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1 – 10 of over 8000Dibya Nandan Mishra and Rajeev Kumar Panda
This research examines the role of a therapist’s attributes, namely, expertise, sociability, likability and mind-set similarity, in building trust, satisfaction and commitment…
Abstract
Purpose
This research examines the role of a therapist’s attributes, namely, expertise, sociability, likability and mind-set similarity, in building trust, satisfaction and commitment amongst visitors in Indian wellness resorts and hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The text mining approach was adopted to collect a large corpus of 3,94,373 online reviews from TripAdvisor, Google Reviews and hotels.com. Reviews were taken from 1,677 resorts and hotels that deal in spa and wellness care across India. This study uses unsupervised Naïve Bayes classification and n-gram lexical TF-IDF vectorizer method to classify and find the sentiment of the reviews shared by the visitors of the wellness resorts. Additionally, multiple linear regression is performed to understand the impact of the therapist’s identified attributes on the visitor’s relationship quality.
Findings
The research found positive sentiment towards the therapist’s likability, and visitors seemed satisfied with the overall wellness service. The sentiment towards trust and commitment is low. The study also found significant links between likability and expertise in building the relationship quality between the therapist and the visitors. The expertise of the therapist enhances visitors’ trust and willingness to return. The therapist’s likability nature helps in increasing visitor satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
This study helps to understand the service personnel's level of relationship with the customer in hospitality services. Further, the study empirically verifies the important factors that build relationship quality in Indian wellness services.
Practical implications
The present study argues the need for greater clarity in understanding the customer perception of the services provided by wellness therapists in Indian wellness resorts and hotels. The study guides hotel managers to perform training of wellness therapists to improve customer satisfaction. Using the findings of the current study, managers can prioritize therapists’ attributes and realign their core strategies and provide satisfying wellness services to customers.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates the essential qualities a therapist should develop to enhance the relationship with the resort visitors and foster trust, commitment and satisfaction. The study goes a step further by using a vast database of online data for deep insights into the visitor’s view and the use of machine learning for amplifying results.
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Alejandro Alvarado-Herrera, Leonel Jesús Rodríguez-Soberanis and Heyden Rubén Herrera-Medina
This paper aims to examine the influences of perceived corporate social responsibility (pCSR) over the brand reputation (BR) and the visitor commitment of protected areas (PAs) of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the influences of perceived corporate social responsibility (pCSR) over the brand reputation (BR) and the visitor commitment of protected areas (PAs) of Quintana Roo visitors, to create useful resources for the design of public policies in accordance to the expectations of the stakeholders from a sustainable development (SD) approach.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional causal multistage research was conducted. First, a literature review was performed to develop the hypotheses and the theoretical model on the basis of the paradigm of “sustaincentrism.” Afterwards, the model was empirically contrasted with data gathered from a representative sample of 440 real visitors of three Mexican PAs. The data covariance structures were examined through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results of the study undercover the direct and indirect effects that pCSR has over the BR and the commitment of PA’s visitors, evidencing their relevance as valuable resources for the design of public policies.
Originality/value
This research manifests the capacity to benefit from the studied variables as resources for the design and implementation of public policies that incorporate the development and execution of SD-attuned CSR programs able to create competitive advantages required by PA to their sustainable tourism exploitation.
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Labour mobility is increasingly recognized as an important component of a globalized international trading system. This paper aims to examine the role of temporary entry…
Abstract
Purpose
Labour mobility is increasingly recognized as an important component of a globalized international trading system. This paper aims to examine the role of temporary entry commitments in international trade agreements toward facilitating global labour mobility.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper traces three decades of temporary entry provisions in international trade agreements signed by the USA and Canada, beginning with their bilateral Canada–US Free Trade Agreement and culminating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Findings
The paper finds that while many countries have continued to liberalize their temporary entry commitments in various trade agreements, the USA has reversed course in the previous decade, hampering international progress. Meanwhile, Canada has pursued ever greater labour mobility provisions with most of its trading partners.
Practical implications
The unique roles played by the USA, Canada and other trading partners in advancing a coherent international labour mobility agenda are considered. To continue to advance labour mobility in trade agreements moving forward, policy alternatives to the “all” or “nothing” approaches pursued by Canada and the USA are suggested.
Originality/value
To the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to formally evaluate labour mobility in the TPP and the only paper to outline the evolution of temporary entry in the US vs Canadian trade agreements over three decades.
