Volume 18, Issue 62 , June 2023
tourism management
Morteza Ahmadi; Mahmood Ziaee; Reza Vaezi; Gholamreza Kazemian
Abstract
This research has been achieved to recognize the type of dominant rationality in the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. The tourism planning system in the world has experienced noticeable changes under the influence of transformations that took place in the philosophical and social ...
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This research has been achieved to recognize the type of dominant rationality in the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. The tourism planning system in the world has experienced noticeable changes under the influence of transformations that took place in the philosophical and social paradigms in recent decades. The present research is based on interpretive epistemology and, regarding the methodological aspect, has been considered qualitative research. Archival studies and thematic analysis with explorative purpose were used for data gathering and analysis. Base on this study’s findings, instrumental rationality, with 48 themes out of 71 and its correspondent planning theory, rational planning, has been dominant in formulating the Vision Plan of Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran. Also, we observed a small share of other types of rationality among the themes recognized in the Vision Plan. Analysis and comparison of the share for each type of rationality made it clear that coordinative rationality has been ignored. Therefore, revising the Vision Plan regarding new approaches to tourism planning is inevitable. The research results indicated that applying coordinative rationality as a combination of various rationality types could pave the way for achieving tourism development objectives in Iran.Introduction Tourism planning has been transformed by theories such as communicative and participative approaches and paradigms dominating urban, rural, and regional planning. The emergence of alternative and sustainable tourism can signify these changes. This research aimed to recognize the type of dominant rationality on the Vision Plan-2025 for Heritage and Tourism Development in Iran endorsed by the Cabinet in 2004. The concept of rationality in this research is considered in the Alexander Model (2000) framework and based on new planning theories and contemporary tourism planning approaches. In the new age, called the post-rationality era, rationality in planning was redefined so that its meaning extended from instrumental rationality to include communicative, strategic, and coordinative rationality. Dominant planning approaches in the 1950s were physical and sectoral planning based on the traditional rational planning approach. Since the 1960s, the domain of planning extended to social-cultural areas and the concept of space, including human beings, their living environment, and economic, social, and cultural activities taken into account in planning. In the 1980s, a new approach to planning appeared that did not believe in top-down planning but believed in the host community's participation in planning and implementation.Materials and MethodsThe philosophical aspect of this research regarding epistemology was based on an interpretive approach. Understanding tourism and planning for tourism development requires understanding the multiple dimensions of tourism regarding social-cultural and economic aspects and interpreting the concept of the system for tourism stakeholders as well as policymakers. Considering the users, the research is applied and developmental research. The findings of this study can be used by tourism policymakers, planners, stakeholders, the scientific society, and researchers. The research area is cross-sectional, and the scale is national. This qualitative research's statistical population and data sources are the documents of mentioned Vision Plan. Data gathering and analysis were conducted following the qualitative research. This study used the Astrid-Sterling model of themes networks for thematic analysis. The researchers took five steps for coding and recognized basic themes, main themes, organizing themes, and global themes. Finally, a map of themes in the format of themes network of rationality in the Vision Plan was presented.Discussion and ResultsThe results of the literature review clarified two issues. Firstly, under the influence of planning theory and dominant paradigms on urban, rural, and regional planning, tourism development planning has changed in recent decades, leading to the emergence of alternative tourism approaches like responsible tourism, eco-tourism, community-based tourism, and sustainable tourism. Secondly, reconsidering the concept and dimensions of rationality in the recent century has a vital role in planning theory in such a way that the type of rationality in each era has been determinative of identifying the type of planning theory. For further explanation, we can refer to communicative rationality recognized in the 1980s by Habermas, considered the foundation of communicative planning theory. This approach was the reaction against instrumental rationality that was the basis for traditional rational planning theory. Therefore, the type of rationality is the determinant for the corresponding planning theory. Analysis of a total of 71 themes in the Vision Plan for Tourism Development in Iran indicated the share for each type of rationality, which included 48 themes (the maximum) related to instrumental rationality, ten themes to communicative rationality, nine themes to strategic rationality, and finally, four themes (the minimum) to coordinative rationality.ConclusionsWith the analysis and comparison of the share of various types of rationality in the Vision Plan of cultural heritage and tourism in Iran, we concluded that the dominant rationality for formulating the Plan had been instrumental. Regarding the lack of consideration for all types of rationality, particularly coordinative rationality in the Plan on the one hand, and the fact that more than 18 years have passed since the compilation of the Plan on the other hand, it is necessary to revise the Vision Plan, taking into accounts the coordinative planning theory in the following areas:- Establishment of a powerful coordinating institution with sufficient authority for making the related organizations cooperate in revising, formulating, implementing, supervising, and evaluating the Plan.- Integration of tourism policies and plans and linkage with the macro policies. Formulation and endorsement of tourism macro policies through the Supreme Council for Cultural Heritage and Tourism. -Formulation of a network for public-private participation and related stakeholders for developing tourism in Iran.
