Emotional states of business travelers and service responses : a study in the hotel industry | |
| Author | Wang, Yi-Chieh |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SM-12-01 |
| Subject(s) | Hotel management--Thailand Business travel--Thailand |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Business |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. SM-12-01 |
| Abstract | Business travelers constitute one of the major markets for mid-range and upscale hotels. The requirements of business travelers are seemingly clearly defined by the tasks scheduled to be performed during a business trip. A s a result, hotels that cater mainly to business travelers offer fairly standardized facilities, amenities and services that facilitate job performance. In order to overcome commoditization and gain competitive advantage, service providers are looking for ways to offer better services by designing more pleasing service experiences and engaging customers emotionally (Gilmore and Pine, 2002; Shaw and Ivens, 2002). Emotions and service experiences have been gaining increasing attention in academic research. Recent literature has mainly followed the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) tradition (Mehra bian and Russell 1974) emphasizing the elicitation of positive emotions as an added benefit in order to enrich user experience, increase satisfaction and emotional affinity with a brand, and build customer loyalty. Less attention has been focused on the role of emotional states or the pre-consumption moods that business travelers bring into the consumption process or service encounter. This study identifies the pre-encounter affective states of business travelers and suggests that they offer opportunities for hospitality providers to personalize services and forge emotional bonds with business customers. The result s are based on a qualitative exploration of the emotions of business travelers, as well as a quantitative survey of 240 business travelers in Taiwan. Three dimensions of t he emotions of business travelers are identified: anxiety, annoyance and excitement. Using a cluster analysis, three types of business travelers are categorized based on their predominant emotional state: worried, annoyed and emotionless. Two types of service responses: problem-focused and purely empathetic service responses are also discovered. T he results of the current study have important ramifications for service providers, such as business hotels. Service providers are well-advised to first identify business travelers’ pre-encounter emotional states and then provide effective service responses to cater t o the different affective states of business travelers. By doing so, service providers are able to provide unexpected pleasant experiences and forge emotional bonds with business customers. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. SM-12-01 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Beise-Zee, Rian;Beise-Zee, Rian; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Igel, Barbara ;Dimmitt, Nicholas J. ;Vatcharaporn Esichaikul; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |