Keywords

Consumer behavior, Consumer satisfaction, Consumers -- Attitudes, Customer services -- Quality control, Factor analysis, Structural equation modeling, Timesharing (Real estate)

Abstract

This study created a model using factor analysis and structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of service quality, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity of individuals who experienced a timeshare mini vacation at a branded timeshare resort. The constructs of service quality were developed by creating a survey tool. A total of 4,797 surveys were electronically sent resulting in a total of 1,275 of the individuals surveyed who met the criteria of staying at a branded hotel or resort during their mini vacation. Six different variables were created from the ordinal level questions on the survey: Resort Accommodations, Sales Gallery, Sales Presentation, Resort Activities, Resort Staff and Brand Value. These were then used in an exploratory factor analysis to identify latent factors after which structural equation modeling was used to define the relationship between the factors and the independent variables. A total of 44 models were explored and evaluated based on goodnessof-fit metrics. The model that had the best level of fit was a first-order two-factor model. This model was created with an 80% subset and confirmed with a 20% subset of the sample. The factors found represent the Vacation Experience Promise (VEP) and the Vacation Experience Delivery (VED). There was a positive correlation for both VEP and VED with word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity. The research also posited 24 hypotheses of the relationship between the service quality constructs, word-of-mouth recommendation and price sensitivity with the demographic characteristics of guest type, gender, stay type, age, marital status, gross income, timeshare ownership and the number of presentations attended. There was not enough information to support a relationship between the service quality constructs, word-ofmouth recommendation and price sensitivity with regards to gender, gross income and marital iv status. There was a difference in the scores for the service quality constructs and the varying categories within the age, stay type, and timeshare ownership demographic variables. There was a difference only in the VED scores and the varying categories within the guest type and presentations attended demographic variables. There was also a difference in the scores for the word-of-mouth recommendation construct and the varying categories within the age, guest type, timeshare ownership and number of presentations attended demographic variables. Lastly, there was also a difference in the scores for the price sensitivity construct and the varying categories within the guest type, timeshare ownership and presentation attended demographic variables. The research discusses the business implications associated with these findings and proposes next steps for future research.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2010

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Malone, Linda

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Industrial Engineering and Management Systems

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003475

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003475

Language

English

Release Date

December 2010

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Engineering and Computer Science, Engineering and Computer Science -- Dissertations, Academic

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Engineering Commons

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