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Consumer Thinking in Decision-Making: Applying a Cognitive Framework to Trip Planning
Get PDFAs magnetic resonance studies (fMRI) evolve, we will learn more about how the brain operates during consumer decision making. Until that time, social science research can assist with understanding consumers’ thought processes, as in the case of this report, which focuses on consumer decision making in connection with travel planning. This paper examines the application of a cognitive framework that is currently used in education to better understand, address, and improve thinking skills, which appears to apply to hospitality consumers’ decision making. Two pilot studies of trip planning, by graduate and undergraduate students, demonstrate the potential usefulness of this cognitive framework. Since so much of the cognitive processing involved in trip planning appears to occur unconsciously, bringing the thinking involved to our conscious awareness may improve the process for consumers. Using the pilot studies and personal experience, this report explains the framework’s use for consumer decision-making and suggests ways that may help us better understand and address the cognition that happens as consumers make complex travel decisions. After an early model developed in 1961 by Albert Upton, the model of eight forms of cognition examined here was formed more recently by David Hyerle. The eight forms of thinking are: (1) Defining in context, (2) Describing attributes, (3) Sequencing, (4) Causal reasoning, (5) Using analogies, (6) Comparing and contrasting, (7) Categorical reasoning, and (8) Spatial reasoning. Some of these forms of cognition appear to apply more strongly than others in trip planning, such as determining the context of the trip, describing and comparing attributes, and considering spatial or location issues. Not expressly included in the framework, but essential to an understanding of trip planning processes is the social context of the trip and those planning to travel. Moreover, since fMRI studies have shown that the brain is parsimonious and attempts to operate as efficiently as possible, any aid to decision making should be well received. A better understanding of these specific forms of thinking may allow those in the hospitality industry opportunities to create specific ways of streamlining and purposefully addressing consumer decision-making thinking processes more strategically. In particular, for example, those in the industry might consider ways to facilitate each of these forms of thinking at different stages of the trip-planning process
Mergers and Target Transparency
Get PDFWe empirically investigate the hypothesis that the less transparent (more difficult to value) the target’s assets are the more likely it is that the acquiring firm can obtain higher short- and long-term returns. We analyze a sample of 1,538 friendly acquisitions partitioned in two separate dimensions: acquisitions of public versus private firms, and acquisitions of a firm’s assets versus acquisitions of a firm’s assets and its management. Using a sample of (nondiversifying) real estate transactions with a public REIT as the acquirer, we find that acquisitions of public firms have insignificant short-term abnormal returns. Acquisitions of private targets have positive and significant short-term abnormal returns. The acquirer’s abnormal returns are higher in both cases when the transactions involve acquisition of the target firm’s management. We find parallel results when analyzing the acquirer’s Q over the merger year and the three following years. Our conclusions are robust to the type of financing (cash, stock, or a combination) used in the acquisition
Awards
Get PDFAnnouncing:
Society Of Industrial And Office Realtors® Most Outstanding Article Award
International Council of Shopping Centers Most Outstanding Retail Real Estate Award
Institute of Real Estate Management Most Outstanding Real Estate Award
Westport Capital Partners Student Collaboration Award
Capstone Advisors Most Outstanding Articles Awar
Joint Leverage and Maturity Choices in Real Estate Firms: The Role of the REIT Status
Get PDFWe explore the interdependence of leverage and debt maturity choices in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and unregulated listed real estate investment companies in the U.S. for the period 1973-2011. We find that the leverage and maturity choices of all listed real estate firms are interdependent, but in contrast to industrial firms, they are not made simultaneously. Across the different types of real estate firms considered, we find substantial differences in the nature of the relationship between leverage and maturity. Leverage determines maturity in non-REITs, whereas maturity is a determinant of leverage in REITs. We suggest that the observed differences reflect the effects of the REIT regulation, rather than solely being a function of real estate as the underlying asset class. We also present novel evidence that the relationship between leverage and maturity in both firm types can be used to moderate the effects of other exogenous financing policies
