Spillover Effects In Product Customization, Samuel Babu Sekar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Product customization is increasingly being offered as consumers interact with businesses online. When consumers customize a product, they often choose from among multiple, inter-related categories. Thus, the choices made in a prior category could influence choices in later categories (spillover effect). Currently, marketers attempt to nudge consumers to choose more expensive/profitable options by preselecting these options (explicit reference). In this dissertation, I explore whether implicit references can be employed to generate a spillover effect. Implicit references are generated by arranging the options within a category in either descending or ascending price order, with descending price order favoring the selection of …

Bibliometric Analysis Of Postgraduate Thesis Studying Regional And Local Themes In The Field Of Gastronomy, Neşe Kafa

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

The rapid development of gastronomic tourism in recent years has led to numerous studies in the literature. Various studies discuss the topic of gastronomic tourism from different aspects. The study of such studies with the help of bibliometric analysis makes clear the course of development of the relevant literature and helps to determine the topics dealt with in this field and the target groups included in the research. These studies are important in identifying which topics are not covered in the literature and in suggesting research topics in this regard. The results showed that most of the researched theses were …

A Netnographic Review Of Dining Experiences Of Russian Tourists, Alper Bozbas, Tolga Gül

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

This study aims to conduct a nethnographic analysis of the dining experiences of Russian tourists who prefer Antalya as their destination, depending on their restaurant choices. The findings regarding the dining experiences within the scope of the study were obtained from restaurant reviews for 2019 on the TripAdvisor website. The research findings were obtained from 131 reviews written for ten restaurants operating in Antalya city centre, Side, Kemer and Alanya districts. The analysis of reviews are made in three dimensions; First-Hand Experience, Supportive Experience and Attractive Experience. According to the findings obtained from the comments, it can be said that …

Local Food Availability In Menus Of Hotels: The Case Of Batman, Turkey, Dilek Ginigen, Bülent Aydın, Caner Güçlü

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

The purpose of this study is to find out the availability of the local dishes of the city of Batman in the menus of the accommodation establishments. Therefore, at first, the local dishes of this city were compiled via document analysis technique. As a result of this compilation, for the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the managers or head chefs of 13 accommodation establishments located in Batman. As a result of these interviews, it was revealed that none of the accommodation establishments include local dishes in their menus. Furthermore, other results presented that the visitors have a demand towards …

Essays On Upper Echelons Research In Sales Management, Hao Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the role of sales executives in top management teams (TMTs) in driving firm performance. Chapter I offers an overview of the dissertation. Chapter II (“The double-edged sword of sales force power in top management teams”) investigates the impact of salesforce power (i.e., the sales department’s influence in TMT) on organizational performance. The study examines two internal factors (i.e., marketing department power and sales growth) and two environmental factors (i.e., competitive dynamics and market size) that may either weaken or strengthen the influence of salesforce power on organizational performance. Using a panel data set of 10,751 firm-years observations …

Impact Of Country Of Origin And National Identity On Air Travel Purchase Decisions For Prospective Buyers: The Case Of American Travelers, Talha Harcar, Ersem Karadag

Journal of Global Business Insights

This study focuses on how the concept of country of origin (COO) and national loyalty affect purchasing decisions of prospective travelers when purchasing airline tickets. The objectives of this study are to understand: (a) the relationship between demographic structures of travelers and their national loyalty status, (b) the relationship between national loyalty and national airline perceptions, (c) the construction and analysis of the measurement of national airline preference scale, and (d) testing the relationship between national loyalty, national airline perception, and preferences of foreign airlines. Data collected from 136 people residing and employed in three districts of Pennsylvania. The study …

Student Perceptions Of Teaching Excellence: A Comparison Of A Public And Private University, Stephen L. Baglione, Louis A. Tucci, Patrick Woock

Journal of Global Business Insights

The purpose of the study was to examine student perceptions of teaching excellence at different types of higher education institutions. The pressure to publish, larger class sizes, globalization, technological innovation greater accountability for learning, and justification of a college degree’s worth make teaching excellence more difficult to attain. A byproduct of this pressure is an increased emphasis on student evaluations. Using two conjoint studies from a large public and a medium-size private university, assignments, exams, and grading were identified as the most important components for students in assessing teaching excellence. The least important was the faculty-student interaction, which may be …

Tourism Observatories For Measuring The Covid-19 Impact On Tourism, Georgia Zouni Dr., Stavros Hatzimarinakis, Sotirios Varelas

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) began at the end of 2019 and since then has led to a period of global transformations and changes for all aspects of the economy, tourism included. A fundamental action to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and accelerate recovery is the setup of local sustainable tourism observatories (UNWTO, 2020). This paper proposes a system theory-based framework for measuring the COVID-19 impact on tourism at regional and local level, using a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology combined with the UNWTO and United Nations’s recommendations for COVID-19 Tourism Recovery.

