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2018
Customer experiences emerge from value co-creation processes of companies, customers and the actors of the value eco-system. Customers live experiences as personal events and cocreate them according to their level of interest and participation (Pencarelli and Forlani, 2018; Campos et al., 2018; Galvagno and Dalli, 2014; Vargo and Lusch, 2004; Pine and Gilmore, 1999) while companies can provide the platform for the desired customer experiences to emerge (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016; Schmitt, 2003, 1999). In order to create positive customer experience many elements are necessary: goods, services, and experiential components. The experience factor is increasingly important for the creation of the customer experience (Pencarelli and Forlani, 2018b; Pencarelli et. al. 2017). Hence, companies should consider in their offerings the impact of goods, services and mainly experiential features on the value creation for customers and the company itself. This aspect has not yet been assigned the ap...
The Impact of Services and the Experiential Components on the Global Customer Experience: Preliminary Results from an Italian Art City
15-Conti-Forlani-Pencarelli.pdf2018 •
Customer experiences emerge from value co-creation processes of companies, customers and the actors of the value eco-system. Customers live experiences as personal events and cocreate them according to their level of interest and participation (Pencarelli and Forlani, 2018; Campos et al., 2018; Galvagno and Dalli, 2014; Vargo and Lusch, 2004; Pine and Gilmore, 1999) while companies can provide the platform for the desired customer experiences to emerge (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016; Schmitt, 2003, 1999). In order to create positive customer experience many elements are necessary: goods, services, and experiential components. The experience factor is increasingly important for the creation of the customer experience (Pencarelli and Forlani, 2018b; Pencarelli et. al. 2017). Hence, companies should consider in their offerings the impact of goods, services and mainly experiential features on the value creation for customers and the company itself. This aspect has not yet been assigned the appropriate attention in the literature on experiential marketing (Forlani et al., 2018). This paper is aimed at exploring the impact of services and experiential components on the global customer experience. To this scope, a preliminary study based on data collected for a research on tourism of Urbino (Conti et al. 2016), a Unesco Italian site, was conducted. The findings of this research suggest that positive aspects of customer experience are especially connected to the experiential components while the most perceived negative aspects of the customer experience are connected to bad evaluation of services. In short, the experiential elements of the offer of an art city amplify the perceived value of customer experience of visitors, while services play a very basic role. From this explorative study, some preliminary theoretical and managerial implications ad directions for future research emerge.
Il capitale culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage
Visiting a cultural city in the experiential perspective: the case of Urbino2020 •
This work aims to: 1) explore the experiential dimensions of visiting a cultural city, through the Pine and Gilmore model (1999) and 2) understand whether the experiential components vary depending on the socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics of the respondents, the perception of the quality of the basic services and the hospitality of the residents. To this end, a preliminary study was undertaken, based on data collected for a previous research on tourism in Urbino. The main research findings suggest that the positive experience of visiting Urbino is mainly linked to the experiential components of the aesthetic type, while the negative aspects of the tourist experience derive from the lack of basic services. Concerning the perception of the experiencescape components, three findings emerge: 1) the sociodemographic and behavioral profile of tourists does not affect the perception of the experiential dimensions; 2) the perception of the quality of tourist services affects the intensity of the experiential components; 3) the lack of hospitality affects the perception of the experiential dimensions connected to aesthetics.
