Does traveler satisfaction differ in various travel group compositions?

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 1663-1685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Xu
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Factors ◽  
Segmentation Strategy ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Group Compositions

Purpose This study aims to investigate the online customer review behavior and determinants of overall satisfaction with hotels of travelers in various travel group compositions. Design/methodology/approach The author collected data from online reviews of travelers in various travel group compositions from 600 hotels in 100 of the largest cities in the USA from Booking.com and used latent semantic analysis (LSA) to identify the positive and negative factors from online reviews of travelers in various travel group compositions. Then, text regression was used to determine the influential factors of overall satisfaction of travelers in various travel group compositions. Findings It was found in this study that not all the positive and negative textual factors mined from travelers’ online reviews significantly influenced their overall satisfaction. In addition, the determinants of traveler satisfaction were different when travelers were in different travel group compositions. Research limitations/implications The author found similar online review behavior, but different basic, excitement and performance factors of travelers in different travel group compositions. Practical implications This study helps hoteliers understand customers’ perception of the specific attributes of their products and services, which provides a guideline for businesses to design the priority rule to improve these corresponding attributes and use market segmentation strategy when dealing with customers in different travel group compositions. Originality/value The author examined and compared the online review behavior and determinants of satisfaction using the factors mined from online reviews between travelers in various travel group compositions. This study combined customer ratings with textual reviews and predicted customer ratings from the factors extracted from textual reviews using LSA and text regression.

FLORA: a hierarchical fuzzy system for online accommodation review analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-367
Author(s):  
Thara Angskun ◽  
Jitimon Angskun
Keyword(s):  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Probability Weighting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Review Analysis ◽  
Accuracy Comparison ◽  
Hierarchical Fuzzy System

Purpose This paper aims to introduce a hierarchical fuzzy system for an online review analysis named FLORA. FLORA enables tourists to decide their destination without reading numerous reviews from experienced tourists. It summarizes reviews and visualizes them through a hierarchical structure. The visualization does not only present overall quality of an accommodation, but it also presents the condition of the bed, hospitality of the front desk receptionist and much more in a snap. Design/methodology/approach FLORA is a complete system which acquires online reviews, analyzes sentiments, computes feature scores and summarizes results in a hierarchical view. FLORA is designed to use an overall score, rated by real tourists as a baseline for accuracy comparison. The accuracy of FLORA has achieved by a novel sentiment analysis process (as part of a knowledge acquisition engine) based on semantic analysis and a novel rating technique, called hierarchical fuzzy calculation, in the knowledge inference engine. Findings The performance comparison of FLORA against related work has been assessed in two aspects. The first aspect focuses on review analysis with binary format representation. The results reveal that the hierarchical fuzzy method, with probability weighting of FLORA, is achieved with the highest values in precision, recall and F-measure. The second aspect looks at review analysis with a five-point rating scale rating by comparing with one of the most advanced research methods, called fuzzy domain ontology. The results reveal that the hierarchical fuzzy method, with probability weighting of FLORA, returns the closest results to the tourist-defined rating. Research limitations/implications This research advances knowledge of online review analysis by contributing a novel sentiment analysis process and a novel rating technique. The FLORA system has two limitations. First, the reviews are based on individual expression, which is an arbitrary distinction and not always grammatically correct. Consequently, some opinions may not be extracted because the context free grammar rules are insufficient. Second, natural languages evolve and diversify all the time. Many emerging words or phrases, including idioms, proverbs and slang, are often used in online reviews. Thus, those words or phrases need to be manually updated in the knowledge base. Practical implications This research contributes to the tourism business and assists travelers by introducing comprehensive and easy to understand information about each accommodation to travelers. Although the FLORA system was originally designed and tested with accommodation reviews, it can also be used with reviews of any products or services by updating data in the knowledge base. Thus, businesses, which have online reviews for their products or services, can benefit from the FLORA system. Originality/value This research proposes a FLORA system which analyzes sentiments from online reviews, computes feature scores and summarizes results in a hierarchical view. Moreover, this work is able to use the overall score, rated by real tourists, as a baseline for accuracy comparison. The main theoretical implication is a novel sentiment analysis process based on semantic analysis and a novel rating technique called hierarchical fuzzy calculation.

