Brand loyalty is extremely significant when sports are involved. Sports fans complete many activities to help their clubs. A growing approach that sports marketers use is the determination of how sports fans are loyal. This loyalty is used to create exceptionally strong principles about their team; hence this builds a resilient brand image. This image is key, as it not only represents the brand but also the team. H. Bauer, H. (2008). ‘Loyal sports consumers are people who will remain with the team over an extended period. The behavioral consistency or repeat patronage that characterizes loyalty is a significant financial goal for many organizations, and yet true loyalty needs to be considered as more than simply the inertia of engaging in team-related behaviors.” Kaynak, E. (2007). What are the different types of fans and how do they help their sports teams? What different types of activities can fans complete to help their club? Our group created our model that will answer our question and this research will also explain how the model works. Hunt, K., Bristol, T. and Bashaw, E. (1999). (See Figure 1) This research paper will detail what activities brand-loyal sports fans complete to support their teams.
Why are sports fans loyal to their supported team?
Fan loyalty is separated into two different proportions: behavioral and attitudinal. There are various behavioral types of loyalty that a fan can complete. These types include buying tickets for sporting events, viewing sports on television, word-of-mouth discussions about sports, and obtaining different types of sports products, e.g. training jackets. The attitudinal type is when a fan is committed to a certain sports team or player. This specific type focuses on personal choice and resistance to changing the individual’s favorite team. These two complex proportions differentiate the commitment of a fan; however, these two proportions are similar as they have a lot in common. The similarities are the commitment of the fans – these include resistance, struggle, and cognitive intricacy. This proves the loyal bond a fan has to a certain sports team and the total engagement the fan provides to its team. D. James, J. (1997).
Loyalty is one of the most studied variables in marketing, as it is a concept of how customers stay loyal to one brand. Customer commitment is common to drive the loyal thoughts fans feel towards their favorite sports team. Without a commitment from a customer, businesses have minimized the chance of a repetitive purchase, e.g. When a sports fan is purchasing a team’s new season t-shirt each year when it is introduced. Customer commitment to a sports team is common to have an important and optimistic influence on customer loyalty’s actions and insights. Customers have mutual values with sports fans, as both are consuming products produced by a manufacturer, e.g. When a fan buys a ticket for a sporting event to support his acquired football team. A. Martin, C. (2013).
Most fans enjoy being involved with their sports teams. Involvement extends to emotional attachment to the sport. Emotional attachment means the sports team plays a significant part of their life and is key to their lifestyle. In sports terms, the involvement of a fan insinuates the value of importance a fan gives to the sport. This indicates the level of the fans’ beliefs that sport has to them and the relevance it plays in their own lives. Sports fans also keep updated with their teams through media, e.g. news, scores, and analysis of their team. Stevens, S. (2012).
Team loyalty is when a fan is completely dedicated to a certain team and has full allegiance to the team constructed on the spectator’s attentiveness to the team over some time. Fan loyalty is the high commitment that a sports fan has to the team. Commitment isn’t the only thing that is associated with fan loyalty, although additionally it is associated with intimacy, mutuality, interaction, and trust. For example, soccer fans are the most loyal fans in the sporting world and they maintain a deep relationship with their desired clubs. The loyalty of fans can be seen through emotions. These emotions are implemented by the performances of their team; whether they are winning or losing. Within a sporting event, the two teams’ aim is impartial as their agenda is the same. The emotional status of fans can be seen in media sources such as newspapers and Television. The emotions of fans are seen in images, e.g. When Leicester FC won the premier league in 2016; fans took to the streets with flags to celebrate. (See Figure 2) Koenigstorfer, J. (2010).
Sports fans are great spectators as they influence a team’s success. If there is a higher number of sports fans at a certain team’s event, it can entice companies to sponsor the team. However, if a fan base is minor it is going to find it difficult to attract many large corporation sponsorship deals. Fans create a club to become superior, if there is a large fan base; it therefore reinforces that sports fans have an emotional loyal obligation towards a team. Many fans attend sports events to gain knowledge about that particular sport and improve their physical fitness by watching these events to motivate them in their own lives. The fan loyalty of a sports fan is crucial to reaching a worldwide audience. These unique fans are fully committed to their team and it is ‘arguably unparalleled in other business or leisure sectors”. In the business world, brand loyalty is on the decline between customers and the brand. However, within the sports world, fans have shown various amounts of loyalty, this loyalty is also apparent when the team is also performing poorly. Samra, B. (2014).
Our Model
Our team chose this solution as we could give comprehensive answers; therefore this is why we came up with our model for our question, “To reveal the types of activities brand loyal sports fans perform to support their teams.” The model we created classifies certain types of sports fans and explains what activities they do to help their supported team. The following model will explain the different types of sports fans, but also what activities they complete.
“To reveal the types of activities brand loyal sports fans perform to support their teams.” (See figure 1)
Classifying sports fan types
Different types of fans
Type of Activity
What are the different types of fans?
There are different classifications of sports fans which can also be entitled if fragmented down as “serious” and “normal” sports fans. However, these five fans are classified as Temporary fans, local fans, devoted fans, fanatical fans, and dysfunctional fans. A. Hunt, K. (1999).
Temporary fan
A temporary fan is an individual who believes in wearing objects that identify with the sports team. This certain type of fan’s attention in the team is time inhibited. After this certain period has finished, the fan is not a fan and has lost interest in the team. The fan is only a passing fan for this period, and they may choose a different sport to be interested in rather than another team in the same sport. The time boundary can range from hours to years and after this time is over, the ‘temporary fan’ is no longer interested in the sports team.
Local fan
A local fan is completely different from a temporary fan, they are not restricted to periods but they are bordered by geographic limitations. Within this geographic area, the fan is regarded as ‘local’. This is when the fan supports its closest local team. The ‘local’ fan can become similar to a ‘temporary’ fan, however, this fan is still under a restriction, for example: If the ‘local’ fan decides to move location, their loyal devotion to the team may change due to the length of travel time it takes to get to their previously supported team. The local fans’ motivation is mostly decided by geographic locality, nevertheless, if the fans are completely loyal to the team they will still support them.
Devoted fan
Another type of fan is a ‘devoted fan’. A devoted fan can begin their support either as a temporary or local fan. There are no restrictions that occur to a devoted fan, they are completely motivated by the sports team. The motivation of the fans towards the team is increased even more rather than the other fans, as they are defeating the restrictions of time and locality. However, the devoted fan is completely loyal to their supported team and is committed to this team. Even if there are humiliating demotions or promotions for their team, devoted fans thrive on of the intensity of their feelings. This certain type of fan identifies themselves as a ‘loyal’ supporter and wants people to identify them as a key team supporter.
Fanatical fan
The ‘fanatical fan’ is engaged in producing ‘fan-like’ behavior, they are very comparable to a devoted fan. This particular fan is not restricted to periods or distance, they are more inclined to the sports team than a devoted fan. However, both of these fans may possess similar characteristics to a devoted fan, and therefore they appear the same on paper. This fan puts their sports team on the same level as family, work, and religion. The individual believes that they are more than a fan and part of the club as a whole. For example, in American football, fanatical fans of the New York Jets painted their whole body and face in the team’s colors to show their dedication. (See Figure 3)
Dysfunctional fan
The final type of fan is a ‘dysfunctional fan’. This type of fan utilizes the sports team for self-identification as it identifies themselves as an association of the sports team. This ‘dysfunctional fan’ is different from a ‘fanatical fan’ as a dysfunctional fan is seen as a primary form of self-identification rather than an important part of self-identification. Both of these fans display ‘fan-like’ behavior, but dysfunctional fans are more inclined to take part in anti-social behavior, e.g. British soccer fans are known for fan violence and this is known as ‘hooliganism’. They believe that they are fighting for their team against other team supporters. (See Figure 4)
Activities that sports fans complete for their teams
The supported club never questions a sports fan’s loyalty. It is unusual for a fan to have a problem with the sports club that they are dedicated to. However, within the world of football, there has always been a problem with a club and its fans; either it is financial difficulties or the team isn’t performing to a high standard. Fans can own football clubs and these clubs are usually less likely to have financial struggles. Supporters are less profit-driven and focus on the long-term achievements of the club, for example: one of the biggest football clubs in the world, which is owned by fans, is Barcelona FC and it is one of the highly successful clubs. O’Shaughnessy, J. (2019).
Football fans feel indebted to support their teams financially. If the team is struggling financially, it will not be able to pay its professional players and sign new players. Therefore, this demotivates the players and in turn, lowers the playing performance of the team. The club cannot purchase new players due to financial difficulties; a fan can purchase merchandise and tickets which will therefore help the club gain profit and sales revenue. Attachment has been identified as a major determinant of relationships between fans and professional sports clubs, for example: Bury FC fans cleaned 11,640 seats at Gigg Lane Ground to help their club and to urge the selling of the club. (See Figure 5) Sports fans in general play a major part in how a club is run and influence how the team performs by showing their willingness to help the team’s success. de Ruyter, K. (2000).
Another example of football fans helping their club is ‘Real Oviedo’ which is also located in Spain. The club was struggling financially and bankruptcy was only a matter of time. However, a fan’s loyalty is important for a club to survive. The fans raised funds for the club and they are now halfway to reaching their target. Social media played a key role for fans to express their heartfelt love for the club by trying to fundraise online too. This proves that a sports fans club means a significant amount of affection towards them in their lives. Wilson, J. (2012).
Conclusion
This research paper has assisted in determining the types of activities brand-loyal sports fans perform to support their teams. The general view is to what different types of fans there are and what activities do they perform to show their loyalty to their chosen sports team. As the research paper was carried out, there was an exploration of what fans existed and how they helped their teams. In this paper, I talked about how loyalty with fans was shown through the activities that they perform for their sports teams. “Individuals characterized as loyal fans are thought to demonstrate particular behaviors: talking and reading about sports, watching sports, and purchasing sport-related products. While an individual may demonstrate fan behaviors, an accurate assessment of fan loyalty should consider an individual’s behavior and commitment to a sport, team, or player. Commitment is thought to be characterized by cognitive complexity, volition, and resistance to change.” D. James, J. (1997). Sports clubs have recognized the affection that fans show for their team by offering supporter clubs in certain areas, e.g. In Northern Ireland, there is a Downpatrick Manchester United Supporters Club, which allows fans to get priority access to tickets if they are a member. (See figure 6) The types of activities loyal fans perform can include helping the team financially to volunteering at sporting events. Sports fans are unique due to their strong commitment to a certain team, if the team needs support, the fan will certainly assist. These points within my research paper have indicated the wide knowledge and understanding of the different types of activities brand-loyal sports fans perform to support their teams.
Recommendations
Sports clubs have to demonstrate further acknowledgment of their fan base and make sure that they are comfortable enough to stay loyal to the team, e.g. Christmas letters to members of the club to show recognition that they are important to them.
Brand managers of the sports team should concentrate on directing products toward temporary, devoted, and fanatical fans. However, the sports team can only find out what type of fans they have through primary market research, e.g. Asking fans to fill out a questionnaire before a sporting event.
Fans should try and help their teams in more ways, for example: After a sporting event, fans could help clean and pick up rubbish. This happened in Japan, as Japanese international football fans helped clear rubbish from the ground. (See Figure 6)
To investigate the reason behind the impact of internal branding on customer-based brand equity. Moreover, organizational loyalty mediates the relationship between internal branding and customer-based brand equity. Furthermore, relationships also have a mediating impact on organizational loyalty. Researchers suggested the use of entirely different theories like the balance theory (Heifer, 2013). The balance theory explains that individuals attempt to recall orderliness within the trios of similar arguments i.e. company workers & customers (Heider, 2013).
According to Hatch & Schultz (2008), a branding program relies on various visions, values and cultures that help build a strong organization. Furthermore, Ind(2007,p.123) suggests the practice of “Internal Marketing of External Campaigns” That can be an effective tool for organizations. But unluckily, organizations are usually stuck between internal brand values and external brand messages. Delivering is thought to be the hardest part of marketing. The million-dollar investment is made by the companies in marketing, but little investment is made in the employees who are responsible for transforming the brand messages into the real customer world.
Active Internal branding involves workers creating conscious aware choices to ponder on remodeling the whole commitment into reality once cooperating with the customers (Baker et. al,2014; Morhart et al., 2009) consistent with the attention-based views. The staff involved in decision-making the internal branding staff brand building behavior depicts the employees’ role as decision-makers who choose to provision the organizations’ brand-building efforts. (Miles & Bect,2004; Morhart et.al., 2009).
Employees must be engaged to encourage the brand. Therefore, the messages sent to staff conveying the brand are even as vital as the ones sent to customers.
This interprets that organizations ought to be balanced not solely on brand activities that focus on the external stakeholders (customers) but internal branding activities to make sure the worker behaviors are in step with external branding efforts otherwise the investment efforts may lead to futility and ineffectiveness.(Punjaisiri and Wilson,2017)
Employees and customers are the prime stakeholders of an organization. Employees have a direct influence on customers and provide products and services to customers. Biedenbach, Bengtsson, and Wincent(2011) concisely this impact on a customer-employee relationship in their study. They further claimed that employee behavior, work quality, and interactions with customers impact the relationship between customers and an organization, both positively and negatively (Maria Stock et al., 2017). While employee and customer relationships have been deliberate by some scholars (Poon et al., 2017), who found various associates such as skilled, committed, satisfied, and loyal employees interact positively with customers, which may lead to CBBE.
Other than employees, some other prominent factors lead to this complex investigation.
The factor ‘Loyalty’ to an organization ensures to be an exciting topic for the researchers (Lim, 2016; Bahri-Ammari et al, 2016). Loyalty is a key to a successful relationship, not only from the employees’ point of view but also from the customers’ view. Company management tries to make strategies for the retention of employees in the long term, while employees hold customers by providing the best quality services. Echchakoui (2015) explained that employee loyalty concluded equity occurs when an employee shows loyalty to a company, which grows the output of all efforts, e.g., training, role clarity, briefing, etc., which have been employed by an organization on its employees. According to the theory of emotional contagion, emotions are linked to humans; accordingly, employee loyalty is transferred to customers as well (Maria Stock et al., 2017).
Factually, organization loyalty refers to dedication. In this respect, organizational studies (e.g. Vallaster and Lindgreen, 2013) have recognized that customer satisfaction and equity are broadly influenced by service providers’ employees. In an organization the employees are not only viewing trustworthiness with that particular organization, they are also revealing a positive image in consumer mind by keeping a long-lasting stay in the organization (Kang and Kang, 2016). The research society is ambiguous about the role that organization loyalty plays either in building or breaking the relationship between an organization and its customers.
A loyal employee remains an effective employee, as Clark discussed that loyalty is the main component of an idealistic organizational culture. When an organizations focus on aligning human resources with brand promises through internal branding, this leads to employee loyalty to brands (Du Preez et al., 2017). As a mediating influence of Organizational Loyalty, traditionally, organizational loyalty is surrounded by the concept of devotion. In this perspective, organizational study (e.g. Vallaster and Lindgreen, 2013) has recognized that customer satisfaction and equity are widely influenced by service providers’ employees. In an organization or institute, the employees are not only showing trustworthiness with that particular organization, but they are also portraying a positive image in consumer minds by keeping a long-term stay in the organization (Kang and Kang, 2016).
Intention to stay has been identified as one of the strongest predictors of employee retention. Employers have to deliberate the risk of losing their well-trained employees, who might leave for better scenarios elsewhere. Replacement of those employees who quit is another concern that involves not only the expenses of recruitment and new hire training, but also the time essential for the new joiners to establish themselves in their territories, develop trust, and make acceptable revenue streams (Sunder et al., 2017). To deal with this issue, organizations may need to adopt proactive strategies to hold skilled employees.
This paper delves into the effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes on customer patronage based on a benefit versus affordability approach. It attempts to determine whether airline loyalty programmes continue to be an effective marketing tool for legacy carriers in the face of changes in the current airline industry due to the creation of budget carriers.
Problem Statement
At present, there are two types of carriers within the aviation industry that act as the primary method of air transportation. The first are legacy carriers which are composed of some of the oldest carriers within the industry that have come about through mergers, acquisitions and a variety of other similar practices. Examples of this type of airline consist of British Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa and other similar carriers that can be seen in the UK.
On the other end of the spectrum, budget carriers are defined by their “no-frills”, low cost, and lean business models that focus on creating cheaper flights for their passengers. The main difference between the two is that legacy carriers offer frequent flyer benefits for their consumers while low cost/budget carriers do not. The end result is a market environment that has two aspects vying for the attention of consumers. The first is the benefits that can be obtained through the frequent flyer loyalty program of airlines while the second is the affordability that low-cost carriers offer. These two competing perspectives call into question the effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes on customer patronage based on a benefit versus affordability approach.
What is a loyalty programme?
