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supplies and utility were given, which made a huge do not want to travel at all because of trust issues. In
effect throughout. Moreover, for that reason terms of promotion and advertisement, the new
participants want tour operators to lower the price. strategy should be properly explained.
As well as safety remains a concern, informants
believe that tour operators might show fake In terms of place the informants want the
advertisements and after visiting the expected tour operators to help out the community by
service does not satisfy. This completely relates to providing assistance and opportunity and for the
trust-breaking, resulting in losing loyal guests. product/services, the room service should be called
every 3 hours to sanitize starting from the front
Figure 1.2 Motivation and Influential Factors to
travel domestic or outbound post-Covid 19 (Formed office until the room because informants believe that
by Author) the same bedsheet is shared and cleaning it still does
not make informants comfortable.
Additionally, even if informants travel, a
concern related to the local community comes as
well. Informants believe that the local community in
city areas might know new procedures and a basic
standard of protection related to COVID awareness
but in a rural area, it is the opposite. Informants want
to help out the local community and want the
government to join hands with tour operators to have
the proper strategy of social distancing and
providing basic protection such as masks, hand
sanitizers, etc., everywhere and create awareness.
The participants have mentioned that before
COVID, always searched for good quality, standard
price, etc., and compare the cost between other
places. After COVID the informants prefer to add
more procedures and safety issues were held up and
more information related, they might ask and the
tour operators have to explain everything. Moreover,
it was also found out from the informants that due to
fear and trust issues, the informants prefer to direct
call and check what is going on around and in the
place.
Figure 1.3 Socio-Demographic Effects on Travel Figure 1.4 Thai consumer’s expectations towards
intent post-Covid 19 (Formed by Author) the changes (changes in 4p’s/destination image)
from the tour operators post-Covid 19. (Formed by
In terms of 4p’s the informants mentioned Author)
that price should be reasonable and discounted as
well and mostly safety checks should be maintained Conclusions and Implication
before that. Even though there is a discount but no
safety, informants provided a feeling of distress and To conclude the study, first of all, the
results provided an understanding that as time
changes human being changes too, depending on the
trends and situation given. Here the pandemic
situation has put people into fear and not trusting the
post-COVID situation at all. The tourism sector was
once booming and one of the biggest sectors that was
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ruling in the world whereas the pandemic has put https://www.academia.edu/25114825/Tourist_Beha
down the sector but consumers need new kinds of
information added with the old services and expect viour_and_Trends [26.5.2020]
a new refined upgraded version of service in the new
normal. Budeanu A., 2007, Sustainable Tourist Behavior –
A discussion for opportunities for change
Overall, clean, reasonable prices, https://www.academia.edu/36304238/Sustainable_t
discounts, convincing promotions, and ourist_behaviour_a_discussion_of_opportunities_f
advertisements would bring back the trust that was or_change [25.5.2020]
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towards the purchase decision and responses Behavior of Thai Outbound Tourists to Europe
towards tour operators. Moreover, due to the http://kb.psu.ac.th/psukb/bitstream/2010/5891/1/31
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understandings from this article can be carried
forward as the exploratory approach was used, and Chang C. L. 2020, MacAleer M. 2020 and Ramos V.
additionally due to limit the research was kept 2020, A Charter for Sustainable Tourism after
exploratory. COVID-19, Sustainability 2020, P 2
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understanding the new normal of over and no https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1368
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Acknowledgments Chenini N. E. 2016 and Cherif A. 2016, Factors
The researcher Md. Saif Hassan would like Influencing Image of Tourist Destination: Integrated
to show thankfulness to the researcher’s advisor,
Asst. Prof. Dr. Adarsh Batra for the invaluable Marketing Communications Approach;
advice and support provided throughout the whole
independent study report. The researcher also would Conceptualization and Retrospective re-debate
like to provide a big thanks to the faculty members
available and within the Graduate School of https://www.academia.edu/27557089/Factors_Influ
Business.
encing_Image_of_Tourist_Destination_Integrated_
Moreover, the special thanks go to all the
in-depth interviewees who were willing to Marketing_Communications_Approach_Conceptua
participate in the study and the respondents who
replied to the online surveys. The respondent lization_and_Retrospective_re-debate [24.5.2020]
attendance provided a partial success of the study
and for that, the researcher would like to express Desbiolles F. H., 2020, Socialising tourism for
gratitude to all the participants and respondents. social and ecological justice after COVID 19
Finally, the researcher would like to extend the https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461
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“Travel Stress and Stress-Coping Strategies Adapted by
International Tourists and Travel Organization’s Awareness in
Bangkok”
Piyush Mathur
Assumption University, Thailand
Abstract
As the Tourism is increasing globally with the rise in number of International tourists every year where
travelling has become an inseparable part of lifestyle but the fact cannot be ignored that it may actually
cause stress, and rise in anxiety and tension at different phases of travel which may cause negative
experience among International tourists. Thus, this study will contribute to the knowledge of source of
travel stress, destination factors and how tourists coming to Bangkok manage and reduce it. As the
awareness about the travel-related stress is still less so it is necessary to know what the role of travel
organizations is in dealing with tourist’s stress problems in Bangkok. Qualitative research method is used
for the collection of data and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted during 28th February
2020 to 6th March 2020 with 10 International tourists and 2 travel organizations in Bangkok and for the
data analysis constant comparison method was used. Results indicate that travel-related stress arises at the
initial stage, which is pre-trip phase, continues with during trip phase, at destination and ends with post trip
phase. The stress coping methods adapted by International tourists are social support, relaxation,
entertainment, meditation, management of trip, and destination activities such as enjoying nightlife in
Bangkok. Also, this study reveals that travel organizations provide destination knowledge, safety measures,
travel alternatives, guidelines to staff, address complaints, offer compensation, to help tourist prevent from
stressful situation in Bangkok.
Keywords: Travel Stress, Stress coping, International Tourist, Travel organization, Bangkok
Introduction: unfamiliar and uncontrollable environment such as
airport congestion, security checks, being in enclosed
Whether for leisure or for business purpose, people space during flight etc. The stress related with travel
travel globally and according to UNWTO (2019) could affect the person’s well-being and may lead to
international tourists arrivals have grown by 5 % in physical and mental health problems and depreciate
2018 and reached 1.4 billion. Despite of this growing their holiday experience and the work performance in
numbers of tourists, less is known about the stress the long term. According to Zehrer & Crotts (2012)
associated with travelling. Various studies have been stress associated with a vacation can be categorized
done to identify the stress and spread awareness about into pre-trip stress, travel stress and destination stress
the stress caused during travelling. McIntosh, which are more specifically pressure of holiday
Swanson, Power, Raeside & Dempster (1998) in their planning, last moment arrangements, logistics, over
study have mentioned that anxiety and fear associated spending and it can create a feeling of tension and
with travelling is quite common and a significant anxiety. "Travel can definitely sometimes be
portion of travellers experience it which include frustrating or even chaotic - and it seems that many
mainly those who travel through air. People feel travellers believe that they are having a terrible luck
stressed when they are away from home in an after too many poor experiences in the past. Wherever
possible, take every step to prepare and plan ahead of
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your next trip as it will help to reduce stress and avoid vacation stress as an individual's perspective, mental,
running into problems when in transit,” said Alex behavioural and physical reactions to the different
Miller in a statement (Upgradedpoints, 2020). problems encountered during one or more travel
Travellers should be aware about the consequences of phases.
travel which can help in reduce the stress and they can The Concept of Travel and Tourist encounter with
fully enjoy their holiday by understanding the factors Stress: According to the Leiper’s model of the tourism
causing stress. Many travellers apply their own system it is explained that the tour – which is a trip or
strategies to cope with stress such as previous travelling anywhere for business, leisure activities – is
experiences, travel competence, social support from a vital element. The tour is a basic feature for tourism
family and friends, and activities at destination. The and a prerequisite element for tourism to occur under
service providers should also learn about the travel- which an individual must be brought to the product or
related stress of their guests and come up with service and has to travel out and back. Transportation,
extended services to ensure tourist comfort and safety and a single or multiple location are involved in it. For
to help managing their stress. The relationship travel, the process starts from traveller-generating
between stress and travel is a growing matter of region and ends with it. In between a traveller
discussion. The study aims at working on following encounters with transit routes between generating and
objectives: a.) to identify the source of stress which a destination areas, destination and the firms and
traveller face while travelling overseas b.) to analyse organizations providing service product such as travel
the way in which the foreign tourists coming to companies, airports, hotels where it is possible to face
Bangkok combat the travel stress c.) to examine the anxiety and stress. In a study conducted by McIntosh,
role of travel companies in dealing with problem of Swanson, Power, Raeside & Dempster (1998) it is
stress related to travel d.) to identify destination factors found that air travel caused anxiety among the
causing stress among international travellers. International travellers at different level and flight
delays were rated most frequently as a source of stress
Literature Review: followed by flight landing and baggage reclaim. The
study also reported that travellers experience health
The Concept of Stress: Now a days, the life of people related problems; ear problems were the most common
is filled with stress which can be originated within reported by 55% of respondents, headache (41%),
them and because of something externally happen to swollen legs (31%) and stuffy nose (31%) were also
them. Stress is a familiar concept, but it is understood found.
differently by each person and in terms of travel,
people have different perceptions towards it. Stress and Coping:
According to Miller & McCool (2002) Stress can be
described primarily as “the product of a perceived Stress is an indication of some type of uncomfortable
imbalance between the demands of a person's situation and there is some stimulus that provokes it
environment and the resources available that the and some response or reaction. This reaction or
person has to respond to them”. Individuals use two response is called coping and is basically the
types of strategies to manage stress and cope with it: mechanism by which the person manages or responds
Problem-focused approach; and Emotion-focused to a stressful environment or circumstances. Usually
approach. Although problem-focused solutions are coping is seen as a rational answer to an objective
direct acts such as active coping, emotion-focused are question of arising stress.
indirect, such as finding opportunities for leisure time
in response to stress. Therefore, it is always common Transactional approach to stress: Richard Lazarus
belief that taking a holiday would minimize or introduced the transactional theory of stress and
mitigate stress. In contrast to the view that taking a coping in an attempt to explain stress as more of a
holiday may serve to moderate stress, Yavas (1987) dynamic process Folkman & Lazarus (1980), which
indicates that taking a holiday can be stressful given describes stress as a result of a transaction between a
the high risk involving a person’s time, energy and person and his complex environment. It is also
money. Schuster, Hammitt & Moore (2006) described described as a result of a perceived imbalance between
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demands of an individual and the available resources & Fry (2015) aims at establishing the level of
to satisfy it. Stress and coping are distinguished among knowledge of travel health risks among a sample of
three levels of appraisal: a.) Primary appraisal, travel agents in Ireland to identify travel health
characterized as “the decision that an encounter is educational needs in the community. More
insignificant, or stressful” resulting in loss, danger, specifically, the objectives are to describe the
harm and challenge; b.) Secondary appraisal, relates to approach of travel agents to client seeking travel
dealing with responses to a certain situation and health guidance and their confidence in providing such
requires a decision on what could be done which guidance; to examine the level of knowledge of travel
results in coping strategies that help to respond to a agents regarding the geographical knowledge of major
particular stress experience; c.) Coping, which is tropical diseases and their mode of spread; to identify
regarded as an effort by the individual to cope with a the training needs of travel agents in relation to travel
stressful situation and is chosen as a result of the health. This study used a web-based questionnaire
assessment process (Lazarus, 1999). created on survey monkey and permission was
obtained by Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA)
The study of Zehrer & Crotts (2012) undertakes a and anonymously distributed to its members via an
SEM Model for vacation stress in which stress is emailed web link. Data collected was analysed using
divided into three categories where it occurs: a.) pre- descriptive statistical functions in Microsoft excel.
trip such as travel arrangements, vacation planning, The respondents were asked if they provided health
financial concern; b.) travel related stress such as information leaflets to their clients and also how
commuting, travel logistics, timings, weather frequently they advise travellers to purchase a travel
condition, interaction with travel party; c.) Destination medical insurance.
