scholarly journals Research note: customer experience management in cruise pre-consumption

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Sharples
Keyword(s):  
Business Performance ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Consumer Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Experience Management ◽  
Tourism Sector

Purpose This study aims to apply the relatively new concept of customer experience management (CXM) to the pre-consumptive stage within a cruise tourist’s journey. Design/methodology/approach The work will apply CXM to the tourism sector and, in particular to the cruise market. Academics have noted how CXM needs to takes a holistic integrated approach and focus on the complete customer experience. The cruise sector has been selected for this research because, it is the fastest growing tourism sector globally and the pre-consumption stage for cruise passengers is longer than for other vacation types. Findings This study has shown how CXM has emerged from the more traditional marketing concept of relationship marketing and has highlighted its relevance within the tourism industry, in particular, the cruise sector. In addition, the work has shown how adapting CXM to the pre-consumptive phase more fully will enhance consumer relationships and improve business performance. Research limitations/implications This work is conceptual. It is proposed that the research propositions should be verified within the pre-consumptive stage of cruise passenger journeys. Another limitation is that the focus has been solely on the cruise sector and future research could be extended to other tourism service industries. Practical implications This work will provide tourism and other service industry managers with a new strategy to enhance consumer experience and improve business performance in the pre-consumptive stage and extend academic understanding within this stage of a cruise tourist’s vacation. Originality/value This research is significant because CXM is a model, which has been used within service businesses, but had a limited application to the cruise sector and to the pre-consumption timeframe. It is important to understand cruise passengers in this time-frame to encourage positive relationships, to potentially increase revenue opportunities and provide an overall improved consumer experience.

Leadership challenges for Indian hospitality industry during COVID-19 pandemic

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Balvinder Shukla ◽  
Tahir Sufi ◽  
Manoj Joshi ◽  
R. Sujatha
Keyword(s):  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Challenges ◽  
General Managers ◽  
Special Events ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Study Results

PurposeThe COVID-19 crisis has affected almost all the global sectors. The hotel industry, however, was hit hardest challenging the leadership. This study, therefore, attempts to explore the challenges hospitality leadership in India face to navigate the crisis. The study additionally addresses how leaders manage the expectations of key stakeholders; communicate hard decisions with employees, pursue strategies for revival and explores the role of technology to survive the crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative approach involving structured interviews with 16 senior hospitality leaders consisting of CEO, vice president, general managers, directors, entrepreneur and general managers from various organisations like hotels, restaurant chains, food services and facilities management services. Data were content analysed involving coding techniques.FindingsThe leadership challenges included making customers and employees feel safe, optimising operations, agility and resilience of leaders, maintaining a balance between stakeholders, managing employee stress and ensuring cash reserves. The study found that leaders manage the expectation of various stakeholders by maintaining balance, demonstrating empathy and agility. The hard decisions are communicated with the employees through involvement, empathy and alleviating stress.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes by identifying twelve themes from the participants' responses under five major themes-labelled as leadership challenges, managing stakeholders, communicating with the employees, the role of technology and best practices of surviving the crisis. Future research can be conducted on such sub-themes in different countries.Practical implicationsAs the tourism industry in India is recovering after the second wave, the governments along with all stakeholders, must launch special events for promoting the tourism sector. Safety measures like making vaccination certificates for all tourists and employees of the tourism sector should be made mandatory. Further, special certification following the COVID-19 protocol needs to be introduced for hotels and catering establishments. A fund generated from the sector's direct tax contribution needs to be established to support the employees.Social implicationsThe study has several social implications. The study results can unite all industry stakeholders to shape the post-pandemic era through collaboration. Empathetic leadership can take the industry out of chaos by balancing the interests of the various stakeholders of society. The pandemic has proven that we all are vulnerable to risks and challenges; leaders have a vital role in taking proactive steps to ensure that such uncertainties do not cause unprecedented damage.Originality/valueThis study expanded the research on the hospitality leadership challenges in managing crises in the backdrop of the crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The conceptual model, variables, themes and sub-themes utilised are original contributions to the hospitality literature.

