12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014

An Assessment of Service Experience, Emotions and

Behavioral Intentions in Resort Hotels

Faizan Alia1, Kashif Hussainb, Rosmini Omarc

a International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia b School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Taylor’s University, Selangor, 47500, Malaysia

c International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia

1 Corresponding author: Faizan Ali. E-mail address: faizanali7@hotmail.co.uk

To cite this paper: Ali, F, Hussain, K., and Omar, R, (2014). An Assessment of Service Experience, Emotions and Behavioral Intentions in Resort Hotels. In Nair, V., Hussain, K., Mura, P., Hui, K.H.K., Ragavan, N.A. (Eds). Breaking Barriers - Shifting Gears (CD-ROM) – Proceedings of the 12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Taylors University (ISBN: 978-967-0173-13-9).

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of 12th APacCHRIE Conference 2014.

12th

APacCHRIE Conference 2014

An assessment of service experience, emotions and behavioral

intentions in resort hotels

Faizan Alia,*

, Kashif Hussainb, Rosmini Omar

a

aInternational Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia bSchool of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Taylor’s University, Selangor, 47500, Malaysia

Abstract

This research aims to examine the effect of service experience on guests’ emotions and behavioral intentions in context of resort

hotels. A convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. A total of 220 questionnaires were distributed to

customers of resort hotels in two different cities of China (PRC) out of which 197 were returned and deemed fit for analysis

(89% response rate). In the second-order model derived from the results, the service experience is decomposed into four

dimensions, including “recognition and escapism”, “peace of mind and relaxation”, “hedonics” and “involvement”, which have

direct influences on guests’ emotions and behavioral intentions. This study results have important implications for the resort

industry in understanding how to create and develop guests’ overall experience to affect customer’s emotion and behavioral

intentions.

Keywords: Customer experience; consumer emotion; behavioral intentions; resort rotels.

1. Introduction

As one of the fastest expanding types of tourism attractions, resort hotels have seen rapid growth with regard to

number, diversity, and popularity since the economic boom of 1960s. Today a large numbers of people travel to

resort hotels established in natural exotic and beautiful destinations (Ali, Omar & Amin, 2013; Yang & Chan, 2010)

in order to satisfy and fulfil their ever increasing and kaleidoscopic needs, which are mostly experiential in nature

(Xu & Chan, 2010). Contextually (Gee, 2000, p. 22) stated that, “The core principle of the resort concept is the

creation of an environment that will promote and enhance a feeling of well-being and enjoyment”. Hence, creating

experiences for customers, thus, has become a prominent concern for service providers in resort industry (Ali et al.,

2013).

In today’s intensely competitive market, it is generally assumed that the key to gaining an advantage lies in

creating high-quality experiences that will, in turn, lead to positive emotions and satisfied customers (Ali & Amin,

2013; Han & Ryu, 2009). Particularly, in the tourism and hospitality industry, customers look for various multiple

sub-environments that can trigger their emotions and shape their overall experience (Xu & Chan, 2010). For

example, (Hemmington, 2007) elucidated that in modern hospitality services, customers look for experiences that

can cater for their multiple needs simultaneously; such as expecting a sense of escapism while desiring a memorable

and relaxed experience. The total service experience, as a result, triggers guests’ emotions and determines whether

they feel satisfied or dissatisfied at the end of their visits. This, in turn, determines whether or not they will visit

again or recommend the same resort hotel to others.

The importance of customer experience to shape their satisfaction and future behavior has been acknowledged in

various facets of hospitality and tourism industry. However, studies focusing on customer experience to elicit guests’

emotions and shape their satisfaction and future behavioral intentions in the context of resort hotels are scant. Hence,

* Corresponding author: Faizan Ali. E-mail address: faizanali7@hotmail.co.uk

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this study aims to examine the effect of service experience on guests’ emotions and behavioral intentions in the

context of resort hotels. The findings are expected to provide managerial insights that benefit service providers and

resort hotels alike.

2. Literature review

2.1. Service experience

Customer service experience has gained a great deal of attention since it was introduced by (Pine & Gilmore,

1999) in their conceptulization of ‘experience economy’. This resulted in many definitions of service experience and

lacking a universally accepted definition which integrates different perspectives (Klaus & Maklan, 2012). Rose,

Clark, Samouel and Hair (2012) conceptualizes consumer experience as a psychological construct, which is a

holistic and subjective response resulting from customer contact with the service provider, which might involve

customer’s cognition as well as affect (Palmer, 2010). Some researchers have also focused on composition of

service experience in hospitality and tourism industry. The initial conceptualization was developed and presented by

(Pine & Gilmore, 1999) proposing four dimensions of experiences, namely aesthetic, education, entertainment, and

escapism. These four dimensions were later operationalized in bed and breakfast industry by (Oh, Fiore & Jeong,

2007) and in Cruise ship tours by (Hosany & Witham, 2010). Moreover, (Grace & O’Cass, 2004) also stated that

various services may possess experience and credence attributes which can only be determined during or after

consumption, therefore, perceptions of servicescape, core service and employee service during consumption are

influential in developing consumer’s overall experience. A recent operationalization was presented by (Xu & Chan,

2010) presenting four dimensions of service experience including recognition and escapism, peace of mind and

relaxation, hedonics and involvement. They tested these dimensions in the context of package tours and called for

further research to validate their four-factor model in other facets of hospitality and tourism industry. This study also

recognized the same four-factor operationalization of service experience and utilized for validation in the context of

resort hotels.

2.2. Customer emotions

While assessing customers’ service experience, emotions are considered as a central element by a number of

scholars (Bigne, Mattila & Andreu, 2008). Many scholars tried to define the concept of customer emotions. For

example, (Bagozzi, Gopinath & Nyer, 1999, p. 184) defined emotion as “a mental state of readiness that arises from

cognitive appraisals of events or thoughts; …. and may result in specific actions to affirm or cope with the emotion,

depending on its nature and the person having it.” Similarly, (Pham, 2004) stated that feelings are “the primary

medium of humans’ judgment and decision making system (p. 367).” (Ali & Amin, 2013) indicated that emotions

are emotional and are not merely reactions to appraisals, but also include tendencies to action including selection of

service providers, evaluation of service quality, determination of repeat purchasing behaviors and development of

brand loyalty (Lee, Back & Kim, 2009; Martin, O'Neill, Hubbard & Palmer, 2008). A related conceptualization of

emotions was named as consumption emotions. In this context, (Dubé & Menon, 2000) stated that “consumption

emotions are the affective responses to one’s perceptions of the series of attributes that compose a product or

service performance” (p. 288). Consumption emotion can be described by independent emotions such as anger, joy

and fear etc. or in emotional dimensions such as pleasant, calm and excited emotions (Pareigis, Edvardsson &

Enquist, 2011). These are a series of emotional responses produced and can be changed during the service

experience (Ali & Amin, 2013; Dubé & Menon, 2000). This study also considers consumption emotions as the

affective responses triggered by guest’s service experience.

2.3. Behavioral intentions

Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996, p. 33) states that behavioral intentions “. . . signal whether customers

will remain with or defect from the company”. Similarly, (Oliver, 1997) described behavioral intentions as ‘‘a stated

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likelihood to engage in a behavior’’ (p. 28). These behavioral intentions are either favorable or unfavorable which

are also referred to as ‘approach-avoidance’ by (Mehrabian-Russell, 1974). Favorable intentions include positive

word of mouth, more spending with the service provider, paying a price premium and remaining loyal whereas the

unfavorable intentions include customer defection, negative word of mouth, reduced spending with the company

and/or taking legal action (Ali & Amin, 2013; Ladhari, 2009). Some scholars also postulated that behavioral

intentions may also include loyalty intentions (Han & Kim, 2009). It is significant to study guests’ behavioral

intentions as these are strong predictors of actual behaviors (Han & Ryu, 2009).

3. Hypotheses development

Significance of customer emotions in eliciting customer emotions and driving their decisions has recently been

recognized and researchers argue that it effects consumer reactions as well (Ali & Amin, 2013; Bitner, 1992;

Ladhari, 2009; Pareigis et al., 2011). For example, it has been empirically proved that physical environments, staff

and other constituents of service experience can elicit an emotional response from the customers (Bitner, 1992;

Ladhari, 2009; Pareigis et al., 2011). Similarly, (Grace & O’Cass, 2004) in their study also proved a positive

relationship between customer’s service experience and their emotions and behavior. Similarly (Tian-Cole,

Crompton & Wilson, 2002) and (Xu & Chan, 2010) also observed a positive impact of service experience on

customer behavioral intentions. This discussion thus concludes that customers’ service experience may influence

their emotions and behavioral intentions. It is therefore, hypothesized;

H1. Service experience significantly influences customer emotions.