In the extant managerial literature, the recent contribution by J. Pine II and J.H. Gilmore, The Experience Economy Goes Beyond Service, has attracted our attention because it offers so much food for thought regarding the possible evolutionary pathways that advanced societies’ consumption models could follow and the consequent strategic challenges that businesses will have to face in order to meet their clients’ new needs and to successfully adapt to market changes. Based on their observations of American society, certainly that with the greatest propensity toward consumption, and starting from the implicit hypothesis that demand is constantly on the lookout for new objects and forms of consumption, for new emotions and sensations, and with greater consumer expectations (Ritzer, 2000), the two scholars suggest the provocative thesis that, by now, the era of services is on its way out to make way for the experience economy. In this new scenario, in which there is little or nothing left to purchase, for the extre mely demanding and aware consumer, value is created by the enterprise that offers experiences, rather than goods and services. In the American authors’ view, experiences represent economic proposals that differ greatly from services, at least to the same extent that services differs from goods; nevertheless, they still represent ‘products’ which, like goods and services, can be offered to the client either singly or in combination with other outputs (good, services) in the form of ‘packages’. Moreover, compared to services, experiences stand out for their uniqueness and capacity to be personal, instead of personalized, in addition to the fact that they are ‘staged’ and not simply handed out. This implies that enterprises must undergo a transformation from being mere providers of services or sellers of goods to becoming ‘stage directors’ of experiences for the client who, in the new perspective, is called ‘guest’. By the same token, writes Rifkin, the economy is being transformed, from “gigantic factory” to “endless theater” and now “every business is show business” (Rifkin, 2000, p. 219). Consumer satisfaction and loyalty are determined by the ability of organizations to go beyond the normal capacity to satisfy demand, trying to transcend expectations through new and completely unexpected offerings for the clientele; it is a matter of staging surprises, thus widening the gap between what the client perceives and what s/he expects to get (Pine and Gilmore, p. 117). According to Toffler (1988, p. 236), “we will become the first civilization in history to utilize highly advanced technology to produce the most transitory and, at the same time, the most enduring of products: the human experience”. The experience economy model, which came out in the U.S. in parallel with numerous other managerial theories and models in support of the ‘theatricalization of economic activities’ (Grove, Fisk, and Bitner, 1997), seemed, to us, particularly applicable to the tourism industry and especially to tourism districts. The latter are territories in which it is a daily task of tourism operators to formulate offerings that are often inspired by the logic of providing the clientele with a more or less integrated mix of goods and services in which, however, there is an experiential dimension that is purely casual, spontaneous, and unintended, with no real economic or marketing objective. In a context of entertainment economy (Bird, 2002), the evolution of tourist demand towards forms of demand for experiences actually forces agents in the sector, if they are to remain competitive, to develop a new conceptual framework and adopt original managerial tools for fulfilling this demand. In other words, if consumers tend to essentially purchase emotions and experiences, then the supply side must be populated with producers and sellers of ‘memories’ (Valdani and Guenzi, 1998), and the marketing of services and of experiences must use the theater model as its point of reference (Grove, Fisk, and Bitner, 1997). The aim of this article is to propose an application of the experience economy model to tourism and, in particular, to tourist districts (Pencarelli, 2001), interpreted as a paradigm of the Viable Systems Approach (VSA) (Golinelli, 2000). This concept has allowed us to discern what type of districts, otherwise labeled as touristic systems, local tourist offering systems and so on in the literature, fit the concept of ‘system’ in a narrow sense and what the prerequisites are, therefore, that a district must meet in order to qualify as a viable system. From this work it emerges that, among the various factors needed for a district (in the strictest sense) to fall within the viable systemic concept, there must be the indispensable presence of a governing body, to which we refer in our proposal for possible tourist district market-oriented management tools. We propose applying the marketing concept to tourist districts with all due conceptual caution, aware of the limitations inherent in both theory and managerial actions, in undertaking to shift into territorial contexts paradigms and tools that were developed with reference to organizational systems. The marketing paradigm most effective for our purposes is that of total relationship marketing (Gummesson, 1999), which goes beyond the traditional framework of marketing management to move toward the concept of marketing-oriented management. Total relationship marketing is based on a holistic approach which aims to build and maintain longterm, positive