PARADOX OFMARKETINGTOTHE PHYSICALLYCHALLENGED INDIVIDUALS - SUSTAINABLE DIFFERENTIATION OR SIMPLY MARKETING HYPE
Abstract
It has long been acknowledged that service differentiation through effective market segmentation ensures survivability of the firm in the long run. While voluminous studies on segmentation and providing service differentiation were conducted, little previous research work was done in the context of the airline industry. It is the intention of this paper to examine the needs of the physically challenged individuals and the reasons constraining the industry in fulfilling these needs. This paper will contribute significantly to understanding the needs of the physically challenged individuals and suggest that meeting the needs of these individuals provide sustainable competitive advantage for those who dare to adapt their strategy. Given the little previous researches were conducted in the identification of this potential group of customers, it is no wonder the airline industry is myopic and ill-prepared in meeting the needs of this viable group of customers. This study is also beneficial from a managerial perspective given the implications in assisting the airline operators and marketers to better understand this group of customers and their needs. Particularly specific features identified in this paper can help increase the overall position of airline operators that would appeal to this growing segment.
References
Aaker, D.A., 2008. Strategic Market Management. John Wiley & Sons: NJ.
Barsky, J., Labagh, R., 1992. A strategy for customer satisfaction. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, October, 32-40.
Buhalis, D., Eichhorn, V., Michopoulou, V., Miller, G. 2005. Accessibility Market and Stakeholder Analysis, viewed 16 December 2008, http://www.ossate.org/doc_resources/
OSSATE_Market&Stakeholder%20Analysis_Public_Version_Fina..pdf
Burnet, J.J., Baker, H.B. 2001. Assessing the Travel-Related Behaviors of the Mobility- Disabled Consumer. Journal of Travel Research 40, 4-11.
Chan, D., 2000a. The story of Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Girl. The Journal of Management Development 19, 456-472.
Chan, D., 2000b. Beyond the Singapore Girl - Grand and product/service differentiation strategies in the new millennium. The Journal of Management Development 19, 515-542.
Darcy, S. 1998. Anxiety to Access: The Tourism Patterns and Experiences of New South Wales People with a Physically Disability. Tourism New South Wales: Sydney.
Department of Transport U.K., 2006. Airlines failing disabled passengers Government report calls for better service, viewed on 15 January 2009, http://www.which.co.uk/news/2006/08/airlines-failing-disabled-passengers-91297.jsp
Durgin, R.W., Lindsay, N., Hamilton, F.,1995. A Guide to Recreation, Leisure and Travel for the Handicapped Volume 2: Travel and Transportation. Resources Directories: Toledo, Ohio.
Elwan, A., 1999. Poverty and Disability - A Survey of the literature. Social protection Discussion paper series. No.9932. Social protection unit. Human development network. The World Bank, ILO 2001.
English Tourism Council, 2000. People with Disability and Holiday Taking. November 2000. English Tourist Council: London.
Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities, 2008. United Nations, viewed 13 June 2008, http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=18
Gilmour, P., Borg, G., Duffy, P.A., Johnston, N.D., Limbek, B.E., Shaw, M.R., 1994. Customer Service: Differentiating by Market Segment. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 24, 18-23.
Gursoy, D., Chen, M.H., Kim, H.J., 2005. The US airlines relative positioning based on attributes of service quality. Tourism Management 26, 57-67.
Gustafsson, A., Ekdahl, F., Edvardsson, B., 1999. Customer focused service development in practice - A case study at Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS). International Journal of Service Industry Management 10, 344-358.
International Civil Aviation Organization, 1999. Access to Air Transport by Persons with Disabilities, ICAO Circular 274-AT/114, Montreal.
Jarach, D., 2002. The digitalisation of market relationships in the airline business: the impact and prospects of ebusiness. Journal of Air Transport Management 8, 115-120.
Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy - Text & Cases. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education.
Kandampully, J., 2000. The impact of demand fluctuation on the quality of service: a tourism industry example.Managing Service Quality 10, 10-18.
