Purpose – Building on research on the stereotype content model (SCM), this research tests consumers’ expectations and the importance attached to service providers’ warmth and competence in luxury versus non-luxury service settings. Furthermore, this study aims to examine how different combinations of warmth and competence interact with variables associated with the quality of the service and customer intentions in luxury versus non-luxury service settings.

Design/methodology/approach – Five studies were conducted. Studies 1a and 1b were online between-subject experiments, which examined consumers’ expectations and the importance attached to providers’ warmth and competence depending on the service setting (i.e. luxurious versus affordable hotels). Studies 2a and 2b were field surveys answered by customers staying in luxury (i.e. Study 2a) and non-luxury (i.e. Study 2b) hotels. Finally, Study 3 tested consumers’ willingness to stay in a luxury (versus non-luxury) hotel based on different combinations of providers’ warmth and competence.

Findings – Overall, consumers attach more importance to both providers’ warmth and competence in a luxury than in a non-luxury hotel. Differences regarding the primacy of one trait changes depending on the context: consumers attach more importance to providers’ competence in a luxury hotel and to providers’ warmth in an affordable hotel. Furthermore, consumers show a higher willingness to stay in a luxury hotel if providers rate high in competence and low in warmth (versus high-warmth/low-competence), while willingness to stay in a non-luxury hotel is higher if providers rate high in warmth and low in competence (versus high-competence/low-warmth).

Originality/value – The results provide answers about the primacy of one trait (warmth or competence) in luxury versus non-luxury service settings. The findings open new lines of research in service management, on how the service setting (luxurious versus non-luxurious) can explain consumers’ expectations and evaluations of providers, and how the right approach when presenting service providers in luxury and non-luxury service contexts can lead to more positive intentions.

This research examines the effect of the illusion of control (IOC) on consumer impulsivity when acquiring a dog, as well as on other consequences associated with the well-being of both humans and pets. Four studies were conducted. Study 1 showed that the IOC is associated with potential owners' unrealistic optimism about their capabilities to train a dog and increased impulsivity in adopting the animal. Study 2 focused on a sample of dog owners. Owners who scored higher on the IOC perceived that their dogs exhibited more behavioral problems, leading to dissatisfaction with the animal. Study 3 further showed that owners' IOC and impulsivity were associated with future distress and intentions to relinquish their dogs. Finally, Study 4 presented a stimulus that mitigates the effect of the IOC on unrealistic optimism and impulsivity among potential owners, offering recommendations for consumers and marketers.

The attitude-behavior gap has been largely supported in sustainable tourism, but it still contrasts with findings that show a positive effect of environmental concern on tourists’ sustainable behavior. To investigate some missing links between these prior findings, we build on recent research on automaticity. Using a sample of 535 tourists from Spain, we examine the effect of a series of variables on tourists’ perception of change in internal and external cues, which, according to the Theory of Habit Formation, can cause a break of habit (i.e. automatic behavior). In addition, we investigated the moderating role of environmental concern in the relationship of automaticity with a series of sustainable eating behaviors. The results show that novelty seekers (a personality trait), seeking escapism (a motivational factor), and searching for the self (an identity factor) are positively associated with a perception of change in internal and external cues during vacations (in comparison with the cues perceived at home), which in turn influence lower automaticity in this context. Automaticity leads to sustainable eating behavior during vacations only among tourists who show high environmental concern and, as a result, conduct sustainable eating practices at home. Tourists who rate low in environmental concern do not show sustainable eating behavior during vacations, regardless of the level of automaticity of their actions. The results provide evidence of why environmentally concerned consumers behave unsustainably toward food when they travel, filling identified gaps in the literature.

Recent research suggests that some deficiencies in the insurance industry might be associated with tourists’ lack of knowledge. However, the literature does not present a tool that captures objective knowledge of travel insurance literacy. This research presents a comprehensive, multi-step scale development process resulting in a 15-item scale, which measures objective knowledge about travel insurance terms, regulations, and processes. The results show that travel insurance literacy is associated with trust in sellers. Although no relationship was found between travel insurance literacy and perceived travel risks, these two constructs influence purchase intention. The results also show that there is no relationship between subjective knowledge (self-assessment literacy) and objective knowledge (ratings on the scale). Hence, the research presents a new measurement tool that differs from self-assessment scales prevailing in the tourism literature, opening new opportunities for literacy constructs in the field. Finally, the findings present key managerial implications for the insurance industry.

The purpose of this research is to test the moderating role of perceived brand globalness (PBG) on consumer unfavourable attitudes and buying intention towards brands associated with a conflicting political belief. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 (N = 228) examines the effect of a brand being associated with a conflicting political belief on attitude and buying intention. Study 2 (N = 212) tests the moderating role of PBG among these relationships. Study 3 (N = 126) tests the moderating role of PBG for a service brand and adds the mediating role of self-congruity. We followed marketing analytics best practices to examine causal effects of manipulated stimuli. We also examined the psychometric characteristics of the data-collection tool and tested direct relationships between variables. Additionally, we used percentile bootstrap confidence intervals, with PROCESS-Macro, to test mediating effects in the theoretical model. The studies include moderating analyses and analysis of variance. The results show that the association of a brand with a conflicting political belief negatively influences perceived self-congruity, which leads to an unfavourable attitude and, in turn, to a lower buying intention. Presenting a brand as global mitigates such unfavourable effects. The moderating effect of PBG is confirmed for a tangible product and for a service brand.

