اثر ویژگی های ملموس و ناملموس هتل بر وفاداری به برند با نقش میانجی ادراک از رفاه و نگرش به برند (هتل های چهار و پنج ستاره مشهد) (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)
درجه علمی: نشریه علمی (وزارت علوم)
آرشیو
چکیده
وفاداری مفهومی مهم در بازاریابی گردشگری است و باعث می شود مشتریان کمتر نام سایر هتل ها را جست وجو کنند و به همان هتلی که قبلاً به آنجا رفته بودند وفادار بمانند ؛ بنابراین شناخت عواملی که موجب احساس رفاه و وفاداری مشتری هتل ها می شود ضروری است. هدف پژوهش حاضر، بررسی تأثیر ویژگی های ملموس و ناملموس هتل و نیز ادراک از رفاه بر وفاداری به برند هتل است. در این راستا، نقش میانجیگری نگرش شناختی و عاطفی به برند نیز بررسی شده است. جامعه آماری تحقیق میهمانان هتل های چهار و پنج ستاره شهر مشهد در سال 1401 هستند. برای این منظور، از ۳۸۴ نفر از میهمانان هتل های مذکور ازطریق پرسش نامه نظرسنجی شد. روش نمونه گیری از افراد نمونه، نمونه گیری دردسترس بوده است. پایایی به روش آلفای کرونباخ و روایی سازه ای و صوری تأیید شد. داده های جمع آوری شده با استفاده از تکنیک مدل سازی معادلات ساختاری در نرم افزار آموس تجزیه وتحلیل شد. نتایج نشان داد که مدل آزمون شده از برازندگی خوبی به داده ها برخوردار است و همه فرضیه های تحقیق تأیید شد. ویژگی های ملموس و ناملموس هتل بر ادراک مشتری از رفاه هتل اثرگذار بودند؛ ادراک از رفاه بر نگرش شناختی و عاطفی به برند هتل اثرگذار بود و مؤلفه های نگرش به برند بر وفاداری به برند هتل اثر گذاشتند. به علاوه، نقش میانجی مؤلفه های نگرش به برند در رابطه بین ادراک از رفاه هتل و وفاداری به برند هتل نیز تأیید شد.The Effect of Tangible and Intangible Hotel Caracteristics on Brand Loyalty with the Mediating Role of Perceived Well-Being and Brand Attitude (Case study: 4 And 5 Star Hotels In Mashhad)
Loyalty is an important concept in marketing and makes customers less likely to search for hotels among different hotel names and stay loyal to the same hotel they have been to before. Therefore, after reviewing the literature related to marketing management and brand management, the main goal of this research was to test the effect of the hotel's tangible and intangible characteristics as well as the perception of the hotel's well-being on hotel brand loyalty. In this regard, it has also investigated the mediating role of cognitive and emotional attitude towards the brand. For this purpose, 384 guests of 4 and 5 star hotels in Mashhad were surveyed using a questionnaire. The sample members were selected by conducting the convenience sampling sample. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling technique in Amos software. The research results showed that the tested model has a good fit to the data, and all the research hypotheses were confirmed. In particular, the tangible and intangible characteristics of the hotel had an effect on the perception of the hotel well-being; perceived well-being had an effect on the cognitive and emotional attitude towards the hotel brand; and the two components of brand attitude affected hotel brand loyalty. In addition, the mediating roles of brand attitude components in the relationship between perceived well-being and loyalty to the hotel brand were also confirmed. Keywords: Hotel Characteristics, Perceived Well-being, Customer Attitude, Customer Loyalty, Hoteling Industry
1. Introduction
Tourism industry is one of the most important industries for the economic prosperity of many countries, especially developing countries. During the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism was hit hard all over the world and related industries faced crisis (Kamata, 2022). In the case of 4 and 5 star hotels, since the profit of loyalty and return of each customer is high, the return rate of customers is very important for the profitability of the whole complex. Therefore, it is necessary to know the factors that contributeto the loyalty and positive attitude of customers towards 4 and 5 star hotels. An important branch of the tourism industry is the hoteling industry, which in Mashhad accounts for a large part of the city's economy. On the other hand, loyalty is an important concept in marketing. It makes customers less likely to search for alternatives and remain loyal to the service or product they have perviously purchased (in this case, hotels). Therefore, after reviewing the literature related to customer loyalty in the hotel industry, this research primarily aims to investigate the effects of tangible and intangible characteristics of hotels, in turn, the way these characteristics affect the perception of the hotel's well-being on its loyalty. In this regard, the mediating role of cognitive and emotional attitudes towards the hotel brand has also been investigated.
2. Literature Review
A hotel is a type of dwelling that is rented to people for a short period of time. They also provide a wide range of services to tourists (Oriade et al., 2021). The Perception of well-being is a relatively new variable that has received little attention. Customers' and guests' view of the hotel and its services and their satisfaction with hotel services can be considered as their perception of well-being. Customers and guests of 4- and 5- star hotels expect more pleasure and pleasure due to the higher amount they pay for the services received (Wang et al., 2020).