relationships with single clients and other stakeholders, and which recognizes that the end value for the client is co-created with all of the parties involved. From this standpoint, Gummesson’s thesis, analogous to the relationship marketing approach put forward by Peck, Christopher, Payne, and Clark (1999), promotes the idea that relationship marketing represents the convergence of the marketing paradigm and that of total quality (Cozzi, Ferrero, 2000), and focuses on customer satisfaction and customer service. In other words, it is a question of adopting an integrated managerial perspective that is culturally holistic, in keeping with the viable system concept. What is to be avoided is the logic of focusing the marketing only on the final client thereby falling into a near-sighted approach that underestimates the importance of truly satisfying an audience when all of the theater components have worked together well. Indeed, concentrating exclusively on the external consumer means ignoring the fact that, in an organizational system, there are stakeholders (internal clients, distributers, suppliers, financial backers, public institutions, mass media, etc.) whose complete satisfaction is an indispensable condition for satisfying the final client and for long-term competitive success. Finally, from our work there emerges, alongside the indisputable merits of providing innovative and holistic elements for reflection and action for the governance of tourist districts in the new consumption scenario, that the experience economy model also presents some negative aspects. These aspects should not be overlooked in the governance of touristic systems when, for instance, following in the wake of a strong theme, the choice is made to stage experiences aimed at enhancing existing facets of the territory or region (in terms of both front region and back region) and build artificial touristic spaces that tourists must pay for in an area where a real experience could be enjoyed for free. We allude, in particular, to the danger that in an effort to make an offering so spectacular in terms of providing tourists with experiences, emotions, memories, dreams come true, or other forms of entertainment, it risks becoming excessively trite and overly commercialized, thus creating desensitized clients who are even resentful of the various forms of experience-tourism and are less apt to be amazed, awed, and surprised. Pushing too hard or inappropriately on the spectacular experience lever can actually make people want to run from anything that makes their free time, which should be for creative and recreational activities of choice, become ‘mandated time’ geared toward forced consumption. Ultimately, time is manipulated so that it no longer enriches and relaxes but rather, impoverishes and tires individuals, negatively impacting on their quality of life (Rifkin, 2000, p. 201; Pratesi, 2002, pp. 73-74). The experience economy model must therefore be adopted prudently, avoiding interpretations that are totally uncritical which can occasionally be seen in Pine and Gilmore; instead, it would be preferable to follow the suggestions of Grove, Frisk, and Bitner (1997) according to whom, when management embraces the theater metaphor, it is essential that a staging of experiences be authentic (tourists can tell immediately when a situation or an attitude is fake and they usually do not appreciate it), adaptable, and appropriate (every performance must be adapted to the situation, to the client, etc.), as well as be sufficiently applicable to the context being managed.
2015 •
In the worldwide competition for attracting tourism flows, a strong brand can increase the capability of a hotel to be recognized, appreciated and visited. Thus, a brand can represent an important key success factor, but it should be efficiently and effectively managed. The hotel brand should be coherent with the brand of the network (i.e. a franchising chain) the hotel belongs to and with the brand of the territory where it is located. Attention to the brand architecture helps hotels to leverage and reinforce the positive image of the network and the value proposition of the specific place. Since SMEs represent the main actor in the hotel industry, this paper aims to investigate whether owners/managers of small-sized hotels are aware of the importance of branding, and to explore which brand management activities they perform alone and within the network. Empirical analysis is performed with reference to the Province of Rimini, a famous tourism destination in Italy.
2021 •
Purpose of the paper: The digital revolution is producing several economic and societal changes. The tourism sector, which is characterized by products with high information content and intangible value, is one of the main industries involved in these changes on both the supply side and the demand side. This paper examines how digital technologies impact tourists’ consumption experiences throughout the entire customer travel journey (planning, booking, experiencing, and sharing), with a special focus on millennials. Methodology: On an empirical level, this research study aimed to describe the tourism-related buying and consumption behaviors of a sample of approximately 700 Italian consumers. Results: The results of this empirical study highlighted that new technologies are used in all stages of the digital customer journey. Most of the respondents were experts in travel planning through digital technologies. The smartphone is mainly used by younger millennials, while the computer is...
