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I
MSc International Festival and Event Management
Master Dissertation
SESSION 2013/2014
TITLE
What role does food has in designing event experience and
how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees
to the event.
Author
Germán Nieto Sáenz de Santamaría
40127215
Supervisor: Senior Lecturer Joan McLatchie
II
What role does food has in designing event experience
and how this influences the emotional connection of the
attendees to the event.
By
Germán Nieto Sáenz de Santamaría
December, 2014
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment
Of the Degree of
Master of Science
in
International Festival and Event Management
III
1 Consent Form
I confirm that this project is all my own work. I understand that my written permission is required for
the University to make copies of my project available to future students for reference purposes and
that my name may be evident. I hereby give my consent to my named work being made available. I
confirm that my work is not confidential.
Print name……Germán Nieto…………………………….
Signature…………………………………… Date……17/12/2014……………………
Faculty Business School, School of Marketing, Tourism and Languages.
Module: Masters Degree Dissertation
Title: What role does food has in designing event experience event and how this influences the
emotional connection of the attendees to the event.
Location in which to be held……Room 1/53 Craiglockhart Campus
IV
2 Declaration
I declare that the work undertaken for this MSc Dissertation has been undertaken by myself
and the final Dissertation produced by me. The work has not been submitted in part or in
whole in regard to any other academic qualification.
Title of Dissertation:
What role does food has in designing event experience and
how this influences the emotional connection of the
attendees to the event.
Name: German Nieto
Signature:
Date: 17/12/2014
V
3 Confidentiality in Use of Data Provided by Third Parties
The data received from the organisations listed below have been used solely in the pursuit of
the academic objectives of the work contained in this Dissertation and has not and will not be
used for any other out with that agreed to by the provider of the data.
Name: German Nieto
Signature:
Date: 17/12/2014
List of Data providers:
Heritage Portfolio
Assembly Rooms Edinburgh
Edinburgh First
Edinburgh Sheraton Grand Hotel & SPA
Prestige Venues & Events
VI
4 Abstract
Purpose: recently, scholars have investigated the role of food in conferences and conventions
as an important factor in the program of events which generates an intention of returning to
attend other events. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyse how food at an
event generates an emotional connection to the event and therefore loyalty. Likewise an
analysis of the main factors of food to create that emotional commitment has been carried
out.
Design/methodology/approach: the philosophy used is interpretative because it is more
focused on the interpretation of the data rather than quantitative analysis. The research
approach adopted in this paper has been an inductive approach. The research strategy which
was used to obtain the data is the qualitative method. The approach used has been thematic
analysis throughout; semi-structured interviews and a brief questionnaire were the processes
used to collect the data.
Findings: the suppliers and organiser of events become increasingly aware of the role of food
as an instrument which gives customers memorable experiences which drives an emotional
connection thus creating loyalty in them. In addition customer to customer meetings are
considered useful networking activities to obtain loyal behaviour.
Research Limitations: the time of completion for this study has been limited to four months
which has resulted in the geographic area being restricted to the area of the city of Edinburgh,
14 organisations were contacted, 5 of them accepted to take part in this research project, as a
consequence the validation and generalisation of the findings may be questionable due to the
small sample group.
Practical implications: this paper can help organisers and suppliers of events to create
memorable experiences in which their clients feel an emotional connection with them which
drives loyalty.
VII
Originality/value: this paper fills the gap of the role of food in events for several reasons. On
the one hand there are very few papers that address the relationship that exists between food
and how this creates a memorable experience and therefore make an emotional commitment
to the event which leads to loyalty, on the other, these studies are based on the point of view
the attendees, however, none of these studies investigates the function of the food as an
instrument to achieve that emotional connection from the point of view of suppliers, i.e. such
as the hosted venues, caterers and event organising firms.
Keywords: conference food factors and attributes, attendee satisfaction, emotional
commitment, co-creation value and loyalty.
VIII
5 Acknowledgments
I want to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Joan McLatchie because she has
helped me to be able to focus at all times on different matters of this dissertation and her
knowledge has helped me to keep a straight path. In addition, I would like to declare my
thankfulness to my Study Support Sarah Terry who has been by my side along this process
and has been sharing with me a lot of hours of proof reading and understanding the structure
of this paper. Both of them were very sympathetic when I broke down and collapsed and they
advised me to stop studying for a while and restart when I had recovered. This advice was
very wise and useful because of the fact that I am now able to finish this paper. In addition I
am very grateful to my friend and classmate Miriam Canchado who has advised me to select
the best approach for doing the different chapters of this dissertation.
I would like to say that I am very grateful to all the scholars who have taken part in all of the
studies which I have read and used in this research project for several reasons; I have
acquired a lot of new knowledge about the role of the food and its emotional connection and
loyalty within the events industry, this has given rise to more doubts and issues to think about
in which in the world of academia is really good.
Finally I want to say that this paper is dedicated to the participants who have taken part in my
research project in particular, and all of the suppliers in event industry in general. I want to
express my gratitude to them for receiving me and giving me some of their busy time, sharing
their experiences and understanding of the industry, with me during the process of the
interviews. The data collection has been very enriching and interesting and has added more
and new findings to this field of knowledge. I have to say that they were very patient with me
for dealing with the all the e-mails I sent them in order that they were able to take part in this
study and arrange the appointments.
I hope this paper will be useful in the future for scholars.
Thank you very much.
IX
Table of Contents 1 Consent Form ................................................................................................................................. I
2 Declaration ................................................................................................................................... IV
3 Confidentiality in Use of Data Provided by Third Parties ............................................................. V
4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ VI
5 Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... VIII
6 List of Tables and Figures ............................................................................................................. 1
7 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 2
7.1 Research Context and Background ....................................................................................... 2
7.2 Aim and Objectives ............................................................................................................... 4
7.3 Overview of the Methodology .............................................................................................. 5
7.4 Study Limitations .................................................................................................................. 5
7.5 Dissertation Structure ............................................................................................................ 6
8 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 7
8.1 Satisfaction and Loyalty in Events ........................................................................................ 8
8.2 Emotional Commitment, Delight Customers and Experience of the Event ......................... 10
8.3 Co-Creation Value .............................................................................................................. 13
8.4 The role of the food in Conferences .................................................................................... 16
8.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 17
9 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 20
9.1 Philosophical Approach ...................................................................................................... 20
9.1.1 Research Approach ..................................................................................................... 21
9.1.2 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................ 21
9.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 22
9.3 Research .............................................................................................................................. 23
9.3.1 Sampling ..................................................................................................................... 24
9.3.2 Measuring Instruments ................................................................................................ 25
9.3.3 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................... 27
9.3.4 Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 27
9.3.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data ....................................................................................... 29
9.4 Reliability, Validity and Generalisability ............................................................................ 30
9.5 Ethical Issues ...................................................................................................................... 31
9.6 Research Limitations ........................................................................................................... 31
10 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 33
10.1 Profile of interviews ............................................................................................................ 34
10.2 Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate Satisfaction ........... 37
X
10.2.1 Factor 1. Food content quality ..................................................................................... 37
10.2.2 Factor 2. Recognition of personal preference. ............................................................. 38
10.2.3 Factor 3. Menu Selection............................................................................................. 39
10.2.4 Factor 4. Service Delivery ........................................................................................... 40
10.2.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 41
10.3 How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention ................................................. 41
10.3.1 Satisfaction Leading to Behavioural Intention ............................................................. 42
10.3.2 Emotional Connection ................................................................................................. 43
10.3.3 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 47
10.4 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection. .................. 47
10.4.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 51
10.5 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate Loyalty ...... 51
10.5.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 55
10.6 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them ........ 55
10.6.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 59
10.7 Summary of the Findings .................................................................................................... 60
11 Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................................ 63
11.1 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 64
11.1.1 The Key Factors of the food and their Attributes that Generates Satisfaction in
Delegates..................................................................................................................................... 64
11.1.2 Emotional Connection (EC) Affects Behavioural Intention .......................................... 65
11.1.3 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection .......... 66
11.1.4 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate Loyalty
67
11.1.5 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them .. 67
11.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 68
11.3 Future Research .................................................................................................................. 71
12 References ............................................................................................................................... 72
13 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 79
13.1 Appendix 1 Self-administrated Questionnaire ..................................................................... 79
13.2 Appendix 2 Design of the Interview ................................................................................... 82
13.2.1 Satisfaction .................................................................................................................. 82
13.2.2 Emotional Commitment .............................................................................................. 82
13.2.3 Co-Creation Value ...................................................................................................... 83
13.2.4 Food ............................................................................................................................ 83
XI
13.3 Appendix 3 Transcription of an Interview........................................................................... 84
13.3.1 Satisfaction .................................................................................................................. 84
13.3.2 Emotional Commitment .............................................................................................. 86
13.3.3 Co-Creation Value ...................................................................................................... 92
13.3.4 Food ............................................................................................................................ 97
13.4 Appendix 4 Summary of an Interview .............................................................................. 102
13.4.1 Satisfaction ................................................................................................................ 102
13.4.2 Emotional Commitment ............................................................................................ 103
13.4.3 Co –Creating Value ................................................................................................... 107
13.4.4 Food .......................................................................................................................... 109
1
6 List of Tables and Figures
Table 1 Profiles of the Participants .................................................................................................... 35
Table 2 Factor 1: Food Content Quality............................................................................................. 37
Table 3 Factor 2: Recognition of Personal Preference ....................................................................... 38
Table 4 Factor3: Menu Selection ........................................................................................................ 39
Table 5 Factor 4: Service Delivery ..................................................................................................... 40
2
7 Introduction
This chapter will be divided into different sections. First, a presentation of the investigation
topic will be conducted in order to establish its text and background. Second, a statement of
the Aims and Objectives is going to be made in this paper, followed by a concise explanation
of the methodology that has been used, as well as the limitations of this research. Finally a
description of the overall structure of this study will be described in terms of facilitating the
reading it.
7.1 Research Context and Background
The act of eating is very important in our lives for various reasons. On the one hand,
throughout life humans’ need to be fed, on the other hand, humans found having in a meal is
one of the best ways to socialise (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). Around food a wide range of
feelings and memorable experiences can be created because the main senses are involved
(Nelson, 2009). Through sight we imagine the flavour of the food and we awake the desire to
eat, by the sensation of smell, taste glands allows us to absorb the different aromas of the
ingredients used in the food and by taste allows people to savour a recipe differentiating the
different textures and flavours (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). These authors state that it is
these memorable experiences in which all senses are involved, as opposed to those which
only involve the cognitive senses. With regard to the role of senses in event experience
Nelson (2009) states that aroma is a key driver which can manipulate emotions and
memories. Therefore, the author of this study aims to link the MICE industry with the role of
food in order that the event organizers’ firms acquire more competitiveness.
Today a symbol of economic progress in a country is the development of a knowledge
economy through the MICE industry (Wei and Huang, 2013). In this market, marketing
plans must be carried out to understand the reasons why delegates attend the meetings and
what is more important, the behaviours developed and what motivates them to repeat the
experience which in turn lead to benefits and maintains the sustainability of events (Kim,
Lee, and Love, 2009).
3
The intention is to create in delegates a sense of loyalty that makes them want to repeat
attendance at the event (Wei and Huang, 2013). To get this loyalty several steps are necessary
to be taken. First, develop an emotional connection with the customer for that event and the
most appropriate way is to create the feeling of satisfaction (Mason and Paggiaro 2012).
Second, discovering which behavioural intentions are generated to create loyalty to the event
(Baker and Crompton 2000; Lee, Yoon and Lee, 2007; McDougall, G., Levesque, T., 2000).
Third, how to create an Emotional Commitment (E.C.) in the audience as this is one of the
most important factors in creating a sense of loyalty (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson
(2012). However, E.C. has not been investigated enough in the M.I.C.E. Industry (Ibid).
Fourth, Berman (2005) states that one of the best ways to create a strong E.C. is through
delighting customers because this feeling is stronger than satisfaction; where the customers
are surprised by the unexpected provided by the organisation (Gwynne, 2002). Fifth,
according to Pine and Gilmore (1998), creating memorable experiences is an effective
instrument to generate emotional commitment because as more senses are involved in the
experiences the better to create loyalty. Sixth, some scholars found that throughout the
paradigm of Co-Creation Value this is a good method to engage the customer as a partner in
the firms which increase the degree of loyalty to the firm (Chathoth et al., 2013; Guren,
Osmonbekov and Czaplewski, 2007; Payne et al., 2009; Van Limburgh, 2008). Finally, it is
interesting to note that food is one of the key factors in the program of meetings in generating
behaviours of intent to return (Kim et al. 2009). With regard to the attributes of the food;
content, quality and local sourcing are the key drivers that create loyalty (Armer, 2004;
Servert et al. 2007; Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).
However, the role of food to generate an emotional commitment has not been assessed
enough by the M.I.C.E only two articles have been found related to this topic (Kim et al.
2009; Wei and Huang, 2013). Moreover, networking activities are not satisfactory enough for
attendees, in which to develop socially (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). Keeping in
mind that the food at the events is where delegates can develop their networking connections
plays a fundamental role (Ha and Jang, 2010).
In the literature review several gaps have been found, therefore this paper needs to be written
for several reasons. First, there is little research that analyses the strategic plans undertaken
by organisers in order to enable attendees to develop their networking. Second, no literature
appears to exist which assesses how the organisers use the role of food to create an emotional
commitment to an event. Third, as said before the small number of scholars have studied the
4
role of the food in generating emotional connection, those that have focused on the point of
view of the attendees, but not from the side of how the suppliers, hosted venues, hotels,
associations and caterers, take into consideration the role of the food to achieve loyalty by
their customers. Finally, this research will be very useful for the M.I.C.E. industry in
Edinburgh because there is not any kind of research on this field in the city.
7.2 Aim and Objectives
The proposed aim of this research is: What role does food have in designing an event
experience and how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees to the event.
The questions underpinning this research study are:
What are the key factors of the food and their attributes that generate satisfaction in
delegates?
Does food contribute to emotional connection, and affect behavioural intention?
How can the Co-Creation Value model contribute to achieve a memorable experience
and generate loyalty?
Is food a key factor in events in meeting the needs of delegates; creating loyalty in
them?
The objectives of this research proposal have been designed with the purpose of achieving the
main objective of this paper. Objective 1 relates to the literature review. However, objectives
2,3,4,5 and are linked to methodology and data collection.
Objective 1: To conduct a review of relevant research in the subject area.
Objective 2: Investigate the key factors of the food and their attributes that generates
satisfaction in delegates.
Objective 3: Examine the procedure of how emotional connection affects behavioural
intention.
Objective 4: Analyse the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional
connection.
Objective 5: Evaluate how Co-Creation Value Model can generate Emotional
Commitment to generate loyalty.
5
Objective 6: Explore the role of food in meeting the needs of delegates, creating
loyalty in them.
Objective 7: Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the research
findings.
7.3 Overview of the Methodology
The purpose of a research project is to meet targets by collecting primary data (Saunders et
al., 2012). As mentioned above few articles have been found related to this topic, after
investigating the literature review the best method to obtain data about the role of the food in
events is qualitative methodology.
In this paper a thematic analysis design has been used in order to make an in-depth
assessment of the way food can generate emotional commitment to events, thus creating a
sense of loyalty by the attendees to events. The analysis of the data has been carried out
taking into consideration the individual characteristics of each case as well as the common
aspects across all the cases.
Two research methods have been used to gather the primary data. On the one hand, a self-
completed questionnaire and the other face to face interviews which most were made in the
firms’ offices, which employ the food as an element in the delivering and planning of events.
7.4 Study Limitations
The design of this research project was made in order to have a comprehensive and deeper
knowledge of how food is taken into consideration by suppliers as a factor in the program of
events which can influence attendees´ intentions to return, however some restrictions have
been found, these are as follow:
The time period is not sufficient to conduct more interviews.
The city of Edinburgh has been chosen as a specific sphere, which has played a very
small part in what had been desired; a wider scope as all Scotland or the UK as a
whole.
6
14 organizations were selected as a sample, however, only 5 of them agreed to take
part in this research.
The backgrounds of the professionals come from senior positions of the different
firms, which affected the level of subjectivity which could be detected in the findings
of the investigation.
7.5 Dissertation Structure
The overall structure of this paper is divided into five chapters. First, is the introductory
chapter; the second chapter is focused on the literature review which is subdivided into
different sections which are related to the main subjects of the topic of this research project.
Third, this chapter discusses different matters related to the methodology such as the
explanation of the methods which have been chosen to collect the data and how these tools
have been employed. Moreover, issues with regard to reliability, validity and feasibility in
which ethical considerations are included in this chapter. The fourth chapter addresses the
data analysis which aims to compare the data obtained by scholars which has been considered
in the literature review and check on the collected data of this paper and discover how much
it matches or is different from them. In the final chapter a number of conclusions will be
given in order to provide several recommendations with the aim of improving the role of the
food in events as a key instrument throughout the suppliers generated an emotional
commitment, therefore loyalty, with their firms by the customers.
7
8 Literature Review
In recent years, to attract delegates to congresses and conferences is one of the great
challenges of the marketing departments of companies (Palmer, 2011). Therefore firms
should update marketing tools in order to understand the factors that affect attendees’
attendance at conferences and conventions (Ibid.). King (2011) agues that for a growing
MICE industry it is necessary to boost the likelihood of customers repeating their attendance
at events which is known as loyalty. This could be achieved by using different methods.
Firstly, understanding the need to create satisfaction in customers (Baker and Cromptom
2000); Second, the relationship between satisfaction and the excellence of the product;
Third, understanding how Emotional Commitment (EM) is a key element of forecasting
loyalty (Bowen, and Shoemaker, 2003); Fourth, creating a memorable experience as a
predictor of satisfaction (Montgomery and Nelson 2012); Fifth, the role of co-creation value
as one of the drivers to personalise a memorable experience for the customer (Prahalad and
Ramaswamy 2004); and finally in the case of this paper the function food has in order to
ensure client satisfaction and therefore a likely return to an event (Kim et al., 2009).
Bryman and Bell (2011) state that a literature review is a key tool in the research process
because it helps understanding what has been researched about in this instance a topic in the
dissertation and gives a general idea of the main fields of research in this area. Therefore, in
this chapter, a literature review will be conducted for the purpose of achieving the objectives
of this paper. Consequently, through an analysis of the literature on the one hand a vision of
the main factors involved in creating loyalty to an event by attendance, and on the other an
assessment of the role of food will be made to achieve that loyalty. It is worth pointing out
that a very small number of reports and studies have been published related to the role of
food in congresses and conferences as a factor of gaining loyalty to a specific event.
Therefore in this chapter an overview will be taken just to cover the main objectives of this
research topic. Thus this chapter has been divided into four key areas which are related to the
themes within the subject. Firstly, an analysis of key factors influencing satisfaction and how
this has an effect on generating loyalty. Secondly, matters regarding Emotional Commitment
such as the Delight of Customers and Experience of the Event, will be carried out. Thirdly, an
assessment of the Co-creation value will be made paying particular attention to the Customer
to Customer model (C2C) as a one of the latest trends to generate commitment. Thereafter, a
review of the role of the food and its attributes to achieve the return of the customer to the
8
event will be carried out. Finally, a summary of the main topics related to our subject will be
given.
