Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in terms of its own performance but also in terms of its ability to provide a venue for the
enactment of consumers' own performances.
The social experience of satisfaction
The importance of the social aspect of the tourism experience has been highlighted by
experiential approaches. However, there are differences between studies and approaches in terms
of how such social aspects are framed. At the fundamental level, the 'presence' of others has been
identifi ed as a factor contributing to the satisfaction of the experience (see for example Quiroga
1990). Tourism is, after all, largely an activity that people experience together. This is the
'collective gaze' (Urry 1990) where social sharing of tourist experiences with like-minded others
is an enhancer of satisfaction.
At another level, is the 'infl uence' of others in producing satisfactory outcomes. Research
gathered over several decades indicates that individuals can frequently be induced to alter their
attitudes, feelings, or behaviour as a result of social infl uences (Baron 1977) and 'it is known that
interpersonal infl uence on the evaluation of a product can stem from the beliefs one person
conveys to another' (Howard and Gengler 2001: 12). For example, some researchers suggest that
emotional contagion infl uences other customers' emotional states (Howard and Gengler 2001;
Gountas and Gountas 2004) resulting in a convergence of emotions and, where the emotion is
positive, more favourable product evaluations result. Conversely, Kowalski (1996) highlights the
'contagion of complaints', whereby the hearers of complaints often respond with complaints of
their own. Research has also found that customer-to-customer relationships increase perceptions
of satisfaction (Arnould and Price 1993; Harris and Baron 2004; Guenzi and Pelloni 2004; Wu
2007) and may positively contribute to the development of long-term relations with the
company.
In the context of service encounters it is common to see people doing things together and so
'recognition of the simple fact of the group as the service user could be an important sensitising
concept for many services' (Swan and Bowers 1998: 62).Yet tourists not only do things together,
they also have ample opportunity to discuss their experiences throughout the holiday, and such
discussions may potentially infl uence their subsequent evaluations (Laws 1991; Ryan 1995;
Kozak 2001). From this perspective research on group interactions could be signifi cant to
understanding tourist satisfaction. Baron
et al
. (1992) note that in experimental situations
individuals can be strongly infl uenced by the opinions of others. Furthermore, opinions are
maintained for subsequent judgements even in the absence of a group. Ekinci and Riley (1998)
argue that our social identity leads us to affi liate with groups and consequently towards consensual
judgements.
Furthermore, the more intangible the object to be evaluated, the more the individual relies
on consensus. The need for consensual judgements which affect evaluations can have a powerful
infl uence even in the absence of other members of the group (Friedman and Fireworker 1977).
Understanding satisfaction from a group, rather than an individual perspective remains under-
researched in tourism. Exceptions include Swan and Bowers' (1998: 67) study of tourists of a
bird-watching trip where they concluded that satisfaction was determined by factors other than
product attributes and 'the concept of social norms may prove to be a signifi cant determinant of
service satisfaction because services take place in a social context'. Others call for tourists to be
treated as a type of 'visitor community' (Levy and Hassay 2005) as members of a 'short-lived
society' (Foster 1986), or as 'co-tourists' (Cheyenne Harvey and Lorenzen 2006), whilst Brown
(2007) argues for the collaborative nature of tourist experience to be more widely recognized.