stress such as accommodation, food, location of hotel,
and culture shock. In the study of Batra (2011) Methodology:
travelling has long been considered one of the easiest
ways to alleviate work-life stress. Yet uncertainties To understand the travel related stress, stress coping
and bad interactions can actually break down the methods and role of travel organizations in dealing
benefits and cause travellers to feel stressed out. with tourist’s stress this study conducted a qualitative
Travel stress is the same, but the way a traveller reacts research method using in-depth and semi-structured
to such stress varies from individual to individual, interviews with open ended questions as a tool to
depending on circumstance, personality, attitude, collect data with English speaking International
motivation, gender, age and education. It was found tourists visiting Bangkok and travel organizations in
that travel arrangements often carry some levels of the month of February and March. For selecting the
stress at the initial stages of the journey. The first thing target informants, the researcher has opted for
that triggers anxiety for visitors at the start of the convenience sampling of non-probability sampling
journey, when on their trip overseas, is the timing of method because it is convenient and most appropriate
the flight. In the case that the flight is delayed or due to limited time period and easy accessibility to
cancelled, the visitors are worried because it affects informants. The open-ended research questions were
their travel plans that follow. The study also shows prepared based on the available literature to
that tourists with ‘free and independent’ FIT (50 understand International Travel Stress; source of
percent) were not as stressed as tourists with' full stress, stress-coping, travel organizations awareness,
package' GIT. Tourists arriving for business purposes and destinations factors are taken into account. Data
in Thailand were not as anxious as those who visited from ten tourists both male and female coming from
for sightseeing, relaxing and shopping. Malaysia, Columbia, Canada, Siberia, India, England,
Role of Travel organization in dealing with Tourist’s Middle East, US and Brazil to Bangkok was collected
Stress: in the form of semi-structured interview with open-
ended questions during 01 March 2020 to 05 March
Travel agents play a major role in travel industry and 2020 at The Emporium Shopping Centre, Emquartier
are often consulted by intending travellers seeking Mall Sukhumvit, Terminal 21 Asoke in Bangkok to
health advice before travel. The study of Flaherty, Lim know about their source of stress, the methods they use
to tackle it and to know the destination factors which
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create stress; and from two travel organizations it was Source of Stress
collected in the form of in-depth interview during 28
February 2020 to 05 March 2020 to know about their Pre-trip During-trip Post-
awareness on traveller’s stress and the suggestions phase phase trip
they do provide to overcome it. Non-probability phase
purposive sampling technique was used for sample
selection and for the analysis of raw data, Constant -Making travel - Traffic before reaching - Coming back to work
Comparison method was used by the researcher as it is arrangements airport after trip
most helpful method for qualitative studies. To - Security checks
perform this method, the researcher has read through - Concern about - Lack of good food
entire data after that small meaningful parts called family and home - Showing passport
chunks are picked out and then compared altogether to issues - Standing in long que
do labelling, open coding and axial coding to draw the - Waiting time
results. - Financial concerns - Delayed flight
about value for Tension arising on flight:
Results and Discussion: money - Crying babies
Source of Stress: - Short leg space
-Thoughts of coming - Turbulence
International tourists, when asked about the source of back to work - Safety issues
stress when travelling to Bangkok have reported - Co-passenger
various pre trip and during trip factors that cause stress - Deciding right - Time duration on board
at different phases such as pre travel arrangements, destination and point
family related stress, thought of post travel work of interests
arrangements, thinking about safety. When the
International tourists were asked that what tension Stress Coping:
they face when they are on a flight the answers were:
“hating crying babies”, “Short leg space between The results indicated that the International tourists
seats”, “when it’s too crowded and people make coming to Bangkok combat the travel stress in
noises”, “turbulence”, “interaction with co-passenger” different ways and the things they do are manage the
from which it can be withdrawn that International trip, take social support – talking with family, friends
tourists feel stressed during flight by unwanted noises, and girlfriend, relaxation, listen music, watch films,
lack of space, co-passengers and safety issues. When and foot massage. The findings also show that they
it was asked that which part of the journey do they feel have pre planning on handling travel related stress;
most annoying and get stressed during overseas travel such as collecting information from people before
the answers were: “hate traffic before reaching travel, travel research on social media, meditation
airport”, “waiting time at airport sucks”, “Immigration practices and making necessary arrangements such as
and waiting at baggage belt”, “The delayed flights”, carry enough money, passport, earphone, pillow to
“waiting the boarding process and security control”, avoid anxiety. Maximum of the International tourists
“Lack of good food” which is enough to withdraw the admitted that nightlife in Bangkok helps to reduce
conclusion that stress arises differently for different stress and the things they like to do is party, going
people during their overseas travel experience. Some pubs, loud music, eat food, soft music & drink, and
of them have reported that they do not feel stress meeting new people to socialize.
because they did not plan for it and they enjoy every
part of travel and remain positive in every situation.
Figure 1: Summary of Source of Stress
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Figure 2: Summary of Stress Coping Techniques Travel organization role
Travel organization role in dealing with problem of in dealing with problem
stress related to travel: of stress related to travel
Entertainment: Foot Collect Social Media
Music & Massage information research
Movies from people
Relaxation Meditation Provide
Information
Take Social Arrangements: to Tourists Instruction to Settlement of
support Money, Passport, coming to Tour Guides to Complaint from
Earphone, Pillow Bangkok on: Stressful guest
Manage the handle
trip Combat Nightlife in - Climate International
travel Bangkok tourist's Stress
Stress - Air
Pollution - Share positive
Findings show that the information has been provided image of
by travel organization for precautions to be taken by - COVID-19 destination
tourists related to climate while travelling in Bangkok,
As the travelling in Bangkok is risky now a days due - Travel - Mentor to
to spread of COVID-19, and air pollution it was found Alternatives Tourists
that travel organizations play a crucial role in
providing information for taking measures such as Destination factors causing Stress:
wash hands, avoid touching face, using hand
sanitizers, and few travel organizations have reported The results for destination factors causing stress
providing another travel alternatives to avoid among International Tourists coming to Bangkok
unnecessary stress among international tourists. The shows that Corona virus, air pollution, language
findings also reported that to make travel more stress- difference, weather, traffic conditions and behaviour
free travel organizations instruct their tour guides to be of locals are a critical reason for causing stress at the
more positive and generous. Travel organizations also destination. The language difference in Bangkok was
guide their tour guides to not to talk about corona virus found very annoying, difficult to communicate,
again and again as it will make guest feel stressed. struggle and felt cheated and regarding weather it was
Travel organizations mentioned that if a guest is reported that it’s too hot, create difficulty to work &
stressed and complaint about the service then the enjoy, make tired, and the humidity leads to irritation.
complaint is conveyed to the source and ask to be fixed The traffic conditions in Bangkok are found very
and then compensate the guest to make them feel stressful, terrible, horrible, felt congested, very bad
better and happy. The information from World Health and annoying, long & slow traffic, and the alternatives
Organization, Tourism Authority of Thailand and are suggested such as BTS Skytrain and MRT by the
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau was international tourists.
passed on to the staff through management related to
health awareness and risks associated with the
destination and guidelines are given to the
International tourists related to their travel in Thailand.
Figure 3: Summary of Travel organization’s role in
dealing with problem of stress related to travel
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Figure 4: Summary of Destination Factors causing effectively manage and provide stress-free travel
Stress among International Tourists programmes. As they already provide information
about the destinations and precautionary measures to
COVID-19 be taken for convenient travel but still there are more
chances to enhance their service with the help of this
Air Pollution study. The service providers will also learn more about
Destination Factors causing the travel related stress and can come up with solutions
Stress among International to provide to International tourists for a stress-free and
convenient travel experience.
Tourists
Language Difference Conclusion:
Weather It was found out that the International travel do bring
stress and it starts at the initial stage during pre-trip
Traffic Conditions phase, continues with during trip phase, at destination
and ends with post trip phase. The tourists from
Local's Behavior different countries coming to Bangkok encounters
with different situation which cause stress and it is
Implications: perceived differently among individuals. Majority of
the participants reported that travel related stress
As travelling has become a necessary part of the includes doing travel arrangements, Financial
lifestyle whether for business, or leisure it is important concerns about value for money, airport experiences
to become aware of the travel environment as the such as immigration process, on board tension,
chances of getting stress are at each stage from destination factors; language, weather, traffic,
beginning of the trip till end of the trip if not managed pollution, local’s behaviour and for the current
properly. The study finds out the reasons of travel situation COVID-19 outbreak. The stress coping
related stress of which the tourists should prepare methods adapted by International tourists are social
themselves and plan ahead to manage it. There are support, relaxation, entertainment, meditation,
ways to tackle stress which are applied by tourists management of trip, and destination activities.
differently and it is discussed in the study, the future The study also concluded that travel companies do
travellers can become aware and utilize the same ways play a role in dealing with problems of tourists related
to cope with travel stress. While travelling in Bangkok to stress and they provide destination knowledge,
it was found that tourists face public problems which safety measures, travel alternatives, guidelines to staff,
create stress such as traffic, language difference, addressing complaints, offer compensation, to help
pollution of which if government take proper action tourist prevent from stressful situation.
then it can be managed. As tourism contribute to a
major part of Thailand’s economy the government can Recommendations:
correct these problems for a stress-free experience
among foreign tourists which will further bring more Recommendations for Foreign Tourists:
tourism and leads to generation of good image of the The study discusses the reasons for stress and how to
destination and ultimately revenue. overcome it which will provide knowledge and
The study suggests that the travel organizations can suggestions to overseas tourists, their family, friends
learn about the factors causing stress among and colleagues for measures to be taken to avoid it. It
International tourists and come up with plans to is recommended that they should recognize the ways
in which travelling can affect them and they can
prepare their personal programme accordingly to
address to the self-created stress issues such as work
and family arrangements. It is suggested that foreign
tourists should pack smartly and keep travel necessary
items such as pillow, earphone, toiletries to avoid
situational stress and to tackle stress during long hauls
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they should plan entertainment and engage themselves tourism is low during data-collection period due to
in watching movies, listening to music. To avoid spread of Coronavirus the researcher found it difficult
language issues at destination, it is recommended that to approach many tourists and also because of personal
they use google translate app and learn basic language preservation from disease. Most of the literature for
words to become familiar with locals. To avoid travel this study have used quantitative method besides the
stress, it is also recommended that foreign tourists nature of study being qualitative so the researcher
should engage with their family and talk with them as faced difficulty while setting questions of qualitative
it is an effective way to reduce stress. They should also nature. Further studies could use questionnaire to
ask people who have already been to a destination that understand the stress at a wide scale using larger
what needs to be arranged to avoid any negative sample size.
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The Challenges of MICE Industry After Covid-19 in Myanmar
May Me Phu
Hospitality and Tourism Management, Assumption University Bangkok, Thailand.
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Adarsh Batra, Ph.D.
Faculty, Master of Business Administration, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Assumption University Bangkok,
Thailand;
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Since the outbreak of the covid-19 has started globally, there are a lot of disruptions in tourism business.
Travel, tourism, hotel and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) industry are facing
immense challenges at present. Especially Myanmar is the developing country and business growth is still
growing. Epidemic causes hundreds of events cancelled all over the world, and wakening to news of
cancellations or postponements. MICE industry required to reconsider the options and to balance the
priorities of upholding the health and safety of staff, sponsors, and attendees which is necessary to meet
financial obligations and minimizing the losses caused by disruption. This research is a qualitative study
and the purpose of the study is studying the challenges of the MICE business that will need to face during
the recovery process. The aim of the study is to point out what is affecting the MICE industry during the
crisis and what will be awaiting future for the MICE travel to step forward like other travel. In-depth
interview is conducted with 9 managers of the hotels and DMCs from both of the destinations Yangon and
Mandalay for investigation and analysis the role of each in the MICE industry. The thematic analysis
method is used in this research to analysis the data. The study finds out that it is important to survive the
situation with no revenue and the effective recovery plan. After the crisis, the collaborative strategies will
be supportive for the future tourism industry in Myanmar. The study points out how the issue of social
distancing impacting on the MICE products. This study will be helpful for MICE business crucial need to
encourage tourism operators to involve with crisis preparedness and disaster-management strategies and it
is important to increase a better understanding of the consumer response to disastrous event by all
components of the value chain.
Keywords: MICE, COVID-19, Crisis preparedness, Social distancing
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Introduction Meetings-, Incentives-, Conventions- and
Exhibitions- (MICE) Industry
The growth of MICE (Meetings, Incentives,
Conventions and Exhibitions) industry benefits By the author Natalia Smagina, MICE industry
country’s economy and creates new jobs, such as the brings opportunities for knowledge distribution,
professionals hired to host the event. Development networking and capacity structure, making it a vital
in MICE sector benefits professionals such as taxi for regional cooperation and intellectual
drivers, hoteliers, small business owners, and boosts development. The MICE industry is one of the
cultural tourism. Travelers visiting the city go to significant drivers of tourism destination
places such as galleries, museums, shows, theatres. development and an important generator of income,
In tourism industry, each and every sector is employment and foreign investment. Due to the
connected like the umbrella. Epidemic causes consequences of the growth of MICE industry, the
hundreds of events cancelled all over the world, and amount of destinations connecting to this young and
wakening to news of dynamic industry is enormously growing. Another
significant fact is that convention and exhibition
cancellations or postponements. So, the current facilities, hotels, casinos, integrated resorts and
problem of meeting professional and event planners themed entertainment precincts are being
is the survival and recovery plan. Myanmar’s recent established throughout the destination region. The
experience with MICE was during the hosting of MICE is a service industry combining trade,
ASEAN when it assumed chairmanship of the transportation, finance, and travel. In Asia, the
regional association for 2013-2014. Myanmar development of new products, combined with the
hosted preparatory meetings and the main summit world’s growing emphasis on economic
where heads of states not only of the 10-member engagement. MICE is a sector that draws direct and
countries, but also world leaders from the US, indirect revenue for host destinations. With the huge
China, Japan and India. The successful handling of development boom that is currently underway
the ASEAN activities showed the country’s capacity throughout Asia, come challenges as well as
to manage MICE, Myanmar Insider (2015) opportunities. This makes the entire region will
The situation of lockdown and the stopping the enjoy solid growth in its conventions and meetings
business is globally and the issue to consider for the market. The industry has been inactive mainly in
tourism industry. Ministry of Transport and Europe and America, Smagina (2017).
Communications Myanmar reported the issue
released from MOH that International commercial Health-related Crises
passenger flights band. During this period of time,
covid-19 outbreak is the threat for the tourism For macro-level crises, the destination must
industry and country’s economy. Since the outbreak demonstrate that steps have been taken to eradicate
of the covid-19 has started globally, there are a lot the outbreak, or at least to control it to the extent that
of disruptions in tourism business. Travel, tourism, international health agencies such as the World
hotel and MICE industry are facing immense Health Organization recognize travel to the
challenges at present. destination as safe. The public sector has a
significant role to play in setting standards such as
Research Objectives food safety and hygiene and in ensuring that public
companies to those standards. In recent years,
RO1. To find out the challenges that the MICE health-related outbreaks that have impacted tourism
industry will face according to the crisis of Covid- have included avian flu, foot and mouth disease,
19 SARS, salmonella and Ebola, COMCEC (2017).
RO2. To find out the influences of the social There is an urgent need to enable tourism operators
distancing and the health issue of covid-19 the to participate in crisis preparedness and disaster
MICE travel and event management approaches and it is crucial that all
RO3. To explore the practices that the MICE components of the value chain gain a deeper
Industry will set up due to the post-pandemic understanding of customer reaction to catastrophic
situation event. There should be a strong connection between
hospitality and tourism enterprises, support services,
destination management organizations as well as
strong reliance on public health authorities to
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monitor and reconcile the infections. Without after covid-19 which MICE industry will face, the
confusion, the workers will be able to come to work target populations are DMC (Destination
and participate in consumer-related activities in the management companies) and the hotels in Yangon,
service delivery process. This trust should be Myanmar.
applied in the workplace with a proper framework to Researcher used the target location as Yangon City
increase the morale of the employees and with is that it is the city of many DMC and hotels are
adequate internal and external encouragement. This located. By using purposive sampling, an in-depth
is one of the main factors which are not in other interview is conducted with the managers of 4 DMC
business organizations' organizational strategies at companies and 6 hotels. The target population is
the moment, Ranasinghe, et al. (2020). In addition, varied according the lockdown period in Yangon.
local-global collaboration is vital to the recovery The time duration for the data collection is from
process. The issues will also occur when completely June 24 to July 8, 2020. In this study, questionnaires
using human resource capacity. are going to applied as a research instrument to
determine the conditions and future for the tourism
Crisis Management in Tourism Industry business which focus on MICE. The total numbers
of questions are 16 which are based on 16 research
In every industry in which competition questions & 4 research objectives. The questions are
advantage can be attacked or harmed by means of designed based on studies done from conceptual
negative affairs, crisis management plays a very frameworks.
important role to prevent from such negative events. The thematic analysis method was used in this
Especially if it is dealt from the point of view of research to analysis the data. Thematic technique
tourism sector, it can be noticed that fore-definition analysis is one of the analyses, which is used to
of the negative affairs which can affect the sector is analysis qualitative data. It is applied to a set of texts
one of the chief duties of crisis management. For the and then from the texts, the codes were extracted,
industries like tourism industry, which do not look and the final step is to put that code under one
like the other industries, which work with mental themed-category or can say less than one theme. The
and imaginary values, and which makes the dreams thematic analysis technique helps as all the extracted
come true, the crisis management efforts have more codes will be under one theme or under one
importance. The most important thing here is not the objective of the research.
observation of how the already known events occur,
but the analysis of the dangers and the determination Results and Discussion
of their possible results. In recent years, global
tourism industry has subjected to several disasters MICE travel is different from others type of tours
including terrorist attacks, political ignorance,
economical stagnations and natural disasters. because it comes with events and groups of people.