8.1 Satisfaction and Loyalty in Events
A high level of customer satisfaction by the consumer is essential to have a privileged
position in the world tourism industry (Meng, Tepanon and Uysal, 2008). The level of
satisfaction in the consumption of the product makes the customer willing to have the
intention of repeating the attendance at an event and in turn recommend attending it (Wei and
Huang, 2013).
According to Oliver (1981) the definition of satisfaction is “the summary psychological
state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with the
consumer’s prior feelings about the consumption experience’’ (Oliver, 1981, p. 27). This
definition is based on emotional aspects and the theory of expectation. However, the same
author extended this definition by introducing the concept of the satisfaction that comes
through judgment of goods and services obtained. These are subjectively valued by the
customer as a result of consumption of the product. Likewise, the customer balances whether
the product meets his/her needs and if this exceeded expectations (Oliver, 1999). Moreover,
Mason and Paggiaro (2012) state that satisfaction has two sides: a cognitive side and an
emotional side, these allow an assessment of the consumption experience. Therefore,
according to these approaches the valuation of the experience has an emotional and
evaluative component.
It could be argued that a high level of quality in the delivery of the service experience
provokes positive emotions in consumers and they generate favourable behaviours (Mason
and Paggiaro, 2012). This statement could be reinforced by the findings of Oliver, Rust and
Varki (1997) that a high level of satisfaction generates some positive emotions which
increase the intention to repurchase the product, therefore the satisfaction experienced by the
customer is related to the behavior intention (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). Baker and
Crompton (2000) state that overall satisfaction of attendees to an event has been described as
a useful predictor of future behavioral intentions. It is worth noting that value is linked to
customer satisfaction and this is related to the quality of the product (Lee, Yoon and Lee,
2007).
9
Yoon, Lee and Lee (2010) state that the quality of the product has an effect on the satisfaction
of the product and on the loyalty of the customers to an event; according to Cromptom and
Love (1995), quality has two dimensions. Firstly quality from the point of view of
performance, which relates to the attributes of service delivery and secondly, quality as an
emotional experience that is highly related to satisfaction. Thus, quality involved in
behavioural intentions turns from being a precursor to the satisfaction of the event, to causing
attendee loyalty, which is much more important than satisfaction (Baker and Crompton 2000;
Lee, Lee, Lee and Babin, 2008; Wang, Lo, Chi and Yang, 2004.)
According to Kim, Suh and Eves (2010) loyalty is purchasing behaviour that is related to
repurchase intentions and these are influenced by recommendations and word-of-mouth-
communication. Therefore, there is a clear relationship between consumer satisfaction and
future intentions to participate in events. Severt, Wang, et al. (2007) investigated the
relationship between total satisfaction of an event with the loyalty behaviour of its attendees.
The investigation revealed that they had not done a thorough analysis of the specific factors
attributing to the conventions that create satisfaction. They came to the conclusion that
educational benefits and business association connections are the main attributes of a
convention, but educational benefits have a fundamental role in the satisfaction of the event.
After this research, networking, program and the cost of travelling were found as key factors
to attendance of future events (Mair and Thompson, 2009; Yoo and Zhao, 2010). Moreover,
all of these factors are related to the overall satisfaction of an event and these cause intention
behavious of loyalty (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).
Likewise satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty, having been assessed by different
scholars who state that satisfaction is a precursory step to loyalty (Baker and Crompton 2000;
Lee, Yoon and Lee, 2007; McDougall, G., Levesque, T., 2000). It is worth noting that
behavioural intentions are frequently identified with loyalty, (Tanford, Montgomery and
Nelson, 2012). According to Zeithaml et al. (1996) the key loyalty behaviours are: first,
positive word-of-mouth; second, recommendations to others; third, repurchase intentions;
and, finally, high tolerance of a price premium.
However, Lu and Cai (2011), who conducted a research study in China, did not find a
relationship between satisfaction and loyalty to an event. In contrast, Tanford, Montgomery
and Nelson (2012) in their studies carried out in the United States, found a relationship
between satisfaction and loyal behaviour towards an event. Never the less, there the most
10
notable factor, as a loyalty indicator, which is strongly linked to satisfaction, is an Emotional
Commitment (Barsky and Nash, 2002; Bowen and Shoemaker, 2003; Mattila, 2006; Tanford,
Raab and Kim, 2011).
8.2 Emotional Commitment, Delight Customers and Experience of the Event
“Emotional commitment was the strongest predictor of loyalty,” (Tanford, Montgomery and
Nelson, 2012). There are several ways to generate an emotional Commitment. On the one
hand, creating relationships between attendees and the event which results in an increase of a
high level of loyalty (Bowen, and Shoemaker, 2003), on the other, generating a sense of
belonging and a personal identification with the event, (Fullerton, 2003; Jones, Reynolds,
Mothersbaugh, and Beatty, 2007; Sui and Baloglu, 2003). According to Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson (2012) Emotional Commitment (EC) enables a number of positive
behaviours to be generated by decreasing the possibility of changing or generating negative
thoughts about the event. Moreover E.C. is a fundamental factor in generating a positive
feeling in attendees of the event which will encourage them to repeat their attendance to it
(Tanford, Montgomery and Hertzman, 2012). This loyal behaviour is worthy of special
attention because repeat attendees attending events have a tendency to spend more time at the
destination and therefore spend more money during their stay, which is essential to develop
M.I.C.E related to tourism industry (Shani, Rivera and Hara, 2009).
However, Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) state that E.C. has not been assessed
enough in relation to congresses and conferences rather it has been addressed in the field of
hospitality. Their findings were several: first, building affective relationships with clients is a
good tool in generating a relationship of long-term loyalty; second, E.C. is a good way to
create a feeling that will generate a sense of belonging and being part of something which
will maintain a connection with the event; E.C. is a more important factor in creating loyalty
than others such as, reward programs, benefits, obligation, or expectations of others. Thus,
event organizers should create communication bridges with their customers to carry out a
strategic plan in order to develop an Emotional Commitment of delegates to the experience.
In addition, it could be argued that affective relationships could be developed by delighting
the customers (Berman, 2005).
11
According to Berman (2005) delight is a lot more powerful element to create loyalty than
satisfaction. In fact satisfaction generates a 29% possibility of rebuy or re-lease, in contrast,
delight generates an 84% chance of rebuy (Keiningham and Vavra, 2002). It is worth noting
that the increased 5% increase in customer loyalty can generate between 25% to 85%
increase in profits for companies ( Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Berman (2005) states that
satisfaction and delight are different things: on the one hand, satisfaction is linked to meeting
the needs of consumers through product attributes, and on the other, delight can meet the
needs of consumers by surprise and enjoyment of it (Gwynne, 2002). In addition, there are
several differences between delight and satisfaction. These are: first, delight is more
cognitive and delight is more affective; second, delightful experiences are more significant
than satisfactory so the trace of the memory of the experience is stronger when the customer
is delighted than when he is satisfied; finally, satisfaction is based on compliance to product
expectations and delight is based on expectations through overcoming these unexpected
positive surprises.
However, whereas the relationship between satisfaction, loyalty and profits has been
extensively studied, the relationship between delight and no benefits has been less analysed.
Likewise, the loyalty curve remains flat or declines after a satisfying experience; after a
delightful experience staying up quickly and further generates emotional commitment in the
customer. (Dick and Basu, 2002). Berman (2005) state that companies need to assess the
product/service attributes with the aim of getting a high level of client delight to exceed their
expectations in respect of the consuming experience. Therefore, one ‘delightful’ strategic
plan should be considered in the services offered which can provide a delightful experience
and therefore increase customer loyalty to the organisation, consequently generating more
profit.
Pine and Gilmore (1998) state that there has been a change in the service economy in the
experience economy; this new paradigm of the economy creates a memorable experiences to
consumers that allows them to have an emotional commitment to the product and companies
to have an advantage over competitors, by creating a bond of loyalty with their customers.
This experience economy allows customers to engage in a personal way because they feel the
experience as unique and significant which leads to development and personal transformation
(Morgan, Elbe and de Esteban Curiel, 2009). Therefore, organisations should develop a plan
to deliver a memorable experience (Pine and Gilmore 1998).
12
This model of experience is based on two main models. Firstly, the Four Realms of an
Experience, secondly, Designing Memorable Experiences (Pine and Gilmore 1998). The Four
Realms of an Experience Model take into account four elements: Entertainment, Educational,
Escapism and Aesthetic. Likewise, these elements have a relationship with two dimensions,
on the one hand customer participation, which could be active or passive. On the other, the
connection or relationship that matches the attendee with the event, this can be absorption or
immersion. According to the authors the objective of the Management Experience is to touch
the ‘Sweet Spot’ which takes into account the four realms and two dimensions. According to
the authors to design a memorable experience it is necessary to take into account some design
principles. These are: The Theme Experience, Harmonize impressions with positive cues,
Eliminate Negative Cues, Mix in Memorabilia and Engage all five senses. With regard to
this, as more senses are involved the more effective the experience will be, therefore this will
generate more Emotional Commitment by the customer.
The creators based on their previous paper stated that the best way to create a memorable
experience through metaphor was that the service is like a drama (Pine and Gilmore, 1999).
The drama is the strategic plan of the company, the libretto is the procedure and the
performance is the creation of the experience of staging the play. However, Nijs (2003) states
that Experience Economy cannot be applied to all countries because this adapts very well to
the masculine culture following Hofstede's (1980) theory. The author says that this theory is
more difficult to implement in countries where a model of feminine culture is predominant
such as the countries of Northern Europe, environmental values dominate and are necessary
to take into account when creating an emotional experience for the consumer. Nevertheless,
Morgan et al. (2009) argue that the customers are predisposed to having active participation
in the experience of the event and this gives them an emotional satisfaction, therefore
enriching their quality of life.
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8.3 Co-Creation Value
Event planning companies have realized that to remain competitive they have to deliver
memorable experiences to their customers whose expectations are evolving on a continuous
basis (Walls et al., 2011). These experiences have to be unique, proactive and positive to
meet the needs of the clients with the aim of achieving customer satisfaction and generate in
them loyalty to the company (Chathoth et al., 2013). Therefore, the suppliers have to create a
new channel of interaction and communication between them and their customers in order to
create a new value of the products by them (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012).
According to Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) the value creation process has evolved from
the company to creating experiences for their consumers. Van Limburg (2008) states the
creation of value by the companies were focused on the products and services, likewise
marketing departments focused on sales and product orientation, but this approach is not
competitive in the contemporary market. In addition, other authors declare that the new co-
creation value is based on the interaction between firms and customers, thus they take an
important role in this new process because they act as agents of the companies creating a new
network (Ertimur and Venkatesh, 2010; Prahalad and Ramaswamy2004; Vargo and Lusch,
2008).
Co-creation of value is based on customer behaviour which carries out an involvement of
loyalty to the firm (Shaw, Bailey and Williams, 2011; Verhoef, Reinartz and Krafft, 2010). It
could be said that (Kristensson, Matthing and Johansson, 2008) the aim of co-creation is the
conception or improvement of a new product or service, through close collaboration between all
stakeholders involved in the process of development of these. Therefore the product or service that
comes out of this collaboration is based on customers’ needs, who have expressed their needs through
dialogue with the firms. This fact can be deduced by the fact that the production process has shifted
from firm-centric to customer-centric interaction (Kristensson, Matthing and Johansson, 2008).
Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) argue that the most important point of view of this model is that
customers have a memorable experience involved in the production process of the product or service,
resulting in a unique value created. This is achieved by generating a personalized experience that
meets the needs and expectations of customers.
Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) state the DART model which is an efficient way to achieve
a memorable experience by customers therefore the co-creation value of the product is
created. This model is based on four pillars which are Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment
14
and Transparency. Dialogue is achieved by the interaction between the companies and
clients, as well as among customers, Dialogue is the most important aspect of the co-creation
process (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012). Access is related to the information of
both sides; customers and firms. Risk Assessment is the probability of a customer being
harmed, it is worth noting that if the customer is available to manage his own risk he is
willing to take part in the dialogue. Finally, Transparency is the willingness of the company
to provide information to consumers so that they have greater product knowledge and can
relate to their needs. The DART model allows customers to have a co-created experience
which allows them to share with the firms their needs, ideas and solutions (Van Limburg,
2008).
However, Friesen (2001) argue that to establish a dialogue between consumers and
businesses is not an easy task because the interests of consumers and firms are different. On
the one hand consumers are willing to pay the minimum price for products or services, on the
other companies seek to maximize their profits. Nevertheless, Co-creation process has several
advantages: firstly, these interactions allow the generating of knowledge; secondly, this
allows companies get a source of information that makes them more competitive in the
market and allows them to adapt to the needs of consumers which are changing continuously
( Lusch et al., 2007; Melancon et al., 2010). The continuing evolution of consumer needs has
meant that the co-creation model created by Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) forms the
basis for the development of other models such as Service-Dominant (S-D) and Customer to
Costumer (C2C) (Payne et al., 2009)
Payne et al. (2009) state that the S-D model is based on communication between consumers
and firms in the whole process of creating the product or service: design, production,
delivery, purchase and consumption. Therefore companies must understand how the process
of creating value for consumers and thus establishing channels of communication between
both sides is necessary in order to generate activities that enable the process of co-creation of
value to be carried out, therefore in this new paradigm the client is considered a co-creator of
value because a relationship of dependency between all stakeholders is established (Vargo
and Lusch, 2004). It could be argued that S-D is a learning process in which the relationship
between consumers and firms is focused on the customer experience as a source of product
value (Ballantyne, 2004), thus allowing clients to develop a higher degree of engagement
with the firm (Chathoth et al., 2013). This interrelationship gives customers a high level of
customer satisfaction, retention grade and customer loyalty (Payne et al. 2009).
15
Recently a new model of co-creation value appeared, known as Customer Dominant (C-D) in
which the co-creation value of the product is established through the social sphere and
interaction between the customers (Rihova et al., 2013). Therefore it could be said a new
paradigm of co-creation value has materialized: Customer to Customer (C2C). Co-creation
value is a subjective experience that is not only achieved through interaction between
consumers and firms, but also is materialized through social relations which allows them the
co-creation of value-in-context in different social spheres such as family, friends, colleagues
(Vargo and Lusch, 2008). It is worth pointing out that C2C allows clients to generate value
without the influence of firms (Payne et al., 2009; Rihova et al., 2013). According to Benkler
(2004) this knowledge sharing experience takes place thanks to customers’ education and
background. This knowledge could come from different kinds of source such as social and
economic (McAlexander, Schouten, & Koenig, 2002).
It is worth stressing that MOA model (Motivation, Opportunity and Ability) is an excellent
tool to achieve C2C interactions for several reasons: firstly, Motivation is the willingness of
customers to share their experiences with their peers; Secondly, companies have to create
opportunities for bringing together attendees who can socialize in order to exchange views
and co-create product value; and finally, customers must have sufficient social and
communication abilities for this process and C2C are involved (Gruen, Osmonbekov and
Czaplewski, 2007). Baber and Waymon (1996) state that attendees go to the congresses ,
conferences and conventions to be informed, inspired and interact with the colleagues,
therefore organisations should take into account the importance of knowledge sharing among
clients to co create value and thus make available to them the specific spaces and times
allowing enough time to develop their experiences to provide deeper social relations than
usually happens within MICE industry due to the short time that attendees have to socialize
between them C2C (Gruen, Osmonbekov and Czaplewski, 2007). To sum up, these authors
believe that C2C through MOA model is a good instrument to create customer loyalty to
firms because it allows customers to exchange knowledge and experience during of the
consumption of the goods.
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8.4 The role of the food in Conferences
Satisfaction is a factor to consider in developing a sense of loyalty; however, within the field
of conventions very little has been studied with regard to the attributes of a convention that
contributes to the satisfaction of the delegates (Servet et al. 2007). These authors analysed
the attendance motivators and factors that create in an audience a high level of satisfaction.
These factors are activity, opportunity, and educational benefits. Nonetheless, they did not
relate motivation to attend the conference which contributes to general motivation.
Kim et al. (2009) state that food attributes, relate to satisfaction with conferences as follows:
service delivery, food content quality, recognition of personal preference and menu selection.
With regard to the quality of the food, Armer (2004) states that that is one of the key
attributes in generating a memorable experience at events. Kim et al. (2009) argue that the
role of food in the program of conferences and conventions has been rejected by scholars.
The main findings of these authors are: first, food content quality is the most significant
contributor of all four factors to create overall satisfaction at food functions. With regard to
the content quality of the food the features are related to its attractiveness, tastefulness and
freshness. Second, is satisfaction with food functions, thus the role of food in the program has
a key role for attendees to repeat their attendance. Finally, they advise that event organizers
should pay more attention to the decisive role of food in general and its quality in particular
as it is has a large influence in creating loyalty.
Tanford et al. (2012) in their assessment of the attributes which influence the satisfaction of
conventions found several interesting findings. Firstly, the program’s features are the main
reason for attendance to the convention, it is worth noting that within this food and beverages
are included. Second, food and beverages, have become one of the more significant
contributions to creating satisfaction, indeed one of the most recurrent complaints at
conventions is about the food. Finally, the only negative was that the organizers had not
planned networking opportunities for attendees. Therefore, the authors recommend, that
event organizers should take into consideration the organisation of networking activities in
which the food is an element of socialization such as lunches and receptions because the food
quality is thought to be a crucial factor in customers´ dining experience (Ha and Jang, 2010).
The destination image is one of the important factors involved in the decision process for
delegates (Lee and Back, 2008). Smith and Costello (2009) state that local food may increase
17
the destination image by providing characteristic recipes where the event is delivered. Wei
and Huang (2013) argue that experiencing local food is one of the key factors for a high
degree of satisfaction for several reasons. On the one hand, consumption of local food is a
way to identify the culture and idiosyncrasies of the image, and the other, local food is a
symbol of green meetings because consumption of local food contributes to the practice of
environmental awareness, such as reduction of transport costs and positive impact on the
local economy. The authors recommended that food quality and food service satisfaction
impact on the whole experience.
8.5 Summary
If anything can be concluded after this literature review it is that the emotional connection of
customers towards the products is a very important predictor in generating loyalty that causes
a return to purchase the product, in the case of this paper, product is the event. Most of the
authors have agreed that the first element is satisfaction which creates loyalty. Satisfaction
towards the product can be achieved through different methods. On the one hand a cognitive
way and the other emotional. Importantly, the emotional connection with the product or
service is performed by the consumption of experience. This is achieved through product
quality understood as an emotional experience that leads to behaviour modification that will
make the event attendees want to repeat that experience. However, there are several ways to
get an emotional connection with the event, one of these is to achieve an Emotional
Commitment (E.C.).
E.C. Emotional Commitment is linked to engender loyalty that generates positive feelings
and these are generated largely by means of socialisation among the attendees. E. C. is
considered as a factor that creates loyalty, however, it has not been widely investigated in the
field of conferences and experiences. Nevertheless, what has been investigated by the authors
is how to get to reach E.C, and this is achieved by creating memorable experiences through
offering the event attendees a delightful experience to increase loyalty. It could be argued that
the Experience Economy Model which is based on the Four Realms of an Experience
(Entertainment, Educational, Escapism and Aesthetic) in which the customer can hit the
Sweet Spot which means that he has felt the Four Realms, and consequently has achieved a
memorable experience and he has been delighted by consumption of the product. Moreover,
another area of investigation has appeared to generate loyalty, this is Co - Creation Value.