Short-Term Rental Versus Small Hotel Industry Amid Covid-19 Pandemic: What Drives Millennials’ Accommodation Choices?, Tammy Wee, Melissa L. S. Liow

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This paper aims to establish the motivation factors behind the accommodation choices made by millennials for stays at short-term rental properties and small hotels amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a topic that remains under-represented in the hospitality and tourism literature. Using data from a survey of 145 millennials who stayed at an Airbnb property and a small hotel in the past year, a non-parametric test was utilized to compare six motivation factors that affect millennials’ accommodation choices, guided by the push-pull motivational framework. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test results showed that the millennials significantly considered price and reviews as their common pull …

Reconsidering Services Marketing As A Discipline, Mark S. Rosenbaum, German C. Ramirez

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This viewpoint suggests that foundational theories and concepts which characterize the services marketing discipline may no longer be valid due to the global pandemic. The authors discuss the impact of the Great Resignation on both consumers and organizations and posit that many consumers now accept lower levels of service offerings and performance. They further question whether organizations will ever return to pre-pandemic service levels. Further, the authors contend that the discipline’s focus on employee-customer relationships has now shifted to customer-technology exchanges and that human interactions, in many service exchanges, are diminishing in importance. The authors put forward future research questions.

Digital Marketing In Hospitality And Tourism, Prem Kumar

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

OVERVIEW

Advancements in communication have led to relationship era of marketing from production era. The internet, information and communication technology (ICT) tools, and the Web revolution have played a pivotal role resulting into digital marketing of products and services in hospitality and tourism. Tourism industry is considered to be an information intensive industry where consumers have become co-creators of digital content on different media. The industry has witnessed a power shift form service provider to the consumers who have ability to attract and influence others with their shared experiences on digital platforms. Firms are adopting a digital marketing mix which …

The Influence Of Intrinsic Motivational Forces On Consumers’ Product Purchase Intentions, Sumera Syed, Syed R. H. Shah, Fauziah S. Ahmad

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

Food is perceived as the top most surviving need of humans since their existence. With the passage of time, this need has been further revolutionized with added requirements of safety and hygienic factors. Halal food having both of these factors, has gained popularity among both Muslims and non-Muslims consumers. Despite of ever increasing trend of Halal food consumption, the research to uncap this amazingly growing sector is still in its infancy stages. Interestingly, the role of intrinsic motivation in shaping up intention of the consumers for Halal food purchase is still not well explored. This study has addressed this untapped …

Sanitation Marketing In Uganda: The Impact Of Gender On Participation And Outcomes, Elizabeth Vicario

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Uganda aims to reach universal access to basic sanitation under Sustainable Development Goal #6, but achieving this target by 2030 would require doubling the annual rate of progress. Women are disproportionately affected by poor sanitation due to their health needs and risk of facing violence, but they have historically been excluded from sanitation planning. Low household demand and poor service delivery have stalled progress in Uganda. Market-based sanitation (MBS) is a novel method of developing a sanitation market through stimulating demand and supporting a competitive atmosphere for product and service providers. This research studies the sanitation marketing activities implemented by …

The Theory Of Legitimacy-Based Reciprocity: Implementing A Hybrid Sales Control System, Jay J. Civitillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study introduces the theory of Legitimacy-based Reciprocity to answer the research question identifying the barriers and enablers of implementing a hybrid sales control system. Legitimacy in terms of this research is proposed as:

• A power structure based on consent existing in an organization and that there were those who ultimately selected policy and those that had to agree to follow it.
• Subordinates had to be permitted to help craft the policy and saw value in its existence and enforcement through proof that it directly affected their sales results.
• Those in power were required to actively participate in the policy …

Tourism And Life Quality Perceptions Of Local People: A Comparative Research In Thermal Tourism Destinations, Ahmet Cetin, Esra Katircioglu, Mehmet Boyraz, Hülya Mutlu, Hasan Huseyin Soybali

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

The purpose of the research is to reveal locals’ perceptions and attitudes toward tourism development in thermal tourism destinations, as well as to determine whether these perceptions and attitudes differ depending on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Accordingly, seven hypotheses were constructed. The population of the research is formed by residents living in thermal tourism cities in the North Aegean Region. The study was designed as quantitative, and the survey method was used as the data collection tool. Using the convenience sampling method, 827 questionnaires in total were collected from locals living in Afyonkarahisar, Denizli, and Kütahya between the …

Futurizing Gastronomic Experiences In Natural Environments, Francesc Fusté-Forné

Journal of Sustainability and Resilience

The current pandemic accentuated the need for a more responsible tourism system, where local food production and consumption become a cornerstone of sustainable tourism futures. Experiences embedded in natural environments are neither new nor recent, but the pandemic urged tourism stakeholders to look at nature again as a source of inspiration for tourism regeneration. The research analyses the configuration of gastronomic experiences in protected areas through the philosophy of a gourmet restaurant located in a volcanic setting in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain.