The stereotypes content model indicates that two traits (i.e., warmth and competence) govern individuals' impression formation. The great variety of research that has used this theory since the early 2000s leads to a need for a structured overview of prior findings. The goal of this study is to provide a concise map of research streams and present a research agenda. We conducted a systematic literature review of 955 articles. A bibliographic coupling analysis showed four clusters, i.e., (1) the general theoretical foundations of the SCM, (2) the societal impact of key stereotypes (with emphasis on gender), (3) research in clinical psychology and child development, and (4) marketing. Taking a closer look at research in marketing (using co-occurrence analysis), six research streams were identified, including research on branding, country-of-origin, front-line service providers, prosocial consumer behavior, perception of endorsers, and, more recently, on artificial intelligence (AI). The review presents key findings and research gaps across these topics. Finally, we reviewed the few articles that, although not falling into these streams, opened important research veins. This process provided the essential information to present a promising and complete research agenda, to continue building knowledge with impactful implications in different contexts.

Building on prior findings on co-innovation and dark tourism, this research examined if and how the experiential stage (before vs. after the visit) affects the quality and the type of ideas provided by tourists. Four hundred visitors shared new ideas for a dark tourism experience, in Medellin (Colombia). Half of the sample was interviewed before visiting the site and the other half after the visit. The results show that before the visit (i.e. less information: higher cognitive flexibility and lower functional fixedness) the respondents provided more original ideas. After the visit, their ideas were rated higher in terms of feasibility and persuasiveness. Furthermore, tourists showed higher morbid curiosity before the visit, leading to morbid ideas. After the visit, curiosity about history and empathy increased, leading to educational ideas. The results can help managers to set goals for co-innovation at dark tourism sites, by considering the different experiential stages.

Prior studies showed that optimism has positive benefits for students in higher education. However, research indicates different types of optimism, including the unrealistic optimism associated with the illusion of control. The literature review showed a lack of research on the effect of the illusion of control among students in higher education. Two studies were conducted to fill this gap. In Study 1 (N = 210), university students responded to two surveys: one before oral presentations in class (measuring illusion of control and unrealistic optimism) and another after they received their grades for the presentations (measuring disconfirmation and satisfaction). The results show that the illusion of control is positively associated with unrealistic optimism, which leads to disconfirmation and dissatisfaction. Study 2 was a between-subjects design experiment (condition (N = 102) vs. control (N = 102)) that tested a stimulus to mitigate the illusion of control in this context. The results of Study 2 show that explaining to students their inability to control some variables during the presentation helps to reduce the illusion of control. This influences lower unrealistic optimism and disconfirmation, leading to higher satisfaction after the presentations. When testing moderating effects of demographics among these relationships, we found that gender moderates the effect of the stimulus used to reduce the illusion of control, with females showing a significantly higher decrease in this bias in comparison with male students. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations that can help to decrease the illusion of control in the context of higher education, with benefits for students and educators.

The different characteristics of literacy scales in tourism, together with the variety of constructs, the methods and samples used, lead to a need for a structured overview of prior research in the field. Through a systematic review of the literature, the purpose of this practice paper is to present a concise view of the methods, samples and literacy scales used in tourism, as well as a synthesis of prior findings on the effects of literacy constructs on perceptions, intentions, and behavioral variables. Based on the review, this practice paper presents a research agenda on literacy in tourism.

Purpose

Academics recently identified a lack of research regarding who should guide interactions in virtual social networks when risks appear. Data shows that organizers are usually less active than other users in this context, which can lead to negative reactions among attendees. This research examines if and how virtual social network communication guided by an official source (vs a nonofficial source vs control group) reduces perceived crime risks and trust before the event, leading to lower ambivalence and higher intention to attend. The study was conducted in Colombia, a country where many individuals face this type of risk.

Design/methodology/approach

First-year university students (N = 210) from Colombia were invited to a “Welcome Cocktail”. Two weeks before the cocktail, they were divided into three groups (70 per condition) to receive information. In Group 1, participants were invited to be part of a WhatsApp group administered by one of the organizers. In Group 2, they participated in a WhatsApp group administered by a student. Group 3 was the control (i.e. no virtual communication established before the event). One week after the meeting, they were gathered again and answered a questionnaire, which measured perceived crime risk, trust, ambivalence and intention to attend.

Findings

Participants in the WhatsApp group administered by an official source perceived lower risk and higher trust in the organizers, which led to lower ambivalence towards the event and higher intention to attend it. The relationship between ambivalence and intention to attend is moderated by the nationality of the participants (locals vs foreigners), such as, at equal levels of ambivalence, foreigners show lower intention to attend the event.

Originality/value

This is the first study that compares different approaches on a virtual social network to reduce perceived crime risk in event management. The results present new findings on how the presence of an official source can mitigate this risk, and which potential attendees (i.e. locals vs foreigners) are especially benefited from it. The findings are particularly useful for managers in regions where attendees face crime risks every day, and might feel low trust towards public and private institutions, such as in Colombia.