18
Co-Creation Value is based on the creation of the value of the product through the
relationship between the customer and the firms to create a new product which meets the
needs of the customer. The customer takes part in the production and design and delivery of
the product. This outcome, could be realized by the DART model (Dialogue, Access, Risk
Assessment and Transparency) in which dialogue is the key factor modifying the customers
behaviour which is related to loyalty to the company. Likewise, to understand the needs of
the customer the Co-Creation Value theory developed a new model which is built on the
relationship among its customers. This new model is known as Customer to Costumer (C2C).
C2C the Co- Creation of value through C2C is achieved by the interaction between the
consumers themselves who share their experiences in meetings, setting up their own
communication channels in which have nothing to do with the company. Therefore, it can be
said that it has evolved since the creation of a product-centric company with the creation of
the product based on the channels of communication between business and consumers and
also among themselves, it is what is known as the paradigm Service-Dominant (SD). SD is a
good instrument to use to create value to the firm. This is the MOA model (Motivation,
Opportunity and Ability). MOA model is very useful because allow attendees to develop their
knowledge through interaction with their colleagues. However, it is worth stressing that the
planners are not involved in the organization of spaces and time in which attendees
participate in an event and are allowed to share their experiences.
Finally, it has been found that very little research related to the consumption of food at events
has been published and how this creates an emotional connection that generates loyalty. It has
been found, to a certain extent, that it is the attributes of the food which create satisfaction in
the attendees to a conference. These attributes are related to the quality and delivery of the
food. It is worth pointing out that the program of the meetings is the main driver which
attracts clients to attend the event, but recently food and beverages have been included in the
program´s factors which attendees take into consideration when deciding to attend an event.
To sum up, it could be suggested that the role of food in building an emotional connection as
the key predictor of loyalty is required to be expanded by Academia because there is not
enough literature which covers this matter, which causes a lot of complaints during the
delivery of an event. In conclusion, for the realization of this research all the theories that
have been discussed in this literature review will be taken into account in order to provide
new data and compare it with the existing contributions made by other scholars for the
purposes of helping firms within the Edinburgh area which organize events with the aim of
19
creating an emotional connection with the attendees. This through evaluating one of the new
factors identified as creating loyalty to companies, that of food.
20
9 Methodology
The aim of this paper is examine the role of food in events and how it can generate an
emotional connection with attendees of the event. In the previous chapter, the literature
review has presented us with a multidisciplinary vision of various matters regarding an
emotional connection with an event in general as well as food served at congresses and
conferences and how this generates emotional connection in particular. The field of this
research includes public and private sectors; satisfaction and loyalty to events, emotional
commitment, co-creation value and the role of the food at the events. As stated above there
are few studies that asses the role of food at events. Thus this has not allowed studies to be
taken as models for other approaches adopted by other authors. Therefore, the approach taken
in this research has been done keeping in mind the main aim and objectives in relation to the
literature in this field.
Consequently in this section a Philosophical approach will be taken in which the research and
strategy approach will be covered. In this part an explanation of a qualitative paradigm and
thematic analysis, as a research strategy will be given. Afterwards a description of the data
collection methods will be described; these include sampling, piloting and measuring
instruments such as questionnaire and interviews. In addition an explanation as to how the
data collection will be assessed will be made. Consecutive sections will address matters such
as reliability, validity, generalizations and the ethical regards which have been taken into
account to carry out this investigation. This chapter will finish with a description of the
limitations of this paper.
9.1 Philosophical Approach
The purpose of this research is to survey how to achieve emotional connection to an event by
food and through this generally resulting in loyalty from customers. In the case of this paper,
the research philosophy which has been used is interpretative because it is more focused on
the interpretation of the data rather than quantitative analysis. According to Silverman (2010)
this means that a subjective construction of meaning and understanding will be carried out
instead of just explained, this process will be based on the assessment of the data obtained
(Bryman and Bell, 2007).
21
9.1.1 Research Approach
The research approach adopted in this paper will be an inductive approach. The reason why it
has been chosen is because through this research attempts to suggest new meanings and gain
a deeper understanding of this particular topic in its present context (Saunders et al, 2009).
The principle of this study is not generalization, for this reason an inductive approach has
been selected (Burrell and Morgan, 1979).
Therefore a number of specific observations will be made based on the result of the literature
review, in addition based on the results of the study a number of hypotheses will be given in
order to extend existing theories and some conclusions will be drawn. This objective will be
made based on a specific theory to show results (Bryman and Bell, 2011).
9.1.2 Research Strategy
The research strategy which will be used to obtain the data will be the qualitative method that
is related to the interpretivist approach (Saunders et all, 2012). Silverman (2010) argues that
qualitative data comes from the interpretation of the meanings derived from the experiences
of those interviewed within the context of their lives. According to Bryman and Bell (2011)
this method is more focused on words than quantification and it allows the researcher to
understand how the interviewees interpret their experiences. Getz (2012) states that these
experiences are the result of attitudes, feelings and meanings linked to the experience of the
individuals; Hayllar and Griffin (2005) state that this method is adequate, because the text of
data obtained by interviews may be interpreted in order to allow the researcher to reach a
series of conclusions. Thus, a qualitative approach of the role of the food in designing an
event experience should help in understanding how food influences the emotional connection
of the attendees to an event.
As mentioned above, the aim of this study is to establish a set of conclusions rather than
analyzing a particular theory, therefore, an analysis of the text will be carried out instead of
numeric data. Alasuutari et al (2008, pp 336) state that qualitative research as `a research
strategy usually emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of
data’. Nonetheless, some scholars have stressed that the investigator should take into
22
consideration bias and subjectivity which could be involved in the investigation (Yin 2003;
Zach 2006; Bryman and Bell 2011). Yin (2003) states that in order to reduce possibility of
subjectivity and bias the investigator should understand the contrary findings and
irregularities, as well as offering different explanations of the data collected.
9.2 Research Design
The research model used in this project, that forms the framework of this research, will be an
exploratory approach. The justification for this selection is the lack of material available
about the role of the food in events. This approach allows the researcher to understand a
particular specific situation. A descriptive method allows investigation in detail of what is
happening and an understanding of what the circumstances are and the reasons for these
circumstances will be used. Therefore an understanding of the key issues will be carried out
for the purposes of constructing a meaning of the facts under investigation (Saunders et al,
2012). These issues will be assessed in detail and the reasons and approaches beyond the
current practice (Ib.)
The research strategy will use thematic analysis in which different kinds of employees from
different kinds of companies such as hotels, caterers and conference centres, will be
interviewed. Yin (2003, pp, 12) states that thematic analysis `tries to illuminate a decision or
set of decisions: Why they were taken, how they were implemented, and what the result was’.
In addition, according to Yin (1994) this strategy allows knowledge gain, in a given time that
will raise questions about the ‘how’s and whys’ of a subject, in order to have a thorough
knowledge of the role that food plays at events in real contexts. Therefore, a thematic
analysis will be developed with the aim of research in specific areas of the event rather than
producing general findings. This approach allows the author to gain a specific understanding
of this particular phenomenon and the data obtained will be compared to data taken in order
to relate it to the objectives (Bryman and Bell 2011). This approach allows the researcher to
identify which facts are common across all the cases (ibid). Therefore, an in-depth analysis
will be carried out to achieve several goals. On one hand, paying attention to the peculiarities
of each case, and on the other, relating the common features to all of them (ibid).
Sunders et al (2012) state that this model links with the qualitative method because it
increases the data collection and this may amplify and modify the theories. Consequently,
23
this fact, allows a hypothetical consideration on the findings (Zikmund, 2003). Bryman and
Bell (2011) argue that the data collection will be assessed with transparency, credibility and
integrity to get external validity in multiple case study conclusions.
9.3 Research
There are several methods related to qualitative data collection (Saunders et al. 2012) the
research method which will be used in this paper will be thematic assessment. Thus, the
approach of this method will be questionnaire and interview questions analysis because it
allows the researcher to assess the situation and gives it meaning with which to find out about
the trends of the field of investigation (Bryman and Bell 2011). This thematic analysis is
based on interpreting the natural language data from the opinions and beliefs of the
interviewer transcript in words (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008).
The personal interview face to face and brief questionnaire will be used in the data collection
because it provides a great quantity of information. Semi-structured interview will be the
approach used to collect the data. The interview will be closed and open answer (Bryman
and Bell 2011). The questionnaire will be pre-planned and the questions will be related to the
most important aspects of the role of food in the events that will result from the review of the
literature (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008). In addition, the open responses allow interviewees to
stimulate themselves into contributing more data because they will express their attitudes
opinions and facts (Saunders et al. 2012).
It is worth stressing that self-recognition could be found in the qualitative approach (Bryman
and Bell 2011). In this paper that could be recognized for several reasons: first, the author of
the paper made the questions of the interview and design the questionnaire based on the key
issues which were found in the literature review. Second, the researcher carried out the
interviews face to face. Finally, the investigator selected and interpreted the data of the
interviews and questionnaire in order to generate new findings.
The aim and the objectives of the paper will be taken into account in order to get the richest
data collection for purposes of this research (Saunders et al. 2012).Therefore, a pilot testing
semi structured interview will be made to test the adequacy of the structure of the set of the
questions to ensure the validity and reliability of data gathered and whether or not the
24
questions are understandable, coherent and in harmony with the aims and objectives proposed
in the dissertation.
9.3.1 Sampling
Once the objectives have been established an approach of the sample will be conducted.
According to Bryman and Bell (2011) there are different kinds of criteria to choose the
sample. For the purposes of this research two different approaches have been selected.
Firstly, a convenience sample, because it is proxy, easily accessible and available
participants, and at the same time the author of this paper has been in contact with several
organisations which will take in part in the research through his professional networks.
Secondly, a purposive sample approach has been adopted in order to meet the right
companies which are able to give accurate information and which fulfills the aim of this
research. The author has conducted preliminary research on the Internet with the aim of
ascertaining the main organisations in Edinburgh which organise events and which caterers
supply the food and beverage to those events. During this research it has not always been
easy to get the name of the persons in the events department and email contacts are not easy
to access, for this reason after researching on the internet the author visited in person almost
90 percent of all the firms for the purpose of introducing himself and to explain the topic of
his dissertation in order to find out the names and email of the persons responsible for the
event departments. It is worth stressing that all the companies responded in a positive way.
The outcome of contacting the organisations was the following:
2 unusual venues which rejected to take part in this research project.
2 purpose venues both of them rejected to take part in this investigation.
1 Civic Venue, accepted to take part in this research project.
4 Deluxe Hotels, one accepted to take part in this research project and another three
didn’t answered the request.
1 Academic Venue which agreed to take part in this research project.
4 Catering suppliers two of them accepted to take part in this research project another
two didn’t answer the request.
25
Yin (2003) states that qualitative research should consist of between 4 and 10 interviews,
therefore the sample of this paper more than covers what Yin advises as 14 firms were
identified: 10 firms which organise events and 4 companies which deliver catering.
9.3.2 Measuring Instruments
Saunders et al (2012) argue that there are several methods of carrying out qualitative
research, thematic analysis is one which could be used to collect data. For the aim and
objectives of this research two methods were utilized: a brief questionnaire and semi
structured interview.
9.3.2.1 Participants: Questionnaire respondents and interviewees
The most appropriate employees on which to conduct this research were managers and office
workers who are involved firstly in the organisation and design of events and in the creation
and delivery of food for these events. As stated above these professionals were identified
through a search on the internet and others via in-person visits to the headquarters of the
companies in both cases afterwards the contact was through e-mails.
14 organisations were contacted, it is worth pointing that after sending the introductory email,
in which the proposal of this study was stated, 5 of them did not respond, 4 declined to take
part into this research and 5 expressed their interest in taking part. Also that those firms that
expressed interest in taking part in this paper took longer in making an appointment in order
to do the interviews. That situation was very hard because it delayed all the planning of the
research project.
The respondents in this study come from different academic backgrounds and professional
experience and occupy various positions within organisations. The questionnaire was
provided via e-mail and an interview was arranged to carry out this research in their
workplaces. Thus 5 participants were interviewed.
26
9.3.2.2 Questionnaire Design
A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to gather the primary data. The questions were
drawn from the main journal articles that address the role of food in the events (Kim, Lee,
and Love, 2009; Wei, and Huang, 2013) and an in depth literature review which found the
main functions related to the key factors of the customer satisfaction related to the food and
the major food attributes which make an impact on the attendees’ perceived food
performance with the aim of fulfilling the objectives of this paper. There were 4 questions
related to factors of the food satisfaction and 25 questions related to attributes of food
delivery (see appendix 1) for an example of the questionnaire. The type of questions are
explained as follows:
4 questions related to the key factor of the food which is delivered in the events.
These factors are: food content quality, recognition of personal preference, menu
selection and service. The response to these questions were based on a 5-point Likert-
scale that ranging from 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Bryman and Bell
(2011) argue that Likert scale is a good method to measure positive and negative
attitudes towards a concept or statement.
Within each of the questions of the factors with regard to the food, questions were
formulated with regard to the attributes connected to these factors. In total 25
questions were designed as a yes-no type response.
9.3.2.3 Semi-structured Interviews Design
Conducting interviews has as a key objective to achieve in-depth insights and perspectives of
the topic which are being investigated (Holloway and Wheeler, 2010 in Shipway, R., Jago, L.
and Deery). It is worth stressing that semi structured interviews pay attention to gathering
information therefore their design allows interviewees to take part in them with their own
thoughts, experiences and opinions associated with field of investigation (ibid).
Consequently, a model of semi-structured interview was designed. This model consists of 19
open questions, these questions were distributed in 4 sections, specifically, formulation,
implementation and evaluation. Each section was structured taking into account the main
27
subjects which were stablished form the literature review. The design of the interview was
created with the aim of interpreting the data with the goal of generating findings in a
transversal way (See appendix 2).
9.3.3 Pilot Study
Yin (2003) state that before the collection of data it is useful to carry out a pilot study as the
end of the preparation of the data collection process, because this procedure allows the author
restructuring of the research process design and will also take a major role in the formation
processes of the researcher. Other point of view is provided by Bryman and Bell (2011) who
argue that a pilot study allows the researcher to find which research instruments are adequate
to generate data and find out the possible problems which can happen during the interview.
Likewise, this process takes into account whether or not the questions are really related to the
data which the researcher needs in order to gain the objectives of the investigation (ibid).
Consequently, a self-completion questionnaire and the semi-structured interview were
provided and carried out to a total of 5 individuals to check content adequacy and congruity.
The professional backgrounds of these professionals came from different fields such as
hospitality, event management industry and tourism and they are currently in hotels which are
focused on events, appropriate venue and caterer suppliers. Therefore with the application of
this pilot study the researcher could determine the adequacy of the measuring instrument as a
previous step before implanting it in order to avoid misunderstandings, mistakes, or to
withdraw unsuitable questions with the aim of getting feedback which permits pertinent
changes to be made in order to achieve the aim and objectives.
9.3.4 Data Collection
To ensure direct access in the future for the interviewer personal contact is one of the best
approaches to achieve it Zach (2006). Thus direct contact was made in order to arrange a
week time date for the data collection always taking into consideration the availability of the
participants. The data collection for these 5 interviews were collected during the period of 4
weeks and the interviews were carried out in the offices of the event and caterer management
staff between October-November 2014.
28
The questionnaires were provided by e-mail and one of them was returned completed in the
same way or delivered as a hard copy the same day of the interview. Likewise, a copy of the
design of the interview was sent via e-mail in anticipation of the interviews with the objective
that they could think in advance about the different topics and become aware of the key
issues which will be covered in the interview.
The interviews were held face-to-face and recorded with a voice digital recorder in the
interviewers’ workplace. A transcript of the recordings was made for several reasons. First, it
is needed to have a clear, accurate and fresh account of them (Saunders et al., 2012). Second,
the transcription of the interviews allows a comprehensive understanding of the key themes
which are dealt with during the course of them (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Finally, the
recording and transcription of the interviews will permit the control of bias and maintain
ethics (Saunders et al., 2012). An example of transcription of interview (see appendix 3).
The participants in this research were encouraged to elaborate their answers and in order to
obtain the most adequate data. Because of the fact that the author of this paper wanted to have
the impressions and adequate data a summary of the interviews was carried out (see appendix
4) At the end of the process a letter of thanks was sent to each interviewer in order to express
gratitude for having taken part in this study and for their disposal.
29
9.3.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data
The design of the questionnaire and the interview was made taking into account the follow
lines of inquiry:
Line 1 it includes a series of questions on general orientation of participants in order
to make them aware that they are the right people thanks to the experience they have
in the organisation of events
Line 2 is based of questions linked to each theme of study and its context.
Line 3 is composed of questions which aim to find paradigms or generalisations
across the themes study.
Line 4 cover questions which provide a deeper knowledge beyond the obvious role
of food in the delivery of an event
Line 5 questions related to the consent, anonymity and confidentiality governance.
The most adequate method to assess qualitative data is thematic analysis (Bryman and Bell,
2011). This was chosen by the author in order to meet the objectives, that method is based on
the recognised themes which are derived from obtained data and the purpose of this study.
According to Lofland (2006) from the data obtained special attention was carried out to the
patterns found with the purpose of being categorised and coded. Thus, taking into account the
aim and objectives of this study the key themes were assessed. The analytical process was as
follows:
1) Data Collection.
2) Recognition and classification of the patterns and themes.
3) Choosing the most relevant examples and themes in relation to the literature review
and linked with the objectives of this study.
4) Identification of the relationships between the themes and the construction of meaning
by comparing them with those obtained from the literature review scholars.
30
9.4 Reliability, Validity and Generalisability
According to Bryman and Bell (2001) any kind of research to be integrated has to be based
on reliability and validity. It is worth pointing that in the case of this study generalisation has
not been taken into account as a model of this paper (Burrel and Morgan, 1979).
In qualitative research accuracy has to be one of the principles that guide them, therefore the
researcher has to follow research protocols which have to be based on robust procedures
(Bryman and Bell, 2011). In addition, these procedures have to help to avoid a high degree of
subjectivity which is common in qualitative research (Stake, 1995 and Yin, 2003). For these
arguments thematic assess studies have been the object of analysis in terms of reliability,
validity and likely biases (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Therefore, in order to achieve a neutral
investigation stand point, consideration has been given to the design and process of the study
in which values and perceptions previous to this study had not been held. Consequently, Yin
(2003) notes that to achieve this neutrality a large effort has been made to show sources of
verification such as interviews, documentation, archival records, transcription of the
interviews and participant observation.
With respect to guarantee the validity and reliability of the questionnaire and interview
design, the questions and attributes were selected from the main journal articles which
studied the food function in events (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009; Wei and Huang, 2013). In
addition, validity and reliability of this paper can be observed in the profile of the
participants, as can be seen in table 1, in this study having key management positions such as
EI5 who is General Manager. In addition the subjects come from the main journals articles
and most up to date in this field. Therefore, the objectives have been achieved.