Based on the work of Berman (2006), a loyalty program can be defined as a structured marketing effort meant to encourage loyal buying behaviour for a particular service or product. In other words, it is a marketing tool that focuses on creating consumer patronage through the implementation of a reward-based system. One example is the Starbucks loyalty card which tallies the number of drinks you have bought at the various stores of the company.
Through the purchase of a certain number of drinks, a customer can get a free drink once all the conditions have been met. As can be seen, this marketing tool focuses on encouraging repeat purchases resulting in a higher overall profit for the company despite giving one free drink to the customer (Schoenfeld, 2013). By ensuring that a customer continues to return to patronise what they are selling, the company is able to reap greater long term benefits from such a relationship (i.e. higher profits).
What are Airline Loyalty Programmes?
Loyalty programmes for various airlines come in the form of frequent flyer miles wherein, depending on the amount of time a customer flies with a particular airline per year, these “miles” become redeemable as either:
A free airline ticket.
A hotel room.
Goods or services depending on the promo at the time.
Seat upgrades from Economy to Economy + or from Business Class to First Class.
lUnder this system, the benefits increase depending on the number of miles flown with that airline which in turn encourages customers to continue flying with the company in order to gain the maximum amount of redeemable miles.
Changes in the current market environment
Despite the popularity of frequent flyer miles as a loyalty program, there have been changes to the current market environment. These changes create a certain level of doubt regarding the continued viability of airline marketing tools as an effective method of creating consumer patronage. Based on the analysis of McCartney (2012), there are three changes to the current landscape of the airline industry, which have altered the manner in which customers view airline patronage.
The first of these changes has been the creation of “no-frills”, low-cost budget airlines which have become a popular method of air travel. The lack of extra “frills” when it comes to the services offered enables budget airlines to charge far lower prices as compared to their counterparts in the industry. This makes them an attractive alternative for people looking to travel on a budget (Bhagwanani, 2013). Traditional airlines, also known as legacy carriers, also have to contend with their ageing fleets and higher fuel costs resulting in a subsequent increase in ticket prices (Lubbe, Douglas, Wieme, & Fabris-Rotelli, 2013).
Budget carriers often have newer and more fuel-efficient planes as compared to legacy carriers. This enables them to lower their ticket prices at a rate that is below that of legacy carriers. Lastly, cutbacks in the benefits gained from loyalty programmes have created fewer incentives to patronise a particular airline (Airline loyalty programmes, 2013). Do note that unlike legacy carriers, budget carriers do not have the same frequent flyer miles program. While some may consider this as detrimental towards the marketing efforts of budget carriers, the fact remains that ever since the 2008 financial crisis, consumer attitudes and behaviours regarding airline travel have changed (Brierley, 2012).
Many passengers have now started to focus on affordability rather than patronising a single airline for the miles that they could accumulate (Glusac, 2014). It is based on such information that this paper will investigate the continued effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes on customer patronage through the context of an approach that focuses on benefits versus affordability.
Hypothesis
Frequent flyer miles as a marketing tool only appeal to a niche segment within the current airline industry with a majority of passengers today preferring cheaper flights over company patronage.
Research Objectives
The objective of this marketing report is to examine the continued effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes in the face of the current trend in passenger preference that has focused on affordability over loyalty to a single airline. The primary method of the examination will be through a series of questionnaires that will be given out at a local airport. Through the questions and data that will be accumulated, the researcher will be able to determine the preferences of the various passengers at the airport (i.e. loyalty programmes versus affordability) and whether or not the benefits accrued through frequent flyer miles is sufficient to cause them to patronise one airline over the other.
The focus of the report is whether customers would choose a legacy carrier based on the rewards they can get for their patronage or if they would choose a budget carrier for the cost savings.
As such, the objectives of this marketing report will consist of the following:
Examine the current biases passengers at the airport have towards the rewards from frequent flyer miles or the cost savings accrued from budget carriers.
Determine, if within the past few years, consumers have shifted towards patronising low-cost carriers as their primary means of travel due to the inherent cost savings.
Lastly, examine if airline loyalty programmes have had any significant impact in retaining passengers for legacy carriers.
It is expected that through the objectives that have been outlined thus far, this study will be able to examine the current effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes on customer patronage.
Report Outline
The report will consist of the following parts:
Chapter 1 will contain the introduction, background of the study, the study limitations, as well as its aims and objectives.
Chapter 2 will consist of a literature review detailing airline loyalty programmes and their intended impact on consumer patronage.
Chapter 3 will consist of the methodology that will be utilised in the study as well as the means by which data will be collected.
Chapter 4 will contain the results of the study and will discuss the implications of the results.
Chapter 5 will consist of the conclusion and recommendation section of the paper.
Research Methods
Based on an examination of the needs of this marketing report, it was deemed that a qualitative based approach would be the most effective means of acquiring the necessary information. Qualitative research can be described as a type of exploratory research that tries to explain the aspects of a scenario through an in-depth method of examination. While it is applicable to numerous disciplines, it is normally applied to instances which attempt to explain human behaviour and the varying factors that influence and govern such behaviours.
When taking into consideration the fact that the main objective of this report is to examine the behaviours of airline passengers in relation to their choice of carrier based on the presence of loyalty programmes or more affordable tickets, this method of examination seems far more ideal given the parameters that have been set. Since qualitative research focuses on exploring various aspects of an issue, developing an understanding of phenomena within an appropriate context and answering questions inherent to the issue being examined, this makes it an ideal method of examination for this report.
Research Design
After evaluating the needs of the marketing reported, it was determined that a survey-based method of examination that utilises questionnaires would be the most effective method in getting the necessary data. A survey-based qualitative study works through a sampling technique wherein a small segment of the population is utilised in order for a statistical inference to be made on the population as a whole.
Using a survey enables a researcher to understand a particular population by making a statistical inference through sampling. Thus, the researcher can take a small sample size of the various passengers within the nearest local airport and use it as a means of inferring the orientation of the rest of the passenger population.
Utilizing this method, the researcher can then compare and contrast various aspects of the research results collected and come up with conclusions that are effectively backed up by quantified data. This is particularly advantageous in cases where numerous factors need to be examined and then correlated into succinct answers that can be easily understood.
Data Gathering Technique
A questionnaire technique is used when the researcher is principally interested in descriptive, explanatory or exploratory appraisal. The justification for choosing a questionnaire-based approach for this study is grounded on the fact that the participant will have the ability to respond to the researcher’s questions more directly and thus provide more information. An analysis of related literature will be used to compare the study findings with research on various strategies utilised by the airline industry.
Data Collection
Data collection for this study involves utilizing a questionnaire to gather the opinions of up to 30 respondents in order to determine whether the loyalty programmes of legacy carriers are sufficient in ensuring the loyalty of the passengers despite the presence of low-cost alternatives (i.e. budget airlines).
Participants
The research participants that will be used for this paper will consist of various individuals that will be recruited at the local international airport. Prior to the start of this research paper, the researcher will ask the permission of the airport administrators in order to conduct the study. 30 individuals will be recruited with no distinction being made regarding the type of passenger they are (i.e. business class, first-class, economy, etc.).
All participants will be given a consent form encompassing what the study entails as well as assuring them that all responses will be kept strictly confidential and will observe proper research ethics when it comes to ensuring that the data will not be leaked to the general public. Once the research subject has consented to be part of the survey, they will be given the questionnaire in order for them to fill out.
Data Analysis
The primary method of data analysis in this study involves an individual review. The individual review will primarily be the researcher examining the collected response data from the passengers that were interviewed and comparing it to the data obtained from the literature review. The researcher will then attempt to determine the main themes that arise from the investigation and use this information to assist in establishing the key findings of the study. This method of data analysis is appropriate for the qualitative design that was chosen.
Study Concerns
One potential concern that should be taken into consideration is the potential that the responses given by the study participants are in fact, inaccurate or outright false. While the researcher is giving the passengers the benefit of the doubt, the fact remains that there is still the potential that the information being given has been crafted in such a way that it was made to ensure that it is false. Unfortunately, there is no way for the researcher to verify the information since only one research subject is being interviewed at a time.
This methodology exposes the participant to an assortment of risks that need to be taken into consideration during the research process. The main risk the participants will encounter is if any of the answers that criticise or indicate dissatisfaction with carriers leaks. This may have consequences on the attitude and opinion of company officials towards them and can result in victimisation. To eliminate this risk, the responses will be kept in an anonymous location. This way, the only way to access the information will be through a procedure that involves the researcher. The project thus observes proper research ethics in sampling as well as during the data collection process.
Theoretical Framework of Study Approach
The four fundamental concepts of consumer choice must be taken into consideration when it comes to conducting this study. These consist of: rational behaviour, preferences, budget constraints and prices and are invaluable when it comes to determining what drives the decision-making process of consumers to choose a particular type of airline to patronise.
It is the assumption of this study that as income levels increase the propensity for consumers to go beyond the demographic of price and consider other factors in the decision-making process such as loyalty programmes increases as well. In order to prove this point, the four fundamental concepts of consumer choice will be utilised in order to trace consumer behaviour in this study and will attempt to explain how passengers make their decisions regarding what airline to choose.
The concept of rational behaviour assumes that all consumers are rational individuals who try to use their earned income in order to derive the greatest amount of satisfaction/ utility. In other words, consumers try to get the most out of their income through rational buying behaviour, which results in a maximisation of total utility from the products or services used.
It must be noted that while the concept of consumer preference plays an important role in the choice of a particular product or service, the fact remains that the remaining concepts of rational behaviour, budget constraint and price also play roles that can actually override the concept of preference.
While a consumer may prefer to utilise an airline that has a loyalty program, barriers to this choice in the form of higher prices that directly conflicts with a consumer’s inherent budget constraints and, as such, would change their pattern of behaviour to choose a more affordable solution in order to conform to what is rational.
Timetable
Task A will consist of the development of chapter 1 of the marketing report and will detail the background of the study, the means by which it will be undertaken and its importance. Through this section, readers will be able to understand what path they study will pursue and why the topic is relevant when it comes to present-day marketing strategies. Do note that this section is dependent on approval from the professor and is subject to topic revision.
Task B consists of the development of the literature review of the study. This task will delve into the present-day use of loyalty programmes, what strategies companies have utilised to improve on them, and whether they are successful in the long term. Furthermore, this section will examine current trends in the airline industry and will determine whether such trends are concurrent with the manner in which loyalty programmes are implemented within the industry. It can be expected that through this section, a greater level of understanding can be developed regarding the present-day application of loyalty programmes and whether or not they can continue to be effective in the future.
Task C involves the data gathering procedure that was explained in the research methods section of the paper. Basically, the researcher will go to the local airport (after getting the approval of the management division of the venue) in order to ask random passengers regarding their views on airline loyalty programmes as well as the various budget airlines that are currently present. Through this research method, the researcher should be able to get all the necessary information to create a plausible conclusion regarding the topic.
Task D consists of combining and interpreting the data. This basically involves the creation of the discussion and conclusion of the study, where the researcher will showcase whether the data collected reflects the hypothesis that was determined early on.
Proposed Budget
Based on the needs of the project, it is estimated that £50 should be enough when it comes to going to and from the airport in order to obtain the needed information.
Consent Form and Questionnaire
Effectiveness of Airline Loyalty Programmes on Customer Patronage: An Examination of Benefits versus Affordability
Dear Participant,
You are cordially invited to participate in a research study involving the examination of the effectiveness of airline loyalty programmes on consumer patronage from the standpoint of benefits versus affordability. You were selected as a participant based on your experience as a passenger over the course of the past several years as well as your patronage towards a particular airline. Prior to participating in this study, please read through this form in order to familiarise yourself with the responses expected of you. Should you have any questions or concerns, please voice them out to the researcher at any time.
Background Information
The purpose of this study is to determine whether airline loyalty programmes continue to be effective as a means of encouraging consumer patronage of a particular carrier in the current market environment.
Procedures
Should you agree to participate in this study; the following will be expected of you:
Sign the consent form indicating that you are willing to participate in this study and that you are allowing the researcher to utilise the information you give as part of the data analysis.
Give clear, concise and above all, honest answers on the questionnaire
Fill out all the segments of the questionnaire
Assurance of Anonymity
All information that will be obtained via this method of data gathering will be kept strictly confidential with all research participants being assured of the anonymity of their responses. None of the responses will be released with any indication that they were given by a particular individual. The results will be quantified into basic statistics to ensure that no personally identifiable information can be created. Information gathered from respondents of the survey will be destroyed after a period of 10 years to ensure further that no personal information will be leaked in any way.
Voluntary Nature of the Study
Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with anyone involved in the study. You may withdraw from the study at any time without any penalty, even if you initially decide to participate.
The risk from Undertaking the Study
While there are no outright risks in participating in a study of this nature, there are some long term risks that should be taken into consideration. There exists the possibility that participants in the study may face victimisation or undue criticism due to the views they present which may or may not appeal to the “image” that various airlines wish to portray themselves as. In order to prevent such problems from occurring, all the data will be sealed within a locked cabinet and will not be presented without ensuring that all possible methods of identification have been removed beforehand.
Berman, B. (2006). Developing an Effective Customer Loyalty Program. California Management Review, 49(1), 123-148. Web.
Bhagwanani, R. (2013). Customer loyalty. Airline Business, 29(1), 31. Web.
Brierley, H. (2012). Why Loyalty Programmes Alienate Great Customers. Harvard Business Review, 90(7/8), 38. Web.
Glusac, E. (2014). Frequent disappointment ahead. Entrepreneur, 42(7), 26. Web.
Lubbe, B., Douglas, A., Wieme, L., & Fabris-Rotelli, I. (2013). Frequent-Flier Programmes as a Determinant in the Selection of Preferred Airlines by Corporations. Transportation Journal Pennsylvania State University Press), 52(3), 345-364. Web.
McCartney, S. (2012). Finding the Elusive Formula for Cashing in Miles. Wall Street Journal – Eastern Edition. pp. D1-D2. Web.
Schoenfeld, B. (2013). Miles to nowhere. Entrepreneur, 41(2), 24. Web.
Airline loyalty programs have become the most important tools for customers’ satisfaction. Frequent flyer program (FFP) is the current strategy being used by airline companies to expand the industry and build consumers’ loyalty. The program has achieved its strategies on loyalty-building and the major focus now is to maximize profit. Airline frequent flier miles nowadays gather much of its earnings from frequent buyers other than frequent fliers (Holloway 2008). This is in regard to credit cards, hotel accommodations, and mortgage as well as real estates agents. The issue of extra earnings has led to the generation of excess airline miles that exceed demand. This strategy reflects both success and failure of the program. In most cases, airlines normally allocate fewer seats per flight to give space for award travel redemption, thus focusing on maximization of revenue.
Frequent flyer program
Frequent flyer program has enjoyed tremendous growth of 13.5 percent each year, which is relatively higher than that of the airline industry, which is 10 percent. The major aim of FFP is to promote loyalty other than focusing on profit only (Doganis, 2001). The program has established alliances with other sectors such as credit cards companies, finance companies, and mortgage lenders to form grocery shops. In this regard, airlines benefit by selling their miles to these mergers at 1-2 cents per mile. This is the reason why most frequent flyer miles are earned outside an airplane.
Airline revenue management’s aim is to discourage sales of vacant seats or redemption of miles strategies; in return, it has given sales revenue the first priority. The airline industry has experienced a large pool of unredeemed miles forcing most airlines to abscond the move (Holloway 2008). Nowadays, airlines allocate less than 6 percent of loyalty redemption seats compared to 9 percent in earlier periods.
Another thing that is of importance in revenue management is class mapping, which comes to effect when a codeshare agreement is reached. Due to low access of class mappings, the airline finds it hard to determine the most appropriate route for the alliance to maximize profit (Doganis 2001). However, the wrong class mapping will limit the success of codeshare, thus minimizing revenue. Optimizing fares can also help airlines to realize adequate revenue with respect to codeshare, hence regulating demand that reflects codeshare bookings, flight firming, and good code share reporting.
Better revenue depends on merging airlines and the overall brand available. In this case, if one carrier has mid-west customers and the other west coast, the combined carriers consequently have advance exposure in the entire country (Holloway 2008). In addition, when carriers obtain customers from diverse locations, more distribution channels are established. This leads to high demand and thus more revenue; it subsequently changes the revenue management image.
Conclusion
When two companies combine, the result will be the improvement of the revenue management department. Different companies may have distinct revenue management styles; however, the challenge arises while determining the best revenue management style to adopt. Though both carriers may have perfect systems, it is important to evaluate both and adopt the most appropriate one. In order to improve the revenue management sector, it is always important to find revenue management metrics that actually reflect its performance with respect to the pricing environment. Nevertheless, airline companies should choose the right supplementary selling model that would maximize total revenue.
References
Doganis, R (2001). The airline business in the twenty-first century. NY: Routledge publishers.
Holloway, S. (2008). Straight and level: practical airline economics. Minneapolis: Ashgate Publishing LLC.
