Sheila J. Backman

An Examination of the Construct of Perceived Value for the Prediction of Golf Travelers’ Intentions to Revisit:

The construct of perceived value has been identified in the marketing literature as one of the most important measures for gaining competitive edge and has been argued to be the most important indicator of repurchase intentions. Yet, in the field of tourism, repurchase intentions and consumer loyalty are often predicted solely by measures of consumer satisfaction and/or service quality. One market in need of repurchase intention research is the golf traveler market. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the measurement and utilization of the construct of golf travelers’ perceived value. Results suggest that current measures of perceived value may be inappropriate and do not capture the construct of perceived value of a service. These findings indicate that theoretical development of perceived value is in need of further research and understanding. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

The usefulness of selected variables for predicting activity loyalty

Abstract The concept of loyalty is receiving increased attention from recreation and park researchers. Previous investigations have shown that, in general, participants exhibit low levels of loyalty to recreation and park services, but little attention has been given to identifying variables that could be useful in predicting activity loyalty. Three measures of activity loyalty (attitudinal, behavioral, and composite) were used in this study to assess it. It was hypothesized that participants who exhibited higher levels of loyalty would be intrinsically motivated, perceive personal competency and mastery as important, report high levels of involvement, be less price‐sensitive, have accrued a substantial number of side bets, and participate in fewer other recreation activities than those exhibiting lower levels of activity loyalty. Results of the multiple regression analyses suggest that behavioral, attitudinal, and composite measures of activity loyalty capture three different dimensions of the phenomenon.

A Preliminary Investigation into the Psychographics of Nature-Based Travelers to the Southeastern United States:

The purpose of this study was to determine if psychographic research, which attempts to look at the life-style characteristics of tourists, can be used to differentiate segments of the nature-based travel market. Furthermore, it attempted to determine whether differ ences exist between members of the resulting segments with respect to their travel behavior, environmental attitudes, and demographic characteristics. This information should be useful to nature-based tourism marketers and planners in developing tourism products that will be attractive to various target markets.

An Examination of the Determinants of Golf Travelers’ Satisfaction:

With increasing competition for attracting patrons to golf destinations, it is becoming more important for managers to identify the variables that attract or retain golf travelers. Yet, relatively little is known about the determinants of, and best way to measure, golf travelers’ satisfaction. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the determinants of golf travelers’ overall satisfaction. The research found that overall satisfaction can be effectively predicted with information and attribute satisfaction and that information satisfaction is an antecedent to attribute satisfaction. These findings suggest that Oliver’s model may be improved with the inclusion of information satisfaction. It was also found that attributes related to the resort experience had more influence on overall satisfaction than attributes related to information provided and golfing experiences. Further, it was found that golf travelers’ satisfaction is highly correlated with repurchase intentions. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Can Tourism Providers Buy their Customers’ Loyalty? Examining the Influence of Customer-Provider Investments on Loyalty

As many segments of the tourism industry reach the maturation stage, marketers have turned their attention to building long-term relationships with their best customers. Despite the importance of customer loyalty for understanding these relationships, there is no consensus as to how loyalty develops. Most loyalty programs currently being used promote repeated purchases but are ineffective in enhancing customers’ psychological attachment. The purpose was to test a conceptual framework of the development of loyalty that is grounded in resource theory, reciprocity, and customer equity. The results indicated that if customers perceived that a provider was making an investment in them, they in turn made a similar investment in the provider, and those investments led to loyalty. The findings revealed that investments of love, status, and information were more closely associated with loyalty than investments of money. These findings support the proposed theoretical model and help explain how well-designed loyalty programs may lead to increased psychological attachment. Recommendations for effective relationship marketing strategies are provided.

Analysis of golfer motivations and constraints by experience use history.

With an increasing competition for attracting golfers to individual sites, it is becoming more important for managers to identify the variables which attract and retain their golfing clientele. The segmentation of golfers into homogeneous markets allows for the comparison of consumer variables by groups and can assist management in formulating consumer-oriented marketing strategies. The current study utilized experience use history (EUH) to create distinct, identifiable segments of users by examining their past behavior and experience levels in order to identify distinct motivations and constraints by segment. Subjects (N = 1,397) were randomly selected at six different Cleveland Metroparks golf courses. Results show that golfers with different experience use histories differed on both their motivations and constraints to play golf. Specific managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Involvement and opinion leadership in tourism

Abstract Nature-based tourism, science tourism, and ecotourism are some of the emerging and growing trends in special-interest tourism. This study utilized a southeastern sample of the United States who had an interest in travel and the environment. A modified Dillman total design method survey was used to collect the data. The study demonstrated that widely used concepts of marketing are applicable for nature-based tourism. Results indicate that highly involved nature-oriented travelers tend to be more receptive to information concerning the travel product or destination and spread that information willingly. Findings of this study suggest that opinion leaders take more trips and use slightly more information sources.

Residents as Travel Destination Information Providers: An Online Community Perspective

Prior research regarding residents and tourists has focused on their commonalities and interactions occurring on-site. What is missing from the literature is an examination of residents as information sources to potential tourists. Online travel communities offer such a viable venue. This study has two main purposes. The first is to examine the influence residents may have on travel decisions and identify the types of travel decisions they influence. The second is to compare the influence residents have on travel decisions with other online community members (i.e., experienced travelers). Treemapper is used to identify the country forums, and thematic networks are used for the analysis of influence of eWOM. The results reveal that nearly one-third of the communication threads (including 1,699 postings from 713 contributing members) have been influential for members. Residents are more influential in accommodations and food and beverage recommendations, whereas experienced travelers are more influential in the destination information category.

Influence of an Online Travel Community on Travel Decisions

Influence of online community member’s postings on travel decisions were analyzed using thematic networks. Tremapper was used to discover which country postings to be analyzed and resulted in analysis of 8 countries. This study identified 8 organizing themes from an analysis of 81 communication threads that consisted of 713 members and 1691 postings. Out of the 81 threads included in the study, 23 showed a clear evidence of influence. The members’ decisions were categorized by the information sources experience at destination such as residents and experienced travellers The analysis of the chosen countries and topics indicate that residents were more influential in food and beverage recommendations, safety concerns at the destination, and travel itinerary refinements (including things to do and places to see) whereas experienced travellers were more influential in accommodation recommendations, transportation, monetary issues like exchanging money and how much money to carry during the travel, destination information including tourist hassle at a specific destination, and itinerary advice.

An Investigation into the Psychographics of Senior Nature-Based Travellers

Nature-based travellers are usually assumed to be a homogeneous group of travellers, but several studies have begun to identify certain different segments in this market. The purpose of the current...