Zach (2006) states that thematic analysis allows replication, therefore an in depth analysis
will be taken in order to identify and analyse patterns as well as generalisations and particular
themes that are found in the cases. With the aim of enforcing this replication strategy a
further survey could be made to obtain `formal generalisations for guiding policy and
collective practice’ (ibid, p.86). This fact is very effective to the readers who can generate
associations between this research, their prior experience, and establishment of the role of the
food in events in other contexts because so that accuracy and enough information has been
31
provided. Stake (1995) states that this approach is nominated as a Naturalistic
Generalisation. This approach allow readers to achieve an in-depth understanding of the field
of investigation thanks to their reflection about the information which has been provided in
the case studies. Thus, it could be argued that readers can relate the data to their own
experience in order to interpret and use the new information in their personal contexts.
9.5 Ethical Issues
This research has been carried out through face to face interviews with professionals with
relevant responsibilities in selected firms. The channel of communication with the
participants has been based on ethical lines. Thus, obtaining primary data will be carried out
in an ethical way. The author of this research will follow ethical principles which are
embodied in University’s `Code of Practice on Research Ethics and Governance’. These key
principles are:
Informed and organisational consent; therefore the interviewees will be well informed
of their participation in this research project and they will participate voluntarily
without coercion and they consent to it by completing and signing a consent form.
Confidentiality and anonymity of the participants will be preserved in other to
guarantee the anonymity of their names, job roles, any professional or personal details
and the names of the organisations will be kept secret. In addition, the contents of the
recordings will be nameless and private.
Likewise, interview questionnaires were sent to the participants in order that if they felt that
some of the questions could cause discomfort, could offend or could affect the confidentiality
of their firms, they were free to remove them.
9.6 Research Limitations
Although the purpose of this study was to analyse the role of food in events as an important
driver to create an emotional connection with the events some limitations have been found.
First, this study has focused on the factors related to food at events, however, there is a factor
related to food that has not been taken into account by the limitation of the study framework.
32
This factor is price value which has been cited by several scholars as a factor that determines
the satisfaction of attendees to events (Baloglu and Love, 2005; Gupta, McLaughlin and
Gomez, 2007; Wu and Weber, 2005).
Second, the time of completion of this study has been limited to 4 months which has resulted
in the geographic area being restricted to the area of the city of Edinburgh, despite other UK
cities having great experience in organizing events such as Glasgow or London, but this
limitation is because the study area has been the capital of Scotland.
Third, with regard to the sample this has not been very wide, in total 14 companies were
contacted 2 of which rejected the possibility of collaborating in this research project and 7
didn’t answerer the request, as a consequence the validation and generalisation of the findings
may be questionable due to the small sample group; although, a larger group of firms would
be positive in achieving the aim and objectives of this paper.
Fourth, as mentioned previously the approach of this study is qualitative which carries a
degree of subjectivity which cannot be rejected (Bryman and Bell, 2011), for this reason a
degree of subjectivity can be found throughout this investigation project.
Finally, the participants worked in different management posts regarding event organisation,
so their opinions were in the function of their professional experiences based on their duties
which they have to develop in their firms.
Nevertheless, the findings of this paper could be useful in providing an understandable re-
evaluation of the role of the food in events. Moreover, a number of recommendations can be
made with the objective of increasing the role of food as an important driver which generates
an emotional connection with the event.
33
10 Data Analysis
In this chapter an organisation and analysis of data will be conducted. This data was obtained
by conducting face to face interviews and completed questionnaires by the interviewers. The
structure of this analysis has been raised following the main themes that have been developed
through the questions with the aim of being the most accurate. Therefore this chapter is
divided into three main sections.
The aim of the first section is to provide a short profile of the firms which have taken part in
the research project and their employees who have been interviewed.
The second section is an assessment of the key issues which will be carried out. The path
which has been established is as follow:
1. An analysis of the factors in order to confirm whether or not these factors from the
point of view of the suppliers coincide with the needs of delegates. These factors are:
food content quality, recognition of personal preference, menu selection and service
delivery.
2. An assessment of how emotional connections (EC) affect behavioural intention which
drives loyalty. This is an especially important matter because loyalty could be
achieved modifying behavioural intention and this could be achieved thanks to
generate EC by the attendees. The methods which have been used to gain this
objective are as follow: first, analysing the factors which generate customer
satisfaction, from the point of view of the suppliers in general; second, the role of the
food as a key driver in delegates’ satisfaction, in particular: third, how EC could be
created and the attributes by which this EC could be obtained; finally, the organisation
of special event based on a theme has been made because it is known that kind of
activity is a good example of how to gain EC, thus generating loyalty.
3. Once an assessment of EC has been carried out in general, the next step is how the
food contributes to make attendees feel satisfied then giving rise to EC. The steps to
establish how food can generate EC in delegates is as follow: first, if in the opinion of
the suppliers food served at event generates EC; second, if networking activities in
conferences generate EC; third, focus on the role of food and beverage as a key driver
to generate EC: finally the process by which the suppliers have acknowledgment of
loyalty.
34
4. The next step is how Co-creation model could be a key driver by which EC could be
achieved and generate loyalty. The method which has been selected to cover this
matter is as follows: first, it has been found which channels of communication the
suppliers use to generate co-creation value; second, whether or not during that process
of communication the clients built a co-creation of a new value; finally, it tried to find
out whether suppliers used within the Service Dominant (SD) paradigm the Customer
to customer (C2C) co-creation of value model as a tool to generate EC.
5. The last field of analysis is how the food meets the needs of the delegates, and
therefore creates loyalty in them. The approach to gain this is as follows: on the one
hand it stressed the role of the food and beverage as main drivers which generate EC;
on the other, through food and beverage a high level of satisfaction and memorable
experience could be achieved, at this point, it is worth pointing out that feeling a
memorable experience is one of the best instruments to develop loyalty; and finally it
is believed that one of the most delicate issues in events is complaints about the food
and the delivery of it which affect to the loyalty by their clients.
Moreover, through the whole chapter the main findings and key issues which have arisen
from the thematic analysis with regard to the data collection will be discussed in relation to
the main matters which have been considered in the chapter of the literature review and how
the firms use them to achieve an emotional commitment by the customers with the aim of
obtaining loyalty to events by means of food. In addition at the end of each section a
summary of the main findings will be made, and at the end of this chapter a review of the key
findings will be carried out in order to relate it to the theory.
10.1 Profile of interviews
In the table 1 a description of the general characteristics of firms and respondents who took
part in this role will be made. The lable code will be EI which will identified in this chapter,
likewise the individual designator code will be from EI1 to EI5. During the process of the
interview the interviewees mentioned the name of their firms in these cases the name of the
companies has been changed by `site’ in order to maintain the confidentiality.
35
Table 1 Profiles of the Participants
EIs
Kind
of Firm
Ownership
Involment in
the Delivery
of Events
Respondents:
Position and
Seniority
Firm Aim
EI1
Deluxe Hotel
Private
Involved
a)Events
Executive
7 years
b)Sales
Specialist
1 year
Within a
Multinational
brand is located in
the city centre and
has a dedicated
meeting and events
space. Organising
from corporate
events and
exhibitions, to
banquets and
celebrations.
EI2
Civic Venue
Public
body
Involved
Business
Development
Manager
1 year and 9
months.
Edinburgh City
Centre's multi-
purpose event
spaces, from
conferences,
dinners and
performances to
exhibitions,
seminars and
weddings.
EI3
Academic
Venue
Public
Charitable
Body
Involved
Head of
Conference
and Events
1 year and 6
months.
Planning,
organisation and
delivery of high-
quality events and
delegate
management
36
services in
Edinburgh
EI4
Caterer
Supplier
Private
Involved in
supplying
food and
beverage
Operation
Manager
9 years and 8
months.
Is a part of a
National big
company which is
dedicated to deliver
catering at iconic
national and
international
events.
EI5
Caterer
Supplier
Private
Involved in
delivering
events and
supplying
food and
beverage.
General
Manager
Of Private
Events
2 years and 2
months.
Delivering of high
level in catering
and hospitality in
which the event
design takes
important role in
National Events
It can be seen there is a wide variety of companies involved in this study. Three of them are
dedicated in the organising, planning and delivering of events (EI1, EI2 and EI3). However
their facilities are very different for example EI1 is a Deluxe hotel within its own space
dedicated to delivering events; in contra there is a Civic Venue in the heart of the city which
only focuses on the delivering of events, it is worth nothing that this venue hires external
caterers to deliver the food and beverage of its events. EI3 is an academic venue which offers
different kinds of meetings, in different places and offers accommodation, in addition it has
its catering service and delegate registration and management services for the events. With
regard to the caterer companies EI4 is dedicated only to the delivery of the food and beverage
otherwise EI5 not only delivers the food and beverages but also plans and designs the whole
event in which the landscape plays a key role in generating a special atmosphere.
With regard to the proprietorship there are differences. On the one hand, EI1, EI4 and EI5 are
private, on the other EI3 and EI4 are public, being charitable EI3.
37
10.2 Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate
Satisfaction
In this section an analysis of the main factors and attributes involved in the food function in
the events will be made. As it can be observed the four key factors with their attributes will
be divided in four sections.
In order to analyse the most appropriate data obtained from the questionnaires four tables
related to each factor and their attributes will be presented. Following an interpretation of the
data collected, comparison will be made to the main articles of the literature review.
It could be said that in general terms there were no big differences in the answers from the
participants. However, the differences which were found out came from the catering firms
which deliver the food at the final stage. Nevertheless, the findings are very interesting
related to the aim of this section.
10.2.1 Factor 1. Food content quality
Table 2 shows the responses to factor 1: food content quality and its attributes.
Table 2 Factor 1: Food Content Quality
Factor 1 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5
Food Content Quality 5 5 5 4 5
The food function attributes are taken into consideration, or not, to obtain that
experience
Tasty Food Yes Yes yes Yes Yes
Fresh Ingredients Yes Yes yes No Yes
Right Menu Yes Yes yes Yes Yes
Attractive Food Yes Yes yes No Yes
It can be observed that the most important factor to achieve a high degree of satisfaction in
events, is food content quality, scoring 4.80 on the Likert scale, this data agrees with the
findings achieved by Kim Lee and Love (2009), on the other hand it was found that Wei and
Huang (2013) positioned this factor in second place . It could be argued that the venues that
hosted such as EI1, EI2 and EI3 which organise events scored the highest marks. In contrast,
catering firms such as EI4 did not achieve the highest scores, surprising because they deliver
the food. This data has to be understood from the point of view of supply. With regard to the
attributes which help to gain satisfaction all of them are taken into consideration by the
38
suppliers except fresh ingredients and attractive food by EI4, this differs to Wei and Huang
(2013) in which all the attributes are considered.
10.2.2 Factor 2. Recognition of personal preference.
Table 3 shows the responses to factor 2: recognition of personal preference and its attributes.
Table 3 Factor 2: Recognition of Personal Preference
Factor 2 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5
Recognition of Personal
Preference
5 5 4 3 5
Do you offer any of the following?
Available Special Dietary Menu Yes Yes yes Yes Yes
Unique Menu Selection Yes Yes yes yes Yes
Correct Order Yes Yes yes yes Yes
Memorable food Function Yes Yes yes yes Yes
Networking Opportunity Yes Yes yes Yes-No Yes
Recognition of Personal preference is scored with 4.4 on the Likert scale which means that
this factor is the last one taken into consideration by suppliers. This finding does not link with
Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which puts it in to third place of importance in food satisfaction.
With regard to the attributes all the participants agree with Kim, Lee and Love (2009).
However there are some exceptions. On the one hand, EI4 `states that a memorable food
function depends on the budget of the organiser firm’. On the other, according to EI4:
“Networking opportunity is taken into consideration depending on the kind of event,
for example for an award ceremony that attribute is very important as opposed to a
conference which is determined by what the client wants to achieve”.
That means that the organiser should take into account networking meetings as a key element
to achieving a high level of satisfaction by the delegates. It is worth stressing that this is
contrary to Kim, Lee and Love (2009) and the reason is that this paper is based on the point
of view of the delegates-demand and not from the side of the suppliers.
39
10.2.3 Factor 3. Menu Selection
Table 4 shows the responses to factor 3: menu selection and its attributes.
Table 4 Factor3: Menu Selection
Factor 3 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5
Menu Selection 5 4 5 4 5
Do you offer any of the following?
Variable Beverage Yes Yes yes Yes Yes
Variable Menu Yes Yes yes No Yes
Menu to Keep Awake Yes Yes yes No Yes
Health Conscious Diets Yes Yes yes Yes Yes
Carbohydrate Conscious Yes Yes yes Yes No
Low-fat Yes Yes yes Yes On
Request
Low-cholesterol Yes Yes yes Yes On
Request
Organic Categories Yes Yes yes No On
Request
Religious Requirements Yes Yes yes Yes On
Request
Other Specific Scottish
Themed
Concerning menu selection the factor scored 4.6 on the Likert scale which means that it is in
second place with food satisfaction from the point of view of the provider. That means that
this data differs from Wei and Huang, (2013) in which this factor is in first place in the
classification and from Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which is in fourth place in the
classification. With regard to the attributes of this factor these are taken into consideration by
the planner as can be found in Kim, Lee and Love (2009). However, there are some
exceptions as can be appreciated as follows:
EI4 “argues that variable menu attributes should be avoided but sometimes clients
insist; second, regarding `menu keep’ awake is not applicable as the client choses the
menu”.
That means that they as suppliers try to avoid to offering this kind of menu as a standard
menu.
EI5 notes that ‘carbohydrate consciousness is not taken into consideration but its firm
previously asked its customers’, in this instance EI4 states that this attribute is borne in mind
40
upon request of the customer. This data differs from Wei and Huang, (2013) who state the
planners have to take into consideration these food attributes of the menu selection to satisfy
the customer. In addition it is interesting that EI1 notes ‘that sometimes the clients are
looking for specific menu based on Scottish food’. It could be argued that suppliers do not
always satisfy their customers needs with their standard menus.
10.2.4 Factor 4. Service Delivery
Table 5 shows the responses to factor 4: service delivery and its attributes.
Table 5 Factor 4: Service Delivery
Factor 4 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5
Service Delivery 5 4 5 4 5
Do you consider in your preparation the following?
Sufficient Space Between Seats Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Prompt Service Yes yes Yes Yes Yes
Comfortable Seating Yes yes Yes Yes Yes
Friendly Service Yes yes Yes Yes Yes
Proper Food Temperature Yes yes Yes Yes Yes
Attracting Dining Room Setting Yes yes Yes Yes Yes
With regard to the service delivery factor this is scored at 4.6 on the Likert Scale, this in the
same place as menu selection in the classification. It is worth pointing that this factor is first
place of importance in food satisfaction in the Kim, Lee and Love (2009) study, in addition
for those scholars food content quality has the same score. With respect to the attributes
related to service delivery there is a practically unanimous point of view by them in
considering all attributes to achieve an excellent delivery. It is worth noting that there are
some statements from the side of the suppliers which do not appear in the other papers
because they come from the point of view of the attendees. These are as follow:
EI2 notes “that sufficient space between seats and proper food temperature are legally
required and it does not depend on the needs of clients!”
That means that in this case of the suppliers they are more concerned about these attributes
than delegates because for them is legal requirement.
41
EI5 states “that comfortable seating is taken into consideration depending of the
budget of the organiser and an attractive dining room is subjected by the availability
of the venue”.
It could be said for this quotation that comfortable seating should not have depend on the
budget but rather as a standard of quality of the suppliers.
10.2.5 Summary
It could be said that the factor of the food and its attributes are the same for the suppliers and
delegates, but it is worth pointing out that the priorities are always the same. For example
Factor 1 (food content quality) has the same priority from both parties. However, Factor 2
(recognition of personal preference) in this paper is in the last position on the Likert scale and
Factor 3 (menu selection) in this paper is in the second place and from the point of view of
the delegates it is not a priority. In addition Factor 4 (service delivery) is in the second
position whilst the point of view of the demand is in the first place. It is worth noting that
some factors are dependent on the budget of the organiser such as; achieving a memorable
food function, in contrast to delegates who do not take into account the budget to obtain this.
Once the food factor and its attributes which generate satisfaction in consumers have been
taken in to consideration, the next step is to assess of how EC changes behavioural intention.
10.3 How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention
With the aim of achieving this objective several issues have been covered such as how
satisfaction leads to behavioural intention, the role of EC in this process, thus the method to
create EC within finding out which attributes generate EC and from them whether or not
events based on a theme are a useful instruments to gain EC which drives loyalty.
42
10.3.1 Satisfaction Leading to Behavioural Intention
The degree of satisfaction a delegate achieves in attendance at an event has several purposes:
firstly increasing their desire in the future to want to meet again at an event organised by the
organising company, and secondly, the intention of recommending colleagues attending the
event (Wei and Huang, 2013).
Factors Generates Customer Satisfaction and Ultimately Gain Repeat
Attendances
With the aim of achieving more understanding of customer satisfaction the participants were
asked to explain which factors generate customer satisfaction and ultimately gain repeat
attendances. There were different kinds of answers dependent on the kind of suppliers,
sometimes there were coincidences and other divergences. For example, program with
breaks, location and cost are key factors for EI1, EI2 and EI3. It is worth pointing out that
interviewee 2 of EI1 stated that:
“The meeting is all about networking because people coming together to discuss
ideas…..throughout to talk to each other”
This declaration means the importance of the socialisation in the conference market this fact
for E2 is also important. Another point to take into consideration is explained by EI3 which
states that flexibility about the venues, menus and services are crucial for customer
satisfaction, however the most important factor which creates satisfaction in its customers are
the delegates and event and management services because of the fact that the organisers are
looking for this kind of service.
From the point of view of caterers such as EI4 these factors are cost, quality of food and
speed of services. Some of these findings are linked to previous scholars for those factors are
cost as an attribute of the program and networking activities as an external program (Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). However, EI5 states that:
“The venues generate satisfaction because customers look for interesting venues with
cultural heritage”.
43
This statement points to a new value which has to be taken into consideration in order to gain
more satisfaction, that is cultural heritage as an advertisement reclaim.
The Role of Food as a Key Driver in Customer Satisfaction at Conferences
With the purpose of obtaining a deep insight into the role of food as a key driver in customer
satisfaction at conferences the findings are as follows: very important and imperative for all
of them, this finding links with (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009; Tanford, Montgomery and
Nelson, 2012; Wei and Huang, 2013). The most interesting of their answers were their
arguments. One hand, EI1 interviewee 2 stated that:
“ If the food was not what the customers expected they will remember the food of that
event was not very nice the memory of the event will be impaired”
For that testimony it could be said that food can have a negative effect in the experience of
the event.
On the other hand, EI4 explains an awards ceremony that the attendees will remember for a
long time the quality and service of food served more than the ceremony itself. In the same
vein this.
Finally, EI3 states that:
“The worst and best feedback of the events is about the food and this interviewee
believes that food is absolutely critical factor to generate satisfaction”
This declaration points out the key role of food as a driver to achieving satisfaction and is
linked with the findings of Kim, Lee and Love (2009)
10.3.2 Emotional Connection
Emotional commitment is a key driver to address behaviour change in consumers in order to
create loyalty from them to the event, this is due to the fact that emotional commitment is
able to generate positive feelings that make this change possible (Tanford, Montgomery and
44
Nelson, 2012). In this section the data analysis is divided into two subsections. On the one
hand it will assess how emotional connection affects behavioural intention in general, and on
the other the input that food makes to emotional connection, in particular.
