Juan Luis Nicolau

The stock market's reaction to quality certification: Empirical evidence from Spain

Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyse the stock markets reaction to a company that is granted a quality certification (ISO 9000), and particularly when such an award is publicly announced. To do so, we carried out an event study , estimating the mean “abnormal” change in the stock prices of all of the firms that obtained quality certification, based on the ISO 9000 norms, while they were trading on the Spanish stock market between 1993 and 1999. The results show that the stock market reacts positively to such certification. This implies that quality certification can be considered as a useful tool for reducing the asymmetry in the information that circulates among buyers and sellers.

Heckit modelling of tourist expenditure: evidence from Spain

Purpose – This study intends to decompose the tourist choice process into two stages (decision to take a holiday and tourist expenditure), and to propose and test various expectations on the dimensions which explain the above decisions.Design/methodology/approach – In order to simultaneously model the two decisions, we use a system of equations based on the Heckit model.Findings – The dimensions affecting the decision to go on holiday are income, household size, education, size of the city of origin and opinion of going on holiday. The determinant factors influencing the level of expenditure are distance between origin and destination, type of accommodation, income, household size, age, marital status and length of stay. An important finding of this analysis is the differentiated effect of a given dimension on each decision.Research limitations/implications – The lack of information on some explanatory dimensions. Joint modelling. The spending decision should be modelled jointly with the decision to go on...

Characterizing Tourist Sensitivity to Distance

Literature suggests that the effect of distance on destination choice can be positive or negative, contingent on individual characteristics. The aim of this study was to objectively measure, identify, and characterize tourist sensitivities to distance—individual by individual—in a real context where real choices made by tourists are observed. The empirical application is carried out on a sample of 2,127 individuals, and the operative formalization used to estimate the individual sensitivities to distance follows a random-coefficient logit model; to detect the determinant factors, a regression analysis is used. After obtaining the sensitivity to distance of each sampled individual, the dimensions that appear to have an effect on it are income, number of children, size of the city of residence, use of intermediaries, transport mode, interest in discovering new places, variety-seeking behavior, and motivations.

Assessing new hotel openings through an event study

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to analyse the impact that the announcement of the opening of a new hotel has on the performance of its chain. For this evaluation, an event study is carried out on a hotel chain that trades on the Spanish Stock Exchange. The results that the empirical application arrives at are noteworthy as, on average, the reaction to such news releases is highly positive. Additionally, and from a first-approach perspective, several factors seem to exert an influence on the firms performance, the most important of these being its geographical location.

Tourism Market Segmentation Based on Price Sensitivity Finding Similar Price Preferences on Tourism Activities

This article builds on the double role of the effect of prices on the choice of tourism activities: not only is it the sole component of the destination marketing mix that represents revenue but also a determinant factor in tourist choice. On this account, identifying patterns of tourists with different degrees of sensitivities to prices would help destinations design an appropriate bundle of activities and have a clear definition of the segment they should try to attract. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to identify tourist segments from individual price sensitivities to activities. The results show—although price has a dissuasive influence on the choice of activities—a differentiated effect (as this dissuasiveness is not general for all individuals); this heterogeneous responsiveness to price supports its use as a segmentation criterion. In the empirical application, four segments are found with significantly different price sensitivities.

The Free Breakfast Effect: An Experimental Approach to the Zero Price Model in Tourism

This article presents the first evidence of the zero price effect in tourism. The multicomponent nature of tourism products adds complexity to the price-setting process, but also allows managers to take advantage of the interrelationships among the different components to maximize sales. Taking the zero price model, the authors adapt and apply it to a two-component tourism product. The experiments conducted show evidence in favor of the free breakfast effect: even though people lean toward their preferred, more expensive alternative, when the cheaper option offers a free breakfast, the demand for the latter increases and for the former it decreases. This result shows that the zero price effect is not confined to single products but also applies in multicomponent contexts. Important managerial implications in the realm of sales promotion policies are drawn.

Asymmetric Tourist Response to Price Loss Aversion Segmentation

The objective of this article is to look into heterogeneity in loss aversion in order to detect how dispersed loss aversion is in tourism and to observe whether different degrees of loss aversion can lead to the identification of loss-aversion–based segments. Loss aversion is a prominent psychological human trait that causes asymmetric price reactions. Tourism literature has shown it is a critical characteristic with a significant, but heterogeneous, effect on tourist destination choice. However, so far no attempt has been made to look into loss aversion heterogeneity, and this article contributes to the literature by exploring, for the first time, the potential existence of groups of tourists that show differentiated asymmetric responses to price. The empirical application estimates the individual degree of loss aversion for each tourist, and detects five segments with different sensitivities. Relevant managerial implications are drawn in terms of implementing pricing strategies.

Direct versus indirect channels: Differentiated loss aversion in a high‐involvement, non‐frequently purchased hedonic product

Purpose – This article aims to investigate whether intermediaries reduce loss aversion in the context of a high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic product (tourism packages).Design/methodology/approach – The study incorporates the reference‐dependent model into a multinomial logit model with random parameters, which controls for heterogeneity and allows representation of different correlation patterns between non‐independent alternatives.Findings – Differentiated loss aversion is found: consumers buying high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic products are less loss averse when using an intermediary than when dealing with each provider separately and booking their services independently. This result can be taken as identifying consumer‐based added value provided by the intermediaries.Practical implications – Knowing the effect of an increase in their prices is crucial for tourism collective brands (e.g. “sun and sea”, “inland”, “green destinations”, “World Heritage destinations”). This ...

Simultaneous analysis of whether and how long to go on holidays

This article assumes that the decision to go on holiday and the length of stay are nested and non-independent, thus the objective of this study is to propose a two-stage choice process: going on holiday and length of stay. To do this, we rely on the random-parameter logit model, which accounts for the unobserved heterogeneity of individuals and allows representation of different correlation patterns among non-independent alternatives. We propose hypotheses on the effect on the above decisions of individuals characteristics relating to the destination, personal restrictions and socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics. The empirical application, which is carried out in Spain on a sample of 3781 individuals, evidences the proposed two-stage choice process, and that these decisions also explained by individual tourist characteristics.

Foreign diversification vs concentration strategies and firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact on firm performance of foreign concentration vs diversification strategies, as well as the moderating role played by market, product and firm characteristics.Design/methodology/approach – Moderated regression analysis is used.Findings – Distribution and cultural distance (CU) moderate the relationship between foreign concentration‐diversification and stock market performance; while the non‐repetitive character of product purchase moderates the relationship at an accounting performance level.Research limitations/implications – First, the lack of information prevented us from examining other groups of determining factors. Second, the possible existence of bias in the results due to the selection of stock market quoted firms.Practical implications – Managers must realise that CU, distribution channel, and the product factor of non‐repeat purchase, play an important role in the choice of a concentration vs diversification strategy when explaining bu...