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José Valverde-Roda, Salvador Moral-Cuadra, Minerva Aguilar-Rivero and Miguel Ángel Solano-Sánchez
This paper aims to replicate a model already proven in previous research in this field. This will make it possible to explain the possible relationships that may occur among the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to replicate a model already proven in previous research in this field. This will make it possible to explain the possible relationships that may occur among the motivations, perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty of the tourist towards the Alhambra and Generalife inscribed as World Heritage Site (WHS) in 1984.
Design/methodology/approach
From a dataset containing 1,612 surveys, a model a model based on structural equations has been carried out through SmartPLS software, focus the analysis on the model dependent variables’ predictive power, as well as the size of the effect and the statistical inference of the structural relationships.
Findings
The main conclusions include the influence of perceived value on satisfaction as well as the influence of the latter on loyalty. it is remarkable the effect that the perceived value has on satisfaction, and satisfaction on loyalty. This implies that a positive assessment of world heritage destinations leads a subsequent loyalty to them.
Practical implications
The results obtained in this research can be used as a starting point for the establishment of new strategies for the promotion of the destination in terms of tourism and heritage.
Originality/value
The inclusion in the list of WHS is recognition in terms of material and historical quality, as well as a stimulus for tourism because it increases the number of visits to the destination. Several studies carried out in these types of destinations have shown the existence of a relationship between motivations, perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty. However, there are no previous studies carried out in the Alhambra and the Generalife that sustain this relationship. This work makes a contribution that completes the academic literature on the study of the emotional bonds between the historical and monumental heritage and the tourist who visits it and its behaviour.
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Xiaoxiao Fu, Juhee Kang, Jeeyeon Jeannie Hahm and Jessica Wiitala
This paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of theme park experiences by investigating the relationships among brand experience, self-congruity, flow and brand-related…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of theme park experiences by investigating the relationships among brand experience, self-congruity, flow and brand-related outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from guests who had visited a theme park in the past 12 months. Confirmatory factor analysis, consisting of second-order factor analysis and structural equation modeling with the incorporation of alternative model testing, was employed.
Findings
The findings revealed that theme park customers’ internalization of brand experience influenced their attitudinal and behavioral tendency with regard to the brand through self-congruity and flow.
Practical implications
This study provides strategies for theme park designers and marketers under pressure to create a desired experiential setting that motivates visitors to engage in activities through various brand stimuli. Well-designed theme parks can create an optimal state of focus and attention, immersing visitors to the extent that they lose their sense of time and place, affecting their attitude and behavior toward the theme park brand.
Originality/value
Theme parks provide a highly experiential, immersive and personally relevant experience with brand elements. Very few studies have attempted to investigate the consequences of theme park experience from the theoretical perspective of customers’ connection with the brand. This study proposed and validated a conceptual model to capture how theme park experience influenced visitors’ commitment to and active engagement with theme park brands through the mechanisms of self-congruity and flow.
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Leanne Fullerton, Kathleen McGettigan and Simon Stephens
This paper aims to examine the integration of management and marketing practices at heritage sites in Ireland.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the integration of management and marketing practices at heritage sites in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
The research process involved: phase one, a survey of 224 heritage attractions in Ireland and phase two, semi‐structured interviews with the six organizations that represent the heritage sector on the island of Ireland.
Findings
The findings suggest that market research and marketing communication are vital in achieving a balance between targeting cultural tourists and tourists with no specific interest in heritage.
Research limitations/implications
The study has the restriction of being limited to the Irish case. However, these findings provide scope for further investigation, namely extending to other destinations and to sites which use different techniques.
Originality/value
A combined commitment to visitor research by the individual heritage sites could provide information to the representative organizations to facilitate target marketing and improved onsite management. However, a change of mindset is required among heritage practitioners in Ireland regarding the use of marketing and the implications for onsite management. The authors propose that this is achievable through education linked to the study of models of best practice.
This study aims to investigate the effects of visitors’ dietary habits on their acceptance of local food from the perspective of positive (e.g. local food involvement) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of visitors’ dietary habits on their acceptance of local food from the perspective of positive (e.g. local food involvement) and negative (e.g. food neophobia) food-related personality traits.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted on visitors to the Slow Food Festival in Taitung, Taiwan. A total of 327 valid questionnaire responses were collected and structural equation modeling was used to conduct path analyzes.
Findings
The analysis results supported all hypotheses. Food neophobia plays a key factor in moderating roles.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by integrating positive and negative perspectives of food-related personality traits. In addition, this study proposes that food neophobia plays a moderating role in food choice and behavioral decisions.