2015 •
This study aims to understand the benefits contractual inter-firm networks offer to existing territorial tourism systems in Italy. Preference has been given to a qualitative approach. Data collection was based on document analysis (i.e. information reported in written contracts as well as text and images published on web sites) and in-depth semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that usage of a relatively new legal mechanism (the network contract) designed to form stable inter- organisational networks is increasing in the tourism sector. These networks help promote existing territorial tourism systems in different ways and to different extents. In some cases, alliances create and promote a tourism proposal that enhances the territorial offer, while in other situations alliances succeed in identifying and communicating a specific territorial area previously left unmanaged.
2018 •
Purpose. The increasing importance of online reviews in hospitality and tourism has been widely assessed. A specific stream of research has addressed the motivations to write online reviews, highlighting the effects of both altruistic and egoistic motivations. In fact, some guests write reviews mainly for altruistic reasons such as the desire to help others, not only other customers but also the firms (hotels and restaurants in particular). Other guests post reviews mainly for egoistic motives such as to relive the experience but also to wreak revenge on hotels/restaurants. However, up to now the effects of these different motivations on online reviews writing behaviour have not been fully explored. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to fill this gap by examining the effects of altruistic and egoistic motivations on the frequency of writing online reviews. Methodology. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey among a sample of Italian hotels’ and restaurants’...
Oenogastronomic tourism is a relatively new phenomenon in which tourists are increasingly interested in local food and wine products not as a simple source of nourishment but as a way to discover and consume the authentic culture of a place. Globalisation’s homologation effects on taste and growing concern about food safety: these are some factors that have led to the development of this form of tourism focused on the recovery of our own identity and roots through typical foodstuff products. The degree of interest in this recent theme is also tightly linked with the 21st-century consumer-tourist’s profile as well as behavioural aspects, like cultural capital, increasingly demanding necessities and a quest for personal distinction. In order to effectively respond to this tendency, supply tourism has first to guarantee quality and sustainability of the food and wine offer in a geographical space. Once the prerequisites for developing oenogastronomic tourism in a region have been verified, food and wine might be potentially transformed from resource to tourism product; however, to keep the pace of tourism demand dynamic, the supply sector should aim to create an oenogastronomic offer based on authentic, memorable and five-sense experiences. In this field, the province of Treviso excels thanks to its high-quality products and culinary tradition; however, for too long has The March missed the opportunity of benefitting from a local speciality, whose name is renown the world over, but whose real origin is totally ignored. Tiramisù, fruit of the local tradition and culinary creativity, has the right prerequisites to become an attraction for oenogastronomic tourists as well as a means of tourism development in the area. A feasibility study offers the opportunity of examining strengths and weaknesses of the project to activate effective marketing actions that can transform Tiramisù’s tourism potentials into a realistic offer.
MERCATI & COMPETITIVITÀ
Using the experiential approach in marketing and management: A systematic literature reviewThe experiential perspective has become the primary lens adopted in the current economic and managerial literature. In recent years, the marketing literature has recognized the importance of the contributions of consultancy work on the Experience Economy, Experiential Marketing, and Customer Experience Management.This work defines the experiential approach as the managerial tool that puts the customer experience (CE) at the center of a company's decision-making processes. It also recognizes that experiential management studies constitute a rich and important research field, but one that has not yet been clearly defined or characterized.Moreover, this paper describes the evolution of the state of the art of the experiential approach and outlines possible future developments.To this end, a systematic review of the literature is offered in order to make the review process both transparent and reproducible. It is built on the articles published in the SciVerse Scopus database up unt...