10.3.2.1 Examine the procedure of how emotional connection affect behavioural intention
This part is subdivided in four sections which are related with the aim topics found in the
literature review chapter.
Create an Emotional Connection
Firstly, the participants were asked to describe how they create an emotional connection (EC)
with the organisations with which they work. There were different approaches to this matter.
For example, EI2, EI3, EI4, EI5 explained that they generate EC with their customers right
through building relationships with their clients. The method used to generate this EC were
different from each other. For instance E1I and EI2 state that they built this relationship
trying to get to know their customers whilst as well as possible and to meeting their needs.
EI3 notes that:
“They have a team of ten people to understand everything about their customer and
what is important to them, In addition maintaining a channel of communication after
the event asking them for feedback on the event and if there is anything that did not
meet their expectations and make the necessary changes therefore leaving the clients
feeling that have been listened to”
This statement shows how this firm carefully cares for its customers throughout the delivery
process of an event by a special mention in the emotional part of it.
In contrast, for EI1 they achieved EC by exceeding the expectations of their customers and
EI5 that to establish EC by doing things differently. This data differs from Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) who state that the EC by the attendees is generated by the
program satisfaction. Therefore, it is appears that the factors that generate satisfaction in
delegates differ from what the suppliers anticipate.
45
Attributes which Generate EC
Secondly, they were asked which attributes generate EC, again there were a wide range of
responses. Most of them based on personal relationships, however, they contrast in specific
attributes. For example EI1 emphasises “the warmth of staff who makes their customers feel
more comfortable” and at the same time E12 states “they feel taken care of” this data is
linked to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who note that feeling emotionally
attached to a convention is the main attribute to generate EC. On the contrary, flexibility is
the main attribute for EI3, and trust and making its customer look good are important for EI5.
The third question was if those firms that have EC with their organisation, have they built a
sense of loyalty to their organisation? All the answers followed the same course for instance
EI1 argues that EC creates a loyalty by their customers, EI4 and EC is based on partner
relationships they point out that is loyalty on both sides. According to Tanford, Montgomery
and Nelson, (2012) EC is the main driver of loyalty. It is worth noting EI3’s statement:
`”To be honest if you do something to break that loyalty – repeat customers will
often give us the opportunity to rectify the mistakes- rather than just walking away”
It could be understood if there is a strong feeling of EC the problems could be solved and the
loyalty is not impacted.
Some of the interviewees knew the percentage of loyalty to their firm such as EI3 which was
70% and EI2 was about 40%, the rest of them said that in the majority of the cases they have
worked with some of their loyal clients for more than 5 years. Whilst the participants agreed
that relationships based on partnerships created a sense of loyalty and therefore EC, Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) state that EC is the main driver of loyalty but not how this
can be achieved.
46
Organisation Special Events Based on a Theme
Fourth, in order to increase EC to achieve more loyalty thus more competiveness the
participants were asked if they organised special events based on a theme in which all the
servicescape factors such as lighting, music, walls, design, aroma and room layout are taken
into consideration. Depending on the kind of supplier the responses were positive EI1, EI2,
EI4, EI5 and negative for EI3. For example, on the one hand, recently EI1 said that:
“They organised an event based on a Scottish theme in which different factors were
taken into considerations such as the taste, because the chef created a special menu,
sight and sound factor’
On the other, EI4 said that:
“Last summer they created an indoor garden theme in which they had fake grass and
flower pots on the station tables”
These two statements referred to above highlight some specific examples through the
development of events based on all elements of servicescape.
In addition, EI5 has its own design team which develop ideas around audio visual, florist and
designers. Those which design this theme event consider that these encounters create EC with
their firms because this experience provides a new and different experience to remember
(EI1). These findings are related to Nelson (2009) which state that these new event design
model enhance the satisfaction and the EC. It is worth pointing out that EI5 believes that:
“These events generate EC for several reasons: first, the clients are excited about
something different and new but in the conference market depends on the budget, on
the other this theme event makes customers feel relaxed and this generates EC on the
part of the attendees”
The most important matter of that statement is the concepts of feelings such as to be excited
and feeling relaxed as a method to generate EC. Therefore, it is clear that servicescape
design is important to engage attendees and clients.
47
10.3.3 Summary
It could be said that all the participants generate EC, building relationships with their
customers that drives loyalty by the organisers and clients. The methods by which this is
achieved are different, for example EI3 pointed out the flexibility with their clients whilst EI2
try to make their clients feel taken care of. Finally, the participants which organise events
based on a theme in which all elements of serviscape are taken into account stated that these
events created EC with them, for example EI5 stated that the attendees which participate in
this kind of events generate EC with their firms because of the fact that they feel more
relaxed and open minded.
Previously EC as driver to loyalty has been assessed, the next step is the relation between
food and EC.
10.4 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection.
The method by which EC can be achieved by the role of the food as a key driver to
generating satisfaction will we made. The process to achieve this goal is as follows: firstly,
whether or not food served at events develops EC; The role of the networking and the food
served in these meetings generates EC; in the end; the methods by which participants have
the acknowledgment of loyalty by their clients.
Food Served at Events which Generated EC
The first question of this section was if the participants think that food served at their events
generated EC by their clients. EI1 interview1 said that food generated EC commitment
because this generates “happy hormones”, but it is not just the food, the food quality and the
service of the food, EI4 pointed out the importance of flexibility and service. However, EI1
Interviewee2 said that:
“If you explain to your customer what they are eating they understand more about the
food and this understanding improves the EC”
48
It could be said that explanation and knowledge for the delegates about what they are eating
and drinking drive to achieve EC.
Therefore, these findings are related to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) because
food is one of the program factors of the whole which generates more satisfaction thus more
EC. Another opinion was expressed by EI2 who explained that people have EC with food but
for her firm it is not the most important because several caterers deliver the food. On the
other hand, EI3 responded that it is more practical to have finger food and for EI5 described
that:
“It is more difficult for the conference market because of the expectations of the
customers from different nationalities are different. For example the expectations of
the delegates from Japan about food may be different from that of Spanish delegates”.
From that statement it could be deduced that the matter of expectations about the food is key
issue to improve EC.
Food and Networking Activities
Another point of view about EC related to the food and networking activities, was as follow:
When organising an event do you take into consideration spaces and time to plan networking
activities such as lunches, breaks, receptions in which food and beverage are key in their
planning strategy? EI.1 interview1 responded that “absolutely yes the first thought taken into
consideration is the place”, EI2 is the space. EI1 interviewee2 explained that food is the
second the priority in networking activities. EI.3. said that:
“For informal networking times and breaks are critical however the interviewee thinks
that being fed and watered are essential but she was not sure about the importance of
food in those breaks’, but her firm has live twitter links and if the lunch is not good it
is at risk because people chat on twitter and the reputation of your food is very
important”.
It could be said that the food is an important driver to obtaining a good reputation of the event
and the role of the social media as an instrument to communicate this reputation.
49
EI4 does not take part in the program because they only deliver the food to fulfill the
requirements of the customers. EI5 takes part in the planning of the activities especially
when “they are dealing with new clients”. The scholars findings are that the organiser does
not pay enough attention to these activities in which EC could be generated (Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). Once again the point of view of the suppliers is different
from that of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who based their findings on the
delegates.
The Role of Food and Beverage as a Key Factor in Which to Generate EC
The role of food and beverage as a key factor in which to generate EC in their customers
produced different points of view. For EI3 explained that:
“For fine or gala dinner the food is important and generates EC however for
conferences the clients are looking for good and easy fulfilling food, the participant
knows the importance of the food and advises their customers but these only take into
consideration the food linked with the budget”
Here the issue appears to be the function of food as a fulfillment of the delegates needs
related to the costs and the importance of food in the social networking activities. Tanford,
Montgomery and Nelson (2012) argue that cost are not the most important to get EC thus
loyalty. For EI1 interviewee2 food and beverage creates EC which generates loyalty. EI4
believes that:
“The organiser generates EC with the host venue and likewise delegates connect
emotionally with the organiser but not with them as a caterer”
It is worth noting from this declaration that sometimes whoever the firm responsible for
delivering the food is at the end of the chain to generate EC.
However, opposing this view EI5 states that:
“food and how it is presented and the delivery of the service are key drivers to
achieve EC thus loyalty”.
50
In this case it is not only the food that is important but rather the service. Mason and
Paggiaro, (2012) states that organisers should improve the quality and service because this
creates positive emotions which build emotional experience and affect the behavioral
intentions which address enhancing loyalty. Mason and Paggiaro, (2012) agree with the
findings of this paper, however, Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) disagree because
they do not take into consideration the budget as the main factor in creating EC thus
generating loyalty, due to their perspective coming from delegates rather than suppliers.
Acknowledgment of the Loyalty
The last view of this section is about the method how they acknowledge the loyalty. They
were asked as follow: given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example
word of mouth. Have you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation? The
answer was unanimous for all of them personal recommendation was of vital importance, the
reasons for this are as follow: EI1 “is because of the food and the knowledge that they are
very approachable team”; for EI2 the reason is the venue and its stunning room and
atmosphere, as well the location in the city centre; EI5 established that:
“There are two ways by which they are recommended one is the delegate that
attended an event and the other is recommendation between different departments of
big companies, and the food is one of the most important arguments for this word of
mouth because they deliver different events for the same conference in different
venues but their clients ask them to deliver the food in the different venues because
their food is always excellent”
For that explanation it could be argued that food is really a key argument to recommendations
by worth of mouth. Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (201 by2) state that one of the key
factors which indicate behavioural loyalty is recommendation for the following years events;
here both sides appear to agree; Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) do not state how
recommendation is achieved in contrast to this paper which states clearly the reasons for this.
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10.4.1 Summary
For the findings it could be argued that for most of participants not only food but also service of food
served at events contribute to generate EC, for example for EI1 interviewee 2 food is a key driver
which addresses loyalty. In addition, with respect to the role of networking activities and the food
served in them as drivers to generate EC there are different point of view. On the one hand, EI1 stated
that the food is important at these kind of meetings and if you give more explanations about the food
the attendee will feel more involved which increases the degree of EC, however EI2 stated that for
networking activities the place is the main factor and EI4 does not take part into the planning of them.
The most significant method by which the participants noted loyalty by their clients is through word
of mouth and EI1, EI4 and EI5 pointed out that the food is one of the reasons to recommend them.
The next step in the process of this research process is analysing the Co-creation paradigm
and C2C model as a drivers which addresses EC.
10.5 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate
Loyalty
The Co-Creation Value model has become a very useful tool to increase the degree of
satisfaction of consumers, furthermore it generates loyalty and increases the level of
expenditure on them (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012). Likewise, within this model
Customer to Customer (C2C) allows customers to co-create a new value of the company
throughout face to face networking activities because they take part actively in the process of
creating a new product/service sharing their experiences (Gruen, Osmonbekov and
Czaplewski, 2007; Rihova et al., 2013).
Therefore, in this section the collected data analysis will be carried out firstly from the point
of view Co-Creation Value model and secondly C2C paradigm. The actions which have been
taken into account to gain this objectives are as follows: on one hand, which channels of
communications participants use to create EC and whether or not during this process a co-
creation of new values has been developed, on the other, try to find out if C2C is used by
them as an instrument to increase the level of EC.
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Channels of Communication
The participants were asked about the channels of communication they use in order to
maintain dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event and during this dialogue
did they notice that their clients created a new value? The responses were of different nature.
On the one hand, all of them use the same channels e-mail, phone and conference calls. It is
worth pointing out that EI1 interviewee1 stated phone calls are better than email because
speaking on the phone to your client is more personal than e-mail. Grissemann and
Stokburger-Sauer (2012) state that the internet has changed the communications channels
such as e-mail, thus co-creating a new value more quickly. However, on the contrary to that
statement EI interview2 expressed that “the best approach to communicate is personal face to
face meeting” (F2F), for example EI5 that F2F meetings are the most appropriate channel to
maintain relationships between their agents and the clients, this is in line with Payne et al.,
(2009) who noted that F2F is a good method of communication to create relationships. In
fact, EI5 stated that:
“They refer to clients as a part of the company family and treat them like a friend
because this allows the firm to understand better the needs of their customers and
exceed their expectations”
EI5 uses the concept of family as the most important approach to treat their customers to
build a strong relationship. In addition, EI5 established that they use social media to continue
that relationship. It appears all the parties are agreed.
Co-Creation of a New Value
In respect to if they noticed during this dialogue that their clients co-created a new value, EI2
stated its firm was doing all the time because “value is everything in the world of events” in
fact EI2 stated that:
“Providing a memorable experience of the event the clients is happy and is loyal to
your company”
53
That means that happiness could be achieved throughout by delivering a memorable
experience.
This related to Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer (2012) who state that the degree of co-
creation value is correlated with the level of customer satisfaction and has an on effect on the
index of satisfaction and loyalty. On the contrary other interviewees are not sure about co-
creation value in the process of building a relationship, such as EI3 explained that they
deliver a lot of events and do not have enough time to co-create value with all of them, as
well EI4 explained that:
“Not all of their customers want to be involved in this process indeed if any of their
clients want to be part of this process they can come to its office, you cannot force the
client to become involved”
That statement means that the scholars and the author of this paper believe in Co-creation
value as a method to achieve EC but not all the customers have to be involved.
From the point of view of the author what was expressed by EI1 they supposed that:
“During this dialogue co-creation value was created because of the fact that `Humans
are fundamentally emotionally creatures and no matter whatever interaction you have
with anyone in any walk of life you are always going to have an emotional connection
because humans are emotional you are always going to have an emotional connection
with them”
This statement is linked to the idea of having a memorable experience of the event but based
on the human relationships and feelings. Thus, the point of view of the participants concurs
with the findings of Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer (2012) in that co-creation value
generates EC. Noteworthy, however, it is that not all participants feel it was necessary nor
had the time to develop this kind of relationships.
Costumer to Customer (C2C) Co-Creation Value Model
With regard to the C2C paradigm the interviewees were asked if they organise this kind of
meeting and if they thought that meetings generated loyalty to them. Those that did not
organise C2C encounters were asked if they thought it was a good idea to develop C2C
54
model of Co-creation value as a method of generating loyalty to their firms. Only EI3
organise these kind of sessions in which the customers are asked about their opinions about
the particular service, venue or menu, they gather different clients and share their opinions. In
addition, EI3 said that:
“This kind of meeting generates loyalty to them because their clients are provided
with nice food and drink and are asked about their opinion and this fact generates
emotional connection to them because the clients are listened to and this makes the
clients feel special”
Again it could be deduced that feelings are important to gain loyalty. This is linked to Gruen,
Osmonbekov and Czaplewski (2007) that point that C2C sharing experiences enhance the
loyalty behaviours by the customer to the firms.
With regard to those who did not organise C2C meetings on the one hand EI1 interviwee1
expressed that “I don’t see why not…..I must admit I have never come across something like
that”, on the other E14 thinks that is not sometimes we do “I would not rule it out in
future…It is not something I have thought about”. Both opinions are about the same point
which is related to Rihova et al. ( 2013) the social sphere is critical in the C2C model to co-
create a new value and these interviewees agree to the fact taking into consideration
organising this sessions in which social networking exchanges having a key role.
However, on the contrary EI2 explained that:
“C2C encounters are not a good idea to generate loyalty by their clients because of the
fact that those clients with good ideas for events, want to keep them to themselves.
These successful ideas are treated confidentially because some of their customers are
direct competitors and do not want to share them”
It is clear that EI2’s possible industrial espionage is a critical factor to be considered when
embarking on this course of action. However, by introducing the idea to some of the
participants as a tool may prove successful to some organisations in the future, whilst other
have found it very useful and implement the strategy already.
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10.5.1 Summary
It could be said that the most effective channel to creating co-creation new value is face to
face meeting by which a new co-creation value has been generated because of the fact that
human relations play a key role which drive EC. With respect to C2C only a firm which
organises these kinds of meetings w gives rise to EC as a behaviour which addresses loyalty.
However, for those which do not organise them, EI2 noted that is not a good idea in order to
avoid industrial espionage, nevertheless the rest of the participants believe that C2C is an
excellent tool to improve the degree of EC as a bridge between satisfaction and loyalty.
Once the role of co-creation value has been made, the last part of this research project is to
analyse in depth whether or not the food at events meets the needs of the delegates then
generates loyalty in them.
10.6 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them
The role of food in conference satisfaction is a key factor which drives attendees’ return
intention (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009). According to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012)
this is because food and beverage is one on the programs factors which generate more
satisfaction, emotional commitment which addresses loyalty. Thus, in this section the
collected data related to the food is an instrument by which EC can be generated because of
creating memorable experiences which drive loyalty by attendees to events which can be
assessed. To gain this objective three, questions were formulated. One, interviewees were
asked if their clients when planning an event take into consideration the food and beverage as
a main driver which generates EC which drives loyalty. Two, from their point of view, do
they think food and beverage are important to achieve a high level of satisfaction and
memorable experience, therefore, generate loyalty to their firms? Three, they were questioned
if they receive a lot of complaints about the food when they deliver an event. The answers are
as follows:
56
Food and Beverage as Main Driver which Generates EC
With regard to the fact that if their clients when planning an event take into consideration the
food and beverage as main driver which generates EC which drives in loyalty the answers
were as follow. EI1 said that:
“Definitely, their clients take into consideration food as a tool to achieve a memorable
experience because they remember that and they say oh I want to repeat that
experience”
EI5 expressed that:
“The important point is understanding the needs of the clients and exceeding their
expectations in fact EI5 food is the main part which creates loyalty to us”
In both statements the food is considered as a key tool to creating a memorable experience
which drives loyalty. According to (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009, pp. 226) ` it was proven that
satisfaction with food function programs was the leading driver of an attendee’s intent to
return’. For EI1 and EI5 this understanding allowed them to exceed the expectation which
surprised their customers which drives in delighting them and this generates a high level of
loyalty because in both cases they have clients who return to them every single year. That
statement is linked to what is stated by Berman (2005) for which to delight to your customers
by exceeding their expectations is a key factor to get loyalty by them. However, EI2 as a
civic venue explained that they do not have control over the food and EI3 explained that:
“Food definitely has an impact on making an event a memorable occasion and their
clients will come back because the food is important to them as a structure of the
whole event”
That means the whole event is the key issue to create a memorable experience and the food
is significant element of the event. Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) argue that
creating an emotional commitment drives loyalty and food as one of the key program factors
which generates satisfaction. The generation of EC by food is an area of agreement by all
parties, participants, suppliers and organisers.
57
Food and Beverage Factors to Achieve a High Level of Satisfaction and
Memorable Experience
In respect to the second question if their point of view, is that they think food and beverage
are important to achieve a high level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore,
generate loyalty to their firms. EI1 expressed that:
“Food is very important to achieve a memorable experience in fact one method they
use to achieve this is design menus in which local food of the region is presented
because it allows customers to know more about the culture of the destination”.