Natural disasters may cause the best prepared
managements to such disasters be in successful by Now, it is difficult for all the company to arrange
defecting especially service managements electric,
communication and other critic background something like travel because of the disruption of
compounds. Tourism demand especially shows
sensitivity to negative conditions related with the business.
security and health. SARS disease occurred in 2003
as an example which best shows the concrete effects Figure 6.1: Challenges of MICE Industry
of diseases on tourism, Campiranon (2011).
Diseases are one of the crisis categories that have the
possibility of affecting the country’s economy and
destinations. This disease especially affected
Malezia very negatively.
Research Methodology
This qualitative research encourages the respondents
to express their opinions and issues faced
personally, making it possible to collect precise
information. As the study is about the challenges
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The most significant effect is no more revenue for MICE travel and events have the chance of
the business. Due to the restriction of the air travel enhancing the way the virus infected. The company
and lockdown, there are many impacts to the travel will consider about safety than their incentives
sector. There is the biggest impact for hotel which travel. The products will be upgraded to new normal
makes revenue from the meeting room and revenue. and it will be put more safety and hygiene features.
Due to the lockdown, the cost of the products is high. The quarantine is the barrier for the business travel.
The lockdown makes the import products expensive It is not workable when three days business travel
e.g. amenities and facilities. The significant thing is have to spend the quarantine of two weeks. The
sales drop. For some hotels, they just start the reduction of the human resources and services will
business of banqueting and events and they have the be the way of adaptation in new normal. The virus
great loss during this crisis. There are some reasons can be infected form the human interaction. So,
that will make the Myanmar MICE industry to reduction the number of participants in event will be
supply the demand in time. The medical facilities of the necessary in the future. It will be the problem in
the country will have effect on that issue. The the utilization of the capacity in venue and
country is still developing and it has limited medical transportation. Without face to face contact, it will
facilities compared to other developed countries. be unnecessary misunderstanding between the
Due to the crisis, all the business travel stop and service provider and the customer. Even though new
government do not allow MICE events. It is good for normal procedures are adapted, face to face contact
the well biding of the whole country and safety cannot be disposed from the service quality.
concern. From the economic point of view, this is MICE events and travel includes huge amount of
not the good sign for all the business. Lockdown is people.
the most effecting business travel and the country’s
economy. Meetings and conferences can be Figure 6.3: The practices that MICE Industry will
postponed or can be virtual way. For incentives set up due the post pandemic situation
travel, there is no postponement. It has the huge
impact on the revenue. Most of the hotels have to
change the cancellation policy and some do not take
charges for the cancellation anymore.
Social distancing is the most significant issue for
MICE events and the way the virus transmitted is
totally opposite with the MICE travel and events
going.
Figure 6.2: The influences of the social distancing
and the health issue of covid-19
Due to the health issue, there will be not smooth The group travel and the events have more risks than
process in logistics. MICE events like incentives travelling solo and family. In this situation, the
travels, they need ice breaking activities, Gala threat will be the virtual and hybrid events. The
dinner and team building. In medical point of view, government set up the rules of the quarantine for the
international travel. The quarantine is the barrier for
the business travel. It is not workable when three
days business travel have to spend the quarantine of
two weeks. Government set up the hygiene and
safety procedure. The government created the group
to check the standard for the reopening the hotel
after the covid-19. The government reduced taxes
and licenses fees. The government is the policy
initiatives and the biggest support. The association
like UMTA association to connect the public and
private sectors can be the supportive for the
collaboration.
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The strategy the DMCs and hotel plan now is for MICE travel and events to start again. Due to the
survival. Some company focus on the co-operate health issue and the safety concern, it is quite not
company and agents. Some DMCs try to find the sure to give the smooth logistics for the process of
market from the leading countries which will travel business travel. Another thing is that the taking place
after covid-19. The companies negotiate for the of the virtual way of events likes meeting and
salary and the leaves in order to reduce the conferences. People are choosing the digital way of
unnecessary crisis between the company and creating events for the sake of safety and the cost
employee. Reducing the expenses like some cutting concern. The health issues and the rules and
company they close the offices branches in many regulations are the main challenges for the travel
cities. Recovery plan is based on the new normal sector. There are some regions still do not apply the
procedures and the government policy and quarantine rules. Safe working conditions for the
restriction on travel. During this time, the revenue employees and the security of the tourists will force
will be from local market and nonprofit MICE product like venues and transport to be under
organization. The time for the recovery plan is still the circumstance of ‘New Normal’.
far to predict because the companies are still
surviving for the crisis. The crisis gives the travel The survival is the only option for the current
business to survive with no revenue. Financial situation. The companies negotiate between our
management is necessary for adjusting the revenue employees and organizations due to no revenue.
and expenses during the crisis. They reduce the office branches from the many
cities to reduce the expenses. During the recovery
Figure 6.4: Myanmar MICE businesses handle and plan, it is vital for the collaboration of the public and
preparedness for crisis in the future the private sectors. It is important to survive the
situation with no revenue and the effective recovery
Conclusions and Implications plan. After the crisis, the collaborative strategies will
. The travel business and the hotel be supportive for the future tourism industry in
Myanmar.
predicted the MICE travel will come for the last step
in the recovery plan. As the research pointed out the Recommendations
MICE sector has way more impact than other
sectors. Now, it is difficult for all the company to The recommendations are requirements
arrange something like travel because of the that can be done by each stakeholder who are facing
disruption of the business. It is more viral to pay the the same crisis in Myanmar.
employee salary is far more important than that.
The government still does not authorize for the The finding of this research is limited due to
events and group travel and the people are still limitation of the time duration, but which can be
cautious about the social distancing. Social carry forward for new researcher with better data
distancing is the main factor that will block the collection
The travel business can step forward due to the
challenges that are pointed out in this research
during their recovery plan.
The MICE products can be upgraded and renewed
according to the new normal demand e.g. open-air
venue for social distancing
Adaptation the hybrid events can get the number of
benefits as increased the financial benefits,
increased attendance, measurability and ease of
transition.
The collaboration of the private and public sector to
form Myanmar as safe MICE destination
Travel business should spread their market segment
rather than focusing on one single market.
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank my professor, Dr
Adarsh Batra, for his patience and encouragement.
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I've learned a lot from him and from the program. HILLIARD , T. W. (2009 ). CRISIS PREPARED
He always patiently enlightens and encourages us MEETINGS: CRISIS PREPAREDNESS.
and acknowledges our efforts. During this https://shareok.org/handle/11244/7222. [19.5.2020]
lockdown, it is hard for us to collect the data and he HILLIARD, T., SCOTT-HALSELL , S., &
always supports us with very valuable idea. He gave PALAKURTHI, R. (2011). Core Crisis
us plenty of helpful tips in the busy schedule. I Preparedness Measures Implemented by Meeting
couldn't have finished the project, without his help. Planners. ResearchGate,
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to him for the https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23298742
opportunity to know. I would like to thank Mr. 5_Core_Crisis_Preparedness_Measures_Implement
Ronald @ Tin Aung Myint -Station Manager of ed_by_Meeting_Planners. [19.5.2020]
Asian Trails for introducing me to the companies for Karantzavelou, V. (2020). ICCA analyses COVID-
face to face interview. I would like to thank all the 19 global meetings industry impact: Industry shows
interviewers for letting me do face to face in depth resilience and confidence.
interview in this covid-19 crisis. Lastly, I also would https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/icca-
like to thank my family and friends for helping me a analyses-covid-19-global-meetings-industry-
lot with supportive encouragement. impact-industry-shows-resilience-and-confidence.
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The Mediating Role of Adjusted Expectations in the Relationship between
Customer Satisfaction and Online Repurchase Intention of Sportswear
Retailers in the UK
Rithavee Plikarnon1, Piyathida Praditbatuga2 and Santhiti Treetipbut3
123Assumption University of Thailand, Bangkok, 10240 Thailand
Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]
Abstract
This research aimed to identify the influence of customer satisfaction on customers online repurchase
intention, and a mediator linking to the relationship between customer satisfaction and repurchase
intention of sportswear retailer in UK. The target populations of this study were Customers of online
sportswear retailer in UK. The study employed the questionnaire method as a tool to collect data from
106 respondents. Single linear regression analysis was used to identify the influence of customer
satisfaction on customers online repurchase intention, and a mediator linking to the relationship
between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. Result of hypothesis prove that customer
satisfaction influence online repurchase intention [R2 = .328, F = 50.220, p < .001]. Secondly, customer
satisfaction influences adjusted expectations [R2 = .271, F = 38.354, p < .001]. Lastly, adjusted
expectations influence online repurchase intention [R2 = .366, F = 58.907, p < .001]. In order to increase
sportswear online customers and their repurchase intention, the retailers should focus on improving the
level of customer satisfaction and adjusted expectations towards online purchase.
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Adjusted Expectations, Online Repurchase Intention
Introduction satisfaction, example trading company may use
Amazon, eBay, or Alibaba.
The Internet has become a borderless medium that is
rapidly extending its coverage to sectors ranging In this research study, the researcher focusses on
from education to business. Meanwhile, internet sportswear industry. According to the one question
shopping has been widely accepted as a way of of Stern (1999) how important is a website for
purchasing products and services. It has become a companies in the sportswear sector in terms of sales
more popular means in the Internet world (Bourlakis and how are they looking to make use of their
et al., 2008). It also provides consumer more websites going forward?’. Website become one of
information and choices to compare product and marketing channel to sales the product through e-
price, more choice, convenience, easier to find commerce which is the processing of selling product
anything online (Butler & Peppard, 1998). Online via the internet. Moreover, website can generate
shopping has been shown to provide more selling as retail store but significant bigger and more
satisfaction to modern consumers seeking efficient than traditional or brick and mortar over the
convenience and speed (Yu & Wu, 2007). Moreover, last few years. In 2016, 77% customer in UK
in Thailand the number of people who shop online purchase sportswear via online purchase, which
through internet is increasing every year (Kinasih, increasing 16.2% over the 2015 and prediction to
2018). increase 14.9% each year. Therefore, the researcher
can indicate e-commerce is significant marketing
Online Sportwear Industry tool to increase sale and there are a lot of opportunity
in the future via e-commerce.
Nowadays website is used as one of the significant Back to the question of Stern (1999) that mentioned
marketing tools because website is one of platform earlier, the answer would base on the usage of
that marketer can develop different marketing website for each company to meet the customer
strategy which can lead to efficient way of customer satisfaction via online channels; however, online
satisfaction. Moreover, most of the companies have channels is proved with the revenue growth and
their own website and other e-commerce platforms expected to growth more in the future (Stern, 1999).
such as social media or application to contact
customer. Therefore, choosing a significant platform
important for the company to lead customer
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Since keeping the customers repurchase any product key of company success and long-term
is essential to maintain the profitability of a business, competitiveness is customer satisfaction and repeat
the continuance of purchasing through the Internet is purchase in the future (Hackl & Westlund, 2000). If
vital to business. In this case, customer satisfaction the customers already have satisfactory experience
and adjusted expectations are major factors to be with the online entrepreneur, consequently, they will
consider contributing a positive result in online be likely to continue to shop online with e-retailer
repurchase intention. (Siali, Shakur & Rasool (2017).
Therefore, it is important for the online marketer to
Moreover, there are several researchers have focused know the factors that can influence customers to
on the relationship between customer satisfaction
and repurchase intention (Qureshi, 2009), however create repurchase intention in the future. Moreover,
today studies have shown that higher customer
during the time after customer who ever purchase,
what happen to customer’s expectations and their
satisfaction alone does not necessarily result in the satisfaction over the product that customer had
higher repurchase (Pavlou, 2003). Adjusted purchased also able to influence repurchase
expectations are a mediating variable of the intention.
relationship between customer satisfactions and The study on the influence of customer satisfaction
repurchase intention. For instance, an analysis of on online repurchase intention is therefore relevant
adjusted expectations has recurrently been used and timely. Furthermore, the adjusted expectations as
about the new paradigm of post-consumption (Ha, a mediator linking to the relationship between
Muthaly, & Akamayi, 2010). customer satisfaction and repurchase intention is
based on the studies of Lin and Lekhawipat (2014);
In post-consumption the adjusted expectations of Ha, Janda and Muthaly (2010). Based on the above
online shoppers will guide purchase behavior in the rationale, the researcher has constructed 3 objectives,
next period (Yi & La, 2004). Adjusted expectations which will help to identify the factors between
not only are the consequence of customer customer satisfaction and online repurchase
satisfaction, but also serve as an anchor in evaluating intention.
future customer satisfaction in repurchasing (Ha et To identify the influence of customer satisfaction on
al., 2010). As post hoc expectations after the online repurchase intention of sportswear retailer
consumption experiences, adjusted expectations will To identify the influence of customer satisfaction on
lead the customer to heighten sensitivity to product the adjusted expectations
(Liao et al., 2010). To identify the adjusted expectations on online
repurchase intention of sportswear retailer
Perhaps the strongest factor is the rise of "athleisure", This research aimed to identify the influence of
or the trend of wearing gym clothes as everyday customer satisfaction on customers online repurchase
attire. It was one of the most Googled style terms in intention, and a mediator linking to the relationship
2014 and sales of athleisure items. For example, yoga between customer satisfaction and repurchase
leggings that are acceptable to wear outside of the intention of sportswear retailer in UK. Furthermore,
gym. Moreover, there are many website and online the adjusted expectations as a mediator linking to the
retailer reflect the online platform that gives relationship between customer satisfaction and
customer access to a wide range of local and repurchase intention is based on the studies of Lin &
international sportswear brands, from apparel to Lekhawipat (2014); Ha, Janda and Muthaly (2010).
accessories, will be a good analysis example for this A convenience sampling of customers with no
research. limitation on gender, education, and occupation was
used.
