Does getting along matter? Tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities

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Lee, L.W. ORCID: 0000-0002-3818-4445, Boon, E. and McCarthy, I.P., 2021. Does getting along matter? Tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities. Tourism Management, 87: 104381. ISSN 0261-5177

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104381

Abstract

Guided group activities, where tourists consume with other tourists, are common and important. Although literature suggests customer-employee rapport impacts customer satisfaction, the composition and impact of tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities have received minimal attention. We use a three-study mixed method approach to conceptualize and examine tourist-tourist rapport in guided group activities. Study 1 identifies two recognized dyadic dimensions of tourist-tourist rapport (enjoyable interaction and personal connection) and two new group-based dimensions (group attentiveness and service congruity). Study 2 (video experiment) and Study 3 (field experiment) find that enjoyable interaction and personal connection mediate the relationship between group attentiveness and service congruity with satisfaction. Thus, tourist-tourist rapport in a group context is more multidimensional and complex than previously conceptualized for customer-employee rapport and non-group contexts. Further, we find tourist-tourist rapport is a critical service factor such that high levels satisfy, while low levels dissatisfy.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Tourism Management

Creators:

Lee, L.W., Boon, E. and McCarthy, I.P.

Publisher:

Elsevier

Date:

December 2021

Volume:

ISSN: