Search results for "consumer"
showing 10 items of 880 documents
The value proposition of food delivery apps from the perspective of theory of consumption value
2021
Purpose The theory of consumption values (TCV) has successfully explained much consumer choice behavior, but few studies have investigated the values that drive food-delivery application (FDA) use. This study aims to bridge this gap by extending the TCV to the FDA context to examine food consumption-related values and interpreting and rechristening generic consumption values to adapt the TCV to the FDA context. Design/methodology/approach An explorative mixed-method research approach was taken to conduct focus group discussions with 20 target users to develop the questionnaire and then administer it for a cross-sectional survey (pen and pencil) to FDA users aged 22–65 years; 423 complete r…
Different levels of loyalty towards the higher education service: evidence from a small university in Spain
2020
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) operate in a competitive environment in which the universities must address issues of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This process requires that educational institutions carefully analyse the key factors contributing to student loyalty in all its dimensions and develop strategies accordingly. Customer loyalty is a consistent commitment deeply held by customers to re-purchasing and/or recommending the product or service. This paper aims at understanding the different levels of student loyalty towards HEIs through an empirical study run with 705 graduate students from a small University. According to the students' personal and situational characteristic…
On the positive aspects of customers: Customer-initiated support and affective crossover in employee-customer dyads
2011
This study examines psychological resources for service employees and their customers, which enhance the service experiences of both parties during service conversations. We investigate whether customer behaviour (customer-initiated support) positively impacts on employees' affect. We also examine the crossover of employees' affect on customers' affect. State positive affect (PA) was assessed in 82 employees of car dealerships and 421 customers on 2 occasions (before and after the conversation). Multi-level analyses showed the hypothesized positive impact of customer behaviour on employees' PA and in turn of employees' PA on customers' PA. Results are integrated in an overall process model …
Employees' overestimation of functional and relational service quality: A gap analysis
2005
This study extends previous research on gap analysis of service quality by including not only functional service quality but also relational benefits. To this end, a field study was carried out in 36 hotels and 35 restaurants. The samples consisted of 213 employees and 657 customers. A questionnaire format was used to measure both functional and relational service quality, as well as customers' loyalty. When comparing employee and customer perceptions, gaps potentially range from ‘overestimation’ (employees' perceptions are greater than customers' perceptions) to ‘underestimation’ (customers' perceptions are greater than employees' perceptions). In general, the results indicated that the em…
The quality‐value‐satisfaction‐loyalty chain: relationships and impacts
2013
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the classical topics of services literature in a tourism experience with a means‐end‐model on the quality‐value‐satisfaction‐loyalty chain. Within this wide stream of research, this work has a particular interest on value antecedents and on the sense of the link between value and satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachAn overall tourism experience with positive and negative antecedents (benefits and sacrifices experienced) and classical evaluations (perceived value, satisfaction and loyalty as behavioral intention) is analyzed through two competing structural models measured with partial least squares on a sample of 274 students traveling in g…
Effects of dissatisfaction in tourist services: The role of anger and regret
2011
Abstract Dissatisfied customers due to a service failure probably will switch the provider, will complain and/or will spread negative word-of-mouth. However, to what extent some specific emotions triggered by dissatisfaction can mediate between the latter and the previous mentioned behaviours? A sample of 359 users of restaurants and 308 users of hotel services has shown that, whereas anger has a significant influence on the three behaviours under study, regret only affects switching and negative word-of-mouth. Furthermore, slight differences between hotels and restaurants have been found because, in the case of restaurants, anger is not an antecedent of switching whereas regret has an inve…
Should conference pricing mechanisms incorporate options?
2016
The provision of many services is often characterized by demand uncertainty, as, at the time of purchase, consumers may not be completely informed about their valuation for the service or the possibility to utilize the service when it will actually be provided. For such reason, service providers implement several pricing mechanisms to maximize their profits in presence of consumer uncertainty and heterogeneity. A commonly adopted mechanism is intertemporal price discrimination, under which service providers charge different prices to consumers buying at different times. For instance, a lower price is usually offered to consumer buying early in advance, whereas higher price is practiced to l…
Linking Service Climate and Disconfirmation of Expectations as Predictors of Customer Satisfaction: A Cross-Level Study1
2011
Research addressing customer satisfaction has not been conducted within an integrated framework. Two approaches have been developed separately with different levels of construct and analysis: organizational behavior and consumer behavior. Our research study provides an initial step in developing integrative strategies with the joint consideration of service climate and disconfirmation of expectations. We link these 2 concepts to customer satisfaction with services, using a cross-level approach. Data from 105 work units and 1,033 customers confirmed the existence of a dual corridor of relationships, with independent and significant links from disconfirmation and service climate to customer s…
Value dimensions in consumers’ experience: Combining the intra- and inter-variable approaches in the hospitality sector
2015
Within the deep and extensive research on value, two main areas of discussion emerge: multidimensionality (intra-variable approach) and interrelationships with other constructs (inter-variable approach). Independently, the two areas have produced relevant knowledge; however, when studying them jointly, the results are inconsistent. The paper aims first to build four self-oriented value scales for a hospitality experience (efficiency, quality, play, and aesthetics), and second to test them in a SEM model with overall perceived value, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, upon a sample of 585 hotel consumers in Sardinia (Italy). The results show both unexpected (for the intra-variable …
Exploring the links between destination attributes, quality of service experience and loyalty in emerging Mediterranean destinations
2020
Abstract Since the publication of the “Experience Economy” work by Pine and Gilmore in 1999, understanding the increasing complexity of the customer experience within the customer journey in the tourism industry is a priority for researchers and destination management organizations. This study contributes to the extension of the Experience Economy in tourism research by examining the links between tourists' assessment of destination attributes, their perceived quality of the service experience and loyalty, in seven emerging Mediterranean destinations. To date, little research has explored the aforementioned aspects, even though the Mediterranean region is the leading tourism destination in …