Kleymann, B., Serist, H., 2004. Managing Strategic Airline Alliances. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Laidler,A., 2007. Now Boarding "Disabled people's experiences of air travel" , Leonard Cheshire, U.K, viewed 19 June2008, http://www.lcdisability.org/download.php?id=847
Larissa, K.S., Myroslaw, K.J., 1994. Customer service: Product differentiation in International Markets. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 24, 41-50.
Littrell, M.A. 2004. Senior travellers: Tourism activities and shopping behaviours. Journal of Vacation Marketing,10, 348-362.
Lynch, R., 2000. Corporate Strategy. Harlow: Financial Times/Pitman.
Mazzeo, M.J., 2003. Competition and Service Quality in the U.S. Airline Industry. Review of Industrial Organization 22, 275-296.
McKercher, B., Packer, T., Yau, M.K., Lam, P., 2003. Travel agents as facilitators or inhibitors of travel: perceptions of people with disabilities. Tourism Management 24, 465-474.
Mont, D., 2007. Measuring Disability Prevalence, Disability and Development Team, The World Bank, viewed 13 November 2008, http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DISABILITY/Resources/Data/MontPrevalence.pdf
Open Doors Organization, 2003. Disability Travel Survey Identifies Most Popular American Cites, viewed 22
June 2008, http://www.opendoorsnfp.org/_wsn/page12.html
Poon, W.C., Low, L.T., 2005. Are travelers satisfied with Malaysian Hotels? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 17, 217-227.
Porter, M. E., 1985. Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. The Free Press, New York.
Reichheld, F.F., Sasser, W.E., 1990. Zero Deflections: Quality comes to Services. Harvard Business Review, September/October, 105-111.
Ross, G.A. 1994. Attitudes Towards the Disabled in Destination Marketing Organizations. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Rose, J.M., Hensher, D.A., Greene, W.H., 2005. Recovering costs through price and service differentiation: Accounting for exogenous information on attribute processing strategies in airline choice. Journal of Air
Transport Management 11, 400-407.
Shaw, S., 2007. Airline Marketing and Management, Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
Skogland, I., Siguaw, J.A., 2004. Are your satisfied customers loyal? Cornell Hotel and RestaurantAdministration Quarterly 45, 221-234.
Swiercz, P.M., Spencer, B., 1992. HRM and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Lessons from Delta Air Lines. Human Resource Planning 15, 35-47.
The Centre for An Accessible Society, 2000. Identity, definitions and demographics of disability. viewed 26 June 26 2008, http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics/demographics-identity.
United Nations, 1993. The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, viewed 10 January 2009, http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.htm.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific, 2000. Barrier- Free Tourism for people with disabilities in the ESCAP region, ASIA-PACIFIC CONFERENCE ON TOURISM FOR PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITY, viewed 27 January 2009, http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/Publications/TPTS_pubs/pub_2316/pub_2316_Annex1.pdf
Veal, A. J. (2002). Leisure and Tourism Policy and Planning. CABI Publishing: Wallingford, Oxon, UK.
Vignuda, J.L., 2006. Promotion of Barrier-free Tourism in Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Economic and Social Commission For Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Presented at the UNESCAP/CDPF Regional
Workshop on Accessible Tourism/Promotion of Barrier-free Tourism, 30 October - 1 November 2006, Sanya, Hainan Province, China.
Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D. 2008. Strategic Management and Business Policy. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education.
Yau, M.K., McKercher, B., Packer, T. L., 2004 .Travelling with a disability More than an access issue. Annals of Tourism Research 31, 946-960.
Zahra, S.A., Keil, T., Maula, M. 2005. New ventures' inward licensing: examining the effects of industry and strategy characteristics. European Management Review, 2, 154-166.
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Manuscript submitted to ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism has to be an original work of the author(s), contains no element of plagiarism, and has never been published or is not being considered for publication in other journals. The author(s) retain the copyright of the content published in ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism. There is no need for request or consultation for future re-use and re-publication of the content as long as the author and the source are cited properly.
