Roscoe Hightower

Investigating the role of the physical environment in hedonic service consumption: an exploratory study of sporting events

As we continue to enjoy economic growth and development in the latter part of the twentieth century, there is an abundance of disposable income for consumers to spend. Americans are spending more and more of these dollars in leisure activities. However, relatively little is known about which factors influence consumers’ behavioral intentions (i.e., loyalty, word of mouth, willingness to pay a price premium) in this area. It appears that in this extremely attractive and growing services segment, academics, as well as practitioners, would benefit from investigating the relationships between the physical environment (i.e., servicescape) and several other key service constructs (i.e., positive effect, enduring involvement, service quality, waiting time, and value) on consumer behavioral intentions. With a better understanding of the servicescape’s role in consumers’ purchase decision processes, practitioners should be able to make adjustments in their marketing plans that should help to provide them with a sustainable advantage over their competition. This paper is intended to expand our understanding of how the servicescape influences behavioral intentions. A model is developed and tested on a sample of sporting event customers. The results support the model and lead to some interesting managerial implications. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

A cross-sectional test of the effect and conceptualization of service value

Focusses attention on service value as a construct which may help explain consumer decision making; however, to date this attention has been largely conceptual. Finds from the results of two empirical studies that models of consumer decision‐making which include service value explain significantly more variance in purchase intentions than models which include only service quality or cost factors, and the means by which consumers form service value perceptions is best depicted as a cognitive addition process.

AN EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN PUBLIC TRANSIT ORGANIZATIONS

This study was designed to examine the role of marketing in public transit organizations from a management perspective. Using a survey methodology, a national survey was conducted with a sample of 820 managers and individuals from a variety of spcialized transit organizations across the United States. 23% of the survey sample responded. Of this total, 43% were managers in public transit organizations. A majority of the nonmanager group was comprised of government transit entries. The findings suggest that some marketing departments are not a standard part of a transit firms organizational structure, and the department may be relatively small. There may be budgetary constraints also. In addition, even though the employees with marketing responsibilities are generally well educated and have several years of transportation industry experience, they may still have misperceptions about the role of marketing in the company.

NICHE MARKETING STRATEGIES: THE ROLE OF SPECIAL-PURPOSE TRANSPORTATION EFFORTS IN ATTRACTING AND RETAINING TRANSIT USERS

This study evaluates the use of public transit niche strategies as an alternative marketing strategy designed to attract and retain new public transit riders. Four niche efforts, a university football shuttle, professional football shuttle, summer metropolitan park shuttle, and suburban subscription vanpool are the focus of this investigation. A total of 738 intercepts provide the data for the research. The researchers conclude that niche marketing efforts are an effective strategy, and therefore should be an important tool in the public transit industrys efforts to attract and retain new riders in order to offset the prolonged decline in public transit market share.

A DYNAMIC COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND SHIFTING MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICES

This article reports on the results of a telephone survey of 352 commuters who reside in a suburban area and work in a major city. The results indicate that the commuters are well educated and well paid. They also suggest that much of what has passed for marketing strategies in the transit industry has been ineffective at best. Solutions for the dilemma are identified and considered.