Theme factors that drive the tourist customer experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Karlsen Åstrøm
Keyword(s):  
Customer Experience ◽  
Lighting Design ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Cruise Industry ◽  
Narrow Context ◽  
Cruise Lines

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors that drive the tourist customer experience around theming. Theming is considered vital to creating a memorable customer impression. Design/methodology/approach The cruise industry was chosen as the empirical setting. A total of 328 cruise travelers returned valid questionnaires during a cruise in March 2010. The questionnaire was developed based on a conceptual model of components (name, employee interaction, lighting, design and music) hypothesized to contribute to a themed cruise environment. Findings Name, employee interaction and lighting were found to be the most important drivers for the customer experience. Theming was less reliant on design and music. Research limitations/implications This research was limited to one narrow context. Further research on other ships, itineraries and cruise lines should clarify whether factors affecting theme perception are the same across the cruise industry. Practical implications Cruise industry decision makers should consider the naming of spaces, lighting and employee interaction when designing themed experiences. Originality/value Theming has received little attention in the research literature. This study is a unique contribution to our understanding of this particular field.

Mixed qualitative–quantitative approach for bidding decisions in construction

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emad Mohamed ◽  
Parinaz Jafari ◽  
Ahmed Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Expert System ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
The Body ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Quantitative Approach ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Mixed Approach

PurposeThe bid/no-bid decision is critical to the success of construction contractors. The factors affecting the bid/no-bid decision are either qualitative or quantitative. Previous studies on modeling the bidding decision have not extensively focused on distinguishing qualitative and quantitative factors. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to improve the bidding decision in construction projects by developing tools that consider both qualitative and quantitative factors affecting the bidding decision.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach to deal with both qualitative and quantitative factors. The mixed qualitative-quantitative approach is developed by combining a rule-based expert system and fuzzy-based expert system. The rule-based expert system is used to evaluate the project based on qualitative factors and the fuzzy expert system is used to evaluate the project based on the quantitative factors in order to reach the comprehensive bid/no-bid decision.FindingsThree real bidding projects are used to investigate the applicability and functionality of the proposed mixed approach and are tested with experts of a construction company in Alberta, Canada. The results demonstrate that the mixed approach provides a more reliable, accurate and practical tool that can assist decision-makers involved in the bid/no-bid decision.Originality/valueThis study contributes theoretically to the body of knowledge by (1) proposing a novel approach capable of modeling all types of factors (either qualitative or quantitative) affecting the bidding decision, and (2) providing means to acquire, store and reuse expert knowledge. Practical contribution of this paper is to provide decision-makers with a comprehensive model that mimics the decision-making process and stores experts' knowledge in the form of rules. Therefore, the model reduces the administrative burden on the decision-makers, saves time and effort and reduces bias and human errors during the bidding process.

Customer experience management in medical tourism (case study: Iranian hospital’s medical tourists)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-226
Author(s):  
Hamed Dabaghi ◽  
Saeid Saieda Ardakani ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Tabataba’i-Nasab
Keyword(s):  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Customer Experience Management ◽  
Data Saturation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the emerging phenomenon of medical tourism in the context of Iran from a customer experience management perspective and benchmark of their judgment including positive or negative, of the experience they have achieved of the Iranian health (medical) experience (CE) and suggest scenarios for the improvement of the Iranian customer experience management (CEM). Design/methodology/approach The research methodologies and research methods that are used in this descriptive-analytical research are based on an inspection of the remarkable literature related to medical tourism and customer experience management. The data gathering instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire based on the variables in the conceptual model extracted from the research literature. The study was conducted from May to August 2019. The population cohort of this study was the foreign patients calling selected Iranian hospitals and the sampling method was a purposive and snowball sample of prospective medical tourists. As the study was conducted throughout Iran, some important hospitals in Iran were selected by stratified sampling Yang et al. (2020b). The sample size and data saturation were 500 participants Lv and Song (2019). The collected data using the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS software and statistical tests. Findings According to the results, the customer experience management statistical significance in the task aspect is (p = 0.0523), in the mechanical aspect is (p = 0.0563), in the human aspect is (p = 0.0544). The study showed positive customer experience among the patients who had been treated in the Iranian hospitals. Originality/value There is a lack of study that focuses on medical tourism and customer experience management in Iran. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the experience of medical tourists in Iran proved to be positive and satisfying. As little research has been conducted in the area of customer experience management (CEM) in Iranian medical tourism, future researchers can use these valuable results precisely and in more detail to benchmark more accurately the customer experience in all areas of medical and health tourism and other research areas in different aspects of CEM in Iran.

