Dale Fodness, Barry E. Pitegoff and Elise Truly Sautter
Discusses the circumstances under which a firm′s customer canbecome its competitor. Examines the threats posed by consumer cooptionand the conditions under which…
Abstract
Discusses the circumstances under which a firm′s customer can become its competitor. Examines the threats posed by consumer cooption and the conditions under which customer‐to‐competitor role switch presents a firm with opportunities. Explores these opportunities within the context of the travel and tourism industry.
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Laura M. Milner and Dale Fodness
Investigates whether the Chinese perceive products to possess gender and whether these perceptions are based on who buys the product, who uses the product, and/or who promotes the…
Abstract
Investigates whether the Chinese perceive products to possess gender and whether these perceptions are based on who buys the product, who uses the product, and/or who promotes the product. The results indicate that the Chinese do indeed perceive many products to have gender. For those products which are clearly sex‐typed, the primary determinant of these perceptions is the user; for more ambiguous products, uses the cues of user, buyer and promoter. Discusses the marketing implications regarding how to use these cues in creating and/or avoiding gender images of products.
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– The purpose of this paper is to identify the wicked problems inherent in socially responsible marketing and to provide practical insights into their management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the wicked problems inherent in socially responsible marketing and to provide practical insights into their management.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies learning from three related conceptual areas (the Cynefin framework, complexity science and wicked problems) to think about sustainable marketing in new ways.
Findings
Sustainability challenges the effectiveness of traditional marketing thought and action. New and emerging approaches and tools in sense-making, complexity science and problem recognition are needed to help ensure the successful development and implementation of sustainable marketing.
Originality/value
Growing concern for so-called “wicked problems” appears in the literature of a number of disciplines in both the hard and soft sciences. Although the concept has appeared in the management and strategy literature, it is relatively unknown in marketing.
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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a conceptual model of service quality in airports by conducting an empirical investigation into passengers'…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a conceptual model of service quality in airports by conducting an empirical investigation into passengers' expectations for this service industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is a qualitative exploration of the airport experience from the passengers' perspective was combined with a review of relevant literature to identify variables, to clarify basic concepts and to generate a conceptual model of airport service quality expectations. The paper's quantitative research was used to develop a self‐report scale to measure passenger expectations of airport service quality, to test dimensionality and to evaluate scale reliability and validity.
Findings
Qualitative and quantitative research on nearly 1,000 airport users provided results suggesting that passengers' expectations of airport service quality is a multidimensional, hierarchical construct that includes three key dimensions: function, interaction and diversion.
Research limitations/implications
By bringing together different literatures and research paradigms to conceptualize service quality in a novel environment, the study contributes to the ongoing extension of service quality research. It is limited insofar as efforts to define a global expectations construct may have “homogenized” results.
Practical implications
This paper builds on the extant literature on service quality to propose an approach for measuring passengers' expectations of airport service quality that can serve as a foundation of a concise and easy‐to‐administer self‐report measure for identifying and managing airport service quality strategies.
Originality/value
The paper shows that by going beyond traditional service performance measures used in the airport industry and by introducing new variables to the service quality literature, such as Csikszentmihalyi's taxonomy of activity, this study broadens and enriches both practice and theory.
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Hasan Albeshr and Syed Zamberi Ahmad
Tourism and hospitality management, strategy, economics and customer service.
Abstract
Subject area
Tourism and hospitality management, strategy, economics and customer service.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate students studying hospitality management, customer satisfaction, customer service and economics.
Case overview
Dubai International Airport is one of the most celebrated airports worldwide. It was constructed by order of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1969 and has developed significantly in all sections over the years. Passenger numbers and profits have increased dramatically and the airport has received many awards from various countries and organizations, contributing greatly to economic and tourism development. Dubai International Airport offers unique services and facilities to customers, including the Airport Medical Centre, special needs services, Dubai International Airport Hotel, transportation, lounges, a children's play area, smoking rooms, Al Majlis services, executive flight services, Ahlan services, a modern baggage-handling system and Dubai Duty Free. The quality of service is one of the significant concerns of an international company, including Dubai International Airport, as a high quality brings many benefits to the organization, such as increased customer satisfaction and revenue. Thus, to maintain a high-quality level and compete with other international airports, Dubai International Airport needs to ensure the development of its service.
Expected learning outcomes
This cast study will help understand both the services offered by the airport and their features and understand the concepts of increasing value to customers in lieu of money, the contribution of the airport to economic growth, exceeding customers' expectations, intonation in providing services, some factors of competitive advantages, the application of customer satisfaction theories, the services market triangle and providing a role model to other airports.
Supplementary materials
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To provide a practical overview of strategic thinking concepts and practices for marketing and other managers that can help them improve their strategy making.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide a practical overview of strategic thinking concepts and practices for marketing and other managers that can help them improve their strategy making.
