Introduction
To be successful, marketing managers must concentrate on understanding their consumers’ wants and needs in a clear and concise manner. Marketers must strive to understand their consumers’ behaviour when it comes to consumption of their services. This knowledge will enable marketers in the hospitality industry to develop sophisticated marketing programs when targeting specific markets. Understanding why consumers behave like they do is the most complex challenge facing post-modern hospitality managers.
Two fundamental ideas form the basis of consumer behaviour studies, they are; that consumer behaviour is rational and predictable; and that hospitality marketers can influence consumer behaviour. Although consumer behaviour may appear very irrational from the outside, it is indeed very rational to the buyer while making a decision to purchase (Reid & Bojanic 2009).
Consumers consider several factors before deciding on making a purchase, wherein these factors comprise the process in which a consumer does during decision-making purchases (Kassarjian 1977). An example is that when a product is up for purchase in the market and only one brand is available, an individual will decide on buying the item without taking into account other phases of the decision-making process.
Items that are more expensive than regular items have a tendency to present a higher risk rate, thus individuals are more careful in buying such items. Such instances enable consumers to process serious decision-making deliberation as they must consider several factors first before deciding on a purchase (Hsee, Yang, Yangjie & Chen 2009).
Post-modern hospitality or the hotel and service industry provides a certain degree of complexity towards its consumers, as the business of managing hotels are engaged in two phases: There are promotional packages intended for holiday or seasonal events that consists of various products that are sold in one deal, like bundles of hotel accommodation and meals throughout the visitor’s stay.
Such promotional deals can also encompass tours of local attractions and transportation to other destinations within the area; there are also items and services that can be sold to consumers individually, such as flights or air tickets (Lee, Barker & Kandampully 2003).
Consumer Choice Process
Studies pertaining to buyer behaviour highlights the premise on the manner in which people are engaged as to how they spend their time, money and efforts, on various items and services they are interested in buying (Hawkins, Best & Coney 2003). Buyer behaviour can be examined through different perspectives, wherein some imply that the manner how an individual acts would determine the type of decisions they will make upon making or disposing items or services (Alba 1987).
Buyer behaviour is also regarded as the common point in which one’s behaviour, change and the external environment one is in diverge, in which most individuals rely on in considering purchasing decisions. People’s decision-making process is generally how individuals decide on what products or services they should buy or not.
One’s decision is dependent on how an individual perceives a product, inclusive of the benefit they will gain upon acquiring it (Hawkins, Best & Coney 2003). It is critical for companies to identify the manner in which buyers behave or respond to varying circumstances, since such variables are needed in helping consumers decide on making purchases.
Various factors that organisations must take into consideration are as follows: the manner in which individuals choose different items or brands and the reason as to why they prefer a certain item over another; the external environment or surroundings which influences an individual’s decision; how consumers act during shopping for items or deciding and responding towards marketing schemes; and how market researchers can enhance their methods of raising awareness and disseminating information to their target market (Bettman, Luce & Payne 1998).
Consumer Behaviour
Customers are those who avail of an item or a service. A market comprises of those who purchases products to satisfy certain purposes such as family usage or one’s own consumption usage, as millions of people, regardless of age, spend money to buy products in reference to their wants and needs.
Consumer behaviour, in essence, is generally about people’s decisions in purchasing items, which focuses on the reason behind the purchase and the means to do so. Market researchers struggle to comprehend and predict people’s behaviour, in order to better create adequate marketing catalysts that will produce an outcome manifesting improvement in terms of sales and brand loyalty (Gabriel & Lang 2008).
There is a wide variation of hotel services that are presented for consumers to avail of. However, consumers have a tendency to feature such degrees to the industry’s substantial production competence. The discipline of analysing and influencing the behaviour of buyers is considered as a principal factor in identifying what marketing strategies must be utilised, and when such method must be applied (Solomon 2003).
In order to comprehend and assess consumer behaviour, experts inspect purchase decision procedures, particularly any specific stimuli that require consumers to purchase a particular product. Consumers adopt and modify purchasing behaviour as based on a person’s desires, needs and interpersonal reasons (Solomon 2003).
