antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dis-satisfaction (cs/d) on long-haul inclusive tours — a...

*Tel.: #44-1865-483426; fax: #44-1865-483559.E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Bowen).1David Bowen wrote this paper whilst on secondment to the

Auckland Institute of Technology, Faculty of Business, Auckland,New Zealand.

Tourism Management 22 (2001) 49}61

Antecedents of consumer satisfaction and dis-satisfaction (CS/D)on long-haul inclusive tours * a reality check on theoretical

considerations

David Bowen*,1School of Business, Oxford Brookes University, Wheatley Campus, Oxford, UK

Received 22 February 1999; accepted 13 May 1999

Abstract

The performance of a company may be legitimately measured by the consumer voice. Satisfaction is one measure of that voice. Thispaper reviews the theoretical antecedents of satisfaction derived from research into consumer behaviour and then checks the theoryagainst the reality of a business situation from the tourist industry* a long-haul inclusive tour to South East Asia from Britain. Themain research method * participant observation * places a strong emphasis on the measurement of tourist satisfaction in situ.However, this is balanced by post-tour tourist interviews with tour participants and a general set of pre-tour interviews on touristsatisfaction with management and directors across a spectrum of tour operators. The "ndings have a relevance for human resourcemanagement and services marketing in tour operation, other sectors of tourism and also service industries which provide an extendedservice experience for consumers. ( 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Invariably, early research into the antecedents of con-sumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CS/D)* from the1950s almost through to the 1990s * was conducted inan arti"cial environment and often with surrogate con-sumers. Additionally, it tended to concentrate almostexclusively on products, rarely on services and almostnever on an extended service. Research detailed in thispaper set about searching for and recognising anew theantecedents of CS/D primarily within a research situ-ation * participant observation * which was almosta complete reversal from that of the early research. Thecontext chosen was that of a service industry* tourismand in particular tour operation and the long-haul in-clusive tour or tourism package. Accordingly, theresearch adopted a methodology, a technique and acontext which contrasted and made a contributionbeyond much previous research.

CS/D can been viewed as a process* as well as a "nalstate. The focus here is on the process. There are a num-ber of distinguishable research streams within the litera-ture that describe the process of CS/D. In precise terms,CS/D appears to be in#uenced independently or in com-bination by six antecedents* expectation, performanceand discon"rmation (jointly termed &expectancy discon-"rmation'); attribution, emotion and, "nally, equity.These antecedents are the focus of the reality check onCS/D theory.

At the outset, it is important to remember the scope ofCS/D* it is surprising just how often the term satisfac-tion is incorrectly considered almost as a synonym for theterm quality among both tourism practitioners and alsoacademics. However, Iacobucci, Grayson and Ostrom(1994) and Zeithaml and Bitner (1996) have attempted todecipher the common and disparate characteristics. Sat-isfaction is generally deemed to be more awective oremotional than quality with the consumer posing a ques-tion such as &Did you like it?' rather than the cognitivequestion &Was the experience of high quality?' (Iacobucciet al., 1994). Also, there is some emerging consensus thatsatisfaction is superordinate to quality* a distinction initself (Zeithaml & Bitner, 1996). Furthermore, Iacobucciet al. (1994) in an echo of work by Kelley and Thibaut(1959) suggest that the standards of comparison in

0261-5177/00/$ - see front matter ( 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.PII: S 0 2 6 1 - 5 1 7 7 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 2 2 - 4

satisfaction and quality might di!er. Judgements for ser-vice quality might compare observed service expectationsagainst industry standards (that is managerial specixca-tions) whilst judgements of customer satisfaction mightcompare observed service experience against thecustomers own specixcations.

Satisfaction is also di!erent from price and value* in-deed whilst it may be worthwhile to search for linkagesbetween the various concepts of satisfaction, quality,price and value they might equally exist without anintimate structural interdependence. Tourists as con-sumers might make distinct evaluations of each concept.

Tour operation frequently* although not invariably* involves the creation of packages for group travel. Theadvantages to the consumer* stressed by practitionerssuch as de Souto (1993)* include characteristics such asknown costs, economy, convenience and less worry, com-panionship and shared interests, choice accommodationsand trip escort.

Middleton (1994, p. 292) de"ned &tourism packages' orthe trade term &inclusive tours' as follows:

Standardised, quality controlled, repeatable o!erscomprising two or more elements of transport, accom-modation, food, destination attractions, other facili-ties, and services (such as travel insurance).

Atherton (1994, p. 193) provided a complementaryde"nition:

A package holiday is a complex service product whichis an experiential, intangible, perishable, consumable,composite, international export.

There is no standard de"nition of the term &long-haul'.However, the tourism trade would generally recognisea guideline that encompassed travel of greater than 3000miles or 6 hours #y time. One notable characteristic oflong-haul ITs has been their continued growth (EIU,1990; Mintel, 1992, 1994; Yale, 1995). Perhaps thisgrowth has not yet reached the vision of the futureidenti"ed by Inayatullah (1995, p. 414) but a start hasbeen made:

Travel has begun the process of creating a narrative inwhich there is no longer any allegiance to a particularplace2 the realisation that the planet itself is home.

Another characteristic, not always fully appreciated isthe increasing maturity of the market. Some special ele-ments that have made a notable contribution towardsuch growth and maturity have been a switch awayfrom passivity and towards activity * often associatedwith special interests (CIMTIG, 1996; Weiler & Hall,1992).

So, long-haul tourism and tourists would appear to beat the edge of the &new tourism' revolution foreseen byPoon (1994) in which there is a move away from mass

tourism and impersonalised services and the creation ofa new generation of &sun-plus' tourists (if not &wander-lust') espousing some care for the natural environmentand authentic tourism.

