ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7265-4773
Current Organisation
Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Tourism Marketing | Tourism | Applied Statistics | Marketing Research Methodology | Impacts of Tourism | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | Marketing
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services | Management of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Commercial Services and Tourism | Management of Solid Waste from Commercial Services and Tourism |
Related Links
Publications
“To Clean or Not to Clean?” Reducing Daily Routine Hotel Room Cleaning by Letting Tourists Answer This Question for Themselves
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 30-09-2021
Abstract: Changing default settings has proven to be a powerful approach to influencing consumer decisions without denying consumers the possibility of choosing freely. This is only the second study investigating the effectiveness of defaults in tourism, and the first testing also the combined effect of default changes and pro-environmental appeals in the context of changing room cleaning defaults in hotels from automatic daily cleaning (with the choice of opting out) to no daily routine cleaning (with the choice of opt-in and requesting a free room clean every day). Results from a quasi-experimental study conducted in a three-star city hotel suggest that the change in defaults significantly reduced room cleaning, with only 32% of room cleans requested on average. Adding a pro-environmental appeal to the change in defaults did not further reduce room cleaning overall, but has an effect on certain segments of hotel guests.
Reducing In-Room Heater Electricity Consumption at a Residential University College through IoT-Nudging
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 23-02-2023
Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to highlights a novel collective problem-solving mechanism that has the potential to turbo-charge efforts to make people behave in more environmentally sustainable ways, and to illustrate the effectiveness of such an approach in a field study.
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away . . . Market Yourself Differently
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 27-02-2016
Abstract: The destination is the focal point of tourism marketing activities. Many definitions of destinations have been proposed in the past, but it remains unclear what a destination is from a consumer perspective at early stages of the destination choice process. Yet, it is the consumer perspective that matters most. The present study investigates consumer perceptions of what a destination is. Results indicate that (1) consumers have a very broad position on what a destination is, (2) the distance between the destination and home affects the size of the geographical area perceived as destination, and (3) geographically larger destinations are severely underresearched. Findings have implications for both tourism research and tourism marketing, indicating that destinations need to be marketed differently to long-haul tourists.
Reducing the plate waste of families at hotel buffets – A quasi-experimental field study
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2020
Cross‐cultural differences in survey response patterns
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 24-04-2007
DOI: 10.1108/02651330710741785
Abstract: The existence of variable response styles represents a major threat to the correct interpretation of market research findings. In international marketing, this threat is further increased due to s les of respondents from different cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to extend the investigation of differences in cross‐cultural response styles by studying full response patterns instead of extreme values, quantify the extent of the potential mistake of not accounting for cross‐cultural differences in response behaviour and present a simple way of testing whether or not data sets from various cultural backgrounds can be used without correcting for cross‐cultural response styles. Two independent data sets are used. Extreme response style (ERS) scores are compared by testing for equality of proportions. Respondents' answer patterns are partitioned using the k ‐means algorithm, the resulting differences between cultures tested using a Fisher's exact test for count data. The extent of inter‐cultural difference in responses is assessed using ANOVA. Asian and Australian respondents differ significantly in ERS and full response patterns. Differences in cross‐cultural response patterns account for up to 6 per cent of the variance in the data, thus representing a significant potential source for misinterpretation in cross‐cultural studies. International market researchers using s les including respondents from more than one cultural background have to be aware of the potential source of misinterpretation caused by cross‐cultural differences in response patterns. A simple ANOVA‐based procedure allows researchers to determine whether data can be used in its uncorrected form. The paper investigates cross‐cultural response styles for new groups of respondents (Australian vs Asian), extends the study from the investigation of extreme values to full response patterns and gives market researchers in the international marketing context an indication of how high the level of potential misinterpretation can be and presents a simple means of checking how necessary it is to account for cross‐cultural differences in response behaviour.
Drivers of pro-environmental consumer behaviour – Time for new theories?