Tourism planning
Zahra Soleymani; Hamdollah Sojasi qedari; Hamid Shayan; Siamak Seyfi
Abstract
While traveling, tourists are looking for memorable experiences, and often, their decisions are influenced by the experiences they have gained from the destination. ZMET cognitive approach was used to extract memorable experiences of tourists from rural destinations. Based on theoretical saturation, ...
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While traveling, tourists are looking for memorable experiences, and often, their decisions are influenced by the experiences they have gained from the destination. ZMET cognitive approach was used to extract memorable experiences of tourists from rural destinations. Based on theoretical saturation, an interview was conducted with 35 tourists who had traveled to the villages of Mashhad, Neyshabur, and Torghabe - Shandiz counties and had more than 83 mental involvements with these destinations. Nine originator constructs and 11 destination constructs were extracted; the most frequent originator construct was the "natural landscape of the village," which created memorable experiences like "silence and peace," "feeling of freshness and liberation," and "pleasantness" in tourists. The theoretical literature on memorable experiences from rural destinations is very limited, so this study provides a new understanding regarding the formation of memorable experiences from rural destinations, which managers of rural destinations use to attract more tourists and loyalty.IntroductionTourists are looking for different tourism experiences by presence in rural areas. Experiences are not like products and services that are produced and distributed in the outside world, but are created individually. They are simultaneously created in the depths of the mind as a result of interaction with the surrounding environment. Since the existence of rural tourism destinations depends on the presence of tourists. Therefore, if rural tourism destinations can design and provide memorable and attractive experiences for them through identifying and understanding their customers' needs, they will achieve development. In general, understanding and enhancing the positive and memorable experiences of tourists is considered as a competitive advantage in the contemporary tourism market. For this reason, memorable tourism experiences are necessary for the sustainability and competitiveness of rural destinations. Also, experiences affect tourists' future decisions. If rural tourism destinations can offer memorable tourism experiences to visitors, it will significantly influence the consumer's behavioral intention to revisit or recommend the destination to others.Materials and MethodsThe research method of this study is a set of descriptive-analytical methods. In terms of purpose, it is practical and a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. In order to identify the memorable experiences of tourists in the studied rural areas, Zaikovsky's questionnaire and then the ZMET method were used. For this purpose, 35 tourists who traveled to the tourist villages of Mashhad, Neyshabur and Torghabe- Shandiz cities and had more than 83 mental involvements with these destinations based on the Zaykovsky questionnaire, were interviewed by the ZMET method.Discussion and ResultsIn general, 7 basic structures were identified in tourist villages, which can be effective in creating memorable experiences among tourists. These 7 structures include the natural landscape of the village, healthy products, local culture, traditional architecture, adventure and physical activity, interaction and cooperation, and deficiencies and damages. Each of these basic structures has several connecting structures that ultimately lead to final structures or memorable experiences. Finally, 11 memorable experiences that include silence and peace, fresh and liberated feeling, enjoyable, new flavors, unique lifestyle, exploration and learning, nostalgic feeling, exciting, being unique, involving and participation, and being uncomfortable is extracted. All sample tourists pointed to the basic structure of the natural and pristine landscape of the villages and mentioned 6 connecting structures for this structure, which ultimately led to 3 memorable experiences, namely silence and peace, freshness and liberation feeling, and enjoyable. The basic structure of traditional architecture with a frequency of 32 is another frequent structure that is led by 6 connecting structures to a nostalgic feeling as another memorable experience for tourists from rural destinations. The third most frequent construct with a frequency of 18 is local culture. This structure includes 12 connecting structures that ultimately lead to a unique lifestyle experience and exploration and learning in them.ConclusionsExperiences are the main product of tourism, which are formed individually and in the tourist's mind, which cannot be interfered with and are specific to each person. But it is possible to influence the formation of these experiences through basic actions and planning in tourism destinations. In fact, providing attractive, diverse and memorable experiences makes a rural destination have the ability to compete in the tourism market and is considered as a fundamental factor that can lead to the success and innovation of this industry. The experiences that tourists gain from rural tourism destinations have a great impact on their future behavioral intentions and, as a result, on the development of rural tourism destinations. Based on this, in the present study, 10 positive memorable experiences were extracted through interviews with 35 tourists who had traveled to the studied rural tourism areas, which include peace and silence, freshness and liberation feeling, pleasantness, new flavors, unique lifestyle, exploring and learning, nostalgic feeling, excitement, uniqueness and involvement and participation. In addition to these experiences, negative memorable experiences have also been mentioned by tourists, which include discomfort and sadness as a result of shortages and damages in rural areas. Considering the many capabilities that rural areas have in the field of tourism, they can offer many experiences to tourists. The results and findings of the present research can have a significant impact on the expansion of literature in the field of memorable experiences of tourists from rural tourism destinations. Also, the findings of the research can be used by managers and planners of rural tourism in knowing the experiences and views of tourists from rural destinations, who can provide a suitable environment for tourists to have memorable and attractive experiences when traveling to rural destinations.
Information systems
Niloufar Yazdi Esmaeili; Zahra Nadalipour
Abstract
Today, customer orientation is one of the most important marketing indicators in the tourism system. On the other hand, one of the most up-to-date and efficient programs or strategies for attracting, retaining and satisfying customers is managing electronic communication with the customer. In this regards, ...
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Today, customer orientation is one of the most important marketing indicators in the tourism system. On the other hand, one of the most up-to-date and efficient programs or strategies for attracting, retaining and satisfying customers is managing electronic communication with the customer. In this regards, understanding the role of electronic customer relationship management in facilitating destination selection from the perspective of managers and senior marketing experts of active travel and tourism agencies in Tehran, is the main purpose of this study. Regarding the tourism system, ignoring the ECRM can be considered as one of the main weaknesses of tourism in Iran, especially in tourism and travel agencies. The present study has been conducted through qualitative method with the aim of providing a model explaining the role of ECRM in facilitating destination selection. Therefore, grounded theory method and a non-probabilistic purposive sampling was used in to determine sample of study. In current study, use of grounded theory method tools such as data fragmentation, open coding and axial coding led to the identification of six main categories of causal conditions, subject-oriented, contextual or environmental conditions, intervening conditions, strategies and consequences. Causal conditions affecting decision-making and facilitating the choice of tourist destination include six psychological components (emotional and personality), ECRM, financial and economic, advertising, security and environmental, each of which has several sub-categories and concepts.Introduction:With the beginning of the 21st century and at the same time with the improvement of the living standards and livelihood of people all over the world, as well as rapid increase in the proportion of tourism expenses in the consumption basket of leisure time of families and the development of information technology, traditional tourism is more and more connected with the Internet and new technologies (Linking Lane, 2020). This combination of tourism and new communication technologies led to the emergence of Electronic Customer Relationship Management (ECRM), which in simple words is the practical use of Internet-based technologies including email, website, chat rooms, forums and other e-channels for achieving the goals of customer relationship management is done in a more efficient way using IT. Interacting, maintaining and creating customer loyalty is one of the basic steps of managing electronic communication with customers, which includes all the processes of marketing, sales and customer service in a psychological way (Mirf Kharaldini, Hatami Nasab and Talei Far, 2009).Today, organizations are widely looking for ways to interact and communicate effectively with customers in order to influence them. Internet technology enables organizations to attract new customers, track their online behavior and performance, and personalize communications, products, services, and prices (Zamani Babgehari et al., 2023). ECRM was first proposed in 1999 in the seminar of the Tourism Association of Customer Relationship Management in England (Ivanuska, 2008). This new technology grew and expanded at such a speed that only after two decades of its emergence, many conquered the touristic countries of the world. Now, the question is, to what extent has the development of ECRM technology spread to Iran's tourism industry, and the owners of tourist service offices active in Tehran use this technology to facilitate the choice of tourists' destinations? Also, what role does it play in facilitating the destination selection process by tourists? In order to answer the questions raised, the method of grounded theory has been used. Materials and Methods:This research was designed and conducted based on the methodology of grounded theory regarding its theoretical foundations, research method, data collection method, data analysis, and data validation. The population and statistical sample in this survey are made up of 10 managers and experts of travel service offices active in Tehran. According to the steps of the research strategy, the researchers referred to relevant experts to collect information to obtain first-hand data. Therefore, the sample of research in the database method is directed under the influence of each case (specialized semi-structured interviews or referred texts). In this way, the analysis of each interview will be the guide for the next interview. Sampling process continued until the theoretical adequacy was achieved, and for this reason, a total of 10 specialized semi-structured interviews were conducted considering the above criteria. The interviews were conducted and recorded between 30 and 60 minutes, so that by reviewing the conversations several times, a more accurate analysis and examination of the views of the participants could be done. Findings:The main question revolves around the issue of "What role does the management of electronic communication with customers in active travel service offices in Tehran play in facilitating the process of choosing a destination for tourists?" Obtaining the answer to this question required the implementation of the central coding stage of the grounded theory method in order to establish a network between all discovered categories. Based on this, the categories extracted in the previous step (total of 6 categories) were cast in the form of core coding classes and arranged around the core category of "travel destination selection" as described in Figure 1.Discussion and Results:The primary goal of the current research was to investigate the role of ECRM in facilitating the process of destination selection by tourists. The achievement of conducting this research for the researcher and based on the interviews that were conducted was the understanding that not only the ECRM as a successful marketing technique, but also its components, in Iran, for offices Travel services - even with a long history of activity - are not very well known, but in practice, the managers of these offices prefer to attract and retain tourists using the same traditional methods such as telephone communication, verbal communication and face-to-face interactions. This study can have useful results for managers and planners in the related agencies. Nowadays, Managers will face challenges in the way of implementing programs related to ECRM. Communicating remotely and offline and impersonally through the Internet is a challenge to attract and gain trust. Trust can be basically an important obstacle in the way of implementing ECRM. In addition, the increased risk of data manipulation or loss of information can be another factor that slows down the management of ECRM. The lack of face-to-face contact play a big challenge in the implementation of ECRM. In addition, in an effort to quickly implement the ECRM, a large number of companies start implementing it before formulating a strategy, but many of them are dissatisfied with this system. The prolongation of the implementation process can be a sign of weakness in the establishment of ECRM. On the other hand, since the current research has examined and analyzed the issue from the point of view of managers and experts, it is suggested that in future researches, the demand side- the tourists' point of view-should also be in the center of attention for more precise dimensions of the subject to be determined.
Maryam Varmaghani; Azim Zarei; Davood Feiz; Morteza Maleki MinbashRazgah
Abstract
In today's competitive environment the use of intelligence in various aspects of business, including branding, allows organizations to achieve a high competitive position. The purpose of this research was to present the brand intelligence model in tourism start-ups and test the validity of the model. ...
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In today's competitive environment the use of intelligence in various aspects of business, including branding, allows organizations to achieve a high competitive position. The purpose of this research was to present the brand intelligence model in tourism start-ups and test the validity of the model. This research was exploratory mixed research. The grounded theory approach was used in the qualitative part. Six university professors and 18 tourism startup brand managers were interviewed through snowball sampling. The statistical population included managers and employees of tourism start-ups in the quantitative part. Finally, 384 questionnaires were collected using a convenience sampling method. A questionnaire based on the Likert scale was used to collect data and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the research data. According to the results, structural factors, management factors, internal content factors and external content factors as causal conditions can influence the intelligence of the tourism brand. Also, economic, socio-cultural, and political awareness as contextual factors and cultural factors, human resources, financial resources, and technological resources as intervening factors have a significant impact on brand intelligence strategies. These strategies include major change, partial change, and no change in the brand. Finally, brand intelligence strategies also have a significant impact on brand intelligence consequences. The results of this research have significantly helped to make the brand management process of organizations intelligent and provide a useful research tool for future studies.IntroductionIn order to get the best results from their brands, organizations should audit their brand capabilities, evaluate external issues affecting their brand, and then create a brand plan that defines the brand's actual goals and the strategy to achieve them. Researchers have developed a new method to analyze brand importance, called the Brand Intelligence Brand Semantic Score program. They have introduced brand intelligence as a method for brand analysis and brand positioning evaluation. However, according to the searches, a model for brand intelligence has yet to be provided. A strong brand is essential for tourism start-ups; it simplifies customers' decisions and creates a competitive advantage. The start-up brand is a very influential incentive in the consumer's purchasing decision when choosing a destination. Therefore, tourism start-ups should strengthen branding concepts and create a positive image in the minds of current and future tourists. To achieve this, brands must continuously manage, enhance and evaluate brand equity and other essential brand metrics. This is possible through "brand intelligence." However, according to the surveys, there needs to be more literature on brand management and intelligence in tourism start-ups, especially in Iran. Therefore, to fill the research gaps, researchers intend to provide a comprehensive model for brand intelligence and identify and test the factors related to brand intelligence with a mixed approach.MethodologyThis research is of mixed exploratory type. The grounded theory approach has been used in the qualitative part, and in the quantitative part, structural equation modeling has been used. In the first stage, a model for brand intelligence was designed, and in the second stage, the validity of the presented model was tested. In the qualitative part, six university professors and 18 marketing and brand managers of tourism start-ups were interviewed using snowball sampling. The statistical population in the quantitative part includes managers and employees of tourism start-ups. The sample size was determined using Cochran's formula of 384 people. A simple cluster sampling method was used for sampling. A questionnaire based on a Likert scale was used to collect data, and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.Discussion and ResultsQualitative data analysis showed that structural factors (existing organizational structure, flexibility of organizational structure, vital role of brand manager in organizational decisions), managerial factors (support and skill of top manager, resistance to change, manager's understanding of the benefits of brand intelligence, up-to-date view of top manager), internal content factors (understanding data and information, understanding the brand and understanding the product), and external content factors (understanding the market, competitors, and tourists) are causal factors that directly affect brand intelligence. Fundamental brand changes (brand name change, brand slogan change, brand promise change, brand identity change), minor brand changes (changing some brand elements, changing some brand management measures, continuing to move toward brand identity), and no change of brand (continuing to move towards brand identity, strengthening brand position by overseeing brand actions and tracking the factors affecting brand) were identified as brand intelligence strategies, According to the results, brand intelligence can have consequences for the brand and, consequently, the whole organization. The consequences of brand intelligence for the brand are brand agility, brand health, brand equity, brand performance, and brand position. Organizational consequences of brand intelligence include organizational agility, organizational performance, satisfaction/loyalty, and sustainable and temporary competitive advantage. In this research, cultural, human, financial, and technological resources are intervening factors. Economic, sociocultural, and political awareness were also identified as contextual factors. According to quantitative findings, structural, managerial, and content factors (causal conditions) can influence brand intelligence. The findings confirmed the effect of brand intelligence, contextual factors, and intervening factors on strategies and the effect of these strategies on the consequences of brand intelligence.ConclusionIn response to new-age brand management trends, this study aims to increase our understanding of brand intelligence and provide a valid model for brand intelligence of tourism start-ups. The findings of this study pave the way to creating an intelligent brand because in this model, using the grounded theory method, all aspects of making a brand intelligence have been considered and confirmed using SEM. Now, marketing and brand researchers have a comprehensive model of brand intelligence from an organizational point of view, which significantly helps to make the brand management process of intelligence and provides a valuable research tool for future studies. Brand Intelligence is the future of brand management, arming companies with an ongoing diagnostic tool to track and evaluate their brand performance more accurately. In this way, brand managers can first consider a standard for the essential criteria of the brand, monitor the criteria continuously, and make new decisions to take corrective measures if each criterion deviates from its standard value. Intelligence in various aspects of business, including branding, allows organizations to achieve a competitive position in today's turbulent environment
Information systems
seyed mohsen lotfi ashtiani; lila andervazh; Ebrahim Albo naeimi
Abstract
This is developmental research, with a qualitative method. The statistical population in the qualitative phase includes the managers of medical tourism facility companies and the managers of the department of international patients in Tehran hospitals, including Farabi Khatem Al-Anbia (pbuh) and Shahid ...
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This is developmental research, with a qualitative method. The statistical population in the qualitative phase includes the managers of medical tourism facility companies and the managers of the department of international patients in Tehran hospitals, including Farabi Khatem Al-Anbia (pbuh) and Shahid Rajaei Heart hospitals, of which 15 people were selected purposefully and non-randomly. The main tool of data collection is semi-structured in-depth interviews. Qualitative data analysis was done using the database theory method and MAXQDA software. In the quantitative section, the statistical population includes all patients who refer to hospitals in Tehran (unlimited population), based on which a sample of 384 people was selected using Morgan's table. Data collection was done in the quantitative section using a questionnaire and data analysis was done with the partial least squares method.Based on the obtained paradigm model, the components related to digital marketing in the medical tourism industry in six categories of causal factors (application marketing, social media marketing, digital advertising, display advertising, facilitating communication, and providing the information), background conditions (social media technology, social media environment, interactivity, comprehensibility), central phenomenon (human-centered digital marketing, customer data analysis, and market development), strategies (b short-term and long-term strategies, functional value and expected value), intervening conditions (software and hardware indicators) and outcomes (tourist loyalty, tourist satisfaction, service quality, and social media content) were identified.IntroductionMedical tourism can be defined as the process of traveling outside the country of residence in order to receive medical care. The growing popularity of medical tourism has attracted the attention of policymakers, researchers, and the media. In the past, the term often referred to the travel of patients from less developed countries to pursue treatments unavailable in their country. At the same time, we are experiencing quantitative and qualitative changes in patient mobility as people travel from wealthier to less developed countries to access health services. Such a change is mainly due to the relatively low cost of treatments in less developed countries, the availability of low-cost flights, and increased online marketing and consumer information about the availability of medical services. Medical tourism represents a multi-billion-dollar worldwide phenomenon expected to grow significantly over the next decade. For those interested in health care, cost is a key factor in receiving medical care abroad.With the development of mobile applications and increasing digital literacy, digital marketing is becoming the dominant paradigm in the service industries today, and this is also true in medical tourism. In order to create trust and awareness in medical tourism, offices and centers providing such services must provide timely and reliable information to patients worldwide. Therefore, in the past few years, social media has been used as a medical tourism tool for advertising and information. Some countries' experience shows that social media use and investment in this field have played a significant role in the development of medical tourism. Iran - at least at the regional level - has high capacities for developing medical tourism; a large part of this capacity has yet to be realized.If a targeted and appropriate program is made for digital marketing, the necessary platform for developing medical tourism in the country will be provided. However, despite some medical tourism agencies' occasional use of social media, there needs to be a codified and coherent program in this field inside the country. Part of this shortcoming may be that managers and decision-makers in the medical tourism sector need to be better aware of the importance and effectiveness of social media in attracting tourists and patients. In this regard, the first step will be to prove the effectiveness of social media for marketing medical tourism destinations by conducting field studies. Such studies will increase senior managers' insight and awareness of the high potential of social media. On the other hand, the review of the research literature shows that despite conducting numerous studies in medical tourism marketing, there needs to be more research in presenting a model in this field. Especially In domestic studies, more effort must be made to present the digital marketing model of medical tourism. These studies need to indicate a research gap in medical tourism destination marketing. With these explanations, the current research aims to provide a marketing model for medical tourism destinations in Iran using digital media.Materials and MethodsThe current research is developmental research. Qualitative data analysis was done with