Browsing by Author "Sellers, Ricardo"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    The Bundling Strategy: The One-Click Effect on Loss Aversion
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sellers, Ricardo (Sage, 2019-09-20)
    This research aims to determine different levels of loss aversion in the context of price responsiveness and service bundling. Considering that nonlinearities in price responses may exist in a bundling strategy, this research tests the existence of different degrees of loss aversion, depending on whether an individual books one service independently of another (e.g., an airline ticket independently of accommodation) or as part of a bundle (e.g., a package that includes an airline ticket plus accommodation). We estimate a random parameter logit model. Empirical application shows that people who book a flight independently of accommodation are more loss averse than those who book a package that includes flight and accommodation. To explain this result, we propose the one-click effect so that people who find a price higher than expected (loss aversion) are more willing to accept it if the product is included in a bundle.
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    The Free Breakfast Effect: An Experimental Approach to the Zero Price Model in Tourism
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sellers, Ricardo (Sage, 2011-11-03)
    This article presents the first evidence of the zero price effect in tourism. The multicomponent nature of tourism products adds complexity to the price-setting process, but also allows managers to take advantage of the interrelationships among the different components to maximize sales. Taking the zero price model, the authors adapt and apply it to a two-component tourism product. The experiments conducted show evidence in favor of the free breakfast effect: even though people lean toward their preferred, more expensive alternative, when the cheaper option offers a free breakfast, the demand for the latter increases and for the former it decreases. This result shows that the zero price effect is not confined to single products but also applies in multicomponent contexts. Important managerial implications in the realm of sales promotion policies are drawn.
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    The quality of quality awards: Diminishing information asymmetries in a hotel chain
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sellers, Ricardo (Elsevier, 2010-08-01)
    Services suffer to a great extent from information asymmetries because their attributes are more difficult to grasp in advance. Within services, the tourism industry is an especially notable and interesting case. Akerlof [Akerlof, G. The market for 'lemons': Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. Quarterly Journal of Economics 1970; 84 (3): 488-500.] suggests the applicability of information asymmetries and counteracting institutions to hotel chains. To reduce these asymmetries different strategies have been proposed. Among them, quality certificates have become one of the most popular tools. However, two questions arise: one, are quality certificates effective tools to reduce information asymmetries in the tourism industry, with its inherent uncertainty? and two, are all types of existing quality certificates equally effective? Thus, the objectives of this study include analyzing the market value variation of a hotel chain due to quality certification, and to test the effect by type of award. The method builds from the event study technique and regression analysis. The results show that the stock market reacts positively to certificates, thus implying that quality certification can be a useful tool for reducing information asymmetry; however, this positive reaction is not equal for all kinds of certificates, the ISO 9000 shows the highest impact.
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    Satisfaction and Expenditure in Wineries: A Prospect Theory Approach
    Sellers, Ricardo; Nicolau, Juan Luis (SAGE, 2021-07-22)
    Visitor satisfaction has been shown to be a critical determinant of visitor expenditure in wineries. Although the relationship between visitor satisfaction and expenditure in wineries has been investigated in previous literature, we have unearthed potential intricacies that emerge when this relationship is analyzed within the reference dependence framework of prospect theory. To fill this gap, we use segment-based reference points to capture the singularity of winery visitors, and results show that demographics and psychographics confirm reference dependence. When reference points are based on psychographics, loss aversion is confirmed (lowering visitor satisfaction has a greater negative impact on expenditure than the positive impact derived from increasing visitor satisfaction), while diminishing sensitivity is observed for losses (the effect of the variations in visitor satisfaction shifts depending on the distance from the individual’s reference point). Interestingly, when the reference points are obtained through demographics, loss aversion is reversed. Relevant managerial implications are outlined.
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    The stock market's reaction to quality certification: Empirical evidence from Spain
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sellers, Ricardo (Elsevier, 2002-11-01)
    The objective of this paper is to analyse the stock market's reaction to a company that is granted a quality certification (ISO 9000), and particularly when such an award is publicly announced. To do so, we carried out an event study, estimating the mean "abnormal" change in the stock prices of all of the firms that obtained quality certification, based on the ISO 9000 norms, while they were trading on the Spanish stock market between 1993 and 1999. The results show that the stock market reacts positively to such certification. This implies that quality certification can be considered as a useful tool for reducing the asymmetry in the information that circulates among buyers and sellers.