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 27-06-2023
Abstract: Human behaviour has caused an exponential increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared consumer behaviour a key target for climate change mitigation, but effective behaviour change interventions can only be developed based on a valid theory of the drivers of such behaviour. Theories shaping our current understanding rely heavily on cognitive constructs. Yet empirical evidence suggests that this focus may limit opportunities to develop new, different, effective behavioural change interventions. We propose an alternative theory based on habit, effort and enjoyment (HEET) and test its predictive validity against the dominant theory of environmentally significant behaviour: value belief norm (VBN) theory. HEET outperforms VBN in predicting self-reported environmentally significant behaviours, pointing to the need for new theories containing currently neglected theoretical constructs as basis for developing new types of behaviour change interventions aimed at contributing to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12: ensuring sustainable consumption.
A sharing-based approach to enticing tourists to behave more environmentally friendly
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 18-08-2023
Abstract: Tourist behavior is critical to improving the environmental sustainability of tourism. The hedonic nature of tourism and lack of an economic incentive make tourist behavior particularly hard to change. Making tourists behave more environmentally friendly would have substantial environmental benefits. This is the aim of the present study. Three alternative approaches are tested. The most successful approach – based on sharing monetary savings with guests – leads to a 42% change in one specific tourist behavior with negative environmental consequences. This new sharing-based approach significantly outperforms current approaches of increasing awareness of environmental consequences and of tourist ability to make a change. Tourism businesses should consider replacing current appeals with sharing-based schemes.
‘Pick Any’ Measures Contaminate Brand Image Studies
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-2012
DOI: 10.2501/IJMR-54-6-821-834
Abstract: Brand image measures using the typical ‘pick any’ answer format have been shown to be unstable (Rungie et al. 2005). In the present study, we find that these poor stability results are mainly caused by the pick-any measure itself because it allows consumers to evade reporting true associations. Using a forcedchoice binary measure, we find that stable brand attribute associations are in fact present with much higher incidence (70%), thus outperforming both the measures predominantly used in industry (pick-any, 41%) and academia (7-point scale measure, 59%). Under simulated optimal conditions, the forced-choice binary measure leads to 90% stability of brand-attribute associations and is therefore recommended as the optimal answer format for brand image studies.
Monitoring environmental performance in tourism
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 27-06-2022
Abstract: Multi-site field experimentation is critical to creating practically relevant context-independent and scientifically robust knowledge (Viglia & Dolnicar 2020). Yet, field experimentation is not common in tourism research. When used, it is typically implemented at one specific field site (e.g., Kallbekken & Sælen 2013 Kneževič Cvelbar et al. 2019), severely limiting the generalisability of findings in several ways: conclusions are valid only for a specific geographical region, a specific type of business, a specific consumer segment, or a specific season of the year. Field experiments are rare and typically limited to one field site because it is not only expensive and labour-intensive to implement them, but also to collect the data on a continuous basis. Automatic data collection would likely increase uptake of field experimentation, increasing also the generalisability of findings. Making a methodological contribution to tourism research, this study proposes – and provides initial proof of concept for – an automated data collection system for environmental key performance indicators in tourism businesses. Ultimately, the system we propose will consist of equipment measuring different aspects of business operations with negative environmental consequences (e.g., electricity use, water use, waste generated). The equipment transmits measurements continuously and in short intervals from a heterogeneous set of tourism businesses. In this proof of principle study, we illustrate the concept using plate waste (uneaten food left behind). The proposed automatic data collection system provides immediate feedback to management, allows managers to benchmark their performance against the competition, and serves as real-world laboratory for field experimentation by tourism researchers who develop and test interventions to reduce plate waste by changing consumer behaviour. Consumers have been identified as the most promising target for food-related carbon emissions reduction (Poore & Nemecek 2018), and plate waste is 92% preventable (Papargyropoulou et al. 2016) without compromising enjoyment (Dolnicar et al. 2020).