To recognize and identify with such factors, researchers attempt to determine what occurs within a consumers’ mind and to classify physical and social external factors that influence people on acquisition judgments. On other circumstances, customer choice can be perceived as random and unexpected.
On the other hand, decisions that are completed imply meaning, intention and reason, even if an individual’s preference does not always seem logical. Purchase decisions are highly dependent on one’s personal sentiments, social conditions, ambitions, and values (Murthi & Kannan 1999).
Consumers diverge on the manner in which they identify whose needs they would like to please during buying products and services. It goes with the question whether they are more affected with complying with their own personal needs and purchasing what they wish, for one’s self gratification and fulfilment. It is also important to question whether people make purchase decision dependent on what other people say, as provided through suggestions and remarks of what particular goods and services they should use (Weiner 2000).
Aims and objectives
Aim
This paper aims at critically analyzing both the consumer information processing model and the hierarchy of cause model to determine their vagueness and all-encompassing nature.
Objectives
- To review literatures associated with consumer behaviour studies for better understanding of the subject.
- An insight into the CDP models with an aim of deciding which two of the many CDP models are appropriate for the hospitality industry.
- To critically analyze how consumer information processing model and the hierarchy of cause model apply in modern hospitality industry.
Methodology
The preparation for this report was desk-based and primarily relied on books from the university library and internet sources such as Google books and other online libraries. Journal articles, lecture notes, and other scholarly sources were utilized in the preparation of the paper. This method of study was considered to be more useful than questionnaires, interviews or experimental methodologies because of time and other conveniences. The advantage of using this method was that it provided significant data at a reasonable cost.
Findings and analysis
Consumer Decision-Making Process Models in the Hotel Industry
Sciffman and Kanuk (2004), define a decision as a ‘selection of an option from two or more alternative choice’ (Schiffmman & Kanuk 2004). Consumers are always not aware that they are making a decision to purchase a commodity. Several models have been constructed that attempt to concentrate on the decisions and processes that people go through as they make a purchase.
Researchers argue that this decision could be lengthy or short. These models are applicable in various scenarios and in different industries. In the following sections, I am going to discuss two of these models and evaluate their vagueness and encompassing nature when applied to the post-modern hospitality industry.
Consumer Information Processing Model
Studies indicate that a buyer has a tendency to resolve concerns, without the need to include emotions in the process of decision making in purchases. Most consumers prefer to utilize cognition instead of following emotions in purchasing a product or a service (Chow & Holden 1997).
This school of thought is supported by a framework that begins with one’s need to identify the problem or the concern. Upon determining the problem, an individual would then collect data in relation to the concern, in order to come up with alternatives to evaluate and choose from. Upon the completion of the assessment, the decision would be processed, and is followed by the evaluation of the implications of purchasing an item (Weiner 2000).
Problem Identification
The process of purchasing takes place as early as an individual’s recognition of a need or wants to make a purchase. A concern or a problem can be identified through various means. For instance, an individual would walk in an alley and the strain of walking makes him hungry.
To address what he’s feeling, he will look for a place where he can satiate his need to feed himself. Another example would be a tourist who wishes to get his money’s worth in travelling other countries; he would then choose the most ideal hotel that would provide the best service and accommodation. Such needs can be present among individuals or groups of people.
Post-modern hospitality services must seek means to satisfy the desires and necessities of such groups or individuals through collecting data in regards to what they are expecting, and make it a goal to meet these expectations. The only means to sustain one’s business is to provide consumers what they want and need (Kim, Forsythe, Gu & Moon 2002).
Information Gathering
An individual would begin with collecting data regarding the problem at hand upon the identification of the problem. The process of gathering data can be have a wide variety of sources, from family members, to friends, the internet or even those who have heard or made use of the product. Basic necessities like shelter and food does not implicate a long and tedious decision making process, and most decisions are for convenience and fulfilment purposes (Luna & Gupta 2001).
As for other incidents, the amount of sources needed as per consultation can be greater than personal wants or necessities. A person looking for a place to host a large scale event would depend on ads or promotions seen in television or other forms of media to provide the most ideal information.