This research focussed on CS/D for a small group ofnine long-haul tourists (together with the researcher anda local Malaysian tour guide) involved in an activitybased, two week soft adventure tour to South East Asia(Malaysia and Singapore) from Britain. These touristsmirrored the classic demographic and socio-economiccharacteristics of this niche tourism market. The agerange was from 28 through to 67 with an average age of41. Five of the participants were women and four weremen and there were two sets of partners. The participantswere employed in a range of professional services* a (semi-retired) solicitor, management consultant,computer programmer, sales representative, stress coun-sellor, optometrist, chiropodist and two retired o$ceadministrators. Experience with long-haul travel wasvaried although certainly more extensive than predictedby management * only one of the participants was ona "rst long-haul inclusive tour whilst over half had travelexperience on between three and "ve continents and hadbeen a member of an equivalent tour group within thepreceding 18 months.

The tour encompassed a variety of tourism environ-ments* for example, the cities of Panang, Kuala Lum-pur and Singapore; the tropical rainforest of TamanNegara; and the east coast Malaysia resort of PayaBeach on Tioman Island. For the most part travel wasby public transport* rail, ferry* although privateminibus was also used on journeys that were not easilyaccessed by public transport. Accommodation was intwo-star hotels.

For the purpose of this paper the tour operator namehas been changed to &Expeditions' (a name that did notexist in the Travel Trade Directory at the time of theresearch) and the tour name has been changed to&Expeditions Malaysia' (EM). Names of the participantshave been altered and shortened (for example, S**) andthe researcher is referred to as db.

2. Theory * CS/D: the antecedents

Grand models of consumer behaviour placed CS/Dwithin a consumer behaviour framework (Howard& Sheth, 1969; Engel, Kollat & Blackwell, 1968; Nicosia,1966). Other tourism speci"c models such as Moutinho(1989) served the same purpose. Gilbert (1991, p. 92)emphasised the basic, well-recognised shortcomings of allthese models &which rely on a correspondence of beliefrather than any logical proof that they are right orwrong'. The focus of theory in this paper are six supposedantecedents of the CS/D process. (Oliver, 1993a, pp.419}420) connected these and so produced a

50 D. Bowen / Tourism Management 22 (2001) 49}61

combined cognitive and a!ect (emotion) augmentedCS/D model:

The cognitive antecedents include expectations, per-formance, discon"rmation, attribution, and equity/in-equity. Further, the model shows a!ect as augmentingthese variables in the prediction of satisfaction and, inaddition, shows a!ect as mediating an indirect attribu-tion in#uence2.

Mano and Oliver (1993, p. 465) reiterated this pointfollowing their attempt to extend the theoretical andempirical evidence regarding product evaluations, feel-ings and satisfaction:

2the results of the present study suggest that thesatisfaction response is not easily tied down. It doesnot respond as a pure a!ect nor does it exist in theabsence of feeling. It is apparently a complex humanresponse with both cognitive and a!ective compo-nents2

Initially, however, the theoretical consideration belowwill concentrate on the antecedents as disparate elements* except that the apparent theoretical intertwining ofexpectation, performance and discon"rmation alloweda joint consideration of these antecedents as &expectancydiscon"rmation'.

2.1. Expectancy disconxrmation

The study of expectancy discon"rmation has beenbound up with the establishment of standards and hasinvolved elements of appraisal and comparison.

Miller (1977) actually de"ned four types of expectationcomparison standards* &ideal' (can be), &lowest tolerablelevel' (must be), &deserved' (should be), and &expected' (willbe) * comparable in approach to discussion in theservice quality literature and the Parasuraman (1995)division between &desired' (normative) and &adequate'(predictive) service expectations set within a zone oftolerance.

With regard to appraisal and comparison Kelley andThibaut (1978) explained the role of satisfaction througha framework that mediated pre-consumption and post-consumption cognitions. They predicted that satisfactiondevelops from the interaction among individuals and thediscrepancy between outcomes and evaluation standards.

Oliver (1980a, p. 461,b) essentially linked up expectationsand adaptation levels * a term applied to behaviouralscience from environmental biology by Helson (1964).

Expectations are in#uenced by the same factors thatHelson suggested in his discussions of adaptation phe-nomena, namely (1) the product itself including one'sprior experience, brand connotations, and symbolic ele-ments (2) the context including the content of commun-ications from salespeople and social referrants (3)

individual characteristics including persuasiveness andperceptual distortions.

In a full and succinct account of the expectancy discon-"rmation model Oliver (1989a, p. 2) summarised andextended earlier views (1977, 1980).

. . . consumers are posited to hold pre-consumptionnormative standards or to form expectancies,observe product (attribute) performance, compareproduct with their norms and/or expectations, formdiscon"rmation perceptions, combine these percep-tions with expectation levels, and form satisfactionjudgements.

Outcomes that are poorer than expected (a negativediscon"rmation) are rated below a reference point,whereas those better than expected (a positive discon"r-mation) are evaluated above a given point.

The in#uence of past experience was considered byMazursky (1989) in a speci"c tourism context (touristsvisiting a stalactite cave). In particular, Mazursky sugges-ted that whilst a consumer's predictions of performancemay be super"cial and vague the actual performancecould cause a retrieval of memories from past experiencesand norms. These memories then functioned as compari-son baselines.

Francken and van Raaij (1981), too, based on Olander(1977) had suggested that the standard against whichsatisfaction was judged* in general leisure-time activity* might be broader than an individual's expectation asderived from earlier experiences (temporal expectation)and might encompass the individual's achievements inother spheres of life (spatial expectation) and the perceivedlevel of satisfaction others derived from the activity(social expectation). On the other hand, Brehmer (1980)warned about the informational bias of experience andHoch and Deighton (1989) cast some doubt on the e$-cacy of learning from experience. Experience can providean illusion of control, mistaken learning or no learning atall.