ASSESSING SURVEY RESPONSE STABILITY A complementary quality assurance protocol for survey studies in the social sciences
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 23-02-2022
Abstract: Survey measurement scales are expected to be stable – to generate the same values across two timepoints and under unchanged conditions. In scale development, stability is assessed by calculating a scale’s test-retest reliability – a prerequisite to validity. Yet, a systematic review shows that test-retest reliability values are reported for only 23% of newly developed scales and typically assessed only at aggregate level – based on scale-level or subscale-level scores. This study (1) demonstrates how (sub)scale-level test-retest reliability indicators can conceal a lack of response stability at item level and (2) proposes a complementary protocol for assessing item-level response stability. Assessing stability at both item- and scale level ensures that only stable items are included in a scale, which, in turn, increases the reliability and validity of the scale and contributes to the replicability of findings in the social sciences.
Including Don't know answer options in brand image surveys improves data quality
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2014
Abstract: How do respondents use the Don't know answer option in surveys? We investigate this question in the context of brand image measurement, using an experimental design with about 2,000 respondents and, for the first time, considering a range of commonly used answer formats. Results indicate that Don't know options are primarily used when respondents genuinely cannot answer the question, as opposed to representing a quick, low-effort option to complete a survey. Two practical conclusions arise from this study: (1) a Don't know option should be offered in cases where it is expected that some respondents may be unfamiliar with some brands under study and (2) answer formats without a midpoint should be used in brand image studies because midpoints can either be falsely misinterpreted as an alternative to ticking the Don't know option, or used as an avenue for respondent satisficing.
Dynamic, Interactive Survey Questions Can Increase Survey Data Quality
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2013
TOURISM AND VACCINE HESITANCY
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 25-11-2021
Abstract: Vaccine hesitancy is one of the main obstacles facing the tourism industry in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are sceptical about the COVID-19 vaccine and decide not to get vaccinated. Our research aims to test the effectiveness of using travel-related incentives to overcome vaccine hesitancy. We investigate (1) whether travel-related beliefs and behaviours are associated with vaccination willingness, and (2) whether alerting people to travel-related freedoms linked to vaccination can increase vaccination willingness. Our results indicate that (1) there is a significant association between people’s international travel history, their desire to travel internationally in the future and vaccination willingness, and (2) this association cannot, however, be leveraged to further increase vaccination willingness as vaccine-related beliefs (safety and efficacy) are the primary drivers of vaccination willingness.
How constrained a response: A comparison of binary, ordinal and metric answer formats
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2007
Why the Level-Free Forced-Choice Binary Measure of Brand Benefit Beliefs Works So Well
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2015
Abstract: The level-free version of the Forced-Choice Binary measure of brand benefit beliefs was introduced in a recent article in IJMR (Dolnicar et al. 2012) and was shown to yield more stable – hence more reliable and trustworthy – results than the shorter ‘Pick-Any’ measure and the longer ‘7-Point Scale’ measure. The aims of the present article are (1) to explain how and why the Level-Free Forced-Choice Binary measure works so well, and (2) to point out its advantages over other belief measure formats - advantages that, importantly, include prevention of all forms of response bias.
Environmentally Friendly Behavior
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 04-08-2008
Abstract: The study of behavior with environmental consequences (recycling, water conservation, etc.) has received significant attention from social scientists over the past few decades. However, few studies have closely examined the systematic heterogeneity of behavior with environmental consequences. This study tests two specific hypotheses about such heterogeneity: that in iduals differ systematically in their patterns of behavior with environmental consequences and that behavioral patterns systematically differ between context/environments. Both hypotheses are investigated empirically in the home and vacation environment. Results support the assumption that systematic differences in behavioral patterns exist across in iduals. With respect to context/environment dependence, some groups of in iduals do not change their behavior much between contexts/environments. The majority, however, tend to engage in fewer proenvironmental behaviors in the vacation context. These findings have significant implications for environmentally sustainable management, both for local councils and tourism destinations.
Do Pro-environmental Appeals Trigger Pro-environmental Behavior in Hotel Guests?
