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The Impact of Satisfaction and Image on Loyalty: The Case of Alpine

Ski Resorts

Article  in  Journal of Service Theory and Practice · January 2008

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The impact of
The impact of satisfaction and satisfaction and
image on loyalty: the case of image on loyalty
Alpine ski resorts
163
Rita Faullant, Kurt Matzler and Johann Füller
Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism,
University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract
Purpose – Customer satisfaction is seen to be one of the main determinants of loyalty. However, the
relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty does not seem to be linear, many researchers
have reported doubts about the predictability of loyalty solely due to customer satisfaction ratings
which ignore image as predictor of loyalty. This paper aims to address the issues.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors report a study of ski resorts where they first
established a causal model of customer satisfaction and image predicting customer loyalty, and then
map the scores in a four-fields-grid. Additionally the authors conducted a moderator analysis to assess
the relative importance of image and satisfaction for loyalty intentions between two different groups
(first-time-visitors, and regular guests).
Findings – The results show that those ski resorts with the highest satisfaction ratings and the
highest image ratings have the highest loyalty scores. Among first-time-visitors overall satisfaction is
more important than image, with increasing number of repeat visits the importance of overall
satisfaction declines and that of image relatively augments.
Practical implications – Besides measuring customer satisfaction, managers must assess also
image ratings in order to get a realistic view of the loyalty intentions of their customer base. The scores
can than be mapped together with the ratings of other ski resorts, and serve as a benchmark study.
Originality/value – Second order analysis of image (comprising three different dimensions), the
image-satisfaction-grid, moderating effect of experience to relative importance of satisfaction and
image on loyalty.
Keywords Customer loyalty, Product image, Customer satisfaction, Tourism, Individual behaviour
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Practitioners as well as academics understand the central importance of customer
loyalty to business success. Many studies underline this intuitively sound statement
with empirically derived figures: Reichheld (1993) reports significant growth rates of
60 per cent of an American credit card firm by enhancing the retention rate of its
customer base by 5 per cent. Rust and Zahornik (1993) found that it can be five times
more expensive to attract new customers than to retain existing customers. It is argued
that increasing retention rates secure future revenues and reduce the cost of future
customer transactions (Matzler and Stahl, 2000) that positively contributes to the
shareholder value of a firm (Anderson et al., 1994; Anderson et al., 2004; Srivastava
et al., 1999). This is also true for skiing destinations as in increasingly saturated Managing Service Quality
Vol. 18 No. 2, 2008
marketplaces, the success of a destination strongly depends on a thorough analysis of pp. 163-178
tourist motivations and on customer satisfaction and loyalty (Yoon and Uysal, 2005). q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0960-4529
Looking at the determinants of customer loyalty it becomes evident that customer DOI 10.1108/09604520810859210
MSQ satisfaction that has been regarded as major driver of loyalty is a necessary but not
18,2 sufficient condition for loyalty. Many researchers claim that the image of a product or
service essentially determines the extent of loyalty. With our study we are able to show
that indeed very satisfied customers differ in their loyalty intentions with regard to the
perceived image of a ski destination.

