Luiz Moutinho

Consumer behaviour in tourism

The analysis of consumer behaviour requires the consideration of various processes internal and external to the individual. To understand behaviour, it is necessary to examine the complex interaction of many influencing elements. This study deals with determinants of behaviour, culture and reference group influences, the relationships between individuals and their environments, perceived risks, and family decision processes. It concludes with an illustration of tourist behaviour modelling.

Measuring customer satisfaction in the fast food industry: a cross‐national approach

In todays ever‐increasing globalization of services and brands, service‐oriented businesses need to attend to the satisfaction of their customers both domestically and abroad while transcending unique cultural differences from country to country. This study provides a cross‐cultural comparison of service satisfaction of fast food establishments in four English‐speaking countries. It is based on data collected from customers of five globally‐franchised fast‐food chains, using a previously developed service satisfaction instrument. The study reveals two empirically derived, cross‐cultural fast‐food customer satisfaction dimensions: satisfaction with the personal service and satisfaction with the service setting. Should future research support this studys findings, the measurement of cross‐cultural service satisfaction among franchised brands and services could aid business managers’ efforts to assess the quality of the services they provide across national boundaries and on a more real time, practical basis.

Strategic management in tourism.

This contribution applies the latest theory of business strategy to the specific requirements of the tourist sector. The article an alyzes the principal purpose of strategic management - the development and the enhancement of sustained earnings poten tials, as the prerequisite of long-term business success. Further, it identifies the determinants of earnings potentials, namely market position, experience. customer problem, problem solu tions and other factors which determine competitiveness. The key parameters of strategic business management and their interrelationships are addressed. We will show that some con cepts, already weil established in industrial strategy, are also relevant to tourism. Of course, not all factors relating in tourism can be fully covered here; however, the theoretical explanations will be supplemented by practical examples from the tourism and leisure sectors.

Modelling bank customer satisfaction through mediation of attitudes towards human and automated banking

Introduces a model which posits a crucial role for the evaluation of bank customers’ attitudes towards both human tellers and automated banking in mediating the ease of banking factor/perceived satisfaction linkage. The model’s explicit consideration of the effects of bank customer attitudes towards human tellers and automation provides additional explanatory power regarding how the perceived trend towards ease of banking influences bank customer overall satisfaction, switching and loyalty behaviour. A linear structural relations methodological approach is used for the modelling process.

Fandom affiliation and tribal behaviour: a sports marketing application

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to identify the existence of tribal behaviour in football fans and the impact of this tribalism on the consumption of brands associated with the club. The intention is not to recognize tribal relationships between fans and their club but to identify to what extent the fan commitment level can impact the preference for sponsor brands.Design/methodology/approach – Two focus groups were made with two distinct types of club supporters, namely the members of one supportive organized group and another with highly‐devoted fans.Findings – Research questions posed in this study were mostly confirmed: football‐devoted supporters have a kind of cult with their club and it is possible to distinguish several distinct fan typologies varying with the level of fan commitment. The associative behaviour of football fans is influenced by affiliation through the need for social recognition, socialization and symbolism. The study also reveals that devoted fans assume an effective knowledge o...

Measuring transaction-specific satisfaction in services: are the measures transferable across cultures?

Purpose – This study examines the equivalence of the use of a customer satisfaction survey in four culturally divergent contexts.Design/methodology/approach – It is based on 6,776 responses collected from fast food customers in Greece, Jamaica, the UK and the USA.Findings – The results reveal that the similarities in the measurement of satisfaction in these contexts are more than the differences, and suggest that the development of measures to examine and compare consumer satisfaction across cultures and languages is, indeed, feasible.Research limitations/implications – The data reveal considerable promise that rather simple, cross‐cultural measures can be identified and used to gain valuable insight about the viability of business products and services. This implies that researchers might be able to use the same instruments for measurement in different contexts. However, additional research is necessary to firmly support the suitability of the consumer‐related measures across cultures that were the focus...

Bank Customers′ Perceptions, Innovations and New Technology

New technology has, in the last few years, swept the traditional banking industry in an unprecedented way. “Electronic dreams” of the bankers, once considered impossible, have one by one been realised, and electronic banking has become a major realm of product innovations. New, “cheap” technology has surmounted many technical difficulties concomitant with new products such as ATMS, EFTPoS, home banking and the Smart card, which have changed both customers′ perceptions and marketing practices in the banking industry. The perceptual effects and the impact of new technology and product innovations on bank customers are examined and the strategic implications of these developments are discussed.

A Probability of Revisitation Model: The Case of Winter Visits to the Grand Canyon

This paper finds that on average first-time visitors to the Grand Canyon are willing to travel significantly greater distances than repeat visitors. These findings are based upon a binary logit model of repeat visitations estimated from a recent sample of Grand Canyon visitors. This model expresses the probability of repeat visitation as a function of distance travelled and visitor demographic profiles. Included among the demographic characteristics are income, available leisure time, and the number of previous visits. An important managerial implication of this study - not only for the Grand Canyon but also for other tourist destinations - is the value of ‘probability of revisitation’ approach in identifying subtle market fragments. This opens the door to sophisticated marketing strategies that, in this case, cater to the separate needs and desires of repeat and first-time visitors to enhance revenue possibilities.

Customer Satisfaction with Bank Services: A Multidimensional Space Analysis

The nature and direction of the satisfactions that are delivered to consumers of bank services are explored, and the criteria used to evaluate these services are highlighted. The non‐metric multidimensional scaling technique enabled respondents′ perceptions to be represented spatially. It is revealed that respondents had high levels of satisfaction with regard to the location and accessibility of branches and ATMs, and acceptance of the current levels of banking fees; but expressed some caution in their evaluation of new and improved services.

Strategic marketing management: the case of Islamic banks

Banks set up to operate in accordance with the Islamic Sharia’h principles have mushroomed in the last two decades. The basic difference between Islamic and non‐Islamic banks lies in the fact that the former operate on an equity‐participation system in which a predetermined rate of return is not guaranteed, whereas the latter’s operation is based on both equity and debt systems that are driven by interest. This essential difference resulting from the implementation of the Islamic Sharia’h principles, provides the incentive for Islamic bankers to search for different products/services to offer. Now the Islamic banking system is facing stiff competition not only from similar Islamic banks but also from Western banks disposed to modify their activities in accordance with Islamic Sharia’h principles, and is confronted with progressive forces pushing towards change. Change can be achieved by employing an effective marketing strategy. Assesses the effectiveness of marketing strategies by drawing on quantitative characteristics derived from a sample of Islamic banks from among a list of the top 100 Arab banks. Provides recommendations as to the measures to be adopted in order to improve the marketing effectiveness of the Islamic banks.