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 15-12-2021
Abstract: Appeals to people’s pro-environmental values have been shown to trigger pro-environmental behavior across a range of contexts. The present study tests the potential of such interventions in a hedonic context where behavioral change does not generate utilitarian benefits (tourism). Results from a field experiment in a four-star hotel in Slovenia indicate that appeals to people’s pro-environmental values fail to significantly increase tourists’ hotel towel reuse and decrease room electricity consumption, suggesting that interventions in hedonic contexts—such as tourism—may require the use of more tangible benefits in order to change behavior.
Validly Measuring Destination Image in Survey Studies
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 27-08-2012
Abstract: Destination image is among the most frequently measured constructs in empirical survey research. Academic tourism researchers tend to use multi-category scales, often referring to them as “Likert scales,” while industry typically uses “pick-any” measures. But which leads to results that are more valid? Findings from a large-scale experimental study show that a “forced-choice full binary” format (where respondents have to tick “yes” and “no” for each destination-attribute combination) performs better than both current preferred formats in academic and applied studies.
Do Pro-environmental Appeals Trigger Pro-environmental Behavior in Hotel Guests?
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 23-11-2016
Abstract: Appeals to people’s pro-environmental values have been shown to trigger pro-environmental behavior across a range of contexts. The present study tests the potential of such interventions in a hedonic context where behavioral change does not generate utilitarian benefits (tourism). Results from a field experiment in a four-star hotel in Slovenia indicate that appeals to people’s pro-environmental values fail to significantly increase tourists’ hotel towel reuse and decrease room electricity consumption, suggesting that interventions in hedonic contexts—such as tourism—may require the use of more tangible benefits in order to change behavior.
On the heterogeneity of preferences for disability services
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 10-06-2021
Abstract: This paper investigates heterogeneity of preferences for disability services within the theoretical framework of consumption values. We conducted interviews with people with a disability and disability service providers to develop survey items, then conducted a survey with 2000 adult Australian residents who either had a disability or were carers of a person with a disability. After conducting descriptive analyses and data-driven market segmentation, findings revealed that, at the aggregate level, basic or functional benefits of disability services are most important. However, when accounting for heterogeneity, very distinct benefit patterns emerge, pointing to the substantial potential for improving disability services by catering to distinct market segment needs. These insights have the potential to improve disability service provision, thus maximally harvesting the opportunities from disability service models that now often include commercial providers, and enabling people with disabilities to make optimal choices in relation to both services and providers.
Waste production patterns in hotels and restaurants: An intra-sectoral segmentation approach
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 27-05-2023
Abstract: Tourism produces 35m tons of solid waste annually. For waste reduction efforts to be effective, empirical baseline measures of waste production and waste production patterns are needed. This study analyses the waste profiles of hotels and restaurants using national waste data. Results indicate that waste patterns in hotels and restaurants differ significantly from those of other industries and that – within the hotels and restaurants sector – substantial heterogeneity exists in terms of the types of waste generated. These insights highlight the need for targeted improvement approaches to waste management. Data presented in this study also serves as a baseline for benchmarking studies and helps inform the design of segment-specific practical measures to reduce waste generated in hotels and restaurants.
“Translating” between survey answer formats
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2013
Challenging “Factor–Cluster Segmentation”
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 14-01-2008
Abstract: The concept of market segmentation has been widely accepted and warmly embraced both by tourism industry and academia. In tourism research, this increased interest in segmentation studies has led to the emergence of a standard research approach. Most notably a concept referred to as “factor–cluster segmentation” has been broadly adopted. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that this approach is not generally the best procedure to identify homogeneous groups of in iduals (market segments).
