Michelle Bonera | Brescia University (original) (raw)

Papers by Michelle Bonera

Editoriale Scientifica eBooks, 2016

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In the last years, the study of image has become one of the most popular topics in tourism resear... more In the last years, the study of image has become one of the most popular topics in tourism research, mainly because of its impact on potential travellers’ destination selection, evaluation and purchase intentions. Basing on the idea that actual visit of a destination affects and modifies the destination image, this study investigates how the image of Garda Lake is perceived among international and Italian tourists. In particular, in this paper we report the first results of a content analysis focusing on how tourists’ experiences on Garda Lake are portrayed and expressed in travel consumer review websites. The analysis reported in the paper tried to identify if tourists are more willing to describe the tourism offer of Garda Lake or the feelings evoked during their visit. The content analysis we carried out on 1.109 Italian and international posts collected from Tripadvisor and Travelpod confirms that people use travel consumer review sites to describe many aspects of their trip, ranging from visiting attractions and enjoying the culture to the use of tourism-related facilities. Hence, they cannot reﬂect experiences except operationally, as they lack the “experience essence”(Volo, 2009). Some important differences among Italian and foreign tourists emerge too

Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2019

The competitive advantage of a tourist product or service, in the global market, is based on the ... more The competitive advantage of a tourist product or service, in the global market, is based on the seller’s ability to offer a successful experiential offering system. Recent literature (Voss 2004; Quan and Wang 2004) shows that the demand for experience is the major trend in the global tourist industry and destinations more and more compete by emphasizing their experiential content (Buhalis 2000). According to Pizam (2010), the creation of experiences is the essence and the raison d'etre of the tourism sector. The expectation of a gratifying and memorable experience motivates tourists to buy products and services (Tsaur et al. 2006).

Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, Dec 31, 2022

Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, 2021

Frame of the research: As sustainability aware consumers represent a substantial market segment, ... more Frame of the research: As sustainability aware consumers represent a substantial market segment, green practices and green positioning are becoming strategic to enhance competitive advantage. Purpose of the paper: This study investigates whether the presence of green practices or a green image in the accommodation sector influences customer satisfaction and eWOM and whether this differs between different accommodation categories. Methodology: The TripAdvisor reviews of 1701 Italian hospitality business were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Accommodation facilities with green practices present high scores in guest satisfaction and eWOM, particularly those with a green image. The differences in customer satisfaction between accommodation types is smaller for businesses with a green image. B&Bs, agritourism facilities, and other accommodation facilities, even those without a green image, can rely on green practices to increase customer satisfaction and eWOM. Research limitations: We considered the use of green features in the name of the accommodation facility as a proxy for sustainability alignment. Customer satisfaction could be affected by other variables. The sub-sample of "green name" companies is limited. The size and age of the accommodation facility could impact the number of reviews. Practical implications: Our results provide valuable insights into the determinants of customer satisfaction and intention to review a green practice and suggest the need to communicate a green orientation. Originality of the study: Our study extends the investigation to different accommodation types; considers the green image of the accommodation facilities rather than green certification; compares customer satisfaction and eWOM with or without a green image by accommodation type.

The present study contributes to the debate about how to convince consumers to engage into green ... more The present study contributes to the debate about how to convince consumers to engage into green consumption. It aims to investigate the role that a particular individual difference, the regulatory focus, assumes in green consumer behavior. The regulatory focus is the strategic orientation individuals use to pursue their goals. In particular we want to evaluate if and how the individuals regulatory focus may be a stimulating factor for the adoption of green behavior. One experimental study was conducted aimed at measuring the effect of regulatory focus in green and not green consumption. The study empirically verifies which of the two orientations (promotion/prevention) takes discriminant value in the decision to purchase a green product and, more generally, the comparative analysis of the two conditions confirmed that this effect can be considered to be more noticeable when buying green instead than not green products. Thus, managers and advertisers that want to persuade consumers ...

