Abstracts for Session 24

Marketing and Service Management in Precarious Times

 

 

Title: The image of Telemark among Norwegians 2020

Authors: Ingeborg Nordbø and Reidar Mykletun

Affiliation: University of Southeastern Norway

 

Branding in tourist destinations context is a subject of inquiry due to how it might affect consumer (tourist) behaviour.  Destinations effectively compete with each other for a place in the consideration of potential visitors, and to create a strong brand name is a significant factor in destination marketing (Tasci and Kozak 2006; Morgan and Pritchard 2000). DMOs are thus increasingly engaging in branding activities in an attempt to differentiate themselves from competing destinations (Pike 2010). In remote and peripheral areas the uniqueness of the brand becomes an issue of greater significance than for more central destinations, as visitors must allocate additional time and finances to travel greater distances vis à vis competing and more nearby destinations. In this paper we present the results of a study of Norwegians’ image and associations with “Telemark”, a region in the Southeast part of Norway. The study maps the respondents’ general knowledge and associations with “Telemark”, and more specifically which tourist attractions, activities and events they know. The study also maps the knowledge related to whether the respondents have visited the region, and according to a number of demographic variables. The survey was conducted in September/October 2020, and a total of 1071 persons (respondents) over the age of 15 responded to the survey. Statistically, the sample is representative of the Norwegian population, and gives an interesting glimpse into national tourism in the times of Covid-19.

 

 

Title: Service Quality in hostels: methods and dimensions

Authors: Árný Björk Björnsdóttir and Magnús Haukur Ásgeirsson 

Affiliation: University of Iceland

 

The paper examines methods and service dimensions used to measure service quality in hostels. The aim of the study is to map the discussion on the subject and identify service dimensions used, as groundwork for further ongoing research on service quality (SQ) in hostels in Iceland.

Findings are based on review of scholarly articles through the search engine www.leitir.is, which consists of databanks like ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, and more. Using key words that relate to service quality, hostel and backpackers, the search yielded a total of 96 articles that were reviewed to identify their focus points. Articles that did not have SQ as their main entry or only briefly discussed the phenomena were excluded giving a total of 13 articles that were read thoroughly and form the basis of the results that will be discussed. 

The main results are that there are six dimensions that underpin SQ measuring in hostels, which are: social atmosphere, location, staff, hygiene, safety, and facilities. One dimension seems to stand out in terms of importance is the social atmosphere and it has a great impact on the overall quality of service. Along with the social atmosphere, the staff of the hostel is very important when it comes to positivity towards recommendations and the likelihood that a tourist will visit the same hostel. In terms of methodology, five articles used quantitative methods as questioners to guests, two articles used qualitative methods to identify important attributes and dimensions, and six both qualitative and quantitative, mixture of interviews, focus groups and questioners to follow. 

 

  

Title: Looking at Ice Cave Tourism through the lenses of the Experience Economy & the Tourist Experience scale: The case of Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland 

Authors: Nejra Mesetovic,  Brynjar Thor Thorsteinsson, and Einar Svansson

Affiliation: Bifrost University

 

The study explores ice cave experiences in Iceland and focuses on tourism-related concepts, service theory, and experience economy presented by Pine and Gilmore (1999) which is the theoretical base of the research format. The experience economy explains how products are offered and consumed through experience. Pine & Gilmore (1999) classify the experience into four dimensions: education, entertainment, esthetic and escapist dimension. Oh, Fiore and Jeoung (2007) transformed the ideology of Pine and Gilmore into a measurable model called the tourist experience scale, which can be used to explore the relationship between certain variables.

The aim of the study is twofold, on the one hand to use the four dimensions to examine the experience of tourists in ice cave tours and whether there is a connection between the dimensions and satisfaction. And on the other hand, to investigate whether visitors would recommend the company. The researchers worked with four local glacier companies that helped by sending a questionnaire to tourists who went on an ice cave tour in Breiðamerkurjökull during the period November 2019 to April 2020. 

The results showed that not all four experience dimensions have an effect on satisfaction. Education and esthetics have a positive effect on customer satisfaction in ice cave tours. There was also a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and NPS scores indicating that satisfied customers are likely to recommend the company. There was no relationship between the four dimensions and the NPS score. These results enable us to draw conclusions about the importance of the customer experience and which dimensions should be emphasized. The research findings are based on a limited response percentage, so it is not conclusive and needs further study in similar situations or with repeated data collection from more ice cave visitors.

 

 

Title: Experience and Image 

Authors: Thorhallur Gudlaugsson

Affiliation: University of Iceland

 

Destination image is a focal point in traveler’s decision-making process, as it influences both his pre and post evaluations. Previous research has demonstrated that a firsthand experience has a great effect on the destination image modification, as it leads to more holistic, accurate and realistic image. This paper aims to explore whether individuals have different image perception of Iceland, depending on whether they have visited the country before. Two hypotheses are tested, which deal with which countries are thought to resemble Iceland and which image attributes come to mind when thinking of Iceland, depending on whether Iceland had been visited before.

The findings are based on a dataset containing 20.806 answers from individuals in 110 countries. The research was quantitative, but with some open-ended questions, where participants were given the opportunity to mention whatever came to mind when connecting Iceland to another similar country and which image attributes they thought would resemble Iceland the most. 

The paper concludes that individuals tend to connect Iceland to similar countries and attributes, but those who have their own experience in Iceland tend to have a more holistic image of the country than those who have not visited before.

 

Keywords: Image, Destination branding, Experience

 

 

Title: Transferring knowledge: Reviewing service orientation literature in tourism

Author: Magnus Asgeirsson

Affiliation: University of Iceland

 

This paper aims to identify how knowledge related to service orientation (SO) is transferred from service- and marketing related theory into tourism research. Knowledge transfer between research fields is often slow and faltering, especially regarding interdisciplinary fields like tourism and hospitality. It is common that in-depth knowledge or foundation upon which concepts or methods are grounded is lacking when applied to a new field of study, at the risk that the use and discussion, of methods and concepts, will be superficial and uncritical. 

Although it is considered an axiom that vigorous orientation towards service leads to better organizational performances, there is a vast difference in definitions of the phenomena and understanding antecedents and consequences. Researchers in field of service marketing- and management argue that SO is an interfunctional, philosophical approach to service, and value creation throughout the organization. However, in hospitality and tourism research SO has been divided into three major categories, namely: organizational culture, market strategy, or and most commonly as employee hospitableness.

Findings are based on in-depth analyses of 44 academic articles obtained with keywords related to SO in hospitality and tourism, through the search engine www.leitir.is, which consists of databanks like ProQuest, Web of Science, Scopus, JSTOR, and more. The main findings are that the research format of SO in the field is limited to a quantitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire, and the results thereof are presented in a functional and causal manner. Little focus is given to a holistic approach to SO, and seemingly almost all articles directly utilize key concepts without critical discussion of their premises and implications.