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In 2021, the airline industry was affected by COVID-19, and many airlines suffered losses. The main reason for the loss were the decline in revenue and the surge in costs. Therefore, in terms of creating the competitive advantage of airlines, "price war" is no longer applicable, and improving service quality has become an effective means. Customer satisfaction is the most effective indicator to measure service quality. In this study, a satisfaction evaluation system is established based on structural equation model and customer satisfaction importance matrix. Then, a questionnaire is designed to analyze the influence of different factors on customer satisfaction. The research finds that brand image and perceived quality have a great impact on customer satisfaction. In addition, some suggestions for airlines to improve customer satisfaction are given. © 2023 SPIE.
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The tremendous growth of tourism in Albania in recent decades, made important the understanding of the role that digital marketing and mobile technology is playing in this field. Tourism in Albania is one of the most important economic sectors of the country, and is growing year after year. It is emphasized that digitalization is a new form of communication between producers and consumers of tourism services, becoming a source of competitive advantages for tourism organizations. The main goal of the study is to give us a clear overview of the use of the Internet, information technologies and digital marketing in Albania. For the realization of this study, we used a methodology that combines primary data with secondary ones. The research was conducted through questionnaires that were sent to Albanian travel agencies via email. The questionnaire contains 17 questions, and was sent to 150 travel agencies, of which 102 agencies responded. Regarding the study, digital marketing plays an important role in improving the image of Albanian tourism throughout the world. It has created facilities in the way of doing marketing and reducing the costs of businesses. Through digital marketing, travel agencies have managed to promote our country online, personalize services and, above all, be closer to customers. The research found that the most effective digital marketing tools used by the agencies are Instagram and Facebook.
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[...]of the search for effective vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 being a priority, the development and manufacture of other treatments have been delayed, he adds. Through these industry collaborations, many developers have gained benefits, such as reduced time-to-market for new products, he specifies. [...]Quick believes that there will be more companies leaning towards outsourced services in the future, for development work and commercialization phases too. Given the disruption to the global pharmaceutical supply chain that has been experienced during the pandemic, O'Sullivan predicts that there will be opportunities for API suppliers in Europe, and elsewhere, to prosper from increased local demand, so long as the capacity and flexibility to deliver the required quantities are on available. [...]we will see significant investment by European API suppliers in expanded production capacity and capabilities in 2021 in order to attract Europe-based customers on the look-out for new local partners," he says. [...]Cruz emphasizes the rise of electronic health and customer records across Europe as an exciting prospect, particularly as it can lead to companies gaining a greater insight into treatments and customer needs.
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PurposeThis study evaluates the impact of online menus and perceived convenience of online food ordering on consumer purchase intention and shows how a desire for food creates a relationship between an online menu and a customer's purchase intention. Suggestions for management are proposed to design an effective menu to improve business performance in the competitive market in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe paper follows a quantitative method. Quantitative research aims to analyze and critically evaluate the research question(s) to discover new factors.FindingsFindings indicate a positive relationship between menu visual appeal (MV), menu informativeness (MI), desire for food (DF), the perceived convenience (PC) of ordering food online and intention to purchase (PI). The attractiveness of images and information is a significant factor affecting diners' desire to eat, while the demand for food and the convenience of ordering food online are also factors affecting purchase intention.Practical implicationsThe study confirms the importance of online menus to purchase intention. Economically, when supply and demand are reasonable, the market is stable and technology develops. In terms of social, hygiene, attractiveness and price factors, it is helpful to have an overview. Research is the premise for further studies with factors from menu to customer trust.Originality/valueThe study provides a solid foundation for further studies on restaurant menu elements as well as a new perspective on how restaurants improve their dishes.
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The e-commerce industry significantly expanded during a negative economic recession. This is because, during the COVID-19 epidemic, many countries enacted social limitations that caused various economic activities to diminish in many sectors and resulted in layoffs in various businesses because there was no production activity. Through consumer attributes such as impulsive buying tendencies, shopping enjoyment preferences, moods, and personal situations, this study aims to understand the factors contributing to impulsive buying. The SEM statistical method and PLS software were used to test the research model empirically. Sampling with a purpose was chosen. Two hundred legitimate respondents were used as samples to test the assumptions. First, the study found that impulsive buying patterns, moods, and situations all positively influence impulsive purchases. Second, other elements, such spending patterns, are not significant. This demonstrates that customers can enjoy looking up information about the desired goods, but it hasn't yet led customers to make impulsive purchases at online shops.