Thus, those who are engaged in promoting and marketing the hotel industry must take into account the quality of data of their hotel that is provided through various channels of the media as such information can mould the reputation of the hotel and service organisation (Neumann & Sumser 2002).
A consumer that is involved during the p rocess of research would gather more data in hopes of getting the most ideal option. Consumers have a larger tendency to be involved in the process if there is a risk of potential jeopardy of choosing the wrong option, which is usually correlated with items or services that are more expensive, or are more complex compared to other services (Luna & Gupta 2001).
Most individuals would always consider an analysis regarding the cost benefits of available products in order to identify the degree of risk involved in the decision that will be made. Aside from that, there are also other aspects that influence the degree of data that people collect (Harrison 2003).
These aspects comprise of awareness of the product, the demographics of the target market and its environment. The effort needed in collecting data as per one’s past experiences is low, but the credibility factor is considered high as it is deemed personal and factual as the data is of internal nature.
As for external attributes gathered from personal acquaintances such as friends or family members, the effort required to collect such types of data is low, but the credibility is high as there is a high level of trust present.
But as for other external information sources like marketing stints that include advertisements or the promotional deals of sales people, as well as public channels such as the internet and consumer information, the effort needed to gather data is high, although the credibility of such data are considered low for the marketing aspect, but it is high in regards of the public domain (Harrison 2003).
Evaluation and Choice of Alternatives
How a consumer perceives a competitive brand in terms of data and evaluates the worth of various brands is essential. The process of purchasing is complicated and there is no definite method that can be utilised in formulating and executing a decision for buying a product. One key perspective is that the evaluation process is maintained in a state of equilibrium.
Individuals who inquire of what service to take or what product to purchase goes through the process of cognition in order to address their inquiry and be able to assess the positive and negative aspects of the various options available (Kim et al 2002).
Buyers also observe the attributes of the assortment of products and services available in various channels. In conclusion, a consumer always addresses his or her own need through resolving his own concern. In this light, he would seek benefits that would help him resolve the issue (Harrison 2003).
Choice Execution
The fourth phase of the Consumer Information Processing model is an individual’s decision to buy. This is the focal point of the process wherein a consumer would decide on what choice to pick on the choices available after careful deliberation of various alternatives.
The aspects aforementioned are all crucial on the consumer’s end in deciding to make an action. The internal and external elements involved in the decision making process are taken into careful consideration in order for the consumer not to feel threatened by potential risks that one would encounter upon buying the item or the service (Burgess 2001).
This is evident on the consumer’s part upon taking part in a service of a renowned chain or company, where there are less risks involved, as compared to partaking the service of an independent company that one hardly knows about. The latter increases the rate of uncertainty, thus amplifying the risk of potential threats.
Independent hotel and service operations must be diligent on establishing their company in order to reduce the potential risk on the buyer’s end. Individuals who intend to spend their money on a product or a service must receive the highest quality of experience so that patrons would be encouraged to promote the hotel and service experienced (Crook, Ketchen, Combs & Todd 2008).
To process the action of buying decision, a consumer must be able to decide on what product to purchase and the place where they can buy it. The decision can be purchase at a certain chain or store, and in such instances, the place to where the product would be purchased is the key objective of the decision making process.
A specified brand can also be considered as the primary aim of the process, which would then the urge the consumer to purchase the item in any stores or outlets as long as the specified brand is available (Heo & Lee 2010).
As for other circumstances, both the outlet and the brand are integral to a consumer, which would then imply that the consumer would opt to look for a certain outlet that has the specific item or service they seek. In common instances, the buyer would have a simultaneous choice, making both the item brand and the outlet as factors of the decision making process (Shiv & Fedorikhin 1999).
Fig 1: consumer information processing model (CIP)
Source: Schiffman and Kanuk (1997)
Post purchase Assessment
The final phase of the model is one’s evaluation after the purchase is done. It comprises of an individual’s experience after buying the product, in comparison to the consumer’s expectation prior to purchasing the item or service. This phase is to identify whether the expectation had been met and what are the reasons as to why it was successful or not.