Meanwhile, Botterill (1987) appeared to dismantle theexpectancy-discon"rmation paradigm with a simple notebased on both research "ndings and personal experienceas a tourist. In a longitudinal study with a small numberof international tourists he found that what he labelledtourist &anticipations'were often inadequate predictors ofthe events of a vacation. Furthermore, it was theunpredictablity of tourism events that lay at the heart ofthe tourism experience. Highly satis"ed tourists did nothave to make a perfect predicton of a vacation. Satisfac-tion, according to this view, was not achieved by narrow-ing the gap between expectation and performance so thatconsumer expectations were totally ful"lled. Rather satis-faction related to the successful adaptation of the touristto unpredictable events. This suggestion favoured therole of performance * performance, primarily, by thetourist.

D. Bowen / Tourism Management 22 (2001) 49}61 51

From these key works and others in a large literatureit seemed that there could be no absolute acceptanceregarding the workings and relative strength of the com-ponents that constituted the traditional expectancy-dis-con"rmation paradigm. The paradigm could hold forsome tourist consumers but others could be more in-#uenced by, say, just performance, an expansive range ofexpectations or even discon"rmation itself.

Perhaps there was no surprise for Oliver (1993b) toconcede that the whole process was more complicatedthan originally proposed.

2.2. Attribution

Attribution is concerned with all aspects of perceivedcausal inference and can be both positive or negative innature. A core concept of Heider (1958) is that eventhough the accuracy of causal inferences might be suspectthe inferences are nevertheless logical and analytical. AsFolkes (1984a, b) pointed out the perceived reasons forproduct failure (and presumably service failure) mightdi!er from the true reasons even though consumers mayfeel con"dent about their inferences.

Kelley and Michela (1980) considered that there werethree antecedents for causal inferences * information,prior beliefs (informed by memories attributed to ability,e!ort, task di$culty and luck * with each of thesein#uenced by its own set of causal schemata, speci"ccues and so on); and motivations for &self-enhance-ment and self-protection' and &positive presentation ofself to others' * although the attribution of blame toothers and some degree of self-aggrandisement mighthave a rational rather than self-serving response (Folkes,1988).

The concepts of locus, stability and control have alsobeen identi"ed as of importance in the determination ofcausal inference. Locus is concerned with beliefs aboutwho should solve problems * the consumer (internallocus) or the "rm (external locus). Stability is concernedwith the degree to which a cause is considered by aconsumer to be stable and permanent or unstable andtemporary. Finally, the dimension of controllability refersto the degree to which consumers and "rms are able tocontrol outcomes. Weiner (1980a, b) made the distinctionbetween volitional/optional control and control whichwas forced/constrained by a situation * Curren andFolkes (1987) reported that when consumers recognisedthat control was volitional they were more likely tocomplain in the event of product failure.

Folkes, Koletsky and Graham (1987), provided a rareapplication of the theory* in an airport context* andstressed the importance of successful performance. Theyproceeded, too, beyond a consideration of the antecedentsof causal inference and also considered the consequencesof causal inferences. These included the desire or reti-cence to repurchase, a desire to complain and anger.

2.3. Emotion

Izard (1977) reviewed the supposed key questions re-lating to any study of emotion and distinguished betweenemotion states (particular emotion processes of limitedduration) and emotion traits (the tendency for an indi-vidual to experience a particular emotion with frequencyin day to day life). Her emotional categories were broadlycomparable with other academics such as Plutchik (1980)and included a positive category * interest and joy;a negative category* anger, disgust, contempt, distress,fear, shame and guilt; and a neutral category* surprise.By contrast, though, the so-called PAD paradigm ofMehrabian and Russell (1974) distinguished emotionalstates according to the underlying dimensions of pleasure,arousal and dominance.

It is now fashionable to speak and write about emo-tion. Such a trend had extended into consumer behaviourby the 1970s and 1980s* social psychology was deemedto have become too cognitive and so the role of awect(emotion) was re-examined (Abelson, Kinder, Peters& Fiske, 1982). Its relevance may be gleaned fromHavlena and Holbrook (1986, p. 394):

2though consumption experiences vary in their mixof utilitarian/hedonic, tangible/intangible, or objec-tive/subjective components2 the latter, more emo-tional aspects of consumption experiences occur toa greater or lesser extent in almost all consumingsituations.

Holbrook and Hirschmann (1982) envisaged a wholecomplementary system for a!ect (emotion) that ran intandem with those models of consumer behaviour thatregarded the consumer as a logical thinker. There is anobvious appeal for such a widened system withina tourism consumer context* so-called &congenial' con-sumer behaviour (Alderson, 1957) which is envisaged asbeing pursued for its own sake, tending to be performedfor the emotional bene"ts it provides, and beingcharacterised by hedonic, intangible and subjectivecomponents.

The view of Weiner (1980b) on attribution and a!ectconformed to a temporal sequence of thought/cognition(attribution) * awect(emotion) * action (behaviour). At-tributions guide feelings but emotional reactions providethe motor and direction for behaviour. Weiner alsosuggested a less straightforward temporal sequencewhereby there was interplay between cognitive beliefsand a!ective responses.

2.4. Equity

Swan, Sawyer, Van Matre and McGee (1985), Oliverand DeSarbo (1988), and Oliver and Swan (1989a) statedthat in speci"c types of purchase transactions consumerswould compare the inputs and outputs of salespersons


and institutions with their own inputs and outputs. This isthe basis of equity theory although in addition a con-sumer might also compare with another consumer (Fisk& Coney, 1982; Fisk & Young, 1985). Anderson, Berger,Zelditch and Cohen (1969, p. 1) concluded that:

2inequity in the reward-allocation process is foundwhenever similar actors are given dissimilar rewards, ordissimilar actors are given similar rewards.