Tapping Into Food Industry: A Comparative Dual-Model Study Of Religion And Culture On Food Products’ Purchase Intention, Sumera Syed, Fauziah S. Ahmad, Syed R. H. Shah

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

Due to increased trend of globalization and immigration to advanced countries during the past decade, Halal food consumers are being observed not only in Islamic countries but also in Western European countries. Moreover, the concepts of hygiene, quality and cleanliness, being often related to Halal food, make it equally favorable for consumption to non-Muslims. However, this vast area of Halal food sector still needs further exploration. Though recent studies have, to some extent, tried to explore the impact of religiosity on Halal food purchase intention, but still the impact of religion on Halal food purchase intention remains unexplored. Moreover, almost …

Importance-Implementation Of Disability Management Practices In Hotels: The Moderating Effect Of Team Orientation, Zakaria Elkhwesky, Islam Elbayoumi Salem, Mona Barakat

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of disability management practices (DMPs) and the level of implementation from the viewpoint of food and beverage (F & B) managers, F & B entry-level employees, working in F & B departments, and human resources (HRs) managers in five-star hotels in Egypt. It also analyzed the moderating role of team orientation (TO) between the importance and the implementation of DMPs. Data were collected from 400 respondents. The association between the importance and the implementation of DMPs is significant, moderate, and positive. The results also exhibited that the correlation between the …

Competing Through Coopetition: A Strategy For Success In Hotel Marketing Consortia, Sofia Almeida, Ana Cláudia Campos, Carlos Costa, José Manuel Simões

Journal of Mediterranean Tourism Research

Coopetition is a strategy for a company to achieve a competitive advantage in the market environment. However, little is known about how coopetition works in the hotel sector and which organizational departments perform better in terms of coopetitive behaviour. In this research, coopetition is analysed in the context of international hotel marketing consortia (HMC) operating in Portugal. Exploratory interviews and a survey were conducted to consortia members to analyze managers’ perceptions on coopetitive behaviour and the organizational departments engaged in coopetition. The results show that there is higher cooperation than competition in the marketing and research & investigation departments. The …

External And Internal Factors Of Sports Sponsorship Selling Cycles In North American Professional Sports, Dan Kaufmann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In sports sponsorship, sellers and management seek to shorten their sales cycles to renew, upsell, and close new business. This research covers what professional sports organizations can do to help shorten the sales process. The study includes an industry analysis, literature review, and a mixed method survey of 212 people within the North American Sports Sponsorship Industry. The surveyed individuals are C-suite sponsorship salespeople and managers. These individuals work in the following professional sports leagues in North America: The National Football League (NFL), National Basketball League (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and Major League Soccer (MLS). …

The Evaluation Of S-D Orientation On Service Innovation And Performance Of Airline, Inci Polat, Ozlem Atalik

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The aim of the study is to reveal the relationship between S-D orientation and service innovation and performance variables. The empirical data were collected from airline passengers in Turkey through an online survey. PLS-SEM method was used to test the relationship between variables of the study. The results of the study exposure that there is a significant relationship between S-D orientation and service innovation. There is also a correlation between service innovation and firm performance. However, this does not apply to the relationship between S-D orientation and firm performance. The major results indicated that S-D orientation has a critical role …

The Impact Of Consumers Price Level Perception On Emotions Towards Supermarkets, Abdulcelil Cakici, Sena Tekeli

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Although cognition and emotion have been regarded as opposing concepts, recent studies have shown that they are closely connected to each other. Consumers’ purchasing decisions depend on the emotions evoked by their price perceptions rather than the actual price of the products or services. Thus, the purpose of this study is to find out the effects of price perception level on emotions towards supermarkets. Based on the literature review, Cognitive Appraisal Theory was adapted including price level perceptions- perceived expensiveness and perceived cheapness- and emotions- negative and positive- towards supermarkets. Data were collected through a questionnaire in Mersin’s (Turkey) central …

From Home To The Store: Combined Effect Of Music And Traffic On Consumers Shopping Behaviour, Luigi Piper, Lucrezia M. De Cosmo, Maria I. Prete, Gianluigi Guido