164 The relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a main determinant of customer loyalty. Numerous studies
show the positive association between satisfied customers and repurchase intentions
(Mittal and Kamakura, 2001; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml et al., 1996).
Positive effects of satisfaction on loyalty are reflected in the customer’s intentions to
repurchase a product or service and his/her willingness to recommend it other
people. As a consequence firms can be assured of a stable customer base, thereby
reducing the acquisition and transaction costs, and attenuating the volatility of
revenues (Srivastava et al., 1999).
Word of mouth (WOM) is the second, most important form of loyalty. Not directly
manipulable by the firm it is of major importance for it, as new customers may be
attracted by recommendations of others. Due to the personalized transmission of
word-of-mouth to the recipient and the content of personal experiences it is seen as a
more trustworthy source of information in the decision process (Swan and Oliver,
1989). Almquist and Roberts (2000) state that consumer advocacy is a major factor
positively influencing brand equity. This might be particularly true for services, as due
to the nature of many services an examination of an offer in advance is not feasible and
perceived risk of a possible offer rises.
From many studies we know however that customer satisfaction does not translate
directly into customer loyalty, and that the relationship between satisfaction and
loyalty is not a linear one (Oliver, 1999). Gierl (1993) reports that the majority of
customers who assert to be principally brand loyal did switch the brand recently even
if they were satisfied with their regular brand. Finkelman and Goland (1990) found that
the loyalty rate for car sellers among very satisfied customers was only 40 to 58 per
cent, and Reichheld (1993) claims that 65 to 85 per cent of migrated customers were
satisfied or very satisfied with their former supplier. As Mittal and Kamakura (2001)
showed in their analysis, repurchase rates may also differ systematically among
groups at the same level of rated satisfaction. Despite these contradictory results
hardly any researcher doubts the necessity of customer satisfaction as a precondition
for loyalty. The first hypothesis thus is formulated in accordance with the actual state
of research:
H1. Overall satisfaction has positive influence on loyalty.

Drivers of loyalty – the role of image

In the search of further determinants of customer loyalty, researchers repeatedly
proposed image as an important component. Fredericks and Salter (1995) view image
as an ingredient of the customer value package that, together with price, product
quality, service quality and innovation, determines the extent of loyalty. Similarly, the
rating framework of the pan-European Satisfaction Index (EPSI) contains image as a
determinant influencing the perceived value, customer satisfaction and customer The impact of
loyalty (Eskildsen et al., 2004). A favourable image is viewed as a critical aspect of a satisfaction and
company’s ability to maintain its market position. It has been treated as a construct
reflecting “the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of a destination” image on loyalty
(Crompton, 1979, p. 18.), a firm or product. The relationship between image and loyalty
has brought differing results: while Sirgy and Samli (1989) report a direct relationship
among image and store loyalty, the findings of Bloemer et al. (1998) in the banking 165
industry indicate an indirect relationship where the influence of image is mediated by
service quality. In tourism Kandampully and Suhartanto (2000) found image to be one
of the two most important factors for guests of a hotel to consider repurchase and
recommendation.
For tourist destinations in general, assessing the destination’s image is crucial to
the design of effective place marketing strategies. Destination image itself may
serve as an umbrella for the different geographical units, tourist attractions and
various providers of tourist infrastructure and accommodation, and therefore has an
enormous impact onto the single enterprises in a destination (Mossberg and Kleppe,
2005). Imagery studies therefore have a long tradition in tourism research.
Numerous studies centred on the measurement of destination image (e.g. Echtner
and Ritchie, 1993), the structure of destination image (e.g. Walmsley and Young,
1998) and the formation of image (e.g. Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). Concerning the
relationship between image and loyalty evidence in tourism literature becomes rare.
Kotler et al. (1996) among the few investigating the impact of image on loyalty
assume the following sequence: image ! quality ! satisfaction ! post-purchase
behaviour.
On that basis Bigné et al. (2001) propose that image impacts simultaneously on all
three components, namely perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty intentions. Chi
and Qu (2007) in their recent study followed an explorative approach in testing the
impact sequence of image, and found that considering the chi-square-difference test,
the model where image impacts simultaneously on attribute satisfaction as well as on
overall satisfaction, but not directly on loyalty, performed best. This however is rather
derived empirically and is less persuasive from a theoretical perspective. Thus,
concerning the relationship between image and loyalty there is little agreement among
researchers.
In contrast, what is widely agreed is that image can be regarded as an
attitude-like construct consisting of cognitive and affective evaluations that are
reflected in the beliefs about and feelings towards an object or destination (Baloglu
and McCleary, 1999). If image can be viewed as a form of beliefs about a destination
it necessarily leads to expectation that will be confirmed or not in the actual holiday
experience. This rationale can be derived by drawing the comparison from
satisfaction literature and the formation process of attitudes and expectations
(Oliver, 1980). Image in this sense is part of a recursive process of attitude change
and formation, where the attitude (image) at time1 (t1) leads to expectations about a
product. The actual experience of the product and the satisfaction about it at t1 will
influence the attitude (image) at t2, which again is the basis for the disconfirmation
process and the satisfaction of t2, and so forth. Therefore, in our model we do not
postulate a one-way-impact of image on satisfaction, but rather model the
MSQ relationship in form of a reciprocal influence by drawing a simple correlation. Image
18,2 in accordance with the rating framework of the pan-European Satisfaction Index
(EPSI) and studies in other service fields as cited above is assumed to have a direct
impact on post-purchase behaviour:
H2. Image has a positive impact on loyalty intentions.
166
Evolving loyalty intentions over time
Following the rationale explained above that image and overall satisfaction are part of
an interdependent process of attitude formation, an important question arises: how
does the impact of image and overall satisfaction on loyalty intentions evolve over
time? From other studies we know that loyalty intentions are characterised by dynamic
aspects. Mittal et al. (1999) in their study in the automobile industry found that service
satisfaction was the more important driver for loyalty intentions in the early stage of
product use, whereas product satisfaction with the car was the main determinant later
in the relationship. Likewise, the relative impact of overall satisfaction and image on
loyalty towards ski destinations might change over time. Following traditional attitude
research we expect that attitudes evolve over time as the market develops, and the
customer gathers experience.
With growing experience attitudes towards a brand should become stronger, more
accessible, and resistant to change (Priester et al., 2004). In their recent study Johnson
et al. (2006) were able to demonstrate that the relative importance of perceived value for
loyalty intentions declined over the relationship time, while the importance of two
attitude-type constructs, namely affective commitment and brand equity, increased.
This study was carried out in the emerging markets of cell phones, which is highly
different from services markets and tourism destinations, which are characterized by
low switching barriers and high variety seeking behaviour of the customer base. In line
with attitude research we propose:
H3. The relative importance of overall satisfaction and image on loyalty will be
moderated by experience. The more often a visitor has chosen the same
destination the more pronounced the image should be, and the less important
is the impact of satisfaction for loyalty intentions.