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This research aims to determine whether there is a change in the amount of tip for drivers by customers during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic and to find out the customers' motives in tipping drivers during the COVID 19 pandemic. The research employs a quantitative approach through survey methods. The scale measurement technique uses the Likert scale and Interval scale. The number of respondents in this research are 453 Indonesian who use online motorcycle taxi service application. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive statistical analysis and multiple linear regression. The results show that most of the respondents tipped more amount during the COVID-19 pandemic than the amount of tip they gave before the pandemic. Giving a tip to drivers by customers was driven by several motives/ reasons in the following order: a customer has the nature of wanting to help others without expecting to get rewards (altruism), wants to follow and obey applicable social norms (social norms), wants to give a reward for the satisfaction obtained from good service (reward positively), and wants to maintain social status and increase self-esteem in the social environment (social esteem).
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PurposeThe Bed and Breakfast (B&B) enterprises generally lack sufficient human resources and time to conduct research on important social media marketing factors for visitors' satisfaction and visitors' intentions. Therefore, this study aims to provide crucial social media marketing and factors and service quality elements for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in B&B sectors. This study also provides some recommendations for attracting more visitors and increasing customer satisfaction and customer loyalty through social media.Design/methodology/approachFirst, social media marketing factors and service quality elements were identified through the systematic literature review. Then these identified factors and elements were used to design a survey questionnaire for collecting data. The research data included responses of 64 B&B enterprises and 625 customers. The collected data was analyzed by feature selection approaches including Decision Tree algorithm and Information Gain to identify the key factors for improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.FindingsThe findings of this study determined that featured choice is an important social media marketing factor, and assurance is the common service quality element for both B&B enterprises and their customers in terms of satisfaction and loyalty.Originality/valueThis study adds a value to the growing literature on customer satisfaction and loyalty in B&B sectors by exploring key social media marketing factors and service quality elements. The study reveals several implications for theories and practices. The findings hopefully help B&B enterprises better social media marketing with less workforce and budget.
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PurposeThis research aims to profoundly investigate the post-COVID-19's opportunities for customer-centric green supply chain management (GSCM) and perceived customer resilience by studying the correlation between fear-uncertainty of COVID-19, customer-centric GSCM, and the perceived customers' resilience. Moreover, to examine how the perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities moderates the relationship among the variables.Design/methodology/approachIn this study partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted on a sample of 298 managers and customers in the Egyptian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market for data analysis and hypotheses testing.FindingsPreliminary results indicate that the fear-uncertainty of COVID-19 positively affects customer-centric GSCM. Also, external CSR moderates the association between fear-uncertainty towards COVID-19 and customer-centric GSCM. However, internal CSR does not moderate this relationship. Customer-centric GSCM has a significant positive impact on the perceived environmental and social resilience. However, it has an insignificant effect on the perceived financial resilience. Also, customer-centric GSCM has a significant mediation outcome on the relation between fear-uncertainty of COVID-19 and the perceived environmental and social resilience. However, this relation is insignificant regarding the perceived financial resilience.Practical implicationsManagers could develop a consistent strategy for applying CSR practices, providing clear information and focusing on their procedures to meet their customer needs during COVID-19. Governments and managers should develop a consistent strategy to apply customer-oriented green practices to achieve customers' resilience, especially during the pandemic.Originality/valueBased on the "social-cognitive,” "stakeholder” and "consumer culture” theories, this study shed light on the optimistic side of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it also brings the concepts of social responsibility, resilience and green practices back into the light, which helps in solving customers' issues and help to achieve their resilience.
