Kim H. Williams

Place branding: creating self‐brand connections and brand advocacy

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate how branding theories can be applied to place branding. It aims to examine how internal stakeholders, specifically a citys residents, are fundamental in the brand‐building process.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model with a theoretical basis in the branding literature is developed to illuminate the antecedents of self‐brand connection and brand advocacy in the context of city branding. The model is then tested using structural equation analysis on a sample of residents from an American city that has taken a cultural/entertainment approach to its branding efforts.Findings – Findings indicate that brand associations, including attitude toward the branding efforts of the city, perceived quality of the brand and the uniqueness of the brand, are crucial in the branding and positioning efforts of a city to its residents. When strong brand associations exist, residents may develop such a connection to the brand that it becomes reflective of th...

The impact of marketing on internal stakeholders in destination branding: The case of a musical city

The city and destination branding literatures stress the importance of brand image, with an emphasis on achieving differential and competitive positioning. However, an important part of building a successful branding strategy for a city or region is examining the needs of internal stakeholders. This research examines the impact that the marketing of a city or region’s brand has on internal stakeholders, specifically its residents. It seeks to address how selected elements of the marketing mix impact destination branding and how such marketing activity leads to residents eventually becoming committed to the destination’s branding efforts. Once committed and loyal to the brand, it proposes that residents may feel such a strong connection to the branding efforts of the destination, that the brand becomes aligned with their self-concept, and that they begin to serve as “evangelists” for the brand, actively promoting the destination via word of mouth. As a result, a civic consciousness is created that helps to strengthen the destination’s brand management system, especially as it is introduced to external constituents, such as potential tourists.

An Assessment of Resilience: Disaster Management and Recovery for Greater New Orleans’ Hotels

While numerous studies have examined the disaster-related challenges of residential populations, little research has documented the effects of disasters on businesses in the tourism industry (Drabek, 2000). As with residential circumstances, effective and efficient preparation, speedy response, and strategic recovery following disasters are crucial for tourism businesses. In this research, Greater New Orleans hotels are examined to assess their resiliency when handling the effects of Hurricane Gustav. Specifically, this research examines (a) the reasons for and effects of business closure, (b) the impact of losing lifeline services (e.g., electricity and telephone service), and (c) the human resource challenges that were caused by the disaster. In a study involving a representative sample of hotels, results indicated that 88% closed to the general public before the hurricane and were closed for an average of four days. Approximately 13% of hotels lost power, 17% lost telephone services, and 42% lost the minimum base of employees needed to continue providing full guest service. Findings also indicated that many of the challenges faced by hoteliers were connected to human resource factors. The results of this research are important to managers because it provides an illustration that could aid in future disaster management planning.

A Conceptual Framework for Attracting Generation Y to the Hotel Industry Using a Seamless Hotel Organizational Structure

The increasing sophistication of well-traveled customers and the burgeoning young demographic known as Generation Y constitute major environmental forces that are beyond the lodging industrys immediate control. Generation Y will form the bulk of new hires who, by the nature of their drastic differences in work values and lifestyles, will not be attracted to hotels as they are currently operated. The purpose of the authors in this article is to examine these environmental forces and propose a conceptual framework for an organizational structure at the unit level in the hotel industry that will create an attractive work environment for Generation Y.

Emotions in the Classroom: Examining Environmental Factors and Student Satisfaction

Education shares many similarities with service delivery in the business sector. The student often experiences the total service within the classroom. Marketers in retail stores and the hotel and hospitality industry have long acknowledged the ability of the physical environment to influence behaviors and therefore make concerted efforts to create environments that generate emotional responses from consumers. This research considers the role that environmental factors and students’ affective responses play in contributing to overall student satisfaction. Implications for higher education are provided.

Stimulating and Enhancing Student Learning Through Positive Emotions

Research has demonstrated that the frequent experience of positive emotions can help in fostering subjective well-being. This research investigates how the experience of positive emotions by students in the classroom environment can stimulate and enhance learning behaviors. Findings indicate that the experience of positive emotions in the classroom is positively related to student motivation as well as behaviors that are likely to lead to academic success, such as studying, attending class, participating in classroom discussions, and performing additional activities outside of class to enhance understanding. Individuals who expressed these higher motivational levels also had more optimistic academic achievement outlooks. Additionally, results suggest that the experience of positive emotions is negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Implications for hospitality and business educators are discussed.

The Effect of Ethnic Differences on Travel Characteristics: an Exploration of Marginality and Ethnicity in Urban Tourism

ABSTRACT This study explored the differences between African American and White traveler behaviors to an urban tourism destination to assess whether the differences could be attributed to factors related to a history of socioeconomic discrimination (marginality) or related to differences in culture (ethnicity). Results showed that there were some differences in income levels between African American and White travelers; however, after controlling for income, differences were still found in certain factors considered important when planning trips and also in the satisfaction ratings with specific city attributes. Results support the premise that at least in the urban tourism context, the differences between African American and White travelers are more related to ethnicity than to marginality.

Hope across the seas: the role of emotions and risk propensity in medical tourism advertising

Rising US medical costs as well as more competition in the health care industry have led many Americans to pursue health care in foreign destinations. As a result, leading countries in medical tourism have begun launching international advertising campaigns. A growing trend in much of this advertising is the use of emotional appeals. The purpose of this research is to examine whether the use of emotional appeals by non-domestic health care providers contributes to more favourable evaluations of the target health care provider than rational appeals. Specifically, two experimental studies investigate the efficacy of advertisements that induce the emotion of hope to determine whether these advertisements increase trust perceptions and reduce perceived risk, given an individuals level of risk propensity. Implications for public policy makers and marketing managers who work in health care are discussed.

Creating a Holistic Methodology to Evaluate the Performance of State Parks

As US states face budgetary constraints, lawmakers are seeking justification for investment in state funded and operated entities such as state parks. The purpose of this paper is to develop a state park evaluation model that takes into account economic and noneconomic measures of performance for a portfolio of state administered parks. Utilizing Louisiana state parks, a survey questionnaire was sent to a stratified random sample of 6,299 visitors to 18 state parks in Louisiana with overnight facilities. The total number of usable surveys was 1,499 for a response rate of 23.8%. Economic measures of performance showed that 12 out of the 18 (66.67%) state parks were labeled as stars (high popularity and high profitability), five (27.78%) were labeled as question marks (low popularity and low profitability), and one park was labeled as a plow horse (high popularity and low profitability). Noneconomic measures indicated that Louisiana state parks were higher than national percentages for good value for money and a good way to get away from the stress of daily life. The model presented in this paper provides a valuable tool for park administrators and tourism agencies as they evaluate the individual performance of parks and the allocation of economic resources.