Study
In the following study we demonstrate the impact of destination image on revisiting
intentions of customers in various skiing destinations in the Alps. We broke down the
data analysis into two steps: first a general model is established showing the impact of
customer satisfaction and image on loyalty; second we map the satisfaction and image
values on two axes, thereby creating a grid with four fields where the differing loyalty
intention rates for each segment become evident.

Research design
Data from the “tourism quality check” (TQC) study, conducted in the winter 2004/2005,
was used to examine the main effects of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty for
alpine ski resorts and to investigate the moderating effects. The TQC study is an
annual online customer satisfaction survey where more than ten leading alpine ski
resorts in Austria, Switzerland, and Italy benchmark each other on their customer The impact of
satisfaction rate. For the present study the ski resorts St Moritz, Lech/Zürs, Dolomiti satisfaction and
Superski, Saalbach, Schladming, Gurgl/Obergurgl, Mayerhofen, Obertauern,
Toggenburg, and Tannheimer Tal have been taken into account. Respondents of the image on loyalty
survey were recruited via a banner on the ski resorts’ web page offering a raffling as
incentive with attractive prizes. As a prerequisite, participants had to have visited the
ski resort. In order to avoid double responses the respondents’ IP address was noted, 167
furthermore electronic plausibility checks have been computed and cases with
unrealistic answering patterns have been excluded. In total, 6,172 customers fully
completed the online survey that is based on a questionnaire assessing various image
dimensions, overall satisfaction and loyalty intentions.
Table I gives an overview of the sample characteristics. In order to assess how
representative the sample in relation to the real population is we draw the comparison
with the statistics of winter tourists in Austria (Austria Tourism, 2007), though in the
sample we have included also ski resorts from Switzerland and Italy. Overall it can be
concluded that the sample corresponds quiet well to the real population of visitors to
ski destinations, with the exception of gender, where the sample shows a predominance
of male respondents in comparison to the official statistics (female 45 per cent vs 36.1
per cent in the sample). Concerning the age, the sample shows that over 50 per cent of