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The industry has one of the smartest workforce and most come to work with passion in their bones, whether it be in their first job or those positions that followed. [...]when all players cooperatively work together as a team with common goals, it is a winwin for society at large. According to its website, "In 1947, a young veterinarian purchased one thousand rat cages from a Virginia farm and set up a one-man laboratory in Boston, overlooking the Charles River. In other words, it is not uncommon for a CRO to provide scientific, clinical, and business continuity for pharmaceutical company sponsors. [...]to maximize the CRO's contribution to the overall development programs, the CRO should become an active member of the team.
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The insolvency of travel agencies is dealt with in a special way by the EU legislator. European Union law introduces legal solutions for the benefit of consumers insofar as the relevant services are not performed by organizers as a consequence of its insolvency. The current 2015/2302 Directive provides much more comprehensive protection than 90/314/EWG Directive for travelers in the event of insolvency of a tour operator. However, in the past, in the practical functioning of travel agencies, it has repeatedly turned out that the Polish legislation has not been able to guarantee full protection provided for in EU law. This situation has changed. In Poland, since August 1, 2018 the system of security and financial guarantees in the event of insolvency of organizers and traders facilitating linked travel arrangements consists of two pillars. If Pillar I funds are exhausted, the costs of actions taken by the Marshal of the Province related to the repatriation of the customers of an insolvent tour operator will be covered from Pillar II, which is created from contributions to the Tourist Guarantee Fund. Due to the COVID pandemic, another form of security was introduced in Poland from January 1,2021 - Tourist Assistance Fund. The fund is designed to support tourism entrepreneurs in the event of extraordinary circumstances. The aim of the paper is to present the legal regulations in force in Poland in the field of financial security of tour operators in the event of their insolvency and to analyze whether these solutions sufficiently protect the interests of travelers. Conclusions included in the paper justify the statement that the extension of the security system by Pillar II make the full protection possible. The two-pillar solution should be sufficient in case of insolvency of a travel agency and that it fully implements the EU recommendations.
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PurposeThis research aims to use meta-analytical structural equation modeling to look into how hospitality employees use technology at work. It further investigates if the relationship between the constructs of the technology acceptance model (TAM) is moderated by job level (supervisory versus non-supervisory) and different cultures (eastern versus western).Design/methodology/approachIn total, 140 relationships from 30 empirical studies (N = 6,728) were used in this study's data analysis in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis.FindingsThe findings demonstrated that perceived usefulness had a greater influence on "user attitudes” and "acceptance intention” than perceived ease of use. This study also identified that the effect sizes of relationships among TAM constructs appeared to be greater for supervisory employees or in eastern cultures than for those in non-supervisory roles or western cultures.Practical implicationsThe findings provide valuable information for practitioners to increase the adoption of employee technology. Practitioners need to focus on the identification of hospitality employee attitudes, social norms and perceived ease of use. Moreover, hospitality practitioners should be cautious when promoting the adoption of new technologies to employees, as those at different levels may respond differently.Originality/valueThis is the very first empirical investigation to meta-analyze the predictive power of the TAM in the context of hospitality staff technology adoption at the workplace. The findings also demonstrated differences in the predictive power of TAM constructs according to job level and cultural differences.
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The availability of resources is vital when rapid changes and updated medical information in the provision of care are needed, such as in the fight against COVID-19, which is not a conventional disease. Continuing medical education plays an essential role in preparing for and responding to such emergencies. Workflow has improved based on the virtual meetings, online trainings, and remote detailing conducted by medical representatives in order to deliver educational content instantly through digital tools, such as salesforce automation (SFA), webinars, etc. In terms of its regulatory barriers, the pharmaceutical industry mainly targets healthcare professionals, unlike most businesses that reach end users directly. Medical representatives are equipped with an SFA to enhance customer relationship management (CRM) and closed loop marketing (CLM) capabilities in pharmaceutical companies. This study aimed to fill a gap in the literature by investigating the use of SFA in work patterns, such as health professionals' loyalty and involvement in their medical knowledge in Turkey, and how it allows for differentiating training from marketing. This study intended to compare the data on internists and medical products gathered from a well-known pharmaceutical company's SFA. The data covered the first three months of the year 2020, when medical representatives had a normal daily routine, and that of 2021, when Turkey experienced the most powerful surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was based on simple correspondence analysis (SCA) and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) for 11 variables. Monitoring product, physician's segment, and medical representatives' behaviors with SFA had a significant influence on the pharma-physician relationship strategy, as expected. The findings supported the view that SFA technologies can be deployed to advance the medical knowledge of physicians, in addition to managing and designing superior CRM and CLM capabilities.