In that statement it is worth pointing out that the acknowledgement of the culture of the
destination could be achieved thanks to the use of local food. Wei and Huang (2013) noted
that a useful method to achieve a high degree of satisfaction by the delegates is through the
consumption of local food where the event is placed. For the caterers, EI4 stated that “food
produce satisfaction is important but it depends on the budget” and EI5 pointed that:
“…food and drink is the exciting part of the conference… I have got one conference
where we did some different things on breaks- some energy boosters, some fun
things- which presented really differently and that really sticks in mind so it was
memorable”
For EI5 to gain a memorable experience could be achieved with how the food is presented.
However, EI2 expressed that:
“The delegates go to a conference because of the program and the location and not
because of the food at the decision stage, but when they are at the event the food is
very important because it is a source of energy… you are not engaged by the correct
food and drink”
That statement makes clear that food is an important element when the event is delivered but
not in the first step of the decision process to attending an event. This is linked to one of the
findings of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (pp. 312, 2012) `food and beverage were not
part of the program factor at the decision stage, but did become part of the program factor in
ratings of satisfaction’. Again, this is an area where all the participants are on the same
opinion.
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The Complaints about Food and Beverage Served at Events
Finally the matter about the complaints that the firms received the responses was as follow.
EI1 they do not just receive complaints, EI4 is on the same opinion but when they received
one of them about their company the complaints are treated as a positive issue to improve
their service. EI5 was more categorical in noting that they do not receive complaints.
However, EI3 stated that:
“They do not receive a lot of complaints but when it happens immediately they
address the issue go to talk with the customer and solve it with the aim that next time
the experience will be a good one”
It is worth noting that for EI3 the most important action to carry out to solve any
inconvenience is to resolve as soon as possible and learn from these complaints. With regard
to this subject Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) noted that for the most part the
complaints at the events are related to the food and beverage. Therefore there seems to a
difference in findings from this paper and Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) contrary
to all complaints are about food and beverage, nevertheless the participants in this study they
do not receive many complaints about the food. It could be argued that the participants in this
study did not want to admit to receive many complaints about.
It is worth noting that in the statements which were noted by the participants at the end of the
interviews. On one hand, EI1 expressed that:
“They have never thought about the role food as an instrument by which a
memorable experience could be created”
That statement is very relevant because it comes from a hotel which delivers events as a
whole and they thought about food and beverage with the aim of feeding and watering
people, but not as instruments to generate memorable experiences. On the other, EI3 stated
that “the food is an important factor but within the whole planning of the conference”.
Finally EI5 noted that:
59
“…the food is important but this has to be accompanied by excellent delivery service
which is a key factor to achieve satisfaction”
In this declaration food has to be accompanied by outstanding delivery with the aim of
achieving satisfaction. This is related to the findings by Kim, Lee and Love (2009).
10.6.1 Summary
The most relevant findings with regard to the role of food as an instrument to generate
loyalty, are that food is an excellent tool to achieve a memorable experience which drives
loyalty (EI1 and EI5), however for EI4 it is dependent on the budget and for EI3 is not only
about the food but also location venue and facilities. It is worth stressing that serving local
food is a helpful resource to create a memorable experience because the attendees are more
involved in the culture of the destination. Finally, EI5 stated that they enjoy exceeding the
expectations of their clients making the delivery of events differently which addresses loyalty
because EC has been built. The complaints about the food are not a big issue because the
participants do not usually receive them and if some of them receive complaints these are
faced and solved as soon as possible.
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10.7 Summary of the Findings
Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate
Satisfaction
Comparing the data from this paper with that of the scholars there are some differences
according to the factors of the food which generate satisfaction; firstly, factor 1 (food content
quality) is the priority in this paper, in contrast with the findings of Wei and Huang (2013) is
in the second position. Secondly, factor 2 (recognition of personal preference) in Kim, Lee
and love (2009) is scored in the third position whilst in this paper is in the last position.
Thirdly, factor 3 (menu selection) for Wei and Huang (2013) takes the first place and in this
paper is in the second one. Finally factor 4 (service delivery) is the highest scored for Kim,
Lee and love (2009), while in this paper is in the second position.
How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention
It could be said that all the participants generate EC building relationships with their
customers which drives loyalty between the organisers and clients, these findings match those
of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012). The methods by which this is achieved t are
different, for example EI3 pointed out the flexibility with their clients whilst EI2 try to make
their clients feel taken care of. Finally, the participants which organise events based on a
theme in which all elements of serviscape are taken into account stated that these events
created EC with them in the same way as Nelson (2009) which states that events based on a
theme generate EC. One of the reasons is that, for example EI5 stated that the attendees
which participate in these kinds of events generate EC with their firms because they feel
more relaxed and open minded.
61
The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection.
For the findings it could be argued that for most of participants not only food but also service
of food served at events contributes to generate EC, for example for EI1 interviewee 2 food is
a key driver which leads to loyalty. These findings are linked on the one hand, to Kim, Lee
and love (2009) who note that food delivered in events is a key factor in return intentions for
the following year, to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) which argue that food is a
key element of the program by which EC is created. In addition, with respect to the role of
networking activities and the food served in them as a driver to generate EC there are
different points of view. On the one hand, EI1 stated that the food is important in these kinds
of meetings and if you give more explanations about the food the attendee will feel more
involved which increases the degree of EC, however EI2 stated that for networking activities
the place is the main factor and EI4 does not take part into the planning of them. With regard
to this matter the scholars’ findings suggest that the organisers do not pay enough attention to
the planning of networking activities (ibid.) The most significant method by which the
participants noted the loyalty by their clients is through the word of mouth and EI1,EI4 this is
the same method for Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012). It is worth noting that EI5
pointed out that the food is one of the arguments to recommend them.
Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate
Loyalty
It could be said that the most effective channel to create co-creation new value is face to face
meeting by which a new co-creation value has been generated because of the fact that human
relations play a key role which drive EC thus generate loyalty by the clients. Grissemann and
Stokburger-Sauer stated that (pp. 1489, 2012) ‘co-creation enhances customer satisfaction
and loyalty toward the company’, however they do not refer to the method to achieve this
loyalty. With respect to C2C only a firm which organises this kind of meetings which gives
rise to EC as a behaviour which encourages loyalty, these findings are related to those which
were found by Gruen, Osmonbekov and Czaplewski (2007), in addition these authors noted
that organisers need to take into account C2C exchange as a part of their value delivery of the
events because C2C impacts on the perception of the value of the company by customers.
62
However, for those who do not organise them, EI2 noted that is not a good idea to avoid
industrial espionage, nevertheless the rest of the participants believe that C2C is an excellent
tool to improve the degree of EC as a bridge between satisfaction and loyalty.
The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in
Them
The most relevant findings with regard to the role of food as an instrument to generate
loyalty, it could be noted that food is an excellent tool to achieve a memorable experience
which drives loyalty (EI1 and EI5) that is linked to the findings of Kim, Lee and love (2009),
however for EI4 it is dependent on the budget and for EI3 it is not only about the food but
also location venue and facilities. It is worth stressing that serving local food is helpful source
to create a memorable experience because the attendees are more involved in the culture of
the destination, in the same direction are the findings of Wei and Huang (pp.265, 2013) that state
‘the opportunity to experience local cusine contribute greatly to attendee satisfaction’. Finally, EI5
stated that they enjoy exceeding the expectation of their clients making the delivery of events
differently which encourages loyalty because EC has been built in the same line as Berman
(2005) in that delight is a more powerful element to create loyalty than satisfaction. The
complaints about the food are not big issues because the participants do not usually receive
them and if some of them receive complaints these are faced and solved as soon as possible
these findings do not match to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who note that the
most complaints in delivery of the events are related with food and beverage which are
provided in them.
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11 Conclusions and Recommendations
The aim of this paper is to determine what role food has in designing an event experience and
how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees to the event with the purpose of
getting loyalty by them. To achieve this aim the author of this investigation established 7
drivers/ objectives. It is believed that these objectives have been met for several reasons are
as follows:
Objective 1: A literature review has been carried out with the aim to revision of
relevant research in the different themes.
Objective 2: The key factors of the food and their attributes that generates satisfaction
in delegates which are the same for the suppliers and the attendees however the
priorities of them are not the same for some and others have been investigated.
Objective 3: An examination of the procedure of how Emotional Connection affects
behavioural intention has been carried out and it has been demonstrated that building
relationships between the suppliers and organiser drive into the creation of Emotional
connection thus a loyalty is given rise to.
Objective 4: The analysis of the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and
emotional connection has resulted in food and the service as key drivers which
contribute to enhance the satisfaction throughout the process in the creation of
Emotional Commitment.
Objective 5: Evaluate how Co-Creation Value Model can generate Emotional
Commitment to generate loyalty. This objective has been met for several reasons. On
the one hand, Emotional Connection is achieved by the creation of human
relationships based on the face to face encounters; on the other hand, these actions
drive the creation of loyalty by the clients. In addition C2C Co-creation New Value
model has been assessed as a useful tool to enhance the loyalty between organisers
and suppliers.
Objective 6: Explore the role of food in meeting the needs of delegates, creating
loyalty in them. With regard to this objective it has been established thanks to the
food a memorable experience of the event exceeding their expectations and needs,
therefore, a memorable experience is created with the aim of increasing the level of
EC thus developing a degree of loyalty.
64
Objective 7: Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the research
findings which have been realized in the present chapter.
In addition, a number of conclusions will be presented related to the objectives based on the
data found in the chapter on data analysis in the same way that a number of practical
recommendations will be described with the objective that they are a useful tool for all
suppliers who are involved in the delivery of an event. Finally, a number of proposals will be
given for future research in this field of knowledge
11.1 Conclusions
11.1.1 The Key Factors of the food and their Attributes that Generates Satisfaction in
Delegates
With regard to the key attributes of food that generates satisfaction in delegates. It could be
said the key factors and their attributes are taken into consideration by the delegates and the
suppliers which have participated in this research project. However there is a difference in the
priorities of the stakeholders of these factors. For example, on the one hand, Factor 1 (food
content quality) is the main factor for the supplier and for the attendees, however it takes
second place according to (Wei and Huang, 2013); on the other, Factor 2 (recognition of
personal preference) in this paper it is in the last position on the Likert scale, this differs
from Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which puts it in the third position, however it is worth noting
that with regard to achieving a memorable food function it is dependent on the budget of the
organiser; likewise, Factor 3 ( menu selection) from the point of view of the suppliers takes
second place, however, according to Wei and Huang (2013) takes first place; finally, Factor 4
(service delivery) is the most important driver for Kim, Lee and Love (2009) and in this
study is in the second position
Regarding the answers of the interviews related to drivers which improve satisfaction in
customers the location and cost are key factors for EI, EH2, for interviewee 2 of EI1 stated
that all the meeting is about networking, for EI4 the cost, quality of food and speed of
services, however, EI5 states that the venues generate satisfaction because its customers look
for interesting venues with cultural heritage. EI3 event and management services are
important to fulfill the satisfaction of the planner firms. To sum up it could be said that it has
65
been found that more factors generate satisfaction than previous studies have shown which
state that the most important factors were the cost and networking and management services
(Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).
With respect to the analysis of the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional
connection, these could be observed in several ways. On the one hand, all the participants
agree that food and beverage service in an event creates an emotional connection with the
attendees because of the fact that independent of the type of the event, people always
remember more whether or not the food was good or not than what the event was about
because of the fact that satisfaction is formed by cognitive and emotional components
(Mason and Paggiaro, 2012).
11.1.2 Emotional Connection (EC) Affects Behavioural Intention
With regard to the procedure of how emotional connection (EC) affects behavioural intention
the process can be divided into different steps. Firstly all the interviewees generate Emotional
connection with their customers throughout building relationships with their customers with
the aim of knowing their clients as well as possible, their needs and meeting those needs. The
methods used to shape these relationships in creating EC differ from each other, for example
EI1 pointed out that warm staff makes clients feel more comfortable, EI2 tries to make their
clients feel taken care of, EI3 stressed the flexibility as a driver to generating EC and for EI5
trust and making its clients look good are the most important driver. Secondly, all the
participants agreed with the fact that EC drives the creation of a feeling of loyalty because the
attendees feel an emotional link with the event, according to Tanford, Montgomery and
Nelson (2012). It is worth stressing what EI3 explained was that when the firm has built a
strong EC if there are any problems with the clients these can be solved and the relationship
does not break down. Some of them have a high percentage of loyalty such as EI3 which has
70%. Finally, the question was asked if the organiser of events based on specific themes did
those generate EC. Almost all of them, except EI3, responded that they organise this kind of
event in which all the servicescape factors are used with the aim of creating a specific
atmosphere. In fact EI5 has a specific all designed event in which audio visual, flowers, walls
and room layout were taken into account. Likewise, all of them were agreed that the fact that
these kind of special events created EC in their clients, this is in the same findings of Nelson
(2009), for example EI5 talk of these theme based events making attendees feel excited about
66
something different and new and at the same time making them feel relaxed and more open
minded, however organising these events in the conference market depended on the budget of
the clients.
11.1.3 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection
With respect to the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional connection
again there are different arguments which depend on the type of supplier. For E1, EI4,E15
food and service contributes to generate EC, however, EI3 explained that it depends on the
kind of event, for instance for gala dinners food is critical, nevertheless, for conference lunch
is about good and easy access to food. However EI2 expressed that the customers need to be
fed and watered and the planners should take into account the times of the breaks because in
the afternoon delegates are more tired so they need more wake up menus. It is worth noting
that for some of the participants food and beverage could be a key factor which generates EC
thus loyalty, for example for EI1 interviewee2 food is fundamental to achieve loyal
customers, for EI5 is the food and service and the design of how the food is presented.
According to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) food and beverage are important
drivers within the satisfaction of the conference program but in that study there is not any
reference to the type of the breaks in which food is provided and matters about the how the
food is served, for example EI1 states that if you explain to the customers more about the
food which is provided this understanding generates more EC by attendees. Another matter
concerns the role of the food in networking activities and if they collaborate in the planning
of them. On the one hand, some of them take part in the planning of them such EI1 and EI5
but always depend on what the clients need and their experience in organising conventions
and conferences, EI4 does not take part in this, on the other, EI1 said that food is a priority in
this kind of activity while EI2 opinion is the importance of place in which taking part these
kind of breaks take place. In contrast, the point of view of the delegates, is that they need
more time for breaks to develop more networking links (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson,
2012). Finally one of the methods of noting the loyalty of the clients is the word of mouth
with regard to this issue all of the interviewees agreed (ibid), however the reasons for
personal recommendations differ from each other, for EI1 and EI4 and EI5 is the food and the
venue and room atmosphere for EI2.
67
11.1.4 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate
Loyalty
Relating to the evaluation of how Co-Creation Model can generate Emotional Commitment
to generate loyalty. It can be concluded that most of the respondents based face to face
encounters as a better communication channel with customers so that all together as partners
create a new co creation value with the firms. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that in this new
model which is based on Service Dominant paradigm, human relations play a key role as a
result of participants feel happy and emotional connection between customers and companies
are generated which leads to the development of the loyalty by customers. This is because the
companies know their customers better, their needs and therefore cover and even exceed
them. With respect to the C2C paradigm it is useful to create a co-creation value which is
used by an interview which stated that these kind of sessions give rise to emotional
connection with clients which derives loyalty because the clients are treated as a partner and
are taken into consideration, in addition the social sphere is very important. Almost all the
firms which do not organise these meetings agree that C2C is good tool to get to know more
effectively their customer in deed some of them have never thought about this matter.
However, EI2 in contrast disagree with these opinions because C2C encounters do not allow
to maintain the privacy of their clients and their successful ideas because some times are
competitors each other.
11.1.5 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in
Them
Finally, it could be concluded that related to the exploration of the role of food in meeting the
needs of delegates, creating loyalty in them that according to our respondents EI1 and EI5 the
organisers take into consideration food as a useful instrument to achieve a memorable
experience which creates EC which drives loyal behaviour when they planning an event EI3
explained that food and beverage are important to obtain a memorable experience but for
their clients it is part of a whole including location, venue and facilities. However, for EI4
this depended on the budget. With regard to the point of the interviewees the role of the food
to achieve a memorable experience is critical (EI1, EI5) for EH4 depending on the budget
and for EH3 in the decision stage it is not important, however when the event is being
68
delivered the food and drinks are key factors to gaining a high degree of satisfaction because
the attendees needed to be fed and energized, as well as enhancing the reputation of the
organisation. It is worth noting that the methods to achieve that memorable experience are
different. For example EI1 the delivery of local food is a very useful tool because this allow
their clients to know more about the culture of the destination, for EI5 everything is based on
doing things differently and surprising their clients exceeding their expectations thus creating
delight in them which generates an emotional commitment and loyalty by them to their firm
for this interviewee the service is very important too. Because of the prestigious firms our
participants are working with it could be noted that there are a few complaints and these are
solved quickly and serves to improve the service.
11.2 Recommendations
The main objective of the event management companies is to get new customers and in turn
keep the ones they have, developing in them a sense of loyalty. There are several ways to
achieve this. One of them is to take into consideration whether the priorities regarding the
factors of the food and their attributes are at the same level on both sides, the suppliers and
the attendees, another is related to the cost, planning networking activities and special venues.
In addition the suppliers should improve the services such as event and management.
It is highly recommended that the firms which organise and deliver events have the
knowledge of what the factors which contribute to generate satisfaction in their clients are;
this could be made by organising meetings based on the costumer to costumer Co-creation
model with the aim of finding out what the needs are of their customers.
Another point to take inconsideration is the strong impact of the food in the memory of the
event, therefore it is highly recommended that the suppliers bears in mind the importance of
the food as a tool to improve the image of their firms. One way to achieve this is exceeding
the food expectations of the planner firms and their customers.
It could be argued that EC is a key driver to generating loyalty by the customers, as above
mentioned the needs of the three different actors in this play are not the same but it has to
achieve a great deal in which all of them are working in the same direction. Therefore several
approaches are recommended. On the one hand the suppliers should advise their clients that
to achieve a EC and meet the needs of attendees the organiser should take into consideration
69
planning very carefully the networking activities because of the fact that in these the
delegates are very interested because they can socialise and share their knowledge. The aim is
that the clients feel relaxed thus open minded and feel free to communicate, it is opinion of
the author that to achieve this goal several actions should be carried out: on the one hand
access to the food as to be easy and quick, type of food, coffee, beverages offered matches
the purpose of these social meetings. On the other the quality of the food has to be excellent
and this has to be tasty and well presented, and finally the service has to be flexible, and the
atmosphere and place in which the breaks and networking activities are placed have to
surprise and makes attendees feel at ease. With all these factors the aim is to ensure the
clients have an emotional experience leading to intensify loyalty. The issue about the
constraints of the budget is recurrent in the findings of this paper, nevertheless it is the
opinion of the author of this paper that if the budget is not very big instead of providing lamb,
chicken could be served but this has to be really tasty, most of the time the taste of the food is
not only about the ingredients you use to make the recipe but also how to combine and cook
these.
With regard to Co-creation value there are two recommendations. It can be established that
this model is very effective in order to generate EC and then loyalty, therefore it is
recommended that the firms plan training courses for their employees by sales and marketing
departments which have to deal directly with clients. In these courses the key objective is to
make employees be aware about the importance of creating relationships with their customer
as a partner in order to participate actively in the process of design, creation and delivery of
the event. The second, is highly recommended organising C2C meetings in which suppliers,
organiser and attendees take part with the aim of sharing their opinions about the delivery of
events. These sessions has a positive effect on the clients because they feel listened to and
looked after these give rise to the motivation of the participants and enhance the EC.