Although mobile technologies have been rapidly developing over the past decades, their application in the field of airline services is a relatively new problem. Nowadays, numerous airline companies search for an efficient approach to the integration of the latest innovative products in their activity in order to improve general corporate performance and the clients’ loyalty in particular. The perspectives of mobile technologies implement are still not fully discovered. The most widely-spread application of apps today is the planning platforms. One such platform is the Emirates Group app that enables a customer to book flights, download the boarding pass, and handle the general process with the help of a mobile phone. However, little research has been carried out yet that would estimate the interconnection between the introduction of such services and the customer’s loyalty.
This study examines the extent of the influence the introduction of the Emirates apps might have on travelers’ loyalty. The statistical analysis bases on an experimental survey conducted on 50 anonymous travelers that use the Emirates Group. The travelers were required to estimate four statements about the Emirates Group app issue. The statistical analysis showed that the majority of travelers consider the introduction of this platform to be a sufficient reason for.giving precedence to the relevant airline company. Therefore, this study claims that the introduction of such apps as the Emirates Group app can serve as a determining factor for the maintenance of the clients’ loyalty and thus, constitute a sufficient competitive advantage of an airline company.
Introduction
The development of mobile technologies has interfered in all the social spheres, and air traveling is not an exception. Airline companies mainly use mobile innovation products to improve their performance. Hence, smartphone apps can be used in order to maintain a close connection with a client; to provide a better collaboration within the staff; to improve the services’ quality with the help of the relevant feedback (Okazaki 2005).
Nowadays, the Emirates Group is one of the most competitive airline companies in the traveling market. According to the corporate annual report, the company pays a lot of attention to the integration of the latest technologies, the mobile apps, in particular, in its performance (The Emirates Group, 2014). The Emirates Group has recently launched a new app enabling its customers to take part in all the flight procedures with the help of a mobile phone. The developers claim that the following program is compatible with both the iPhone and Android platforms; thus, one might say it is available for the majority of mobile phones’ owners.
Whereas the benefits of any service’s improvements have already been thoroughly estimated by the sociologists and analysts, the introduction of the new mobile technologies is considered to be advantageous only intuitively, as the little study has been performed in the relevant field. However, the example of the Emirates Group shows that airline companies keep contributing to the development of new mobile apps in order to please their customers even though this interconnection has not been widely proved.
Therefore, the primary target of this research is to assess the extent of the impact the introduction of progressive mobile apps has on the clients’ loyalty. In other words, one is determined to find out whether it is worth investing in mobile technologies or these kinds of facilities make no significant difference to a client. An experiment was conducted on a travelers’ group who agreed to share their opinion on the Emirates Group app. The results proved to be highly positive that can serve as extra motivation for potential investors.
Problem Definition
Despite the fact that a lot of research has been conducted regarding the employment of mobile technologies in different social services, the question of its influence on the clients’ loyalty has hardly been raised. Most of the previous studies suggest focusing on the examination of the possible ways of mobile technology integration, such as efficient baggage tracking and the facilitation of the board pass procedures (DeVries 2008). On the other hand, other specialists consider the impact of the mobile technologies’ integration from the side of the inner performance of an airline company, implying its logistics opportunities and marketing strategies (Biedermann & Levy 2015).
Contrary to the previous research, this paper focuses on the analysis of the client’s perception of the introduction of new mobile apps. Thus, the principal concern of the study is represented by the clients’ attitude to the development of innovative mobile facilities for air traveling. One is particularly interested in the estimation of the extent of the Emirates Group app’s benefit. The study, moreover, aims to find out whether such a mobile facility can become the determining factor for a client’s loyalty. The input of the study will be the figures gathered during the survey. The output of the research will be represented by the statistics processed after the survey. The key question that the study puts forward is as follows:
To which extent has the introduction of the Emirates Group App has influenced the clients’ loyalty?
Proposed Solution
The following study suggests that an active integration of various mobile technologies can play a significant role in the company client’s relationships. Today, when a smartphone has become more popular than a PC or a laptop, an average client wants to have as many opportunities inside his phone as possible. One firmly believes that corporate Web platforms do not only contribute to the client’s comfort but also create a closer psychological connection between a company and a traveler.
Therefore, one believes, that the introduction of the Emirates Group App enabling clients to plan and handle their journeys has helped the company increase customer’ loyalty significantly. On this basis, one can make a hypothesis that the introduction of efficient apps can serve as a determining factor for the maintenance of the clients’ loyalty.
As a consequence, in case the relevant hypothesis is valid, one might recommend that airline companies should contribute to the development of various mobile apps and platforms in order to remain a competitive player in the air tourism market.
Related Work
The importance of the integration of innovative mobile technologies in the tourism field has been widely discussed throughout the past years. Thus, the report from the Australian national conference on mobile technologies shows that the modern tourism environment cannot exist beyond the context of technological progress. The mobile phone has become one of the most powerful tools to maintain the connection between an airline company and a traveler (Cantoni & Xiang 2013). Nevertheless, one should necessarily note that few studies have been previously performed in order to measure the extent of the influence of mobile facilities’ introduction on the clients’ loyalty. Although the Emirate Group’s reports annually emphasize the benefits of their innovation policy by providing high sales rates, this argument seems to be too general (The Emirates Group, 2014). One can perfectly understand that the sales rates initially depend on an entire series of factors, and it is very problematic to distinguish the technologies’ role from the common facilities’ list.
The majority of the preceding works have been concentrated either on the suggestion of particular mobile apps or the analysis of the general performance’s benefits. Hence, Professor of CIS, DeVries, in his article, puts a particular emphasis on the introduction of an innovative app that will facilitate the baggage tracking procedure for travelers. According to the author, such an app is likely to improve the cooperation between the airports and airline companies; thus it will improve the clients’ service (DeVries 2008). Meanwhile, a more thorough analysis of the impact that the introduction of mobile technologies has on clients’ attitude is represented by Biedermann and Levy, who have devoted their paper to the examination of the mobile technologies’ influence on an airline company’s performance. The authors state that the integration of such innovations is apt to increase the efficiency of a team’s performance and to improve the corporate service in general. Thus, according to Biedermann and Levy, a company can optimize its operation with the help of the new monitoring tools and the feedback gathered from various mobile platforms (Biedermann & Levy 2015).
The issue of the Emirates Group app is poorly enlightened in the framework of the literature sources available. However, according to the periodic online edition, Travolution, the app has been launched in 2015 and is aimed at improving the customer’s service via the introduction of a personalized approach. Thus, with the help of this app, one can not just book and cancel flights, choose the proper prices and destinations, but also inform the company about its preferences concerning the seats’ location and the preferred press (Emirates reveals Android app 2015).
Therefore, one might suggest that the little data on the advantages of the Emirates Group app can be connected with a recent date of its appearance. As a consequence, the following research will make one of the first attempts to evaluate the benefits of the relevant technology critically.
Research Methodology
Sample
The research methodology of the study was initially determined by its qualitative design. Therefore, the data collection tool is the performed survey, and the employed data analysis is of a statistical character. One has applied a histogram as the most appropriate data analysis tool. The experimental group of the study is represented by 50 anonymous travelers that have had experience of using the services of the Emirates Group and their new app.
Claim and Hypothesis
This paper claims that the introduction of mobile technology like the Emirates Group app is likely to have a significant positive influence on the clients’ loyalty. Therefore, the hypothesis of the relevant research can be put as follows:
The application of such mobile apps as the Emirates Group App can serve as a determining factor for the maintenance of the clients’ loyalty and hence, constitute a considerable competitive advantage of any airline company.
Data Analysis Procedure
The group of 50 anonymous travelers has been selected to take part in the relevant research. The principal requirement was that every participant has had at least one trip with the Emirates Group and has tried its new app. The subjects of the survey were asked to estimate the truthfulness of the four statements that were put as follows:
My trip has improved significantly with the introduction of the Emirates Group app.
I would not like to travel with the company that does not have an app enabling me to control the trip via a mobile phone.
I would like to try traveling with other companies that offer a similar mobile facility.
My general opinion about the Emirates Group has changed for the better after I tried their new app.
The participants were asked to use a 1-5 estimation scale, where 1 stood for “absolutely wrong,” 5 – for “absolutely true.” The final results of the survey are represented in the histogram. The percentage represents the extent of the “5” rates for each statement.
Histogram 1: The Survey’s Results.
Discussion
The results of the relevant survey have shown that the majority of the participants provide positive estimations of the Emirates Group app. One should necessarily note that it is the client’s loyalty to the company that is particularly influenced according to the research. Thus, whereas the attitude to the company’s image, in general, has not changed significantly, the overwhelming majority is decisive to stay with the company particularly because of the convenience of the new app. It is essential to point out that most of the participants have agreed to try another company with a similar mobile platform and, at the same time, expressed reluctance to use the services of an airline firm that lack the relevant facility. Basing on the thorough analysis of the collected data, one might come to a series of conclusions.
First of all, the introduction of the Emirates Group app has increased the clients’ loyalty. Secondly, the relevant app might constitute a competitive advantage of any airline company.
Therefore, the following research has proved the initially established hypothesis that the employment of the mobile apps similar to the Emirates Group App can present a determining factor for the preservation of the clients’ loyalty and is able to constitute a considerable competitive benefit of any airline company.
Conclusion & Future work
The relevant study has not only proved the efficiency of the mobile apps’ application but also helped to evaluate its role in clients’ assessment. Thus, one can be firmly convinced that the introduction of such apps as the Emirates Group app can become one of the determining factors for a customer to choose the relevant company.
The main limitation of the study is the size of the experimental group. Thus, in order to prove the existing results and to receive more objective data, one can further extend the experimental group and even include the inner differentiation into the steady customers and the newcomers.
Once the competitive advantage of the mobile platforms is proved, the relevant data can be useful for an airline company that is in the search for a reasonable HR policy. One can, furthermore, continue the research in order to find out the most demanded directions in which the mobile integration should be performed. In other words, it will be important to find out what kind of apps a company should consider beneficial.
Reference List
Biedermann, M & Levy, D 2015, The Impact of Mobile Services on the Interaction between Airlines and Passengers, GRIN Verlag, Munich.
Cantoni, L & Xiang, ZF 2013, Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2013: Proceedings of the International Conference in Innsbruck, Austria, January 22-25, 2013, Springer Science & Business Media, Berlin.
DeVries, PD 2008, ‘The state of RFID for effective baggage tracking in the airline industry’, International Journal of Mobile Communications, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 151-164.
Emirates reveals Android app 2015, Web.
Okazaki, S 2005, ‘New perspective on M-Commerce Research’, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 160-164.
The Emirates Group 2014, The Emirates Group Annual Report, Zawya, Dubai.
The study was informed by different theories on consumer behavior, destination image, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty that result from the behavioral choices of UK tourists visiting Shanghai as the destination of choice. The study used the theories of operant conditioning, which relies on the operant conditioning of the customers to make them loyal to Shanghai. If a tourist beliefs that the destination will serve his or her needs, the customer is likely to develop a positive attitude towards that Shanghai. Attitude is likely to modify their behavior and perceptions are likely to make them be loyal customers. Loyal UK customers show a tendency to repeat visiting Shanghai as their preferred top tourist destination. It is assumed that behavioral outcomes lead to attitude and attitude leads to intention, which leads to a certain behavior. Theories, which provide the foundation to achieve the objectives of the study, include the theory of reasoned action and the commitment theory among others. It was established that customer loyalty to Shanghai as a tourist destination is strongly influenced by the perceptions of the tourists from the UK about Shanghai, which has a strong influences on the behavior of visitors.
Introduction
The city of Shanghai is one of the top destinations for visitors from the UK. However, not many studies have been conducted to appraise Shanghai as a tourist destination for people from the UK. In theory and practice, customers are attracted to different tourist destinations because of different psychological influences that include consumer behavior and its effects on loyalty. The problem is to determine how visiting Shanghai leads to customer satisfaction based on the explanations of different theories that deal with the psychology of people from the UK (Anastassova 2011). The study provides the background information, the aims and objectives, and the rationale for conducting the study.
Here, the study examines the theories underpinning the factors that influence the attitudes customers develop towards a tourist destination (Adnams 2010). One of the theories applied in the study is the theory of reasoned action, which focuses on the prediction of behavioral intentions, which result from the attitude one develops towards a destination and the intention to revisit the place as the most preferred tourist destination (Um & Crompton 1990).
The study is informed by the behavioral intentions UK customers develop as a result of the quality of services and products they enjoy when they visit Shanghai. Intentions and other antecedents of behavior provide explanations on how satisfaction can be caused by the uniqueness of Shanghai as a tourist destination and the features that might influence the attitude of the visitors to revisit the place again. Here, the theory is based on the urge that necessitates someone to act in a certain way that influences the outcome of the action (revisiting the place). For example, a person can visit a certain tourist destination after they have examined and evaluated the destination if it satisfies the needs and want of the customer, creating an intention to revisit the place in accordance with the theory of reasoned action (Altinay & Paraskevas 2008). ON the other hand, the theory of planned action conveys the meaning of actions such as paying to visit the place, and the consequences are to visit or not to visit a place (Um & Crompton 1990). The theories are important in explaining how intentions, attitude, and belief lead to actions and that enables the destination owners to understand how to create an attractive destination for the customers, based on their perceptions (Altinay & Paraskevas 2008). The study will be informed by examining different sources of literature that deal with behavioral theories of that explain how behavior, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs affect the actions and decisions of prospective tourists.
Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
The aim of this paper is to appraise Shanghai as a tourist destination by explaining customer satisfaction based on the psychological theories of human behavior in relation to the UK tourists. The theories are used to explain how visiting Shanghai leads to customer satisfaction. Customer or tourist satisfaction from the UK is about how products and services meet and even exceed the expectations of tourists who visit Shanghai. Customers “satisfaction consists of a sense of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparison of the perceived performance (or result) of a product regarding the customer’s expectations” (Baloglu & Mccleary 1999). In addition, customers ‘satisfaction of the UK tourists can be defined as “as a psychological concept which involves the sense of well-being, resulting from the achievement of what one desires and expects from a product or attractive service” (Yuan, Wu, Zhang, Goh, & Stout 2008). Satisfaction is derived from the products and services that are offered to the visitors from the UK and that includes items that tourists buy when they visit Shanghai and the services they enjoy that include the beautiful sceneries, transport facilities, food and accommodation, and the security services to ensure that they are safe. The theories fit into this scenario by explaining how the services and product influence the behavior, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs of the customers or tourists towards the destination, which makes them likely to come back.
Typically, the theories provide content explanations on customer behavior and the customers provide empirical data to determine whether the product or services meet or exceed their expectations. Expectations and satisfaction are driven by the antecedents of behavior, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs as explained in the behavioral theories and directly influence customer loyalty.
Literature reviews of the factors that make a destination important to visit have been discussed in detail based on the theoretical perspectives and models of tourism loyalty. Some of the variables considered in the study include consumer behavior, customer satisfaction, and expectations that make a customer loyalty. Many customers from the UK visit Shanghai as the destination of choice because the city has a wide range of feature that appeal to visitors. Among the features include the cultural history of the people and the city, the architecture of the city, the communication systems, and other features, which have been developed and which distinguish the city from other cities in the world (Anastassova 2011).
Objectives and aims
The aim of the study is to give the most accurate description of how the city of Shanghai attracts tourists by influencing the psychological factors of consumer behavior and customer loyalty of tourists from the UK.
The objectives include:
To identify the specific features that positively influences consumer behavior and customer loyalty of the tourists from the UK.
To determine how visiting Shanghai positively to improves the attitudes, intentions, and behavior of the UK tourists to become loyalty Shanghai customers
To how the destination image can positively change consumer behavior and increase the UK customer loyalty.
To determine the best tourist’s destination model to adopt by Shanghai to win the loyalty of UK tourists.
Evaluate the UK as the source of tourists and Shanghai as the tourist destination.
Significance of the study
The study will provide the foundation of many researchers and business organisations to understand the factors, which make people, prefer as certain destination as a tourist destination and avoid other destinations. The study will provide the business organisations and starters of businesses in the tourist sector on the best approach to use to create a competitive destination, based on the factors, which make someone, do certain actions and develop a certain loyalty to a specific destination. With that knowledge, it is possible for Shanghai to be tailored to suit the needs and expectations of customers based on their needs. The key elements of the study include image, loyalty, satisfaction, and behavior and the age of different customers. In addition, the outcome could be important for starters in the tourism sector and other types of businesses because of the competition and the dynamic nature of the people in the market because markets and the behavior of customers change with time.
Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter provides a detailed study on appraising Shanghai to create tourism satisfaction and loyalty for customers from the UK. Different theories and models are used to explain the underlying variables that influence the loyalty of tourists to the city of Shanghai.