They teach, but do they apply?

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 743-766
Author(s):  
Anete Petrusch ◽  
Guilherme Luís Roehe Vaccaro ◽  
Juliane Luchese
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Effective Sample Size ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Lean Thinking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Administrative Services ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Although discussed for more than 20 years, information about Lean adoption in higher education institutions (HEIs) is scarce, especially in developing countries. This research aims to investigate the degree of Lean thinking adoption on administrative services of Brazilian private HEIs. The results are compared to studies from USA and UK, highlighting the maturity on enablers, principles, tools and performance measures related to Lean. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey research was carried out. The instrument is adapted for HEIs from the proposal of Malmbrandt and Åhlström (2013) for Lean services. Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis were used to validate the adapted instrument. Additional data analysis was based on non-parametric tests. Findings No evidence of broad implementation of Lean thinking in administrative processes of Brazilian private HEIs was found, with the adoption being incipient. The results are convergent to those presented by other studies in the USA and the UK. There is a gap between the existing knowledge about Lean in the academic sphere of the HEIs and its application on their academic processes. Research limitations/implications The effective sample size was of 47, despite contacts being sent to 2,090 institutions. This sample allows exploratory research, although further research is required. Results are adherent to those found in research from other countries. Originality/value The research presents descriptive and exploratory results regarding the adoption of Lean in Brazilian HEIs. No previous similar research was found in the literature.

eWOM

2019 ◽  
pp. 143-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pedro Mellinas ◽  
Sofía Reino
Keyword(s):  
Information Overload ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Hotel Management ◽  
Crucial Aspect ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Tourism Professionals ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Dynamic Relationships

It is difficult to find a traveler who has not written and/or read an online review at any stage of their travel. Most people will not book a hotel if this has no reviews and/or will not choose a destination before reading some opinions from other users. Tourism professionals can gain a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic relationships and key influential factors which are relevant to online reviews. A single business can have thousands of reviews. This creates a situation of information overload for hotel managers, who encounter themselves with increasingly larger numbers of information to analyze and act upon. The ability to effectively analyze data, using in occasions dedicated software becomes a crucial aspect of hotel management. The chapter ends with a reflection on how eWOM is leading to the generation of a new approach to business management.

scholarly journals Which cues influence the perceived usefulness and credibility of an online review? A conjoint analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Isabel Lopes ◽  
Nathalie Dens ◽  
Patrick De Pelsmacker ◽  
Freya De Keyzer
Keyword(s):  
Conjoint Analysis ◽  
Product Category ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Writing Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Argument Strength

PurposeThis study aims to assess the relative importance of the argument strength, argument sidedness, writing quality, number of arguments, rated review usefulness, summary review rating and number of reviews in determining the perceived usefulness and credibility of an online review. Additionally, the authors use insights from the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to explore the effect of consumers' product category involvement on the cues' relative importance.Design/methodology/approachA conjoint analysis (N = 287) is used to study the relative importance of the seven previously mentioned attributes. A balanced orthogonal design generated eight cards that correspond to individual reviews. Respondents scored all eight cards in a random order for perceived usefulness and credibility.FindingsOverall, argument strength is the most important cue, while summary review rating and the number of reviews are the least important for perceived review usefulness and credibility. The number of arguments is more important for people who are more highly involved with the product, while writing quality and rated review usefulness are relatively more important for the low-involvement group.Originality/valueThis study provides a comprehensive test of how consumers perceive online reviews, as it the first to the authors’ knowledge to simultaneously investigate a large set of cues using conjoint analysis. This method allows for the implicit valuation (utility) of the individual cues, revealing the cues' relative importance, in a setting that comes close to a real-life context. Besides, insights of the ELM are used to understand how the relative importance of cues differs depending on the level of review readers' product category involvement.