Understanding Online Consumer Behavior Independent variables: Customer satisfaction
Mediating variable: Adjusted expectations
Understanding online consumer behavior is Dependent variable: Online repurchase intention
important in today’s digital economy. Learning how
satisfied the customers are with online shopping is Literature Review
crucial to retaining customers. Research indicates
that the cost needed to attract new customers is about Customer Satisfaction
five-times that of retaining customers (Lin, Fang & Basic objective of many corporations was customer
Tu, 2012). The success online shopping is thus satisfaction as a determinant which can lead to effect
depending on customer’s purchase continuance on customer retention. Recently, the most accepted
(Siali, Shakur & Rasool, 2017). Moreover, the major and recognition of customer satisfaction that reflect
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the notion of customer was “affective beings”. Term Hellier, Geursen, Carr, and Rickard (2003) defined
of affective being was specific mental processes the definition of online repurchase intention as “The
included emotional, feeling (pleasure/displeasure, individual's judgment about buying again a
contented/frustrated), attitude and moods of designated service from the same company, taking
customer (Chen et al., 2012). Emotional was the into accounts his or her current situation and likely
psychological of the customer toward product which circumstances”. From the marketing point of view,
grow in the customer’s mind which reflected by prior cost of finding a new customer was five times higher
experience (Jang & Namkung, 2009). The reason that than cost of maintain current customer (Kotler &
corporation need customer satisfaction because Keller, 2006). Therefore, company prefers more to
customer satisfaction is a significant factor for keep current customer and motivate them to increase
corporate’s profit via purchasing and repurchase later repurchase intention. Moreover, Jones and Sasser
(Jang & Namkung, 2009). (1995) also supported that repurchase intention
According to the online or e-commerce world, would happen, once customer satisfy their
customer satisfaction was one of the significant purchasing. Kotler (1999) also pointed that customer
determinants which can lead the increasing of satisfaction was a factor that lead to repurchase
customer repurchase intention and profitability, and intention not only for service but also product also
long-term organization’s growth (Chen et al., 2012). the same. The more satisfy the higher expectation
Based on previous research of García Sánchez, requires, and then customer will repurchase and
Passio, and Rodríguez-Trigo, (2012), the importance recommend to others (Kotler, 1999).
of customer satisfaction can lead to repeat purchase Therefore, it can be concluded that the reason that
behavior which mean that if the customer increase company would like to keep relationship with old
satisfies then the repeat purchase will increase as a customer because it’s cheaper cost than finding a
result in the future. Especially in the e-commerce, new customer. In this research, the researcher would
customer satisfaction was a significant role in the like to study the influence of customer satisfaction
further purchase for online shopping moreover and adjusted expectations over the online repurchase
increasing the repeat purchase or repurchase intention.
intention in the future again and again (Gupta & Kim,
2010). Conceptual Framework
Adjusted Expectations This conceptual framework is developed based on
Customer satisfaction was not an only factor to the relevant previous studies. The link between
predict repurchases intention of consumer, but customer satisfaction and online repurchase intention
adjusted expectation was also an effective tool to is based on the studies of Hellier, Geursen, Carr, and
predict repurchases intention of consumer also (Yi & Rickard (2003), Ha and Janda (2008), Ha, Janda, and
La, 2004). Adjusted Expectations was defined Muthaly (2010), Ha, Muthaly, and Akamavi (2010),
changing of expectation which spontaneously Fang, Chiu, and Wang (2011), Pappas, Pateli,
adaptive when customers are confronted with an Giannakos, and Chrissikopoulos, (2014), Lin and
expected consumption experience and the previous Lekhawipat (2014), Chang, Chou, and Chien (2014),
satisfaction (Lin & Lekhawipat 2014). Moreover, Izogo, (2016), Kim and Lee (2016).
adjusted expectations was influenced by customer Furthermore, the adjusted expectations as a mediator
satisfaction and along influence toward online linking to the relationship between customer
customer repurchase intention of consumer. Based satisfaction and repurchase intention is based on the
on previous research of Mattila (2003), customer studies of Lin & Lekhawipat (2014); Ha, Janda and
satisfaction can influence repurchase intention but Muthaly (2010).
with the support of customer’s consumption
experience or previous satisfaction. It can be Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
concluded that the more customer satisfaction in the
experience the higher expectation is adjusted which
can lead to increasing repurchase intention from the
higher expectations of customer (Szymanski and
Hise, 2000).
Online Repurchase Intention
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Hypotheses Development population of customers who had experiences in
Ho1: Customer satisfaction does not have a online shopping at least four times.
significant effect on online repurchase intention for
the online shopping Questionnaire Development
Ha1: Customer satisfaction has a significant effect on Questionnaires were one of the most primary
online repurchase intention for the online shopping techniques used to collect data for surveys (Sekaran
& Bougie, 2010). The questionnaire for this research
Ho2: Customer satisfaction do not have a significant was separated into four parts: the first part was
effect on adjusted expectations Customer satisfaction, the second was adjusted
Ha2: Customer satisfaction have a significant effect expectations, the third was online repurchase
on adjusted expectations intention, and fourth part was demographic
characteristics of respondents. Moreover, the
Ho3: Adjusted expectations do not have a significant questionnaire was rated based on a 5-point Likert
effect on online repurchase intention for the online Scale, ranging from “Strongly agree” (5) to
shopping “Strongly disagree” (1).
Ha3: Adjusted expectations have a significant effect This research questionnaire was adopted from
on online repurchase intention for the online previous research by Lin and Lekhawipat (2014) for
shopping customer satisfaction, adjusted expectation, and
online repurchases intention.
Research Methodology
Research Design Pilot Study
A quantitative method was used to collect data from A pilot study was conducted to measure the
customers of online sportswear retailer who had reliability of the questionnaire. A Cronbach’s
experiences in online shopping at least four times. Coefficient Alpha of 0.6 or higher was considered
The researcher employed surveys, which is one of the “acceptable” (Zikmund, 2003). Reliability was
most expedient data collection tools in terms of referred to the degree of grouping questions in a
speed, efficiency, and accuracy (Zikmund, 2003). questionnaire that measure the similar concept
Single linear regression analysis was used to test (Healy & Perry, 2000). This research measured the
research hypotheses. The target populations of this reliability of its questionnaire from data collected
study were Customers of online sportswear retailer in from 30 respondents.
UK and had experiences in online shopping at least
four times. The sample size was calculated according Data Collection and Processing
to Green (1991)’s formula for calculating minimum
The researcher screened only the respondents who
sample size. The formula was based on specific type have 4 times or more over online sportswear in UK
of statistical analysis employed in this study, with screening question “Have you ever experiences
multiple linear regression. Green (1991) stipulated in sportswear online shopping more than 4 times”.
that minimum sample size was calculated based on The self-administered questionnaires were hand
number of independent variables. In this study, delivered to a sample of 110 participants, and 85
number of independent variables was 2 as per questionnaires were returned. The questionnaires
customer satisfaction and adjusted expectation. The were also distributed via email and LINE attached
formula was as followed: N ≥ 104 + m, where N was with the Google form’s link to fill the survey.
minimum sample size and m was number of Altogether the total 106 sets of questionnaires were
independent variables. For this study, the minimum completed and valid.
sample size was: The data was encoded in SPSS for analysis.
N ≥ 104 + m
N ≥ 104 + 2 Frequency analysis was used to describe
N ≥ 104 + 2 respondents ’demographic characteristics. Mean
N ≥ 106 evaluation was used to determine the respondents ’
agreement level on each questionnaire item. For
Thus, a minimum of 106 samples was required in this hypothesis testing, single linear regression analysis
study to ensure the sample was representative of the was used to identify the influence of customer
population (Green, 1991). The non-probability satisfaction on customers online repurchase
sample which was convenience sampling method intention, and a mediator linking to the relationship
was used to select respondents to represent the between customer satisfaction and repurchase
intention.
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Data Analysis The Effect of Customer Satisfaction on
Online Repurchase Intention
As depicted in Table 1, there were 56 of male
A simple linear regression was calculated to predict
respondents (52.8%) and 50 female respondents online repurchase intention based on customer
satisfaction. A significant regression equation was
(47.2%). There were 4 age groups. These were the found (F (1, 104) = 50.220, p < .001), with an R2 of
age group of 18 – 25 years old with 11 respondents .328. Predicted online repurchase intention is equal
(10.4%), the age group of 26 – 40 years old with 64 to 1.591 + .632 (customer satisfaction).
respondents (60.4%), the age group of 41 – 50 years The equation showed that customer satisfaction was
a positive predictor of online repurchase intention,
old with 18 respondents (17%), and the age group of meaning that online repurchase intention increased
51 – 60 years old with 13 respondents (12.3%). with the raising of customer satisfaction. The t-Test
result (p < .001) corroborated the result of the F-Test,
Table 1: Respondents Profile which indicated that online repurchase intention was
significantly influenced by customer satisfaction.
Categories Frequency % Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
Gender 50 52.8% The Effect of Customer satisfaction on
Male 56 47.2% Adjusted Expectations
Female
A simple linear regression was calculated to predict
Age 11 10.4% adjusted expectations based on customer satisfaction.
18-25 years old 64 60.4% A significant regression equation was found (F (1,
26-40 years old 18 17.0% 104) = 38.354, p < .001), with an R2 of .271.
41-50 years old 13 12.3% Predicted adjusted expectations is equal to 2.585 +
51-60 years old .429 (customer satisfaction).
The equation showed that customer satisfaction was
Income Per Month a positive predictor of adjusted expectations,
meaning that adjusted expectations increased with
Less than 1,500 GBP 9 8.5% the raising of customer satisfaction. The t-Test result
1,500 – 2,500 GBP 57 53.8% (p < .001) corroborated the result of the F-Test,
2,500 – 3,500 GBP 33 31.1% which indicated that adjusted expectations was
significantly influenced by customer satisfaction.
Higher than 3,500 GBP 7 6.6% Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
Education 5 4.7% The Effect of Adjusted expectation on Online
Lower than bachelor’s 49 46.2% Repurchase Intention
degree 51 48.1% A simple linear regression was calculated to predict
Bachelor’s degree 1 0.9% online repurchase intention based on Adjusted
Master’s degree expectation. A significant regression equation was
Doctorate’s degree found (F (1, 104) = 58.907, p < .001), with an R2 of
.366. Predicted online repurchase intention is equal
Total 106 100% to .611 + .811 (Adjusted expectation).
The equation showed that Adjusted expectation was
In terms of income, the first group (9 respondents or a positive predictor of online repurchase intention,
meaning that online repurchase intention increased
8.5%) was the group with the income less than 1500 with the raising of Adjusted expectation. The t-Test
result (p < .001) corroborated the result of the F-Test,
GBP / month. The next group was the group with the which indicated that online repurchase intention was
income between 1500 – 2500 GBP / month (57 significantly influenced by Adjusted expectation.
Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
respondents or 53.8%), followed by group with the
income between 2501 – 3500 GBP / month (33
respondents or 31.1%), and group with the income
higher than 3500 GBP / month (7 respondents or
6.6%).
The education group was separated into 4 groups.
The first group was a lower than bachelor’s degree (5
respondents or 4.7%). The next group was bachelor’s
degree (49 respondents or 46.2%) followed by
Master’s degree (51 respondents or 48.1%), and the
last group was with a Doctorate’s degree (1
respondents or 0.9%).
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Results used to identify the influence of customer satisfaction
Results from Frequency Analysis on customers online repurchase intention, and a
mediator linking to the relationship between
The respondent profile for this research consisted of customer satisfaction and repurchase intention of
gender, age, income per month, and level of sportswear retailer in UK; therefore, the results of
education. From 106 sets of completed hypothesis testing are discussed as follows.
questionnaires, the results showed that most
respondents were male (52.8%), and most of them The Influence of Customer Satisfaction on
were between 26 – 40 years of age (60.4%). The Customers’ Online Repurchase Intention
majorities earned income per month was between
1,500 – 2,500 GBP (53.8%). In terms of education, The research findings revealed that customer
48.1% of respondents graduated with Master’s satisfaction with sportswear retailer influence online
degree. repurchase intention of customer. This research
result was supported by Hellier et al., (2003) confirm
Results from Mean Evaluation that customer satisfaction positively related with
repurchase intention. Izogo, (2016) supported that
This part summarizes the average mean score of each satisfaction of customer positively related with
variable in this research study, which consisted of repurchase intention. Fang et al., (2011) concluded
customer satisfaction, adjusted expectation, and that satisfaction significantly predictors of customers
repurchase intention. repurchase intention toward online shopping.