How can restaurants entice patrons to order environmentally sustainable dishes? Testing new approaches based on hedonic psychology and affective forecasting theory
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 25-10-2023
Improving the stability of market segmentation analysis
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 23-10-2019
DOI: 10.1108/IJCHM-02-2019-0137
Abstract: Data-driven market segmentation is heavily used by academic tourism and hospitality researchers to create knowledge and by data analysts in tourism industry to generate market insights. The stability of market segmentation solutions across repeated calculations is a key quality indicator of a segmentation solution. Yet, stability is typically ignored, risking that the segmentation solution arrived at is random. This study aims to offer an overview of market segmentation analysis and propose a new procedure to increase the stability of market segmentation solutions derived from binary data. The authors propose a new method – based on two independently proposed algorithms – to increase the stability of market segmentation solutions. They demonstrate the superior performance of the new method using empirical data. The proposed approach uses k-means as base algorithm and combines the variable selection method proposed by Brusco (2004) with the global stability analysis introduced by Dolnicar and Leisch (2010). This new approach increases the stability of segmentation solutions by simultaneously selecting variables and numbers of segments. The new approach can be adopted immediately by academic researchers and industry data analysts alike to improve the quality of market segmentation solutions derived from empirical tourist data. Higher quality market segmentation solutions translate into competitive advantage and increased business or destination performance. The proposed approach is newly developed in this study. It helps industry data analysts and academic researchers to reduce the risk of deriving random segmentation solutions by analyzing the data in a systematic way, then selecting the most stable solution using the segmentation variables contributing to this most stable solution only.
Reducing the plate waste of families at hotel buffets – a quasi-experimental field study
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 28-04-2021
Abstract: Twenty percent of all global greenhouse emissions are food-related. Tourism and hospitality contribute significantly, with food accounting for nearly half of the waste these sectors produce. One type of food waste – plate waste – could easily be avoided. Plate waste is the food people leave behind uneaten on their plates. It does not increase the enjoyment of the meal, yet costs the hotel money, and harms the environment. We develop and test – in a quasi-experimental field study – a game-based intervention that reduces plate waste by 34 percent, and is available for immediate adoption by hotels globally. Our study contributes to theory by demonstrating the power of increasing pleasure in pleasure-seeking contexts when aiming to change environmentally significant tourist behaviour. Our findings also challenge established behavioural theories, which postulate that people’s beliefs are the key drivers of pro-environmental behaviour.
Quick, Simple and Reliable: Forced Binary Survey Questions
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2011
DOI: 10.2501/IJMR-53-2-231-252
Abstract: Consumers are increasingly saturated by market research, which leads to decreasing response rates and an increased danger of response bias. Market researchers thus face the challenge of recruiting respondents, increasing response rates and reducing respondent fatigue by making questionnaires as short and pleasant as possible. One way of achieving this is to replace traditionally used ordinal multi-category answer formats (such as Likert-type scales) with forced binary scales. This proposition is attractive only if it indeed shortens the survey time while not compromising the quality of managerial insights from the data. This study investigates these conditions. Results from a repeat-measurement design indicate that managerial interpretations do not differ substantially between the two answer formats, responses are equally reliable, and that the binary format is quicker and perceived as less complex.
Cognitive load reduction strategies in questionnaire design
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 21-01-2021
Abstract: Survey data quality suffers when respondents have difficulty completing complex tasks in questionnaires. Cognitive load theory informed the development of strategies for educators to reduce the cognitive load of learning tasks. We investigate whether these cognitive load reduction strategies can be used in questionnaire design to reduce task difficulty and, in so doing, improve survey data quality. We find that this is not the case and conclude that some of the traditional survey answer formats, such as grid questions, which have been criticized in the past lead to equally good data and do not frustrate respondents more than alternative formats.
Biting Off More Than They Can Chew: Food Waste at Hotel Breakfast Buffets
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 15-01-2022
Abstract: Tourists bite off more than they can chew at hotel breakfast buffets. Food waste from hotel buffets means unnecessary food cost for hotels as well as an unnecessary burden on the environment. The present study measured food waste at a hotel breakfast buffet and identified the following guest and breakfast characteristics as being significantly associated with higher plate waste: more children in the guest mix, more Russians and less Austrians or Germans, fewer hotel guests in the breakfast buffet area as well as more buffet stations being set up. These insights contribute to knowledge on environmental sustainability in tourism, pointing to interesting market segments for targeting in high demand periods as well as promising target segments for interventions (e.g., families) and indicate that simple measures such as rearrangements of the breakfast room may reduce food waste.