An individual’s way of perception after the purchase has been completed can be identified through the following factors, what the buyer was expecting from the product, and what product they have actually received (Yeoman & McMahon-Beattie 2006).
Thus, it is of utmost significance that the consumer would be able to receive what they were expecting as promised by the service providers upon the conduction of activities during the marketing stint of the product. If the product fails to meet the expectations of the consumer, it would leave them unsatisfied, which would then lead to negative responses and could gravely affect the business’ reputation (Oparanma, Hamilton & Seth 2009)
The process of evaluating of items after it has been purchased is influenced by the process in which a consumer does before buying an item or a service. It comprises of several steps wherein a consumer asks himself whether he has chosen the right option or not. Such questions predetermines whether an individual would continue to patronize the product or the service, or would choose another (Kotler, Bowen & Makens 1999).
Example
As an example, I would like to combine consumer behaviour concepts and the Consumer Information Processing Model to illustrate the all-encompassing nature of this model. I will use a tourist who would like to visit Sarova WhiteSands Hotel Mombasa, Kenya. The tourist wants an enjoyable experience and would also like to visit the hotel private beach at the shores of the Indian Ocean. The process stated with the tourist realization that he needed to have a vacation in order to escape from everyday work and relax.
With this in mind, the tourist consulted friends and relatives and also searched for information from online concerning popular tourists’ destinations. Among the information he got was of hotel lacking a beach front while other had a public beach. The guy wanted a far off country, away from common scenes experienced at home and was willing to pay for this. Thus, he settled for Sarova whitesands Mombasa, a hotel with rich history and a paradise for merry makers.
After spending his holiday at the beach hotel, the visitor liked the place very much and vowed to visit the place every other year. On the basis of the Consumer Information Processing Model, this is a very plausible example of its application in the hospitality industry. On the other hand, this model has some ambiguity as the industry does not offer product and services alone. Customers of the hospitality industry also look at the weather, servants, and the quality of the service.
These intangible influences of consumer behaviour are difficult for the hotel to control. The hotel cannot guarantee that the visitor’s experience will be the same every time he comes. When the consumer taste disappears, we term this ‘brand rejection. Brand rejection is an important aspect of Consumer Information Processing Model. However, it is easy to notice that the customer might continue to visit this hotel because one instance of dissatisfaction may not dissuade him.
This model describes a consumer as having restricted capacity to process information. The model alludes that individuals do not analyze the complex alternatives while arriving at a decision and instead apply a very simple strategy. The model also fails to consider religious motives and their influence on a consumer’s decision.
Consumer Information processing model offers a logical assessment of how a buyer approaches a certain method of purchasing a certain item or service through the help of cognitive processes. However, the CIP model does not imply a proper breakdown of the structure involving the consumer’s emotional perspective, as this factor also contributes to the reason why an individual buys a certain product or service. This model is both vague and all-encompassing.
Hierarchy of Cause Model
The model that elaborates the hierarchy of cause is another mean to explain the process which motivates consumers to complete a purchase decision. The main objective of all the models formulated to explain the process of consumer behaviour in purchasing goods or services. The key concept of the hierarchy of cause model is that consumers decide on buying a product or a service after they have process of analysing and evaluating other options (Heuvel 2001).
Most individuals that are engaged in the process of marketing possess the viewpoint that of the influence of the hierarchy, but the process is referred differently. There are those who refer to it as the demand or the sales channel. The name of the model is of no importance, as long as the process would produce similar results (Van den Heuvel 2001).
The various degrees of effects identifies where a marketer would initiate the first stage that would determine the needs of the consumers, which would then proceed to the phase wherein the marketer would create awareness of the product and its features. The last phase would involve being able to meet the demands and the expectations of the buyer through satisfying their need (Brown & Reingen 1987).
The model begins with the category of the unawareness of the product, which must be addressed by raising or creating awareness. Upon the market’s awareness of the product, the marketers must be able to establish ample knowledge of the product, in order for the next hierarchy to push through.
Upon knowing the product’s use and features, it would be liked or be needed by buyers. Liking would then proceed to being the buyer’s preference among other similar products, and a strong conviction towards the item or service would lead to a purchase (Piccoli, Spalding & Ives 2001).
