirmed, with strong linkages.

Research limitations/implications

The authors acknowledge the use of a convenience sample, of mainly leisure tourists.

Practical implications

The implications for managers are derived on the need of considering extra drivers (intrinsic and therefore fully experiential) of satisfaction and loyalty.

Originality/value

Research on value has been qualified as not univocal and controversial. This study adds knowledge on the use of four less common value types (intrinsic ones) and sheds light on their nature as antecedents of the well-known value–satisfaction–loyalty chain.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2017

María Fuentes-Blasco, Beatriz Moliner-Velázquez and Irene Gil-Saura

The literature recognizes the need to study differences in consumer behavior in highly competitive and dynamic markets. In this paper, the authors look at how the heterogeneous…

1515

Abstract

Purpose

The literature recognizes the need to study differences in consumer behavior in highly competitive and dynamic markets. In this paper, the authors look at how the heterogeneous evaluation of retailing influences customer satisfaction and loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to analyze unobserved heterogeneity on customer value dimensions perceptions in retail establishments, and their potential effects on positive forms of behavioral outcomes considering customer satisfaction as a mediating variable.

Design/methodology/approach

On a sample of 820 retail customers, the authors apply a finite mixture structural equation modeling that analyzes unobserved heterogeneity simultaneously. In this model, the authors study the influence of heterogeneous perceptions of excellence, efficiency, entertainment and aesthetics on customer satisfaction and of satisfaction on word-of-mouth (WOM) referral and WOM activity.

Findings

The results show two latent segments where the intensity of causal relations varies, which means that the effect of value dimensions and satisfaction are over or underestimated when heterogeneity is ignored.

Originality/value

The main value of the paper has been to analyze the potential heterogeneity of value dimensions (intravariable approach), and their links with satisfaction and some dimensions of loyalty (intervariable approach). Customer heterogeneity must be studied to understand the satisfaction process and WOM responses in order to design more efficient and effective relationship marketing strategies.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 55 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2020

Martina G. Gallarza and Irene Gil Saura

Consumer value (CV) is endemic to marketing, and therefore, it is a crucial notion to understand the evolution of tourism research. This paper aims to review the main achievements…

Abstract

Purpose

Consumer value (CV) is endemic to marketing, and therefore, it is a crucial notion to understand the evolution of tourism research. This paper aims to review the main achievements made on CV in tourism and hospitality literature and also the shortcomings and propose avenues for future research on tourism through the lens of CV.

Design/methodology/approach

Through relevant citations from 1975 to 2020, a figure describes diachronically the role of CV in different paradigm flaws, both pre and post digitization: experiential consumption in the 1980s, service quality-satisfaction discussion in early 1990s, customer relationship in late 1990s and Service Dominant Logic in 2000s and beyond.

Findings

Tourism services have been preferred fields for inquiry on CV, helping to describe the idiosyncrasy of nearly all tourism consumption settings. Although there is not a clear picture on the number and nature of value dimensions (intra-variable perspective), nor in the direct and indirect effects on the quality-value-satisfaction-loyalty chain (inter-variable), new CV frameworks favor ecosystems of value (different stakeholders, different times and places and mixed motivations) in more comprehensive models.

Originality/value

This paper depicts how CV has contributed to tourism development as a behavioral science through the past 75 years. Moreover, it preconizes that CV is still a valid construct to address all new challenges of human beings as tourists, either online or offline, by enlightening phenomena such as e-value co-creation, over-tourism, peer-to-peer consumption and the power of tourism transformative value.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 75 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 December 2019

Antonio Marín-García, Irene Gil-Saura and M. Eugenia Ruíz-Molina

In the current dynamic and competitive environment in which retail companies operate, store equity is a differentiating factor. In view of the scarce research found regarding the…

1901

Abstract

Purpose

In the current dynamic and competitive environment in which retail companies operate, store equity is a differentiating factor. In view of the scarce research found regarding the links between the variables traditionally related to brand equity (store awareness, store image, store perceived quality and store loyalty) and innovation, sustainability and the global retail equity, this study aims to examine these links in depth.

Design/methodology/approach

For a sample of 510 customers of grocery retail establishments and with the help of a structured questionnaire, the relationships between the variables defined in this research were examined using a structural equations model.

Findings

The authors find evidence in favor of the positive influence of innovation and sustainability on the variables related to brand equity. Likewise, store loyalty to the establishment, influenced by store image and perceived quality, emerges as a key variable in the construction of global brand equity.

Research limitations/implications

This study shows that innovation and sustainability have a significant impact on the variables traditionally linked with brand equity.

Practical implications

This research shows that new business models should be created through more innovative and sustainable businesses. In this sense, the managers of retail stores should direct their efforts toward actions aimed at implementing innovation, as well as provide evidence of the sustainability of the store’s activities, with the purpose of improving the perception that consumers have of the store.

Originality/value

The results of this research support the role of store loyalty as key element of brand equity. Also, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the relationship that innovation and sustainability have with the variables linked to store equity.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 November 2021

Irene Sánchez-González, Irene Gil-Saura and Maria-Eugenia Ruiz-Molina

The present research aims to analyse the retailer's commitment to sustainable development (RCSD) perceived by the consumers and how it contributes to store equity creation through…

Abstract

Purpose

The present research aims to analyse the retailer's commitment to sustainable development (RCSD) perceived by the consumers and how it contributes to store equity creation through image, perceived quality and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A primary research was conducted through a structured questionnaire to analyse the relationships between the variables included in the proposed model. The fieldwork was conducted in 2019, obtaining responses from 617 retail consumers from four cities in Ecuador – Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and Machala – obtained. A structural equation model is estimated with the partial least squares technique.