Response style corrected market segmentation for ordinal data
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-06-2015
Improving the stability of market segmentation analysis
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 05-2021
Abstract: Data-driven market segmentation is heavily used by academic tourism and hospitality researchers to create knowledge, and by data analysts in tourism industry to generate market insights. The stability of market segmentation solutions across repeated calculations is a key quality indicator of a segmentation solution. Yet, stability is typically ignored, risking that the segmentation solution arrived at is random. The present study offers an overview of market segmentation analysis and proposes a new procedure to increase the stability of market segmentation solutions derived from binary data.
Response Style Contamination of Student Evaluation Data
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 22-04-2009
Abstract: Student evaluation surveys provide instructors with feedback regarding development opportunities and they form the basis of promotion and tenure decisions. Student evaluations have been extensively studied, but one dimension hitherto neglected is the actual measurement aspect: which questions to ask, how to ask them, and what answer options to offer to students to get the most valid results. This study investigates whether cross-cultural response styles affect the validity of student evaluations. If they do, then the student mix in a class can affect an instructor's evaluation, potentially producing biased feedback and prompting inappropriate decisions by university committees. This article discusses two main response styles, demonstrates the nature of the bias they can cause in student evaluation surveys using simulated artificial data, and illustrates three cases based on real student evaluation data in which marketing instructors' teaching quality assessments may be heavily biased because of response styles. The authors propose a simple method to check for response style contamination in student evaluation data and they discuss some practical implications.
Do employees hold the key to environmental sustainability in tourism businesses? Empirical evidence from a field study
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 25-01-2023
Abstract: The tourism industry must reduce the negative impacts of its operations on the environment to secure its own prosperity into the future and to contribute to humanity’s collective aim of more sustainable production and consumption. An increasing number of studies in sustainable tourism have attempted to develop and test in the field the effectiveness of behavioural change interventions aimed at enticing tourism stakeholders in behaving more sustainably. These efforts have focused primarily on tourists. Employees have been largely neglected as potential agents of change, despite the substantial environmental consequences of their behaviours. This article pioneers this area of investigation. In a quasi-experimental field study conducted during regular operations of two hotels in Europe, we demonstrate that an equity-theory based behavioural intervention can successfully reduce the number of single-use sh oos dispensed by hotel cleaning staff during daily routine room cleans. Results are of immediate value to managers of tourism businesses – especially those of small and medium sized accommodation providers who do not have the financial means to make major infrastructure changes – by equipping them with a practical measure they can easily deploy to reduce the negative impact on the environment of their operations while also reducing their operating cost.
THE POWER OF RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY AND EMPATHY – Leveraging Non-Cognitive Theoretical Constructs to Trigger Environmentally Sustainable Tourist Behaviour?
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 22-02-2023
Abstract: Behavioural change research for environmental sustainability is currently guided almost exclusively by a cognitive paradigm, which assumes that cognitive constructs drive behaviour and must be influenced to change it. This study challenges this dominant paradigm and tests two non-cognitive theoretical constructs – respect for authority and empathy – in the context of reducing buffet plate waste. Respect for authority (in contrast to empathy) passes the manipulation check and significantly reduces plate waste in a quasi-experimental field study in a Chinese hotel, providing proof of concept for a new, urgently needed, re-orientation in behavioural change intervention design. The intervention tested in this study can immediately be deployed by tourism and hospitality businesses who want to make their buffets more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.