scholarly journals The study of the effect of online review on purchase behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinghuan Zhang ◽  
Wenfeng Zheng ◽  
Shan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Purchase Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Experiment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Purchase ◽  
Network Big Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explain the difference and connection between the network big data analysis technology and the psychological empirical research method. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed the data from laboratory setting first, then the online sales data from Taobao.com to explore how the influential factors, such as online reviews (positive vs negative mainly), risk perception (higher vs lower) and product types (experiencing vs searching), interacted on the online purchase intention or online purchase behavior. Findings Compared with traditional research methods, such as questionnaire and behavioral experiment, network big data analysis has significant advantages in terms of sample size, data objectivity, timeliness and ecological validity. Originality/value Future study may consider the strategy of using complementary methods and combining both data-driven and theory-driven approaches in research design to provide suggestions for the development of e-commence in the era of big data.

Forward-backward translation and cross-cultural validation of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale among Tigrigna-speaking Eritrean refugees

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Mulubrhan F. Mogos ◽  
Jason W. Beckstead ◽  
Mary E. Evans ◽  
Kevin E. Kip ◽  
Roger A. Boothroyd
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Vulnerable Population ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale is a widely used instrument for studying depression in the general population. It has been translated into several languages. Cross-cultural relevance of the construct of depression and cultural equivalence of the CES-D items used to measure it are crucial for international research on depression. Given the increasing number of refugees from Eritrea entering the USA and Europe, there is a need among health care researchers and providers for an instrument to assess depressive symptoms in the native language of this vulnerable population. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The study employed forward–backward translation and assessed the CES-D scale for cross-cultural research and depression screening among Tigrigna-speaking Eritrean refugees. Forward–backward translation, cognitive interview and semantic analysis were conducted to ensure equivalence of comprehension of the items and instructions between Tigrigna- and English-speaking samples. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the measurement invariance of the translated version. Findings Translation efforts were successful as reflected by the results of semantic analysis and pilot testing. Evidence supporting the measurement invariance of data collected using the Tigrigna version of the CES-D was obtained from a sample of 253 Eritrean refugees in the USA. Practical implications The findings of this study provide support for reliability and validity of data collected using the Tigrigna version of the CES-D scale. This important tool for assessing depression symptoms among Eritrean refugees is now available for health care providers and researchers working with this vulnerable population. Originality/value This work is an original work of the authors and it has not been published previously.

Reviews’ length and sentiment as correlates of online reviews’ ratings

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Ghasemaghaei ◽  
Seyed Pouyan Eslami ◽  
Ken Deal ◽  
Khaled Hassanein
Keyword(s):  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Reviews ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Consumer Review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify and validate reviews’ length and sentiment as correlates of online reviews’ ratings; and second, to understand the emotions embedded in online reviews and how they associate with specific words used in such reviews. Design/methodology/approach A panel data set of customer reviews was collected for auto, life, and home insurance from January 2012 to December 2015 using a web scraping technique. Using a sentiment analysis approach, 1,584 reviews for the auto, home, and life insurance services of 156 insurance companies were analyzed. Findings The results indicate that, since 2013, consumers have generally had more negative emotions than positive ones toward insurance services. The results also show that consumer review sentiment correlates positively and review length correlates negatively with consumer online review ratings. Furthermore, a two-way ANOVA analysis shows that, in general, short reviews with positive sentiment are associated with high review ratings. Practical implications The findings of this study provide service companies, in general, and insurance companies, in particular, with important guidelines that should be considered to increase consumers’ positive attitude toward their services. Originality/value This paper highlights the importance of sentiment analysis in identifying consumer reviews’ emotions and understanding the associations and interactions of reviews’ length and sentiment on online review rating, which can lead to improved marketing strategies.