Consumer Loyalty
Shanghai is a city that many people from the UK regard as one of the top tourist destinations for customers from the ULK. The city has many customer loyalty programs that are modeled after the theories consumer loyalty and the antecedents of consumer loyalty where tourist customers from the UK make repeated visits to Shanghai as a destination they like most. The underlying factors that influence UK customers to become hard core, shifting, switchers, split loyalists include behavior, attitude, and intentions (Lichtle & Plichon 2008). The study shows that Shanghai city has several agencies that work towards influencing customer loyalty with different consumer loyalty programs as the tourist industry becomes competitive.
When customers become brand loyalists, they develop an attachment for the service or product for a long time that makes them want to consume the service or product again and again. Here, the antecedents of the theory of planned action of attitude, intention, and behavior play a significant role in providing the explanation of how the customers become loyal to the city of Shanghai as a strong brand. Brand loyalty or consumer loyalty is a psychological process that has its foundation on a study by Copeland on ‘brand insistence’ and consumer behavior. When applied to the tourism sector, it shows that the psychological process is influenced by the predisposed commitment of customers to the destination, customer perceptions about the value of the destination, customer satisfaction, and brand trust. Brand trust is the confidence that UK tourists can develop towards shanghai as a preferred tourist destination (Pritchard & Howard 1997). In theory, satisfaction is defined as an “overall evaluation of a customer’s experiences with a service provider, as opposed to a transaction-specific satisfaction judgment” (Pritchard & Howard 1997).
Commitment and repeat visits are consider to be strong elements of brand loyalty that provide strong ground for identifying the psychological factors that influence what makes Shanghai to be the destination of choice for tourists from the UK. How the theories of band loyalty and consumer behavior explain how to make UK customers loyal to Shanghai as a tourist destination depends on the different levels and types of loyalties. In theory, loyalty can be based on price, social services, and the structure and nature of the services offered in Shanghai as illustrated in the following framework.
In the framework shown above, different elements contribute to the loyalty that is established between the customer and the destination of choice. In this case, the cognitive antecedents combine with the affective and conative antecedents to influence the attitude of the customers towards Shanghai as the most preferred destination (Baloglu & Mccleary 1999). The cognitive antecedents include competitive attractiveness of Shanghai, service satisfaction, economic, political, and legal environment, the duration customers from the UK take to developed attachments with Shanghai and the type of relationship between the customer and the destination, the depth and value of communication, and quality of services (Baloglu & Mccleary 1999).
Here, the expectations of the customers from the UK are to see and enjoy the unique features that appeal to their eyes and make them want to visit the place again. Typically, when people pay a visit to a place, the attitude they develop towards the place influences their behavior and that leads to the consequences of their actions that makes them to become repeat visitors of the place. That is because of the effects of the psychological influence the place has on the visitors. When visitors from the UK go to the city of Shanghai, they develop an image about the city that has a strong influence on their attitude towards the place (Bloemer & Kasper 1995). In addition to that, the experience of the people when visiting Shanghai is another element that influences their perceptions about the city and the level of loyalty to the city (Assael 1995). Perceptions are strong elements that influence the behavior of the customers.
In addition to perceptions, attitude plays a significant role in influencing the perceptions of the customers toward the Shanghai as a tourist destination. Typically, research shows that “attitudes are learned through past experiences and serve as a link between thoughts and behavior” (Baloglu & Brinberg 1997). Here, attitude leads to different level of commitment of the customer to the tourist destination of choice (Baloglu & Brinberg 1997). Here, attitude about Shanghai is of different levels that include the commitment level, where the customer intends to comply to please other customers, without necessarily pleasing themselves about a place, identification, which is a level of commitment where the customer wants to be part of a group by sharing similar values, beliefs, and attitudes. Once the customer has undergone the stages, it is possible for the customer to internalise what they have learned and the attitude they have developed towards a destination. Once the customer internalises the attitude and commitment to the place, they develop strong loyalty to the destination and become repeat customers. The behavior of the customer has changed and they become loyal and tell others through the word of mouth about the likes about the place (Baloglu & Brinberg 1997).
Consumer behavior
Consumer behavior explains the attachments the UK people have to the city of Shanghai. According to the consumer behavior theory, the UK customers choose Shanghai as a preferred destination because it makes them to repeatedly visit Shanghai, which markets itself as the top tourist destination because of the motivation they get from visiting the city (Chi & Qu 2008). The marketing program of Shanghai for the UK customers is one of the components used to change the attitude of people, their behavior, and intentions to visit the city again and again. It For instance, the decision to visit Shanghai is a mental process that is influenced by attitude and behavior of the customers from the UK and that makes them become repeat customers (Chi & Qu 2009). Motivations include effective travelling services, a good image, and the perceptions of the UK people on Shanghai (Collins-Kreiner 2010).
Repeat customers
Customers can be practically attracted by marketing strategies that continuously bombard the customers with marketing messages to make decisions that make the UK customers to become loyal to Shanghai (Chen & Tsai 2007). Here, loyalty is reinforced by focusing on what makes UK customers happy when they visit Shanghai as a preferred tourist destination (Chen, Chen & Lee 2013). Such customers are referred to as repeat customers. Here, antecedents of behavior are used to modify the behavior of the UK customers to create loyal tourists from the UK by focusing on the characteristics of the destination that make Shanghai attractive. Those characteristics include unusual experiences, new offers and experiences, new discoveries, familiarity with the destination, novelty with the destination, and knowledge about the destination (Chi 2012).
Here, the determinants that lead to an increase in behavior include stimuli such as giving the UK tourists incentives such as low priced products and services to achieve positive behavior to revisit Shanghai (Chi & Qu 2008). In addition, the factors that can influence people to visit Shanghai include family influence, reference groups, personality attitudes, social economic influence, cultural issues, learning experiences, and personal needs. On the other hand, if the stimuli that include the above factors are removed, it is possible for the results to lead to negative behavior such providing unreliable communication systems.
Those elements include destination image that makes the customers create and recreate images of the city in their minds and that stimulates the motivation to revisit the city again and again. In addition, the images influence the behavior that is increased through reinforcements (Chi & Qu 2009). On the other hand, behavior is decreased through punishment that occurs when the tourists are denied basic services such as hygienic living environment. At the same time, if a stimulus is prevented, the overall results are a lack of or avoidance of certain behavior that includes personal perceptions about the city. One of the behaviors that can be avoided as a result of that is for a UK tourist to refuse to visit Shanghai again.
Typically, a good image influences to develop a post trip behavior that makes them come back to the city. The destination image is created by the service providers and the quality of services that are offered to the tourists. The study shows that when behavior is reinforced, the customer is likely to repeat the actions of visiting a destination and the behavior is likely to be repeated all over again, than when the behavior is not reinforced (Blythe 2008). According to Blythe (2008), behaviour can be learnt by manipulating the destination characteristics such as the price of the services and products at the city of Shanghai and the infrastructure of the city to suit the lifestyle of the UK tourist who are targeted as tourists to Shanghai (Roseman, Herrero & Fife 2008). Here, the city if Shanghai is highly endowed with appropriate infrastructure, has a wealth of historical features, and has both indoor and outdoor resources that can be used to appeal to the UK customer or tourist to make them loyal by modifying their behavior and attitude towards Shanghai (Rinschede 1992).
Research has shown that the theory of reasoned action is the basis of the argument that the actions of UK customers who visit tourist destinations rely on their beliefs about Shanghai (Blythe 2008). This approach shows that when a UK customer is positively inclined towards certain features he or she has seen or has a strong positive attitude towards the place, they are likely to make a comeback and pay a visit to the same place again (Rivera, Shani & Severt 2009). This theory explains the view that UK consumers consciously evaluate the ramifications of alternative behaviors and their actions (Hillman 2013). Here, when a tourist identifies a feature in a place they like to visit as a tourist destination, the feature and the appeal to interact with the feature underpin the behavior change based on that environmental variable (Ryan 1995). If a UK tourist beliefs that an action leads to a certain benefit such as personal gain, the tourist is motivated to act in a manner likely to reflect their positive perceptions and attitude about the attraction of the feature (Ryan 1995).
Planned behavior
According to Seyer and Muller (2011), it is possible to control the behavior of a UK tourist and achieve the required outcome by the provision of services that are of the desired quality. A strong relationship exists between the service quality, the prices of the services, the perceptions of the customers, and the intent to visit Shanghai. The consumption permanence that emanates from the perceptions and behavioral outcomes of the customers can be explained by the theory of planned behavior. Here, tourists from the UK have certain behaviors that are consisted with the theory of planned behavior can be applied in the tourism sector to introduce certain variables that include behavioral beliefs of the tourists and other variables that contribute to the positive behavior changes of the UK tourists and to develop certain characters (Seyer & Muller 2011).
Reasoned action
According to Smith (2010), reasoned action leads customers to perform a certain action because of the reliability, quality, and satisfaction of the customers from the UK when they visit Shanghai. The customers find the services provides at the city reliable and that position influences visit experience, purpose of visiting the city, visit intentions, word of mouth, family influence, and travel motivations. The theory of reasoned action leads one to the conclusion that the above variables influence the customer to act by making post visits to the Shanghai city (Chi 2012). Here, some customers act in ways they might not have acted because they are influenced by others. For example, someone who is not interested in visiting Shanghai as a tourist destination might be able to visit the place because of the influenced of other members of a group.
Here, behavior preceded attitude that precedes actions done by some tourists. According to Smith (2010), behavioral results from the attitude developed by a customer about something and are based on the subjective norms that prevalent in the new environment. The theory operates on the principle that customers act in the way they do because they voluntarily control the way they behave. Here, customers make decisions on what to do by weighing on the consequences of their actions (Su, Cheng & Huang 2011). It they perceive their actions to lead to a better life and if the consequences are positive, they are likely to do a certain action. It is possible to use the theory to understand why consumers behave the way they do to formulate an appropriate strategy on how to influence their behavior to make them act ins a way to achieve the long term goal of making them loyal customers to Shanghai. In addition to that, it is possible to use the theory to determine the strengths and weaknesses of Shanghai as a tourist destination.
The image shown above is about the theory of planned behavior. Planned behavior is about a combination of the beliefs that are developed because of the behavior of individuals and the resulting attitude that leads to the intention of a customer from UK develops about a certain situation. In this case, it is possible for the tourist from the UK to develop a certain attitude about Shanghai as a destination of interest and that is able to modify the behavior of the tourist towards the city (Tirca, Stanciulescu & Chis 2010).
Tirca, Stanciulescu and Chis (2010) suggested that the theory can be used to change the attitude of the UK customers towards visiting Shanghai by changing the beliefs the customers have about Shanghai. One of the approaches suggested by Tirca, Stanciulescu and Chis (2010) is to use to use the internet and send messages about the features and other areas of interest that the tourist will experience when they visit the city. In addition, the destination messages can be tailored to lessen negative feelings about the destination and increase the positive attitude about the place. For instance, a message can be used to show that the place is secure and that many tourists recommended it to be one of the best destinations to visit for the holiday. In addition to that, it is crucial to note that the destination image can be improved to make the place more attractive by adding new beliefs such as visiting Shanghai makes one create new friends and see feature that have not been seen before.
Customer Commitments
According to Walliman (2011), commitment to visit a place and is developed from the trust develop in a person about something. Visiting Shanghai because of a variety of features has made the visitors to develop trust in the place. Trust is generated from the use of shared values, and the belief that is developed about Shanghai. Commitment has been shown to be a critical element in the collaboration that exists between different partners who want to do something. Here, commitment to develop the attitude and belief that the place they are visiting is worth their visit is the underlying reason for the positive attitude customers have towards Shanghai. In addition, researchers have established that commitment leads to the strong development of mutual relationships that in this case is the relationship between the people from the UK and Shanghai as a top tourist destination. When high levels of commitment are developed between the destination and the people form the UK, it increases the trust people develop for Shanghai.
The customer’s commitments theory has widely been used and applied in marketing. The fundamental elements of the theory are based on establishing a strong relationship between the customer and the tourist destination that the customer values as the most preferred tourist destination.
According to Walliman (2011), commitment is a psychological process that results in the attachment a person develops towards a specific destination. Here, Walliman (2011) established the three dimensions of commitment and identified them as normative, continuance, and affective elements. Here, those elements have been proved by different authors to be appropriate for different destinations that can be applied in different areas. Of crucial importance is the application of the theory in making Shanghai the top tourist destination for the people in the UK. Grossbart et al. (1987) identified different levels of commitment and established that people can develop a type of commitment to a specific location based on the three psychological states of the mind that include normative, affect, and continuance. According to the study by Grossbart et al. (1987), affective commitment provides the basis for UK customers to visit Shanghai as the destination of choice because they want to visit the place. On the other hand, continuance commitment is based on the desire for the tourist to continue visiting Shanghai because they want to do it because it is cheap. Here, normative commitment refers to a situation where tourists find the destination the right place to visit and try to encourage others that it is the right thigh to do to visit the destination.
Grossbart et al. (1987) argues that the strategy makes the UKL customers to develop a strong attitude and behavior inclinations towards Shanghai.
m m
In practice tourists are influenced by the characteristics of Shanghai that is the target destination that influences their behavior and determines their attitude towards Shanghai. The behavior of UK tourists is crucial because it provides information about the factors that are crucial for the city of Shanghai to adopt to influence the tourists to visit the city. It also helps the people of Shanghai to determine the consumer patterns of the tourists from the UK in the context of tourism and the city of Shanghai (Ozdemir, Çizel & Bato Cizel 2012b). Some of the factors that influences the tourists include of importance include motivation, consumer attitudes, culture, age, gender, values, and social class (Pizam, Neumann & Reichel 1978).
Motivation is crucial in influencing the UK tourists to prefer the city of Shanghai as a top tourist destination because it is the inner drive in a person to consume a product or services. There are many products and services under consideration here in the city of Shanghai that influences the UK people to be the destination of choice. The city has unique features that distinguish the city from other parts of the world. The uniqueness contributes to the appraisal of Shanghai as a tourist destination based on the attitude of the people from the UK towards the city and the inner drive to visit the city. In addition to that, the features that trigger the behavior in the people of the UK to like the city of Shanghai as a top destination for tourism include self-concept and personality, expectations, and satisfaction (Polo Pena, Frias Jamilena & Rodriguez Molina 2013).
The need to visit the city is one of the crucial elements that make the people from the UK want to visit the city of Shanghai. The needs argument is based on the features and other attributes of the city that arouses the behavior of customers from the UK and drives them to become loyal as shown in the diagram below.
If the services providers of the city of Shanghai understand the needs of the UK people very well, it is easy to understand the reason why Shanghai is one of the top tourist destinations for UK customers. The “hierarchy of needs is arranged in a ladder according to Maslow and provides an explanation on the needs hierarchy and its effect on the destination they like to visit for tourism” (Prayag 2009). Here, people want to travel and travelling is a need they want to satisfy. Traveling makes the people get satisfied and it is important to note that the city of Shanghai provides the infrastructure that supports travelling to fulfill the needs of the customers. In theory, the push and pull factors are the ones that make the people want to travel. The push element is based on the desire of the people from the UK to travel and escape the feelings and the experience they have in their home city. Such mundane environmental factors include relaxation, prestige, development of relationships, facilitation of social interactions, and enhancement of kinship (Prayag & Ryan 2012).
According to Maslow,” the hierarchy of needs is classified as physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization” (Reilly 1990). Traveling from one destination to the other provides the ground to achieve some of the needs. The needs of the customers vary according to gender, age, and social class (Reilly 1990).
Importance of consumer behavior and destination success
Different theories have been developed and written about consumer behavior and the underlying reasons to success in influencing customers. In practice, consumer behavior in the context of customers from the UK to Shanghai as a tourist destination of choice is important to consider.
Social class
Shanghai is a city of many attractions. In addition, the city fits well into the needs and expectations of different classes of customers. Social class here means the position one occupies in the society, the influence one exerts in the society and the expectations one has about the perceptions others hold about him. The income level, education, wealth, the neighborhood, and the wealth of an individual have a strong influence on the perceptions of the people towards others (Smith 2010).
People would like to visit a place that is of their class. The city of Shanghai is one of the destinations that has been visited by people of different social classes and provides the facilities to address the needs of each people in the social class (Soyoung & Busser 2005).
Predicting behavior
Behavior can be predicted using different methods and models. The reason is that each consumer has different attitudes towards a certain destination and each category of brand that fit into the perceptions and desires of a customer depend on the attributes of the target destination.
Culture and consumer behavior
Research has shown that culture is an important element in influencing the behavior of consumers to visit a destination (Tasci & Gartner 2007). The culture of the people of the UK and the culture of the people of Shanghai are crucial in influencing the people to pay a visit to Shanghai. Culture is important in influencing consumer behavior because it defines the people’s values, norms, attitudes, and beliefs.