Whilst the process of equity comparison has beenthought to be similar to the comparative process that hasalready been detailed for expectancy-discon"rmationOliver and Swan (1989b) pointed out that the two con-cepts are conceptually di!erent * on the basis of ante-cedents, consequences and the actual processes involved.

The nature of tourism and inclusive tours in particular,o!ers considerable scope for interpersonal relationshipswith inputs and outputs between not only a consumer,a salesperson and a tour operator at the time of a transac-tion but also a range of other tour operator representa-tives and customer service personnel. Prior to "eldresearch it was considered that such equity consider-ations might be important in the whole productionprocess * long-haul inclusive tours are consumedas they are produced by the consumer, other consumersand the tour leader and can involve strong interpersonalrelationships.

3. Research method

Prior to this research there were few attempts at ananalysis of CS/D through time in an extended servicewithin a tourism context or even within a wider servicecontext. In the academic literature attempts at such ana-lysis generally considered CS/D as measurable bya stated set of attributes both prior to a service experi-ence and then immediately after the service experience.A customer service questionnaire (CSQ) was the mainmeans of information gathering. In the practical world oftour operator management it was found from a series ofinterviews with senior management and directors thatattempts at CS/D measurement were even more restric-tive and tended to measure satisfaction only towardsthe end of an experience or after an experience wascompleted.

A charge of inadequacy with regard to CSQs may bebased on a variety of reasons: the questions are set bymanagement from a management perspective of attributesa!ecting CS/D and both the consumer voice and theconsumer service personnel voice are muted; attributes areviewed as a whole rather than a part of the tourismexperience; the time period of measurement is too limited;the questions depend on the consumer ability and desireto rationalise and express thoughts and sometimesfeelings both literately and honestly.

Each of these and other bases for the inadequacies ofmuch CS/D research were confronted by the participantobservation research. This did not require an agenda tobe set by the researcher * beyond a #exible, observa-tional framework based on an open consideration ofexisting theory and knowledge. Additionally, the con-sumer voice and to a lesser although nevertheless impor-tant extent the consumer personnel voice were the keyfoundations of the whole technique and were more proneto a natural, unforced, honest and detailed evaluation ofCS/D. Moreover, the tourism experience was observedand evaluated with reference to the whole experience andnot merely with reference to attributes* a holistic viewthat is crucial in any service industry such as tourism* and, furthermore was observed through its temporalentirety and not through any one or two snapshots.Finally, the consumers expressed themselves verbally.

Ryan (1995a, p. 214) made a particularly relevant andconvincing appeal for the use of conversations in tourismresearch* and conversations are one of the key elementsof participant observations. However, the use of partici-pant observation and a leaning toward a non-positivist,qualitative, subjective approach did not mean that objec-tivity was abandoned. Geertz (1993, p. 30) warnedagainst such an occurrence in ethnography * whichrelies heavily on participant observation * and ad-vocated the need for theory to remain close to theground. It was also added that whilst the ethnographicapproach was not strictly predictive it did need to gener-ate cogent interpretations of realities past and realities tocome.

Gold (1969) devised a basic typology of "eld roles forparticipant observation. The present research adoptedthe role of &complete participant' * which is distin-guished from the others by its covert rather than partiallyor completely overt nature. Gold (1969, p. 34) outlinedtwo common potential problems that faced the covertparticipant observer:

One, he may become so self-conscious about revealinghis true self that he is handicapped when attempting toperform convincingly in the pretended role. Or two, hemay &go native', incorporate the role into his self-con-ceptions and achieve self expression in the role, but"nd he has so violated his observer role that it isalmost impossible to report his "nding.

The "rst problem was resolved by the almost completepre-determined coincidence of the researcher's true selfand pretended role* the researcher only aimed to dropthe tag of tourism lecturer and assume the tag of market-ing lecturer. In the terminology of Gold the &mask ofpretense' would be so closely bound that the risk ofexposure and research failure would be very low. Thesecond problem was overcome through a deliberatestrategy of immersion and resurfacing (Dalton, 1959).


Schwartz and Schwartz (1969, p. 98) gave a practicaloutline of how this might be accomplished:

In active participant observation a shuttle process oc-curs in which the observer, participating actively atone moment, shifts imaginatively the next moment toobserving what he and others have been doing andthen shifts back to the interaction, thereby continuingthe participation uninterruptedly. This back and forthshift in imagination has the character of immediateretrospective analysis and is later combined with sub-sequent retrospective analysis2

This allowed the researcher to closely experience thetrue consumer experience and make a contribution to theexperience of others commensurate with that of otherparticipants * whilst retaining a more objective over-view. It would be possible to detail many examples ofimmersion and resurfacing within the participant obser-vation * whether momentary or lasting for a longerperiod (but rarely longer than what amounted to a shortbreak). For example, the researcher passed over snorkell-ing o! a boat that had taken the group to some outerislands around Tioman. A beach cove lay a couple of100 m o! the boat and this provided an excellent chanceto get away and feel the freedom of a vacation, to swimrather than snorkel and to return refreshed. It was as-sumed that the snorkel activity would be talked about indetail in any case. This turned out to be true * withoutthe need to ask questions.

Importantly, too, the participant observation met eachof the conditions that Jorgensen (1989) considered asa requirement for the appropriate use of such a method.Such a close correspondence of the actual "eld researchsetting with the optimum conditions for the conduct ofsuch research perhaps largely explains the success of thetechnique in this instance. The research problem wasconcerned with human meanings, interactions, experien-ces and reactions viewed from the insiders perspective* the tourists; was observable within a life situationor setting that was not created or manipulated by theresearcher * a long-haul tour; allowed realistic accessdependent only on time and money * the setting wasopen, visible and &frontstage' rather than &backstage'(Go!mann, 1959); was limited in size and space* a smallgroup of nine tourists with a set itinerary, departure andreturn date; asked appropriate &how' and &why' questions(Yin, 1994); and was capable of being addressed by directobservation and other means within the research setting.Perhaps just one requirement could be added to Jorgen-sen's list* the need for intense concentration and phys-ical durability on the part of the researcher. Each of the12 full days of listening, conversation and observationstarted in the early morning and ended in the small hoursof the next morning. A research day could not be "nish-ed, however, without a completely up-dated set of notes* note taking followed the classic format of Burgess

(1984) and included substantive "eld notes, methodo-logical "eld notes and analytic memos. Accordingly,on several occasions one day practically rolled into thenext.