Required Sample Sizes for Data-Driven Market Segmentation Analyses in Tourism
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 28-07-2013
Abstract: Data analysts in industry and academia make heavy use of market segmentation analysis to develop tourism knowledge and select commercially attractive target segments. Within academic research alone, approximately 5% of published articles use market segmentation. However, the validity of data-driven market segmentation analyses depends on having available a s le of adequate size. Moreover, no guidance exists for determining what an adequate s le size is. In the present simulation study using artificial data of known structure, the impact of the difficulty of the segmentation task on the required s le size is analyzed in dependence of the number of variables in the segmentation base. Under all simulated data circumstances, a s le size of 70 times the number of variables proves to be adequate. This finding is of substantial practical importance because it will provide guidance to data analysts in academia and industry who wish to conduct reliable and valid segmentation studies.
Water conservation behavior in Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2012
Do employees hold the key to environmental sustainability in tourism businesses? Empirical evidence from a field study
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 19-10-2022
A Conceptual Framework of Skilled Female Migrant Retention
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2015
Key drivers of airline loyalty
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2011
What affects public acceptance of recycled and desalinated water?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2011
Does enjoyment focus prevent pro-environmental behaviours?
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 18-06-2023
Abstract: Based on empirical findings that pro-environmental behaviour occurs less frequently on vacation, we hypothesise that people have an enjoyment-related threshold for displaying pro-environmental behaviours: they display certain behaviours in low enjoyment-focused contexts, such as at home, but not in highly enjoyment-focused (hedonic) contexts, such as on vacation. We test whether a threshold exists after which the desire to enjoy takes precedence over the willingness to act with the environment in mind. The results of our study show that this is not the case. Contrary to the currently dominant paradigm, we find that home habits and effort also drive pro-environmental behaviours, opening new avenues for the design of behaviour change interventions.
A Sharing-Based Approach to Enticing Tourists to Behave More Environmentally Friendly
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 27-12-2017
Abstract: Tourist behavior has a critical impact on the environmental sustainability of tourism. The hedonic nature of tourism and lack of an economic incentive make tourist behavior particularly hard to change. Making tourists behave more environmentally friendly would have substantial environmental benefits. This is the aim of the present study. Three alternative approaches are tested. The most successful approach—based on sharing monetary savings with guests—leads to a 42 percent change in one specific tourist behavior with negative environmental consequences. This new sharing-based approach significantly outperforms current approaches of increasing awareness of environmental consequences and of tourist ability to make a change. Tourism businesses should consider replacing current appeals with sharing-based schemes.
Drivers of Plate Waste at Buffets: A Comprehensive Conceptual Model Based on Observational Data and Staff Insights
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 09-04-2021
Abstract: The harmful tourist behaviour of taking a lot of food from a buffet, but not eating it all, remains under-researched. This study gains key insights into drivers of plate waste. Observational data show that: dinner buffets are worse than breakfast buffets the latest breakfast serving time is worse than the earliest high-end breakfast buffets are worse than budget buffets. The first meal a guest eats at a hotel and the presence of children also lead to more plate waste. Staff offer consistent and plausible explanations for these observations, resulting in a comprehensive model of drivers of plate waste. This model offers a basis for intervention development to reduce plate waste to minimise environmental damage caused by the tourism industry.
Increasing sample size compensates for data problems in segmentation studies
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
Identifying superfluous survey items
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2018
On the importance of field studies for testing theory-driven behavioral change interventions in (sustainable) tourism
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 10-10-2023
Question Stability in Brand Image Measurement: Comparing Alternative Answer Formats and Accounting for Heterogeneity in Descriptive Models
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2007
DOI: 10.1016/S1441-3582(07)70041-1
Abstract: High quality image data on how consumers perceive brands is essential to make good brand management decisions. Prior studies reveal that brand images are not very reliable, as they are typically measured in industry, which might be due to the answer format typically used (Rungie et al., 2005). The practical implication is that brand image data — as currently collected in consumer surveys — is not a valid source of market information. We challenge this implication. Using three measures of stability we test whether the binary answer format produces image data less reliable than alternative formats. We investigate whether the aggregate descriptive model of brand image stability proposed by Rungie et al. can be improved by accounting for heterogeneity. Results indicate that, compared to alternative formats, binary answer formats lead to equal stability levels, and most brand-attribute associations are stable. Unstable associations typically fail to describe adequately the brands under study. Practical implications include that binary brand-attribute associations can be used safely to measure brand images. Also, practitioners can get guidance about required brand management measures by discriminating between stable and unstable brand-attribute associations. A model that helps managers classify brand-attribute associations into stable or unstable is proposed in the article.