Current Issues in Tourism, 2020

Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2016

Internet presents a special channel in the personal process of finding the touristic information,... more Internet presents a special channel in the personal process of finding the touristic information, the formation of an individual opinion, and the communication of it to others. The tourists can find the information necessary for their travel needs, using a wide range of Internet tools like search engines (mainly Google), destination management systems (such as visitbritain.com), social networks and Web 2.0 portals (such as Tripadvisor, Facebook, Twitter, Ebookers, HolydayCheck, Orkut), price comparison websites (such as Expedia, Kelkoo, and also Trivago), photo sharing sites (like Flickr), software applications for tourist mobile phones, gps, Iphone app (like Foursquare), interactive guides (as Tripwolf), Q&A sites (i.e., Traveller and Mygola). In particular the world of social networks provides essential tools in the information and feedbacks exchange. Web 2.0 is, therefore, the place where it is now possible to interchange travel opinions and experiences and travel portals promote the formation of consumers communities with a relevant amount of user-generated contents (sharing of information). The social networking tools have been joined (canceling partially their effectiveness) by intermediaries tools, such as travel agencies, tour operators, and hotels social networks channels.

Journal of Public Affairs, 2015

ABSTRACT In this article, we propose a methodology in order to measure political positioning and ... more ABSTRACT In this article, we propose a methodology in order to measure political positioning and constituent perception. Political leaders should be able to effectively define the distinctive characteristics of their political brand and to subsequently utilize the most appropriate mechanisms of communication to promote an accurate perception of political image in the market. The specific aim of this research is to explore interrelations between a political party's positioning in two different periods in order to discover possible discrepancies and changes over time. The official blog of a political party, containing both official communication and the people's feedback, represents a perfect place in which to observe the concepts and the values on which both the political brand identity and image are founded. Leximancer, a content analysis tool, was utilized to analyze communications between a political party leader and his or her constituents. Illustrating the methodology, the blog of Beppe Grillo, founder of the Movimento 5 Stelle is analyzed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ideas in Marketing: Finding the New and Polishing the Old, 2014

In this article we explore the concepts of political party brand identity and image. Political le... more In this article we explore the concepts of political party brand identity and image. Political leaders should be able to effectively define the distinctive characteristics of the political brand and subsequently activate the most appropriate mechanisms of communication to promote an accurate perception of the image in the market. The specific aim of this research is to explore interrelations between a political party's brand identity and image in two different time periods, in order to discover possible discrepancies and changes in time. The party blog, containing both the official communication and the people's feedbacks represents a perfect place where to observe the concepts and the values on which both the political brand identity and image are founded.

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2014, 2013

This paper proposes a new method to measure hotel service quality from online consumer reviews an... more This paper proposes a new method to measure hotel service quality from online consumer reviews and ratings. In essence, a word frequency analysis is performed on comments collected from a website such as TripAdvisor, and these frequencies are used to obtain a score for each of the following dimensions: Room, Facilities, Surroundings, Employees and Reliability. A comparison of scores can be made based on the ratings that consumers give, and/or can be studied over time. The method offers researchers and hotel managers a useful new tool, which can guide quality improvement efforts and help focus marketing communication. In this paper the development of the approach is described, and a short example is presented where the method is applied on a single hotel.

International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics, 2014

In response to consumer needs for online sensory experiences and ease of access to information, d... more In response to consumer needs for online sensory experiences and ease of access to information, developments in online visual merchandising techniques can help to enhance the virtual environment for e-shopping. Online visual merchandising helps to reduce perceived risk for the consumer, so enabling Internet-based shopping to compete with—or to augment—traditional sales channels. The present analysis aims to test a hypothesized relationship between the visual merchandising techniques in use on those Web sites and the commercial success of fashion industry e-commerce sites (as measured by traffic data). The study uses content analysis to assess the visual merchandising techniques of 30 distribution companies in the clothing industry. On the basis of these findings, commercial enterprises of this kind using the online channel should be better able to understand the limitations and/or strengths of their current Web site, and to improve the effectiveness of their virtual environment for ...

Journal of Public Affairs, 2011