Some counter-balance to the participant observationapproach was provided by pre-tour interviews with man-agement. The researcher speci"cally aimed to interviewmanaging directors or senior managers with responsibil-ity for marketing. The essential criteria was that thechosen interviewee should be su$ciently positioned so asto e!ectively represent the tour operator concerned withregard to the interest of the research. In-depth interviewswere conducted with thirteen interviewees. These weredrawn from an intuitive range of long-haul tour opera-tions that were thought to be di!erentiated by scale ofoperation, portfolio focus or width, destination, con-sumer pro"le and needs * or a combination of theabove. Additional counter balance was provided throughpost-tour interviews with the participants. These were setup by the researcher after completing an extensive periodof description and analysis of the EM tour and theconstruction of a participant observation narrative whichwas tightly connected to "eld notes.

The researcher did not reveal the research process ofthe participant observation to the consumers * it wasnot considered that this would have added to the re-search "ndings. Instead the post-tour interviews withparticipants were conducted on the essentially true pre-text that the researcher had been awarded some limitedmonies to conduct research in to consumer behaviour intourism* all the interviewees knew that the researcherwas employed as a lecturer. All the interviews revealed anastonishing recall of detail* this contrasted with muchof the literature which suggested that there would bea considerable decay in memory. So the time-lag betweenthe tour and the interviews did not appear to representa particular drawback to discussion of CS/D through theEM tour.

The chronology of the tour provided the frameworkfor the interviews. It was thought that a thematic frame-work might overly impose the thought process of theinterviewer and, indeed, the suggestion that the interviewmight follow the chronological development of the tourwas greeted with approval and even some relief by theinterviewees.

Insights from the consumer interviews corroboratedthe observations from the long-haul tour and the sub-sequent analysis. This was tacit recognition of the powerof the participant observation * a conclusion that wasrecognised only after the consumer interviews and nota conclusion that was intentionally sought.

Finally, with regard to analysis the researcher resistedthe complete classi"cation of the research into the boundsof grounded theory but nevertheless a clear awarenessof the analytical procedures of the grounded theorymethodology provided the basis for an associated


analytical approach * sceptics doubt whether any re-search has wholly followed the system of grounded the-ory analysis suggested by Glaser and Strauss (1967) andStrauss and Corbin (1990). The researcher attempteda modixed version of coding * &open coding', &axialcoding', &selective coding' and &process' (Strauss &Corbin, 1990)* during the analysis of both the partici-pant observation and the extended interviews with man-agement and consumers. Through &open coding' it waspossible to probe the range of literature-derived andexperience-derived conceptual &categories' whilst the de-velopment of the categories in terms of their &properties'and &dimensions' also proved to be useful. &Theoreticalsensitivity' was also pursued through occasional use ofthe &#ip-#op' technique (a concentration on dis-satisfac-tion as opposed to satisfaction); comparison with in-formation about other service and non-service industry(from the literature and direct experience); anda heightened sense of doubt and dissent. The frameworkfor &axial coding' proved to be useful in the reconstruc-tion of the categories produced from the open codes.Finally, the participant observation had attempted tocapture and sequence change and movement of within-tour CS/D. Accordingly, there was an inherent emphasisduring analysis on &process' * speci"ed in the frameworkof Strauss and Corbin.

4. Reality * 5ndings and analysis

It was possible to relate the theoretical discussions tothe reality of the participant observation * sometimestotally and sometimes in part.

4.1. Expectancy disconxrmation

With regard to standards it seemed that the centralsuggestion of Miller (1977) on consumer expectationswas broadly in line with the way that the tourists thoughtabout expectations. They were prepared to raise theirexpectations towards the &ideal' with regard to any par-ticular tourism experience whilst at the same time beingsu$ciently aware that other levels of expectation mightbe more appropriate. An extract of the participant obser-vation narrative from the eve of a three day visit to theTaman Negara National Park * a tropical rainforestregion * provides some evidence of this analysis:

2one concern notable and relevant to the researchdid emerge during conversation and that was the highexpectations that were held for the upcoming rainfor-est visit. S** sort of con"ded over the meal that fromwhat she had read during the day, presumably on thetrain journey from Penang, the &jungle experience'could just be rather too over-commercialised. How-ever, she hoped not.

Tourist expectations also varied between separatetourism experiences, too. The narative continued:

J** showed his interest through a conversation aboutwhat exactly constituted a &jungle' whilst R** alsodirectly mentioned that the rainforest had been themajor counter against the thought to return to Thai-land and abandon the EM tour prior to his arrival inPenang. Earlier in the day db had directly asked F**for the highlight of the tour and he had asked &What,up until now or in the future?' * and although didnot answer to the "rst part of his own rephrasedquestion it nevertheless was clear that for him thetropical rainforest was the highlight of the wholetour. D** , too, had also indirectly voiced the samesentiment

&It will be so disappointing if the trip into the jungle isnot successful.'

Almost for the "rst time, therefore, it became clear thatthe tour was compartmentalised by the EM touristsand that some compartments were invested with par-ticular signi"cance with regard to expectations2There was a clear onus for the tour to be a success inthe rainforest in Taman Negara.