Does One Size Fit All? The Suitability of Answer Formats for Different Constructs Measured
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.AUSMJ.2009.04.001
Abstract: Survey research is used to investigate a variety of different constructs, such as beliefs, behavioural intentions, perceptions, preferences and so on. Despite the wide range of constructs studied by social scientists, the ordinal answer format tends to be used across the majority of survey research studies. We challenge this standard approach in survey research by hypothesizing that the ordinal answer format is not optimal under all circumstances. Instead, we propose that the suitability of answer formats depends on the construct measured. We conduct a repeat measurement study using binary, ordinal and metric answer formats measuring two different constructs: beliefs and behavioural intentions. A clear interaction effect between answer formats and constructs is revealed. This supports the notion that no single answer format is optimal for all research problems, but that some constructs are naturally more suitable for certain answer formats than others. These findings call for increased use of pre-studies to determine the optimal answer format before fieldwork is conducted rather than relying on standard answer formats.
Assessing analytical robustness in cross‐cultural comparisons
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 12-06-2007
DOI: 10.1108/17506180710751687
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to critically review past recommendations to correct for cultural biases in empirical survey data sets, and propose a framework that enables the researcher to assess the robustness of empirical findings from culture‐specific response styles (CSRS). The paper proposes to analyze a set of derived data sets, including the original data as well as data corrected for response styles using theoretically plausible correction methods for the empirical data at hand. The level of agreement of results across correction methods indicates the robustness of findings to possible contamination of data by cross‐cultural response styles. The proposed method can be used to inform researchers and data analysts about the extent to which the validity of their conclusions is threatened by data contamination and provides guidance regarding the results that can safely be reported. Response styles can distort survey findings. CSRS are particularly problematic for researchers using multicultural s les because the resulting data contamination can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the research question under study. The proposed approach avoids the disadvantages of ignoring the problem and interpreting spurious results or choosing one single correction technique that potentially introduces new kinds of data contamination.
On the heterogeneity of preferences for disability services
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 11-09-2021
Abstract: This paper investigates heterogeneity of preferences for disability services within the theoretical framework of consumption values. We conducted interviews with people with a disability and disability service providers to develop survey items, then conducted a survey with 2000 adult Australian residents who either had a disability or were carers of a person with a disability. After conducting descriptive analyses and data-driven market segmentation, findings revealed that, at the aggregate level, basic or functional benefits of disability services are most important. However, when accounting for heterogeneity, very distinct benefit patterns emerge, pointing to the substantial potential for improving disability services by catering to distinct market segment needs. These insights have the potential to improve disability service provision, thus maximally harvesting the opportunities from disability service models that now often include commercial providers, and enabling people with disabilities to make optimal choices in relation to both services and providers.
Which hotel guest segments reuse towels? Selling sustainable tourism services through target marketing
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-08-2016
HABIT DRIVES SUSTAINABLE TOURIST BEHAVIOUR
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 16-06-2021
Abstract: Most practical interventions the tourism industry deploys to make tourists behave in more environmentally sustainable ways when they are at their premises or destination – such as the request to reuse towels to protect the environment – rely on attention and cognitive processing. We propose that focusing instead on habit, as the key construct, will be more effective in achieving behavioural change. This study discusses the – largely neglected – role of habit in our understanding of tourist behaviour and provides initial empirical proof of concept of the explanatory power of habit. Findings suggest that entirely new types of behavioural interventions should be developed, which aim at breaking bad vacation habits through disrupting automaticity, such as reducing plate size to prevent overfilling of plates at the buffets and re-establishing good habits people enact at home, such as by asking people to treat the hotel the same way they do their own home.
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