H2. Service experience significantly influences customers’ behavioral intentions.

A number of scholars have studied the relationship between customer emotions and behavioural intentions

(Martin, et al., 2008; Oliver, 1997). Past research has indicated the positive and significant association between a

customer’s positive affect and intentions (Ali & Amin, 2013; Jang & Namkung, 2009; Wong, 2004). It is, therefore,

hypothesized that;

H3: Customer Emotions is positively related to Behavioral Intentions.

4. Research methodology

The data was collected from guests of resort hotels in two cities of China (PRC) i.e. Beijing and Xian with the

help of School of Management, Beifang University of Nationalities, Yinchuan, China. A convenient sampling

technique was used to select the sample. A total of 220 questionnaires were distributed to customers out of which

197 were returned and deemed fit for analysis, resulting in an effective response rate of 89%. Out of these 197

respondents, 52% were male whereas 48% were female. 30% were having age below 30 years, 42% were between

31 and 50 years and 28% were older than 50 years. 51% of the total respondents had monthly income below 10,000

RMB, 42% had monthly income between 10,000 to 15,000 RMB and 7% had monthly income of above 15,000

RMB. Amongst the 197 respondents, 68% were Chinese whereas 32% were foreigners. The data was analyzed using

SPSS and AMOS. To assess the measurement model, the research conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)

with reliability and construct validity checks. To assess the overall fit of the proposed model and test hypotheses,

structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted as recommended by (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988).

5. Results

All standardized factor loading of each construct was high (above .630) that ensured the convergent validity.

Composite reliability for six latent constructs was between .721 and .870 that ensured the internal consistency (See

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Table 1). The CFA showed appropriate goodness-of-fit indices (χ2 =396.820, df =237, χ

2/ df = 1.674, p < 0.001,

RMSEA = .059, CFI = .928, GFI = 0.901 and TLI = 0.928).

Table 1. Validity and reliability for constructs.

Factor Loadings

AVE CR

Recognition and Escapism (RE)

RE1 During my visit, I have been educated and informed 0.647 0.507 0.856

RE2 During my visit, I felt escaped 0.689

RE3 During my visit, I could forget everyday problems 0.712

RE4 During my visit, I was taken seriously when help was needed 0.739

RE5 During my visit, I felt important throughout 0.757

RE6 During my visit, I felt respected 0.682

Peace of Mind and Relaxation (PMR)

PMR1 The resort was physically comfortable 0.724 0.627 0.87

PMR2 The resort was safe 0.782

PMR3 During my visit, I felt relaxed 0.833

PMR4 During my visit, I felt secured 0.823

Hedonics (H)

H1 I got a chance of doing something I really like to do 0.8 0.581 0.846

H2 I got a chance of doing something memorable 0.824

H3 I had a “once in a lifetime” experience 0.758

H4 I got a chance of doing something new and different 0.656

Involvement (I)

I1 I had been involved in the process 0.731 0.542 0.78

I2 I had a choice in the process 0.745

I3 I had some control over the outcome 0.733

Customer Emotions (CE)

CE1 After visiting this resort, I feel peaceful 0.776 0.578 0.844

CE2 After visiting this resort, I feel happy. 0.852

CE3 After visiting this resort, I feel relaxed. 0.764

CE4 After visiting this resort, I feel relieved. 0.632

Behavioral Intentions (BI)

BI1 I intend to continue visiting this resort hotel 0.63 0.505 0.721

BI2 I will consider this resort hotel as my first choice 0.643

BI3 I will spread positive word-of-mouth about this resort hotel 0.765

Notes: x2 = 396.820, CMIN/df = 1.674, GFI = 0.901, CFI = 0.928, TLI = 0.916, RMSEA = 0.059

The average variance extracted (AVE) from all constructs exceeded the cut-off criterion of .5, and were greater

than the squared correlations between any pair of constructs (See Table 2).

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Table 2. Discriminant validity.