Decision making process
The decision making process is crucial to understand how tourists make decision to visit the city of Shanghai. The key elements of the decision making process that are important to use to attract customers to the destination include: awareness and unawareness. Awareness makes people know about Shanghai and its attributes (Tasci, Gartner & Cavusgil 2007). Here people get to know about the characteristics of Shanghai as a tourist destination. Some of the attributes they get to know include the culture of the people in Shanghai in comparison with the characteristics of the people in the UK. In addition, the people get to understand the infrastructure of the city of Shanghai and the ease with which they can travel within and outside the city without the problems of congestion. Here, other attributes include indoor and outdoor resources and the level of satisfaction the people derive by visiting the city. According to Da Costa Mendes, Do Valle, Guerreiro and Silva (2010), unawareness makes the people not to be able to notice the destination and its attributes and might not be able to visit the place.
It has been shown that knowledge is another essential component that enables one to make informed decisions to visit the city of Shanghai as a tourist destination. Knowledge is based on the information people have about the attributes of the destination that enable them to make informed decisions. Another element in the decision making process is the element of ‘liking’ (Day 1969). Liking has been seen by many authors as a tool that enables a UK resident to make decisions about the place and to develop favorable attitudes about the place. In addition, attitude can either be positive or negative and positive attitude depends on the attachment and liking one develops towards a destination (Tse & Wilton 1988). Preference has been identified as another element, which makes people to like and visit the place.
Communication
Communication is another of the key elements that has been identified to be a crucial component in the influencing consumer behavior, attitude, and loyalty towards a certain destination to visit. Communication is based on the messages that are conveyed to the customers and the effect such messages have on the intended audience (Echtner & Ritchie 2003). Communication in theory is based on the elements that include high involvement in thinking to appraise the destination to choose and the high involvement and feelings one gets by visiting Shanghai. Researchers have recommended the use of certain strategies to achieve effective communication, which includes creating a certain habit to visit the place.
Communication has been used to make people to like Shanghai as a destination of choice. Communication is important and is achieved through advertising on the internet, in radio, Television, and in newspapers (Eusebio & Vieira 2013). It has been established that advertising causes changes of attitude and creates new attitudes in the customers. On the other hand, the city of Shanghai uses several platforms to advertise their services to the people of the UK and that makes the customers to develop positive attitudes towards the city. The attitude the people develop makes them like the place because they are able to appraise the destination and prefer it as a top destination (Forgas-Coll, Palau-Saumell, Sánchez-García & Callarisa-Fiol 2012). On the other hand, the process of persuasion is crucial in determining the suitability of the destination as a place worth visiting.
Consumer attitude and behavior
Different theories can be applied to explain the attitude developed towards a destination and the effect of attitude toward the consumption of a product and a service such as a tourism service. In theory, attitude is about the “what we feel about a concept which may be a brand, a category, a person, an ideology or any other entity about which we can think and to which we can attach feeling” (Fornell 1992). Researchers argue that an attitude towards Shanghai as a tourist destination can be used to appraise Shanghai as the destination of choice as a tourist attraction. In theory, it has been argued that a brand is crucial in providing the customer with the satisfaction required to influence them to visit a certain destination (Gartner 1989).
The potential for the city to satisfy the needs and wants of the people from the UK is one of the crucial components that have made the city the top tourist destination for the people from the UK (Peter, Olson & Grunert, 1999). It is attitude that structures the way a person interacts with others and the perceptions the people from the UK develop towards Shanghai as a top destination for tourists from the UK. Attitude can be formed by appraising the city of Shanghai. Attitude is based on the preferences people have towards Shanghai as a destination of choice when they compare them with other destinations (Gartner, Uysal & Fesenmaier 1993). Here, it is evident that Shanghai has been and is a destination of choice because of the variety of features and other attractive scenarios that people experience when they visit the city.
In addition, attitude is developed towards a destination by comparing the attributes of the city of Shanghai against other cities. Once the appraisal of the destination has been done, the results lead to a subjective attitude of utility in the mind that is based on the utility model of choice (Gallarza & Gil Saura 2006). Here, the evaluation process is cognitive in nature and the process enables the customer to make informed decisions about their preferred destination to visit. The classification procedure is based on different models and processes and includes the relative importance and utility the customers are likely to gain by consuming a product or a service, appraisal of the performance of the destination in relation to the utility one is likely to gain, and the set of beliefs the customer holds about the destination to visit. In addition, the brand image of Shanghai is another element that influences the attitude and behavior of the customers who visit the place (Hill & Alexander 2000).
Studies have shown that attitude is born out of different factors, which include 1) direct experience that is based on the experience a person develops when visiting a place. People for the UK get a lot of experience when they visit Shanghai. 2) The experience of others that is based on the narration people from the UK make to family members and other people from the UK (Petrick & Backman 2001). In addition, reference groups that are developed because of different characteristics of the group makes the reference, influence others in the group to see value in visiting the destination of choice (Um & Crompton 1990). Another element that influences attitude is the commercial messages that are communicated by the destination of choice. The contents of the messages influence the perception and attitude of the customer in seeing value in an object, which is the destination of choice (Hosany & Prayag 2013).
Destination Image
Destination image is one of the core elements that the UK customer value in making decisions to visit the city of Shanghai. In theory the destination image is a perception that is developed in the mind and the perceptions are developed through multiple sources of information (Kim & Brown 2012). It h s been established that two types of image exist in the mind and include the cognitive image and the affective image. The affective image is about the feelings the visitors develop about the place, which leads to a certain attachment and unique perceptions about a place. Some of the unique feature, which lead to the destination image include the feature that identify a place, the culture of the place, the infrastructure of the place, the innovations, and the service quality of the place (Kim & Jamal 2007). Those factors contribute to the attitude the customer develops towards a place and the loyalty customers develop toward the place. When the image is favorable, the destination is likely to be favored by many people from the UK. (Korzay & Alvarez 2005).
Several features make Shanghai the destination of choice that reflects the elements of image are explained in theory. Among the features, which define Shanghai include new malls, new nightclubs, and several restaurants. The city has been transformed into a modern city because it is a combination of western and Chinese culture. In addition to that, the city is home to massive skyscrapers and places that are home to classical architecture (Kozak & Rimmington 2000). In addition, there are ancient buildings in the city of Shanghai that occupy the western side of the city. It has been established that the city of Shanghai provides strong and attractive experiences to the visitors because of the combination of cultures from the west and the Shanghai (Lai & Vinh 2013).
The city has the third tallest building in the world known as Jin Mao Tower. The building is found at the center of the financial hub of the Shanghai and has a tower that is 88 floors up the building. In addition to that, the tower combines aspects of western and Chinese cultural artifacts and some of the floors are reserved for the high class people. Another feature that is liked by the people in the city is the Oriental Pearl Tower (Machado, Santos & Sarmento 2009). The tower is surrounded by the different bridges from different sides of the city, which gives the city such a great image for tourists. In addition, the city is appealing because it provides the observation decks for people who take lifts up the building. On the other hand, the tower is made of decorative spheres, which add to the experience the customers gain when they visit the city (Lois González & Somoza Medina 2003).
The city provides a walking experience for the victors who travel to Shanghai as shown in the pictures above. Those features “in the pictures contribute to the influence that leads to consumer behavior and customer loyalty” (Oppermann 2000). Another feature is the Science and Technology Museum (Martinez Roget, Novello & Murias Fernández 2009). The technology and science features are illustrated in the picture shown below. The Centre develops the urge in the visitors with the feelings of wanting to come back again as repeats customers. It is a point where people acquire knowledge and skills, education, and a unique experience of the modern scientific experiences (Mackay & Fesenmaier 1997).
Satisfaction
Satisfaction is one of the elements that defines the type of feelings developed towards a Shanghai and is based on positive feelings about the place (Oliver 1999). The ‘disconfirmation theory’ explains how customers feel when they attend a place and compare it with another place of interest. Here, Ozdemir, Aksu, Ehtiyar, Çizel, Çizel and Içigen (2012a) argue that when people from the UK visit the city of Shanghai, they do comparisons and the affect or the attitude they develop towards the city of Shanghai defines the emotional attachment they develop towards the city.
Customer practice, customer satisfaction is based on the quality of services, the perceptions about the performance of the destination in fulfilling the desired need of the customers when they visit thru city of Shanghai. Here, satisfaction is about the price, the brand image, convenience, consistency, service quality expectations, and overall transaction experience (Kivela, Inbakaran & Reece 1999). In theory, satisfaction “is an emotional response to the use of a product or a service: and it is also a complex human process, which involves cognitive and affective process, as well as other psychological and physiological influences” (Tse & Wilton 1988). Many theories have been developed and written to explain customer satisfaction and one of them is the dissonance theory. In this theory, when a person visits a place and discovers that it does not meet the expectations they had in mind, they are likely to refuse to visit the place again. In theory, the gap between the expectations and the observation makes a person undergo a dissonance cognition process (Hunt 1975). The psychological process makes the customer want to reduce the time they stay in a destination by changing the perceptions about the place. The theory of dissonance has been criticised because it focuses on expectations and leaves out the performance of a product. However, it is crucial in explaining the behavior of customers and their expectation when visiting Shanghai (Hudson 1999).
Another theory, which is a combination of other theories, is the expectancy dis-confirmation paradigm. The theory argues that when a customer visits a place and is satisfied as per the expectations, then the expectation is confirmed. On the other hand, dis-confirmation occurs when a tourist visits a place and finds a lot of differences between their expectation and what is found on the ground. It is possible for a gap to occur between what a customer expected and the psychological process that lead to positive dis-confirmation (Oppermann 2000).
Models of Tourist satisfaction
Models of satisfaction and loyalty
Many models “have been developed to explain consumer behavior and satisfaction” (Oppermann 2000). According to Mat Som, Mostafavi Shirazi, Marzuki and Jusoh (2012), the structural equation model offers an explanation on why customers develop destination loyalties that creates in them the desire to return to a destination and to recommend to others the destination to return to the destination. In the model, general satisfaction, attribute satisfaction, and fulfilled or met expectations contribute to tourist satisfaction, which leads to destination loyalty, intentions, and the need to recommend to others to return to Shanghai again (World Travel and Tourism Council 2013). The model is consistent with the theories of consumer behavior that leads to customer loyalty.
The model shows that consumer satisfaction is multidimensional and depends on the perceptions that the UK customers have about Shanghai. In addition, the experience a person gain by visiting Shanghai shapes their loyalty and the desire to visit the place of interest (Mckercher, Denizci-Guillet & Ng 2012). The results are based on the evaluative outcomes of visiting Shanghai. On the other hand, the extent to which satisfaction is achieved by tourists from the UK to Shanghai can be appraised using the theory of perceived expectations, which compared expectations and the actual outcomes from a visit to Shanghai (Tse, & Wilton 1988). If the expectations are higher than the actual outcomes and the visitor develops a negative attitude the customer cannot pay another visit and if the outcomes are higher than the expectations of customer, then the customer is likely to pay a second visit.
Perception, destination image, satisfaction, and loyalty model
Destination image is very important aspect of tourism marketing and destination loyalty that is developed as a result of the attitudes people develop towards the destination. Image creates in the customers the perceptions about a destination are crucial in influencing the attachment of the customer to a destination (Mckercher & Guillet 2011). A good image influences positive attitudes and behavior and a negative image causes a negative attitude and behaviour. Typically, Shanghai influences the perceptions of the people from the UK about the city of Shanghai based on the image the customers develop towards the city (Yoon & Uysal 2005). In addition to that, the historical attractions, the infrastructure, the price and value, the accessibility of the city, and the cultural attractions of the destination make the people loyal to the destination in the context of the city of Shanghai.
On the other hand, the destination image is influenced by the perceived quality of the services, the level of attractiveness, and the repeat intention of the tourists to the place. The factors that strongly influence the relationship between loyalty and destination image include motivation, satisfaction, destination image, and attitude (Yuan, Wu, Zhang, Goh, & Stout 2008). Here, the destination image is about the quality of the services provided to the customers that are the direct result of several factors that include lodging facilities, accessibility to the city that are facilitated by the infrastructure of the city of Shanghai, the environment, the events, and the activities that take place in the city of Shanghai. In addition to the destination image, the model shows that tourist satisfaction. Once the customer is satisfied, they are bound to make repeat visits that lead to destination loyalty (Yuan, Wu, Zhang, Goh, & Stout 2008).
The consequences model
The model shown below consists of variables that include tourist characteristics, complaints, perceived performance, assessed value, expectations, tourist satisfaction, and loyalty.
Each of the variables in the study makes a significant influence towards the loyalty of the tourists to Shanghai as a tourist destination (Oliver 1980). One of the variables is the characteristics of the tourists (Yuan, Wu, Zhang, Goh, & Stout 2008). Some of the features of a tourist include the age and gender, which defines the rate at which a tourists pays a visit to Shanghai.
The case study of the UK and Shanghai
The UK is one of the sources of tourists to Shanghai, making it one of the top destinations. Different theories and models have been used to evaluate the loyalty of customers to Shanghai from the UK. It has been established that over 70 million tourists visit Shanghai from the UK. Many factors have been established, which underpin the rationale for the visitors the people for the UK pay to Shanghai.IN addition to that Shanghai appeals to the tourists from the UK depending on the age groups of the visitors, the infrastructure of the city, the culture of the people, the features that are found in the city, the history of the city and several other features, which make the city very attractive.
Once a person pays a visit to the city of Shanghai, the person is bound to experience different features and lifestyles which are very appealing to a new visitor. One of the features is the foods that are prepared by the tourist catering industries in Shanghai. An example is the buffet. Buffets are foods, which are prepared so that they reflect the western style of preparing food to suit the needs of the visitors from the west. Among the foods, which are used to make buffets include boiled meat that is prepared in a very short time and that makes the preparation processing very appealing. Studies show that the food that is prepared in Shanghai is of high quality, and that makes it a very attractive destination. In addition to that, the people employ the services offered by the catering industry because they are offered by professionals with high quality skills trained to address the catering needs of the people from the UK. The city offers a wide variety of services, which are characterised by features, which include the cosmopolitan history of the city. The city hosts different people with different religious affiliation and any one traveling there finds it an attractive place to perform their religious services. The services are tailored to suit the needs and expectations of the people from the UK.
The city of Shanghai has several features that make it a destination of choice for the people from the UK. The features include an extensive roads network of taxis, buses, and metros. The city provides a rapid transport system with an extensive network of roads such as the G50 Shanghai–Chongqing, G15 Shenyang–Haikou, and G40 Shanghai–Xi’an networks among others. In addition to that, the city has extensive railway lines, which pass through the city and provide quick communication services for the people. On the other hand, “Shanghai provides extensive air travel services using the Pudong and the Hongqiao Airports” (Yuan, Wu, Zhang, Goh, & Stout 2008). When a person pays a visit to Shanghai, they meet a rich architectural history of buildings with different architectural styles.
Methodology
Introduction
The research methodology was used to systematically collect primary and secondary data that was used to determine how the features and other tourist features and attraction service factors including psychological factors make the city of Shanghai attractive to the visitors from the UK. The focus of the study is on the theories that explain the relationship between consumer behaviour and customer loyalty. The methodology employed quantitative and qualitative data collection methods by using the questionnaire as a tool to collect primary data. The theories that explain how consumer behavior in relation to intentions, behavior, beliefs, and attitude towards Shanghai lead to UK customer loyalty and how that makes them become repeat customers. Some of the factors that have effects on the behavior of customers include infrastructure, indoor and outdoor resources were statistically evaluated to determine how they influence the UK customer’s loyalty and consumer behavior into becoming loyal Shanghai customers.
Aim and objectives
The aim of the research is to evaluate the factors that make Shanghai a top tourist destination for tourists from the UK.
To identify the specific features that positively influences consumer behavior and customer loyalty of the tourists from the UK.
To determine how visiting Shanghai positively to improves the attitudes, intentions, and behavior of the UK tourists to become loyalty Shanghai customers
To how the destination image can positively change consumer behavior and increase the UK customer loyalty.
To determine the best tourist’s destination model to adopt by Shanghai to win the loyalty of UK tourists.
Evaluate the UK as the source of tourists and Shanghai as the tourist destination.
Research Approach
The approach uses a mixed research method that is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative part is the rigorous content analysis of the literature review and the quantitative part used questionnaires that formed the main tool and component for data collection (Hart 1998). The mixed research paradigm was selected as the best option because of the many advantages of using the approach.
Qualitative paradigm
The qualitative paradigm used content analysis of the literature review including models and theories to explain consumer behaviour and customer loyalty that are caused by the attachment the customers develop by visiting the city of Shanghai. The factors that lead to customer loyalty were examined in the literature review and how those variables were used to appraise the city of Shanghai as a tourist destination for people from the UK.
Content analysis was used to analyse the literature review. Here, the type of data collected from the literature review was qualitative in nature and was based on a ‘within-the study’ method. The within the stud method was also referred to as content analysis. In addition to that, a Meta-analysis technique was used to categorise and analyse the data according to the customer satisfaction and loyalty variables (Finn, Elliott-White & Walton 2000). The content analysis was used because technique has been tested for rigour and transparency and has been proved to be effective in providing comprehensive information about the effects of the behaviour of UK customers and their loyalty to the city of Shanghai as a tourist destination of choice. Different resources were used to inform the study can be examined and the results evaluated using the ‘within-study’ approach. In addition, a recursive abstraction approach was used to identify the variables that were used in the study and the effects on customer loyalty.