Characteristics % of n ¼ 6; 172

Gender Female 36.1

Male 62.9
Age 14-19 years 4.7
20-29 years 23.4
30-39 years 31.5
40-49 years 24.4
50-59 years 12.7
60-69 years 3
Over 70 years 0.3
Type of stay One-day-trip 11.1
Weekend 17.1
Ski holiday 65.8
Full season pass 5.6
Type of winter sport Skiing 82.6
Snowboard 12.9
Others 4.4
Personal life cycle Single 26.2
Partnership without children 32.4
Partnership with children 39.4
Single-parent 2
Number of visits to the ski resort 1 time 14
2-5 times 28.7
6 -10 times 17.2 Table I.
More than 10 times 40.1 Sample information
MSQ visitors is between 30 and 49 years old, this again is in line with the official statistics,
18,2 although the elder age group of 60-69 years aged respondents is under-represented
(3 per cent in the sample in comparison to 13 per cent in the official statistics), which
might be attributed to the type survey.
Additionally we have questioned the type of stay, where the majority has
undertaken a holiday, and the type of winter sport, where the vast majority prefers
168 skiing followed by snowboarding. Last, the table is completed by information of the
respondents’ personal life cycle stage and their personally estimated level of skiing
skills/snow boarding skills.

Measures
In literature many diverging methods of measuring destination image have been
suggested and applied (for a review of tourism measures see Gallarza et al., 2001), and
some authors have argued that its measurement is lacking theoretical foundation
(Fakeye and Crompton, 1991). Basically, researchers have followed two differing
approaches to operationalise image: in the multi-attribute approach, tourism image is
assessed on a multi item battery of attributes, obtaining the overall image as a sum ore
average of attribute scores (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Chi and Qu, 2007). The second
approach is followed less often, and captures image with a single-item-scale rating the
destination image from very favourable to very unfavourable (Bigné et al., 2001).
According to Echtner and Ritchie (1993) tourism image can be assessed on
attribute-based dimensions and on a holistic dimension, ranging from “common” traits
to “unique” features of a destination.
For the scope of our study we have chosen to follow the multi-attribute approach
and to assess image on the holistic dimension. We have renounced on integrating
items reflecting unique features of a ski destination, as we have completed the
survey in ten different ski destinations. The items selected have been gained from
previous studies in the Mountain quality check survey, and are well tested.
Respondents were asked to which degree they would associate a certain ski resort
with the following attributes: exclusivity, fun, good après ski, high quality, luxury,
authenticity, snow security, experiencing nature, family-friendliness, and cosiness
(1 ¼ very much, 5 ¼ not at all).
The measurement of customer satisfaction has received considerable attention in
literature (Oliver, 1997), and there is wide accordance that the measurement of overall
satisfaction differs from attribute satisfaction. In the service quality literature attribute
satisfaction is seen to reflect quality with single aspects of an offer that is consequently
influencing overall satisfaction (Boulding et al., 1993; Brady and Cronin, 2001). In
accordance with literature (e.g. Fornell, 1992; Mittal et al., 1999) we expect overall
satisfaction to reflect the overall evaluation of a stay and thus it should be the main
driver of loyalty, therefore we assessed overall satisfaction with two items on a
five-point Likert-scale from 1 (very satisfied/fully agree) to 5 (not satisfied/fully
disagree) with two items (“how satisfied have been with X overall?” and “overall I have
enjoyed my stay at X”).
In relation to service quality and overall satisfaction, behavioural intentions as
consequences have been discussed in literature. Among the most discussed forms of
loyalty repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth have been investigated (Swan and
Oliver, 1989; Zeithaml, 2000; Zeithaml et al., 1996). In this tradition we have The impact of
integrated two items capturing loyalty intentions on the two dimensions (repurchase satisfaction and
intention and word-of-mouth) on a five-point scale (from 1 ¼ yes, sure, to 5 ¼ no,
for sure not). image on loyalty

