Catherine Prentice

Service quality perceptions and customer loyalty in casinos.

Purpose – Building and maintaining service quality is one means of retaining customers and thus establishing competitive advantage in the casino industry. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between casino service quality, player segments and customer loyalty in an Asian casino.Design/methodology/approach – The research involves the conduct of focus group interviews with different segments of gamblers.Findings – The interview findings indicate that players at different segments have distinct perceptions of service quality. Operationalising service quality into five dimensions, this study has shown that various dimensions of service quality have differing effects on customer loyalty, and the level of loyalty varies across different segments.Research limitations/implications – It is insufficient to view service quality as the customers judgement about an entitys overall excellence or superiority as has been defined in the services literature. Differing perceptions and attitudes arise wi...

The influence of emotional intelligence on the service performance of casino frontline employees

The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted substantial interest in the popular and organisational psychology literature. Although the predictive validity of EI is likely to depend on the context and focus of interest, researchers have identified a positive relationship between EI and job performance in the case of roles, which involve emotional labour, such as customer service. It offers the prospect of providing insights into job performance that have not been explained by traditional cognitive intelligence. This article explores the impact of EI on the service performance of frontline employees in the casino industry. The researchers test the hypothesis that EI is a predictor of the service performance of casino service representatives. A sample of 152 casino frontline employees in a large Australasia-based casino responded to a questionnaire-based survey, which considered EI, the five factors of personality and job performance. Based on multiple regression analysis, the results confirmed that EI is a significant predictor of the service performance of casino frontline employees for the high-roller market.

Relationship marketing in the casino industry

For casinos involved in targeting high-end clients, relationship building and customer retention are important marketing activities. This paper investigates the effectiveness of two marketing approaches, namely customer orientation and adaptability. The paper explores how these approaches influence the performance of frontline employees operating in the casino high-end market. The investigation involved a survey administered to frontline service representatives within the VIP gaming areas of one of the world’s largest casinos. The questionnaire focused on the issues of customer orientation, adaptability and service performance. Various statistical analyses including multiple regression were deployed to analyse the data generated by the 152 valid responses. It is concluded that relationship-oriented selling behaviours are significant predictors of service performance. The predictive capacity of adaptability was particularly strong in terms of the criterion variable.

Casino service quality, tiered customer segments, and casino player retention

Building and maintaining service quality is one means of retaining casino customers, and thus establishing competitive advantage. Conducted in Asia, the current study investigated the relationship between casino service quality, player segments, and customer retention using tiered segmentation. The research involved the conduct of 40 in-depth interviews with gamblers from different segments. The results provide insights into how the various tiers of casino player perceive the key dimensions of service quality and how such perceptions affect future purchase intentions. A number of significant implications are identified for casino managers.

Attitudinal and behavioral loyalty amongst casino players in Macau.

The current investigation is undertaken in Macau casinos and explores the relationship between casino service quality and gambler attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Gamblers are segmented on the basis of low, medium, or high visiting frequency. Service quality is measured by a newly developed scale. The results indicate that service quality explains significant variance in gambler loyalty, which service environment and service delivery make substantial contributions. However, when analyzing the relationship separately for VIP and non-VIP players, service quality has minimal influence on the behavioral loyalty of the latter group. Implications of these findings are provided for practitioners and researchers.

Customer Empowerment to Co-Create Service Designs and Delivery: Scale Development and Validation

ABSTRACT This study developed a scale to measure customer psychological empowerment. Focus group and in-depth interviews were used to generate items. Three separate studies were undertaken with different sampling methods in different service industries to refine the scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to identify and confirm the factor structure. Convergent, discriminant, nomological, and criterion validities were reported prior to testing internal and external validities. The customer psychological empowerment scale was determined to be a second-order factor model consisting of three subdimensions: service choice, information attainment, and impact. The scale generates high reliability and validities.