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With the expansion of internet penetration and the adoption of mobile apps, usage of food delivery applications has increased significantly during the pandemic. The study's main objective was to examine the antecedents and consequences of food delivery app engagement among urban and semi-urban customers in India during COVID-19. The data were collected from 269 semi-urban respondents and 301 urban respondents. The stimulus organism and response (SOR) model has been used to understand consumers' antecedents and consequences of food delivery app engagement during the pandemic. The study used the structural equation modelling method to test the relationship between the variables. The study's findings showed that the mobile application's perceived ease of use, enjoyment, and time convenience found a significant effect among urban and semi-urban customers. This study is limited to urban and semi-urban customers with cross-sectional survey data. The study has explored a few antecedents and consequences of mobile food delivery app engagement.
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The COVID-19 outbreak has had detrimental consequences on the cruise industry due to the suspension of commercial cruise trips, and these effects remain apparent in Saudi Arabia. The offered service quality (SQ) in the post-COVID-19 era seems to be a critical element for improving customer experiences and satisfaction, enhancing destination attractiveness, increasing revenue, and maintaining repeat business. The current study aimed to assess the impact of service quality on tourists' satisfaction and corporate image as well as the intention to pay for cruise trips and revisit the destination among 315 tourists in Saudi Arabia. Service quality was measured using five subscales of the SERVQUAL scale, including reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Tourists' satisfaction was significantly influenced by four domains of SQ, whereas the intention to pay more, intention to revisit the destination, and corporate image were significantly predicted by ≤3 domains of SQ. The study's findings can help the cruise industry to improve its offerings and create more personalized and engaging experiences that meet the changing needs of customers in the recovery period after the COVID-19 outbreak.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way business is handled. Besides, people's purchasing habits have been impacted by new safety, social, and health restrictions. Thus, the purpose of this research was to analyze the COVID-19 pandemic impact in the relationships between the built environment, price level, and service quality on supermarket customers' satisfaction. For this purpose, a survey of 245 supermarket customers in southern Brazil was conducted at two different times: before and during the pandemic. The results point out that the price level, toilets, and location are essential to explain satisfaction at all times. Comfort presented importance before the pandemic, configuration, and service quality in pandemic times. These features are essential for supermarket management to prioritize efforts on attributes and dimensions relevant to customers.
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In this research, we analyzed the delivery service areas of restaurants, customer satisfaction, and restaurant sales of urban restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. We obtained the datasets on food ordering options and restaurant rankings based on Google Maps, Open Street Map, and widely known online food order applications in Iran. Based on this analysis we further modeled suitable areas for future extension of restaurants. We analyzed the online food order data of restaurants' sales and food delivery reports for 1050 restaurants in the city of Tabriz. We collected and analyzed data on the restaurant locations, the number of food orders for each restaurant, and the number of customers and their locations. Our results revealed that the spatial dimension of the newly emerging food delivery areas is of utmost importance for the success of restaurants. This indicates that an optimal location is not longer only dependent on factors like population density and competitors in the direct vicinity but on the services density even from more distant competitors. The results indicate that an optimized spatial distribution of the restaurants together with efficient quality in services can contribute to optimistic urban development. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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[...]the vehicle of the future must be considered within the broader framework of the mobility of the future, taking into account the entire value chain. Transforming our future into a sustainable future: planning for the automotive transition Didier Sepulchre de Condé, Mechanical industry The automotive industry is in turmoil, firstly because of the economic situation, with a market deeply affected by Covid, shortages of materials and components and disoriented customers;and secondly because of the structural situation, with the forced transition to electrification. The four paradoxes of the ecological transition of the European car industry Alois Kirchner, Former Director of Cabinet of the Minister for Industry The energy transition in the automotive sector is essential for achieving French and European climate objectives. [...]the actions implemented come up against four paradoxes, which must be overcome if this transition is to succeed: * the regulation on the reduction of CO2 emissions from the tank to the wheel, to the exclusion of other sources which now represent the majority of emissions from new vehicles;* the steering of vehicle traffic restrictions based on Crit'air stickers, leading to the prohibition of access to certain cities for vehicles that are more virtuous than others that are still allowed to enter;* the inability to implement policies to support the production of vehicles on European soil that are sufficiently powerful to halt the fall in associated jobs;a situation that benefits production sites that are not subject to the same environmental standards;* and the rising price of "green" vehicles, leading to a slowdown in the renewal of the fleet and the maintenance of a high level of pollution and carbon emissions.