Prospects of the fourth industrial revolution for the hospitality industry: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-494
Author(s):  
Benjamin Appiah Osei ◽  
Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan ◽  
Henry Kofi Mensah
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The economy of today has moved toward the fourth industrial revolution (FIR), which is characterized by the adoption of technologies such as cyber-physical systems, internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics. Globally, there is a lot of awareness created on the influence of the FIR on all industries, including hospitality and tourism. A plethora of studies on FIR have been conducted in the setting of manufacturing industries. Nonetheless, there seems to be in-exhaustive and non-consensual agreement among researchers as to the development and prospects of the FIR for service industries. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to comprehensively review the prospects of the FIR for the hospitality and tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach As a result of the novelty and gaps associated with the FIR in the hospitality literature, the authors explored the concept of FIR using a comprehensive literature review approach. Specifically, this paper reviews existing literature from diverse academic backgrounds, and annotates issues with regard to the evolution and prospects of the FIR for the hospitality industry. Findings Emphatically, the development and principles of FIR were expatiated. Additionally, an exegesis was carried out on the prospects (positives and challenges) of FIR for the hospitality industry. Finally, practical and social implications were also discussed. Originality/value It still remains a discourse among scholars and industry stakeholders as to the prospects of the FIR. This paper clarifies the confusion among researchers and bridges the literature gaps. Moreover, this review serves as a theoretical foundation for future research on the impact of FIR on the hospitality industry.

scholarly journals Strategic B2B customer experience management: the importance of outcomes-based measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Zolkiewski ◽  
Victoria Story ◽  
Jamie Burton ◽  
Paul Chan ◽  
Andre Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Customer Experience ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Customer Experience Management ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Theoretical Paper

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critique the adequacy of efforts to capture the complexities of customer experience in a business-to-business (B2B) context using input–output measures. The paper introduces a strategic customer experience management framework to capture the complexity of B2B service interactions and discusses the value of outcomes-based measurement. Design/methodology/approach This is a theoretical paper that reviews extant literature related to B2B customer experience and asks fresh questions regarding B2B customer experience at a more strategic network level. Findings The paper offers a reconceptualisation of B2B customer experience, proposes a strategic customer experience management framework and outlines a future research agenda. Research limitations/implications This paper is conceptual and seeks to raise questions surrounding the under-examined area of B2B customer experience. As a consequence, it has inevitable limitations resulting from the lack of empirical evidence to support the reconceptualisation. Practical implications Existing measures of customer experience are problematic when applied in a B2B (services) context. Rather than adopting input- and output-based measures, widely used in a business-to-consumer (B2C) context, a B2B context requires a more strategic approach to capturing and managing customer experience. Focussing on strategically important issues should generate opportunities for value co-creation and are more likely to involve outcomes-based measures. Social implications Improving the understanding of customer experience in a B2B context should allow organisations to design better services and consequently enhance the experiences of their employees, their customers and other connected actors. Originality/value This paper critiques the current approach to measuring customer experience in a B2B context, drawing on contemporary ideas of value-in-use, outcomes-based measures and “Big Data” to offer potential solutions to the measurement problems identified.

scholarly journals Leveraging inter-tourists interactions via chatbots to bridge academia, tourism industries and future societies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Calvaresi ◽  
Ahmed Ibrahim ◽  
Jean-Paul Calbimonte ◽  
Emmanuel Fragniere ◽  
Roland Schegg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

PurposeThe tourism and hospitality sectors are experiencing radical innovation boosted by the advancements in Information and Communication Technologies. Increasingly sophisticated chatbots are introducing novel approaches, re-shaping the dynamics among tourists and service providers, and fostering a remarkable behavioral change in the overall sector. Therefore, the objective of this paper is two-folded: (1) to highlight the academic and industrial standing points with respect to the current chatbots designed/deployed in the tourism sector and (2) to develop a proof-of-concept embodying the most prominent opportunities in the tourism sector.Design/methodology/approachThis work elaborates on the outcomes of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a Focus Group (FG) composed of experts from the tourism industry. Moreover, it presents a proof-of-concept relying on the outcomes obtained from both SLR and FG. Eventually, the proof-of-concept has been tested with experts and practitioners of the tourism sector.FindingsAmong the findings elicited by this paper, we can mention the quick evolution of chatbot-based solutions, the need for continuous investments, upskilling, system innovation to tackle the eTourism challenges and the shift toward new dimensions (i.e. tourist-to-tourist-to-chatbot and personalized multi-stakeholder systems). In particular, we focus on the need for chatbot-based activity and thematic aggregation for next-generation tourists and service providers.Originality/valueBoth academic- and industrial-centered findings have been structured and discussed to foster the practitioners' future research. Moreover, the proof-of-concept presented in the paper is the first of its kind, which raised considerable interest from both technical and business-planning perspectives.

