Recently, Professor Xu Fengzeng and his doctoral student Feng Lili from the School of Management, Shandong University, in collaboration with Associate Professor Ying Wang and Research Assistant Professor Zhang Yun from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, published their latest research on hotel customer participation titled "The effect of customer participation on brand preference: Do hotel brand type and star rating matter?" online in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SSCI, Q1, IF/2022: 8.3). Xu serves as the corresponding author, and Feng is the first author. Shandong University is both the first author affiliation and the sole corresponding author affiliation.
The research mainly explored the impact of hotel customer participation on the formation of brand preference. By incorporating the hotel brand type and star rating into the“customer participation—customer brand engagement—brand preference”model , the research presented a novel framework that uncovers the underlying mechanisms between customer participation and brand preference, thereby deepening the understanding of the formation of customer brand preferences in the process of value co-creation. The research findings demonstrated that customer participation positively impacts the three dimensions of brand engagement, with customers tending to form deeper connections and relationships with the brand, ultimately enhancing brand preference. Contrary to expectations, however, hotel brand type and star rating weakened the relationships between affective engagement and brand preference. Higher star ratings may elevate customer expectations for service engagement or make them perceive it as a right, thereby diminishing the impact of affective engagement on brand preference. The research enriched discussions on brand preference determinants, delineated their formation pathways, and highlighted the moderating role of hotel brand type and star rating in the dynamic relationship between customer engagement, brand engagement, and brand preference, offering valuable insights for hotel brand management.
In recent years, Xu and his team have conducted a series of research studies on customer behavior in the hotel industry, focusing on customer engagement, customer cooperation, and customer interaction from the perspective of customer-hotel interaction. Their researches have been published in renowned journals, including the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (SSCI, Q1), Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management (SSCI, Q1), and Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research (SSCI, Q1). The latest research was an extension and expansion of their existing research in the field and was supported by the Key Program of National Social Science Fund of China (22AJY010).
Xu Fengzeng is a professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Management, director of the Service Strategy and Service Management Research Centre of Shandong University, deputy director of Shandong Provincial Economic Management Research Base, the academic backbone of the Ministry of Education Innovation Team“Industrial Organization and Enterprise Growth”, executive member of China Agricultural Socialized Service Research Expert Committee, young and middle-aged expert of Tourism Industry of Shandong Province, as well as the consultant of Shandong Excellent Tourism Promotion Association and consultant of Shandong Rural Tourism Association. He is also a corresponding review expert of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Social Science Fund of China, whose research fields include tourism and hotel development, common prosperity and rural revitalization, service innovation and tourism entrepreneurship. He has published dozens of papers in Management World, Journal of Natural Resources, Tourism Management(SSCI,Q1), International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management(SSCI,Q1), Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management(SSCI,Q1), Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research(SSCI,Q1), Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management(SSCI,Q1), Cornell Hospitality Quarterly(SSCI,Q3), and Creativity and Innovation Management(SSCI,Q3). Moreover, he has issued academic monographs including Tourism Entrepreneurship Theory and Case Study, Green Paper on the Development of Tourism and Hospitality in Shandong Province, Industry Analysis and Enterprise Growth, and Growth of Hospitality Enterprises. The compiled textbook Hotel Front Office Service and Management (second edition) has been selected as one of the first batch of the “14th Five-Year Plan” national planning textbooks for vocational education. Besides, He has led over 10 national and provincial programs including the Key Program of the National Social Science Fund of China, the General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Youth Program of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, China Postdoctoral Science Fund, along with the Key Program of Shandong Social Science Planning Fund and the General Program of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province. He has also won over 10 awards, such as the Second Prize of the Shandong Province Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Sciences.