Factors affecting strategic change in higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjørn Stensaker ◽  
Nicoline Frølich ◽  
Jeroen Huisman ◽  
Erica Waagene ◽  
Lisa Scordato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Strategic Change ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Organizational Fields ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
European Universities ◽  
Change In Higher Education ◽  
Analytical Tools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify those factors that key actors in university governance hold as to be important in realizing strategic change within their institutions. Design/methodology/approach – Key decision-makers in 26 European universities were surveyed on their views on which factors bring about strategic change. The results were interpreted using a theoretical framework emphasizing organizational archetypes and their development. Findings – The findings indicated that strategic changes in universities were perceived as highly dependent on leadership, decision-making procedures, communication and evaluation. However, some differences between the universities in the sample can be identified, supporting indicating the relevance of using organizational archetypes as an analytical tools for observing change within the higher education sector. Originality/value – The study links organizational level developments on strategic management to macro-level change within the European higher education landscape, and provides new insights intoon the debate on convergence and differentiation in organizational fields.

Identifying interrelationships among factors affecting innovation archetypes: the case of China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-432
Author(s):  
Rafif Al-Sayed ◽  
Jianhua Yang
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Multivariate Statistical Analysis ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Significant Factors

Purpose This paper aims at studying the concept of innovation ecosystems and investigating the factors affecting them based on their interrelationships with respect to different innovation archetypes. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on using multivariate statistical analysis of the inter-correlations among a number of variables which led to extracting a reduced set of new significant factors that affect China’s innovation ecosystem. Findings The results showed that innovation archetypes differ significantly with respect to the majority of the new factors. Practical implications Through identifying these challenges, decision-makers can develop a better understanding of the variables affecting each archetype of innovation and act accordingly. Originality/value The study is the first to fill the gap of addressing a large number of variables affecting innovation and analyzing their interrelationships.

Measuring the operational and financial efficiency using a Malmquist data envelopment analysis: a case of Egyptian hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 2521-2536
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mohamed Habib ◽  
Tamer Mohamed Shahwan
Keyword(s):  
Data Envelopment Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Financial Efficiency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Dea Approach

PurposeThe efficient use of organizational resources is integral to the existence of prime firms. This study, using Malmquist data envelopment analysis (DEA), aims to assess in the level of operational and financial efficiency and its determinants for ensuring and sustaining excellent performance in 33 Egyptian private hospitals.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a Malmquist DEA approach to assess the changes in operational and financial efficiency in Egyptian hospitals. Tobit regression was also used to identify the significant variables affecting their efficiency. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is carried out for model validations.FindingsOut of 33 hospitals, 17 were found inefficient due to the decline in their technical efficiency. Moreover, the total value of the software programs and operational expenses and the total number of employees are common factors affecting both operational and financial efficiency. In addition, the number of physicians significantly affects the hospital's financial efficiency.Practical implicationsThe study sheds light on the value of using DEA to assess efficiency. DEA in the context of emerging economy such as Egypt's can be a useful tool for decision-makers and practitioners in identifying and addressing performance weaknesses and thus supports continuous improvement in performance.Originality/valueSeveral studies have adopted the DEA approach to assess the overall efficiency of hospitals in Europe and the United States. However, in the MENA region, these studies are uncommon. This study is thought to be one of the earliest attempts to assess hospitals' efficiency in Egypt.

Implementation of the overall equipment cost loss (OECL) methodology for comparison with overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ratapol Wudhikarn
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Financial Model ◽  
Large Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Equipment Cost ◽  
Loss Models ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Made In

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the overall equipment cost loss (OECL) methodology and an implementation of this methodology, to compare the outcomes of OECL with those of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and finally to identify the benefits offered by this new methodology. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed methodology, OECL, combines six large loss models and a financial model in the performance evaluation of equipment. The six large losses are converted into monetary units. OECL is a new way of evaluating equipment performance that differs from the original OEE methodology and overcomes some of the limitations of OEE. This new methodology can be used to rank problematic machines by accounting for production elements together with finance elements. Findings – The OECL and OEE methodologies rank problematic machines differently. Research limitations/implications – Efforts were made in this research to identify factors affecting OECL outcomes, but it was found that it was not possible to apply OECL to all scenarios. Practical implications – The OECL model can be implemented in a real manufacturing company to help decision-makers better determine the magnitudes of equipment problems and rank problematic pieces of equipment appropriately. Originality/value – This OECL method is able to overcome some of OEE’s weaknesses. It can properly prioritise problematic machines by considering both cost and losses.

