Matching Items (8)
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- All Subjects: Recreation and Tourism
- Creators: Lee, Woojin
- Creators: Andereck, Kathleen
- Status: Published
Description
In order to be competitive in the hotel market, more and more hotels have proposed various types of "wow" services to inform customers' impressions of the hotel in a positive way. Many customers consider these services excellent, and they often exceed their expectations. However, some "wow" services only generate the effect of amazement instead of meeting customers' needs and wants. Applying the notion of the Zone of Tolerance (ZOT: the range between customers' desired and adequate levels of service expectations) to the unique services provided by the Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi Spa in Taiwan, this research study explores hotel customers' service expectations and perceived service quality while revealing the relationship between service quality, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions. The findings indicate that the ZOT indeed exists in customers' service expectations through the significant difference between the desired and adequate levels of expectations. In addition, findings indicate that customers have diverse tolerance zones toward different hotel services regarding the perceived level of essentialness. Ultimately, the findings specify that customers' perceived service quality has a direct effect on both customer satisfaction and future behavioral intentions.
ContributorsChiu, Chien-Fen (Author) / Lee, Woojin (Thesis advisor) / Larsen, Dale (Committee member) / Tyrrell, Timothy (Committee member) / Kim, Yushim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Numerous studies have examined the attachments individuals have to the places they visit, and that those attachments are formed through experiencing a place in person. This study is unique in that it examines pre-trip place attachment formation via the use of mobile technology and social media. It proposes that media experienced through the use of a participant's smartphone can foster the development of positive emotions, which in turn, facilitates greater mental imagery processing that ultimately influences pre-trip place attachment formation. An experimental design was constructed to examine how text and video on a destination's Facebook page influences an individual's emotions, mental imagery, and subsequently attachment to that destination. Specifically, a 2 (narrative text vs. descriptive text) x 2 (short, fast-paced video vs. long, slow-paced video) between-subjects design was used. A total of 343 usable participant responses were included in the analysis. The data was then analyzed through a two-step process using structural equation modeling. Results revealed no significant influence of textual or video media on emotions although the choice in text has a greater influence on emotions than choice in video. Additionally, emotions had a significant impact on mental imagery. Finally, mental imagery processing had a significant impact on only the social bonding dimension of place attachment. In conclusion, while media had no significant impact on emotions, the effect of previous traveler's retelling of personal accounts on the emotions of potential travelers researching a destination should be examined more closely. Further, the study participants had no prior experience with the destination, yet emotions influenced mental imagery, which also influenced social bonding. Thus further research should be conducted to better understand how potential traveler's image of a destination can be affected by the stories or others.
ContributorsPlunkett, Daniel (Author) / Budruk, Megha (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Woojin (Thesis advisor) / Wetmore, Jameson (Committee member) / Wise, Greg (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Commitment to an activity is widely studied in leisure research. Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) describes characteristics a committed activity participant possesses. The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) describes the psychological process a person goes through to become committed to a leisure activity. Awareness, attraction, attachment and loyalty make of the four stages of PCM. Both perspectives have been used to describe committed leisure activity participants and commitment to organized recreational events. Research on leisure activity has yet to determine how the individual becomes loyal. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the process in which recreation activity participates becomes loyal and to identify who can be labels as serious within the PCM Framework. Data was obtained from an online electronic survey distributed to participants of four U.S. marathon and half marathon events. A total of 579 responses were used in the final analysis. Path analysis determined the process in which a runner becomes committed. MANOVA is used to determine difference between leisure groups in the four stages of PCM. Results indicate that activity participants need to go through all four stages of PCM before becoming loyal. As knowledge increases, individuals are more motivated to participate. When the activity satisfies motives and becomes a reflection of their identity, feelings become stronger which results in loyalty. Socialization is instrumental to the progression through the PCM Framework. Additionally, attachment is the "bottleneck" in which all loyal activity participants my pass through. Differences exist between serious leisure groups in the attachment and loyalty stages. Those that are `less serious' are not as committed to the activity as their counterparts.
