Brendan T. Chen

Temporal Change in Resident Perceptions of a Mega-event: The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Abstract This study investigated the influences of temporal effects on local residents’ impact perceptions of hosting the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, utilizing data collected during the first week of the games and after the games from local residents of Beijing. Findings suggested that thirteen of the 30 impact items examined were significantly different between the assessment of impacts during and after the games. While changes in two of those impact perception items indicated that residents’ perceptions changed for the better after the games, eleven of them suggested that during the first week of the games residents had high expectations about the benefits, though they were aware that such benefits would not be cost-free. However, they later realized that the benefits generated were lower than they had anticipated and the costs associated were higher than they expected.

Information search behavior of independent travelers: a cross-cultural comparison between Chinese, Japanese, and American travelers.

This study examines international travelers’ information search behavior utilizing data collected from Japanese, Chinese, and American independent travelers to Taiwan. One-way ANOVA tests reveal that Internet is the most important external information source for independent travelers from those three nations followed by newspapers, magazines, and books. Chinese travelers are found to use underground (subway) advertisement boxes, advertisement on buses, TV, radio, international travel exhibitions, outdoor advertisements, or billboards more frequently than both Japanese and American travelers. The results also show that both Japanese and Chinese travelers are likely to use tourism leaflets from a travel agency more frequently than U.S. travelers. Japanese female travelers appeared to utilize newspapers, magazines, books, and ads on subways and buses more frequently than Japanese male travelers.

Service quality and customer satisfaction: qualitative research implications for luxury hotels.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to determine whether luxury hotel managers and customers have the same understanding of service quality and satisfaction and whether there is a disparity between services offered by luxury hotels and the way customers actually experience them. Design/methodology/approach – This paper used interviews with managers and guests of 5-Star hotels in Taiwan and qualitative analysis to understand definitions and perceptions of luxury, service quality and satisfaction. Findings – The major findings of the study were that: there were no fundamental disconnects in the respective understandings of managers and guests; however, the two groups used different language to describe luxury, service quality and satisfaction; the managers evaluated satisfaction in terms of services provided, but the guests conceptualized satisfaction in terms of value received for the price of lodging; and luxury, service quality and satisfaction were closely related in the minds of the managers and gu...

The potential for active online learning in Taiwanese tourism degree programs based on online educational experiences of graduate students.

Online learning has been developed in Taiwan to make it convenient for people who are in different locations to experience synchronous learning. This study used a phenomenological approach to examine the learning motivations of Taiwanese graduate students in online educational settings to predict the role online instruction could play in tourism programs. The study suggested that synchronous online communication engages more students than asynchronous communication in synthesizing and applying knowledge and targeting the learning focus on problem solving and critical reflections to increase student-learning motivation and satisfaction. The findings also indicated that Taiwanese graduate students feel that clear course objectives and teaching instruction from faculty members contributed most to their learning satisfaction during synchronous online learning.

Factors Influencing Camping Behavior: The Case of Taiwan

This study identifies the factors that are likely to influence camping and campsite selection decisions of Taiwanese youngsters, and examines the impact of gender and camping knowledge on those factors. Utilizing data collected from Taiwanese youngsters, the factors that are likely to influence their camping and campsite selection decisions were identified first. Next, a series of t tests were conducted to examine the influences of gender and camping knowledge on the factors that are likely to influence camping and campsite selection decisions. Findings suggested that gender differences and the level of camping knowledge are likely to significantly influence camping and campsite selection decisions.

Integrating Kano model and SIPA grid to identify key service attributes of fast food restaurants.

Companies that want to maintain or raise profits in today’s competitive market need to keep a thumb to the pulse of customer opinion, and need to be prepared to make changes to services provided in order to better meet customer expectations. With this perspective as the driving principle, this study proposes the application of a Kano-SIPA integration model to compare the performance of quality attributes for fast food restaurants. It is shown that using such a model can allow management teams to draw useful conclusions about their customers’ level of satisfaction, and how they stack up against their competition. A case study of fast food restaurants in Taiwan is provided to illustrate the application of the model, and a priority classification system for service attributes is developed and implemented. Thus applied and interpreted, it is shown that a Kano-SIPA integration model is more effective and comprehensive than any of the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), Kano, or Simultaneous Importance-Performance Analysis (SIPA) models individually.

Service Innovation Performance in the Hospitality Industry: The Role of Organizational Training, Personal-Job Fit and Work Schedule Flexibility

ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore whether hotels’ training programs are an important predictor of their employees’ service innovation performance. There are two main points of the study: one is whether a hotel’s training programs have a positive correlation with employees’ service innovation performance, and the other point is whether job-person fit and work schedule flexibility are important key factors for the correlation between a hotel’s training program and its employees’ service innovation performance. Data in this study were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The results of this study should enrich the knowledge related to organizational training by revealing its influence on the hotel industry’s service innovation performance. This study also suggests a number of research directions for future studies.

Drivers of Taiwan’s Tourism Market Cycle

ABSTRACT This paper examines the business cycle of tourism market (BCTM) in Taiwan. It begins by studying the BCTM based on a Markov regime-switching (MRS) model. The MRS model reveals strong evidence of a regime-switching BCTM with two distinct regimes: a high-growth regime (HGR) and a low-growth regime (LGR), over the period from 1st quarter of 1969 to 1st quarter of 2011. The second step is to examine the driving forces of the BCTM. Specifically, the study identifies the factors that cause the tourism market to stay in the high-growth regime (HGR). Test results show that the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP), growth rate of exports, and inflation rate are significant drivers of the BCTM in Taiwan.

The Study of International Students’ Behavior Intention for Leisure Participation: Using Perceived Risk as a Moderator

ABSTRACT As a result of globalization and internationalization, along with encouragement from the Taiwanese government, recent years have seen an increase in international students coming to Taiwan. Subsequently, the experiences of international students—their study, lifestyle, and adaptability to the new environment—have attracted much research attention. Active participation in local leisure activities has been suggested to help international students quickly adapt to life in Taiwan. However, individuals’ different perceptions of risk may influence their intentions to engage in such helpful activities. This article applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a framework, and uses perceived risk as a moderator to explore international students’ intention to participate in leisure travel activities while staying in Taiwan. The study found that there exists a strong relationship between attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control and intention to travel for leisure.

An Exploratory Study on RV Travel in Taiwan: College Students' Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to assess a sample of what the next generation of Taiwanese recreation and tourism-related majors expected from a potential recreational vehicle (RV) experience. University students in 2 locations were surveyed to identify which one of the advantages of RV use might inspire them to make the investment in this type of recreational resource. The image of RV purposes and benefits were measured, and a series of t-tests and one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the responses. The results demonstrated that respondents were very interested in RV activities, and this group of advocates for recreation and tourism preferred facilitated campgrounds and looked toward being able to afford more luxurious RVs as they age. In other results, participants ranked sanitary conditions the most desirable and microwaves as least desirable in terms of the services and amenities of the RV. Results of the study may be useful to RV marketers.