Ulku Yuksel

Travel trade shows: exploratory study of exhibitors' perceptions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the motivations for participating in international trade shows and perceptions of effectiveness and challenges faced by exhibiting firms.Design/methodology/approach – A multiple‐methodology approach is adopted. Initially, interviews are conducted with travel trade exhibitors. These then serve as a foundation for a survey of senior tourism managers.Findings – Exhibitors perceive efficient and effective products/services being displayed on the stand as the central factor for success. The key motivation for participating in travel trade shows is to improve relationships with customers. The primary motivation in participating in specific travel trade shows was influenced by the reputation of the fair, and the key challenge relates to following up leads from the fair.Research limitations/implications – As the study emphasises tourism and travel, generalising to other trade shows must be done with caution.Practical implications – The intangible and simultane...

The dynamic capability of ambidexterity in hypercompetition: qualitative insights

While dynamic capabilities are relevant for firms operating in hypercompetition, the sustainability of dynamic capabilities in hypercompetitive markets is a critically important issue that requires further exploration. We examine ambidexterity (a type of dynamic capability) in both hypercompetitive and non-hypercompetitive markets to provide an insight into its role in hypercompetition. Our qualitative findings from multiple case studies suggest that as markets become increasingly hypercompetitive, the dynamic capability of ambidexterity may need to be adopted as a temporary rather than sustainable source of advantage. However, the findings also reveal that depending on the hypercompetitive industry, ambidexterity can vary in terms of its status as a key success factor. We contribute to theory by enhancing an understanding of ambidexterity as a dynamic capability in hypercompetition and provide practical insights for managers regarding the consequences of hypercompetition for their marketing strategy.

Customer-to-customer interactions and word of mouth: conceptual extensions and empirical investigations

Although the importance of customer orientation has been well addressed in strategic marketing, these ideas generally focus on managing business-to-customer interactions. Strategic importance of understanding customer-to-customer interactions (CCIs) has received very little attention. Word of mouth (WOM) research has recently been broadened in the context of CCI. Research that addresses during-the-experience word of mouth (WOMde) in the actual service setting is scant. Thus, we empirically distinguish WOMde and post-consumption experience (WOMpe) and investigate their interconnected relationships within a nomological network. We use a mixed-methods approach to generate and code a collection of WOMde events and a survey to capture further variables of interest including WOMpe. Our exploratory study demonstrates that WOMde has a positive impact both on customers’ emotional reaction in the service context and on brand perceptions. Subsequently, the magnified brand perceptions act as a significant driver of customer trust and WOMpe. We also distinguish between brand-related and brand-unrelated WOMde and offer insight into the effect of both types of conversation on customer perceptions and attitudes.

Choice overload in holiday destination choices

Purpose This research aims to investigates whether and why choice overload (CO) occurs when people select a vacation destination. Design/methodology/approach This is a two-group (large choice-set vs small choice-set) between-subject factorial design. Dependent variables representing CO-effects are post-choice satisfaction and regret. Choice confusion and choice uncertainty are mediators. Findings Relative to people choosing from a small destination portfolio, people who choose from a large portfolio are less satisfied and more regretful about their choice. Choosing from a large choice-set confuses people, which then makes them less certain about their choice, and subsequently, have less satisfaction and more regret about their decision. Practical implications A critical consideration is essential when providing a number of destination choices to tourists. A few destinations should be offered in a travel portfolio. If the number of destination offers must remain large, travel agents should cluster these offers based on a market segmentation analysis to ease the decision-making process for travellers. Originality/value The findings add to evidence of CO-effects to the current literature of travel destination choice, and contribute to CO literature by showing evidence of CO-effects in complex service contexts, especially in holiday destination choices. This study is the first to provide evidence of CO-effects at the early stages of the travel destination decision-making process; it uses hypothetical destinations to avoid potential confounds associated with real destinations; and it measures CO-effects via post-choice satisfaction and regret. In addition, while the only available study on CO in tourism (Park and Jang, 2013) does not explain why CO-effects occur, this research provides and explains the psychological underlying process of the CO phenomenon in destination choice-making.

