I

MSc International Festival and Event Management

Master Dissertation

SESSION 2013/2014

TITLE

What role does food has in designing event experience and

how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees

to the event.

Author

Germán Nieto Sáenz de Santamaría

40127215

Supervisor: Senior Lecturer Joan McLatchie

II

What role does food has in designing event experience

and how this influences the emotional connection of the

attendees to the event.

By

Germán Nieto Sáenz de Santamaría

December, 2014

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment

Of the Degree of

Master of Science

in

International Festival and Event Management

III

1 Consent Form

I confirm that this project is all my own work. I understand that my written permission is required for

the University to make copies of my project available to future students for reference purposes and

that my name may be evident. I hereby give my consent to my named work being made available. I

confirm that my work is not confidential.

Print name……Germán Nieto…………………………….

Signature…………………………………… Date……17/12/2014……………………

Faculty Business School, School of Marketing, Tourism and Languages.

Module: Masters Degree Dissertation

Title: What role does food has in designing event experience event and how this influences the

emotional connection of the attendees to the event.

Location in which to be held……Room 1/53 Craiglockhart Campus

IV

2 Declaration

I declare that the work undertaken for this MSc Dissertation has been undertaken by myself

and the final Dissertation produced by me. The work has not been submitted in part or in

whole in regard to any other academic qualification.

Title of Dissertation:

What role does food has in designing event experience and

how this influences the emotional connection of the

attendees to the event.

Name: German Nieto

Signature:

Date: 17/12/2014

V

3 Confidentiality in Use of Data Provided by Third Parties

The data received from the organisations listed below have been used solely in the pursuit of

the academic objectives of the work contained in this Dissertation and has not and will not be

used for any other out with that agreed to by the provider of the data.

Name: German Nieto

Signature:

Date: 17/12/2014

List of Data providers:

Heritage Portfolio

Assembly Rooms Edinburgh

Edinburgh First

Edinburgh Sheraton Grand Hotel & SPA

Prestige Venues & Events

VI

4 Abstract

Purpose: recently, scholars have investigated the role of food in conferences and conventions

as an important factor in the program of events which generates an intention of returning to

attend other events. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyse how food at an

event generates an emotional connection to the event and therefore loyalty. Likewise an

analysis of the main factors of food to create that emotional commitment has been carried

out.

Design/methodology/approach: the philosophy used is interpretative because it is more

focused on the interpretation of the data rather than quantitative analysis. The research

approach adopted in this paper has been an inductive approach. The research strategy which

was used to obtain the data is the qualitative method. The approach used has been thematic

analysis throughout; semi-structured interviews and a brief questionnaire were the processes

used to collect the data.

Findings: the suppliers and organiser of events become increasingly aware of the role of food

as an instrument which gives customers memorable experiences which drives an emotional

connection thus creating loyalty in them. In addition customer to customer meetings are

considered useful networking activities to obtain loyal behaviour.

Research Limitations: the time of completion for this study has been limited to four months

which has resulted in the geographic area being restricted to the area of the city of Edinburgh,

14 organisations were contacted, 5 of them accepted to take part in this research project, as a

consequence the validation and generalisation of the findings may be questionable due to the

small sample group.

Practical implications: this paper can help organisers and suppliers of events to create

memorable experiences in which their clients feel an emotional connection with them which

drives loyalty.

VII

Originality/value: this paper fills the gap of the role of food in events for several reasons. On

the one hand there are very few papers that address the relationship that exists between food

and how this creates a memorable experience and therefore make an emotional commitment

to the event which leads to loyalty, on the other, these studies are based on the point of view

the attendees, however, none of these studies investigates the function of the food as an

instrument to achieve that emotional connection from the point of view of suppliers, i.e. such

as the hosted venues, caterers and event organising firms.

Keywords: conference food factors and attributes, attendee satisfaction, emotional

commitment, co-creation value and loyalty.

VIII

5 Acknowledgments

I want to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Joan McLatchie because she has

helped me to be able to focus at all times on different matters of this dissertation and her

knowledge has helped me to keep a straight path. In addition, I would like to declare my

thankfulness to my Study Support Sarah Terry who has been by my side along this process

and has been sharing with me a lot of hours of proof reading and understanding the structure

of this paper. Both of them were very sympathetic when I broke down and collapsed and they

advised me to stop studying for a while and restart when I had recovered. This advice was

very wise and useful because of the fact that I am now able to finish this paper. In addition I

am very grateful to my friend and classmate Miriam Canchado who has advised me to select

the best approach for doing the different chapters of this dissertation.