scholarly journals Customer experience management and business performance

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Grønholdt ◽  
Anne Martensen ◽  
Stig Jørgensen ◽  
Peter Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Market Performance ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Customer Experience Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how essential dimensions of customer experience management (CEM) drive business performance in Danish companies. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical study is conducted to investigate the relationships between seven CEM dimensions, differentiation, market performance and financial performance. The conceptual model is operationalized by a structural equation model, and the model is estimated and tested by using the partial least squares method. A survey among 484 companies in Denmark forms the empirical basis for the study. Findings – The findings provide evidence that the seven CEM dimensions influence differentiation, market performance and financial performance. High-performing companies differ significantly from low-performing companies with regard to how they master the CEM, meaning that those companies which incorporate superior customer experience into their products and service enjoy measurable financial success. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to the seven identified CEM dimensions in Danish companies. Practical implications – This study has clear implications in terms of identifying and measuring the importance of essential CEM dimensions which influence business performance. The results can help companies to understand CEM and develop CEM strategies. Originality/value – The paper provides a deeper insight into CEM and how CEM works.

scholarly journals Big data empowered agility for dynamic, volatile, and time-sensitive service industries: the case of tourism sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Stylos ◽  
Jeremy Zwiegelaar ◽  
Dimitrios Buhalis
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Organizational Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Intelligence

Purpose Dynamic, volatile, and time-sensitive industries, such as tourism, travel and hospitality require agility and market intelligence to create value and achieve competitive advantage. The aim of the current study is to examine the influence of big data (BD) on the performance of service organizations and to probe for a deeper understanding of implementing BD, based on available technologies. Design/methodology/approach An ethnographic study was conducted following an abductive approach. A primary qualitative research scheme was used with 35 information technology and database professionals participating in five online focus groups of seven participants each. Analytical themes were developed simultaneously with the literature being revisited throughout the study to ultimately create sets of common themes and dimensions. Findings BD can help organizations build agility, especially within dynamic industries, to better predict customer behavioral patterns and make tailor-made propositions from the BD. An integrated BD-specific framework is proposed to address value according to the dimensions of need, value, time and utility. Research limitations/implications Little research exists on the key drivers of BD use for dynamic, real-time and agile businesses. This research adds to the developing literature on BD applications to support organizational decision-making and business performance in the tourism industry. Originality/value This study responds to scholars’ recent calls for more empirical research with contextual understanding of the use of BD to add value in marketing intelligence within business ecosystems. It delineates factors contributing to BD value creation and explores the impacts on the respective service encounters.

The 4Cs of mass customization in service industries: a customer lens

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Pallant ◽  
Sean Sands ◽  
Ingo Oswald Karpen
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Mass Customization ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Service Industries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Research Priority

Purpose Increasingly, customers are demanding products that fit their individual needs. Many firms respond by cultivating product individualization via mass customization, often integrating this capability via interactive platforms that connect them with customers. Despite such customization, research to date has lacked cohesion, often taking the organizational, rather than customer, view. The purpose of this paper is to provide inconclusive theorizing in regard to customization from the consumers’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach The review and synthesis of the literature revealed that co-configuration is an underexplored domain of mass customization. Consequently, an initial conceptualization of co-configuration is developed and compared with current customization strategies. Specifically, the definition and boundary conditions of co-configuration are compared with three domains of mass customization, namely, co-production, co-construction and co-design. This led to the development of research priority areas to establish an agenda for future research on mass customization and its role in customer’ firm relationships. Findings This paper provides the delineation of four distinct consumer customization strategies, conceptualized in a matrix, and proposes separate customer journey visualizations. In advancing the theoretical understanding by means of a unifying typology, this paper identifies three existing Cs of mass customization (co-production, co-construction and co-design) and focuses specifically on a fourth (co-configuration), identified as an understudied mass customization strategy. Originality/value This paper extends the previous conceptualizations of mass customization comprising co-production, co-design and co-construction. The proposed typology establishes a foundation for four research priority areas that can improve both academic rigor and practical application.