The mean scores showed that customer satisfaction Moreover Ha, Muthaly, and Akamavi (2010)
and repurchase intention were rated at the Agree customer satisfaction positively influence repurchase
level, meaning that most respondents were satisfied intention.
with online sportswear retailer, and were likely to
repurchase sportwear online. While adjusted A Mediator Linking in the Relationship
expectation was ranked in strongly agree. between Customer Satisfaction and
Summary of the Results from Hypothesis Testing Repurchase Intention
There were three Hypotheses in this study. Results of
hypothesis revealed that Customer satisfaction was a It was found that customer satisfaction with
positive predictor of online repurchase intention [R2 sportswear retailer influence adjusted expectation,
= .328, F = 50.220, p < .001] meaning that online and adjusted expectation influenced online
repurchase intention increased with the raising of repurchase intention of customer. Meaning that
customer satisfaction. Secondly, customer adjusted expectation was a mediator linking to the
satisfaction was a positive predictor of adjusted relationship between customer satisfaction and
expectations [R2 = .271, F = 38.354, p < .001], repurchase intention of sportswear retailer in UK.
meaning that adjusted expectations increased with This research results were supported by the studies of
the raising of customer satisfaction. Lastly, adjusted Lin and Lekhawipat (2014) that adjusted expectation
expectation was a positive predictor of online was significantly affected by customer satisfaction
repurchase intention [R2 = .366, F = 58.907, p < and adjusted expectations was a moderating factor
.001], meaning that online repurchase intention repurchase intention toward online. Moreover,
increased with the raising of Adjusted expectation. Pappas et al., (2014) also supported that customer
satisfaction influence adjusted expectation then lead
Discussion and Conclusion to repurchase intention. Hong‐Youl et al., (2010)
concluded that customer satisfaction leaded to
The results showed that most of the respondents were expectations of customer which supported by Fadilah
male, aged between 26 – 40 years, and master’s et al., (2017) who also confirmed that customer
degree graduates. Their income per month was satisfaction influence customer’s expectations for
between 1,500 – 2,500 GBP. According to the further purchase.
respondents ’profile, there is one-point worth According to the results of study, customer
discussing in this study, the researcher found that the satisfaction influence on repurchase intention
result conforms to the previous research of Lin and towards online sport wears, which could be
Lekhawipat (2014) that most people who purchase indicative of the nature of customers who repurchase
sportswear online mostly were male, aged between online sport wears base on satisfaction. The
26-40 years. Therefore, the target customers of respondents rated customer satisfaction at the agreed
online sportswear retailers are male, aged between level which means that they were satisfied with
26-40 years. Three research hypotheses of this study
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sportswear online retailer. Respondents had the influence of brand preference on online
confirmed the answer of all items in the customer repurchase intention. The study also focused on
satisfaction at agree level. This maybe because online sportswear industry in UK; Hence, the results
online sportswear retailers provide relevant may not be translated to other countries. The future
information of their products or the efficiency of research may include samples from a greater
payment via online system. If the sportswear online geographic area or be expanded to a multi-country
retailer would like to increase its customers analysis.
repurchase intention towards online sport wears, it
should focus on improving the level of customer Significance of the Research
satisfaction toward online purchase.
The outcome of this research would help the
Adjusted expectations on Online Repurchase management of sportswear retailer to understand
Intention customer perception toward online repurchase
intention of sportswear retailer. In additionally, this
According to the results of study, adjusted research focuses on customer satisfaction, and
expectation was a mediator linking to the relationship adjusted expectations and online repurchase
between customer satisfaction and repurchase intention of sportswear retailer. Therefore, this
intention of sportswear retailer in UK. The customers research would be beneficial to owner of sportswear
of online sportwear strongly agreed to adjusted retailer to understand customer, because manager of
expectation which means that they strongly agreed sportswear retailer would develop marketing and
that changing of expectation which spontaneously service. If sportswear retailer was developed to meet
adaptive when customers are confronted with an customer ’satisfaction, they will be able to increase
expected consumption experience and the previous the number of online repurchase intention. Secondly,
satisfaction. This maybe because sportswear online customer would earn the benefit that sportswear
retailer in UK support the customer not only during retailer had developed their marketing and service
after sale but also before selling to offer customer and website to fulfill customers ’need. Finally, this
what the product that customer want. Moreover, in research study which aimed to identify the influence
term of “expecting sportswear online retailer will be of customer satisfaction on customers online
very convenient” which can lead to efficient repurchase intention, and a mediator linking to the
transaction process. Lastly was information of the relationship between customer satisfaction and
product being informative to support customer to repurchase intention of sportswear retailer would be
make decision which lead to pleasing shopping benefit other researchers who are interested in
experience. Sportswear online retailers should customer satisfaction and adjusted expectations for
improve all aspects of adjusted expectation to online business.
improve repurchase intention of their customers
since adjusted experience mediated linking to the References
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Small Tourism Enterprises Sustain and Plan Their Businesses During
COVID-19 in Bangkok
Yadan Bai
MBA, Hospitality and Tourism Management,Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
As the epidemic spreads around the world, it seriously affects the global economy and tourism.
The COVID-19 outbreak is sudden and there is no knowing when it will end. Keepinga social
distance is an effective way to avoid the spread of the virus, which has also led to the shutdown
of the tourism industry and confusion among travel workers about the future. This article will
explore how small tourism enterprises can respond and plan to maintain their survival in the
context of COVID-19. In qualitative research, non-probability purposivesampling technique,
depth interview and open questions were used to collect data. In this paper,constant comparison
analysis method was used. Small enterprises had virtually no business during the epidemic, and
not all of them were able to get government help because of the largenumber of small businesses.
Small enterprises should have the initiative to find their own wayto survive. Small enterprises are
highly flexible and can adjust their strategies quickly to the situation.
Keywords: COVID-19, Living conditions, Small enterprises, Strategy
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Introduction facing bankruptcy, such as Virgin Australia, Flybe,
Avianca. The hotels also have a sad situation because of
With the global spread of covid-19, which has hit a large number of
economies around the world once again, this reservations was cancelled. Through Thailand Hotel
pneumonia outbreak has been long and fast,and it Sentiment Survey, high-grade hotels andboutique hotels
is not yet clear when it will end, the show pessimistic about the
tourism industry has shown its vulnerability to future, 97% of respondents said the Hotel
man-made or natural disasters. occupancy rate will decline by 51% or more, they will
According to the global tourism go out of business by turning off the hotel reduce
organization ("INTERNATIONAL TOURISM employee wages, even layoffs tomaintain the survival of
AND COVID-19," 2020) Covid-19 representsan the Hotel(Nikhom
unprecedented global health, social and Jensiriratanakorn, 2020).
economic emergency. Tourism is one of the most The impact of this outbreak is
affected sectors. Available data show that unprecedented, and finding ways for businesses to
international visitor Numbers fell by 22% in the respond to covid-19 is an important way to
first quarter of 2020, including a 57% drop in
March. That means the loss of 67 million help thousands of tourism practitioner keep theirjobs. To
international tourists and about $80 billion in understand the difficulties faced by
revenue. International travel estimates have been enterprises and find solutions is also to help
revised down several times due to uncertainty over enterprises transform to cope with the new socialform
the course of the outbreak. Depending on and reduce the social burden. These not only need the
the pace of containment, the duration of travel enterprise to improve the
restrictions and the timing of border closures, the management and operating methods, but alsoneed the
outlook remains highly uncertain. relevant departments to provide helpand guidance.
Tourism provides a large number of employment This article will take small enterprises oftourism as an
opportunities, especially for poor example to discuss how tourism enterprises should
people to create jobs, provide them with not only survive and maintain their operations during the
work, also improve their quality of life and COVID-19 outbreak.
community livelihood condition, but this COVID- These small enterprises include travel agencies,
19 epidemic outbreak, people to stay athome as the homestays, restaurants and shops around
most effective protective measures,company, attractions. After the outbreak, people's lifestyle may
large-scale international activity was forced to change, what forms they will take to meet new
cancel, such as the Tokyo Olympic Games. How challenges at that time.
to make ends meet when these The following four items are ResearchObjectives (RO)
of this paper.
people lose their jobs is also a problem. The Get to know the status quo of small tourism enterprises
uncertainty about the future development of the through investigate their
epidemic has caused anxiety among tourism business situation. Analyzing the impact of thepandemic
practitioners, especially small and medium-sized on them.
enterprises. Small and medium-sized enterprises To find out how they earned money
account for 80% of the tourism industry ("COVID- during the pandemic, and if they worked in otherjobs, to
19 AND VULNERABLE GROUPS," find out why they made the changes, to find out the
2020), Small and medium-sized enterprises are strategies for the future,
facing the risk of going out of business or even To know whether small enterprises have received
closing down, and they will be the last victims government help. To find out What help do small
without strong capital support. The aftermath ofthe enterprises want from the government.
SARS outbreak in 2012 cut 3 million jobs within To investigate small tourism enterprises’ treatment of
the tourism industry, a decline in the gross employees during the pandemic.
domestic product (GDP) of China, Hong Kong,
Vietnam, Singapore with a total estimateof $ 20 Materials and Methods
billion and decrease of 70% in tourism flows
across Asia(Lee, Song, Bendle, Kim, & (Jayawardena, Tew, Lu, Tolomiczenko, & Gellatly,
Han, 2012). It is not only the small and medium- 2008) put forward the strategy in the main role in the
sized enterprises, and some of the airlines are crisis management, through theinterview can be found
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that some small relationships, and integrate them into a coherent
businesses lack of crisis management explanatory model.
consciousness, their consequences of the crisis
caused by a lack of forecast, they always walk one Results and Discussion
step at a time, the crisis resulted in a loss ofmore
than his own estimates, not only caused property Finding 1
losses to the company is failing to This COVID-19 has also hit Bangkok
safeguard the interests of the employees. In tourism hard and affected businesses. Due to capital
contrast, companies that rely more on strategic strength in the face of difficulties, will
planning principles and decision-making choose to monitor vulnerability, due to prohibitforeign
practices take a more active stance (Wilson & tourists inbound travel, basically do nothave any guest,
Eilertsen, 2010). Through conversations with especially those customers for foreigners, the company
executives, once the strategy is applied, the suffered a heavy blow,part of the travel agency chose
impact on them after the crisis will be reduced,and together during closed for some failure directly, because
they see opportunities for transformation in the they
company. can't in operating costs, income, for therestaurant, for
Most companies respond to the impact of the fear of infection risk, the
outbreak by stopping annual bonuses, government banned guests enter the restaurant,go to hall
reducing budget information, traveling, reducing boss about the number of guests in March after a large
salaries and tips for employees, reducing general number of reducing, there were no guest, they have
costs, reducing promotional costs and finding opened delivery business, but the effect is not
cheaper ways to do so. This is consistent with satisfactory.
Because of the curfew, they had to close before9:00. Due
(Tuclea, Vasile, Schiopu, & Marin, 2014). to the declining customer flow, the boss chose to close
It can be seen that small businesses are the business from March toMay to save labor costs, and
resilient in the face of crisis, which depends on let the employees go back to their hometowns to find
having a good manager. A good manager knowshow jobs.
to change business thinking, apply new business Because the restaurant was closed and had no income, he
methods, find new business partners was able to return home and find a
and manage crisis situations with leadership part-time job that paid significantly less than hisjob in
without planning and control(Dahles & Bangkok.
Susilowati, 2015).
This disaster has taken a very special form. The real estate agents, who worked with
Tourism has been hit hard. Government subsidies travel agencies to provide hotel accommodation,which
for SMEs seem to be ineffective. Create a link or was completely shut down during the
"buddy system" (Faulkner & Vikulov, 2001) to epidemic, they switched from working in theoffice to
connect businesses and working from home, on-site to
enhance their response to disasters. consulting online. On top of that, they've
This research selects four small enterprises in invested in new businesses during the epidemicto move
Bangkok as the interview targets. The four markets from abroad to China.
companies are two agents, a restaurant and a hotel, For hotels, the occupancy rate was almostzero during the
have a total of 14 interviewees, including3 boss, 4 outbreak. Customers from Europe, America, Japan and
managers and 7 employees. South Korea have
Qualitative research can be very useful forgaining turned into local customers in Thailand. In orderto adapt
insight into routine or problematic to the changes in the market, they have changed the
experiences and what they mean to particular downstairs hall into a flower gardenand bakery. In order
individuals. The author chooses Constant to make up for the cost
Comparison Analysis for data Analysis. In the through sideline work during the epidemic, the shop
Constant Comparison method, researchers owner also said that the cost during the period together
encode and analyze the data at the same time to is lower than normal, because there are no customers, so
develop concepts. By constantly comparing the electricity and water bills have been reduced.
specific events in the data, researchers refine the According to Resistors, most hotels of the same type
concepts, identify their properties, explore their have
closed during the day, but they don't because it'sa good
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opportunities during the crisis, some people
think the outlook for tourism is bleak because
they don't know when the epidemic will end. For
those still struggling to stay afloat, the biggest goal
now is to keep the business running and
ensure basic salaries for employees. Others think
they see opportunity in life, and a group of
people are pushing them to develop new
projects.
Figure 1 Get to know the status quo of small
tourism enterprises through investigate their
business situation. Analyzing the impact of the
pandemic on them.
Finding 2 Figure 2 To find out how they earned money during the
These enterprises have accumulated a largenumber pandemic, and if they worked in otherjobs, to find out
of repeat guests of the guests to show sympathy for why they made the changes, to find out the strategies for
them, but not because in the line not only small the future.
businesses, the guests lost
themselves because of the outbreak, although Finding 3
they sympathize with the store, for objective Almost all respondents said they had
reasons they do not take the initiative to provide received no help from the government, which has
help to these small and medium-sized responded to the epidemic in more macroterms, such as
enterprises. These small-business owners have restricting tourist arrivals and closing entertainment
tapped into years of contacts to build side venues, and rarely to
businesses, such as travel agents leaving contact individuals. Although they heard that the
information for tourists and former visitors government would subsidize 5,000 baht of living
selling Thai specialties like durian and latex expenses for uninsured Thais, they did not
pillows. receive it.
Most people think that the absence of
For those who choose to go out of business guests will not cause them to close down, but the
during the epidemic, employers and
employees will choose to start a side biggest problem is that they need to pay high rent and
business or find a short-term part-time job. staff salaries, so they will not close down once the two
If the company goes bankrupt, they'll have to biggest costs are removed.For the ordinary employees,
look for work again. they hope that thegovernment will provide them with
They find part-time jobs through some job opportunities during the business closure, and
friends or family, or start businesses
through previous 229
customer relationships. The companies that
arestill in business, they are doing a lot less
work, they are choosing to develop new
businesses, and the common feature is that
the market is moving from abroad to home.
When it comes to development
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some people say that they want the governmentto operation, even though their salaries have been
send staff to inspect the survival situation of these reduced, it's enough for them to cope with the
small businesses and enact policies relative daily life, and their workload has also
according to the actual situation. been reduced.