ContributorsMurphey, Elizabeth M (Author) / Lee, Woojin (Thesis advisor) / Hultsman, Wendy (Thesis advisor) / Larsen, Dale (Committee member) / Chisum, Jack (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
In this study the impact of outside the classroom activities and experiences of study abroad participants on cultural attitude change and perceived cultural competence was investigated. Motives to participate, expectations and outcomes of study abroad programs were also explored. The study used a mixed methods approach and was conducted in three parts including an exploratory sequential component followed by a concurrent embedded component. The exploratory sequential component included a photo elicitation project, the results of which contributed both to the results of the study and the development of the questionnaire used in the concurrent embedded component. The concurrent embedded component used a pre and post-test survey design and included a qualitative writing exercise with select participants between the completion of their pre and post-test questionnaires. The results suggest that study abroad participation does result in changes in both participants' cultural attitudes and cultural competency. It was hypothesized that length of time abroad and the cultural distance of the host country would have an influence on the change in cultural attitudes and cultural competency. As found in previous research, length of time abroad was not found to be a major contributing factor to this change when considering the results of the pre and post-test survey. However, the results of the qualitative studies resulted in many questions about the impact of length abroad. Participants in longer-term programs discussed changes in their cultural attitudes in a more complex way than short-term participants. Longer-term participants expressed changes in their cultural competency differently as well, though not in a way that it can be conclusively said they were more culturally competent. The reverse was the case for cultural distance. Cultural distance was a factor in the changes in cultural competency, however not in cultural attitudes when considering the results of the quantitative component. The qualitative results seem to bring up more questions. While shorter-term participants discussed cultural competency differently than longer-term participants, surprisingly the short-term programs had a higher percentage of participants studying in countries with large cultural distance than did long-term programs.
ContributorsPachmayer, Ara (Author) / Andereck, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Nyaupane, Gyan (Committee member) / Timothy, Dallen (Committee member) / Davey, Lynn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Because of its ability to harbor social values, norms, and beliefs, heritage has always been utilized as an ideological vehicle. One prominent example of politicizing heritage is Chinese red tourism, comprised of state-promoted tours to revolutionary memorial sites. It is expected to generate political, economic, and social benefits, particularly to reinforce the legitimate leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Statistics show that dramatic market growth in red tourism has occurred over the past decade. Yet it is still heavily driven by the government and thus whether long-term sustainability can be achieved is still questionable.
This dissertation explores the dynamics of red tourism from the perspective of a meaning-making process, where tourism discourses circulate among the processes of production, transmission, and consumption. The results reveal that higher-level government primarily assumes the leading role, whereas local government is largely excluded from strategy making processes and primarily responsible for implementation and operation. Some dissonance exists between higher and lower-level governments in their goals and involvement in red tourism development. Second, intermediaries are not altruistic and attempt to maximize their own benefits. While site interpreters may provide officially authorized narratives, their primary focus is hosting higher-up administrative visitors. On the contrary, tour guides are more customer-oriented, which may lead to officially undesirable interpretations. Third, driven by multiple motives, tourists have increasingly diverse attitudes towards red heritage and participate in various political and non-political activities. A considerable degree of congruence was found between tourists' participation, motivation, memories, and perception. Quantitative results indicate that the majority of tourists have learned about the political significance and/or content of red heritage, and developed more positive attitudes towards, and support for, the CCP and the government, to a certain extent.
This dissertation contributes to current research by adopting a systematic and emic perspective to explore the dynamics of red tourism. Several conceptual frameworks were developed inductively to describe the meaning-making process. Mixed methods were used to learn about tourists' consumption and perceptions of red heritage. Implications regarding enhancing the effectiveness of the meaning-making process, limitations of the study, and potential directions for future research are also discussed.
This dissertation explores the dynamics of red tourism from the perspective of a meaning-making process, where tourism discourses circulate among the processes of production, transmission, and consumption. The results reveal that higher-level government primarily assumes the leading role, whereas local government is largely excluded from strategy making processes and primarily responsible for implementation and operation. Some dissonance exists between higher and lower-level governments in their goals and involvement in red tourism development. Second, intermediaries are not altruistic and attempt to maximize their own benefits. While site interpreters may provide officially authorized narratives, their primary focus is hosting higher-up administrative visitors. On the contrary, tour guides are more customer-oriented, which may lead to officially undesirable interpretations. Third, driven by multiple motives, tourists have increasingly diverse attitudes towards red heritage and participate in various political and non-political activities. A considerable degree of congruence was found between tourists' participation, motivation, memories, and perception. Quantitative results indicate that the majority of tourists have learned about the political significance and/or content of red heritage, and developed more positive attitudes towards, and support for, the CCP and the government, to a certain extent.