Moreover, these meetings create positive feelings about the brand image of the firm which
causes strong fondness to the brand subsequently generating loyalty by customers. These
sessions are not about sharing the professional secrets of the companies, nobody has to be
identified, it is about sharing experiences in order suppliers, organiser and attendees achieve
the most reliable information about the strengths and weakness of all of them with the aim in
the future and memorable event will be deliver, not about industrial espionage.
The recommendations with regard to the role of food as a tool to achieving a memorable
experience then loyalty by organiser and delegates several actions are recommended. On the
70
one hand, rethink the relation between value for money to delivering a memorable food
experience. On the other, it is known that food and the delivery of it are really important as a
factor program to achieve a high degree of satisfaction, however not all the suppliers and
organisers have the same opinion, however more voices stated that the food is really key
issues in event industry therefore this author is pro the planning of meetings Costumer to
Costumer in which all the stakeholder (Suppliers, Venues, caterers, organisers and delegates)
with the aim of achieving an understanding and different points of view of the participants,
therefore to understand the needs and the motivators which generate in them a memorable
experience, in addition it could be a good idea that in that meetings the food, drinks and the
service delivery delighted attendees as a method of showing the aim of these kind of C2C
meetings. Finally, it is highly suggested that all the suppliers encourage the presence of local
food in their menus as a method of improving image destination which motivate attendees
from different part of the world that destination.
To sum up, nowadays the cognitive part of the conferences is not enough to attract loyal
clients, it is about feelings and thoughts. Therefore, organisations have to be aware that we
are human beings and we need to be fed and watered and these are basic human needs. In
addition one of the best methods to socialise is thanks to social networking activities
therefore in these acts the food and service has to be delivered with a high degree of quality
to delight customers and give rise to a memorable experience in the participants which will
create an emotional connexion between organiser, suppliers and delegates and this will drive
generating loyal behaviour because as the more senses are involved in these experiences the
more memorable it will be, for example smell and aromas are able to change emotions and
memories which are critical to create a memorable experience.
71
11.3 Future Research
For future research it is recommended that the role of the food as a tool to achieve memorable
experience has to be investigated from the point of view of the suppliers and in different parts
of the world. Other recommendations are needed such the role of C2C meetings as a useful
tools to understand the necessities, in terms of food and beverage, of all the stakeholders of
events industry with the aim of increasing the loyalty by the customers to the firms; the
relation between value for money with the objective of an improved food experience without
increasing the price, for example it could be to serve tasty chicken instead of lamb; finally
the author believes in the necessity of achieving a deep understanding of local food to
improve the image destination thus attract more attendees.
72
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13 Appendices
13.1 Appendix 1 Self-administrated Questionnaire
Please could you let me know in order of importance the next factors of food, the most
important to gain a memorable experience (please mark 1-5).
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Factor 1- Food content quality. 1 2 3 4 5
The food function attributes are taken in consideration, or not, to obtain that experience.
Tasty Food Yes/No
Fresh ingredients Yes/No
Right Menu Yes/No
Attractive food Yes/No
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Factor 2- Recognition of 1 2 3 4 5
Personal preference.
Do you offer any of the following?
Available special Yes/No
Dietary menu
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Unique menu Yes/No
Selection
Correct Order Yes/No
Memorable food Yes/No
Function
Networking Yes/No
Opportunity
Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Factor 3- Menu Selection 1 2 3 4 5
Do you offer any of the following?
Variable beverage Yes/No
Variable menu Yes/No
Menu to keep Yes/No
Awake
Health conscious Yes/No
Diets
Carbohydrate Yes/No
Conscious
Low-fat Yes/No
Low-cholesterol Yes/No
Organic Categories Yes/No
Religious requirements Yes/No
Other specific Yes/No
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Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Factor 4- service 1 2 3 4 5
Delivery
Do you consider in your preparation the following?
Sufficient space Yes/No
Between seats
Prompt service Yes/No
Comfortable Yes/No
Seating
Friendly service Yes/No
Proper food Yes/No
Temperature
Attractive dining Yes/No
Room setting
Thanks very much for completing this questionnaire.
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13.2 Appendix 2 Design of the Interview
13.2.1 Satisfaction
13.2.1.1 Could you explain which of the following factors you use to generate greater customer
satisfaction and ultimately gain repeat attendances: program, networking, location, cost and
external activities?
13.2.1.2 How important do you think Food and beverage are within these factors which generate
satisfaction?
13.2.2 Emotional Commitment
13.2.2.1 Could you describe me how organisations which you work with generate an
emotional conection (ie. Loyalty). with your firm?
13.2.2.2 Those firms that have EC with your organization, have they built a sense of loyalty
with your organization?
13.2.2.3 Do you think that the food served at your events has generated an EC?
13.2.2.4 When organising or planning an event do you take into consideration spaces and
time to plan networking activities, such as lunches, breaks, receptions, breaks which
food and beverages, and how they are key in your planning strategy?
13.2.2.5 In your experience do your clients when organizing and event ask you to organize a
special dinner based on a theme in which all the servicescape factors are included?
13.2.2.6 Given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example word of
mouth. Have you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation?
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13.2.3 Co-Creation Value
13.2.3.1 Which Continuous communication channels have you created with your customers
in order to maintain a dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event?
13.2.3.2 In this process are your clients involved in the creation and selection of different
menus such as vegetarian, Vega, gluten free, fresh products, local food?
13.2.3.3 Do you usually organize meetings between your customers with the aim of sharing
their experience of the product and co-create a value of it?
13.2.3.4 How have you organized and have you assessed the outcomes of their experiences,
for example, have you noticed whether food has a key role in this process?
13.2.3.5 C2C has generated loyalty to your firm?
13.2.4 Food
13.2.4.1 Are food and beverage taken into consideration when your clients organize an event
with your firm with regard to your clients´ return intention?
13.2.4.2 From your point of view, do you think food and beverage are important to achieve a
high level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore, generate a loyalty to
your organization?
13.2.4.3 Were the food and service at the conference memorable?
13.2.4.4 Do your clients take into consideration the food as a main driver to create a high
level of satisfaction thus generating a strong Emotional Commitment which drives
loyalty?
13.2.4.5 Do you usually receive a lot of complaints, about the food which is served at events?
Thanks very much for your collaboration in this research project.
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13.3 Appendix 3 Transcription of an Interview
13.3.1 Satisfaction
German
One of the great challenges of the company is to attract delegates to attend events. One of the
reasons why repeat guests attend conferences is that they have a high degree of satisfaction
event.
Could you explain which of the following factors you use to generate customer satisfaction
and ultimately gain repeat attendances: programme, networking, location, cost and external
activities.
Interviewee 1
…For the rest I think the programme is really important especially to make sure you have
good breaks in between and so is the location every event has a budget so it is very important
for us to be able to deliver within that budget.
The cost …..every event has a budget so that’s very important for them so if the event goes
over budget you will have some explaining to do. So we’re here to make sure that that
doesn’t happen
German
Could you explain to me what is the most important of these for you? In your experience with
your customers.
Interviewee 1
Okay for me I would say the location
German
Ah yes! Interesting.
Interviewee 2
I would say networking just because people want to, when they come to a hotel come to a
meeting it’s all about meeting people and people coming together to discuss ideas I do think
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that whilst I do agree with XXXX that location is very important I also think networking is
very important because ultimately that is the purpose they are here, to talk with each other.
German
How important do you think food and beverages are within these factors with generate
satisfaction?
Interviewee 1
I would say very important, if you go to a networking event and if you have food that was
perhaps wasn’t what you were expecting, you wouldn’t be very happy would you? So like for
yourself if your university invited you to a networking event how would you feel?
German
I don’t feel well, but from the point of view of the customers do you think it is really
important?
Interviewees1 and 2
Yes definitely.
German
Can you explain it, in a few words?
Interviewee 1
Just what I was explaining there, if you go to an event and the food wasn’t what you were
expecting you will remember that the food wasn’t very nice.
Interviewee 2
You would be disappointed. I think we know when we first speak with clients about potential
events almost always one of the first questions is ‘what food is it?’ you know , ‘what’s the
food like?’ and you know that is really a key focus of their event because ultimately they’re
trying to not impress you know put on a really good experience for their guests or clients.
And I think that is definitely one way of showing how much they care for their… by how
much thought they put into it by producing and giving them what they want. So I would say it
is imperative.
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German
13.3.2 Emotional Commitment
Okay thank you very much it’s very interesting
Now we come to the emotional commitment …Emotional commitment is one of the factors
that can generate more loyalty in an organisation by attending conferences and lectures.
Could you describe to me how organisations which you work with generate an emotional
connection (i.e.) loyalty with your firm?
Interviewee 2
I would say clients do, um we do have a lot of customers and clients that come back because,
you know that said that the event worked really well – the space was wonderful but also the
food was great – we do have a lot of repeat clients and I do think that does generate loyalty
and it does encourage them to come back and use the space again. Would you agree?
Interviewee 1
Yes definitely and also we don’t have a very high percentage of staff turnover so you get to
know your clients, and because they are comfortable they feel at ease they know already what
they’re expectations are so they don’t have to repeat themselves every year – that definitely
creates an emotional connection with them. You kind of meet on a personal level so I would
say that’s mostly creates loyalty.
German
Could you let me know which attributes generate EC for example: attached emotionally to
your firm, feel like part of the family when working with you, they consider loyal to this
convention?
Interviewee 1
I think it’s how welcoming first of all, how warm the staff are. If they feel they are being
greeted very nicely – they feel at home and they are going to feel more comfortable – I think
that’s probably my top one.
Interviewee 2
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I think you have to connect with a person on a personal level and you have to engage with
them and your work with them before you take it any further – because if someone doesn’t
feel that they can work or work with you then you’ve lost it – that’s your first step – once
you’ve achieved that then you can move on.
German
To engage them?
Interviewee 2
Yes, exactly. So you have to do it on a personal level before you can move on.
German
Very interesting
Those firms that have EC with your organisation, have they built a sense of loyalty to your
organisation?
Interviewee 1
I would say it definitely creates loyalty if you have a connection yes
German
Do you the percentage of customers who are loyal to you – more or less?
Interviewee 1
I wouldn’t be able to put a percentage on it, but we do a lot of annual repeat business – so it’s
a considerable amount. But I don’t have a percentage.
German
Do you think that food served at your events has generated an EC?
Interviewee 1
If they like the food there is going to be an emotional commitments, happy hormones, call
them whatever you like, so you are going to be more engaging with the events so I’m not sure
if that’s exactly what you are meaning?
German
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The question is for example your customer almost after the event says ‘oh I feel very well
with whole plan of the event but especially any kind of comments about the food… in a
strange way I feel at home with your food
Interviewee 2
Do you mean they feel comfortable with the quality?
German
Not only about the quality
Interviewee 1
I think the food is a very important factor in making that connection with you, for that
thought I think it would be more the delivery of the food so it would be more of the service
rather than the food itself for that click, but the food is a very very big portion of it. But if
you’re eating in a restaurant and you have beautiful food but perhaps the way it was delivered
to your table was not what you were expecting, then even though you remember the food you
won’t be as fond of the memory because – you remember oh yes the steak was beautiful but
the server perhaps wasn’t quite as well trained as they could be, so I think you need both
elements together. You need the service together with the food.
Interviewee 2
I also think it’s important for your guests to know what it is that they are eating. Obviously
with us we are quite – in delivering our food we like to offer quite a wide variety of food
items and some of it you wouldn’t necessarily have on an everyday menu. And I think that if
you explained to your guests what it is that they are eating, then they can therefore, because
they know what it is, then they can understand even more and sometimes they can take that
away and try it themselves or something. But if you help them understand it… they’re some
things on the menu that even, we look at, and because it’s so new, we also ask – what is this?
How do you make or whatever? I think it’s also about them knowing what it is and
understanding it, so they identify with it on that level as well. It’s not just the taste of it or
liking that soup.
German
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Yes, another thing. When organising or planning an event do you take into consideration
space and time to plan networking activities, such as lunches, breaks, receptions, breaks
which food and beverages, and how they are key in your planning strategy?
Interviewee 2
It is ..absolutely
Interviewee 1
We definitely take that into account, when recommending the space first of all, we try and
figure out first of all what they are trying to achieve from the event and they we try a cater the
space for it, so we are very lucky we have a beautiful big atrium and it works great for
networking so where that’s possible we would recommend atrium just so if people like the
freedom of movement really but at the same time have food and beverages served there as
well, so yes we definitely keep that in mind.
German
And the networking is activities really…. For you and your clients?
Interviewee 1
I think for our clients as well because clients are choosing a location depending on how well
it’s going to fit, so if networking is their priority they’re going to somewhere where we have
the same type of thoughts really.
German
Do you think food and beverage are key factors in which to generate EC in the attendees?
The people who really are eating?
Interviewee 2
Definitely. I mean we don’t always speak with the attendees because quite often there are so
many of them that we only ever really speak with the planner or the organiser for that from
their side. But certainly, quite often these clients will come back to us and they say to us …
we want to come back because we got such great feedback from our clients… so we don’t
necessarily have that first hand from them but we do from organisers and so forth.
German
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One way to generate an EC between companies and customers is through the creation of a
memorable experience that creates an emotional connection in the delegates and therefore
increases their satisfaction. One way to increase the emotional connection is through the set
design of a room by creating an event based on a theme in which the servicescape are
included ambient conditions: such as noise, music and light; atomospheric such as music,
aroma, drama and food are taken into consideration.
Ok. Very interesting. I think it is what I thought. In your experience do your clients when
organising an event ask you to organise a special dinner based on a theme in which all the
servicescape factors are included.
Interviewee 2
Yes, I think definitely, it people are wanting something special and they want it themed then
we will also work with someone to create a special menu, and we also work with our chefs so
the clients can meet the chef and speak to the chef to create a menu for their event in the lead
up to it. And then they can also sometimes do menu tastings, so they’ll come in before the
event, about a month before, try 2 or 3 different dishes, see which one they like the best and
then that will be what’s served at their event. Certainly we will always endeavour to work
with what the client wants. If that’s important to them, then that will contribute to the over-all
success of the event.
German
What I mean, for example if one of your clients actually to organise a gala dinner for example
with a theme- say based in the late Victorian period, how the food, the lights.. everything is
around the theme. That is what I say – if you organise this kind of. .. experience it is more
focussed?
Interviewee 1
We have organised a lot of specialised dinners, for example until recently we do a lot of
Scottish themed dinners. So I’ve done one recently that was a Sherlock Holmes event – it
was a drinks reception, it wasn’t a dinner, but we had to create, do research what they used to
eat back then, create a canapé menu which reflects those ingredients. And as soon as guests
walk in the room because there is the taste factor, the sight factor, the sound factor all creates
more of a connection to the event, rather than just maybe having the decoration but then the
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food doesn’t match the theme, so it has to be a total package. We do, do quite a lot of events
like that.
German
With light…. Do you change the atmosphere…?
Interviewee 1
Yes, you would need to because if you are working with a specific room it can be used in the
morning for a conference you need to turn it into to ‘pub’ feel for example, you have to
change the atmosphere of the room. A lot of time we hire screens where it’s like a fake front
of a bar of a pub and you put that in the room just to create a different atmosphere in the
room.
German
Do you that experience created an emotional experience with you? With your company?
Because this is a very side of the conference programme
Interviewee 1
I think it would make it more memorable.
German
Memorable?
Interviewee 2
I think we’re proud of it, we’re very proud when we deliver something the client specifically
wanted – something out of the ordinary - there’s a great deal of pride in it – we would not
necessarily have that because we’re not part of it because we deliver it, but we do remember
it, we always take photos and this is how we remember it.
German
Ok and this is about the photographs.
Do you think organising companies should plan those kinds of activities to generate
emotional commitment and enhance the memorable experience?
Interviewee 1
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I think that’s their target they don’t want to do an event and people walk away like nothing
has happened, they want people to remember it, so I think when our clients are organising
something they have the memorable factor in mind. They want to achieve that.
German
And do you think they achieve EC with you?
Interviewee 1
Yes because we would meet the client quite a lot, to identify what they are trying to achieve,
so we can work towards that together so you build a relationship, then an emotional bridge
there.
German
Given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example word of mouth. Have
you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation?
Interviewee 1 and 2
Yes. Definitely
German
What was the reason they chose your organisation? Was food one of them?
Interviewee 2
I think it just depends, but definitely service and definitely food, and the knowledge that we
are a very approachable team. We work people and we always want to meet with people so
there’s that and I think we are a very welcoming hotel so.
German
13.3.3 Co-Creation Value
Ok. Congratulations. And now Co-creation value.
Which continuous communication channels have you created with your customers in order
to maintain a dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event?
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Interviewee 1
I think the biggest one I would say is personal appointments, like we’re doing just now, we
get to build a connection and we get to identity exactly what the objective is and we’ll work
towards that together. If that’s not possible we work with a lot of organisations out with the
UK, we get a lot of conference calls as well. But ideally a personal I think, they can see the
space as well.
Interviewee 2
Yes, I think the more personal it is, the better it is, the easier it is, because at the end of the
day people are dealing with people, it’s not a computer that you’re going to be dealing with.
So yes you can e mail and yes you can telephone – telephones are a bit different because you
can speak to them. I know that if I’m a client and XXX is my event partner and I’m on the
phone to her then yes she’s on the end of the phone but if I come and meet her I know that
XXX will be here,I know she’ll be dealing with it and I can ‘suss’XXX out’ and know that ,
that’s who I want to plan my event, so I definitely think personal meetings are the best way to
go forward.
German
Personal meetings, Ok. How much value do you place on customers having a memorabl e
experience?
Interviewee 1
It’s all about a memory isn’t it, if you’re not going to have, as long as it’s positive experience,
I think that’s the most important thing.
German
During this dialogue have you noticed that your clients have co-created a new value with
your firm.
Interviewee 1
Attention to detail probably because you’re adding more value.
Interviewee 2
And responding to and fulfilling individuals specific requirements, because every event – the
reason for people being here is very individual and very specific to them and there might be
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one small thing which to us in the grand scheme of things wouldn’t necessarily be the first
thing you would think of but to them it is hugely important like for example – having an
umbrella – if they want an umbrella we’ll get them one if that makes them happy. If you’re
wanting more along food lines the we have an annual conference – there are two of them –
and with next year being Scotland’s year of food and drink host – the whole menu has to be
as locally sourced as possible, and that’s their objective for next year. Last year was an
entirely different objective they didn’t want Scottish, they didn’t particularly mind if it wasn’t
locally sourced – next year is all about where the food has come from.
So I think we have to fulfil those specific requirements.
German
How do you notice that this is specific to meet their needs? And if they have developed this
EC?
Interviewee 1
I think it’s being able to rely on someone as well, because it’s like you say, if you go to IKEA
;you buy something from them, you build their furniture so you are co-creating with IKEA.
With us, they come to us, they tell us what they want to get, we plan it together- so we are
making the event together we’re building kit together, so that’s going to add more value I
suppose.