Data analysis – structural equation modelling

In the first step a structural model was established with structural equation modelling 169
in order to determine the structure of the various constructs and to detect the causal
relationships. Figure 1 shows the influence of customer satisfaction and image on
loyalty, and confirms our H1 and H2, as both components exert a positive influence on
loyalty. As the holistic assessment of image according to the data could be split up into
three sub-dimensions we have modelled the image as a second order construct. Thus
image as an overall impression of a ski destination is reflected in the three
sub-dimensions of “luxury”, “family/cosiness”, and “fun”.
As can be viewed from the path-model we report a strong correlation between
overall satisfaction and image (r ¼ 0:72). This reflects the close connections and the
reciprocal influence of the two constructs, and confirms our view that image and
satisfaction should be seen in a strong interactive relationship. Concerning the
impact of the two constructs on loyalty, overall satisfaction (b ¼ 0:46) is still the
most important driver of loyalty, however, also image exerts a strong influence
(b ¼ 0:33) on loyalty. Together the two determinants are able to explain 54 per cent
of the variance of loyalty intentions. Overall, the model seems to fit the data very
well as all fit measures clearly meet the required cut-off levels whereby the global
fit measures GFI and AGFI should exceed 0.9 (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1996), and the
incremental fit measures TLI and CFI are supposed to reach at minimum 0.95 (Hu
and Bentler, 1999). Also the psychometric properties of the single constructs

Figure 1.
The impact of image (2nd
order) and satisfaction on
loyalty (path model)
MSQ indicate an appropriate structure (Table II). All indicators have good factor loadings
18,2 and the respective factor reliabilities closely approach or surmount the required
reliabilities. Whereas for the scale reliability with Crombach’s alpha a minimum of
0.7 is required (Nunnally, 1978), in structural equation modelling factor reliabilities
should exceed 0.6 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988), which is the case for the constructs in our
model. Equally the average variance extracted of the constructs can be judged as
170 satisfactory with values close to or over 0.5, and thus convergent validity of the
constructs can be seen as fulfilled (Hair et al., 2006). Discriminant validity can be
estimated by calculating the Fornell-Larcker-ratio (Fornell and Larcker, 1981), the
reached value must not exceed 1 – as displayed in Table I all of our constructs
comply with this guideline.

The Image-satisfaction-grid
The fact that image has a highly significant influence onto loyalty becomes even more
evident when taking a look at the descriptive figures of revisiting intention and
word-of-mouth. In Figure 2 we mapped the satisfaction and image scores on two axis,
resulting in a four-field-grid. On both dimensions the scores for the single indicators
according to the confirmatory factor analysis have been summed up and the mean was
computed. Due to the coding from 1 (very much associated, very satisfied) to 5 (not at
all associated, not satisfied) a small value on each dimension indicates a better
standing. Accordingly field no. 4 represents the most satisfied customers who also
have a most favourable image of a ski resort. Contrary customers located in field no. 2
are neither very satisfied nor do they indicate to have a positive overall image of a
destination.
The figures in the centre of each field in the grid indicate the extent to which
customers are willed to stay loyal with a ski resort. We report three indicators of

Average
Factor Factor variance Fornell-Larcker-
Construct Item loading reliability extracted ratio

Luxury Luxury 0.59 0.75 0.43 0.67

Exclusivity 0.62
High quality 0.87
Snow security 0.62
Family/coziness Coziness 0.74 0.60 0.43 0.79
Family-friendliness 0.57
Fun Fun 0.88 0.58 0.41 0.71
Après-Ski 0.49
Image (2nd order) Luxury 0.75 0.79 0.56 0.92
Family Coziness 0.80
Fun 0.68
Customer satisfaction Overall satisfaction 0.95 0.94 0.88 0.69
Table II.
Enjoyment of stay 0.92
Psychometric properties
of the constructs in the Loyalty Revisiting intention 0.56 0.69 0.53 0.92
path model Word-of-mouth 0.90
 The impact of
satisfaction and
image on loyalty