exploratory and interview-based data theory, and quantitative data analysis was based on the nature and method of descriptive-survey research, which was a questionnaire for data collection. Also, the current research was conducted with a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) approach.The statistical population in the qualitative phase includes managers of companies that facilitate medical tourism and managers of international patients' departments in Tehran hospitals, including Farabi Hospital, Shahid Rajaee's Heart Hospital, and Khatem Al_Anbia Hospital, of which 15 people were selected in a non-random way. In the quantitative section, the statistical population includes all patients who refer to hospitals in Tehran (infinite population), based on which a sample of 384 people was selected using Morgan's table.The main data collection tool in the qualitative part is the semi-structured in-depth interview. In the quantitative part, to test these research hypotheses, a questionnaire tool was used to collect information. In order to evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated, and two methods of form-content validity and divergent validity were used to check the validity.Qualitative data analysis was done using the database theory method and MAXQDA software. In order to analyze the data and test the research hypotheses, inferential statistics, partial least squares technique (PLS), and Smart PLS software were used. Discussion and ResultsThe indicators of application marketing, social media marketing, digital advertising, display advertising, facilitating communication and providing information were selected as categories of causal conditions in developing the research model. Social media marketing is important because it not only creates a relationship between the organization and customers, but also provides a network of internal relationships between customers to talk about the brand; so, it forms an ecosystem of mutual relations that provides the basis for promoting a product or brand as much as possible.Social media technology, environment, interactivity, and comprehensibility indicators were selected as background categories in developing the research model. Over time, a social media marketing strategy reinforces a company's brand and message in customers' minds. That is important because consistent branding tells consumers what to expect from a company, leading to reputation. If a business can continue to meet these expectations and improve its reputation, it can build trust among loyal customers and increase its brand value in the eyes of consumers. Strategic use of social media has become essential for marketers to achieve competitive advantage and superior performance.Human-centered digital marketing indicators, customer data analysis, and market development were selected as central categories in developing the research model. Customer-oriented marketing is an approach in which the business identifies customers' needs, problems, and challenges by conducting market research, collecting and categorizing data, and creating value by providing solutions. This approach focuses on maximizing customer lifetime value (CLV) and converting potential customers into loyal customers. Today's model for building a company's brand differs from the past. Thanks to the rise of social media and the increasing number of ways we can communicate with each other, branding has become less about traditional PR and marketing campaigns and more about organic growth. In social media, an organic relationship is created with the permanent presence of humans (users), which leads to the promotion and introduction of the brand in the best way. Previous studies have shown that the strength of human ties is an important determinant of customer behavior in social networks.Software and hardware indicators were selected as intervention categories in developing the research model. This finding shows that success in digital marketing requires a new combination of hardware and software. With the advent of widespread social networking platforms, customers are no longer limited to a passive role in their relationship with a company. In addition to having more information about competitive products available anywhere on mobile devices, customers can easily express their opinions and distribute them to a large audience. Companies are likely to manage customers' messages about their products/services. They find it difficult. The net effect of the rise of social media-based technologies has been to increase the power of consumers. Instead of CRM, companies should focus on understanding vendor relationship management (VRM), where consumers manage their vendor relationships. These developments are potentially harmful to companies: customers spreading negative messages about a company can damage its reputation. However, the rise of social media offers companies opportunities to listen and engage with their customers and potentially encourage them to become advocates for their products. The challenge for companies is identifying and using such opportunities and avoiding the following traps.Indicators of short-term and long-term strategies, functional value, and expected value were selected as strategic categories in developing the research model. The customer spends money to buy the product or service he receives. What does he want in return? Of course, he wants value that justifies or exceeds his price. Customers today have several options and alternatives. So, the question is, how can a company please and retain its customers? The answer is simple; customers' money should be valued. Customer value is a measure to determine the value of a product or service and compare it with its alternatives. It is a tool that determines whether the customer feels they are getting enough value for the money they have spent. So, technically, value serves as an insight into preventing customer regret.The indicators of tourist loyalty, satisfaction, service quality, and social media content were selected as outcome categories in developing the research model. Studies show that loyal customers spend 67% more on products and services than new customers. So, even if most loyal customers make up only 20% of the audience, they provide up to 80% of revenue. When it is 5x easier to retain a customer than to acquire a new one, numbers like these are hard to ignore. Loyal customers are more likely than new customers to buy products and services from the same brand or store again.
Marketing economics
Ameneh Khadivar; Maryam Golestani; Fahimeh Golshani
Abstract
The main goal of the current research is to predict the ethical purchase intention of sustainable products in the circular business model through the behavior of customers/tourists using artificial neural network (ANN). The statistical population of the present study are customers/tourists who have used ...
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The main goal of the current research is to predict the ethical purchase intention of sustainable products in the circular business model through the behavior of customers/tourists using artificial neural network (ANN). The statistical population of the present study are customers/tourists who have used the products/services of Gargop restaurant. Sampling was done based on Morgan's table and 384 people were examined through a questionnaire. The results indicate that as much as the input variables include attitude (willingness to pay more money, attitude towards circular business models), perceived value (social value, functional value and value) and awareness (awareness of ethical product/service and brand awareness) have a higher value; it is expected that the ethical purchase intention will be stronger. The present study by examining the behavioral factors of customers to the collection of literature related to circular business models and also sustainable development helps.IntroductionTourism has many positive and negative economic, social, cultural, and environmental effects. These dimensions have always been and will be discussed in most sources as essential areas of destination sustainability in sustainable development issues. In the world, the tourism industry is known as a smoke-free industry. According to those mentioned above, the expectation from this industry without smoke is that all these active businesses will operate in line with sustainable development goals. On the other hand, the rapid growth of the world's population and urbanization increases consumption significantly, while natural resources are limited and scarce (De Angelis, 2018). The world's population is estimated to reach about nine billion people by 2050, and it consumes resources more than three times the current rate (Planning, 2015). The current linear economy, characterized by "take-produce-do things in order," accelerates the depletion of resources and energy (Boken et al., 2017).The concept of circular or circular economy, inspired by nature in the late 1970s, means that nothing is wasted and all outputs are inputs to other processes (Ellen McArthur, 2018). The circular economy is a strategy to oppose the traditional market system, aiming to deal with the challenge of lack of resources and waste disposal in a win-win approach with an economic and value perspective (Homrich et al., 2018). The ethical purchase intention of customers/tourists is essential for the successful implementation of circular business models and sustainable development. However, few researchers have focused on the role of customers/tourists in activating circular business models and sustainable development.The current research fills this gap by identifying the essential factors that affect the ethical purchase intention of customers/tourists for circular business models and sustainable products/services in the tourism industry in restaurants and catering centers. According to the research of researchers of this article, no research has been done on the mentioned subject in this way in Iran, so the value and innovation of the present research are also evident. Therefore, the main problem of the current research is that only some customers or tourists may buy and use sustainable products/services; for example, tourists interested in using luxury restaurants may need to be more attractive to them. In this regard, the main goal of the current research is to identify the behavioral factors that determine customers'/tourists' intention to purchase sustainable products in circular business models ethically.For this purpose, artificial neural network (ANN) has been used as a prediction method, and Python software has been used for analysis. The network's output in this research is ethical purchase intention, and its inputs are the behavioral factors of customers/tourists. The statistical population of this research is the customers/tourists who use the products/services of Gargop restaurant, the first wooden recycled restaurant in Iran, which has all its facilities, products, and services in line with sustainable development near Khorkhoran International Wetland in the coastal city of Bandar Khmeir, Hormozgan province. Sampling was done based on the table of Morgan and Krejcie, and 384 people were examined through a questionnaire. Materials and MethodsThe present research is quantitative; firstly, primary information was collected using a questionnaire, then analyzed using an artificial neural network (ANN) prediction method and Python software. The output of the network in this research is ethical purchase intention. Its inputs are the behavioral factors of customers/tourists, including attitude (willingness to pay more money - attitude towards circular business models), perceived value (social value - functional value - cognitive value) is awareness (biological awareness - environmental awareness - awareness of ethical product/service - brand awareness).The statistical population of this research is the customers/tourists who use the products/services of Gargop restaurant, the first wooden recycled restaurant in Iran, which has all its facilities, products, and services in line with sustainable development near Khorkhoran International Wetland in the coastal city of Bandar Khmeir, Hormozgan province. Sampling was done based on the table of Morgan and Krejcie, and 384 people were examined through a questionnaire.Discussion and ResultsThe specifications of the model are as follows:Due to the lack of balance of the data classes, that were 339 in category one (ethical purchase intention) and only 45 in category zero (no ethical purchase intention) the SMOTE algorithm (Chawla et al., 2002) have used to solve this problem and the increase of the data of the lower class (not intending to buy ethically). Therefore, the neural network was built with an equal number of 339 in class one (ethical purchase intention) and 339 in class zero (no ethical purchase intention). The data were divided