Service Experience Customer Emotions Behavioral Intentions

Service Experience 0.751

Customer Emotions 0.503 0.760 Behavioral Intentions 0.496 0.411 0.710

Since all these figures and measurement ensure reliability and validity of the measurement items, therefore, this

research tested the same measurement model for further testing of the structural model and hypotheses. The

structural model also showed appropriate goodness-of-fit indices (χ2 =422.049, df=245, χ

2/ df = 1.723, p < 0.001,

RMSEA = .061, CFI = .920, GFI = 0.903 and TLI = 0.910). The result showed that service experience had positive

and significant impact on customer emotions and behavioral intentions. Moreover, it was also observed that

emotions elicited by service experience of customers can influence their behavioral intentions. Hence, all the three

hypotheses were accepted. In addition, this research shows that the four dimensions of service experience are highly

correlated.

Fig. 1. The result of structural equation model.

Table 3. Results of the structural model.

Hypothesis Standard Beta Standard Error T Statistics Decision

H1 Service Experience → Customer Emotions 0.660 0.117 5.655* Supported

H2 Service Experience → Behavioral Intentions 0.515 0.133 3.886* Supported

H3 Customer Emotions → Behavioral Intentions 0.324 0.152 3.297* Supported

*p>0.01

6. Conclusion and implications

In today’s intensely competitive market, it is generally assumed that the key to gaining an advantage lies in

creating high-quality experiences that will, in turn, lead to positive emotions and loyal customers (Ali & Amin,

6

2013; Han & Ryu, 2009). These relationships are acknowledged in various facets of hospitality and tourism

industry. However, studies focusing on customer experience to elicit guests’ emotions and shape their behavioral

intentions in the context of resort hotels are scant. Moreover, in general, resort hotels are one of the least studied

sectors of hospitality and tourism industry (Line & Runyan, 2012). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect

of service experience on guests’ emotions and behavioral intentions in the context of Chinese resort hotels.

Contextually, it is very surprising to see that despite being one of the fastest growing tourist spot (UNWTO, 2012),

Chinese hospitality in general and Chinese resort hotels in particular are overlooked by the researchers (Line &

Runyan, 2012). Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses and the findings revealed that service

experience had positive and significant impact on customer emotions and behavioral intentions and that the

emotions elicited by service experience of customers may also influence their behavioral intentions. These findings

were consistent with previous studies (Ali & Amin, 2013; Bitner, 1992; Grace & O’Cass, 2004; Ladhari, 2009;

Martin et al., 2008; Oliver, 1997; Pareigis et al., 2011; Tian-Cole et al., 2002; Xu & Chan, 2010).

The study results indicate that a better service experience would help developing positive emotions of customers

which will influence their future behavioral intentions. It is evident that in the modern tourism society, service

experience concepts lie in the satisfaction of experiential needs (Ryan, 2002) and tourist positive behavioral

intentions are based on sophisticated service experiences and emotional satisfaction (Lin & Liang, 2011) therefore,

resort hotels must emphasize more on hedonic aspects of customer experiences through an environment reflecting

their theme or culture. This might be a critical cue to determine the value they get from the services in resort hotels

(Yang & Chan, 2010). In order to understand guests’ experience, holistically or specifically, resort hotels can make

use of the measurement scales of service experience used in this study. This scale emphasis on four dimensions of

service experience including recognition and escapism, peace of mind and relaxation, hedonics and involvement.

Resort hotels must ensure that these factors are reflected during the service delivery and performance. To satisfy the

experiential needs of tourists, it is very important to create peace of mind. This helps tourists to relax completely and

become fully involved in grasping the novel culture and nature of the destination. Guests should be shown respect

consistently and such efforts can be more effective if joined with attempts to fulfil the need for escapism. Lastly,

from a pragmatic standpoint, to help tourists to obtain better service experiences it is necessary to develop more on-

site activities to stimulate and arouse their hedonic motivation and positive emotions. These enjoyable and pleasant

moments in turn become a catalyst for the tourists to share their memorable experiences with others and to revisit.

7. Limitations and future research suggestions

Although the results of the current study have shed light on several important issues, some limitations need to be

considered in future research. Since convenience sampling was used in this study, results cannot be generalized. For

instance the findings should be interpreted with caution when applied to different types of hotels or different

industries. Future research should examine the proposed relationships in other types of hotels and industries.

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