Simon J Wilde

An exploratory investigation into e-tail image attributes important to repeat, internet savvy customers

Abstract This paper offers results from an exploratory study investigating e-tail store image attributes important to repeat, internet savvy customers of a major Australian grocery e-tailer. The study was undertaken in response to a perceived need on the part of the e-tailer for a better understanding of how image operated on-line, and a review of extant literature which indicated that while retail store image in traditional bricks-and-mortar environments had been extensively investigated; limited empirical work involving consumers had been undertaken within the e-tail environment. Three components incorporating traditional and e-tail specific attributes were identified; core demands, institutional factors and information.

Destination Decision Making: The Need for a Strategic Planning and Management Approach

Abstract The choice, consumption and later evaluation of destination experiences, is a complex and important area. Consumers are often highly involved. The experience involves both products and services requiring a relatively high level of expenditure. It also usually involves a degree of risk within a relatively unfamiliar environment. Such factors mean that consumers can hold strong and influential attitudes toward different destinations. The factors and processes that influence destination choice have received considerable research attention. In addition, studies have begun to investigate satisfaction levels relating to the quality of the destination experience. However, it is argued in this paper that important information affecting consumer destination decision making needs to be better incorporated into a systematic planning process. This will aid the strategic management of such information and better enable the implementation of strategies aimed at enhancing destination competitiveness.

An Evaluation of How Market Segmentation Approaches Aid Destination Marketing

ABSTRACT This paper examines techniques used to segment tourism markets and the associated problems of integrating findings into operational marketing tactics. The paper argues that many tourism segmentation studies focus on complex and sophisticated statistical analysis, overlooking the number of subjective decisions implicit in the process that are likely to influence the results and therefore need to be made transparent within research findings. Further, this paper argues that it is only at the “strategic level” that destinations can develop a sustainable competitive advantage within identified target markets, and therefore, segmentation studies must be driven by the strategic imperatives of the destination.

The Identification and Implementation of Key Competitive Factors for Tourism Based Firms

ABSTRACT The main aim of this conceptual paper is to propose means of extending current theoretical approaches to understanding the traveller destination decision process. In order to achieve this, a means of better identifying and implementing strategies within the service system, by utilising a strategic management approach, is proposed. In addition, a number of researchers have argued that service leaders successfully introduce products and services to the market far in advance of customer expectations. It is argued in this paper that such products and services are delivered by innovative organisations, able to assess that the benefits of such innovations will outweigh the costs. The firm attempts to tap “latent” demands that have yet to be fully articulated by the consumer through established expenditure patterns. By tapping into such demands within the consumer psyche, service firms are able to “delight” customers with their creativity and innovation. It is concluded that such a service component has become an integral source for sustainable competitive advantage within a business and strategic planning framework.

Training and Service Quality—A Case Study Analysis of Regional Australian Restaurants

The incorporation of training procedures, both formal and informal, within hospitality firms is recognised as a vital element in achieving sustainable perceived service quality. Yet, despite this importance, relatively little is known about the extent, nature and determinants of training in hospitality firms in regional Australia. Restaurants in particular have proven hard to analyse because many are what the Australian Bureau of Statistics calls micro-businesses who employ less than five staff, or are small businesses with five to twenty employees, and have little in the way of training resources and expertise in the area. An examination of six restaurants in Northern New South Wales identified that medium sized boutique operations owned and managed by operators with a passion for fine food and service had training policies that were more extensive than larger organisations such as resorts even though the latter often had a higher star rating. It was apparent that organisational size and resources had more of an effect on the adoption of formal training strategies such as induction and the establishment and provision of a formal training manual.

Consumer insights and the importance of competitiveness factors for mature and developing destinations

ABSTRACT This article aims to understand the importance of various destination attributes to the competitiveness of tourism destinations from a consumer perspective, while at the same time contrasting these in a mature versus developing destination. A sample of Australian-based domestic tourists were surveyed to assess the relative importance of tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) attributes in the context of developing and mature destinations. This research firstly appears to verify that the importance of many TDC elements, highlighted by consumers, is not dissimilar from other stakeholder-based TDC studies. Furthermore, this research effort established that in terms of attribute performance, relative destination immaturity may well constrain a developing destination’s ability to satisfy the needs of consumers.