I would like to say that I am very grateful to all the scholars who have taken part in all of the

studies which I have read and used in this research project for several reasons; I have

acquired a lot of new knowledge about the role of the food and its emotional connection and

loyalty within the events industry, this has given rise to more doubts and issues to think about

in which in the world of academia is really good.

Finally I want to say that this paper is dedicated to the participants who have taken part in my

research project in particular, and all of the suppliers in event industry in general. I want to

express my gratitude to them for receiving me and giving me some of their busy time, sharing

their experiences and understanding of the industry, with me during the process of the

interviews. The data collection has been very enriching and interesting and has added more

and new findings to this field of knowledge. I have to say that they were very patient with me

for dealing with the all the e-mails I sent them in order that they were able to take part in this

study and arrange the appointments.

I hope this paper will be useful in the future for scholars.

Thank you very much.

IX

Table of Contents 1 Consent Form ................................................................................................................................. I

2 Declaration ................................................................................................................................... IV

3 Confidentiality in Use of Data Provided by Third Parties ............................................................. V

4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ VI

5 Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... VIII

6 List of Tables and Figures ............................................................................................................. 1

7 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 2

7.1 Research Context and Background ....................................................................................... 2

7.2 Aim and Objectives ............................................................................................................... 4

7.3 Overview of the Methodology .............................................................................................. 5

7.4 Study Limitations .................................................................................................................. 5

7.5 Dissertation Structure ............................................................................................................ 6

8 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 7

8.1 Satisfaction and Loyalty in Events ........................................................................................ 8

8.2 Emotional Commitment, Delight Customers and Experience of the Event ......................... 10

8.3 Co-Creation Value .............................................................................................................. 13

8.4 The role of the food in Conferences .................................................................................... 16

8.5 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 17

9 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 20

9.1 Philosophical Approach ...................................................................................................... 20

9.1.1 Research Approach ..................................................................................................... 21

9.1.2 Research Strategy ........................................................................................................ 21

9.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................. 22

9.3 Research .............................................................................................................................. 23

9.3.1 Sampling ..................................................................................................................... 24

9.3.2 Measuring Instruments ................................................................................................ 25

9.3.3 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................... 27

9.3.4 Data Collection ........................................................................................................... 27

9.3.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data ....................................................................................... 29

9.4 Reliability, Validity and Generalisability ............................................................................ 30

9.5 Ethical Issues ...................................................................................................................... 31

9.6 Research Limitations ........................................................................................................... 31

10 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 33

10.1 Profile of interviews ............................................................................................................ 34

10.2 Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate Satisfaction ........... 37

X

10.2.1 Factor 1. Food content quality ..................................................................................... 37

10.2.2 Factor 2. Recognition of personal preference. ............................................................. 38

10.2.3 Factor 3. Menu Selection............................................................................................. 39

10.2.4 Factor 4. Service Delivery ........................................................................................... 40

10.2.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 41

10.3 How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention ................................................. 41

10.3.1 Satisfaction Leading to Behavioural Intention ............................................................. 42

10.3.2 Emotional Connection ................................................................................................. 43

10.3.3 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 47

10.4 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection. .................. 47

10.4.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 51

10.5 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate Loyalty ...... 51

10.5.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 55

10.6 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them ........ 55

10.6.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 59

10.7 Summary of the Findings .................................................................................................... 60

11 Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................................ 63

11.1 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 64

11.1.1 The Key Factors of the food and their Attributes that Generates Satisfaction in

Delegates..................................................................................................................................... 64

11.1.2 Emotional Connection (EC) Affects Behavioural Intention .......................................... 65

11.1.3 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection .......... 66

11.1.4 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate Loyalty

67

11.1.5 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them .. 67

11.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 68

11.3 Future Research .................................................................................................................. 71

12 References ............................................................................................................................... 72

13 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 79

13.1 Appendix 1 Self-administrated Questionnaire ..................................................................... 79

13.2 Appendix 2 Design of the Interview ................................................................................... 82

13.2.1 Satisfaction .................................................................................................................. 82

13.2.2 Emotional Commitment .............................................................................................. 82

13.2.3 Co-Creation Value ...................................................................................................... 83

13.2.4 Food ............................................................................................................................ 83

XI

13.3 Appendix 3 Transcription of an Interview........................................................................... 84

13.3.1 Satisfaction .................................................................................................................. 84

13.3.2 Emotional Commitment .............................................................................................. 86

13.3.3 Co-Creation Value ...................................................................................................... 92

13.3.4 Food ............................................................................................................................ 97