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Much research has been done on cause-related marketing activities implemented by for-profit businesses. However, researchers seem to neglect that the beneficiaries make specific products used in cause-related campaigns, and for-beneficiaries organizations also run specific campaigns. Further research, thus, needs to be done to understand and support these self-help efforts. This study investigated customer attitudes toward products made by people with disabilities – the direct beneficiaries of the generated incomes. By interviewing fifteen female customers in Japan, this study found that the participants had a somewhat positive attitude. They wanted to buy or had bought these kinds of products. The customers' perceptions of product quality were good. However, their perception of product types and production scale was not. The women's perceptions and behaviours, or their attitudes, were affected by several personal and environmental factors. A recent factor, the COVID-19 pandemic, seemed to add some situational impacts. Implications for expanding cause-related marketing theory and improving cause-related marketing activities from the beneficiary perspective were discussed based on these findings. © 2023, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. All rights reserved.
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PurposeThis study examines the different effects of service recovery strategies on customers' future intentions when online shoppers were experiencing delivery failures. Two types of problem severity are evaluated: wrong-product delivery (issues with the product quality or quantity) and late delivery. This study also investigates the impact of service criticality on the relationship between service recovery strategies and customers' future intentions.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs experimental research with 123 online shoppers as participants. Following the results, a subsequent test is conducted to examine the effect of participants' demographics on future intentions. Finally, the current study elaborates the findings using qualitative research, interviewing both sides impacted by the service failures: online shoppers and e-retail managers.FindingsThe findings show that complementing product replacement with monetary compensation is the most effective strategy to improve repurchase intention after a dissatisfaction moment. This effect is indifferent to service criticality and severity. Age influences the participants' repurchase intentions, in which younger people are less tolerant of service failures. In contrast, gender and education level do not provide any differences. To prevent delivery failures, managers participating in this study suggest several best practices regarding systems and infrastructure, people and coordination and collaboration with logistics partners.Research limitations/implicationsThe study mainly examines a limited type of service and service failures. Further studies are encouraged to expand the variables and scenarios, as well as to employ more distinctive methods, to enrich the findings related to recovery strategy in the e-commerce industry.Practical implicationsGiven proper compensation, service failure could create momentum for online retailers to boost customer loyalty. This study suggests that managers design the most effective service recovery to win customers back to the business.Originality/valueThis paper enriches the literature related to a service recovery strategy, particularly within the online shopping context.
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This study presents and discusses the home delivery services in stochastic queuing-inventory modeling (SQIM). This system consists of two servers: one server manages the inventory sales processes, and the other server provides home delivery services at the doorstep of customers. Based on the Bernoulli schedule, a customer served by the first server may opt for a home delivery service. If any customer chooses the home delivery option, he hands over the purchased item for home delivery and leaves the system immediately. Otherwise, he carries the purchased item and leaves the system. When the delivery server returns to the system after the last home delivery service and finds that there are no items available for delivery, he goes on vacation. Such a vacation of a delivery server is to be interrupted compulsorily or voluntarily, according to the prefixed threshold level. The replenishment process is executed due to the (s,Q) reordering policy. The unique solution of the stationary probability vector to the finite generator matrix is found using recursive substitution and the normalizing condition. The necessary and sufficient system performance measures and the expected total cost of the system are computed. The optimal expected total cost is obtained numerically for all the parameters and shown graphically. The influence of parameters on the expected number of items that need to be delivered, the probability that the delivery server is busy, and the expected rate at which the delivery server's self and compulsory vacation interruptions are also discussed.