Corporate Social Responsibility in the European Union: An Assessment of CSR Strategy

This article investigates the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in corporate governance. In the context of CSR’s function in corporate governance, this study specifically focuses on the Europe 2020: European Union’s Growth Strategy, and its corresponding directives related to CSR. Not only are the Member States of the EU requested to comply with the regulations, and laws, but the candidate countries are also expected to improve their sustainability performances as well as their national frameworks to foster social responsibility (European Commission, Europe 2020 – EU – wide headline targets for economic growth. Europe 2020. http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/targets/index_en.htm, Accessed 15 Mar 2014, 2011).

A Critical Review of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices from a Marketing Perspective: Is Cause-Related Marketing Really a ‘Win–Win–Win’ Situation?

This chapter provides a holistic overview of cause-related marketing (CRM) as a corporate social responsibility strategy. CRM is a partnership entailing a company making donations to a non-profit organisation (NPO) depending on a consumer purchase of a CRM-labelled product or service (Varadarajan and Menon 1988). The chapter provides a detailed definition of CRM and distinguishes it from other popular strategic forms of giving such as philanthropy and sponsorship. Further, the chapter offers a consolidated overview of consumer expectations and behaviours in regard to CRM based on academic literature and commercial survey results. In addition, real-world examples of CRM campaigns are provided and critically analysed. The chapter critically reviews the positivist claim that CRM is a ‘win–win–win’ strategy, where all parties (i.e., firms, NPOs and customers) involved in CRM campaigns experience a variety of benefits. While the chapter acknowledges that potential benefits may be derived by all parties involved in CRM campaigns, it also provides an overview variety of potential risks and costs associated with CRM campaigns, which illustrates that not every party involved may ‘win’. The chapter’s objective is not to conclude that potential risks or costs outweigh the benefits of CRM, but instead to suggest that potential negative factors should be considered when developing CRM campaigns.

Non-participation in Anti-consumption Consumer Reluctance to Boycott

How society affects public welfare and businesses via boycotts has become increasingly important in a connected world. Yet, research on the topic remains scant and focuses mostly on why consumers boycott. This study moves beyond motivations of why consumers participate in boycotts, and examines instead, why individuals are not willing to boycott. This is important because the accounts for non-participation may not be the exact opposite of the reasons to participate. Informants’ reasons for not boycotting were classified into three broad themes: “out of sight, out of mind,” “urge for freedom and self-defence,” and “counterarguments – scepticism or accounts.” The hermeneutic analysis provides a framework for understanding boycott failures.

What Can Tourists and Travel Advisors Learn from Choice Overload Research

The choice overload (CO) phenomenon, whereby having many options leads to negative consequences, has been studied widely in psychology and marketing. However, empirical evidence of CO in the tourism context is limited, even though people often encounter numerous choices (e.g., vacation destinations, airfares, hotels, tours) at different stages when planning their holidays. Investigating CO in tourism and hospitality is important because (online) travel advisors are providing tourists with numerous choices, yet they do not know whether or not these decision makers are content after choosing from these large choice sets. This chapter proposes to review and apply insights garnered from the CO literature to tourism research. Accordingly, the chapter proposes five groups of solutions for tourists and travel advisors to avoid CO effects: reducing decision task difficulty, reducing choice-set complexity, reducing preference uncertainty, focusing on decision goals rather than the means to achieve those goals, and adopting appropriate decision-making styles.

Fraud in Marketing and Consumption Practices

This chapter is organized as follows: First, the author discusses the role of marketing in society by detailing some arguments about marketing’s conviction of misconducts and the benefits the field offers consumers. Second, the author provides a definition of fraud, corporate frauds (in terms of cases like Enron 2001 and WorldCom 2002), and political frauds (such as the Nixon’s Watergate Scandal of 1974). Third, the author delves into the issue of fraud in marketing, including multilevel marketing approach and its relevance to fraud and mass marketing fraud. Fourth, the chapter explains consumers’ vulnerability to fraud and fraudulent practices and consumers’ resistance and boycott in protest of the incidence of fraud in marketing. Finally, the chapter defines and acknowledges various consumer perpetrated frauds.