María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, Daniel Álvarez-Bassi and Jose Ramon Cardona
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the various types of negative impacts have an effect on the general attitude toward tourism and the difficulty for the enjoyment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the various types of negative impacts have an effect on the general attitude toward tourism and the difficulty for the enjoyment of public spaces.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a quantitative study that analyzes the causal relationships between variables through structural equation models. This study uses data from a sample of 420 residents from Maldonado and Punta del Este.
Findings
The result obtained shows that only the cultural loss is significant to explain the residents’ attitudes. On the other hand, the cultural loss, the environmental deterioration and the saturation are significant to explain the difficulties for the enjoyment of public spaces.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations are the fact of performing the analysis in a specific destination with peculiarities that may affect the results and the representativeness of the sample used.
Practical implications
The enjoyment of public spaces is a good indicator of the perception of negative impacts, so managers of urban tourist destinations can use this element as an indicator of quick consultation on residents’ attitudes.
Originality/value
It is a study that focuses on the negative impacts of tourism and its effect on the public spaces. The importance of public spaces in tourist destinations is under studied.
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Antoni Serra-Cantallops, Jose Ramón Cardona and Fabiana Salvi
This study aims to compare the relative importance of service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS) and positive emotional experiences (PEE) to determine which is more…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to compare the relative importance of service quality (SQ), customer satisfaction (CS) and positive emotional experiences (PEE) to determine which is more influential in customers’ intention to spread positive eWOM.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire that had been translated previously into English, German and Spanish and contained scales from previous studies, as well as a new scale created for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) (which was tested before fieldwork commenced), was sent through an online survey to all customers who had stayed in a hotel during the previous three months and were selected from the customers’ database of two international hotel chains that operate hotels worldwide, most of which are middle-upper class establishments that specialize in the holiday market. A total of 3,671 valid questionnaires were obtained, and the research model was tested using partial least squares.
Findings
The findings suggested that, in the context of mid-upscale hotels, SQ is of paramount importance for CS, but by itself, does not guarantee customers’ involvement in generating and spreading positive eWOM. CS, by itself, neither guarantees customer involvement in positive eWOM spreading. However, the provision of services that can generate PEE among hotel guests is a powerful determinant of positive eWOM spreading and also has a very positive effect on CS.
Research limitations/implications
The results are based on a sample selected from customers of mid-upper-class hotels that cater to the holiday segment, and therefore, apply only to customers who use this category of hotel services. Further research should be conducted on mid-lower-class hotels to determine whether the results obtained in this paper can be generalized throughout the hotel industry.
Practical implications
This study provides useful insights for hotel marketing managers by identifying a key causal element that fosters consumer creativity and consumer content creation by spreading eWOM. Managerial practices should strive to provide guest experiences that have the ability to increase emotional outcomes. The results have practical implications for product/service development, communication and customer relationship activities, as well as price and revenue management. Specifically, SME hotels could benefit from an increased volume of positive eWOM to increase their competitiveness.
Originality/value
The antecedents of eWOM have received less attention in research than its effects. Drawing on a large sample of hotel customers, this paper sheds light on the important issue of identifying which factors motivate customers to engage in spreading positive eWOM specifically in the hotel industry. The results also suggested that WOM and eWOM should not be considered strictly equivalent either in their features and effects or in their antecedents.
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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
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José Ramón Cardona, Daniel Álvarez Bassi and María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández
The perception of costs and benefits allows residents to carry out an assessment that determines their attitude towards tourism. This study seeks to determine the effect of the…
Abstract
The perception of costs and benefits allows residents to carry out an assessment that determines their attitude towards tourism. This study seeks to determine the effect of the perceived benefits and costs (economic, sociocultural and environmental) on the support to the arrival of more tourists, both directly and mediated by overall attitude towards tourism, in the case of Punta del Este. Punta del Este forms part of the Department of Maldonado and is the main sun and beach tourism destination in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The questionnaire contained items with five-point Likert scales and sociodemographic questions. The data used (obtained between March and August 2016) are made up of a sample of 420 residents from Maldonado and Punta del Este. The analysis of the data has been carried out through partial least squares (PLS) regression, specifically SmartPLS. Among the results, it should be noted that benefits and costs perceived have no direct effect on the support to the arrival of more tourists; only economic benefits (positive) and sociocultural costs (negative) have a significant effect on the overall attitude towards tourism; the support to the arrival of more tourists depends exclusively on the overall attitude.
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José Ramón Cardona and María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández
The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to…
Abstract
The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to counteract and others difficult to solve. But, regardless of the causes, it is a phenomenon that generates significant negative impacts on society and the environment in which the phenomenon of tourist seasonality occurs. All tourist destinations have seasonality, but in some cases, it is very high and in others it has a minimal incidence. The objective of this chapter is to ponder the impacts and consequences of seasonality in regions with a strong tourism development, allowing to put into context the aspects of society impacted by this phenomenon and the positive implications that the reduction of seasonality would have. For this, an analysis of a theoretical model with two regions in opposite situations is carried out, raising the possible effects of a high seasonality. The cases of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are also reviewed, as real examples of the regional typologies taken into consideration in the theoretical model. This seeks to ponder the problems attributable to seasonality. As a final reflection, the enormous typology of negative impacts generated and the need to continue analyzing the seasonality and its impacts are emphasized.
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This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The…
Abstract
This work presents a review of the state of the art of the present century on academic and scientific production in Latin America related to the concept of Social Innovation. The analysis is based on articles published in indexed journals, which makes it possible to understand the existing asymmetry between the conceptual and theoretical veins, of the case studies, as well as of good social innovation practices that have been published in recent years. These debates have in some cases transcended public policies, as well as business and social realities where social innovation is a mechanism and strategy for personal, social, and territorial development. Finally, a Latin American community of researchers and academics around social innovation must be consolidated, who choose to continue building theoretical-empirical bodies following the Latin American reality.
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Mariana Zerón Félix, Claudia Milena Álvarez Giraldo and Cristian Alejandro Rubalcava de León
The objective of this study is to review the main studies of social entrepreneurship (SE) in Latin America, to categorize them into four categories. To accomplish this, a…
Abstract
The objective of this study is to review the main studies of social entrepreneurship (SE) in Latin America, to categorize them into four categories. To accomplish this, a bibliometric literature review is carried out based on data from the Web of Science database, to locate the Latin American collection of studies. In this way, the main studies are described and grouped, following a qualitative scheme that allows to substantiate the main findings of the Latin authors. Consequently, the progress made in the literature of the SE for Latin America is corroborated, by visualizing that the SE turns out to be a forceful fact to manage well-being, but that it is faced with an inconsistent development.