Robert J. Kwortnik

Carnival Cruise Lines: Burnishing the Brand

The case of Carnival Cruise Lines chronicles the company’s birth and development as it redefined the leisure cruise industry. With a theme of “Fun Ships” and low pricing, Carnival appealed to a diverse market. Under the pressure of increasing competition, Carnival was challenged to refine its Fun Ships brand without damaging the considerable equity contained in that brand. In particular, as cruise lines became less differentiated in the customers’ view, Carnival sought to set itself apart with upgraded product features, service, and other guest amenities, as well as a more sophisticated brand message.

THE INFLUENCE OF GUEST PERCEPTIONS OF SERVICE FAIRNESS ON LODGING LOYALTY IN CHINA

This research is motivated by an important but largely unexamined question: how do guest perceptions of service fairness influence loyalty in a lodging context? To address this question, this study presents a conceptual model of service fairness and loyalty and tests that model using data collected from 601 customers of six hotels in China. Results support a multidimensional view of service fairness that comprises three dimensions. Two of those dimensions, distributive justice (fair outcomes) and interactional justice (fair treatment by staff), have larger effects on customer loyalty than does the third dimension, procedural justice (fair processes and procedures). A key implication is that hotel managers should train their employees to understand that guests’ evaluation of a service (and subsequent trust and loyalty) depends not only on specific service outcomes, but also on how guests feel they have been treated by employees.

Connecting with the Culture: A Case Study in Sustainable Tourism

In a destination dominated by all-inclusive resorts, a different tourism venture seeks to offer guests a genuine connection to the community. “VillageLife Tourism” and its associated “Okra Inn” demonstrate how tourism can be sustainable and can benefit both tourists and local purveyors. This message has so far gone largely unheard in a market that celebrates sand, sun, and service—in resorts that operate in fenced-off compounds. This case study analyzes VillageLife’s challenges and prospects, the most promising of which is partnering with the all-inclusive properties.

Shining Examples of Service When the Lights Went Out: Hotel Employees and Service Recovery During the Blackout of 2003

ABSTRACT The electrical outage in the summer of 2003 that interrupted power to thousands of hotels wrought a variety of facilities failures and service-process problems. Fortunately, strong service-recovery efforts from hotel employees mitigated the worst of the blackouts effects. Using survey data from hotel managers who experienced the blackout, this study highlights those employee actions that most contributed to immediate service recovery; however, the study also reveals limited organizational learning or efforts to failsafe hospitality service from the eventuality of future power failures.

Categorizing Cruise Lines by Passenger Perceived Experience

In the travel and hospitality industries, categorization of products, brands, and experiences permits efficient comparison and evaluation that aids decision making—from consumer choice to organizational strategy. However, categories often involve self-categorization (e.g., marketer defined) that may not reflect the reality of dynamic markets and industries. In this study of the cruise industry, we derive a new categorization approach using consumer perceptions of their cruise experiences to challenge a long-standing industry typology. Results using a variety of statistical tests of J.D. Power data from more than 3,000 cruisers yield a new and more informative category structure and assignment of cruise lines to it. Analyses reveal differences between the new cruise categories in terms of determinants that influence customer choice. Discussion highlights benefits to travel practitioners of using dynamic and customer-based categories, as well as to researchers of applying advanced statistical techniques to expose unexpected and insightful patterns in secondary data.

McHealthy: How Marketing Incentives Influence Healthy Food Choices

Food choices are often habitual, which can perpetuate unhealthy behaviors; that is, selection of foods high in sodium, saturated fat, and calories. This article extends previous research by examini...Food choices are often habitual, which can perpetuate unhealthy behaviors; that is, selection of foods high in sodium, saturated fat, and calories. This article extends previous research by examining how marketing incentives can encourage healthy food choices. Building on research examining marketing incentives, temporal goals, and habitual behavior, this research shows that certain incentives (behavioral rewards vs. financial discounts) affect individuals with healthy and less healthy eating habits differently. A field study conducted at a corporate cafeteria and three lab studies converge on a consistent finding: The effects of marketing incentives on healthy food choice are particularly prominent for people who have less healthy eating habits. Results showed that behavioral rewards generated a 28.5% (vs. 5.5%) increase in salad sales; behavioral rewards also led to 2 pounds more weight loss for individuals with less healthy eating habits. The research offers important implications for scholars, the food industry, consumers, governments, and policy makers.

Buyer Monitoring Cross-Culturally

Kwortnik, Lynn, and Ross demonstrated across multiple studies and service-industry contexts that voluntary tipping (a form of buyer monitoring) is a more effective employee control mechanism for improving service than is compensating workers with a service charge on the bill or a fixed wage per hour. However, Kwortnik et al.’s studies were United States-based, where tipping behavior is common and generally accepted; such is not the case in many other countries around the world. Thus, the aim of this research note is twofold: (a) to replicate Kwortnik et al.’s results in the United States and, (b) to examine whether the results hold in other countries given cross-cultural differences that may affect the efficacy of buyer monitoring as a means to improve service. Using data from 10 countries across several continents, we show that (a) Kwortnik et al.’s findings only partially replicate in the United States, (b) the buyer monitoring principle does not hold worldwide, and (c) buyer monitoring is more effective in influencing service motivation and behavior in Western (individualistic) than in Eastern (collectivistic) cultures.