13.4 Appendix 4 Summary of an Interview .............................................................................. 102

13.4.1 Satisfaction ................................................................................................................ 102

13.4.2 Emotional Commitment ............................................................................................ 103

13.4.3 Co –Creating Value ................................................................................................... 107

13.4.4 Food .......................................................................................................................... 109

1

6 List of Tables and Figures

Table 1 Profiles of the Participants .................................................................................................... 35

Table 2 Factor 1: Food Content Quality............................................................................................. 37

Table 3 Factor 2: Recognition of Personal Preference ....................................................................... 38

Table 4 Factor3: Menu Selection ........................................................................................................ 39

Table 5 Factor 4: Service Delivery ..................................................................................................... 40

2

7 Introduction

This chapter will be divided into different sections. First, a presentation of the investigation

topic will be conducted in order to establish its text and background. Second, a statement of

the Aims and Objectives is going to be made in this paper, followed by a concise explanation

of the methodology that has been used, as well as the limitations of this research. Finally a

description of the overall structure of this study will be described in terms of facilitating the

reading it.

7.1 Research Context and Background

The act of eating is very important in our lives for various reasons. On the one hand,

throughout life humans’ need to be fed, on the other hand, humans found having in a meal is

one of the best ways to socialise (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). Around food a wide range of

feelings and memorable experiences can be created because the main senses are involved

(Nelson, 2009). Through sight we imagine the flavour of the food and we awake the desire to

eat, by the sensation of smell, taste glands allows us to absorb the different aromas of the

ingredients used in the food and by taste allows people to savour a recipe differentiating the

different textures and flavours (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). These authors state that it is

these memorable experiences in which all senses are involved, as opposed to those which

only involve the cognitive senses. With regard to the role of senses in event experience

Nelson (2009) states that aroma is a key driver which can manipulate emotions and

memories. Therefore, the author of this study aims to link the MICE industry with the role of

food in order that the event organizers’ firms acquire more competitiveness.

Today a symbol of economic progress in a country is the development of a knowledge

economy through the MICE industry (Wei and Huang, 2013). In this market, marketing

plans must be carried out to understand the reasons why delegates attend the meetings and

what is more important, the behaviours developed and what motivates them to repeat the

experience which in turn lead to benefits and maintains the sustainability of events (Kim,

Lee, and Love, 2009).

3

The intention is to create in delegates a sense of loyalty that makes them want to repeat

attendance at the event (Wei and Huang, 2013). To get this loyalty several steps are necessary

to be taken. First, develop an emotional connection with the customer for that event and the

most appropriate way is to create the feeling of satisfaction (Mason and Paggiaro 2012).

Second, discovering which behavioural intentions are generated to create loyalty to the event

(Baker and Crompton 2000; Lee, Yoon and Lee, 2007; McDougall, G., Levesque, T., 2000).

Third, how to create an Emotional Commitment (E.C.) in the audience as this is one of the

most important factors in creating a sense of loyalty (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson

(2012). However, E.C. has not been investigated enough in the M.I.C.E. Industry (Ibid).

Fourth, Berman (2005) states that one of the best ways to create a strong E.C. is through

delighting customers because this feeling is stronger than satisfaction; where the customers

are surprised by the unexpected provided by the organisation (Gwynne, 2002). Fifth,

according to Pine and Gilmore (1998), creating memorable experiences is an effective

instrument to generate emotional commitment because as more senses are involved in the

experiences the better to create loyalty. Sixth, some scholars found that throughout the

paradigm of Co-Creation Value this is a good method to engage the customer as a partner in

the firms which increase the degree of loyalty to the firm (Chathoth et al., 2013; Guren,

Osmonbekov and Czaplewski, 2007; Payne et al., 2009; Van Limburgh, 2008). Finally, it is

interesting to note that food is one of the key factors in the program of meetings in generating

behaviours of intent to return (Kim et al. 2009). With regard to the attributes of the food;

content, quality and local sourcing are the key drivers that create loyalty (Armer, 2004;

Servert et al. 2007; Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).

However, the role of food to generate an emotional commitment has not been assessed

enough by the M.I.C.E only two articles have been found related to this topic (Kim et al.

2009; Wei and Huang, 2013). Moreover, networking activities are not satisfactory enough for

attendees, in which to develop socially (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). Keeping in

mind that the food at the events is where delegates can develop their networking connections

plays a fundamental role (Ha and Jang, 2010).