The appraisal and comparison process in turn was alsosimilar to that outlined in the literature. However, therewas a notable time delay in the process of expectancydiscon"rmation. Tourists seemed to rationalise the dis-crepancy that existed between outcomes and evaluationstandards* although perhaps the term rationalise is toodirective. The reality during the participant observationwas that tourists frequently appeared to let the evalu-ation process drift from one set of events through andbeyond another. There was no rush to conclude or evento make interim conclusions. Perhaps, herein, lay a partunderstanding of the clearly recognisable cognitive dis-sonance within tourist behaviour * early on in theparticipant observation tourists sought to justify andre-justify the decision to undertake the tour in questionand there were many other similar examples on adaily basis as the tour developed. Taken within thebroad sweep of the participant observation and thepost-tour tourist interviews it seemed that whilst thetourists were by no means namKve and gullible,they were nevertheless pre-disposed towards a favour-able evaluation of outcomes against evaluation stan-dards and sought more toward the harmony of Festinger(1962) and Oliver (1977) than any other position. Thispre-disposition lay the foundation for a favourable reporton CS/D.

Tourists based their expectations on product-basednorms and made comparisons with other similar brands.These comparisons were made with unanticipated fre-quency * long-haul tourism appeared to have reached


a notable degree of maturity within a relatively shortperiod of time as a tourist product.

Memories also shone through from tourist conversa-tion related to expectancy discon"rmation. Within theparticipant observation there was evidence to suggestthat the wider experiences of life were partly instrumentalin the drawing out of memories* tourism was not sucha distinct and special activity that it was in some senseisolated from other non-tourism experience. One partici-pant, for example, was surprised to note the Muslimcharacter of Malaysia, something that he did not expect,and was able to relate the comparatively restrained out-ward interpretation of the Muslim ways in Malaysia tonegative job and life experiences in more fundamentalistMuslim nations. This had a positive e!ect on CS.

Finally, there were many powerful demonstrations oflearning bias from self-directed learning within the par-ticipant observation * often compounded throughintra-group discussion. The vivid immediacy and thegrowing potency of personal experience during the tourled to the development of increasingly trenchant views asthe denouement of the tour experience approached. Dur-ing the early days of the tour comments were generallypositive. By Day 9/10 (out of 12) comparisons were madefrom within the EM tour as well as between the EM tourand other tourism experiences which elicited positive aswell as negative responses. Again the narrative can bestillustrate this point:

2there was an interesting comparison of the negativeand the positive * Penang was &slow' but had anexcellent restaurant2 KL was without the bene"ts andplus all the disbene"ts of a big city &2but it soundsrather exotic and you would feel that you had missedsomething if you had not been there2' (J**); Jerantutwas a no-where place &2but I sort of thought that itwould be ok and if there was anything likely to happenwe would be where the action was2' (S**); what theitinerary described as an &early morning departure' fromJerantut was a surprise &2but you've got to rememberthat we travelled all over Malaysia and there were notmany other options in terms of train times* there wereonly two trains a day north out of Jerantut2' (D**).Such a juxtaposition was new * at least in its clarity.

So, expectancy discon"rmation was not so neat * itinvolved bias, diverse memories and broad brand com-parisons among consumers. Moreover, contrary to whatmany managers seemed to realise during the pre-tourgeneral interviews, tourists were familiar with the domainand because of their growing experience did not traveland consume in a particularly ambiguous environment.

4.2. Performance

From the participant observation it is possible toargue strongly that the performance and the associated

involvement of the individual tourists, other tourists, thetour leader, other consumer service personnel and, justoccasionally, the host population exerted a dominantrole within the expectancy discon"rmation paradigmand a wider paradigm that might be thought to embraceall of the antecedents. By inference, the performance of theindividual consumer is of more importance than theexpectations of the individual consumer in the creation ofCS/D. In the participant observation, expectations weresometimes distant * except for perceived key eventssuch as the visit to the tropical rainforest of the TamanNegara National Park. Even in this instance, however,detailed expectations were rare and the tourist was rathermore focussed on the #ow of the activity.

The rainforest experience was a particularly clearexample of the crucial link for the individual touristbetween performance and positive self-enhancement, self-protection and the self-presentation to others althoughthere were many other such examples in less extremesituations. Much of the stated satisfaction with the rain-forest element of the tour stemmed from the touristmotivation to counter the high perceived requirements ofphysical and mental ability, e!ort, task di$culty and luckthat were associated with the rainforest experience. Suc-cess with regard to this experience was vital * this wasthe core phase of performance and also the key trial ofthe potential positive attribution to self. Even two of theless adventurous participants were pleased with the waythat they performed in the rainforest. They amiably con-fessed in the post tour interviews that they spoke withoutambivalence to their friends about &survival in the jungle'* although they really knew that it was not exactly asdi$cult as they made out.

A similar view on the centrality of performanceemerged from an account by R** of a tour that he hadjust completed back-to-back with the EM tour. His ownperformance was crucial to satisfaction and it revolvedaround involvement with people. Again the narrativeprovides the detail. The scene is a particularly fraughtferry crossing in high seas from east coast Malaysia to theresort island of Tioman:

R** spent much time standing on the open deck witha beer in hand. db joined him for the conversation andalso because this seemed to be the most e!ective wayto ride the waves and to decrease the chance of seasickness. db had over-heard R**'s tales of Thailandduring the rail journey from Penang to KL and hadspoken to him at various other times about variousevents. On the ferry crossing, however, it was interest-ing that R** was still more than willing to talk abouthis experiences. Here was a completed part of his tour* no doubt edited but nonetheless still fresh and vital.He had so enjoyed Thailand and he reckoned that hecould remember it all. He reiterated some details* how the guide did not pick him up because of the


seven hour delay in his outbound #ight and so howThailand had been an adventure from the "rst momentof arrival; and how a train journey in Thailand wasmuch more than a train journey* as you leant out ofa window you would respond to all the people shout-ing and waving at the passing train. Above all, it wasthe people who made the experience and again R**produced some graphic and evocative images, throughboth outlandish and more commonplace stories, thattruly underlined the essential role of people. In eachexample, though, it was not just the role of people thatwas so important but also the involvement that R**had with the people. All people2

4.3. Attribution

It was also possible to recognise the workings of manytheoretical considerations relating to attribution* eventhough there were di!erences from the theory and thelimited "eld examples available in the literature.

