دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی آزمایش تاثیر انسجام خانواده بر رضایت از تعطیلات مکرر - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – Although much satisfaction research examines the role of demographics, few examine the phenomena of family cohesion or travel party composition and the role they play in influencing satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to leverage the two to further understand satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Data from 400 vacationing families were analyzed to examine the factors of family cohesion, activity satisfaction and overall vacation satisfaction. Findings – Contrary to previous research, the results suggest that family cohesion is comprised of two primary factors: emotional bonding and decision making, family boundaries and coalitions. The findings suggest that family cohesion and activity satisfaction contributed to overall vacation satisfaction. However, as an addition to extant research, the findings demonstrate that travel party size moderated this relationship. Research limitations/implications – This research challenges findings of extant research on family cohesion and extends satisfaction research by introducing the effect of family cohesion and travel party composition. Both suggest and offer opportunities for future academic research. Practically speaking, this research also provides insight for practitioners as to why “travel party composition” should be regarded as an operative, rather than a descriptive term. Practical implications – Practically speaking, this research also provides insight for practitioners as to why “travel party composition” should be regarded as an operative, rather than a descriptive term. Given the results of this research, the moderating effect of travel party composition is an interesting academic finding. Operationalizing this component in practice is challenging. However, practitioners can take the knowledge of the positive relationships between family cohesion, participation in activities, and overall vacation satisfaction, as well as the moderating effect of travel party composition, into account when evaluating guest satisfaction scores, programming activities, and resolving guest issues. Originality/value – In addition to challenging findings of prior research, this research utilizes data gathered during family vacations; therefore not relying on recall or issues with memory effect. In addition, it extends existing research through the exploration of moderating variables. Finally, the research has practical implications for practitioners to attend to satisfaction of the increasing global family leisure market.

Limitations and future research

The research focused on the three factors of family cohesion established in the literature. Though the study investigates the factors in a leisure context, it does not examine the factors before or after leisure activities. It may be worthwhile for researchers to examine the various factors of family cohesion before, during, and after leisure activities to understand if any variation can be identified.

Though the study involved resorts in multiple geographic tracts, there is a limitation to the study being conducted only at resorts in Orlando, Florida. While this limitation may result in the study not being broadly generalizable, it also suggests that further research should be conducted within other resort destination markets. Further research in other family vacation destinations, as well as types of vacations, i.e., cruises, guided tours, etc., would be recommended to extend the findings.

In addition to a single destination, the research was also conducted over a singular, albeit popular, family vacation time period. Additional limitations may occur around the timing of the study occurring during Spring Break with further research recommended during the summer family vacation season. Further, Spring Break vacations are typically one week in duration, much like summer vacations. Additional research could be conducted on shorter term vacations to determine if there are any variations in findings. Moreover, future studies can investigate diverse types of family and different forms of travel parties, including alternatives other than families.

Lastly, this study utilized existing scales for family cohesion. Given the variations in findings for family cohesion, as well as the unique contribution related to travel party size or composition, future research should delve further into the interactions among variables not included in this study. With limited research in this area, in the hospitality sector and beyond, qualitative research delves into the phenomena that exist within family size and travel party composition is warranted.