In the literature review several gaps have been found, therefore this paper needs to be written

for several reasons. First, there is little research that analyses the strategic plans undertaken

by organisers in order to enable attendees to develop their networking. Second, no literature

appears to exist which assesses how the organisers use the role of food to create an emotional

commitment to an event. Third, as said before the small number of scholars have studied the

4

role of the food in generating emotional connection, those that have focused on the point of

view of the attendees, but not from the side of how the suppliers, hosted venues, hotels,

associations and caterers, take into consideration the role of the food to achieve loyalty by

their customers. Finally, this research will be very useful for the M.I.C.E. industry in

Edinburgh because there is not any kind of research on this field in the city.

7.2 Aim and Objectives

The proposed aim of this research is: What role does food have in designing an event

experience and how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees to the event.

The questions underpinning this research study are:

What are the key factors of the food and their attributes that generate satisfaction in

delegates?

Does food contribute to emotional connection, and affect behavioural intention?

How can the Co-Creation Value model contribute to achieve a memorable experience

and generate loyalty?

Is food a key factor in events in meeting the needs of delegates; creating loyalty in

them?

The objectives of this research proposal have been designed with the purpose of achieving the

main objective of this paper. Objective 1 relates to the literature review. However, objectives

2,3,4,5 and are linked to methodology and data collection.

Objective 1: To conduct a review of relevant research in the subject area.

Objective 2: Investigate the key factors of the food and their attributes that generates

satisfaction in delegates.

Objective 3: Examine the procedure of how emotional connection affects behavioural

intention.

Objective 4: Analyse the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional

connection.

Objective 5: Evaluate how Co-Creation Value Model can generate Emotional

Commitment to generate loyalty.

5

Objective 6: Explore the role of food in meeting the needs of delegates, creating

loyalty in them.

Objective 7: Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the research

findings.

7.3 Overview of the Methodology

The purpose of a research project is to meet targets by collecting primary data (Saunders et

al., 2012). As mentioned above few articles have been found related to this topic, after

investigating the literature review the best method to obtain data about the role of the food in

events is qualitative methodology.

In this paper a thematic analysis design has been used in order to make an in-depth

assessment of the way food can generate emotional commitment to events, thus creating a

sense of loyalty by the attendees to events. The analysis of the data has been carried out

taking into consideration the individual characteristics of each case as well as the common

aspects across all the cases.

Two research methods have been used to gather the primary data. On the one hand, a self-

completed questionnaire and the other face to face interviews which most were made in the

firms’ offices, which employ the food as an element in the delivering and planning of events.

7.4 Study Limitations

The design of this research project was made in order to have a comprehensive and deeper

knowledge of how food is taken into consideration by suppliers as a factor in the program of

events which can influence attendees´ intentions to return, however some restrictions have

been found, these are as follow:

The time period is not sufficient to conduct more interviews.

The city of Edinburgh has been chosen as a specific sphere, which has played a very

small part in what had been desired; a wider scope as all Scotland or the UK as a

whole.

6

14 organizations were selected as a sample, however, only 5 of them agreed to take

part in this research.

The backgrounds of the professionals come from senior positions of the different

firms, which affected the level of subjectivity which could be detected in the findings

of the investigation.

7.5 Dissertation Structure

The overall structure of this paper is divided into five chapters. First, is the introductory

chapter; the second chapter is focused on the literature review which is subdivided into

different sections which are related to the main subjects of the topic of this research project.

Third, this chapter discusses different matters related to the methodology such as the

explanation of the methods which have been chosen to collect the data and how these tools

have been employed. Moreover, issues with regard to reliability, validity and feasibility in

which ethical considerations are included in this chapter. The fourth chapter addresses the

data analysis which aims to compare the data obtained by scholars which has been considered

in the literature review and check on the collected data of this paper and discover how much

it matches or is different from them. In the final chapter a number of conclusions will be

given in order to provide several recommendations with the aim of improving the role of the

food in events as a key instrument throughout the suppliers generated an emotional

commitment, therefore loyalty, with their firms by the customers.

7

8 Literature Review

In recent years, to attract delegates to congresses and conferences is one of the great

challenges of the marketing departments of companies (Palmer, 2011). Therefore firms

should update marketing tools in order to understand the factors that affect attendees’

attendance at conferences and conventions (Ibid.). King (2011) agues that for a growing

MICE industry it is necessary to boost the likelihood of customers repeating their attendance

at events which is known as loyalty. This could be achieved by using different methods.