This dissertation contributes to current research by adopting a systematic and emic perspective to explore the dynamics of red tourism. Several conceptual frameworks were developed inductively to describe the meaning-making process. Mixed methods were used to learn about tourists' consumption and perceptions of red heritage. Implications regarding enhancing the effectiveness of the meaning-making process, limitations of the study, and potential directions for future research are also discussed.
ContributorsZhao, Shengnan (Author) / Timothy, Dallen J. (Thesis advisor) / Chhabra, Deepak (Committee member) / Lee, Woojin (Committee member) / Nyaupane, Gyan (Committee member) / Li, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Incentive travel continues to grow as a form of motivation in the work place. However, there is little research that has examined future potential incentive travelers' wants and needs from an incentive travel trip. The purpose of this study was to understand how and in what way various potential incentive travelers' beliefs, including attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and motivation, influence their future inclusion of a significant other on an incentive travel trip using a modified theory of planned behavior. Moreover, the potential moderating effect of past inclusion of a significant other experience was examined as well. The study collected 129 usable responses from potential incentive travelers from companies based in Iowa and Arizona. The research for this project was conducted through online questionnaires that included quantitative and qualitative questions. The study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA), Pearson's correlation and multiple regression to test study hypotheses. The results of the multiple regression indicated three constructs, attitudes, subjective norm and motivation appeared to be statistically significant, while perceived behavioral control was not statistically significant in predicting potential incentive travelers' intended inclusion of a significant other. Perceived behavioral control was not significant because the control of including a significant other is dependent on the participant's employer. Pearson's correlation found a moderating effect of past inclusion of a significant other on subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. In conclusion, the results validated the theory of planned behavior in the context of incentive travelers' inclusion of a significant other.
ContributorsDorweiler, Annie (Author) / Timothy, Dallen (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Woojin (Committee member) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this quantitative study is to test the validity of a behavioral theory, value-belief-norm theory (Stern, 2000), in the context of environmental hotel management. The lack of theoretical consideration in previous studies on environmental attitudes of hotel/resort managers warrants an investigation of a theory with the potential to better explain behaviors that support the goals of environment management systems. The goal of this research was to document the values, beliefs, personal norms, and environmental management support behaviors of managers in a hospitality setting. Data were collected from a sample of hotel and resort managers in the Phoenix metropolitan area by using a survey of well-documented items from previous research on the theory. Results suggest the value-belief-norm theory is successful in explaining environmental management support behaviors. Implications for practitioners as well as researchers are discussed.
ContributorsRubin, Simon (Simon David) (Author) / White, Dave D (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Woojin (Committee member) / Basile, George (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Crowding and satisfaction remain widely studied concepts among those seeking to understand quality visitor experiences. One area of interest in this study is how the order of crowding and satisfaction items on a survey affects their measurement levels. An additional area of interest is the influence of personality traits on experience-use-history, crowding, and satisfaction. This study used two versions of a survey: A) crowding measured prior to satisfaction and B) satisfaction measured prior to crowding, to explore the influence of item order on crowding and satisfaction levels. Additionally, the study explored the influence of personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) and experience use history (EUH) on crowding and satisfaction. EUH was included as a variable of interest given previous empirical evidence of its influence on crowding and satisfaction. Data were obtained from an onsite self-administered questionnaire distributed to day use visitors at a 16,000 acre desert landscape municipal park in Arizona. A total of 619 completed questionnaires (equally distributed between the two survey versions) were obtained. The resulting response rate was 80%. One-way ANOVA's indicated significant differences in crowding and satisfaction levels with both crowding and satisfaction levels being higher for survey version B. Path analysis was used to test the influence of personality traits and EUH on crowding and satisfaction. Two models, one for each version of the survey were developed using AMOS 5. The first model was tested using data in which crowding was measured prior to satisfaction. The second model relied on data in which satisfaction was measured prior to crowding. Results indicated that personality traits influenced crowding and satisfaction. Specifically, in the first model, significant relationships were observed between neuroticism and crowding, neuroticism and EUH, EUH and crowding, and between crowding and satisfaction. In the second model, significant relationships were observed between extraversion and crowding, extraversion and satisfaction, and between EUH and satisfaction. Findings suggest crowding and satisfaction item order have a potential to influence their measurement. Additionally, results indicate that personality traits potentially influence visitor experience evaluation. Implications of these findings are discussed.
ContributorsHolloway, Andrew (Author) / Budruk, Megha (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Woojin (Committee member) / Foti, Pamela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011