scholarly journals Building tourism-resilient communities by incorporating residents’ perceptions? A photo-elicitation study of tourism development in Bruges

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Janusz ◽  
Sofie Six ◽  
Dominique Vanneste
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Historical Center

Purpose In a current trend of a growing amount of short city trips, it becomes crucial to understand how local residents perceive the presence of tourists and tourism in their cities and how their socio-cultural context influences those perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this understanding which will enable the city planners to take actions to create the well-balanced and resilient communities in which the needs of residents and tourists are equally met. Design/methodology/approach To understand residents’ perceptions’ about tourism in Bruges, this research applied photo-elicitation interviews with 28 residents who lived in various locations in the historical center to understand socio-cultural background of residents, their tourism-related concerns and whether they are in line with what is commonly perceived as problematic in Bruges. Findings Results show that as long as residents can benefit from tourism and tourism-related infrastructure, they support tourism. On the other hand, tourism decreases the liveability of the historical center due to supersession of infrastructure serving the residents by tourist-oriented amenities. Practical implications To build a sustainable and resilient city in the future, the authorities of Bruges should cease further “museumification” of the historical city by breaking the hegemony of tourism industry, providing affordable housing and rethinking the concentration model of tourism. Originality/value The photo-elicitation method proved to produce rich content and good-quality data by stimulating respondents’ memories and evoking experiences and emotions. Thus, this paper recommends that future research about residents’ attitudes is developed around visual methods as they give voice to the residents and are able to uncover issues which are difficult to capture with other methods.

How the creative mindset affects entrepreneurial success in the tourism sector: the mediating role of innovation capability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natthawut Yodchai ◽  
Pham Thi Minh Ly ◽  
Lobel Trong Thuy Tran
Keyword(s):  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Entrepreneurial Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analytical Technique ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Business Goals ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
And Performance

Purpose This study aims to adopt implicit theory (IPT) to develop a creative mindset model and drive entrepreneurial success through innovation capability (IC). Design/methodology/approach Expert interviews were conducted using a questionnaire protocol. This study investigated the effect of the creative mindset on entrepreneurial success through IC, using a partial least squares analytical technique and by interviewing 176 Thai business owners. Findings The creative mindset drove entrepreneurial success through IC. Entrepreneurs possessing a growth mindset reflected and drove success directly or through IC. Although, those with a strong, fixed mindset did not significantly affect entrepreneurial success, they could drive success through IC. Research limitations/implications This study provides further insight into the probable causation of how the creative mindset and IC affect tourism entrepreneurs’ success. Accordingly, this study contributes a framework to help entrepreneurs’ creativity and performance in achieving their business goals. Originality/value Drawing from IPT, this study empirically tests and substantiates the mediating role of IC in the relationship between the creative mindset and entrepreneurial success in the tourism industry. This study can help entrepreneurs increase their managerial effectiveness.

Business plan competitions in developed and emerging economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Business Plan ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Research Gaps ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Individual

Purpose This paper aims to review the academic literature on business plan competitions in developed and emerging economies to assess the contribution to the knowledge so far and identify research gaps. Design/methodology/approach A variety of databases (such as ABI/Inform Global, Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier and Emerald Full Text) were used to find peer-reviewed journal articles. Regardless of time, different search terms were used to find relevant journal articles such as business plan competitions, business plan contests, business plan teams, business plan judges, business plan development and business plan scores. After a careful review of the identified articles, a total of 22 articles were included in the final review. The articles in the final set were manually coded using the thematic codes. Findings Despite the popularity of business plan competitions, limited academic literature exists, particularly in the context of emerging economies. A total of 16 out of 22 studies are conducted in developed economies. The findings suggest that the literature on business plan competitions is largely centered on the structure of business plan competitions, the characteristics of the participating teams and the benefits of business plan competitions. The individual level benefits of business plan competitions include the development of entrepreneurial skills, opportunity for networking and access to mentors. Business plan competitions can be better aligned with public policy, particularly in case of emerging economies. Therefore, a more focused and integrated approach among industry, academia and government in encouraging business plan competitions could potentially make a far-reaching impact in establishing an enterprising society. While much is known about the structure and the benefits of business plan competitions, there are various research gaps which need to be addressed. Originality/value The current paper is the first identifiable review of the literature on business plan competitions. The proposed questions for future research will potentially help in addressing the identified research gaps.

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