Firstly, understanding the need to create satisfaction in customers (Baker and Cromptom

2000); Second, the relationship between satisfaction and the excellence of the product;

Third, understanding how Emotional Commitment (EM) is a key element of forecasting

loyalty (Bowen, and Shoemaker, 2003); Fourth, creating a memorable experience as a

predictor of satisfaction (Montgomery and Nelson 2012); Fifth, the role of co-creation value

as one of the drivers to personalise a memorable experience for the customer (Prahalad and

Ramaswamy 2004); and finally in the case of this paper the function food has in order to

ensure client satisfaction and therefore a likely return to an event (Kim et al., 2009).

Bryman and Bell (2011) state that a literature review is a key tool in the research process

because it helps understanding what has been researched about in this instance a topic in the

dissertation and gives a general idea of the main fields of research in this area. Therefore, in

this chapter, a literature review will be conducted for the purpose of achieving the objectives

of this paper. Consequently, through an analysis of the literature on the one hand a vision of

the main factors involved in creating loyalty to an event by attendance, and on the other an

assessment of the role of food will be made to achieve that loyalty. It is worth pointing out

that a very small number of reports and studies have been published related to the role of

food in congresses and conferences as a factor of gaining loyalty to a specific event.

Therefore in this chapter an overview will be taken just to cover the main objectives of this

research topic. Thus this chapter has been divided into four key areas which are related to the

themes within the subject. Firstly, an analysis of key factors influencing satisfaction and how

this has an effect on generating loyalty. Secondly, matters regarding Emotional Commitment

such as the Delight of Customers and Experience of the Event, will be carried out. Thirdly, an

assessment of the Co-creation value will be made paying particular attention to the Customer

to Customer model (C2C) as a one of the latest trends to generate commitment. Thereafter, a

review of the role of the food and its attributes to achieve the return of the customer to the

8

event will be carried out. Finally, a summary of the main topics related to our subject will be

given.

8.1 Satisfaction and Loyalty in Events

A high level of customer satisfaction by the consumer is essential to have a privileged

position in the world tourism industry (Meng, Tepanon and Uysal, 2008). The level of

satisfaction in the consumption of the product makes the customer willing to have the

intention of repeating the attendance at an event and in turn recommend attending it (Wei and

Huang, 2013).

According to Oliver (1981) the definition of satisfaction is “the summary psychological

state resulting when the emotion surrounding disconfirmed expectations is coupled with the

consumer’s prior feelings about the consumption experience’’ (Oliver, 1981, p. 27). This

definition is based on emotional aspects and the theory of expectation. However, the same

author extended this definition by introducing the concept of the satisfaction that comes

through judgment of goods and services obtained. These are subjectively valued by the

customer as a result of consumption of the product. Likewise, the customer balances whether

the product meets his/her needs and if this exceeded expectations (Oliver, 1999). Moreover,

Mason and Paggiaro (2012) state that satisfaction has two sides: a cognitive side and an

emotional side, these allow an assessment of the consumption experience. Therefore,

according to these approaches the valuation of the experience has an emotional and

evaluative component.

It could be argued that a high level of quality in the delivery of the service experience

provokes positive emotions in consumers and they generate favourable behaviours (Mason

and Paggiaro, 2012). This statement could be reinforced by the findings of Oliver, Rust and

Varki (1997) that a high level of satisfaction generates some positive emotions which

increase the intention to repurchase the product, therefore the satisfaction experienced by the

customer is related to the behavior intention (Mason and Paggiaro, 2012). Baker and

Crompton (2000) state that overall satisfaction of attendees to an event has been described as

a useful predictor of future behavioral intentions. It is worth noting that value is linked to

customer satisfaction and this is related to the quality of the product (Lee, Yoon and Lee,

2007).

9

Yoon, Lee and Lee (2010) state that the quality of the product has an effect on the satisfaction

of the product and on the loyalty of the customers to an event; according to Cromptom and

Love (1995), quality has two dimensions. Firstly quality from the point of view of

performance, which relates to the attributes of service delivery and secondly, quality as an

emotional experience that is highly related to satisfaction. Thus, quality involved in

behavioural intentions turns from being a precursor to the satisfaction of the event, to causing

attendee loyalty, which is much more important than satisfaction (Baker and Crompton 2000;

Lee, Lee, Lee and Babin, 2008; Wang, Lo, Chi and Yang, 2004.)

According to Kim, Suh and Eves (2010) loyalty is purchasing behaviour that is related to

repurchase intentions and these are influenced by recommendations and word-of-mouth-

communication. Therefore, there is a clear relationship between consumer satisfaction and

future intentions to participate in events. Severt, Wang, et al. (2007) investigated the

relationship between total satisfaction of an event with the loyalty behaviour of its attendees.

