Romance of Experience, Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions: An Empirical Examination of International Delegates in Academic Conferences

¹ International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 54100, Malaysia
² School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Taylor’s University, Selangor, 47500, Malaysia

Abstract

The growing attention placed on experiences can be regarded as a mega-trend, and has given currency to the proposition that experiences are important for consumer’s self-perception and satisfaction with a specific visit. In order to assess this assumption, this study empirically examines the applicability of Pine and Gilmore’s ‘experience economy’ concept and examines the impact of its four dimensions i.e., education, escapism, esthetics, and entertainment on delegates’ satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Based on convenience sampling, 210 questionnaires are distributed to the delegates of 2 international academic conferences out of which 188 were deemed fit for further analysis 89% response rate. The results indicate that Pine and Gilmore’s model can further our understanding of the experience market. However, the findings in contrast with previous studies show that different experiential dimensions influence the delegates’ overall satisfaction in different contexts. For instance, the dimension of education has a relatively higher significant effect on the delegates’ overall satisfaction and behavioural intentions in the context of international academic conferences. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are also discussed.