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study provides a theoretical framework to assess the combined effect that traffic stream and music could have on consumers’ shopping behavior throughout their journey to the stores. Through the Virtual Reality (VR) simulation of a car journey, two traffic conditions (light/heavy) and two types of music (relaxing/energizing) were tested, evaluating the effects on the time spent during shopping and on consumption choices (in terms of expense, number of items purchased). Moreover, participants’ physiological reactions have been analyzed by measuring their heartbeat variation (ΔHR). The results indicate that regardless of the type of music listened, heavy traffic leads consumers to …

Materialistic Social Consumption Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic: Terror Management Theory In The Malaysia Context, Seong-Yuen Toh, Siew W. Yuan

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study investigates the relationship between materialism and social consumption motivation in the context of Covid-19 based on terror management theory. The findings contradict the theory offering possible boundary conditions to the theory suggesting that the theory which is based heavily on the Western concept of individualism may not be applicable to the Asian context, like in Malaysia.

A Conceptual Framework For The Mediating Role Of The Flow Experience Between Destination Brand Experience And Destination Loyalty, Ipek Kazancoglu, Taskin Dirsehan

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The global tourism economy has created a competitive industry, and the customer experience in destination branding has emerged as a competitive tool for practitioners. It has also been attracting attention in the tourism literature. Individuals who experience high degrees of flow tend to feel more engaged in activities during their travel experiences. However, the antecedents of the flow experience and its outcomes are still limited in the literature. Considering the gaps in the literature, this study is aimed at developing a conceptual model for the mediating effect of the flow experience on the relationship between destination brand experience and destination …

Investigating Drivers Influencing Choice Behaviour Of Islamic Investment Products, Hanudin Amin

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Drawing upon the theory of consumption value (TCV), this research is aimed at investigating factors influencing bank customers' choice behaviour of Islamic investment products. The effects of functional value, emotional value, epistemic value, conditional value and social value on choice behaviour are examined using a questionnaire survey. A total of 350 respondents sourced from bank customers were approached to elicit their choice behaviours of Islamic investment products offered currently by various Islamic banks in Malaysia. Using the Partial Least Squares (PLS), the empirical results obtained indicate that all proposed variables are of their influence on the bank customers’ decision to …

Social Media Framework For Businesses, Nawel Amrouche

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Social media is gaining popularity and many studies are investigating the topic by providing contradictory conclusions about its effectiveness. To scrutinize this incongruence, we first differentiate social media from other communication tools and describe its challenges. Next, based on an extensive literature review collecting research papers from 2004 to 2016, we propose a structural framework explaining the role of managerial, individual, and contextual variables that affect the social media value chain. We find that social media has a controversial effect on businesses’ objectives depending on the context of studies. We also find that social media’s objectives could be classified into …

The Effect Of Superstitions On Consumer Luck, Horoscope And Evil Eye-Oriented Purchasing Behavior: A Study In Turkey, Ibrahim Avci, Salih Yildiz

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Superstitions have taken an important place in people's lives since the past. Despite the increase in the educational level of people, superstitions still exist. Superstitions, which have been researched especially by studies in the field of psychology, have not been adequately studied in the field of marketing. However, it is known that superstitions have an effect on the behavior of consumers. In this context, the aim of the research is to determine the effect of the superstitions of consumers on their chance-oriented, horoscope-oriented and evil-eye-oriented purchasing behaviors. Data were collected through an online questionnaire due to the pandemic. The survey …

Brand New Leisure Constraint: Covid-19, Guliz Coskun

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The recent pandemic caused serious losses in the leisure industry worldwide. The recreation facilities and event management companies have suffered the negative economic impact of the pandemic, and some of them even went bankrupt. Due to facility closures and lockdowns people have no choice to spend their leisure time at home and engage in home-based leisure activities. The leisure time activity participation was already low among Turkish people before the pandemic. The fear of getting infected with COVID-19 led people to stay at home even during the summer times when the lockdown was paused. Families have to spend more time …

The Impact Of Tiktok’S Plastic Surgery Content On Adolescents’ Self-Perception And Purchase Intention, Markus Rach

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This paper analyzed the impact of plastic surgery related content generated by patients and by medical professionals on the self-perception and purchase intent of TikTok users. Doing so, this research project focused primarily on the short video platform TikTok, which displayed over 6 billion relevant content views, as well as a high demographic user-relevance to the main recipient of plastic surgery, females. Building upon an extensive literature review, insights and concepts from beauty, self-perception and influencer marketing research were conceptually related to frame the conceptual model for this project. Relevant user data was gathered by means of an online survey …