They believe that the government's prevention and Figure 4 To investigate small tourism
control measures against the enterprises’ treatment of employees during the
epidemic are excellent. Compared with other pandemic.
countries, the Thai government sacrificed
tourism for domestic stability, and they Figure 3 To know whether small enterprises have
understand that. Meanwhile, with the gradual received government help. To find out What help do
improvement of the epidemic, they hope that the small enterprises want from thegovernment.
government can resume aviation as soon as
possible and accept international tourists from safe Finding 4
areas. And it can lift curfews and restore In all enterprises which were interviewed, said that there
entertainment. Some of the more negative people is no change in human resource. Itcan be seen that in small
think that because circumstances limit what enterprises, the
governments can do wrong; they just want the relationship between employees and bosses is more
global environment to change for the better. harmonious, and the opportunities for themto meet and
communicate are much more than inenterprises. However,
do not lose their jobs while they are because small businesses are weak in capital
together. If the whole company cannot accumulation, they cannot provide employees with more
survive, they will employee
choose to file for bankruptcy. Poorer benefits, so they can only ensure that employees
companies typically don't pay their
employees during the Discussion
closing period and allow them to go out and
find part-time jobs, while better-off This COVID-19 outbreak has come out of the
companies pay 50 to 90 percent of their blue, not just for tourism, but for the global
salaries. economy. Small tourism enterprises suffered
After all, the environment is not good. The serious damage in this crisis. Many enterprises
employees of the closed company are very never recovered from the setback, while some
grateful to the boss for keeping their jobs. Once enterprises with strong vitality developed new
the epidemic is over, the boss will call them ways of coping with it by relying on their strong
backto work. The employees of the companies resilience. Compared with large enterprises,
in small enterprises are more flexible, they do not
need cash flow, and some enterprises even
believe that the epidemic has reduced their non-
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fixed costs, or even pushed them to find new It can be seen from this study that smallenterprises
projects and new market targets. But for the need more precise help from the
employees of small enterprises, their government, and we hope that future studies will pay
interests attention to this. How exactly should the government help
are hard to be guaranteed. Small enterprises small tourism enterprises in emergencies. In addition, it
haveweak capital, and once the company has can be seen that the status quo of small businesses varies
no cash inflow, they will cut the salaries of from those that continue to operate and continue to
employees to reduce costs. So, for the discovernew business projects to those that stop and face
government to protect closure. This may be the professionalism and
the interests of the employees of small coping strategies of business owners. Futureresearch
businesses, can give them hope, especially in can focus on the impact of small business owners'
thespecial times. personal quality on the
development of the company.
Managerial Implications
Recommendations
The measures taken by the Thai
government to control the spread of the epidemicare Here's some advice for small businessowners and
effective and the domestic situation is managers on how to respond toCOVID-19:
basically stable. Thailand's tourism industry Compared with large enterprises,
depends on a large number of foreign visitors.
Due to the instability of the global epidemic, small enterprises are more flexible andcan adjust
foreign tourists do not know when to enter their strategies quickly
Thailand, and tourism companies do not know according to the current situation. Managers should
when to operate, the future is full of uncertainty. always pay attention to the development of the
The government should vigorously develop epidemic
domestic tourism, let local tourism enterprises and adjust their operation strategies, so as to reduce
resume operations, reduce the pressure of unnecessary expenses, reduce the cost of the
government subsidies, and provide a sense of company and
security and hope for tourism practitioners. Small ensure the interests of employees.
business owners themselves also need toimprove Small businesses keep an eye on government
their professional quality, learn more about the policy and try to get help from government
operation of the industry, adjust the mode of departments.
operation, improve the ability to deal with special In a small company, the boss and employees have
situations. a long contact time, and the relationship is closer
than in a large company. The business owner
Future Research should communicate with employees at any time,
inform them of the
It can be seen from this study that small company's plans, and improve their hope and
enterprises need more precise help from the confidence to survive thecrisis.
government, and we hope that future studies will Small companies should set up a crisismanagement
pay attention to this. How exactly should the system in order to deal with the crisis when it
government help small tourism enterprises in comes.
emergencies. In addition, it can be seen that the As a boss and manager. They should focus on
status quo of small enterprises varies from thosethat improving their managementskills and knowledge
continue to operate and continue to discovernew level and learn
business projects to those that stop and faceclosure. to manage the company professionally
This may be the professionalism and
coping strategies of business owners. Future Conclusions
research can focus on the impact of small
business owners' personal quality on the This COVID-19 outbreak has come out of the
development of the company. blue, not just for tourism, but for the global
economy. Small tourism enterprises suffered
Limitation serious damage in this crisis. Many enterprises
never recovered from the setback, while some enterprises with strong vitality developed
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new COVID-
ways of coping with it by relying on their 19. (2020, 5 20). The World Tourism Organization
strong resilience. Compared with large (UNWTO). Retrieved from
enterprises, small enterprises are more https://www.unwto.org/international- tourism-and-
flexible, they do not need cash flow, and covid-19
some enterprises even Jayawardena, C., Tew, P. J., Lu, Z.,
believe that the epidemic has reduced their Tolomiczenko, G., & Gellatly, J. (2008). SARS:
non-fixed costs, or even pushed them to find lessons in strategic
new projects and new market targets. But for planning for hoteliers and destination marketers.
the employees of small enterprises, their International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
interests Management.
are hard to be guaranteed. Small enterprises Lee, C.-K., Song, H.-J., Bendle, L. J., Kim, M.- J.,
haveweak capital, and once the company has & Han, H. (2012). The impact of non-
no cash inflow, they will cut the salaries of pharmaceutical interventions for 2009 H1N1
employees toreduce costs. Therefore, for the influenza on travel
government to protect the interests of the intentions: A model of goal-directed behavior.
employees of small businesses, can give them Tourism Management, 33(1), 89-99.
hope, especially in thespecial times Nikhom Jensiriratanakorn, G. L. (2020). Hotel
Sentiment Survey 2020 (Impact of COVID-19 ).
Acknowledgments Retrieved from
Tuclea, C. E., Vasile, D. C., Schiopu, A. F., &
I would like to thank my thesis mentor, Dr. Marin, M. (2014). Facets of Economic and
Adarsh Batra, for his feedback and advice and Financial Crisis Impact on Strategic Planning of
guidance throughout the research process. travel Agencies. Amfiteatru Economic Journal,
Without his support, this article would not 16(Special No. 8),
have been written so smoothly. 1222-1237.
I would also like to thank all the individuals Wilson, J. W., & Eilertsen, S. (2010). How did
and organizations who willing shared their strategic planning help during the
experiences and contributed their knowledge economic crisis? Strategy & Leadership
to the research and my friends who helped me
during the data collection process. 232
Lastly, I express my gratitude towards each
and every person who helped me during the
process of my research.
References
COVID-19 AND VULNERABLE
GROUPS.
(2020). World Tourism Organization.
Retrieved from
https://www.unwto.org/covid-19-
inclusive-response-vulnerable-groups
Dahles, H., & Susilowati, T. P. (2015).
Business
resilience in times of growth and crisis.
Annals of Tourism Research, 51, 34-50.
Faulkner, B., & Vikulov, S. (2001).
Katherine,
washed out one day, back on track the next: a
post-mortem of a tourism
disaster. Tourism Management, 22(4), 331-
344.
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AND
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Importance and Performance analysis of distance education for Radio and
Television University of China students in China
Xinyan Wang1, Apichart Intravisit2
Graduate School of Business, Assumption University, Bangkok, 10240, Thailand 12
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
This study aims to measure students’ perception on importance and performance of Radio and
Television University of China (RTUC), with intention to help improving the university’s business
performance and reputation. Student’s satisfaction is one of the important indexes of university
ranking, and also it is an important reference index when students choose one university to apply for.
As a radio and television university, its students are mainly adults who have had working experience,
adult students hope to be more competitive in the workplace to promote the continuing education of
academic qualifications. Unlike full-time young students who are influenced by a variety of factors,
adult students will focus on student’s satisfaction when they choosing a school, so improving student’s
satisfaction is important for RTUC enrollment, and studying the impact criteria of different variables
on student’s satisfaction can help RTUC to improve student’s satisfaction and thus better help
universities attract students to enroll. Variables effecting RTUC’s student’s satisfaction in the distance
education industry of China includes eight attributes: they are, RTUC’s general service, registration
guide, tutorial, practice, learning material, examination, media, and, cost/value for money. The survey
is conducted on RTUC’s 401 students via questionnaire of 44 questions to find any significant
difference between their perceptions on importance and performance of all variables. This is a research
which uses quantitative method and uses important and performance analysis (IPA) to evaluate the
result.
Keywords: Distance education, Student’s satisfaction, Important and performance analysis,
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Introduction continuing education colleges and universities in
Distance education is a kind of education type with a China. A considerable part of which is engaged in
long history. The earliest distance education dates correspondence education.
back to the 19th century in the form of The Radio and Television University of China is a
correspondence education and with the development long-established educational institution offering a
of time and technology for multimedia teaching, wide range of learning styles, providing a wide range
network distance education has been making an of learners with anytime, anywhere learning services.
expansion over the last century. The education The quality service of Radio and Television
organizations can provide maximum learning services University of China has won a good social reputation
capability with a large number of students by distance and is dominant in the Chinese distance education
education. According to definition of distance market. According to the report (Xia, 2014), the
education, it means teachers and students are enrollment, graduates, and students enrolled in the
separated, meanwhile, the ways of distance education Radio and TV University of China in 2005 accounted
also can be separated into real-time learning and for 71.24%, 64.9% and 73.6% of the total number of
recorded broadcast learning (Distance education web, students in the national modern distance education
2009). In 2011, the Massive Open Online Course institution. In the highly competitive Chinese distance
(MOOC) had swept through the distance education education market, what kind of service has helped
industry. The president of Stanford University, John Radio and Television University of China to achieve
Hennessy, called it as a tsunami in higher education such a huge market share? How has it been attracting
industry (Cai & Wang, 2013). Different scholars have people in the education sector. For find out the result
different opinions about what MOOCs are. Sir John the education industry the education institution
Daniel, an educational leader believed MOOCs are a should use the market research to get data and
new development in the field of distance education. analysis the result. IPA is one of analysis way which
With the continuous expansion of the impact caused can clearly show those answers. So, this thesis would
by MOOCs, distance education has been investigated apply the method to conclude the result.
by scholars in different fields (Li, 2019). Research Objectives
The features of distance education can break the
shackles of physical space, enabling students to study This research study aims to:
anywhere and realize the efficient use of educational 1. Describe the aspects of service of Radio and
resources. It also facilitates the exchange and Television University of China (RTUC);
dissemination of advantageous educational resources. 2. Identify the extent to which the current students of
At the same time, since the lectures in distance RTUC perceive the importance of its services;
education can be played repeatedly, students can have 3. Identify the extent to which the current students of
more flexible learning time and different study place. RTUC perceive the performance of its services;
Such educational features make it easier and more 4. Identify the differences between the importance of
convenient for many on-the-job and continuing RTUC services and their performance of services as
students to learn. Its replicable characteristics greatly perceived by the current RTUC students.
reduce the cost of education. Furthermore, it reduces LITERATURE REVIEW
the study barriers for beginners, and it greatly expands In the past, there were several variables to be
the benefit to the population.
The purpose of distant education is to provide a widely considered in distance education researches.
second opportunity for young people and working These variables are considered to be closely related to
persons who are not enrolled in secondary or higher the satisfaction of students in distance education.
schools. In 1951 (Baike, 2019) the Renmin University Even though distance education has been available
of China established a correspondence department. around for more than a hundred years, research on
By 1965 (Wang et al., 2018), 123 universities have these variables has not stopped. In These variables are
established such departments. With the 1. general service 2. registration guide 3. tutorial 4.
diversification of adult education forms in China, practice 5. learning material 6. examination 7. media
many traditional universities have set up continuing 8. cost/value for money. In research the importance-
education colleges, and the correspondence performance analysis (IPA) on academic and non-
department has become a college of some academic services to enhance (Mery, Raden, Ade &
universities. So far, there are more than 900 adult Muman 2018). The variables general services,
registration guide, tutorial, practice, learning material
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are effect performance and importance. In other communication and cooperation between learners and
research about education industry “Service Quality in distance course instructors is relatively high. The
Postgraduate Education” (Angell, Heffernan and survey shows that tutor support is considered very
Megicks ,2008) show that variable “cost” will affect important for learners. These survey results are used
student satisfaction. In the thesis “Relationship of by learners in different preference groups. 74.4% to
Student Satisfaction Levels in Distance Learning and 97.7% of learners believe that tutor support is
Traditional Classroom Environments at Embry- “important” or “very important”. But learners with
Riddle Aeronautical University.” mention that media different preferences can make a big difference in
as variable will affect student’s satisfaction in how tutors should learn (Ehlers, 2004).
distance education area. IPA as a very common
market research method is a feasible measurement of Practice
education. It could be an efficiency way to position
the different variables in student’s opinion. There are In the theoretical system of interaction and
eight variables will be discussed in this research. communication, distance education is regarded as an
effective teaching method. It involves two-way
General service communication between teachers and students, due to
the physical distance between teachers and students.
Student’s satisfaction from the services of Distance education includes real-time communication
distance education can be judged through the quality and non-real-time communication. Communication
students receive. Quality indicators for distance between teachers and students is to stimulate and
education services can be assessed through student promote student learning and provide feedback on
accessibility and satisfaction. Using information and learning. Communication in distance education
communication technologies, service accessibility includes not only communication between teachers
and satisfaction can be improved. Through previous and students but also the interaction between peer
research, in order to make the distance universities groups. The teacher’s one-time guidance is to serve
more accessible, the distance universities should try distance education and promote learning through
to establish more campuses in different regions of the communication (Zuhairi, Adnan, & Thaib, 2007).
country and provide students with information about
all aspects of the distance university as much as Learning material
possible (Zuhairi, Adnan, & Thaib 2007).
