Young Gin Choi, Chihyung “Michael” Ok and Sunghyup Sean Hyun
This study aims to investigate the effects of coffeehouse brand experiences and brand personality traits on brand prestige, and the effects of brand prestige on brand relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of coffeehouse brand experiences and brand personality traits on brand prestige, and the effects of brand prestige on brand relationship quality and loyalty in the coffeehouse industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Validated measurements were identified from a literature review. The measurement model and the conceptual model depicting hypothesized relationships were evaluated based on responses from 309 coffeehouse customers using confirmatory factor analysis and a structural equation modeling, accordingly.
Findings
Brand experiences and brand personality traits had direct effects on brand prestige, which in turn influenced brand relationship quality and attitudinal loyalty. Brand relationship quality directly and indirectly influenced attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected from coffeehouse customers in the USA; therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other regions or types of service industries. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for gaining a competitive advantage through brand experiences, brand personality traits and prestige.
Practical implications
To enhance the coffeehouse brand prestige, it is critical to enhance patrons’ experiential interactions by using sensory appealing equipment/tools, developing sentimental slogans, active/behavioral mascots and intellectual advertising. Furthermore, it is necessary for it to build and enhance its own brand personality characterized by sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness.
Originality/value
This study is the first to empirically test the relationships between brand experiences, brand personality traits and prestige in the coffeehouse industry.
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SangGon (Edward) Lim and Chihyung “Michael” Ok
Absorptive capacity is a knowledge-processing ability that hospitality organizations should hone to create competitive advantage in a fierce business environment. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Absorptive capacity is a knowledge-processing ability that hospitality organizations should hone to create competitive advantage in a fierce business environment. This study aims to examine an integrative model explaining how hospitality organizations infuse external knowledge into competitive advantage via absorptive capacity processes and opportunity-capturing abilities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used structural equation modeling, using the R Lavaan package, with 288 survey responses collected from hospitality employees.
Findings
Structural equation modeling with multiple indirect relationships presents a holistic picture of how hospitality organizations develop externally acquired knowledge into organizational outcomes through detailed absorptive capacity processes. Unit size is found to positively moderate the indirect relationship between external acquisition and competitive advantage through knowledge transformation only. Competitiveness level negatively moderates indirect relationships through assimilation and transformation.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the importance of hospitality organizations’ knowledge management capabilities through acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation processes. These integrative mechanisms can be facilitated by intraorganizational coordinative processes through collective interpretations and applications of knowledge and effective organizational routines based on management and technical support.
Originality/value
This study proposes an integrative model encompassing a process perspective and the role of intraorganizational coordination in bridging potential and realized absorptive capacity.
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Seunghyun Brian Park, Jichul Jang and Chihyung Michael Ok
The purpose of this paper is to use Twitter analysis to explore diner perceptions of four types of Asian restaurants (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use Twitter analysis to explore diner perceptions of four types of Asian restaurants (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai).
Design/methodology/approach
Using 86,015 tweets referring to Asian restaurants, this research used text mining and sentiment analysis to find meaningful patterns, popular words and emotional states in opinions.
Findings
Twitter users held mingled perceptions of different types of Asian restaurants. Sentiment analysis and ANOVA showed that the average sentiment scores for Chinese restaurants was significantly lower than the other three Asian restaurants. While most positive tweets referred to food quality, many negative tweets suggested problems associated with service quality or food culture.
Research limitations/implications
This research provides a methodology that future researchers can use in applying social media analytics to explore major issues and extract sentiment information from text messages.
Originality/value
Limited research has been conducted applying social media analysis in hospitality research. This study fills a gap by using social media analytics with Twitter data to examine the Twitter users’ thoughts and emotions for four different types of Asian restaurants.
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SangGon (Edward) Lim and Chihyung “Michael” Ok
This study aims to provide a better understanding of how gift card receivers react to the types of gift cards. This study examined the effect of gift card types (intangible…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to provide a better understanding of how gift card receivers react to the types of gift cards. This study examined the effect of gift card types (intangible experiences vs less intangible experience vs tangible goods) on a recipient’s willingness to spend more through emotions and perceived effort (Study 1) and on feeling of appreciation (Study 2).
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 adopted a scenario-based 2 (tangible vs intangible) × 3 ($100 vs $200 vs $300) between-subjects design. Study 2 narrowed the scope of gift card type (intangible vs less intangible).
Findings
Receivers tended to perceive less effort in gift card selection and feel less emotion when receiving gift cards for intangible experiences than when receiving gift cards for both tangible and less intangible products. However, as face value increased, gift card receivers for intangible experiences felt more pleasure and, in turn, rated higher willingness to spend more money than face value than those with gift cards for tangible products.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies can rule out alternative explanations related to brand-related effects, previous experiences and personal preferences.
Practical implications
Service providers should put more effort into tangibilizing the intangibles to reduce receivers’ uncertainty. Also, they can increase their profitability by stimulating gift card receivers’ willingness to spend more money through pleasure.
Originality/value
Answering research calls for examining consumers’ perceptions of different gift card types, this study might be the first to unveil the differential effect of gift card types associated with the tangibility of products on purchase behavior and the underlying emotional mechanism.
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In view of the intense competition between businesses in the sharing economy and the conventional hospitality industry, this study aims to compare consumers’ private social dining…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the intense competition between businesses in the sharing economy and the conventional hospitality industry, this study aims to compare consumers’ private social dining and restaurant dining experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interviews with 29 private social diners were conducted to yield 10 dining experiential domains, which were then validated using online survey data from 840 diners across four sample groups – local (Hong Kong) private social diners, local (Hong Kong) restaurant diners, overseas private social diners and overseas restaurant diners – to empirically examine a mechanism through which the dining experience influences diners’ psychological and behavioral responses.
Findings
The significant differences emerged among the four sample groups in their evaluations of dining experiences. The mediating role of memorability appeared weaker in overseas settings than in local settings.
Practical implications
The findings suggest restaurateurs be creative and open-minded in designing dining experiences that go beyond food-related satisfaction. Destination marketers should also find the findings insightful because they can diversify their catering offerings by differentiating private social dining with conventional restaurants.
Originality/value
The study presents a novel angle on experiential consumption in the sharing economy to focus on food-sharing activities, which is thought to complement the currently skewed research focus in the sharing economy. A theoretically driven mechanism was also validated to explain the experiential differences between conventional restaurants and private social dining.