CONSUMER GOALS IN VACATION DECISION MAKING


Decrop A., Kozak M.

JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING, vol.31, no.1, pp.71-81, 2014 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 31 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/10548408.2014.861722
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.71-81
  • Keywords: Tourist behavior, multilevel decision making, decision goals, tourism marketing, consumer psychology
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to explore which decision goals are used the most when making tourism choices, and (b) to investigate how such goals vary across both product (generic, modal, specific) and social (group, household, individual) levels in consumers' decision-making processes. Results help validate Bettman, Luce, and Payne's (1998) decision goals' typology. They further show that respondents are more likely to pursue self-confidence as a goal when making generic decisions while they will be more incline to minimize their cognitive efforts and to maximize the accuracy of their choices for specific decisions. In a social perspective, singles are more likely to minimize their cognitive efforts, whereas households and groups are keener on maximizing the ease of justifying the decision to their members.