Distance education institutions are using shared
Registration guide learning materials resources for cost reasons, and
there are many sources of online learning materials,
The main responsibility of the school’s such as Telecampus [http://courses.telecampus.edu/]
admissions staff is to provide services for the school’s or Web of Asynchronous Learning Networks
enrollment so that students can be admitted. These [http://www .aln.org /], these sites list all the courses
services include services for financial assistance and and clearly classify them. The subject area is usually
registration processes. Admissions staff should classified into categories, and each subject page
provide an effective and efficient registration service displays a list of similar courses offered by various
after the student is admitted. Professional registration educational institutions. These course listings
managers should ensure that the registration process facilitate the search for students interested in this type
is clearly communicated to students and that the of learning material. Students can easily find topics of
various institutions in the school can work closely interest and select courses from the product list for
together. Good administrative management is a that topic. At present, the main educational
guarantee for registration work, and it should also be institutions are limited to providing online complete
the work goal of the school's student support staff courses, but things are changing. More and more
(Dennis, 1998). educational institutions are gradually providing
learning materials that are more convenient for people
Tutorial to carry around. These materials provide some
direction and development possibilities for online
In Anderson's (2003) work on interaction resources. Researchers realize that learning resources
patterns, and Sammons (2003) on teaching and are part of the service in the service of learning
learning, there are also views supporting these resources, while the other part is a list of learning
theories. Zuhairi, Adnan and Thaib (2007) in their resources. These services are combined when the
research about found that the quality of
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organization is rich in content, and these links to worldwide. In fact, teaching institutions around the
external websites are given with a short description world are almost always teaching the same materials.
(Downes, 2001). However, the cost of producing teaching content is
very high. Even a simple web page written by a
Examination professor costs hundreds of dollars, and if you need to
include images and some animation effects, the price
Distance education in research papers differs will be 100% higher. If you add an interactive
from other distance education courses in that it exercise, the price needs at least 200%. Suppose you
explicitly uses the "collaborative learning" approach. only need to produce a high-quality interactive
This program requires students across countries to learning material that costs $1,000. But if the teaching
form collaborative learning groups. And as a way to materials are used jointly by 1,000 educational
detect learning outcomes, the project requires institutions, the cost per institution is $1. However, if
students to read, discuss, and comment on each other's a thousand organizations develop their own teaching
assignments. Most of the teaching content of such materials, then each institution must pay $1,000, so
distance education is based on the students' existing the total expenditure on the textbook for a course is
problems, and collaborative learning is one of the $1,000,000. When it is possible to share the same
teaching principles of this project (Hodgson, 2002). teaching materials at a lower unit cost, it is financially
meaningless to spend millions of dollars to produce
Media countless similar learning materials, because it is
difficult for any institution to produce learning
Distance education courses cover a wide variety materials that can compete with them. Therefore, the
of ways, of which television or video courses are the sharing of teaching materials is very economically
main teaching methods, audio or video conferencing significant.
is the most daily means of communication, computer
conferencing or self-learning materials are Conceptual Framework
indispensable for learning. The structure includes the
presentation of learning activities/events, the In this study, the theoretical framework of
(planned) interaction between teachers and students, the importance and performance of the online course
and the way students are assessed. The amount of model is developed based on three journal articles.
structure in a distance education course may vary The first one is the importance-performance analysis
(Kearsley & William,1996). (IPA) on academic and non-academic services to
enhance student motivation by Mery, Raden, Ade and
In modern distance education, the most important Muman (2018). The second is service quality in
media medium is the Internet. Studies have shown postgraduate education by Angell, Heffernan and
that social media can support the tutorial activity, as Megicks (2008). The last study is the relationship of
shown by the student's personal progress in student satisfaction levels in distance learning and
completing and discussing and completing the tutor traditional classroom environments at Embry-Riddle
assignments. Social media can help with two-way Aeronautical University (Gallogly, 2005).
communication because social media is easy to access
anytime, anywhere (Widiasih, Permanasari, Riandi, The conceptual framework in this research was
& Damayanti, 2018). developed based on previous studies on the
importance and preference analysis of distance
Cost/Value for money education. The researcher thinks that the variables of
previous studies cannot fully cover the study on the
The technologies used in distance education importance and preference of distance education in
need to be supported by a mature infrastructure, and China. So, there are more variables (general services,
only those institutions that have these infrastructures registration guide, tutorial, practices, examination,
can effectively use the technology of distance media, and cost/value for money) that will be applied
education. However, the infrastructure that supports to analyze the importance and preference of distance
distance education is often expensive, which makes it education in China. Thereby obtaining a more
impossible for some institutions to afford (Vrasidas & accurate research report on the importance and
Marina, 2000). preference of distance education in China.
Downes (2001) points out in his research
learning objects: resources for distance education
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Figure 1Researchers conceptual framework H7a: There is a significant difference between the
importance and performance of media.
Figure 1 Researchers conceptual framework H80: There is no significant difference between the
importance and performance of cost/value for money.
Research Hypotheses H8a: There is a significant difference between the
importance and performance of cost/value for money.
H10: There is no significant difference between the
importance and performance of general service. Research Methodology
H1a: There is a significant difference between the In this study, the research approach is a
importance and performance of general service. quantitative approach. And use the questionnaire to
H20: There is no significant difference between the collect the data. It is a survey method in which the
importance and performance of the registration guide. investigator uses the uniformly designed
H2a: There is a significant difference between the questionnaire to understand the situation or seek
importance and performance of the registration guide. opinions from the selected respondents. The
H30: There is no significant difference between the questionnaire is distributed to the Radio and
importance and performance of tutorials. Television University of China related website. It
H3a: There is a significant difference between the allowed the students complete the descriptive
importance and performance of tutorials. questionnaire online with eight variables base on
H40: There is no significant difference between the RTUC study experience.
importance and performance of the practice.
H4a: There is a significant difference between the Firstly, in order to understand respondents’
importance and performance of the practice. groups, this study will apply a descriptive statistics
H50: There is no significant difference between the method to analyze general information of
importance and performance of learning material. respondents, which includes their gender, age,
H5a: There is a significant difference between the occupation, monthly salary, marital state, and
importance and performance of learning material. education level.
H60: there is no significant difference between the
importance and performance of the examination Secondly, Importance - Performance Analysis
method. (IPA) is a simple marketing tool that is often used to
H6a: There is a significant difference between the determine the main strengths and weaknesses of a
importance and performance of the examination value proposition. This research survey uses IPA to
method. analyze student satisfaction with school services and
H70: There is no significant difference between the the quality of teaching and the gap between
importance and performance of media. expectations and actual school performance.
Thirdly, Paired sample t-tests compare two
methods from the same individual, subject or related
unit. These two methods usually represent two
different times or two different but related conditions
or units. The purpose of the test is to determine if there
is statistical evidence that the mean difference
between paired observations for a particular outcome
is significantly different from zero. The paired sample
t-test is a parametric test.
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Table 1: The Summary of Hypothesis Testing Result. services content are distributed in the first quadrant is
"general service", there are four services content in
Hypotheses Sig. (2- Result the first quadrant, and only one services content is
tailed) distributed in the third quadrant. In “Tutorial” and
H10: There is no significant .606 fail to “Practical” category both have two services contents
difference between the reject. located at quadrant 2 but compared that two category
importance and performance of the “Tutorial” category has two services contents
general service. .223 fail to located in first quadrant but “Practical” only have one.
H20: There is no significant reject There are three categories have two services content
difference between the located in quadrant three which are “Tutorial”,
importance and performance of .469 fail to “Practical” and “Learning material”. In those
the registration guide reject categories only part of them have services content
H30: There is no significant locate on quadrant four which are “Practical”,
difference between the .121 fail to “Learning material” and “Examination method”.
importance and performance of reject Those services contents performance mean score is
tutorials between 4.18 to 3.67, that show the performance of
H40: There is no significant .226 fail to different services contents. And the importance mean
difference between the reject score is between 4.20 to 3.67, that show the
importance and performance of importance of different services contents.
the practice. .356 fail to
H50: There is no significant reject Recommendations
difference between the
importance and performance of .449 fail to The findings of this study lead to several
learning material. reject recommendations to develop a distance education
H60: there is no significant marketing strategy, provide suggestions to Radio and
difference between the .500 fail to Television University of China, and guide the
importance and performance of reject attractions in the distance education field in order to
the examination method. becomes a achieve distance education institution in
H70: There is no significant China.
difference between the
importance and performance of Even though RTUC is perceived as a successful
media. institution due to an analysis of importance and
H80: There is no significant performance score, still the site needs to reduce the
difference between the gap between the importance and performance scale of
importance and performance of its services to meet the student’s expectations and
cost/value for money. improve their satisfaction. According to summary
table 6.3, the quadrant column shows 7 out of 36
Conclusions variables require for proper services marketing
strategy for further resolution. As well, and effective
This study aims to identify to what make RTUC management is obliged to protect the rest of the
a success. The study finds that RTUC gain student variables remaining in “keep up the good work” area.
recognition in every category. Fifteen of thirty-six
aspect be considered as did well and those are (1) Recommendation on General services
important for students. The small gap between Regarding the finding, general services category
importance mean score and performance mean score variables are got very high-performance score except
show the students’ satisfaction in those aspect. Only the “Ease of contacting staff” variables. But it be
seven aspects are considered need to concenter to considered as not importance since RTUC more
improve. Those aspects show the big gap between the frequently use smart system to service students. So,
importance mean score and performance mean score. the point is not about staff contacting but should be
It is hard simply say which service RUTC done well. automat responder system improving.
In the same category, services content also show
different distributions. Among them, the most (2) Recommendation on Registration guide
services
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Registration guide services are also important factors high performance scores in this regard.
to support the successful attraction. The process of
registration makes have a smooth experience when (7) Recommendation of Media
they want to enter RTUC to study. The “Service of The website is a window for distance education to
payment in partner bank” considered as not show to students, so the poor quality of the university
performance good but since it depends on third party website has attracted students' attention. Universities
which the cooperate bank services. Responders give should make further website improvements, such as
low importance mean score for this variable. page layout, information placement, and landing
system optimization.
(3) Recommendation of Tutorial service
Tutors play the importance role in the study (8) Recommendation of Cost/Value for money
experience. The result show that in “Helping to In terms of school fees, RTUC has been highly
understand the course materials” and “Ease of appreciated by students. Providing affordable
accessing the tutor” located at quadrant 2. That means learning services as an educational institution is
student not satisfied with tutor service in that two widely welcomed by the society. RTUC should
aspect. For better services the tutors in RTUC should adhere to this fee standard to attract more students
prepare more about learning materials and the who need to learn and maintain the scale of students
university should organize teaching seminar to help at university.
tutor improve teaching skill. Tutors also should give
students more convenient contact methods, such as Future Research
social media accounts or check the teaching mailbox
more frequently, so that they can respond to student The RTUC as a significant case study in distance
questions in a timely manner. education of China. Regarding the study, it focused
on 36 services variables with 401 students to
(4) Recommendation of Practical investigate their concept at Radio and Television of
The student would like to let instructor give more China, as a representative of distance education
feedback during the practice course schedule. It industry. However, the study did not mention the
requires instructor put more emphasis to comment relationship between other aspect performance and
student practice and give them proper guide. student’s satisfaction. In addition, the area of study
Meanwhile students give the opinions about the was limited to only degree students. The researcher
practice schedule, they think the practice schedule could be applied to investigate the non-degree
should require more rationality. So, instructor should students’ opinions by using a similar main content of
arrange the suitable practice for students. About this study. The focus group maybe explore their
practice equipment students believe that are really perspectives by in-depth interviews towards distance
good but not necessary RTUC should save the education. Notably, Importance and Performance
expense to invest to other part. Analysis demonstrates the outcomes in the grid which
(5) Recommendation of learning materiel were derived from the students’ opinions; the
Learning material is one of importance knowledge importance of services variables and how well each of
resource of students. According to the research result them is performed. In some level, the results of
the learning material are not easy to access. RTUC analysis would help to supporting improving strategy
should update the learning material system to make and developing managing the plan in the future.
more convivence searching method for students. References
(6) Recommendation of examination method Anderson, T. (2003). Modes of Interaction in
Regarding the survey, RTUC not offer the good Distance Education: Recent Developments and
experience on test script. This greatly affects the Research Questions. In M. G. Moore & W. G.
successful answer of the students during the Anderson (Eds.), Handbook of distance education.
examination process. RTUC should further improve 129-144. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum.
the availability of the test script to help students better Angell, R., Heffernan, T. & Megicks, P. (2008),
answer the questions before the formal examination. "Service Quality in Postgraduate Education", Quality
Surprisingly, the announcement of faster test results
was not valued by students, but RTUC still achieved
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Assurance in Education,16 (3), 236-254. Wang, L., Guo, X & Dou, Y. (2018). On the Status
https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880810886259 Quo and Development Process of Distance
Dennis, M.J. (1998). A Practical Guide to Enrollment Education. Audio-visual education research.
and Retention Management in Higher Education.13- Widiasih, W., Permanasari, A., Riandi, R., &
95, Greenwood Publishing Group. Damayanti, T. (2018). The social media WhatsApp to
Downes, S. (2001). Learning Objects: Resources for support physics learning problem solving on online
Distance Education Worldwide. The International tutorial activities in distance education. International
Review of Research in Open and Distributed Conference on Mathematics and Science Education
Learning, 2(1). 2-32. of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, 3, 269-275.
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v2i1.32 Xia, L. (2014). Thoughts on the Education
Ehlers, U.D. (2004) Quality in E-Learning from a Legislation of TV University in China. Radio and
Learner's Perspective.” European Journal of Open, Television University Fujian
Distance and E-Learning. Zuhairi, A., Adnan, I, & Thaib, D. (2007), Provision
of Student Learning Support Services in A Large-
Gallogly, J.A. (2005). Relationship of Student Scale Distance Education System at Universitas
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Hodgson, V E (2002) The EU and e-learning: an Baike.Baidu.(2019), Introduction to the School of
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ISSN 0266-4909
Kearsley, G & Lynch, W. (1996, Apr). Structural 国人民大学继续教育学院
Issues in Distance Education. Journal of Education
for Business. Baike. Baidu. (2019), Introduction to the Open
Li, F. (2019). Key issues and future focus of distance University of China. Retrieved on from
education economics https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%9B%BD%E5%
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Plearn Wan Shopping Arcade of Hua Hin City, %E5%A4%AE%E5%B9%BF%E6%92%AD%E7%
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DOI: 10.1080/095239800410405 ml
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Appendix
Questionnaire for a study to investigate the student’s satisfaction of performance on the Radio and Television
University of China.
Measurement problem
The measurement of importance and execution is divided into the following five levels.