Emotional Intelligence in a Hierarchical Relationship: Evidence for Frontline Service Personnel

Following a mediation theory between basic personality trait and performance evaluation, the present research argues trait emotional intelligence (EI) as a personality trait, and examines evidence for the existence of a hierarchical model between trait EI and service performance. A survey was administered to personnel within a large service organization in the Asia-Pacific region. A hierarchical regression analysis on the 152 valid responses confirmed the validity of the proposed hierarchical relationship leading to conclusions about the applicability of the findings in service settings. The study findings provide insights into EI research from the construct operationalization perspective, extending into the broader theoretical context.

Celebrity endorsement and stock market return

Celebrity endorsement advertising receives increased attention in the relevant literature. Approaching from the abnormal stock market return perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential risks and expected profit associated with celebrity endorsement. The factors that are included in this investigation are the attributes relating to celebrities and the endorsed firms.,Data were collected from over 300 firms that use celebrity endorsements and are listed in two of the biggest stock exchanges in China. The study uses the event study method to analyze the proposed relationships.,Some of the findings in the current study are consistent with or contrast to those in previous research. Specifically, this study finds that the celebrities’ demographics such as age and gender have little influence on financial return of the endorsed firm. However, investors respond rather negatively toward using actor celebrities to endorse a product or a brand, especially for high-tech products. The match-up endorsement has a positive effect on the firm’s abnormal return.,The current study has implications for the relevant literature and practitioners. Very few studies have used stock market return to measure celebrity endorsement effectiveness. This study provides insights into the influence of various factors associating with celebrities and the endorsed firm, extending the celebrity endorsement research into a broader domain. In particular, this study has practical implications for firms that have used or intend to use actor celebrity endorsement.,This study is the first to use event study method to comprehensively analyze influence of attributes relating to both the celebrities and the endorsed firms in China on stock market return.

Uncovering the service profit chain in the casino industry

This paper, from a marketing and management perspective, aims to review the relevant literature germane to casino studies. The review discusses the major findings from previous studies, provides a critique and identifies research gaps for future studies. In particular, the research foci presented in this paper rest on the service profit chain (SPC) model. The review involves studies relating to the constructs of the chain model and comprises sections that are categorized based on the internal link between management and employees, interaction between casino service employees and customers and profitability link.,The approach used in the current study involves a systematic review of the relevant academic literature with a focus on SPC studies in the casino industry, along with critical evaluation and analysis to identify research gaps. Google Scholar, EBSCOHost, Science Direct, Emerald and other academic databases were used to search relevant studies relating to casino and gambling research streams.,The review identifies several research gaps on the basis of the SPC link. Specifically, internal service quality needs more attention from both the practice and research points of view. Casino employee research should be extended to include personal traits and characteristics that may contribute to employee performance and loyalty. In the interaction between casino service providers and gamblers, more studies should be undertaken on the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing initiatives and promotions. Externally, the paper points out that more appropriate measurement of customer loyalty and casino profitability should be explored.,This review provides references to focusing on key competitive advantages and presents guidelines on improving business growth and profitability for casino managers. The paper also identifies research areas that future studies should attend to.,The paper is the first thorough literature review of gaming research on marketing and management with a focus on the SPC model. This review represents a new era of gaming research, extending the problem gambling research focus into a broader scope embracing other disciplines.

Linking internal service quality and casino dealer performance

ABSTRACT The job responsibilities of a casino card dealer can encompass everything from dealing cards to entertaining customers. Whilst technical cards dealing is a fundamental part of their job requirement, the nontechnical service performance of engaging with gaming customers plays a significant role in customer-related outcomes. This study examines the factors that drive dealer service performance. Data were collected at six major casinos in Macau to investigate casino internal service quality, job security, and dealer occupational commitment. Job tenure is included in the investigation as a moderating variable. The study finds that casino internal service quality has a significant influence on both job security and occupational commitment which subsequently affect dealer service performance. Occupational commitment and job security fully mediate the relationship between internal service quality and service performance. Job length also exerts a significant moderating effect on the proposed relationships. Discussion and implications are provided to conclude this paper.