Constantinos-Vasilios Priporas, Nikolaos Stylos, Roya Rahimi and Lakshmi Narasimhan Vedanthachari
This paper aims to investigate customers’ perceptions of the service quality facets of Airbnb accommodation using social exchange theory as a suitable conceptual framework to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate customers’ perceptions of the service quality facets of Airbnb accommodation using social exchange theory as a suitable conceptual framework to explain aspects of interactivity between guests and hosts.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 25 accommodation-specific service quality attributes, structured according to Akbaba’s (2006) measurement scale and based on the service quality hierarchical conceptualization described by Brady and Cronin (2001) and Cronin and Taylor (1992), was distributed to Airbnb international guests visiting Phuket, Thailand. The sample was chosen through a two-stage sampling process and the PLS-SEM technique was used for data analysis.
Findings
The results showed that convenience and assurance are critical contributors to the measurement of service quality in remote Airbnb lodgings. The findings further revealed that Airbnb guests are mainly interested in lodgings which have access to certain tourist sights, and in easily accessible information and efficient resolution of problems during their stay. The authors also found that guests greatly value the convenience and flexibility offered by Airbnb, and that they particularly appreciate the warm hospitality provided by the hosts. Finally, Airbnb guests have very low expectations of the amenities and services available at the lodgings.
Research limitations/implications
Airbnb is one of the most well-known examples of hospitality in the sharing economy, and results cannot be generalized to similar accommodation providers in sharing economies. Despite the appropriateness of using the measurement tool provided by Akbaba (2006), it is only one option among others for measuring service quality.
Practical implications
The current study can assist hosts in gaining better knowledge of guests’ decision-making processes and in designing effective marketing strategies by focusing on guests’ requirements in terms of service quality. The effective use of competitive strengths and the prioritization of business resources would potentially enhance guests’ positive experiences at the accommodation and at the destination.
Originality/value
Limited numbers of studies have focused on the sharing economy and hospitality and in particular on Airbnb, and this is the first study with a focus on service quality issues in terms of Airbnb accommodation.
Details
Keywords
Sridevi P, Saikiran Niduthavolu and Lakshmi Narasimhan Vedanthachari
The purpose of this paper is to design organization message content strategies and analyse their information diffusion on the microblogging website, Twitter.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to design organization message content strategies and analyse their information diffusion on the microblogging website, Twitter.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from 29 brands and 9392 tweets, message strategies on twitter are classified into four strategies. Using content analysis all the tweets are classified into informational strategy, transformational strategy, interactional strategy and promotional strategy. Additionally, the information diffusion for the developed message strategies was explored. Furthermore, message content features such as text readability features, language features, Twitter-specific features, vividness features on information diffusion are analysed across message strategies. Additionally, the interaction between message strategies and message features was carried out.
Findings
Finding reveals that informational strategies were the dominant message strategy on Twitter. The influence of text readability features language features, Twitter-specific features, vividness features that influenced information diffusion varied across four message strategies.
Originality/value
This study offers a completely novel way for effectively analysing information diffusion for branded tweets on Twitter and can show a path to both researchers and practitioners for the development of successful social media marketing strategies.