Show Me What You See, Tell Me What You Think: Using Eye Tracking for Hospitality Research
Get PDFIdentifying precisely what consumers are looking at (and by implication what they are thinking) when they consider a web page, an image, or a hospitality environment could provide tremendous insights to the hospitality industry. By using eye tracking technology, one can almost literally see through the eyes of the customer to find out what information is examined at various points during the hotel search process or to assess which property design features attract guests’ attention. When eye tracking is immediately followed by interviews that review a graphical representation of the consumer’s eye movements, the thought processes behind consumers’ visual activity can be uncovered and explored. In this paper we explain how eye tracking works and how it could apply to hospitality research. Today’s eye tracking systems are easy for researchers to set up and use and are virtually transparent to the participant during use, making eye tracking a valuable method for examining consumer choice or facility design, or to develop employee training procedures. We argue that eye tracking would provide rich results and deserves to be considered for a wide range of hospitality applications
It’s More than Just a Game: The Effect of Core and Supplementary Services on Customer Loyalty
Get PDFAll service providers seek to provide a comprehensive experience for their customers, with the goal of cementing customer loyalty and encouraging future purchases. In most services, we can identify core aspects (e.g., a good night’s sleep at a hotel) and supplementary aspects (e.g., concierge and valet services). For professional sports, the core service is the sporting contest itself, but many other supplementary services may also be included. We use a comprehensive dataset of over 7,000 patrons of a major professional sport in the United States to determine how customers’ satisfaction with core and supplementary services influence their intent to repeat a ticket purchase. We find that satisfaction with both core and supplementary services are important for loyal customers, but first-time customers tend to focus only on core service satisfaction when considering whether to purchase another ticket. One implication of this study is that firms should focus on their customers’ full experience. Firms must first focus on their core services and then augment them appropriately with supplementary services
Interest Rates and Real Estate Capitalization Rates on the Rise
No full text[Excerpt] Questions about near-term interest rates levels have become particularly difficult to answer with the importance of factoring in both future economic conditions and Federal Reserve Board policy modifications along with their interactions. Despite the difficulty of pinpointing the levels of interest rates during the next 12 and 24 months, some increase in interest rates appears inevitable given the continued and steady growth of an economy that should require less accommodation. Accordingly, heavier discounting of securitized and un-securitized cash flows from capital assets, such as commercial real estate, will impose downward pressure on values. Real estate capitalization rates also embody risk premiums through the discount rate and asset-specific income growth. Changes in both of these components coincident with sustained economic growth will counter some or the entire upward drift in the riskless rate
The Contribution of Norm Familiarity to Race Differences in Tipping Behavior: A Replication and Extension
No full textA large web-based survey found that (a) awareness of the 15% to 20% tipping norm partially mediates Black–White and Hispanic–White differences in restaurant tip size and (b) norm awareness predicts restaurant tip size for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites alike. These findings replicate and extend previous research results reported by Lynn and suggest that race differences in tipping can be reduced by reducing race differences in awareness of the 15% to 20% restaurant tipping norm
Guests’ Reactions to In-Room Sustainability Initiatives: An Experimental Look at Product Performance and Guest Satisfaction
No full textSubtle energy saving changes in guest rooms did not diminish satisfaction, based on a study of 192 guests at an independent four-star hotel. Two changes were tested, a television with three energy settings and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of the standard compact fluorescent lightings (CFLs). While overall satisfaction was not affected by these changes, some guests, notably those with high incomes, did react to the energy saving settings. Contrary to some studies, 45 percent of the guests agreed that they would pay a higher room rate to support sustainability programs. On balance, this study indicates that hotels can gain cost savings and improved sustainability by implementing judicious energy saving approaches without harming guest satisfaction. This article is based on a paper presented at the 2013 Quality in Service Conference (QUIS 13), in Karlstad, Sweden