The investigation revealed that they had not done a thorough analysis of the specific factors

attributing to the conventions that create satisfaction. They came to the conclusion that

educational benefits and business association connections are the main attributes of a

convention, but educational benefits have a fundamental role in the satisfaction of the event.

After this research, networking, program and the cost of travelling were found as key factors

to attendance of future events (Mair and Thompson, 2009; Yoo and Zhao, 2010). Moreover,

all of these factors are related to the overall satisfaction of an event and these cause intention

behavious of loyalty (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).

Likewise satisfaction has a positive effect on loyalty, having been assessed by different

scholars who state that satisfaction is a precursory step to loyalty (Baker and Crompton 2000;

Lee, Yoon and Lee, 2007; McDougall, G., Levesque, T., 2000). It is worth noting that

behavioural intentions are frequently identified with loyalty, (Tanford, Montgomery and

Nelson, 2012). According to Zeithaml et al. (1996) the key loyalty behaviours are: first,

positive word-of-mouth; second, recommendations to others; third, repurchase intentions;

and, finally, high tolerance of a price premium.

However, Lu and Cai (2011), who conducted a research study in China, did not find a

relationship between satisfaction and loyalty to an event. In contrast, Tanford, Montgomery

and Nelson (2012) in their studies carried out in the United States, found a relationship

between satisfaction and loyal behaviour towards an event. Never the less, there the most

10

notable factor, as a loyalty indicator, which is strongly linked to satisfaction, is an Emotional

Commitment (Barsky and Nash, 2002; Bowen and Shoemaker, 2003; Mattila, 2006; Tanford,

Raab and Kim, 2011).

8.2 Emotional Commitment, Delight Customers and Experience of the Event

“Emotional commitment was the strongest predictor of loyalty,” (Tanford, Montgomery and

Nelson, 2012). There are several ways to generate an emotional Commitment. On the one

hand, creating relationships between attendees and the event which results in an increase of a

high level of loyalty (Bowen, and Shoemaker, 2003), on the other, generating a sense of

belonging and a personal identification with the event, (Fullerton, 2003; Jones, Reynolds,

Mothersbaugh, and Beatty, 2007; Sui and Baloglu, 2003). According to Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson (2012) Emotional Commitment (EC) enables a number of positive

behaviours to be generated by decreasing the possibility of changing or generating negative

thoughts about the event. Moreover E.C. is a fundamental factor in generating a positive

feeling in attendees of the event which will encourage them to repeat their attendance to it

(Tanford, Montgomery and Hertzman, 2012). This loyal behaviour is worthy of special

attention because repeat attendees attending events have a tendency to spend more time at the

destination and therefore spend more money during their stay, which is essential to develop

M.I.C.E related to tourism industry (Shani, Rivera and Hara, 2009).

However, Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) state that E.C. has not been assessed

enough in relation to congresses and conferences rather it has been addressed in the field of

hospitality. Their findings were several: first, building affective relationships with clients is a

good tool in generating a relationship of long-term loyalty; second, E.C. is a good way to

create a feeling that will generate a sense of belonging and being part of something which

will maintain a connection with the event; E.C. is a more important factor in creating loyalty

than others such as, reward programs, benefits, obligation, or expectations of others. Thus,

event organizers should create communication bridges with their customers to carry out a

strategic plan in order to develop an Emotional Commitment of delegates to the experience.

In addition, it could be argued that affective relationships could be developed by delighting

the customers (Berman, 2005).

11

According to Berman (2005) delight is a lot more powerful element to create loyalty than

satisfaction. In fact satisfaction generates a 29% possibility of rebuy or re-lease, in contrast,

delight generates an 84% chance of rebuy (Keiningham and Vavra, 2002). It is worth noting

that the increased 5% increase in customer loyalty can generate between 25% to 85%

increase in profits for companies ( Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). Berman (2005) states that

satisfaction and delight are different things: on the one hand, satisfaction is linked to meeting

the needs of consumers through product attributes, and on the other, delight can meet the

needs of consumers by surprise and enjoyment of it (Gwynne, 2002). In addition, there are

several differences between delight and satisfaction. These are: first, delight is more

cognitive and delight is more affective; second, delightful experiences are more significant

than satisfactory so the trace of the memory of the experience is stronger when the customer

is delighted than when he is satisfied; finally, satisfaction is based on compliance to product

expectations and delight is based on expectations through overcoming these unexpected

positive surprises.

However, whereas the relationship between satisfaction, loyalty and profits has been

extensively studied, the relationship between delight and no benefits has been less analysed.