Factors influencing cruise vacations: the impact of online reviews and environmental friendliness

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frida Bahja ◽  
Cihan Cobanoglu ◽  
Katerina Berezina ◽  
Carolin Lusby
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Environmental Friendliness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cruise Line ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of the study was to discover the relative importance of influencing factors toward booking a cruise vacation. Based on a review of literature, this study focused on exploring the relative importance of six influential factors in cruise customers’ decision-making process: cruise vacation price, cruise duration, distance from the cruise port, itineraries, environmental friendliness of cruise line and cruise online reviews. Design/methodology/approach The complexity of cruise customers’ decision-making process for involving these six attributes with several levels was examined with choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis. CBC was selected due to its realistic approach to purchase decisions, in the form of trade-offs. The online survey collected data anonymously. The survey was distributed through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (Mturk) platform. The sample consisted of 450 cruise customers, who had experienced a cruise vacation before. Findings The findings of the study showed that online reviews were the most influential attribute for cruise customers in their cruise decision, followed very closely by the environmental friendliness of the cruise line. The next influential factor was the duration of the cruise vacation, which was followed by distance from the cruise port, cruise itinerary and cruise vacation price. The best and the worst cruise vacation profiles were generated based on the CBC analysis. Practical implications The findings of this study provide some insights with regard to cruise customers’ importance about influencing factors when deciding on a cruise vacation. Originality/value The research provides insides in understanding the influential factors at the last stage of cruise customers’ decision-making process. In this regard, cruise industry can pay more attention in promoting the attributes of a cruise offer as influential factors. Additionally, the findings of this study contribute to the general knowledge about cruise customers’ decision-making process.

scholarly journals Competency profiles for lean professionals – an international perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Kregel ◽  
Nadine Ogonek ◽  
Benjamin Matthies
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Depth Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Project Management Competency ◽  
Compare And Contrast ◽  
And Training

Purpose Requirements for business improvement professionals depend on different job characteristics. By focussing on lean management, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a comprehensive conceptualisation of competencies relevant for lean professionals by comparing them to an existing project management competency framework; and second, to identify their similarities and differences in three different analysed countries. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates 2,701 online published job advertisements in the USA, UK and Germany by means of a content analysis to compare and contrast the respective job profiles. Findings Main findings are similarities and differences in the specification and perception of lean professional’s roles among the three countries. Strikingly, four out of eight considered competency categories comprise 74 per cent of the profiles’ most relevant keywords. Additionally, with the help of a latent semantic analysis, 16 specific competencies can be summarised in a lean professional’s competency taxonomy. Research limitations/implications The collected data only represent a snapshot of lean professionals’ advertisements. Also, text mining results from job profiles could largely differ from other techniques like recruiter interviews or company surveys. Further research could use different methods or combine them to construct a more complete model. Practical implications Lean education and training as well as the respective candidate selection processes can benefit from these studies’ results. Originality/value Requirements and job contents for lean professionals have not been empirically researched on a comparable in-depth level before, even though their expertise is in high demand in any kind of business sector.

scholarly journals Comprehending customer satisfaction with hotels

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 1713-1735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxiu Li ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
Chee-Wee Tan ◽  
Feng Hu
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Factors ◽  
Hotel Performance ◽  
Asymmetric Impact ◽  
And Performance

Purpose Building on the three-factor theory, this study aims to unravel how the role of hotel attributes such as basic, excitement and performance factors could differ in accordance with different hotel star ratings and distinct customer segments. Design/methodology/approach This study explores the asymmetric effects of hotel attributes on customer satisfaction by extracting 412,784 consumer-generated reviews from TripAdvisor across different cities in China. Findings By taking into account the origins of customers and hotel star ratings, the study uncovers that guests’ expectations of hotel performance differ with respect to their origins (domestic and international guests) and the star ratings of the hotels being reviewed, thereby moderating the asymmetric impact of hotel attributes on customer satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The study compares and contrasts the determinants of customer satisfaction for domestic and international guests in the context of Chinese hotels. Care should still be exercised when generalizing the insights gleaned from this study to other contexts. Practical implications The findings from this study translate into actionable guidelines for hotel operators to make informed decisions regarding service improvement. Originality/value The study extends previous work by offering a deeper understanding of the asymmetric impact of hotel attributes on customer satisfaction. Specifically, this study provides a deep understanding of the different hotel attributes such as basic, performance and excitement factors in explaining customer satisfaction among different hotel customer segments. Findings from this study can not only inform hotel operators on the significance of various hotel attributes in determining customer satisfaction but also guide the formulation of business strategies to retain customers by inducing delight and not frustration.

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