171

Figure 2.
The image-
satisfaction-grid

loyalty: the two indicators used in the confirmatory factor analysis, namely
revisiting intention (RVI) and word-of-mouth (WOM), and additionally we report an
extra index called long-term relatedness (LTR), where customers where asked
whether in future they intend to remain/become regular guests of a ski resort. The
grid clearly shows that image makes a dramatic difference in loyalty behaviour:
customers in field no. 4 evidence the highest revisiting intentions, word-of-mouth
and intentions to remain regular visitor of a ski resort. Customers in field no. 1 are
equally satisfied with a ski resort, but are distinguished from field no. 4 customers
by a lower perception of image. This shortfall results in less favourable loyalty
indices, as all three indicators of loyalty are lower than in field no. 4. The most
extreme difference becomes evident looking at field no. 2, which represents
customers with modest satisfaction and image ratings: only 62 per cent of these
customers intend to revisit the same ski destination again (almost 30 per cent less
than in field no. 4), and only 48 per cent of these customers are willed to recommend
this ski resort to others (50 per cent less than in field no. 4).

The moderating influence of experience

To test H3 (the relative importance of image and overall satisfaction on loyalty differs
along the customer’s experience with the destination), we conducted a multi-group
analysis in AMOS. The number of visits to ski destination served as a moderating
variable, and we split the data into two groups according to the number of repeat visits
MSQ to a ski destination (how often have you been to destination X). The group with
18,2 first-time-visitors comprises n ¼ 855, the second group with regular guests (more than
ten visits to the same destination) was n ¼ 2; 456.
One model restricts the parameters of satisfaction on loyalty, and image on loyalty,
to be equal across groups. The more general model allows these parameters to vary
across groups (see also Homburg and Giering, 2001). If x2 improves significantly when
172 moving from the restricted to the more general model, image and overall satisfaction
have a differential effect on loyalty, and experience can be seen as a moderator.
Significance is assessed on the basis of the x2-difference between the models with the
use of a x2-distribution with one degree of freedom. In the first step of the moderator
analysis, an overall x2-difference test for the moderator variable was conducted. Two
models – one that imposes equality constraints on image and satisfaction on loyalty
across the subgroups, and a general model that allows these parameters to vary freely
across the subgroups – were compared.
The null hypothesis assumes that the visitor’s experience with a ski destination
does not have any effect on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty, and
image and loyalty. This null hypothesis must be rejected, as the Dx2, for all parameters
set equal across subgroups, is significant (Dx2 ¼ 53; 496 *), indicating that the number
of visits to a ski destination serves as moderator variable (Table III).
Regarding the two regression paths from satisfaction and image on loyalty
however, only for one our assumption can be confirmed. The satisfaction – loyalty
relationship is significantly moderated by experience, thus the more often visitors
chose to travel to a ski destination the less important overall satisfaction for future
loyalty intentions will be. Image in relation to overall satisfaction gains in importance,
while for the absolute value of this regression path, no significant amplification can be
observed. This might appear surprising on the first view, however, the model
comparison shows, that there are significant differences among subgroups concerning
the measurement weights. The assumption that image is perceived equally in both
groups significantly pejorates the model (Dx2 ¼ 50:940 *). Thus it can be concluded
that the influence of experience on image is located directly at the perceptual level of
image. This again is in line with the argument made by Baloglu and McCleary (1999)
who state that the formation of image for one and the same destination differs
according to target groups.
In our case the two groups that are distinguished by their visiting frequency can
be regarded as two different target groups. Members of these two groups obviously
have different image perceptions. Comparing the standardized factor loadings of the

Chi-square difference
Path Experience (DDF ¼ 1)

1 time Regular guest (.10 times)

Satisfaction-loyalty ¼ 0:302 (t ¼ 9:448 *) ¼ 0:170 (t ¼ 11:488 *) Dx2 ¼ 11:037 *
Table III. Image-loyalty ¼ 0:145 (t ¼ 3:013 *) ¼ 0:147 (t ¼ 7:727 *) Dx2 ¼ 0:001
Results of the moderator
analysis (number of visits Notes: Dx2 for all gammas set equal across subgroups (DDF ¼ 4): 53.496 *; Dx2 for measurement
as moderator) weights set equal across subgroups (DDF ¼ 7): 50.940 *
two groups they appear to be higher in the group with regular visitors than in the The impact of
novice group (see appendix). Thus it can be concluded that with increasing number satisfaction and
of visits the image becomes stronger, more pronounced, and less susceptible to
change. This again is in line with studies in literature we have cited above (Johnson image on loyalty
et al., 2006).