Design/methodology/approach
The raw materials of strategic thinking are illustrated by case studies and examples from a range of industries to aid managers in their successful application. The principles and techniques are presented in four categories: thinking strategies, strategic decision making, strategic competencies and visualizing strategy.
Findings
Offers marketers an approach for moving beyond the automatic application of traditional strategic frameworks to identify and to achieve breakthrough strategies. Recognizes the real power of strategic thinking as a source of competitive advantage.
Practical implications
The principles and practices proposed represent a practical system for enhancing strategic promise and performance, as well as for reducing the risks of strategic failure.
Originality/value
The marketing discipline is long overdue in applying the same attention and rigor to strategic thinking that it applies to strategic planning and this paper offers managers practical help in identifying and developing strategic thinking competencies.
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Leo Yat Ming Sin and Suk‐ching Ho
Looks at consumer research in Greater China including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maps out the contributions within this area and guides future research. Examines the…
Abstract
Looks at consumer research in Greater China including Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Maps out the contributions within this area and guides future research. Examines the state of the art over the 1979‐97 period, with particular emphasis on the topics that have been researched, the extent of the theory development in the field and the methodologies used in conducting research. Uses content analysis to review 75 relevant articles. Suggests that, while a considerable breadth of topics have been researched, there remains much to be done, there is further room for theoretical development in Chinese consumer behaviour studies; and the methodologies used need improvement and further refinement.
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This “viewpoint” article aims to chronicle the history and evolution of the Journal of Services Marketing from 1987 through 2011, from the vantage point of Professor Charles L…
Abstract
Purpose
This “viewpoint” article aims to chronicle the history and evolution of the Journal of Services Marketing from 1987 through 2011, from the vantage point of Professor Charles L. Martin, who served on the journal's Editorial Advisory Board from 1987‐1990 and as Editor from 1990 to the present day.
Design/methodology/approach
The article summarizes the events and publisher's philosophy leading up to the founding of the journal, and discusses the policies/practices and content of the journal from 1987 through 2011.
Findings
The journal has evolved as the field of services marketing has evolved – from many conceptual, “how to” and idea articles to those more empirically‐based and theory‐driven. However, the journal's commitment to managerial implications or other implications continues.
Practical implications
Understanding the history and evolution of the journal promises to help service researchers better understand the field's archives, identify gaps in the literature and position their research for the future. The paper promises to help service researchers and business practitioners alike to understand that the field of services marketing is not static; rather it has evolved and developed over the years and will continue to do so in the future.
Originality/value
It is useful for any organization – including journals – to periodically document and reflect on its history in order to set its sights on the future.
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Mathilda van Niekerk and Melville Saayman
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether tourism awareness can be created through introducing tourism as a subject in high schools in South Africa. It also explores if…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate whether tourism awareness can be created through introducing tourism as a subject in high schools in South Africa. It also explores if studying tourism as a high-school subject has an influence on the travel patterns of students and their parents, and if it stimulates students to pursue a career in the tourism industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is exploratory in nature. Based on a literature review, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 250 students with tourism as a high-school subject (research group), 250 students without tourism as a high-school subject (control group), 250 parents whose children have tourism as a high-school subject (research group) and 250 parents (control group) whose children do not have tourism as a high-school subject in South Africa.
Findings
Data revealed that introducing tourism as a high-school subject created tourism awareness among students. The travel patterns of those parents whose children studied tourism were also influenced. Results also indicated that students who studied tourism at high-school level are likely to pursue a career in the tourism industry.
Research limitations/implications
The study was conducted on learners who had been exposed to the tourism curriculum for only a year-and-a-half and therefore did not measure the full impact of the three-year curriculum. The study was also conducted in only one of the nine provinces of South Africa and the demographic location of the learners could have had an influence on the findings. More advanced statistical analysis could have been performed to increase the value of the study. The Bartlett Tests of Sphericity and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin overall measure could also have been reported. The study can be replicated in other countries, where tourism is currently being offered as a school subject to measure the effectiveness of the tourism curriculum as an awareness tool. The influence of children on their parents' travel patterns should also be further studied as it can assist in strategic development, planning and marketing of tourism attractions.
Practical implications
Introducing tourism as a high-school subject in other developing countries can be considered as a way of creating tourism awareness, and to stimulate the domestic tourism market and the tourism industry as a whole. If tourism can be introduced as a subject at a younger age students will be able to influence their parents' travel patterns and are likely to pursue a career in the tourism industry.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to measure the effectiveness of a tourism curriculum as a tourism awareness tool. It also adds to a limited body of knowledge on how children influence their parents' travel patterns. Last, it shows the effect that tourism awareness has on students in their decision to pursue a career in the tourism industry in South Africa.