In theory, it is important to note that qualitative research is an inquiry that is based on the literature review. Here, researchers argue that qualitative research does not follow a specific structure, but provides the flexibility to use the theories that explain consumer behavior and customer loyalty and the models that explain the relationship between customer satisfaction and consumer loyalty. In addition, the study used the qualitative paradigm to provide rich and deep meaning of how the factors such as attitude, behavior, beliefs, and intentions lead to influencing UK customers prioritise Shanghai as the best destination to visit as tourists making them to become loyal customers (Field 2009). Qualitative data was used to provide information and explanations about the behavioural issues that influence UK customers’ decision making processes in prioritising Shanghai as a destination of choice to visit. In addition, it is important to note that qualitative data provides explanations on the natural occurrences such as the way people in the UK perceive the city of Shanghai as a tourist destination and what drives their perceptions. In addition to that, qualitative data provides a view of the real life situations that influence the attitudes and behavior of the UK customers leads to their customer loyalty to Shanghai (Jennings 2001). The study used the qualitative content analysis to interpret the findings and connect the behavior of the UK tourists with their perceptions, behavioural intentions and loyalty to the city of Shanghai (Jones & Kay 1992)
Quantitative paradigm
The research used the quantitative paradigm that employed the questionnaire as the tool to collect data forming part of the mixed research method to determine how services providers at the city of Shangri can make the city a destination of choice. It uses ‘deductive logic of the natural sciences’ technique to make the decisions. The approach can be used to test and justify the occurrence of the behaviour of tourists that are possible to duplicate including the elements of behavior, attitude, belief, and perceptions among the UK visitors to Shanghai as the destination of choice. In addition to that, the study provided the researcher with the ability to collect data independently free inferences at the analysis phase.
The research approach shows that the results from a quantitative study were based on the administration and use of questionnaires that provide a researcher with the ability to validate and verify the results of the study using objective means. The quantitative paradigm was used to formulate a research design that was used to establish the casual relationship between the variables and the findings of the study.
On the other hand, it was possible to make large scale data collection from the target population at a minimal cost to provide the ability to process a set of variables, which are somehow equivalent across the whole study and the persons involved and across situations” (Ledo, Bonín & Iglesias 2007). The situations include the differences in gage, gender, income levels, and other appeals that make UK visitors to like Shanghai.
The mixed paradigm
When both the qualitative and quantitative paradigms are combined, the results are a mixed research paradigm. In theory, the mixed research method provides a balance between the two approaches discussed above that include both the qualitative and quantitative paradigms. Both approaches were used to provide solutions to the study from different perspectives that were combined using the triangulation technique.
Triangulation
In theory, triangulation is an approach that is used to combine different research paradigms to study the occurrence of a phenomenon as illustrated in the diagram below.
The above method used qualitative, quantitative, and literature review as sources of data to analyse and determine the solution to the research problem. Different types of triangulations were done to validate the data source to increase the validity of the inquiry. Triangulations were done on questionnaires sources of data and the literature review based on content analysis (Petrick 2004). Investigator triangulation was the most crucial approach used to analyse the data from different sources to ensure that the contributions from other researchers added to the value and depth of the research process. In addition to that, theory triangulation was used in the study to combine different sources of theoretical knowledge to interpret the different sets of data, which were acquired from the literature review (Creswell, 2009). It is crucial to note here, that another method used in triangulation is the methodological triangulation, which contributed to the study by combining different methods and approaches in conducting the study.
Tools for data collection
To address the qualitative and quantitative sources of data a specific tool for data collection was used that include questionnaires. Questionnaires formed the most important part of the study in the mixed research method because of the suitability and appropriateness of use in the study. It is important to note that the questionnaires are reliable instruments for collecting data that can be analysed to present the results of the study using numbers that can be easily interpreted to inform the study. The advantages of questionnaires are that they are practical and can enable the researcher to collect in a short while, a large amount of data from a large population of participants. Another element that motivated the researcher to use the questionnaire is the ability to use it to determine the validity and reliability of the results (Finn, Elliott-White & Walton 2000). The questionnaire has been discovered to be an excellent tool or comparing results from different areas of research, which are related to the current study. In addition to that, questionnaires can be used to prove theories, which explain different elements of the theories. Therefore, a pre-test was carried out between 12 and 14 July 2014; the questionnaires were distributed to 10 respondents staying at Shanghai. Here, nobody showed difficulties in understanding the questions; everyone kindly cooperated by responding to the questionnaire and no one expressed that the task was a nuisance.
Typically, a pre-test was done because its importance is undeniable because pre-test aims to improve the questions on the questionnaire and consequently increased the value of the questionnaire. It is agreed that pre-test “will point out the questions’ ambiguity, the existence of unnecessary questions and the need or not to adequate the questions’ sequence” (Marconi 2001).
Sampling
The sampling was conducted by first determining the size of the UK tourist population to select the sample size for the study. The approach consisted of selecting elements of the population by age groups, gender, income, and educational levels. Those elements were important because they consisted of the actual factors that determine the behavior of each customer. The number of participants was selected at 300 because it is workable number and adequate for the study. The method used to create the sample of 300 participants included classifying people according to age, education level, and income levels that could respond to the different attitudes and behaviours depending on personal and customer profiles.
Any person who has visited Shanghai city could be a participant in the study. Because it could be difficult to determine the number of people who have visited shanghai from the UK, the study used a sample size of 300 participants based on the fact that when the sample is too small, the results cannot be relied on and when the sample is large, the results become more accurate. According to Sekaran, (2003) a sample size ranging between 30 and 500 is appropriate for collecting quantitative data and in this study a sample size of 300 was identified as appropriate. The proportion of male to female was settled at 8:7 based on the frequency that each category of participant has visited the city. In addition, the proportions according to age are tabulated in the table of results.
Validity
The construct validity of the questionnaire was the point of concern because if the tool was not valid, the questionnaire data could provide wrong results, which could lead to wrong analysis and the results could not reflect the true nature of the study. To ensure the results were valid and the instrument was valid, the questionnaire data was subjected to construct validity to evaluate the repeatability of the results using 50 responses. A period of one week elapsed before another other questionnaires were issues out to the 50 participants, who participated in the test three times. The validity, which was done on the questionnaires includes content and construct validity.
Reliability
Reliability was another element considered in the administration questionnaires. The internal consistencies of the questionnaires were evaluated to determine the manner and patterns of the repeatability of the results after the tools was administered twice on a sample of the target population. The face and content validity were done to determine the reliability of the questionnaires in gathering the desired data for analysis.
Questionnaire administration
The questionnaires were administered to the target population by using the sample, which was selected for the study. The questionnaires were selected as the most appropriate tool to collect the data because of several advantages that arise when using questionnaires and the rationale for using questionnaires include:
To identify the specific features that positively influences consumer behavior and customer loyalty of the tourists from the UK.
To determine how visiting Shanghai positively to improves the attitudes, intentions, and behavior of the UK tourists to become loyalty Shanghai customers
To how the destination image can positively change consumer behavior and increase the UK customer loyalty.
To determine the best tourist’s destination model to adopt by Shanghai to win the loyalty of UK tourists.
Evaluate the UK as the source of tourists and Shanghai as the tourist destination..
The research was informed about the advantages of using the questionnaire for the study that include:
The ability to issue the questionnaire to a large number of people in different settings.
It is easy for the respondents to issue responses to the questions.
It was easy to identify the respondents and give them the questions to answer.
The questionnaire is practical
The questionnaire data can be used to create theories and to explain other theories.
Questionnaire design
Different approaches were evaluated in the design of the questionnaires and the following steps were used in the initial design using the following elements.
What to be asked
Phrasing of the questions
The sequence, in which the questions were asked
The questionnaire layout
Different approaches were used to create the questions in the questionnaire and different types of formats were evaluated (Pallant 2010). The formats included multiple choice questions, structured and unstructured questions. The approach used structured questionnaires because they were easy to create, administered, and analyse.
The questionnaire was evaluated several times to determine its suitability for the study and the results showed that it was was suitable for collecting the desired data for analysis to answer the research questions (Pallant 2010).
Contingencies
A contingency plan was in put place to ensure that the response rate was high and sufficient to address the research objectives. Observations and results from the study showed that the response rate was below 70% and a repeat administration of questionnaires was done to ensure that the threshold level of responses was achieved (Petrick 2004). The researcher liaised with the people in administering and encouraging the respondents to fill the questionnaires and submit them (Pallant 2010). The process was conducted and over 95% response rate was observed, making the study achieve the required responses for analysis.
Data cleaning
Once the data from the study was collected, it was taken through another step of cleaning it to ensure that the correct and appropriate data was used in the study (Pallant 2010). Data cleaning was done by engaging different people with knowledge in research to check the questionnaires to ensure that the data was error free (Pallant 2010). In addition, data was counterchecked and entered by different people to ensure the data entry was correct (Petrick 2004).
Pretesting
Pretesting was crucial to yield data that could provide the true picture of the results from the study on the effects of the variables that include people, infrastructure, customs, the resources of the cost of Shanghai and how they influence the tourists form the UK to visit Shanghai as shown in the table below (Pallant 2010). It was crucial to ensure that the results, which were obtained from the study, were consistent with the objectives of the study to ensure that the results were accurate and accurately reflected the true findings from the study. To ensure the validity and reliability of the data, some of the data was taken, entered and run on the SPSS program (Pallant 2010).
Some of the Cronbach’s Alpha Item items were deleted because they were below the 0.7 values that could be used to evaluate the consistency and accuracy of the results. The values below 0.7 were assumed according to the study not to convey accurately the impact of the variables. The variables included in the study are people, life, and customs and how they affect the characteristics of the city of Shanghai and the infrastructure on its effects on the attitude, perceptions, behavior, and customer loyalty and satisfaction who visit the city of Shanghai. Other tests were done to determine the adequacy of the variables that were used in the study in subsequent tables. The variables of people, life, and customs were graded according to the Cronbrach’a values to determine how they were affecting the consumer behavior and customer loyalty towards Shanghai as the most preferred tourist destination.
Variables
Item
CITC
Cronbach’s Alpa if Item Deleted
Cronbrach’a
People, life and customs
V1
0.692
0.637
0.741
V2
0.604
0.669
V3
0.619
0.854
V4
0.662
0.628
V5
0.637
0.650
Infrastructure
V6
0.739
0.897
0.909
V7
0.666
0.901
V8
0.624
0.903
V9
0.712
0.898
V10
0.670
0.900
V11
0.603
0.904
V12
0.539
0.906
V13
0.691
0.899
V14
0.674
0.900
V15
0.737
0.897
V16
0.597
0.904
Indoor and outdoor resources
V17
0.559
0.804
0.825
V18
0.715
0.778
V19
0.512
0.811
V20
0.585
0.800
V21
0.599
0.798
V22
0.545
0.818
V23
0.553
0.805
V24
0.523
0.820
Satisfaction
V25
0.705
0.735
0.823
V26
0.784
0.641
V27
0.566
0.804
loyalty
V28
0.733
0.671
0.794
V29
0.566
0.765
V30
0.542
0.771
V31
0.604
0.747
According to results in table above, the Cronbach’a value for each variable was above 0.7, with CICT above 0.5 for each items, which indicate that the measurement items for each variable is reliable and internal consistent
Data analysis
The questionnaire data was analysed to find how destination image positively affect customer behavior and influence their loyalty towards Shanghai from the UK (Pallant 2010). It was assumed that the variables that were used were continuous and that there were linear relationships between the variables. In addition to that, it was assumed that the variables do not have the outlier effects, which could generate results, which are inconsistent with the values predicted by the regression equation.
Results
The study was conducted to achieve the following objectives:
To determine how the features of Shanghai city positively influence the loyalty of tourists from the UK
To determine how the attitudes, intentions, and behavior of the UK tourists can be positively influenced by the services provided at Shanghai.
Determine the effects of the destination image of Shanghai have on positively increasing the UK customer loyalty to Shanghai.
Determine the best tourist’s destination model to adopt by Shanghai to win the loyalty of UK tourists.
Evaluate the UK as the source of tourists and Shanghai as the tourist destination.
The following table shows the number of people who participated in the study and their characteristics that influenced them in their decision making processes to be the UK tourist visitors. The table shows the frequency at which different customers have visited Shanghai from the UK according to gender, age, their professional qualifications, educational status, their income levels, the sources of information about Shanghai and their professional works. The table below is for respondents from the UK who provide personal information that can be used to determine how they affect their level of commitment and financial ability to visit Shanghai as tourists.
Descriptive statistics
Table 1 Demographic profile of respondents (N=120)
Demographic characteristics
Frequency
Percent%
Gender
Male
160
53.3
Female
140
46.7
Age
under 20
12
4.0
20-29
100
33.3
30-39
70
23.3
40-49
45
15.0
50-59
56
18.7
60 years and above
17
5.7
Occupation
Business man, company owner
28
9.3
Company staff and employee
41
13.7
Scientist, engineer, doctor and accountant
21
7.0
Government official
37
12.3
Teacher
35
11.7
Worker and farmer
38
12.7
Writer, musician, journalist, and artist
8
2.7
Housekeeper
26
8.7
Retired
26
8.7
Student
35
11.7
Other
5
1.7
Education
High school or below
25
8.3
Diploma
120
40.0
Bachelor degree
130
43.3
Postgraduate degree or above
25
8.3
Hierarchical rank
Low
95
31.7
Middle
94
31.3
High
111
37.0
Income
<5000
25
8.3
5001-10,000
5
1.7
10,001-20,000
50
16.7
20,001-50,000
90
30.0
>50,000
130
43.3
Length of stay
One night
50
16.7
2-4 nights
67
22.3
5-7 nights
94
31.3
more than 7 nights
89
29.7
Information resources
books or magazines
16
5.3
Internet
120
40.0
travel agency
45
15.0
TV
55
18.3
Newspaper
42
14.0
neighbors, friends, relatives and colleagues
22
7.3
Period of decision making
Less than a month
16
5.3
1-2 months
120
40.0
2-3 months
45
15.0
3-4 months
55
18.3
4-6 months
42
14.0
More than 6 months
22
7.3
Table 1. Summarises the demographic profile of the respondents.
Here, the statistics shows how UK customers are influenced by factors such as age, income level, employment, academic and professional qualifications among other variables shown in the table. Those factors strongly influence the decision making process of the customers to tour the city of Shanghai because tourism depends on personal factors such as income level, education, age, infrastructure, quality of services, prices, and the duration one takes to visit Shanghai. IN addition, the frequency of visiting the city determines the attitude and behavior of the visitors from the UK to Shanghai. In addition, the duration for decision making helps the researcher to connect the behavioral outcomes with the loyalty developed towards the city of Shanghai.
In addition, once the people with the attributes shown in the table have visited Shanghai, the table shows the distribution in decision making because they have been influenced by the features, services, destination image and other variables them to be repeat visitors. As for the education backgrounds of respondents, Almost 43.3% of the respondents were bachelor degree, diploma holders, constituting a 40.0% of sample, besides, High school students or below and postgraduate or above made up of 8.3% and 8.3% of sample, respectively. With reference to visitors’ annual income, 43.3% of the respondents earned above 50000 per year and 30.0% of respondents earned 20,001–50,000. Respondents earning 10,001–20,000 and 5001-10,000 per year represented 16.7% and 1.7%, respectively. While 8.3% of the respondents had under 5000 annual income. The low-income respondents represent those who are unemployed such as students. In addition, 37.0% of respondents have high hierarchical rank, 31.7% of respondents only have low hierarchical rank and 31.3% of respondents have middle hierarchical rank.
Almost 40.0% of the respondents stated that it took 1-2 months to make a decision on whether to visit Shanghai again. We can also get that as many as 26.7% of respondents had a worked period of 3-5 years, decision making period of 3-4 months and 2-3 months composed of 18.3% and 15.0% of sample, respectively, moreover, 14.0% of respondents express that they need 4-6 months to make a decision, only 5.3% of respondents took less than a month top decide to revisit the city of Shanghai.
Reliability analysis
Reliability was used multiple times to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire to ensure the accuracy of the results. The results were above the 0.8 mark, showing a high level of reliability. If the reliability was above 0.6, the Cronbach’s alpha was frequently used to test the reliability of the results used in the study (Alegre & Garau 2010). The minimum requirement for CICT is 0.5, if the CICT for item is below 0.5, the item need to be excluded from the analysis. In addition, if the Cronbach’a values increase with the exclusion of the items, the item should be excluded.
Factor analysis
A test was done to determine if the sample was sufficient for the study and the selected variables for the factor analysis (Bryman, 1989). As seen in Table 3, KMO test resulted in a 0.721 value that was greater than the suggested minimum value of 0.5 for adequacy, and Bartlett’s test also demonstrated a very good sphericity (v2 = 6554.627, df = 276, p < 0.000). These tests indicated that the 27 variables were suitable for the following factor analysis. All the variables were tested as below.
