Business Commons^™

Memorable Dining Experiences: Formative Index And Model Development, Yang Cao

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to understand the nature of memorable dining experiences (MDE), to conceptualize MDE, to develop a formative index to measure MDE, and to test a conceptual model to examine the antecedents and outcomes of MDE. Developed primarily from strategic experiential modules and from the cognitive appraisal theory, this study proposed that MDE consists of five dimensions: affect, sensory, social, intellectual, and behavioral.

This study applied a mixed method approach using a sequential exploratory design. Specifically, the in-depth interviews and a detailed literature review were used to generate the research instrument, and then the online …

Theory Of Under-And Overinvestment: An Empirical Examination Of Value Creation And Destruction In Hospitality Firms, Tarik Dogru

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I study underinvestment and overinvestment theories by examining the value creation and destruction in hospitality firms in three separate but coherent and cohesive research papers. In the first study, I analyze the extent to which financial constraints (underinvestment) and corporate governance (overinvestment) affect hotel firms’ value around acquisition announcements. In addition to the traditional form of corporate structure (i.e., C-corporation), hotel firms extensively adopt the organizational forms of franchising and REIT, which might affect under- and overinvestment problems. Nonetheless, little is known whether capital investments create or reduce value for hotel-REITs and franchising hotel firms. The results …

An Examination Of Destination Choice Behavior Using Meme Maps, Images And Decision Making Styles, Hilmi Atahan Atadil

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the destination choice behavior of tourists by using meme maps, images and decision making styles. The current article-based dissertation entails three separate studies that utilized data collected from Chinese, Arab, Russian and German tourists. The first article included within this dissertation assesses the perceived importance of the attributes that form destination images based on general vacation experiences and opinions of tourists and compares the expected performance of destination attributes of Turkey in attracting tourists from its emerging markets (like China as well as Arab countries) using modified version of Importance-Performance Analysis.

The …

Authenticity In The Country Music Industry, Alyssa Johnson

Senior Theses

When researching the country music industry, it is impossible to avoid certain words—authenticity, sincerity, tradition—as a country music consumer, I have personally noticed these themes appearing frequently. As a consumer, I have been confused by the images that I’ve observed in country music scholarship and journalism based on tradition or authenticity (or, more often, the lack thereof). There is serious reverence for certain people, places, and things in country music. The Grand Ole Opry, the “legends” of the industry, and Nashville itself are treated with the utmost respect because of the roles that they’ve played in the development of country …

An Investigation Of Mannequins’ Effect On Consumer Attitude And Intention, Hannah Shealy

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of mannequin type on consumers’ purchase decisions. Data was collected from a convenience sample of 165 respondents through an online survey to measure the variables of envisioning, consumer attitude toward the display, and purchase intention in their relationship to mannequin type. Hypothesis 1, 2, and 3 were confirmed, confirming the conceptual model and the overall investigation into whether mannequin type effects consumer purchase decisions. Mannequin type was found to have a significant effect on envisioning, and the relationships between envisioning and consumer attitude toward the display and between attitude and purchase intention were found to …