For example, there was a far-reduced reliance on thenotion of salience* the appalling state of hygiene in oneChinese restaurant was attributed to the general culturalway rather than the restaurant owners per se. Likewisethe notion of primacy was not so powerful as originallyconceived. One participant stated, apparently in jest, atthe end of a post-tour interview that she and her partnerhad made a negative and permanent attribution for dis-organisation on the tour leader within the "rst hour ofthe tour * but this was not con"rmed elsewhere in theinterview or the participant observation.

On the other hand, the information assimilation pro-cess was truly assisted by prior beliefs * schemata exis-ted for most events on the tour with the possibleexception of the rainforest.

Likewise, locus, stability and control were alsorecognisable* except that participants displayed a con-siderable degree of both discrimination, whether corrector otherwise, and delay in attribution. Only in one par-ticular case * in which a number of the participantsreceived rather severe lacerations whilst swimming over#at rocks on a fast ebb tide at Paya Beach, Tioman Island* was there an immediate locus of blame (attached to thetour leader and to a lesser extent the owner of an adjacentlodge) and a clear sense that the cause was both stable andsubject to volitional control. The attribution of blame toself in such a situation * a &tropical paradise' * wouldhave caused an even greater negative e!ect on consumersatisfaction than attribution to another party.

4.4. Emotion

There were clear examples of the role of emotionswithin the participant observation * and not just thelimited emotional categories focussed on by the manage-ment (excitement and fear) but the full range of categories

of a positive, negative or neutral character considered byIzard (1977) and Plutchik (1980).

So, for example, the participant observation consis-tently revealed the positive emotional category of &inter-est'; the supposedly negative category of &fear' * that inmany but not all aspects was customised within the tourframework so that it shed its raw edge and was almosttransformed into a positive category; and the neutralcategory of &surprise' * preferably, a positive surprise.Even largely automatic &primary a!ects' (Oliver, 1989b)were remembered by tourists after the event * duringthe post tour interviews. &Distinct emotions' were alsoremembered * &anger' interacted with the perceived lo-cus, stability and controllability during the problemscaused by the swimming incident outlined earlier. Thenegative emotional state created by anger was a keycomponent of a decision to complain* whether withintour or post-tour.

From the evidence of the management interviews incomparison with the participant observation the emo-tional element in tourism has not been fully appreciated.For example, the management response to the emotionalcategory of &fear' appeared haphazard and limited* tourists were apprehensive about the group com-position and group relations and yet there was nopre-departure information on group membership or sug-gestions for the encouragement of group interaction. Emo-tions, too, could have been manipulated positively withintour* and yet the tour leader was utterly detached fromany sort of manipulation. He was driven by logistics.From conversational evidence among tour members thissituation was commonplace. The narrative from withinthe rainforest illustrates the lack of manipulation:

The rainforest walk was lead by A** (the tour leader)in a straightforward manner. He had prepared thegroup for some of the possible hazards of such a walk.In particular he had warned about the possibility ofleeches and during the walk he stopped and dealt withsome that had attached themselves to his clothing.

A** did not make a drama out of any other hazards,contrived soft adventure was not his style, although therewas certainly a heightened sense of drama among themembers of the group2 The group seemed most con-cerned not just with the unknown but with the obviousthreats posed by the heat and humidity, the physicale!ort caused by the often steep ascents and descentsalong the trail, and the physical distance and time dis-tance to the viewpoint2 A** was essentially a facili-tator2 the current rainforest experience was mild incomparison to his army life prior to his job as a tourguide2 and A** did not compensate for his changedreality through an expressive empathy with client experi-ence, through client involvement or through show perfor-mance2the full reality of this perception only becamecompletely apparent on the "nal morning in Singapore.


Fig. 1. The antecedent vortex: micro-event X.

In notes from Singapore, the researcher wrote:

2prior to the meal2with no other member of thegroup present at the table, db asked A** a direct keyquestion.

&So, what do you think is the satisfaction of the groupfrom this tour?'

A's** reply was thoughtful, but immediate and brief.

&I don't know, it's just another job "nished for me.'

A's** answer summed up his relationship with theEM group, also seemed to sum up his relationship withother preceding groups, and summed up the emptyrelationship that some writers in the "eld of marketingmanagement and personnel management cautionagainst from a theoretical and practical viewpoint.

4.5. Equity

Tourists also showed that equity was a considerationin the development of CS/D * on re#ection a ratherimportant part, too. For example, equity helped to createparticular satisfaction for F

**who had not expected

a range of accommodation* from tent sites through toa luxury lodge in the rainforest. This was viewed veryfavourably even though F

**occupied the more up-

market accommodation. It solicited many other reminis-cences and comparisons of equity or inequity duringtourism experience. The narrative illustrates this pointwith a further example from the EM tour:

F**continued to surprise. He suggested that therewas a good range of food o!ered at or near the lodge* the main restaurant, the more basic self-servicerestaurant and also a village restaurant set on a pon-toon across the river. db thought that this was an oddcomment as neither F** (nor partner K**) had beenacross to the pontoons. However, F** emphasisedthat the pontoon restaurants' were good for you othersto go to2

A sense of equity also contributed to the favourableperformance of both individuals and the group duringthe most memorable of experiences * on the rainforestwalking trail. The equitable inputs of each individual tohelp other members of the group deal with the physicaldemands of the trail created a group cohesiveness whichallowed all the group members to bene"t in terms of theperformance output.