2019 •
The purpose of the article is to describe how value co-creation occurs in digital business models through the analysis of a digital online consulting platform.To pursue the research objective, the literature on the Business Model concept was analyzed, refer-ring to the digital context, analyzing the key contents of the value proposition and the main ways of co-creating/capturing and delivering value.The case of the Xelexia online consulting platform was selected in order to analyze and understand how the processes generated and share value are featured using the business model canvas scheme integrated with insights on the processes of co-creation of value realized among suppliers and cus-tomers. The success of the digital platform is based on the originality and uniqueness of the value proposition that consists in the effective matching system of supply and demand of technical and engineering skills and in the co-creation of value for and with customers and stakeholders. The study d...
2021 •
TQM Journal
Finding a way towards high-quality, accessible tourism: the role of digital ecosystems (open access)2020 •
Tourism Recreation Research
Is preservation the key to quality and tourists' satisfaction? Evidence from Lake Garda2020 •
Advance in Tourism Studies in Memory of Clara S. Petrillo
The evolution of tourist product as expression of experience-based innovation2012 •
Preceedings of the Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality International Conference HTHIC2020
Cultural heritage and wine tourism: vi de pagès in Calonge i Sant Antoni2020 •
2011 •
Transformative business strategies and new patterns for value creation. Sinergie-SIMA 2018 Conference, Referred Electronic Conference Proceeding
Smart Tourism Destinations and its integration into Territorial CertificationsIL CAPITALE CULTURALE Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage
1 S UPPLEMENTI IL CAPITALE CULTURALE Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage2020 •
International Journal of Marketing Studies
Resource-based Theory and Service-dominant Logic: A New Combined Approach to Revisit the Strategies of Cultural Firms in the Global Era2012 •
Sinergie Italian Journal of Management
Motivations, perceived risk and behavioural intentions in hard adventure tourism. A natural park case studyIl Capitale Culturale
Technology adoption in small Italian museums: an empirical investigation2021 •
Sinergie Italian Journal of Management
The impact of hotel sustainability practices on tourist intentions to book hotel rooms2021 •
Polish Journal of Sport and Tourism
Sports Consumption Behavior: Discovering Typologies of Amateur CyclistsSinergie-SIMA 2018 Conference
Content Marketing e Brand Journalism: un'analisi esplorativa sull'uso dei contenuti editoriali per sviluppare la corporate reputation2018 •
Advanced International Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Customer Preferences on Coffee Shop Consumptions: A Conceptual Model2020 •
Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts
Visitor’s experiential attributes and revisit intention to Islamic tourism attractions in Malaysia2019 •
Excellence in Services. 21th International Conference. Conference Proceedings.
Environmental Sustainability and Hospitality. An Exploratory Research on Modalities, Motivations and Barriers.2018 •
Second Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism
Gastronomy tourism product development and hybridization2017 •
Book: Tourism Sustainability. Insights and reflections (pp.69-89). Ed: Linda Osti. Publisher: Aracne
Small Destinations and Family-Run Hotels. A descriptive analysis of the Marche Region and Senigallia, Italy2019 •
International Journal
International Journal of Accounting & Business Management Case-study PERCEIVED VALUE OF SHOPPING MALL: ATTRACTIVENESS FACTOR OF SHOPPER'S EXPERIENCE AND A FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE THEM2019 •
2019 •
Excellence in Services, Le Cnam, 21th International Conference
Some management paradoxes2018 •
Conference Proceedings: 3rd International Research Forum on Guided Tours (editors, Dineke Koerts & Phil Smith)
The volatile virtues of the guided tour: live performance and the journey to counter-tourism2013 •
GLOBAL CONGRESS ON SMART TOURISM
The Potential Usage of Augmented Reality Applications in Tourist Guidance Education2019 •
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing
The Effect of Dynamic Integrated Resort Experience on Croatian Customer Behavior2019 •
Excellence in Services, Le Cnam, 21th International Conference
How Environmentally Friendly is E-Commerce? An Exploration into Young Shoppers' Perceptions and Preferences2018 •
Asian Social Science
Effective Factors of Service Marketing Mix on Tourist Satisfaction: A Case Study2019 •