1=Very Unimportant/Unsatisfied
2=Not important / not satisfied
3= Neutral
4 = Important / Satisfied
5=Very Important/Satisfied
1.Have you ever been applied online program of Radio and Television University of China?
Yes No
2.Have you ever been applied online degree program of Radio and Television University of China within 24 months
？
Yes No
Importance Variable Performance
1234 5 1 2345
General service
3.Distinct Information about RTUC
4.The ease of contacting RTUC Staff
5.The ease of contacting the lecturers
6.The hospitality of UT staff in serving students
7.Effectiveness in handling complaint
Registration guide
8.Service of processing Registration file
9.Service of payment in RTUC’s partner bank
10.Service of registration case settlement
Tutorial
11.Tutor's mastery of the Materials
12.Tutor’s role in helping students to understand the course
materials
13.Tutor’s feedback towards tasks and practices
14.Suitability of the tutorial activity and the schedule
15.Quality of tutorial facility
16.Ease of accessing the tutor
Practical
17.Instructor’s mastery of the material
18.Instructor’ role in helping the implementation of practice/lab
course
19.Instructor’s feedback during the practice/lab course
20.Ease of getting the practice/lab course schedule
21.Suitability of the practice/lab course with the schedule
22.Completeness of practical/ lab course equipment
Learning material
23.Ease of accessing learning material
24.Quickness in understanding the learning material
25.Ease of understanding the learning materials
26.Quality of the learning material’s packaging
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27.Availability of learning material in the RTUC
28.Suitability of the given material and the ordered material
Examination method
29.Ease of getting examination’s information
30.Availability of the test script
31.Discipline implementation of the exam
32.Quality of the exam location’s facility
33.Quickness in scoring case settlement
Media
34.Quality if the RTUC website
35.Visual quality videotapes
36.Audio quality if videotapes
Cost/value for money
37.Tuition fees at reasonable expense
38.Module variety offers good value
Demographic information
39.Please select your gender:
Male
Female
40. Please select your marital status:
Single.
Married
41. Please select your age:
18-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
40+
42. Please select your education situation:
Below junior high school
High school
College
Bachelor
Master and higher
43. Please select your monthly salary:
Lower than 4000 Yuan
4000-5999 Yuan
6000-9999 Yuan
10000-19999 Yuan
Above 20000 Yuan
44. Please select your occupation:
Student
Government officer
Company employee
Specialized person
Labor worker
Freelancer
Retirement
Unemployed
Others
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A STUDY ON SHOPPER’S EXPERIENCE IN SHOPPING MALL
BASED ON THE SERVICE QUALITY FACTORS
Dr. Smitha Siji1
E Mail: [email protected]
Felix eapen Thomas2
SCHOLAR
Rajagiri Business School, Rajagiri Valley P O, Kakkanad -682039
Kochi, Kerala, India
[email protected] Mob - 8086302848
ABSTRACT
In the modern world, shopping has become an essential routine for the people living in our country. Shopping
mall is viewed not only as a purchasing centre but also as an area for the people to get together, socialize as
well as for finding entertainment. Since, a transition can be noticed from the traditional shopping centre to
an area of community engagement, the proposed study focuses on understanding various service quality
factors offered by the shopping mall and also its implications. The paper also investigates the demographic
nature of the respondents where the significance between each group is taken into consideration. The
structural equation modelling analysis provides important insights to understand the impacts of different
quality components on shopping experiences across. Based on the test performed, it is found out that all the
three independent variables are having a positive impact on the shopper’s response and also the
demographic study states that there is a significant difference in the shopper’s response across the different
age groups.
Keywords: Shopping mall, Shopper’s Experience, Service Quality, Physical Aspects, Personal
Attention
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INTRODUCTION knowing the effect of customer experience based
In today’s VUCA world, the habit of customers on the mall – guaranteed behaviours.
visiting a shopping mall has changed a lot. It is REVIEW OF LITERATURE
evident that the shoppers actually view the visit Shopping is a “consumption-oriented movement
to a shopping mall as a consumer lifestyle, where in a space where one has the possibility of making
in they not only spend time for purchasing goods, purchases” (Lehtonen and Maenpaa, 1997).
but also to take part in various other activities such Authors have conducted research on consumption
as watching exhibits, socializing with friends as and retail experiences that when a customer visits
well as family, participating in various events and a mall for shopping purpose, he/she is actually
promotions, and also spending time for browsing. making interactions not only with the
Since, now a days, shopping malls have changed products/services, but also with the brands
from a commercial centre to an area of displayed there, sales people, as well as various
community engagement and entertainment, there elements found at the shopping mall. All these
is a huge scope for the marketers to use that factors actually conceptualize or visualize the
particular medium for targeted advertising. In this entire shopping experience of the people. (Diallo,
study, the customer experience is actually Diop-Sall, Djelass, & Godefroit-Winkel, 2018)
measured by focusing on all the inclusive things
happening during a customer’s shopping trip to Shopping can be “the sum total of cognitive,
the shopping mall, and also understands various
service quality factors which makes the emotional, sensorial, and behavioural responses
customers attracted towards the functioning of a produced during the entire buying process,
shopping mall. This study aimed to understand involving an integrated series of interaction with
the customer experience, service experience, as people, objects, process and environment in
well as the retailer–specific experience of a retailing” (Shilpa and Rajnish, 2013). The survey
customer, and also the determinants which create was actually taken on the Indian context.
those positive experiences while visiting a Oliver (1997) has mentioned in his article that
shopping mall where the chances of customer Customer satisfaction is a function of
experience can change based on the business disconfirmation, which reflects both performance
setting. Also, the transformation of the shopping as well as expectations. He also mentions about
mall into an area of entertainment as well as a the overall customer satisfactions as the result of
marketing medium will give us a scope in many purchasing experiences which is then made
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into a cumulative one. Chebat, El Hedhli, and an earlier group of authors identified four
Sirgy (2009) have mentioned in their research distinctive shopper activities: mall consumption
work, “shopper’s attitudinal predisposition (which includes walking, looking at exhibits,
consists of intentions to continually patronize the talking with other shoppers, and socializing with
mall in terms of repeated shopping at the mall and family and friends), service consumption (which
willingness to recommend the mall.” Customer includes attending movie theaters; enjoying the
loyalty towards a shopping mall is considered to video arcade; and making use of the medical,
be their interest in revisiting it, spreading positive dental, and vision care facilities or hair salons),
word of mouth about it, and being willing to do passing time (which focuses on browsing or
more purchases from the same mall. snacking), and purchasing goods sold in the mall
shops (Bloch, 1994).
Rabbanee, K., F., Ramasehan, B., Chen, W., &
Vinden, A (2012) and Zeithaml (1988) have A positive retail experience should increase
reported that the overall evaluation of a particular customers’ repeat patronage, expenditure, and
brand or product is a comparison made between likelihood of positive word of mouth (Grewal,
the benefits expected or generated by the brand 2009). In the integrative framework of shopping
and sacrifices made by the customers to attain the experience (Fiore and Kim, 2007), the
same. The right balance between these two behavioural outcomes include measures such as
factors can help the mall authorities to increase time and money spent, level of unplanned
the customer loyalty and to retain their potential purchases, word of mouth, purchase intention,
customer base. and complaint behavior. Some studies seek to
Concentrating on the engagement aspect of the determine the mall factors that improve purchase
customer experience, a study of Calder, Isaac, behavior and patronage (Hinson, Anning-
and Malthouse (2015) identified five dimensions: Dorson, and Kastner, 2012). However, it remains
interaction (to connect with others), unclear how the characteristics of these malls
transportation (to escape or become diverted), might affect purchase behavior.
discovery (to gain insight, knowledge, or skills), Today’s shopping-mall managers study the
identity (to affirm or express one’s identity), and traffic patterns in the mall so that they can
civic orientation (to contribute to society). strategically place print and digital
Viewing the shopping mall as a consumer habitat, advertisements and offer custom promotions to
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attract shoppers’ attention (Rodriguez, 2015).
Experience may include emotions or feelings RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
(MacLeod, 1964). The research was conducted among 311 shoppers
of different age group. Questionnaire is used for
Other authors conceptualized mall experience as getting the data from the respondents which
a holistic phenomenon, encompassing
behavioural, cognitive and emotional reactions of includes 31 statements for the different variables
customers towards the mall in general and
specific stores at the mall (Gilboa and Vilnai- for obtaining the behaviour pattern of the
Yavetz, 2013). On the basis of the narratives
collected from 119 informants, they developed a respondents. Convenience sampling technique
typology of mall experiences through narrative
analysis: seductive (i.e., an encounter with was used to identify the respondents in a mall.
temptation), interactive museum (i.e., exhibits or
merchandise that allow shoppers to learn more), Hypotheses
social arena (i.e., mall as a public place for
gatherings and social interactions), and The hypotheses taken for the study are as follows:
functional (i.e., how well a mall facilitates H1: Mall service quality factors has a positive
planned purchases). This typology was not impact on Shopper’s Response.
further developed into quantifiable measures that H1. a: Mall service quality determined by the
could be operationalized and tested empirically. physical aspects such as Ambient factors and
Layout has a positive impact on Shopper’s
The unique perspective on the direct and indirect Response.
H1. b: Mall service quality determined by the
relationships between service quality, its specific Reliability factor has a positive impact on
Shopper’s Response.
dimensions, perceived value, customer H1 .c: Mall service quality determined by the
Personal Attention factor has a positive impact on
Shopper’s Response.
satisfaction, and loyalty in the context of Variables and their Definitions
shopping malls extends prior research that focuses
mainly on the direct effects of overall service Dependent variable used in this study is
Shopper’s experience. Physical Aspects,
quality on loyalty. By investigating how this reliability and personal attention are selected as
relationship is mediated by both perceived value the independent variables. Physical
(Auka 2012) and customer satisfaction, it is
Characteristics of a Shopping mall are basically
the features such as layout and ambient factors
clarified how each dimension of service quality that we notice throughout the purchase. It also
(physical aspects, reliability, personnel attention, describes the pattern in which each and every
and problem solving) indirectly affects customer store, food courts, entertainment areas, rest
loyalty to shopping malls. rooms, etc. are aligned. Reliability of a shopping
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mall describes the kind of trust received by the number of female respondents is 165. Table 1
customers from the services offered by the indicates that 47% of the respondents were males
shopping mall. In this study the reliability across and 53% of the respondents were females. More
the stores of the shopping mall is taken into than half of the collected questionnaires are from
consideration. Personal Attention tells us about female respondents.
the amount of care given to each and every
customer bythe shopping mall and how well their
interest is taken into consideration by the
employees. It is imperative for the shopping mall
to create the ability to engage in intelligent
conversations with their customers. The products
and services provided by the stores in the
shopping mall should meet the expectations of the
customers in order to get satisfaction which will
show a positive impact on the shopper’s response.
It shows how happy a customer is with the
product and service offered by the company.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
DEMOGRAPHIC STATISTICS
Table 1: Gender distribution
Freque Percent
ncy
Mal 4
146
e7
Fem 5
165
ale 3
1
Tot
311 0
al
0
Source: Primary Data
The study relies on a sample size of 311 in which
the number of male respondents is 146 and
247
Au Virtual International Conference 2020
Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in the Digital Era
Assumption University of Thailand
October 30, 2020
Co-hosted by
TABLE 2: Age group distribution
Frequency Percentage
42
18 to 25 years 130 20
18
26 to 34 years 61 20
35 to 49 years 58 100
Above 50 years 62
Total 311
Source: Primary Data
Table 2 gives a clear idea of the distribution of the ages of the respondents. The minimum range of age of
the sample chosen was 18 and maximum was above 50 years. Out of which 42 per cent of the respondents
are between the ages of 18-25 years, which means that they are students. 20 per cent of the respondents are
between the ages 26-34 years, they are working people. The third and fourth age category also shows similar
percentages which are 18 and 20 percent of the total sample.
Table 3: ANOVA Analysis of Age Group
Multiple Comparisons
Dependent Variable (I) Age (J) Age Mean Std. Sig. 95% Confidence
50 Differ Error Interval
26 - 34 ence .001
35 - 49 (I-J) .081 .002 Lower Upper
18 - 25 -.300* .082 .339 Bound Bound
Above 50 -.295* .080 .001
18 - 25 -.134 .081 1.000 -.51 -.09
35 - 49 .300* .095 .294
26 - 34 .094 .002 -.51 -.08
Above .005 .082 1.000 -.34 .07
Tukey .165 .095 .330 .09 .51
Physical Aspects .295* .095 .339 -.24 .25
HSD -.005 .080 .294 -.08 .41
18 - 25 .161 .094 .08 .51
.134 -.25 .24
-.165 -.08 .41
-.07 .34
-.41 .08
248
Au Virtual International Conference 2020
Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in the Digital Era
Assumption University of Thailand
October 30, 2020
Co-hosted by
26 - 34 -.161 .095 .330 -.41 .08
35 - 49 -.630* .122 .000 -.94 -.32
Above 50 -.823* -1.14 -.50
18 - 25 -.586* .124 .000 -.90 -.27
Above .630* .32 .94
26 - 34 -.193 .121 .000 -.57 .18
.044 -.32 .41
50 .823* .122 .000 .50 1.14
35 - 49 .193 .144 .536 -.18 .57
26 - 34 .237 .142 .989 -.13 .61
35 - 49 .586* .124 .000 .27 .90
18 - 25 -.044 .144 .536 -.41 .32
Above -.237 .143 .349 -.61 .13
.121 .000
50 .142 .989 -.87 -.24
18 - 25 .143 .349
35 - 49 -.97 -.33
Reliability 26 - 34 50 -.81 -.18
18 - 25 Above .24 .87
Tukey -.557* .123 .000 -.47 .28
-.31 .43
HSD .33 .97
18 - 25 -.28 .47
26 - 34 -.22 .53
35 - 49
Above
50
18 - 25
Above
26 - 34
50
35 – 49
26 - 34
26 - 34 35 - 49 -.650* .125 .000
Above 50 -.496* .122 .000
18 - 25 .557* .123 .000
35 - 49
Above 50 -.093 .145 .918
18 - 25 .061 .143 .973
26 - 34
Personal Tukey Above 50 .650* .125 .000
Attentio HSD 18 - 25
n 26 - 34 .093 .145 .918
35 - 49 35 - 49 .155 .145 .710
26 - 34
249
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