5. Discussion

5.1. Overview

The practical reality of the long-haul tour met andmatched with the partially or completely constrained

experiments that had isolated the independent and inter-dependent antecedents of expectation, performance, dis-con"rmation, attribution, equity and emotion. However,the performance antecedent was considered to have thegreatest e!ect on CS/D.

Moreover, the performance of the individual touristwas the key performance within the range of peopleperformers and performances * more key than thenevertheless important tour leader. The tourist drivesperformance towards a satisfactory end.

However, it must be said that the performance role ofthe individual tourist was not generally stressed by man-agement to the extent that became apparent within theparticipant observation. It might be suggested that thisrelegation of the tourist performance by the managementinterviewees beneath that of, say, the tour leader con-formed to a management disposition toward control.Tourists as performers might appear to be less amenableto control than more objective attribute elements ofperformance* such as those represented by accommo-dation grading or transport logistics * or the perfor-mance of tour operator/ground operator employees.There seemed to be a management belief that their own,or the ground operator's tour leaders/representatives ac-ted within pre-determined control patterns* establishedby management. Paradoxically, in the participant obser-vation this was somewhat misguided.

A vortex of antecedents has been conceived (Fig. 1).Performance rests at the core of the vortex and interacts* although not invariably* with the other antecedents.There are actual interaction points (for example, whenperformance elicits an emotional response) and potentialbut not actual interaction points * for example, whenperformance does not conjure up an expectation (Fig. 1).Interaction occurs continuously within discrete momentsor micro events. Tour operator management showed a ten-tative understanding of such interaction but the concep-tual and practical strength of such a vortex was observedmost obviously during the participant observation. With


Fig. 2. CS/D (within tour) micro-event X.

the passage of each micro event interaction potentiallymodi"es the antecedents* so that the vortex of interac-tions leads to revised performance, expectation and soforth (Fig. 1).

The antecedents are then "ltered through both a speci-xc context and a more broad and general context. Thespeci"c context is generally #exible and relates to a situ-ation that is particular to the tour under consideration.This includes details on the destination, tour itineraryand tour operator or ground operator. It also includesdetails on people* such as the individual tourist, othertourists in the group, the tour leader, other consumerservice personnel both in the destination and source areaand the host population.

The broad and general context is rather more "xed andmay not be particular to the situation. This relates prim-arily to the characteristics of service industries, tourism,tour operation and long-haul tourism. It is suggestedthat not all of these would exert equal in#uence from tourto tour.

The process whereby the antecedents are "lteredthrough the speci"c and general contexts leads to thedevelopment of within tour CS/D among the consumers(Fig. 2). Tourists thread the various modi"ed (or unmodi-"ed) antecedents through the speci"c and general con-texts and so come to either an immediate or delayedwithin tour CS/D judgement about a micro-event.

5.2. Contribution

Research into the tourism experience has most fre-quently originated from a psychological, sociological oranthropological perspective. The present research ad-opted a multi-disciplinary approach but was rooted in

management * perhaps most speci"cally services mar-keting. Accordingly, it is necessary to more closely con-sider the kind of management lessons that may belearned from the research.

Management would be well advised to move beyondthe comfort-zone (and strait-jacket) of CSQs as a methodof data collection and analysis. CSQs have their place inmarket research but need to be supplemented by the sortof analysis opportunities provided by participant obser-vation. Here the focus of the research was CS/D* a most crucial element of business performance* butother foci could equally be studied using such atechnique.

Certainly, attention to the process of tourist satisfac-tion * represented in part by a consideration of theantecedents* is an absolute requirement of managementif the promise of satisfaction is not to exceed theproducer's ability to deliver in an environment that isincreasingly competitive. Additionally, of course, theenvironment is increasingly litigious * even if touriststruly strive toward positive performance and satisfaction.

Moreover, a consideration and understanding of per-formance which was identi"ed as the core antecedent,clearly showed that there are many linkages to be madewith the various functions of management* marketing,human resource management, operations.

For example, in speci"c terms, the performance ante-cedent with its stress on personal and interpersonalrewards for individual tourists should be emphasised inpre-tour marketing* although management should alsoensure that the systems are in place and functioning inorder to deliver such rewards. Consequently, whilst anitinerary is an important element in satisfaction it shouldnot become a constraint with regard to performancedelivery (and rewards) during the tour experience. Thislatter requirement will obligate the tour operator toestablish a more mature control over tour leaders* rather than accept the present formal but often side-stepped control. This might be achieved through a com-prehensive programme of recruitment, initial trainingand ongoing training along the lines of Cran (1994).

The tour leader can encourage the individual tourist togenerate a performance which is positive in its self-enhancement, self-protection and self-presentation toothers. Indeed, Mossberg (1995, p. 437) saw the tourleader's ability to give service and project the companyimage as a crucial competitive advantage:

The tour leader's performance within the service en-counter can not only a!ect the company image, cus-tomer loyalty and word of mouth communication butit can also be the factor that di!erentiates the tour inquestion from the competitor's tours.

Management may well be aware of this * but bothfrom the participant observation tour and a whole rangeof other tours talked through with the participants a


reducible gap existed between management theory andreality.

The above comments represent just one stream of xndingsthat can make a contribution to long-haul tour satisfac-tion. The description, analysis and interpretation of eachtheoretical antecedent of CS/D in an experience settingmakes a special contribution to practical managementresearch and resultant business success.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the help and adviceof Aileen Harrison and Anthea Rogers, School of Busi-ness, Oxford Brookes University, for their help andadvice during the process of this research. Financialsupport was provided by the School of Business.

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