Table 3. KMO and Bartlett’s Test.
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.
0.721
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity
Approx. Chi-Square
6554.627
df
276
Sig.
0.000
Table 4. Factor analysis results.
Factor
Question number
Cronbach’s alpha
1
People, life and customs
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
0.741
2
Infrastructure
6-16
0.909
3
Indoor and outdoor resources
17-24
0.825
overall
0.923
Table 4 shows the results of the factors that influence the people to be repeat visitors to the UK. Factor one included 5 question items with regard to issues of people, life and customs, which resulted in a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.721. The Cronbach’s alpha of 0.721 help determine the reliability of the results about the factors that influence their perceptions, behavior, and loyalty due to indoor and outdoor variables.
Independent sample t-test and one way ANONA analysis
Independent sample t-test and one way ANONA analysis are used in order to find out the relationship between people, life and customs, infrastructure, indoors and outdoors resources, satisfaction, destination loyalty and demographic factors such as gender, age, education and income.
Independent sample t-test
An “independent T-Test was applied to investigate how loyalty and customer behavior are influenced by the people, life, customs, infrastructure, indoor and outdoor resources and their summed effect on satisfaction that leads to UK customer loyalty (Anderson et al, 2007). The T-Test on gender differences in mean values reveals that some significant differences exist between the male and female who visit the city of Shanghai. The results for the mean independent T-test analyses contrasting the male and female group of visitors showed five variables and no differences between males and females were observed because people (0.707), infrastructure (0.224), indoors and outdoors resources (0.123), satisfaction (0.086) and destination loyalty (0.333) are larger than significance level of 0.05 respectively. The statistics below were used to show the level of confidence of the findings that make results reliable on how they influence the loyalty and behaviour of the UK customers (Hair et al, 2006).
Table 5. Independent sample t-test of five variables for different gender.
gender
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
t
Sig (2-tailed)
People, life and customs
male
160
3.918750
.5422046
0.377
0.707
female
140
3.892857
.6358185
infrastructure
male
160
3.477273
.6371391
2.266
0.224
female
140
3.301948
.6948519
Indoors and outdoors resources
male
160
3.27344
.657890
1.549
0.123
female
140
3.16071
.602432
satisfaction
male
160
3.104167
.6658144
-1.725
0.086
female
140
3.250000
.7826302
destination loyalty
male
160
3.1250
.60786
-0.969
0.333
female
140
3.1964
.66163
One way ANONA analysis
The one-way analysis of variance (abbreviated one-way ANOVA) was used to compare means of two or more samples (using the F distribution) that includes the loyalty and behavior of the UK customers. ANOVA is “used to test for differences among at least three groups, since the two-group case can be covered by a t-test” (Creswell 2009).
Table 6. One way ANONA analysis of five variables for different age groups.
N
Mean
Deviation
Error
F
Significant.
People, life and customs
under 20
12
3.058824
.2954196
.0852803
20.638
0.000
20-29
100
3.506667
.5448566
.0544857
30-39
70
3.971429
.4914170
.0587356
40-49
45
4.000000
.4524680
.0674499
50-59
17
4.170000
.2425356
.0588235
60 years and above
56
3.914286
.5918933
.0790951
Total
300
3.906667
.5868876
.0338840
infrastructure
under 20
12
3.418182
.2698424
.0778968
5.240
0.000
20-29
100
3.459091
.7228256
.0722826
30-39
70
3.462121
.6936220
.0829037
40-49
45
3.387879
.4995866
.0744740
50-59
17
2.625668
.2337317
.0566883
60 years and above
56
3.478896
.6797470
.0908350
Total
300
3.395455
.6693292
.0386437
indoors and outdoors resources
under 20
12
2.58333
.246183
.071067
7.242
0.000
20-29
100
3.33125
.566136
.056614
30-39
70
3.33929
.650562
.077757
40-49
45
3.18333
.669761
.099842
50-59
17
2.61765
.587085
.142389
60 years and above
56
3.24821
.605709
.080941
Total
300
3.22083
.634076
.036608
satisfaction
under 20
12
3.694444
.6884081
.1987263
7.459
0.000
20-29
100
3.340000
.8109520
.0810952
30-39
70
2.966667
.6063273
.0724700
40-49
45
3.111111
.4550502
.0678349
50-59
17
2.490196
.1714986
.0415945
60 years and above
56
3.273810
.7890850
.1054459
Total
300
3.172222
.7251178
.0418647
destination loyalty
under 20
12
3.0107
.49381
.14255
8.308
0.103
20-29
100
3.2825
.73654
.07365
30-39
70
3.7292
.50797
.06071
40-49
45
3.1056
.38616
.05756
50-59
17
2.5000
.00000
.00000
60 years and above
56
3.2411
.66566
.08895
Total
300
3.1583
.63346
.03657
First of all, the result of analysis of variance (ANOVA) in table 6 suggested that people, life and customs (0.000), infrastructure (0.000), indoors and outdoors resources (0.000) and satisfaction (0.000) had significant differences in the in influencing the satisfaction of UK tourists and their loyalty, because all of their p-values were smaller than the significance level (0.05) (Riley, Niininen, Szivas & Willis 2001). Further inspection of the results showed that the people, life and customs in 50-59 age groups showed the strongest greater satisfaction and loyalty to Shanghai as a destination of their choice (Pizam & Mansfeld 2000). On the hand, both infrastructure and indoors and outdoors resources in 30-39 age group are higher than other age groups, which showed that they were elements, which caused greater satisfaction among the respondents (Hair et al, 2006).
Table 7. One way ANONA analysis of five variables for different education groups.
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Std. Error
F
Sig.
People, life and customs
High school or below
25
3.120000
0.4000000
0.0800000
26.791
0.000
Diploma
120
3.825000
0.6668942
0.0608788
Bachelor degree
130
4.084615
0.4060514
0.0356131
Postgraduate degree or above
25
4.160000
0.3511885
0.0702377
Total
300
3.906667
0.5868876
0.0338840
infrastructure
High school or below
25
3.036364
0.4860308
0.0972062
12.501
0.000
Diploma
120
3.340909
0.6908618
0.0630668
Bachelor degree
130
3.384615
0.6419805
0.0563054
Postgraduate degree or above
25
4.072727
0.3683408
0.0736682
Total
300
3.395455
0.6693292
0.0386437
indoors and outdoors resources
High school or below
25
3.62500
0.856197
0.171239
6.722
0.000
Diploma
120
3.06250
0.622368
0.056814
Bachelor degree
130
3.26923
0.527459
0.046261
Postgraduate degree or above
25
3.32500
0.735095
0.147019
Total
300
3.22083
0.634076
0.036608
satisfaction
High school or below
25
3.800000
0.7328281
0.1465656
10.678
0.346
Diploma
120
2.972222
0.7785444
0.0710711
Bachelor degree
130
3.243590
0.6332564
0.0555403
Postgraduate degree or above
25
3.133333
0.4614791
0.0922958
Total
300
3.172222
0.7251178
0.0418647
destination loyalty
High school or below
25
3.2000
0.67315
0.13463
15.109
0.000
Diploma
120
2.9792
0.65191
0.05951
Bachelor degree
130
3.1827
0.56358
0.04943
Postgraduate degree or above
25
3.8500
0.26021
0.05204
Total
300
3.1583
0.63346
0.03657
Correlation analysis
Pearson’s correlation coefficient assumes that each pair of variables is a bivariate normal and it is a measure of linear association (Balnaves & Caputi 2001).
The results suggested that there were significant relationships between destination loyalty and other variables because the P-values of all the correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Further inspection of the results manifested that nearly all variables have positive relationships with destination loyalty. The correlation value of people, life and customs (0.314**), infrastructure (0.686**), indoors and outdoors resources (0.589**) and satisfaction (0.881**) indicate that the correlations are medium. The strongest relationship exists between satisfaction and destination loyalty (0.881**). It shows that there were strong relationship between destination loyalty and customer behavior and the Shanghai destination variables.
Regression analysis
Regression analysis was used to estimate the relationships among variables that influence customer loyalty and behavior and their satisfaction with changes in customs, infrastructure, and resources (Balnaves & Caputi 2001). The table shows how dependent variables of the customers are influenced by dependent variables of the destination that is Shanghai.
Table 10. Regression analysis result.
Equation
Dependent variable
Independent variables
Associated hypothesis
Path coefficient
t-value
p-value
R2
(1)
Satisfaction
People, life and customs
H1
0.025
0.488
0.626
0.478
infrastructure
H2
0.243
7.788
0.000
Indoors and outdoors resources
H3
0.495
4.323
0.000
(2)
Destination loyalty
satisfactory
H4
0.756
21.091
0.000
0.802
People, life and customs
_
-0.125
-3.984
0.000
infrastructure
_
0.217
5.037
0.000
Indoors and outdoors resources
_
0.049
1.387
0.166
Path coefficients for the proposed theoretical model are illustrated in Figure 1. A key variable in the theoretical model is the satisfaction of respondents. The results of regression analysis with satisfaction as the dependent variable appear in Table 10 (Equation (1). Here, as predicted in H2, infrastructure is a statistically significant predictor variable (p=0.000). Also, as predicted in H3, indoors and outdoors resources is significant (p=0.001), further inspection suggests that both infrastructure (0.243**) and indoors and outdoors resources (0.495**) have significant positive impact on satisfaction, however, People, life and customs does not have a statistically significant correlation with satisfaction, which indicates that H1 is not supported. Equation (2) reveals the proposed relation (H4) between satisfaction and destination loyalty is supported. Moreover, satisfaction has a statistically significant positive influence on the destination loyalty.
Figure 1. Theoretical model.
Discussion
The analytical results of the study showed that people, life, customs, infrastructure, indoors, outdoors resources of the city of Shanghai had a significant impact on the UK customer loyalty towards Shanghai as a preferred tourist destination of choice. It shows that those factors can theoretically be explained by the behavior that is developed because of the image factors that qualify about Shanghai to be the preferred as a destination of choice. However, there were significant differences among different education groups on their attitudes and customer loyalty towards Shanghai as a destination of choice. That is because people of different demographic profiles have different profiles and persona preferences about a place. Further inspection of the results showed that the respondents with postgraduate degree or above most cared about people, life and customs and infrastructure in influencing them to visit Shanghai. That is because each respondent had certain preferences about the city of choice. The respondents for high school or below most care about indoor and outdoor resources and have strongest destination loyalty because their liking of such games in Shanghai. However, in addition, the study shows that the level of satisfaction varies from one group to the other. Satisfaction is measure of the degree of product compliance to the needs and expectations of the customers and even exceeds the expectations when they visit Shanghai as a preferred destination of choice (Hair et al, 2006).
On the other hand, loyalty to Shanghai as a destination of choice for the visitors from the UK varies significantly among the target population with different demographic profiles. That is because the factors that affect customer loyalty are both attitudinal and behavioral and depend on the perceptions of each person in the population being researched from the UK. The study shows the strength of the psychological commitment of the people of different academic qualifications to the city of Shanghai as the most preferred place of choice. It also shows that some of the methods that encourage visitors from the UK are based on destination image. The destination image is crucial here because people from the UK develop certain perceptions about the city of Shanghai that influences their behavior and loyalty. The image customers from the UK develop about Shanghai is crucial because it influences their decision making process in determining whether to visit Shanghai or not. It is possible for the image of Shanghai to influence positively influence the demand factors for the people of the UK to positively regard Shanghai as a destination of choice based on the cultural, social, economic, services delivery, infrastructure, experiences, and motivations to visit and become loyal to the city. The theories of consumer behavioral and customer loyalty provide the ground upon which to determine the extent of customer loyalty and the behavior of customers form the UK towards Shanghai.
Conclusion and recommednations
The purpose of the study was to appraise the city of Shanghai to create tourism satisfaction and loyalty for visitors from the UK. The results were based on the explanations of the psychological antecedents of the theories of reasoned action, customer loyalty, consumer behavior, and the theory of planned action and the effects on the antecedents have on the loyalty those customers towards develop the city of Shanghai. A questionnaire was issued and administered on the respondents and the resulting data was analysed using the SPSS program. The results led to the conclusion that the behavior and attitudes of many customers from the UK were influenced by their demographic profiles. The antecedents of behavior that include intentions, beliefs, and attitudes were influenced by the features that define Shanghai as a destination of choice. Those features that have a positive effect on the attitudes, intentions, and beliefs of UK customers include the fascinating way of life of the people in Shanghai, the culture of the people, the customs and other ways of life of the people. In addition, the infrastructure, the indoor and outdoor resources make the visits to Shanghai enjoyable for people from the UK. If the people are satisfied about their expectation when visiting Shanghai as a tourist destination, their attitudes become positive and that makes them become repeat customers.
In theory and practice, it can be seen that the destination of choice is influenced by several theoretical and practical elements. One of them is image. Image is about the features that define a place of choice and when the UK customers develop a positive image about Shanghai, they tend to create a mental map of positive perceptions and positives attitude and behaviors as per the theories of planned behavior and reasoned action and that makes them visit the place again, which makes them to be referred to as repeat customers. Image is about the information customers gather about Shanghai with time and the expectations people develop about the place. Here, Shanghai is a destination of choice for many people from the UK who wish to travel outside of the UK because of the unique features in shanghai city. Another unique and distinguishing element is that Shanghai is one of the largest cities of the world and has rich historical heritages. Those heritages contribute to the sum of the attributes of the place of interest and that leads to individual perceptions about the city. In addition, image provides the destination image is controlled by other variables, which include environmental factors such as rivers, buildings, accommodation, and other infrastructure, which makes the Shanghai to be the most preferred destination of choice.
Other theoretical explanations include the planned theories of action that is applied in conjunction with the theory of operant conditioning, the customer from the UK get conditioned such that it makes them to plan to act in ways that leads them to visit Shanghai and that makes the city to be the preferred destination of choice. Customers from the UK reason that when the destination satisfies their needs and expectations, it enables them to positively rate Shanghai as a destination of choice. On the other hand, it is through the word of mouth that the customers from the UK get conditioned to pay a visit to Shanghai because they have heard stories told to them about Shanghai as a beautiful place to visit. Here, the theory of reasoned action is based on the beliefs that are developed about the place. Those are normative beliefs, the control beliefs, the perceived behavioral control, and the subjective norms that lead to intention to act in certain ways and the end result are the behaviors of the customers.
Other theories, which explain Shanghai as a destination of choice, include the commitment theory, which explains the commitment customers have towards Shanghai. In addition, the theories explain how customer loyalty is established to address the needs and expectations of the customers. Shanghai is crucial destination of because it provides the foundation for influencing the customers to make it a top number one destination of choice. That results in destination loyalty, which is achieved by satisfaction, the infrastructure of the tourist destination, the customs and way of life of the people, and the resources that are found in Shanghai.
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The primary aim of the proposed study is to critically analyze how service quality affects customer loyalty and customer repeat intentions in hotel settings in China. The proposed study attempts to cover the following set of objectives:
To critically analyze the effects of service quality on behavioral orientations and perceptions leading up to loyalty development;
To critically evaluate how hotel service quality in China influences customer repeat Intentions;
To explicate service quality factors that are more likely to result in the internalization of loyalty and repeat intentions among customers, and;
To formulate conclusions and recommendations on how the hotel industry in China can take advantage of service quality characteristics to spur customer loyalty and repeat intentions.
A brief review of relevant literature and rationale for study: list references of approximately 6 publications that you view to be key publications focusing on your research topic. On this list, include a minimum of 4 key methodology references. This list should be alphabetized and stapled to the back of the proposal form.
Most of the organizations in the hotel and hospitality industry are operating today in an environment of swift and wide-ranging change, where competitiveness and indeed survival depends sorely on making the right choice (Nightingale 2005). Equally thrilling is the rapid growth of the service sector, which now accounts for approximately two-thirds of GDP in developed economies and is contributing on a greater level than ever before in the developing world (Narayan et al 2009). Extant literature demonstrates that as the number of tourists and international business travelers in China grows in line with China’s economy, the country’s rapidly maturing hotel industry is among the key beneficiaries (Lee 2002), implying that hotels will now be forced to avail more choices and superior-quality services to their customers to remain relevant in the competition (Yu & Smith 2007).
Arguably, most international and domestic hotels in China are today expending huge financial resources and investments to ensure their service offerings remain above board, to benefit from heightened demand triggered by factors such as increased business travel, global conferences and exhibitions held in China, competitive packages priced for leisure visitors, and more direct flights between source markets and destinations (Lee 2002). Tourism, which feeds the hotel sector, has been growing at a phenomenal rate since China opened up its markets to international investors in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2005, for example, inbound tourist arrivals grew “…by 10.3 percent from 109 million arrivals to 120.3 million; domestic travel jumped by 10 percent from 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion person-trips; and Chinese outbound travel grew from 28.9 million to 31 million tourists, up 7.5 percent” (Yu & Smith 2007 p. 16).