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Martinette Kruger and Adam Viljoen
This exploratory study aims to show that events can create awareness and facilitate behavioural change among attendees. Festivals and events can use the United Nations sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study aims to show that events can create awareness and facilitate behavioural change among attendees. Festivals and events can use the United Nations sustainable development goals as drivers of societal change and business growth. Unfortunately, the attendees to a benefit concert have not been investigated to date. This study fills this gap by segmenting attendees to a benefit concert aimed at eradicating poverty.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative destination-based survey was undertaken at the Mandela 100: Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018. A simple random sampling method was used within a stratified sampling method, and 408 questionnaires were obtained.
Findings
Three psychographic segmentation variables were used: motives for attending the event (novelty, escape and socialization and cause advocating); behavioural intentions and change as a result of attending the event (cognition and awareness, loyalty-related behaviour, active engagement and travel-related behaviour); and global causes aimed at eradicating poverty that attendees regard as important to support (social, sustainability, fiscal, fundamental and elevated prosperity). The results revealed three distinct segments, proposing that an AID-typology applies to benefit concert attendees: advocates, inspirers and discoverers. Each group has either a high, moderate or low level of commitment towards the festival’s and other global causes.
Practical implications
Practical implications are suggested as guidelines to encourage advocacy and active involvement for global causes.
Originality/value
This study was conducted from a developing country’s perspective and contextualizes the role that events can play in advocating for specific causes and encouraging citizens to get involved.
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Mathilde Pulh, Rémi Mencarelli and Damien Chaney
This paper aims to investigate the consequences of the heritage experience in brand museums on the consumer–brand relationship. By highlighting its heritage within a museum, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the consequences of the heritage experience in brand museums on the consumer–brand relationship. By highlighting its heritage within a museum, the brand proposes a specific experience that deserves attention because it is based on memory and communal identity, thus creating or strengthening a relationship with consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
Ethnographic case studies were conducted through direct observation and extensive interviews with 72 visitors at two brand museums, the Fallot Mustard Mill and the House of the Laughing Cow.
Findings
The results highlight the emergence/strengthening of the relationship between consumers and the brand through the development of intimacy with the brand and the emergence of supportive behaviors toward the brand in the form of commercial support, ambassadorship and volunteering.
Research limitations/implications
By characterizing and articulating the different relational consequences of visiting a brand museum, this research contributes to the literature dedicated to heritage experiences in consumption contexts and to the literature dedicated to consumer–brand relationships in servicescapes.
Practical implications
The study shows the necessity of grounding “heritage” in the physical setting of the brand museum to create a meaningful experience for visitors and, in turn, a deep relationship. Managers should treat brand museums as a relational tool in the marketing strategy of the brand and approach them from the perspective of long-term profitability.
Originality/value
While the literature has examined the spectacular and esthetic experiences brand museums offer, this study is the first to characterize the heritage experience and to document its consequences in terms of the consumer–brand relationship.
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Sergio Moreno-Gil and J.R. Brent Ritchie
This paper aims to better understand museums’ image. The study examined the influence of visitors’ socio-demographic (gender, social class), tripographic (party group, previous…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to better understand museums’ image. The study examined the influence of visitors’ socio-demographic (gender, social class), tripographic (party group, previous experience with the museum and timing of the decision to visit the museum) and geographic characteristics (national – international visitors), on the different components and dimensions of perceived museums’ image (cognitive and affective) in a major tourism destination.
Design/methodology/approach
This research focussed on museums located on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). The population of the study included museum attendees who visited the main museums of the island (13 museums). The selection of respondents (252) was made following a systematic random sampling at the exit gate of the museums.
Findings
The repeat visitors and those who plan the visit in advance were found to have a more positive museums’ image for both the cognitive and the affective components of museum image. There was also a positive influence of party group on the cognitive and affective dimensions of image, whereas families showed a less positive image. In addition, there were significant relationships between the visitors’ socio-demographic characteristics of gender, and social class, and the affective and cognitive components of image – women and higher classes achieving a better image. National visitors also showed a more positive image on both the cognitive and affective components of museum image. Six image dimensions were found and specific effects on each are discussed.
Originality/value
This study adds to the growing literature on museums for a better understanding of the perceived image of this cultural product (museums) at the destination, and how it can be managed according to the profile of their publics. Additionally, it considers the different dimensions of museums’ image: quality of visitation experience, convenience and functionality, price, general appearance, museum shop and affective image.
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