German
Yes, and has this created EC?
Interviewee 1
I think so, because if you manage to come together and to create what in the end the client
wanted there’s going to be a connection there because it takes quite a lot of appointments and
work to create that event
Interviewee2
Humans are fundamentally emotionally creatures and no matter whatever interaction you
have with anyone in any walk of life you’re always going to have an emotional connection
because humans are emotional you are always going to have an emotional connection with
them. So I know if XXX during work, we get on at work, we’ve got an emotional connection
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at work, or with friends outside, it doesn’t really matter what walk of life you’re always going
to have that it’s just making sure it’s going to be a positive one, it’s constructive.
German
In this process are your clients involved in the creation and selection of different menus such
as; vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Fresh produce, local food?
Interviewee 1
For big dinners we do a lot of menu tasting, so they come here and we have a menu either we
would send to them to let them choose something from the menu to try it. The once they are
here they can try the normal menu then if they don’t like that we can change things or if they
want to create a Vegan menu then we can do that together with the client, so we use are
normal menus as a template to start kind of, and then they can change things
German
Make it more salty, spicier, for example?
Interviewee 1
Yes or, I like the chicken served with potatoes I would prefer to have Duck – so we try the
Duck with the potatoes to see if it works. We try to create a menu together it all depends on
what the client wants we’ll always customise to the clients’ needs.
German C2C
Within the paradigm has appeared Service Dominant mind another recent model based on co-
creation of value through interaction among customers, Customer – Customer C2C. In these
meetings or forums the customer co creates a new value by sharing their experience of
creation, design, production and product delivery.
Do you usually organise meetings between your customer with the aim of sharing their
experience of the product and co-create the value of it?
Interviewee 2
Do you mean word of mouth?
German
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No, do you hold meetings especially for clients who use your services to discuss their
experiences ?
Interviewee 2
Well, first of all clients always talk. People will always speak about their experiences. That
always goes on, if they’re at the same or different events it still goes on. But we do create,
we do have…
Interviewee 1
Yah, every year we try to hold a party for our clients as a thank you and that gives them the
opportunity to get to talk together amongst their friends as well so it’s a net-working event,
for organisers who will share their experiences – so we do one proactively every year.
German
How do you organise, and assess the outcome of their experience?
Interviewee 1
It’s more of a thank you, so there aren’t any exercises to proactively share their experiences
but we do have a variety of channels for people to be able to share thoughts. We have;
MPSS, Trip Advisor, Twitter, Facebook so there are channels there where people can share
their experiences
Interviewee 2
I mean you can go on to our Twitter Feed and see lots of clients respond to; they take
photographs of things, what they have in the hotel – then they will publically thank you. So, I
know that even on Saturday we had clients in and we did some big food things for them and
they put that on to Twitter we got the exposure there.
German
Ok. Do you think this kind of party has created any loyalty to you?
Interviewee 2
I think so, because they appreciate being invited as acknowledgment of how important they
are to us – so again you’ve built a connection, they know that they are valued and that we
really want to continue working with them.
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German
I wanted to ask do you think it’s a good idea to develop C2C model of co-creation value as a
method to generate loyalty to your firm?
Interviewee 1
I don’t see why not, because it would give people the opportunity to talk about their
experiences and pick up ideas from each other. I must admit I’ve never come across
something like that, but I don’t see why it would be a bad thing.
It’s not something we do, we arrange thank you’s and people get to talk about their
experience but it isn’t a set agenda it’s people just end up talking with people from different
walks of life – so it does happen but not in a set way – you just end up talking about your
experience.
German
13.3.4 Food
In recent times scholars have taken into consideration food and beverage as an important
factor in the event programme. Even though, some of them have come to the conclusion that
food is a factor that generates customer loyalty to the event.
Are food and beverage taken into consideration when your clients organise an event with
your firm with regard to your clients return intention?
Interviewees
Oh definitely. I don’t know – well I suppose they’ll tell us what they want – if we can deliver
it then that’s the first step done, the first box ticked. It must live up to expectations or rather
not just live up to but exceed their expectations – so we have to deliver the food they weren’t
expecting, it has to be better than they were thinking – therefore they will then think oh that
was absolutely wonderful we’ll come back. Because you don’t want them to think – yeh that
was good I’ll go back, if you think that was amazing I want to go back then that’s different
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from saying that was just good, I will go back. You know – if it was good you say yeh, if it
was excellent you want to experience it again.
German
What you mean is that you want to delight your customer?
Has this had a memorable effect on customer loyalty?
Interviewee 1
Yes I would say so definitely, it creates an experience so people will remember it, so when
they remember it your brain automatically says oh I want to repeat. So if they have a great
food and beverage experience they remember it fondly so they want to come back
Interviewee 2
I think that’s evidenced by the fact that we do have so many repeat customers, we do have a
lot of annual events – they come to every single year, so I think that’s testament to what I’m
saying.
German
Is the food always a key point?
Interviewees
Yes, it’s not the only point but it is key point?
Interviewees
I think they do yes, because they don’t want to give their clients a bad experience. They want
the delegates to have a good experience because they know their delegates may not come
back so I think they bear that it mind.
Also I think we’re in the hospitality industry and when clients come here they’re being
hospitable to their clients – one of the key components in the hospitality is food and
beverage, we’ve also got service – when you first think of hospitality you think of food and
beverage and if you fail on that then that’s it you’re not being hospitable.
German
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From your point of view do you think food and beverage are important to achieve a high
level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore generate a loyalty to your
organisation?
Interviewees
Yes, definitely.
German
Is the food and beverage service at the conference memorable – normally?
Interviewees
I would say so because we try and give something a little bit different from what’s out there.
We try and have local food for example on Friday we tend to offer fish and chips on the
menu, you’re in Scotland and traditionally on Friday you would have fish and chips so we try
and encompass that in our working menus.
I think serving local food from either the country you are in or the city you are in but also
tailoring your menu to what event it is, for example for the Association of Lamb Producers-
they want to have some nice lamb- we try and engage with the organiser – we’ll sit down and
see how we are going to make it a memorable event for them
German
This means you are trained to look for the needs of your customers – not just surface
Interviewees
Yes we need to dig a little bit deeper to see how we are going to make an event special.
We try and see how we are going to make it a little bit special
German
EC Is a stronger factor than programme factor to achieve loyalty behaviour. And food has
become a significant part of the programme that shows a high level of satisfaction.
DO your clients take into consideration the food as a main driver to create a high level of
satisfaction thus generating a strong EC which drives loyalty?
Interviewees
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Yes food is really important for our clients.
German
What has been your strategy to gain this?
Interviewees
I think it’s with our correspondence with the clients we do it on a personal basis I think we’re
very that the clients that come to our hotel are already aware that the food and the service is a
very bit and important factor in the success of their events. And if not we just talk about it –
to make sure we are delivering what they want
German
Are you and your clients aware of achieving a memorable experience?
Interviewees
I think so because when our clients choose their menus they bear that in mind – even if you
have a very low budget, there are quite a lot of menus for low budgets, when they are
deciding which menu to go with they are bearing in mind what their clients want to create a
memorable experience for their clients – so I do think they bear that in mind.
German
Do you usually receive a lot of complaints about the food which is served at events?
Interviewees
We ensure the clients are happy with it, they know what they are going to get- we make sure
they are totally happy with what’s being served. We are always in communication with
them, we will respond to it if they don’t want something and we’ll do all we can to change it.
Obviously if you have a dinner for 500 and you’re going to serve lamb you will always get
some people like things cooked a little bit more than others – but I wouldn’t say there was
anything hugely major.
I wouldn’t say we receive a lot of complaints at all. We’re quite lucky.
German
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Why do you think this is?
Interviewees
I think it’s because it’s quite good. We’re very lucky in the hotel that everyone works well as
a team. Even though we meet the clients quite a lot – we do try and get as much information
as possible. I’ve been to event where the starter came out a little bit cold this because the
service team didn’t know there was going to be a speech first so the food was lying in the
pans for a while. So by working together as part we make sure that each department is aware
of what is happening to avoid any instances like that. It’s about asking questions.2
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13.4 Appendix 4 Summary of an Interview
13.4.1 Satisfaction
German
Factors used to generate customer satisfaction….
Interviewee
Location is a key one for us, I suppose, the location and the venues we look after are quite
varied; museum, assembly rooms which is quite a large conference venue for us – facilities
for up to 500 people, the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons – so the
venues themselves provide satisfaction in customers because they are interesting xxxx
venues. So it gives us quite a good starting point I think. It’s not just a hotel, they’re getting
to see something which has got historical significance, relevant to what the conference may
be – for example a lot of conferences at the Royal College of Physicians are medical related.
The networking side of it comes in on the industry side of it as well, the Royal College of
Surgeons has a lot of relevance.
The costs for us is something that – we are a value for money company – not expensive but
not cheap – so for a lot of people coming to conferences budget plays a large part – some
companies are not able to reach our price point. I think the product that we provide is a very
valuable product – we look at things along the lines of; food presentation, the service
provided, the innovation that we provide – so we look to satisfy our companies in all those
different ways. A lot of them will tell us that we’ve got £4 to pay per head and that is not
something we can supply – we have a lot of expenses and wages to pay and we have to cover
these costs so that’s important.
In terms of customer satisfaction we have ‘FAM’ trips – familiarisation trips – we work with
repeat clients which we can spend time and money with – we will provide dinner so that they
can see the standard we can provide. We did an awards conference recently because it is part
of our industry and for that we had 200 people in the catering so it was in our interest to say
to them we can do you this etc and say we won’t charge you for this and that – this then
exposes us to 200 industry people who can see our XXXX portfolio is fantastic for example
and will use us for that later.
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German
How important are food and beverage in CS
Interviewee
I suppose it is the most important because it is the main thing we provide – for me
specifically we go in as part of a panel of caterers - so when a client comes to us not because
of a hotel they are coming to get a quote as well as other caterers – so they are coming to us
purely as caterers – they have already established that this is where they want to hold their
conference with good facilites – seating, auditorium etc so we have to match that- for me it’s
food and drink – it’s what our product is so what we’re selling. We pride ourselves on being
an innovative company; we do dinners doing lots of different things – not exactly molecular
cuisine but something a little bit different which we are trying to incorporate that into our
conference market as well. Conferences are not always the most interesting things so a lot of
people will look forward to the food side of it - so yes food and drink is the key part of it to
us and doing things differently.
13.4.2 Emotional Commitment
Interviewee
XXXX XXXX has a family feeling a lot of it is described or found in our private market –
those that are coming to us for weddings perhaps, which is a big part of our business, so if
they have further daughters other daughters will have their weddings with us and build on it
that way – so we provide a good product and people follow us.
On the conference side it’s a little bit harder, once you’ve got people booked, for a new
company which has potentially a lot of business – I will perhaps bring our pricing down a
little bit, or give certain things away for free because it allows us to hook that company and
get them interested in what we do. – We then need to impress on the day, provide the highest
standard of product and staff to impress them so they will come back. It’s about dealing with
the organiser of the event as well. Also the follow up process as well – finding out how did
we do? How can we do things differently? and just building the relationship that way.
For some of the larger conferences we have a sales and marketing team – the sale manager
will deal with some of the larger firms – so that we can find out what other things we can
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offer – so we follow on with them and work with them so we can become their preferred and
favoured caterer.
German
Do you engender a feeling of family with your clients? And loyalty?
Interviewee
It’s probably a harder thing to do, because the clients are coming in and it’s business point of
view, with private clients it’s lets have fun – it’s all about fun – weddings etc. With business
clients you have to build up a relationship – they buy into what I can provide which is trust so
in that respect they are buying into an emotional commitment to that – I making them look
good in front of their bosses their people they have invited to their conference – If I don’t
make them look good in front of these people – they won’t come back to me again because
they will embarrassed. So I think that is the emotional things – it’s getting people to trust you
and buy into you.
So trust is the main one and to make our clients look good – they want the pat on the back at
the end of conference etc.
German
EC loyalty?
Interviewee
With clients trust - if we make them look good they trust us and will come back to us. But
we’ve got it with the venues as well- we work closely with them they can offer us 500 people
at a venue so they’ve got quite a commitment with us as well – we work with them for
several years and that builds the commitment
German
Do you know the percentage of loyalty
Interviewee
I haven’t got the figures but we’ve got a client we’ve been working with for a number of
years it’s an event for only 8 people but they come to us twice a year – they come to us and
they have got that loyalty – it must be that EC that makes them come back year after year –
it’s an investment because every so often these clients will have a big event and if we have
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done the background work – showing that there is not job too big or small – by putting in that
time and effort we will get the contract for say gala for 500 people – making me glad I put in
all that time and effort over the years for the 8 people.
German
Food generates EC?
Interviewee
I think it does, it’s hard to quantify in the conference market, the delegates are always
changing , their nationalities change- so people may come from Spain and their ideas about
what they are expecting may be different from other people from elsewhere – it’s trying to
match those. We also work with agents – people who organise conferences, so I think that is
where we can build relationships and a commitment with the clients.
The agents we work with a lot – on the events, doing tastings, building relationships about
our standards and our food, our preparation etc they will understand and recognise what we
can do and will expect and understand that we provide food to a certain standard – above the
rest not be confused. Building EC by spending time with them – doing tastings – here at our
venues as well even if they’re not hosting an event at that particular time if they’ve got the
time to come to see us and we can build up the relationship – so we could do the next event
for them – they can see the possibilities of what we can offer.
German
Breaks – food and beverage?
Interviewee
It all depends on what the guest needs, we build around that, it’s not about what’s easy for us,
it’s about what’s good for the client. We need to advise sometimes especially if it’s first time
they have done a conference – so they are scared and anxious – so we can advise , help them
make decisions about what is appropriate and possible within the parameters they give us.
Do you stress the importance of food around the breaks?
Interviewee
It’s important to show not just from the food side but from the service side as well – passing
on to a client - that the first person they will be seeing is from the catering company – so
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they have that first image right – food is key as well how it’s presented but it’s also about the
presentation.
Looking at when you’re organising – the client will get excited about certain things – so it’s
tapping into that – it’s leading them into a particular direction that you know is going to work
- so they will get involved in that sort of EC yes.
Creation of memorable experience – set design of a room ambience…
Interviewee
We do many things on that – it usually comes down to cost – it’s always something that
restricts what we do especially the conference market. However, we are bespoke caterers
therefore things in the private market which have more money – mean we do have lots of
experience of putting on themes etc – we have a big team we tap into our team for ideas-
audio visual, florists, designers – make things looks more interesting even at conferences – a
lot of conference dinners – yes theming is a fantastic thing to do but it can be difficult
because of budget constraints.
It’s easier to make an EC when you have done something different or you have a theme. You
have much more to work on and get excited about – conference market is key but doesn’t
always allow your creative juices to flow.
I did a conference recently with some Norwegians and at the end of the conference they
wanted some network time to chat over the conference – buffets filled with pretzels and beers
– like pub food creating a relaxed environment – which means they can get the best out of the
conference – being relaxed.
German – Do you thinks this relaxation helps with EC?
Interviewee
I think it comes down to the staff – person to person – is where EC comes from the manager
is relaxed then the staff can be relaxed – chat to the guests and this is the kind of system we
have.
A lot of conferences – delegates may be nervous and not relaxed in a strange city and with
new people if staff a relaxed they can feel relaxed themselves.
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German – Personal recommendations of clients?
Interviewee
Yes we get this a lot. There’s 2 ways this can happen. Personal recommendation is one – a
person /delegate who has already attended a conference and liked their experience with us
and will go on to hold their own conference later. Or within a big organisation like the health
service where we do a conference for one department who will then speak to another
department and they will recommend us as we looked after them well. I think it is the food
that has influenced their decision as we hold conferences at different venues – but the
standard of food is always excellent.
German
How do you work with venues- your relationships?
Interviewee
An example - a client came to the venue to find out about the suitability, we held the main
event at one of the venues and then moved to an evening venue at another prestigious
building in Edinburgh – if by using both our venues we can then give them a slight discount
because they are using us for both catering in both venues.
I work with our venue on things like – if we are putting on a cabaret for a client – sourcing
suitable tables and chairs – what space is available and we have regular meetings to deliver a
good event.
We generally have monthly meetings with the venue – we invite them to come to our
premises and showcase new ideas we may have – we have some wine and good food to
promote our relationship with the venue – consolidating EC – at the end of the day it is
business.
13.4.3 Co –Creating Value
German – transfer of knowledge between yourself and customers
Relationship channels?
Interviewee
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I think we have a couple of key relationship channels –providing the initial relationship
having started a number of years ago – then continues as staff members leave and new
members come and it’s about the continuation of the relationship.
Face to face communication – almost like a friend – a normal conversation not like a business
transactions. Agents remain constant but their clients change – so they have to understand
their clients’ needs but we have a secure relationship with agent.
Building up things for the future – it’s about exceeding expectations and making suggestions
by understanding what their needs are before they have realised themselves what they need –
especially the agents.
We refer to clients as with the XXXX‘ family’ – face to face and with social media as well –
everybody likes to be promoted by other people. Which elevates their presence as well as our
own – makes the relationship more like a family.
German
Do think this family feeling helps to create a memorable experience?
Interviewee
I think so, otherwise it becomes just another faceless conference – building on dialogues with
us, one to one – with not just the clients but the clients with their delegates.
There is a new law coming in which means we have to recognise and understand new
allergens etc – so that ‘s always on our minds – menus include vegetarian etc – balanced and
diverse from an interesting point of you.
German
Taste sessions offered?
Interviewee
Chefs create something new – it has to be tested by key clients and we ask for feedback to see
if it works on all levels. We do this for all types of food. Most of our food is suited to what
most people want rather than individual requirements – over and above that people do let us
know if we need to cater for one or two individuals with special dietary requirements which
we are happy to do – rather than create a special menu for everyone.
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C2C Co- Creation Value
Probably no to be honest – there is one way where we do events where we invite are clients
to come. For example our chef went and learnt some new recipes and we invite our private
clients and agents to taste our new menus and recipes.
German
Can they exchange their experiences about you
Interviewee
We do get feedback from clients but it is not exactly what you are asking? I think it sounds
like a good thing to do but I think it is a hard thing to do.
13.4.4 Food
Interviewee
I think it’s Important to exceed the expectation of the clients. In order to do that I think we
need create understanding of what their needs are so we can meet and exceed them.
Clients are very aware of what we provide they know that what we produce is bespoke –
which creates loyalty. Food and beverage is what we can shine with – it’s the main part of
loyalty to us – my gut feel is they are being loyal because of what we provide.
For clients to have great experience – often it’s the food and drink that is the exciting part of
the conference.
I’ve got one conference we did some different things on different breaks – some as energy
boosters, some as fun things – I would present it really differently- and that really sticks in
my mind – so if it was memorable for me surely it would stick in the mind of the conference
attendees.
We use a lot of our own staff which I interview and pick myself – it’s a feeling about a
special kind of person – the right personality.
German
Do you use food as a main driver for satisfaction?
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Interviewee
It’s getting the balance right – between food and staff. How food is serviced and how a guest
will perceive the look of the food.
Interviewee
No complaints! No really if we have mis-delivered what the client was expecting perhaps we
get complaints about that – but rarely.