But scholars report that many hotels in China, especially in the low and middle-level cadre, are yet to adopt modern service practices that will assist them to not only satisfy their customers but also to retain them in their quest to remain above the competition (Lee 2002). This is against that standard practice, which requires businesses operating in a globalizing world to expand their market share and competitiveness through the adoption of the industry’s best service practices (Emir & Kozak, 2011). Additionally, extant literature demonstrates that it is far more costly to look for new customers than to retain existing ones (Kattara, Waheba & El-Said 2008). Consequently, the proposed study attempts to bridge the knowledge gap that exists in service quality research by illuminating how Chinese hotels can use the service quality construct to spur customer loyalty and repeat intentions, thus remaining competitive and profitable. Gaining and maintaining loyal customers has important ramifications for the survival of hotels in China. This brings us to the all-important question of how service quality affects customer loyalty and repeat intentions within the hotel industry in China.
Zeithaml (1988) cited in Malik et al (2011, p. 622) defined service quality as “…the judgment of customers about the overall superiority of a product or service.” Gronroos (2001) cited in Akbar & Parvez (2009) acknowledged that service quality can only be conceptualized as the distinction between customer expectations regarding a service to be received and perceptions of the service being received; that is, the extent to which a particular service meets customers’ needs or expectations. A mass of evidence, from anecdotes to systematic studies, exists to demonstrate that the consumer of a particular service seeks to gratify a set of needs or wants which to a large extent related to the essential purpose such as having a meal at the hotel or an overnight stay at a lodging facility (Huiquin & Xin n.d.; Nightingale 2005; Akbar & Parvez 2009). Crotts & Ford (2008) think that the ultimate key to the realization of quality service within the hotel setting is the individual employee who delivers the service to the customer, yet he is characteristically the one with the least seniority, the lowest level of pay, least experienced, and least identification with the longer-term aims and objectives of the entity.
After a comprehensive review of service quality studies, Akbar & Parvez (2009) identifies five dimensions of service quality, namely: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibility. These dimensions, according to the authors, link explicit service characteristics to the aspirations and expectations of the customer. While tangibility encompasses the physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel in a particular service setting, empathy denotes the caring, individualized attention, and assurance implies the knowledge and courtesy of staff members and their capacity to convey trust and confidence. The reliability characteristic encompasses the capacity to perform the promised service dependably and accurately, and responsiveness means the willingness to assist customers and provide prompt service (Akbar & Parvez 2009). It is however important to acknowledge that service quality is not objectively evaluated according to some rigorous technical principles but is subjectively perceived by customers and evaluated relative to customer-determined principles (Sohail et al 2007).
Customer loyalty has been defined idiosyncratically by scholars and practitioners depending on the user context. Oliver (1999) cited in Emir and Kozak (2011, p. 132-133) defined loyalty as “…a promise about repurchasing the product in the future and becoming loyal customers.” Roostika (2011), on his part, postulates that loyalty covers all the behavioral and attitudinal aspects of customers, and can be expressed in varied dimensions depending on the products/services and situations. In yet another study, Crotts & Ford (2008, p. 234) argue that “…building loyalty starts with a commitment to deliver excellence at every moment of truth and must extend from upper management to every frontline employee.” Service quality, according to Huiquin & Xin (n.d.), not only enhances satisfaction and loyalty behaviors among customers but also influences their repurchase intentions and leads to positive word-of-mouth.
Another strand of literature (e.g., Malik et al 2011; Hur & Kang 2012) equates customer loyalty with commitment and suggests that customers remain committed to a specific service setting for different reasons, namely: because they want to be (affective commitment), because they feel they ought to be (normative commitment), and because they feel they have to be (continuance commitment). For all these reasons, however, service quality has been illuminated as critical in encouraging and reinforcing loyalty/commitment behaviors (Hur & Kang 2012).
Researchers have undertaken systematic studies to identify the reasons that inform customer repeat intentions. While Emir and Kozak (2011) found that both service quality and customer satisfaction have a direct and positive impact upon customers’ repeat intentions, Han (2000) found the emotional response to being a strong predictor of repeat intention and brand attitude. In service research, Ng (2001) found that the dining environment, service quality, customer satisfaction, and competency of employees are powerful predictors of intention to revisit. A study by Roostika (2011) demonstrates that business activities that are considered to be influential in developing and sustaining customer repeat intentions in the hotel industry include service quality, customer satisfaction, business image and reputation, friendly and knowledgeable staff, physical location, and servicescape, and food quality. In yet another study by Crotts & Ford (2008), customer satisfaction and service quality were found to be the mediating factors of repeat intentions, and all the three constructs were found to reinforce loyalty behavior. It is important to evaluate these constructs in hotel settings in China since most of the studies to date have been undertaken in Western contexts (Lee 2002).
The justification for the proposed study arises from the fact that hotels must now adopt customer-oriented services and offerings to not only retain customers but also to stay ahead of the competition (Lee 2002). Second, while many variables are involved in reinforcing loyalty and repeat intentions immediately after the consumption or experience process has been complete, the researcher feels that knowing the extent of service quality dimensions in the creation of customer loyalty and repeat intentions will play a fundamental role in enhancing competitiveness and profitability in the hotel industry in China. These prepositions inform the justification for the proposed study.
Outline of study design and methods
Sample: Please provide a detailed description of the study sample, covering selection, number, age, and if appropriate, inclusion, and exclusion criteria.
The target population for the proposed study will comprise employees and customers of 3 pre-determined middle-level (3-star) hotels doing business in China. These hotels include City Hotel Beijing, Holiday Inn Express Beijing Shangdi, and Hotel Ibis Beijing Dongdaqiao. As postulated by Cohen (2007), a population entails the larger group from which the subjects are chosen to take part in a study. The study will utilize probability sampling, where sample members (hotel employees and customers) will be drawn with a random selection mechanism and each population member will have a known, non-zero opportunity of inclusion. The justification for using probability sampling is that it will assist the researcher to achieve fairness and objective data as selection for inclusion will not be subject to any controls or manipulation (Lohr 2010).
The sampling technique will be simple random as this will allow every population element an equal opportunity of selection to participate in the study. The technique will be applied to select 30 customers (10 from each hotel), who must have attained the age of 18 years and are of either gender. The same technique will be applied to select 30 front-line employees (10 from each hotel), who must have attained the age of 18 years and demonstrate an adequate understanding of service settings. The two sets of participants must be ready and willing to take part in the study. The random sampling technique has been selected for use due to the following reasons:
ease of assembling the study sample,
fairness in the selection of the sample,
representativeness of the population, and
capacity to achieve unbiased results (Lohr 2010).
The researcher intends to undertake an online pilot study before actual data collection too, among other things:
identify the key issues that may pose a challenge to the data collection exercise,
fine-tune the data collection instrument to ensure its validity and reliability, and
evaluate if the methods earmarked for use will meet the threshold for objective data collection in the field (Creswell 2002).
The piloting study will be conducted on 6 participants (3 hotel employees and 3 customers).
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Considering the data-heavy lifestyles of contemporary people, it should come as no surprise that many organizations gather digital data regarding people’s preferences and everyday activities. If this data is compatible with the organization’s goals, it can be used directly, and, if not, there is likely a buyer for such databases in the market. Loyalty cards are one of the ways of gathering information about people’s consumer habits, and, as with all data gathering about individuals, data safety is the utmost concern. Pingo and Narayan (2016) point out the drawback of the practice for the consumers. According to them, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that the data in question will not be stolen, and the only way to mitigate the risks is through digital privacy education (Pingo and Narayan, 2016). Should the data be stolen, it is likely to be sold as well, but the information about people’s individual preferences can be used for purposes other than business too.
The emphasis on privacy education should not undermine the necessity of legal protection of data privacy. As of now, the overreaching framework in terms of data privacy is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It outlines the basic principles of data handling, such as fairness, transparency, or purpose limitation, but does not elaborate on their specific application. A useful and significant addition would be a legally reinforced opportunity for the customer to remain anonymous. Blanco-Justicia and Domingo-Ferrer (2016) describe a potential mechanism for that built with the use of partially blind signatures and the generalization of product receipts. If there was a legal requirement for vendors to provide an option for the customers to remain anonymous, it could improve the situation with regard to privacy protection.
References
Blanco-Justicia, A., & Domingo-Ferrer, J. (2016). Privacy-aware loyalty programs. Computer Communications, 82, 83-94.
Thinking of the research, the reader might imagine a collection of quantitative and qualitative data gathered with the help of surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and other methods. While the former are the basics of any research project, there is much more in between the data collection. The following pages of the work contain the research methodology of the thesis. The author explained in detail the choice of the research strategy, the research methods, the research approach, the methods and instruments of data collection.
The research strategy
A basic theoretical kind of research was applied to the project, aiming to develop knowledge about the factors defining the loyalty of sports fans. The proposed research examined the influences causing people to become avid sports fans and offered a fresh point of view on a topic of sports as a means of entertainment.
Research Methods
In compliance with the objectives of the thesis, the qualitative methods were used. Qualitative research involves the synthesis between the use of literature and the collection of the data with the eventual development of the conceptual framework. It ensures the detailed description and interpretation of a specific concept, providing in-depth insight into the given problem. Moreover, qualitative research is applied when dealing with people’s beliefs, feelings, and motivations. Therefore, it is especially useful for answering questions about the perspectives of the groups under study. The sports event is a kind of social activity that involves certain relationships and behavioral models that constitute the factors of fan loyalty studied in the project.
Quantitative research, on the other hand, is used when there is a need for measurement, categorization, or statistical modeling, which is not the case with the project in question, as its aim is observing the behavior of a specific group of people. Accordingly, the sole method of qualitative analysis was used in the thesis.
Research Approach
For the interpretive, qualitative purposes of the research, the inductive approach was applied to the study. The goal was to collect and analyze data on a specific observation and provide an explanation as to what causes a person to become a loyal sports fan.
Methods and instruments of data collection
Collecting accurate data was an integral part of the research. For this purpose, the qualitative data collection techniques, such as the participant observations and the interviews, were used. The methods allowed the author to collect first-hand data on the wide range of behaviors and motives of the sports fans to distinguish the factors of fan loyalty. The main advantage of the participant observation was getting the insider’s perspective. The observations during the fieldwork at the various sports events included the systematic noting and recording of actions and behavior of the research group for a better understanding of the case under study. By volunteering at sports events, the researcher was able to participate in the daily activities of the study group gathering the data about the underlying causes of becoming a loyal sports fan.
The participant observation method required a special set of instruments to record and describe the data and events during the fieldwork. The author used specific protocol with criteria to judge the observations against it, as well as the dated field notes to accurately describe the setting, the interactions, and behavior involved in the sports event participation without being judgmental.
The interviews provided the author with the advantages of direct contact and impartial review of the studied group and its features. For the purpose of gathering relevant content, semi-structured interviews were conducted involving the use of open-ended questions. Such an approach motivated the interviewees to discuss the topics freely while helping the interviewer follow the general structure of discussion. Comprehensive questionnaires were used during the interviews with the subjects of study, as well as the cues to support the conversation flow.
The sample interview questions included:
How did you become a sports fan?
Did your geographic location influence your choice of a team?
Do your family and friends support your choice of a favorite team?
Is the team of your choice popular with the local population?
Are the colors and official merchandise of your favorite team important to you?
The disadvantage of the semi-structured interview, however, was that the author had to deal with a large number of subjective thoughts and personal interpretations, which required significant efforts from the researcher to produce an objective idea. The solution to this situation was the use of focus groups during interviews that involved group communication to generate the idea and clarify the views in ways not always existent with one interviewee. The ideal focus groups consisted of about 6 to 10 participants.
Data Analysis
Qualitative data analysis involved the classification of data as primary and secondary. Primary data was gathered directly from participants over the course of interviews and participant observation primarily in the form of field notes. The secondary data is collected from sources such as letters, documents, and research materials. Both types of data were processed by creating theoretical categories providing a structure for further analysis.
Charles Dickens is known for his direct criticism of social problems that were prominent at his time and had an enormous impact on the population. The novel titled “Hard Times” is frequently discussed all over the globe, and can be regarded as a masterpiece. The author observed a lot of issues and did not hesitate to critique them in an attempt to provoke discussions among scholars and politicians. It is clear that many people had to live in inhumane conditions, and some of the beliefs were incredibly questionable. The popularization of philosophical thinking is particularly interesting, and the writer describes severe complications that may occur when one is blindly devoted to such ideas and does not question them. This paper presents a critique of how loyalty is portrayed in the work.
Discussion
The story is focused on the problems related to the industrial revolution and how it has affected society. Capitalism had fuelled the mistreatment of employees, and nobody had ever thought that there will come a time when all these injustices will be forgotten. Dickens’s novel reveals the struggles that parents, workers, and even children had to go through. They hand to ensure a lot of traumatic events to afford rent. The emergence of philosophical lives is perhaps one of the driving forces of changes that were witnessed during this era. The author describes various forms of loyalties and their prices in shaping the lives of the main characters in the novel.
Mr. Gradgrind, one of the central characters, is committed to ensuring that he raises his children and influences all people around him through a unique philosophical approach. He believed that individuals should analyze facts before making any significant decisions, and it would help them to improve the quality of their lives. However, his philosophy makes life difficult for his children and others. Moreover, he does not have an easy time living with those who oppose his approaches and it causes many disagreements. The author tries to grab the attention of readers with the line that states “you can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them” (Dickens 3). In other words, he did not accept anything else and the level of devotion to these ideas was enormous. Dickens was interested in highlighting how blind loyalty was a weakness even for powerful individuals.
For instance, the author ridicules this blind loyalty to Gradgrind’s philosophy and outlines various ways it has affected the lives of his children and people that surround him. The character expected his daughter Louisa to hide her feelings to the public or even other individuals, and this has led to issues related to interactions and communication patterns. Her father did not allow his children to attend the circus performances since he believed that they would corrupt their minds, and they would be exposed to evil people and other atrocities. Additionally, he did not let them make personal decisions and tried to ensure that they are controlled at every stage in their lives. The novel portrays the failure of Louisa’s father in raising her and blames this inept philosophy for breaking her marriage. She confronts him and condemns his questionable beliefs because they have led to her miseries. Thomas Gradgrind believes that his father’s Utilitarian education made his life miserable, and that is why he later became a bank robber, gambler, and alcoholic.
He blames all these problems on his father and believes that vital development stages were missed during his childhood because of his father’s loyalty to this philosophic approach. Dickens used these two characters to explain how parents make their children’s lives unbearable by insisting that they should follow specified ways of behaving. It is wrong for adults to think that they will raise responsible and successful children by forcing predetermined philosophies down their throats. It is not reasonable to interfere with a child’s decisions when it comes to their beliefs and lifestyle, but parents should always be near their children and guide them in making correct decisions that will guarantee them a successful life. A family’s loyalty should not be unconditional since this will make some of the members suffer. They had the right to disagree with him. However, it was too late, and such parenting had a long-lasting impact on their lives.
Stephen Blackpool, a Bounderby mills worker, is forced to be loyal and remain with his alcoholic wife regardless of the tribulations she puts him through during their marriage. He is committed to providing for his family and works hard to live a better life. Such situations are seen quite often even in modern society, and many do not view divorce as a reasonable choice. He is forced to live with his wife who disappears and re-appears as she wishes. His loyalty is unjustified because he is not valued but he still thinks that the situation may be improved in the future. Furthermore, this explains why unconditional family loyalty can be harmful and can affect a person’s lifestyle and future.
Bounderby’s relation to Bitzer, a bank employee, highlights the conflict of interest that arises when people are driven by capitalism, utilitarianism, and self-interest work together. A former bully is focused primarily on his interests and is not worried about the issues of others. His philosophy and selfishness become essential qualities of this character and define him. “I am not sure that you know that the whole social system is a question of self-interest” is a line that is particularly interesting (Dickens 339). Differently put, he is not afraid of speaking about his intentions and remains calm. Bounderby expected Bitzer to follow his philosophy of not having or following “unmanageable thoughts” but this could not have happened since each of these characters had different perceptions of how to live a successful life. His loyalty to his employer is betrayed when he is offered compensation not to arrest Thomas for robbing his employer’s bank, and he prioritizes benefits over integrity. He is not trustworthy, and it makes it difficult for both parties. Dickens mocks those who make particular philosophies vital parts of their lives without thinking about consequences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is quite evident that loyalty is a central topic in the story, and Dickens draws attention to complications that may occur when it is excessive, or one is not sincere. The writer was worried about society and wanted to ensure that the population understands that such behavior is inappropriate. Overall, it is possible to state that he succeeded because the narrative is quite comprehensive and he manages to keep the attention of readers.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. London, UK: Bradbury and Evans, 1854. Print.
