Antoni Serra-Cantallops, José Ramon-Cardona and Fabiana Salvi
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that positive emotional experiences play in the generation of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and the influence both variables…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that positive emotional experiences play in the generation of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and the influence both variables have, together with customer satisfaction and brand reputation, on customer loyalty in the context of hospitality services.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey has been conducted including customers of an important hotel chain in the holiday up-market segment. The study sample is composed of 878 customers from Germany and the UK. The model has been tested using partial least squares technique.
Findings
Results indicate that positive emotional experiences have a positive effect on satisfaction, eWOM generation and company reputation. This study identifies the provision of emotional experiences as a powerful generator of positive eWOM in the hospitality context and it states that customer satisfaction, in itself, does not guarantee positive eWOM generation.
Practical implications
Designing unique, tailor-made, memorable experiences can become a key element to increase loyalty and, particularly, to foster the generation of recommendations, that is positive eWOM, in the hotel industry.
Originality/value
The study makes a contribution on the antecedents of customer satisfaction, eWOM engagement and loyalty in the specific context of hotel services.
Objetivos
Este trabajo analiza el papel que juegan las experiencias emocionales positivas en la generación de eWOM y la influencia que ambas variables, junto con la satisfacción del cliente y la reputación de la marca, ejercen en la lealtad del cliente en el contexto de los servicios hoteleros.
Metodología
Se ha realizado una encuesta online a los clientes de una importante cadena hotelera de categoría media-alta del segmento vacacional. La muestra estaba compuesta por 878 clientes de Alemania y Reino Unido. El modelo ha sido analizado mediante Mínimos Cuadrados Parciales (PLS).
Resultados
Los resultados indican que las experiencias emocionales positivas tienen un impacto positivo sobre la satisfacción, la generación de eWOM y la reputación de la empresa. El estudio demuestra que la provisión de experiencias emocionales positivas constituye un poderoso factor generador de eWOM positivo en el contexto de los servicios hoteleros, mientras que la satisfacción del consumidor no garantiza, por sí misma, la generación de eWOM positivo.
Implicaciones prácticas
El diseño de experiencias únicas y memorables puede convertirse en un elemento clave para aumentar la lealtad y, en particular, fomentar la generación de recomendaciones positivas (eWOM) por parte de los clientes en el contexto de los servicios hoteleros.
Originalidad/valor
Este trabajo realiza una contribución al estudio de los precursores de la satisfacción del cliente, la generación de eWOM y la lealtad en el contexto específico de los servicios hoteleros.
Palabras clave
Experiencias emocionales, eWOM, lealtad, satisfacción, reputación, hoteles
Tipo de artículo
Trabajo de investigación
Details
Keywords
Aida Galiano, Vicente Rodríguez and Manuela Saco
The Bass model was created to analyse the product life cycle (PLC) in order to help sales and marketing departments in their business decision making. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
The Bass model was created to analyse the product life cycle (PLC) in order to help sales and marketing departments in their business decision making. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the diferences between the clients assisted and sales variables, to discover which of the two variables is the more useful for the estimation of the PLC phases through the Bass model, thus aiding the managers of company sales and marketing departments.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research, the authors analysed the 223,577 clients assisted by a nationwide network of car dealerships, who acquired 36,819 vehicles, during a 24-month period. In the analysis, the Bass model was applied to define the PLC phases; and nonlinear regression models were used to carry out the estimations.
Findings
The results show that more consistent estimates of the PLC phases are obtained from the clients assisted variable. This work has theoretical and practical implications that can help business management.
Research limitations/implications
The most remarkable thing about this research is that we have shown that the functionality of the clients assisted variable is greater than the sales variable for the Bass model and, therefore, for PLC estimation.
Practical implications
The results of this research are very useful, since they allow marketing decision makers to obtain more consistent estimations of the PLC phases using the Bass model and the clients assisted variable. This is based on the fact that the use of this variable helps to detect if there is any deficiency in the design of the marketing strategy when the client does not make the purchase.
Social implications
The data on clients assisted are as easily available to companies as sales data. However, the use of this variable improves PLC analysis and this allows an improvement in company forecasting. Thus, making the clients assisted variable a tool to strategically plan investments in innovation and marketing would reduce uncertainty in business management.
Originality/value
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the diferences between the clients assisted and sales variables, to discover which of the two variables is the more useful for the estimation of the PLC phases through the Bass model, thus aiding the managers of company sales and marketing departments.