Findings

There is evidence in favour of the contribution of sustainability to store equity. The positive influence of RCSD on perceived quality and the impact of the latter, together with store image, contribute to loyalty, which emerges as a critical construct in building store equity.

Research limitations/implications

Some limitations of the present study – geographic scope limited to Ecuador, analyses restricted to food retailers and pre-COVID-19 data collection – may open new research opportunities replicating the study in other regions for other retail activities and in the post pandemic context.

Practical implications

The retailer's actions demonstrate a commitment to economic, social and environmental sustainability. As a result of this, the establishment's perceived quality improves, which is of interest to academics and retail management professionals.

Originality/value

The present research provides evidence on the chain of effects that explains the positive contribution of RCSD to store equity creation in grocery retailing.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 50 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2019

Beatriz Moliner-Velázquez, María Fuentes-Blasco and Irene Gil-Saura

This study aims to examine how technologies contribute to consumer loyalty in the tourist industry. To achieve this objective, information and communication technology (ICT…

1398

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how technologies contribute to consumer loyalty in the tourist industry. To achieve this objective, information and communication technology (ICT) development and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) are analysed to explore their direct and indirect effects on satisfaction and loyalty dimensions. The moderating role of customer characteristics (personal and experience-related variables) is also considered to study the complex relationship between satisfaction and loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study based on a questionnaire structured was developed. The survey was conducted with 386 guests from Spanish hotels. SEM methodology is applied to estimate the structural equation model and multi-group analysis.

Findings

Results confirm significant relationships in the sequence “ICT advancement-satisfaction with ICT-satisfaction with hotel-loyalty”, the mediating effect of eWOM and the moderating effects of the customer characteristics.

Practical implications

ICT can be a key element to improve loyalty and differentiate from competitors. Managers should recognise that customers will have different loyalty behaviours according to their personal characteristics and type of experience.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the recent and still scanty research line on ICT advancement from the consumer perspective. The novelty lies in the relationships between ICT, satisfaction and loyalty in hotels with particular attention to WOM (both personal and electronic) and the inclusion of different moderating variables.

研究目的

本论文旨在评估科技在旅游产业顾客忠诚中的作用。为此, 本论文分析了ICT研发和eWOM对顾客满意和顾客忠诚的直接和间接影响。本论文还分析了顾客特点(个人方面和体验方面的多个变量)在顾客满意和顾客忠诚之间的复杂关系的调节作用。

研究方法

研究样本采集通过结构问卷的方式, 共搜集386位西班牙酒店顾客的问卷, 采用SEM方法做定量分析, 评估了结构方程模型和多组分析。

研究结果

研究结果肯定了“ICT发展-顾客对ICT满意-顾客对酒店满意-顾客忠诚”这一系列逻辑关系。此外, 研究结果还肯定了eWOM的间接作用, 以及顾客特点的调节作用。

研究实践意义

研究表明ICT可以作为提高顾客忠诚和区分竞争者的关键因素。经营者应该认识到不同的顾客特点和体验类别对顾客忠诚有着不同的作用。

研究原创性/价值

本论文对从消费者角度出发研究ICT发展的稀少文献有着显著贡献。其特别之处在于本论文整体研究了对ICT、顾客满意、酒店忠诚、WOM(线上与线下)、以及多个调节变量等一系列关系。

关键词

:信息和通讯技术(ICT)、口碑效应(WOM)、在线口碑效应(eWOM)、顾客满意、顾客忠诚、酒店业

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2021

Vicente Sales-Vivó, Irene Gil-Saura and Martina G. Gallarza

This paper addresses both conceptual and empirical value co-creation and relationship quality in a triadic approach for a B2B industrial context by 1) reviewing the relationship…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper addresses both conceptual and empirical value co-creation and relationship quality in a triadic approach for a B2B industrial context by 1) reviewing the relationship quality concept when social and economic satisfaction are addressed separately and 2) testing alternative models of relationship quality and economic satisfaction when value co-creation is introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

Two alternative models are developed where relationship quality is conceptualized as a higher-order multi-dimensional construct with three sub-factors: trust, commitment and social satisfaction. Data on the B2B relationship were collected from 77 partaking firms in the Spanish Furniture Market Observatory business panel, covering the manufacturer-retailer and manufacturer-supplier relationships for control and comparison purposes.

Findings

Using PLS-SEM, results reflect that social and economic satisfaction act differently in the B2B relationship. The effect of relationship quality on economic satisfaction is greater when value co-creation is introduced as a mediating variable, although this mediation is partial. Moreover, the mediating effect is greater in the manufacturer-supplier relationship than in the manufacturer-retailer one.

Originality/value

The paper reduces the conceptual gap between value exchanges in B2C and B2B contexts. It also introduces a less-common triadic approach along the supply chain for B2B industrial relationships. Evidence is provided on the importance of social satisfaction as an affective dimension of relationship quality and on the mediating role of value co-creation between relationship quality and economic satisfaction.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 49 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

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