The hierarchy of cause model highlights the buyer’s needed to be assessed through phases, wherein a marketer or a salesman should not urge a consumer to simply buy a product or service without making them go through the process. An individual who wishes to spend his money for an item or a service must be supplied with all the necessary information and data they must know that will make them make the decision on their own accord.
Figure 2: The hierarchy of effects model
Source: Brown & Reingen 1987
The primary perspective of this model is focused on the effect of external processes, such as promotions and advertising schemes, which are utilised to influence an individual’s decision to complete a purchase. A person who intends to buy would absorb all the data supplied to them through external means in order to assist them in making a decision, which is highly dependency on what they know about the product or the service (Huffman, Mick, & Ratneshwar 2000).
Example
A young American and his girlfriend noticed a man waving a placard at the entrance of Washington plaza hotel. Although the man has never heard of the hotel, he becomes interested and glances at the advertisement being waved. He notices that the hotel has cut the cost of meals by 50% for that day alone. The young man then ushers his girlfriend in and they take the meal.
You notice that rather than the sequences of events underlying the hierarchy of cause model occurring in a logical order, they occur at once in this instance. Some consumers may form liking and preference (emotional response) towards a product or a service before they have developed a cognitive judgment on the product.
Still, other consumers may form preference and knowledge simultaneously. Based on these criticisms, the model appears to me vague especially in hospitality decision-making situations although it provides a conceptual framework for thinking about the succession of events from unawareness to purchasing.
Discussion and conclusion
Models of consumer decision making are vague and all-encompassing at the same time. They are all-encompassing because their influence of the market are beneficial in formulating the goals of a marketing plan and continuously monitor the phases of consumer behaviour through the hierarchy of cause. The initial phase of a buyer purchasing process is product awareness, which can arouse interest (Hawkins, Best & Coney 2003).
An individual’s interest can develop into desire to have such an item or service, whereas the pre-empted end result of the buyer purchasing process is the actual buying or not. Most models that concern consumer behaviour go through a process that involves cognitive and emotional influence, thus producing a behaviour that will allow an individual to come up with a decision (David 2009).
In most circumstances, not being aware of a product’s existence is irrelevant, as marketers would come up with various means to establish the product well through creating and raising awareness. Through such methods, more information about certain brands or services would be provided by means of advertisements or suggestions from peers or family members (Alba 1987).
Gathering data would feign interest on the buyer’s end, in which most consumers would begin to compare one product over the other to substantiate their option of buying the item or service. The last phase can be successfully executed by assuring the consumer that they would be satisfied with the service, as the benefit they would receive from the product must be in line with their expectations. Such qualities would not only produce a sale, but it also enforces repeat business (Yang & Fu 2007).
The models are vague as some indicate that all consumers go through the complete process before buying. This is because some consumers are usually at different levels, as dependent on the gravity of the item or service being paid for (Bettman, Luce & Payne 1998). Thus, it is more ideal to persuade or influence a buyer during the preference phase in coming up with a decision, rather than the phase initial phase of creating or raising awareness.
Although Consumer information processing model is reasonable in hospitality industry, individuals do not live in a vacuum. When making a decision to purchase, a consumer is influenced by a myriad of factors such as environment and seasons. Information processing model fails to consider these factors.
Hierarchical of cause model is applied in advertising by marketing managers. There seems to be no credible means of measuring the effectiveness of advertisement. An individual cannot measure sales. Because managers in the hospitality industry cannot know under what circumstances a consumer is likely to develop ‘liking’ first and ‘knowing’ second, he/she may not be in a position to develop services to fit the two situations.
In conclusion, most business, especially the hotel and service industry are driven by consumers. When people are satisfied not only with the hotel’s services, but also other aspects such as products, tourism, food, offers and accommodation, it is more likely that not only would that visitor come back, but there is a high probability that people would market their satisfaction to others, urging them to visit as well.
This would guarantee repeat business for a company, which is a desirable way to market the hotel as it the credibility of the information is high. Models can be useful but they are not accurate in providing the most ideal means to determine consumer behaviour in the decision making process. Therefore, they can be said to be vague and all-encompassing.
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