Determinants of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
The Nguyen Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Revenue Growth ◽  
Input Markets

PurposeThe aim of this article is to investigate the determinants of the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets: evidence from Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThis article relies on the resource-based view to examine the factors affecting the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets. The method employed in the research is the generalized method of moments for testing hypotheses of data collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in the period of 2013–2016.FindingsThe results show that factors such as the intensity of capital investment, age and size of the firm, labor productivity, foreign ownership, location, cost management effectiveness and export activities have a positive effect on the performance of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises, while revenue growth rate, fixed assets and financial leverage tend to hinder their performance. This has brought important messages that the input markets and the business environment in emerging markets like Vietnam have not yet stimulated well-economic activities.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on a topic that has not been fully explored in small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets in general, and Vietnam in particular. Specifically, small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets reconfigure available resources and strengthen internal capabilities to overcome barriers of the shortages of strategic, rare and irreplaceable resources in order to improve their performance. This is a unique contribution to the existing literature and highlights the original value of this article.

Determinants of online shopping attitudes of households in Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kübranur Çebi Karaaslan
Keyword(s):  
Online Shopping ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Statistical Institute ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
The Social ◽  
Binary Probit

Purpose Online shopping is expected to continue without slowing down because of the advantages that it presents to consumers in the digitalising world. This study aims to determine the factors regarding the social and environmental indicators and the demographical and economical factors that affect the online shopping tendencies of households in Turkey. The results of this research can be used to review the online shopping strategies by the decision-makers. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the cross-sectional data acquired from the Household Budget Research survey, which has been conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute between 2015 and 2018, is used. In this data set consisting of 11,491 in 2015, 12,096 in 2016, 12,166 in 2017 and 11,828 in 2018, a total of 47,581 data from the households that are 15-year-old and older are used. To determine the factors affecting the online shopping behaviour of households, binary logistic regression and binary probit regression analyses are applied. As a result of these analyses, it has been decided that the most suitable model is the binary probit regression model. Findings According to the analysis results, it has been detected that factors such as educational status, age, marital status, employment status, income, life assurance ownership, credit card usage, automobile ownership and the year of the survey affect the online shopping behaviour of households. Practical implications In this study, factors affecting the tendency to do online shopping, which has gained big importance particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic, are determined. In Turkey, households’ tendency to do online shopping is affected by the demographical and economical factors and by the factors related to the social and environmental indicators. Determination of the effects of these factors has been a guide for the decision-makers and policymakers in explaining the tendency to shop online and creating a competitive advantage. Originality/value In this study, data consisting of a total of 47,581 observations, which has acquired from the Household Budget Research survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute between 2015 and 2018, are used by applying a weighting process, and no study that is as comprehensive and inclusive as this study has been found in the literature, e-commerce that has become prevalent with the help of technological progress and changing habits in the past years is continuing to become prevalent more increasingly particularly after COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the value of this study underlies its contribution to e-commerce awareness.

Polyphonous leadership and middle managers

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jari Petri Stenvall ◽  
Inga Nyholm ◽  
Pasi-Heikki Rannisto
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Third ◽  
Multiple Voices ◽  
Strong Consensus ◽  
The City ◽  
Management Issues

Purpose – The middle manager's role in an organization is important. The purpose of this paper is to determine how middle managers understand their roles in managing changes from the perspective of polyphonous leadership. Polyphonous leadership can be described as something that inspires decisions by listening to multiple voices within the organization. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were collected from focus groups in the City of Tampere. Participants were middle managers (n=5) at an organization providing services for young narcotic/alcoholic families and pregnant mothers. The interviewees were selected due to their assumed ability to discuss management issues and their awareness concerning the factors affecting their workers’ capacities. The second focus group was organized for May 2010 (n=5) and the third later on in May 2010 (n=7). Findings – In the Finnish context, middle managers understand polyphonous leadership as a process with a beginning and an end. The authors call this process the dominant narrative of polyphonous leadership, because there is a strong consensus amongst middle managers regarding it. In the first step, middle managers have to work as leaders of interaction. Second, they work as utilizers of diversity. In the third step, they act as decision makers and interpreters of polyphony. The final step gives them a role as conciliators of operating plans and personnel operations. Originality/value – There is not much discussion in the extant literature of how middle managers try to act as linking persons in public services infrastructures. The model of the dominant narrative on polyphonous leadership is new in the literature.

US and other cruise lines will innovate over COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rapid Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cruise Industry ◽  
Passenger Demand ◽  
Government Aid ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Cruise Lines

Significance COVID-19’s onset has seen rapid loss of passenger demand amid government social lockdowns. As all major cruise lines are incorporated or domiciled abroad, they also do not qualify for direct US government financial support. Impacts Cruise lines might seek to register in the United States to get potential access to government aid. Obstacles to US registration may include crewing; cruise lines generally rely on crew that are cheaper than US labour. The cruise industry and ports will face pressure to ensure their medical provisions are suitable for passengers.

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