Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
School of Management Sciences
Department of Tourism Management
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
The aim of this project was to investigate whether or not consumers were ‘ready’ to interface with airlines via their mobile devices. Previous studies focused mainly on the development and applications of mobile technology in various environments. Less attention was paid to studies on how customers perceive its value and significance. In this project, the researcher focused on the needs of consumers. The concept of consumer ‘readiness’ was conceptualised and the phases of the travel activity chain, as it relates to an airline’s communication with air travellers, was identified. A multi-dimensional measure was developed based on those factors influencing consumer adoption and the use of mobile devices with customer’s benefit and sacrifice-related beliefs forming the foundation of value maximisation. The findings indicated that consumers’ mobile readiness is directly related to their perception of the value of receiving information or making bookings on their mobile devices, and that certain predictors, such as the purpose and frequency of travel, are significant. Demographic characteristics, such as level of qualification and age, were found to be predictors of mobile ‘readiness’, with some results being contrary to expectation. This research showed that mobile ‘readiness’ cannot be generalised to air travellers as a whole or even to all customers of one particular airline. Three broad issues must be considered: the characteristics of the market, demographics and travel patterns, the stages in the travel activity chain and the value perception of travellers
Contact person: Prof BA Lubbe.
This study shed new light on corporate travel management. The researcher constructed a model for corporate travel policy compliance in South Africa, proving that non-compliance can be significantly linked to certain factors, termed corporate and personal. Using a multinomial logistic regression modelling technique, the predictive value of the model was established. The model showed that travel policy non-compliance in organisations needs to be viewed at a much deeper level than previously considered with corporate factors, such as an ineffective travel policy, lack of control measures and perceived organisational injustice, having a significant influence on policy compliance. Personal factors, such as self-interest also impact significantly on policy compliance. With this study, the researcher proved that compliance with the corporate travel policy could be improved through the implementation of the tested model. The model made a significant contribution to the subject field as it is the first of its kind to measure the impact of factors not previously identified
Contact person: Miss A Douglas.
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