Attitude can be defined in three aspects: a) attitude as a value or emotional response, b) attitude as a willingness to respond, and c) attitude as a system of cognitive elements as well as emotional and behavioral elements. Based on the last definition, attitude is composed of three elements: cognitive, emotional and behavioural; this definition considers attitude as an enduring system of evaluations, or enduring customer beliefs.
Brand loyalty refers to the customer tendency of customers to be loyal to a brand and can be expressed as the willingness of customers to choose a brand as their first choice(Oliver, 1990). Loyal customers are committed to a particular brand and are more likely to tolerate its failures.This commitment leads to constant purchases from a brand while using its services. With Regard to hotels, it can be said that customer or tourist loyalty is very important for hoteliers. This is because the cost of providing services to former customers is lower than for new customers. Customers are also likely tohave higher levels of satisfaction (Zhang et al., 2014).
Based on the review of the internal and external background, it can be expected that the tangible and intangible characteristics of hotels have a positive effect on the perception of well-being and the attitude towards the hotel brand. The perception of well-being also has a positive effect on brand loyalty. Cognitive and emotional attitudes also have a positive effect on loyalty to the brand as well (Kim et al., 2021).
3. Methodology
This research is in applied and descriptive – survey method. The statistical population of this research is all Iranian guests of 4- and 5-star hotels in the city of Mashhad. These people have visited the hotels either to stay overnight or to use hotel services such as swimming pool, etc. The number of visitors during the study period (winter 2023) is unknown. Since it is not possible to reach and survey all members of the statistical population, a statistical sample should be determined by sampling. Due to the uncertainty of the size of the statistical population and based on Morgan's table, the sample size was estimated to be at 384 people. 384 guests of 4 and 5 star hotels in Mashhad were surveyed using a questionnaire. The sample members were selected by conducting the convenience sampling sample. In order to check the validity of the questionnaire, the face validity index and the structural validity of the questionnaire have also been examined. Construct validity should be assessed and confirmed using statistical methods such as confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to check the reliability of the variables. SPSS and Amos software were used for calculations.
4. Results
46% of the respondents were men and 44% were women. The remainder did not indicate their gender. 49% said they were between 41 and 50 years old, which was the majority of respondents. After that, the 31-40 age group had the highest frequency with 112 people. The lowest number of respondents, i.e. less than 9% of the total statistical sample with a frequency of 34 people, was related to people older than 50 years. About 49% of the sample had the highest number of respondents with a bachelor’s degree, diploma or lower with 87 people. The lowest number of respondents, less than 8%, had a Master's degree or higher. People with an income of more than 10 million tomans, who make up about 40% of the statistical sample. The lowest frequency is related to the income class between 5 and10 million tomans, with 21% of the statistical sample. About 15% did not state their income.
Skewness and kurtosis coefficients were used to check the normality of the research variables. It can be said that the research variables have a normal distribution and the covariance-based approach can be used for structural modelling. The validity and reliability of the measurement instrument were confirmed. In addition, the research model was tested in the AMOS software and the hypotheses were tested. Based on the standards provided for model fitting and hypothesis testing, all research hypotheses were confirmed. The research model was also confirmed with to a good approximation.
5. Conclusion
The results of the hypothesis test show that the tangible and intangible characteristics of the hotel have an effect on the guests' perception of the hotel. Well-being perceptions also influence the cognitive and emotional attitudes of travelers. These attitudes lead to brand loyalty.The initial hypotheses of the research were dedicated to the direct effect of the tangible and intangible characteristics of the hotel on the perception of well-being. The results of the structural equation modelling showed that in the statistical population, the tangible characteristics of the hotel and the intangible characteristics of the hotel increase the loyalty of the guests.
The better the tangible and intangible features of the hotel are remembered by tourists and the more favorable their attitudes towards the components of hotel service quality, the more likely is that the efforts of the hotel management and staff will lead to improve the well-being of the guests. Therefore, it can be said with high confidence that the tangible and intangible features of the hotel are basic requirements for the service quality of of 4 star and 5 star hotels, and are able to increase the effect of hotel service quality on the perception of guests' well-being. In other words, the quality of tangible brand components (such as brand slogan and trademark) and intangible brand components (such as brand reputation) lead guests to have a more positive perception of trust and comfort in the hotel. The results of the present research regarding the effects of the perception of well-being have shown that perception of well-being can indirectly influence the loyalty of guests to the brand of 4 and 5 star hotels. In other words, the results of the research show the variable importance of the perception of well-being in the discussion of hotel and tourism economics.
It can be said that the perception of well-being is a general variable thatgenerally improves the attitude of customers and increases their loyalty to the business in question or its services and products. Regarding the customers of 4- and 5-star hotels in Mashhad, the results of this research confirmed that the perception of well-being to a large extent, indirectly affects the loyalty of the guests of these hotels. In general, the existence of an indirect relationship between the perception of hotel well-being and brand loyalty has been confirmed in the empirical research literature. In other words, the more favorable the guests' perception of well-being is, the more favorable their perceptual and mental processes form a more favorable attitude towards the hotel brand and its products and services in the minds of the guests. The results of the present research also showed that the perception of the well-being of 4 and 5 star hotels in Mashhad was able to significantly affect the emotional and cognitive attitude towards the brand of these hotels. Practical applications for hoteliers and future research directions for academics are also presented at the end.
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