Discussion and managerial implications

173
Customer satisfaction is an important driver of loyalty. It is however not a very reliable
and not the only determinant of loyalty. With our analysis we show:
.
that image in addition to overall satisfaction executes a strong impact on loyalty
intentions;
.
with our satisfaction-image-grid we were able to demonstrate how large the
differences in loyalty intentions between equally satisfied customers are, if they
only differ in their image perceptions of a ski resort; and
.
the moderator analysis revealed that image in the course of time gains in relative
importance for loyalty intentions compared to overall satisfaction.

A number of theoretical and managerial implications can be derived from the findings
of this study. Most ski resorts use some form of satisfaction survey (Perdue, 2002). As
brand image obviously plays an important role, in these surveys brand image should
be included. For managers of ski resorts the grid is a useful tool to determine the own
position in terms of satisfaction and image, two important indicators of loyalty. In a
next step, the different ski resorts could be mapped within this grid, thereby
determining the loyalty propensity of the customer base, and at the same time having a
benchmark against other ski resorts.
Using structural equation modelling, for each single ski resort it is possible to
assess the relative importance of brand image versus overall satisfaction. Hence,
mangers of ski resorts should be able to better identify the drivers of loyalty and
derive more effective strategies to increase the customers’ willingness to revisit the
ski resort and their willingness to recommend it to others. This can be reached by
fostering concrete improvements to enhance satisfaction and image of a destination.
In particular for first-time visitors a good overall performance is crucial to initiate
positive loyalty intentions. For visitors coming for the first time to a ski destination,
the evaluation of attribute performance and the integration of that in an overall
satisfaction judgement is the most important driver for loyalty. Image at this point
of time exerts a significant influence too on loyalty intentions, but a far less
important one than overall satisfaction. Once the one-time guest decides to revisit a
destination the satisfaction-image-interdependence leads to clear and relative robust
image perceptions, which are less susceptible to change. With increasing experience
the importance of overall satisfaction declines, and in relation that of image
increases. This implies that, once a positive image has been built up, visitors do no
longer pay thus much attention on performance evaluation and are more apt to give
a further chance if failures happen. For managers of ski destinations this means to
perform best at new customers, and to accurately cultivate image for repeat
customers.
MSQ Conclusions and future research directions
18,2 From a theoretical point of view it has been shown that brand image, or in our case
destination image, as a more affective, and less cognition-based perception indeed has
an additional influence on customer loyalty. This logic can be derived if one accepts the
above outlined, and widely agreed view that image is an attitude-like construct with
cognitive and affective components (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). It implies that it is
174 not mere the cognitive evaluation of service quality and in turn customer satisfaction
but also the more emotional perception of the brand image that drives loyalty, and
influences the consumers’ intention to recommend the destination to others and their
plan to revisit a destination again. Hence, this study supports previous findings that
found that emotions in addition to cognitions are relevant. Whereas, however, most
previous studies in the service industry focused on consumption-specific emotions, i.e.
emotions originated from cognitive evaluations of products or services, and their
impact on customer satisfaction (Mano and Oliver, 1993; Mooradian and Olver, 1997;
Oliver, 1993), we focus on the more emotional content of brands, independent of
perceived quality and satisfaction. This lead us to the interesting question, under
which conditions the cognitive evaluation of service quality and satisfaction have a
stronger impact on loyalty, and in which situations do the more affective perceptions of
brand image shape loyalty intentions.
Previous literature has identified a number of moderating variables, e.g. personal
characteristics, situational factors etc. (Homburg and Giering, 2001; Matzler et al.,
2007). With our study we enlarge the knowledge in this domain, as our results show
that the importance of cognitive satisfaction evaluation for the prediction of loyalty
intentions declines with increasing number of repurchase. In relation to overall
satisfaction the impact of image on loyalty increases although the absolute values do
not vary significantly. Future research should investigate further moderators of these
relationships, for example the strength of these relationships might vary across
customers (e.g. extremely brand-conscious customers vs. non-brand-conscious), and
travel purpose. In the case of hotels, for example, business travellers could rely more on
service quality whereas for tourists (e.g. honey-mooners) it could be more the brand
that counts. Generalizing these findings, it could be that for some services image is the
more important determinant for loyalty. This could be true especially for services
where the potential for creating differentiating value propositions has been fully
exploited and the offers of all competitors look alike. Here, a favourable image might be
the only non-imitable factor that leads to higher loyalty among customers, as it
provides the customer base with an additional social value. Image might be a more
important determinant for loyalty also in highly technical services, or in services where
the number of customer-employee-interactions has been largely replaced by
self-servicing technologies (for example the banking industry). A favourable image
from off-line times might be transferred to the new-media era, and serve as a cadre for
trust and loyalty.
Finally, the number of “moments of truth” could moderate the relationships. The
more “moments of truth” a service potentially has the more possibilities the customer
has to evaluate the service on a cognitive basis. With fewer moments of truth the
customer has to rely more on the affective evaluation and brand image of a service than
binding loyalty intentions to cognition-based satisfaction judgements.
Limitations The impact of
Limitations of our study may be seen in the self-selected sample, as respondents have satisfaction and
been recruited via the ski resorts’ web page. Thus customers who never visited one of
the web pages had no opportunity to be part of the sample. However, studies show that image on loyalty
especially in tourism, online information search and booking constitute a common
consumer pattern of customers (Market, 2006). In order to assure the comparability of
the survey across ski resorts the questionnaire in the online survey is standardised, 175
thus for each ski resort the same questions are posed. This implicates that unique
features or product specialisation strategies of ski resorts that might shape image too,
are not weighted correspondingly in the survey. In order to resolve this problem
unstructured interview techniques for capturing destination image in all ten ski resorts
would be necessary, which goes beyond the scope of our study.