into three categories: 70% training, 20% testing, and 10% validation. ConclusionsAccording to the research results, when x variables include attitude (willingness to pay more money (x1), attitude towards circular business models (x2)) - perceived value (social value (x3), functional value (x4) and cognitive value (x5)) and awareness (awareness of ethical product/service (x6) and brand awareness (x7)) get a higher value, variable y means ethical purchase intention also increases, gives that, of course, this relationship is not linear and is formed in the form of a network, and the hidden layer is also essential. By examining the issue from the customers' point of view, the present research contributes to the collection of literature related to ethical purchase intention and circular business models, and consequently to sustainable development, especially in the restaurant and tourism industry, and it provides valuable guidelines for businesses to be more successful in the current market. Considering that businesses have shifted from a linear economy to a circular economy, the vital role of customers/tourists should not be ignored.Therefore, understanding the essential behavioral factors of customers can pave this path, and by predicting their ethical purchase intention through these important behavioral factors, it is possible to predict their behavior and influence their behavior change because the behavior is not formed by itself and is the result of the customer's intention to buy ethically. The current research expands the role of customers and explains how different factors can collectively affect customers' acceptance and purchase intention of the circular business model. Business managers can apply the circular business model in their business and adjust the type of their offers according to the customers they want to target. The present research results help them better understand the behavior of customers who pay more attention to sustainable development goals and are concerned in some way.The intention (intention) and customers' buying behavior are essential to implement the circular business model successfully. Customers' different personal characteristics and changes over time make it difficult for businesses to fully understand their expectations and behavior. This is even more important given the drastic changes from linear to circular economies. Therefore, businesses should do deep market research about their target customers in different time frames and consider many characteristics in a categorized manner. Finally, to successfully brand and protect the brand, as a business that operates with sustainability goals, it should take special measures and stabilize this brand in customers' minds in the long term.
Hojjat Varmazyari; Marzye Fathi; khalil kalantari; Muhammad Asef Shaiq
Abstract
Rural tourism as a global industry has been considered an effective solution for rural development. One of the most important issues in rural tourism is that it is community-based. Community-based tourism aims to create economic benefits and improve the quality of life for the local communities. The ...
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Rural tourism as a global industry has been considered an effective solution for rural development. One of the most important issues in rural tourism is that it is community-based. Community-based tourism aims to create economic benefits and improve the quality of life for the local communities. The first and most important principle in community-based tourism is the participation of all stakeholders in the planning and development process. However, in developing countries, its realization has been faced with problems. This research was conducted to analyze the components of community-based rural tourism development in Marivan and Sarvabad cities.Materials and Methods The statistical population was the villagers over 15 years old (women and men, marginal strata, and local elites) in the villages with high potential for tourism in Marivan and Sarvabad Counties of Kurdistan province. A survey method was used to collect information. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. In addition to dispersion and centrality statistics, inferential tests of mean comparison and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyze the data.Discussion and ResultsFrom the point of view of different strata of rural society, the most important component of community-based rural tourism development is "inclusiveness and horizontal networking. " In this regard, facilitators and governmental and non-governmental agents of rural tourism should consider a suitable mechanism to strengthen the dialogue and exchange of opinions between the representatives of different sections of the villagers, the participation of the poor sections in the decision-making and planning process, and the division of social responsibilities among the villagers. "Empowerment and strengthening of infrastructures" are the second component that can be effective in developing community-based tourism, especially by creating a sense of collective identity among villagers and education and raising awareness. "Open and demand-oriented innovation" has been the third effective component in developing community-based tourism. In this regard, it is emphasized to use the advice and help of external experts and produce local products based on market needs. The fourth component, "preserving local authenticity," is another important component in developing community-based rural tourism. Strengthening the sense of belonging and employing villagers will preserve and strengthen cultural authenticity and realize the community-based approach. The last extracted component emphasizes profit and fair participation as a condition for realizing the community-based approach in rural tourism development.ConclusionThis study can play a major role in providing correct insight to the authorities on promoting local communities’ participation in the tourism industry and their benefits. Among the solutions that are suggested concerning the topic of the present study is the emphasis on the development of low-cost rural tourism projects, which by providing the gradual and successful entry of marginalized groups into the process of planning and development of rural tourism at the end, lead to the empowerment of the people experiencing poverty and the use of the high potential of rural women.