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MSQ Appendix
18,2
Factor
Factor loadings loadings regular
Image dimension Item 1 time guest (.10 times)

Luxury Exclusivity 0.546 0.657

178 High quality 0.838 0.880
Snow security 0.591 0.637
Luxury 0.510 0.614
Family Coziness 0.691 0.746
Table AI. Family-friendliness 0.595 0.589
The standardized factor Fun Fun 1.027 0.756
loadings Après-Ski 0.460 0.546

About the authors

Rita Faullant is senior research fellow at the Department of Strategic Management, Marketing
and Tourism, at the University of Innsbruck. She received her PhD at the University of
Klagenfurt, addressing with her research the integration of emotions and personality into issues
of customer satisfaction and customer retention. Her research centres the interfaces between
Psychology and Marketing, Leadership and Innovation. Rita Faullant is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: rita.faullant@uni-klu.ac.at
Kurt Matzler is Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the Department of
Strategic Management at the University of Innsbruck. His primary research and teaching
interests are in the area of Global Strategic Management, Knowledge Management, Market
Orientation and Innovativeness. Kurt Matzler has published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed
journals. He is academic director of the Executive MBA-program at the Management Center
Innsbruck (MCI) and teaches at several MBA-Programs. As a partner of IMP, an international
consulting company with its headquarters in Innsbruck/Austria, he also serves as a consultant to
companies in a wide variety of industries.
Johann Füller is assistant professor in marketing at Innsbruck University School of
Management and board member of HYVE AG, a company specialized in virtual customer
integration. He received his PhD in business administration at the Innsbruck University School
of Management. Johann holds a master’s degree in international management, a degree in
mechanical engineering, and a degree in industrial engineering and management. His research
interests are in the field of open innovation, consumer co-creation, online communities and
virtual consumer integration into new product development.

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