Likewise, the loyalty curve remains flat or declines after a satisfying experience; after a

delightful experience staying up quickly and further generates emotional commitment in the

customer. (Dick and Basu, 2002). Berman (2005) state that companies need to assess the

product/service attributes with the aim of getting a high level of client delight to exceed their

expectations in respect of the consuming experience. Therefore, one ‘delightful’ strategic

plan should be considered in the services offered which can provide a delightful experience

and therefore increase customer loyalty to the organisation, consequently generating more

profit.

Pine and Gilmore (1998) state that there has been a change in the service economy in the

experience economy; this new paradigm of the economy creates a memorable experiences to

consumers that allows them to have an emotional commitment to the product and companies

to have an advantage over competitors, by creating a bond of loyalty with their customers.

This experience economy allows customers to engage in a personal way because they feel the

experience as unique and significant which leads to development and personal transformation

(Morgan, Elbe and de Esteban Curiel, 2009). Therefore, organisations should develop a plan

to deliver a memorable experience (Pine and Gilmore 1998).

12

This model of experience is based on two main models. Firstly, the Four Realms of an

Experience, secondly, Designing Memorable Experiences (Pine and Gilmore 1998). The Four

Realms of an Experience Model take into account four elements: Entertainment, Educational,

Escapism and Aesthetic. Likewise, these elements have a relationship with two dimensions,

on the one hand customer participation, which could be active or passive. On the other, the

connection or relationship that matches the attendee with the event, this can be absorption or

immersion. According to the authors the objective of the Management Experience is to touch

the ‘Sweet Spot’ which takes into account the four realms and two dimensions. According to

the authors to design a memorable experience it is necessary to take into account some design

principles. These are: The Theme Experience, Harmonize impressions with positive cues,

Eliminate Negative Cues, Mix in Memorabilia and Engage all five senses. With regard to

this, as more senses are involved the more effective the experience will be, therefore this will

generate more Emotional Commitment by the customer.

The creators based on their previous paper stated that the best way to create a memorable

experience through metaphor was that the service is like a drama (Pine and Gilmore, 1999).

The drama is the strategic plan of the company, the libretto is the procedure and the

performance is the creation of the experience of staging the play. However, Nijs (2003) states

that Experience Economy cannot be applied to all countries because this adapts very well to

the masculine culture following Hofstede's (1980) theory. The author says that this theory is

more difficult to implement in countries where a model of feminine culture is predominant

such as the countries of Northern Europe, environmental values dominate and are necessary

to take into account when creating an emotional experience for the consumer. Nevertheless,

Morgan et al. (2009) argue that the customers are predisposed to having active participation

in the experience of the event and this gives them an emotional satisfaction, therefore

enriching their quality of life.

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8.3 Co-Creation Value

Event planning companies have realized that to remain competitive they have to deliver

memorable experiences to their customers whose expectations are evolving on a continuous

basis (Walls et al., 2011). These experiences have to be unique, proactive and positive to

meet the needs of the clients with the aim of achieving customer satisfaction and generate in

them loyalty to the company (Chathoth et al., 2013). Therefore, the suppliers have to create a

new channel of interaction and communication between them and their customers in order to

create a new value of the products by them (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012).

According to Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) the value creation process has evolved from

the company to creating experiences for their consumers. Van Limburg (2008) states the

creation of value by the companies were focused on the products and services, likewise

marketing departments focused on sales and product orientation, but this approach is not

competitive in the contemporary market. In addition, other authors declare that the new co-

creation value is based on the interaction between firms and customers, thus they take an

important role in this new process because they act as agents of the companies creating a new

network (Ertimur and Venkatesh, 2010; Prahalad and Ramaswamy2004; Vargo and Lusch,

2008).

Co-creation of value is based on customer behaviour which carries out an involvement of

loyalty to the firm (Shaw, Bailey and Williams, 2011; Verhoef, Reinartz and Krafft, 2010). It

could be said that (Kristensson, Matthing and Johansson, 2008) the aim of co-creation is the

conception or improvement of a new product or service, through close collaboration between all

stakeholders involved in the process of development of these. Therefore the product or service that

comes out of this collaboration is based on customers’ needs, who have expressed their needs through

dialogue with the firms. This fact can be deduced by the fact that the production process has shifted

from firm-centric to customer-centric interaction (Kristensson, Matthing and Johansson, 2008).

Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) argue that the most important point of view of this model is that

customers have a memorable experience involved in the production process of the product or service,

resulting in a unique value created. This is achieved by generating a personalized experience that

meets the needs and expectations of customers.

Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) state the DART model which is an efficient way to achieve

a memorable experience by customers therefore the co-creation value of the product is

created. This model is based on four pillars which are Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment

14

and Transparency. Dialogue is achieved by the interaction between the companies and

clients, as well as among customers, Dialogue is the most important aspect of the co-creation

process (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012). Access is related to the information of

both sides; customers and firms. Risk Assessment is the probability of a customer being

harmed, it is worth noting that if the customer is available to manage his own risk he is

willing to take part in the dialogue. Finally, Transparency is the willingness of the company

to provide information to consumers so that they have greater product knowledge and can

relate to their needs. The DART model allows customers to have a co-created experience

which allows them to share with the firms their needs, ideas and solutions (Van Limburg,

2008).

However, Friesen (2001) argue that to establish a dialogue between consumers and

businesses is not an easy task because the interests of consumers and firms are different. On

the one hand consumers are willing to pay the minimum price for products or services, on the

other companies seek to maximize their profits. Nevertheless, Co-creation process has several

advantages: firstly, these interactions allow the generating of knowledge; secondly, this

allows companies get a source of information that makes them more competitive in the

market and allows them to adapt to the needs of consumers which are changing continuously

( Lusch et al., 2007; Melancon et al., 2010). The continuing evolution of consumer needs has

meant that the co-creation model created by Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004) forms the

basis for the development of other models such as Service-Dominant (S-D) and Customer to

Costumer (C2C) (Payne et al., 2009)

Payne et al. (2009) state that the S-D model is based on communication between consumers

and firms in the whole process of creating the product or service: design, production,

delivery, purchase and consumption. Therefore companies must understand how the process

of creating value for consumers and thus establishing channels of communication between

both sides is necessary in order to generate activities that enable the process of co-creation of

value to be carried out, therefore in this new paradigm the client is considered a co-creator of

value because a relationship of dependency between all stakeholders is established (Vargo

and Lusch, 2004). It could be argued that S-D is a learning process in which the relationship

between consumers and firms is focused on the customer experience as a source of product

value (Ballantyne, 2004), thus allowing clients to develop a higher degree of engagement

with the firm (Chathoth et al., 2013). This interrelationship gives customers a high level of

customer satisfaction, retention grade and customer loyalty (Payne et al. 2009).

15

Recently a new model of co-creation value appeared, known as Customer Dominant (C-D) in

which the co-creation value of the product is established through the social sphere and

interaction between the customers (Rihova et al., 2013). Therefore it could be said a new

paradigm of co-creation value has materialized: Customer to Customer (C2C). Co-creation

value is a subjective experience that is not only achieved through interaction between

consumers and firms, but also is materialized through social relations which allows them the

co-creation of value-in-context in different social spheres such as family, friends, colleagues

(Vargo and Lusch, 2008). It is worth pointing out that C2C allows clients to generate value

without the influence of firms (Payne et al., 2009; Rihova et al., 2013). According to Benkler

(2004) this knowledge sharing experience takes place thanks to customers’ education and

background. This knowledge could come from different kinds of source such as social and

economic (McAlexander, Schouten, & Koenig, 2002).

It is worth stressing that MOA model (Motivation, Opportunity and Ability) is an excellent

tool to achieve C2C interactions for several reasons: firstly, Motivation is the willingness of

customers to share their experiences with their peers; Secondly, companies have to create

opportunities for bringing together attendees who can socialize in order to exchange views

and co-create product value; and finally, customers must have sufficient social and

communication abilities for this process and C2C are involved (Gruen, Osmonbekov and

Czaplewski, 2007). Baber and Waymon (1996) state that attendees go to the congresses ,

conferences and conventions to be informed, inspired and interact with the colleagues,

therefore organisations should take into account the importance of knowledge sharing among

clients to co create value and thus make available to them the specific spaces and times

allowing enough time to develop their experiences to provide deeper social relations than

usually happens within MICE industry due to the short time that attendees have to socialize

between them C2C (Gruen, Osmonbekov and Czaplewski, 2007). To sum up, these authors

believe that C2C through MOA model is a good instrument to create customer loyalty to

firms because it allows customers to exchange knowledge and experience during of the

consumption of the goods.

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8.4 The role of the food in Conferences

Satisfaction is a factor to consider in developing a sense of loyalty; however, within the field

of conventions very little has been studied with regard to the attributes of a convention that

contributes to the satisfaction of the delegates (Servet et al. 2007). These authors analysed

the attendance motivators and factors that create in an audience a high level of satisfaction.

These factors are activity, opportunity, and educational benefits. Nonetheless, they did not

relate motivation to attend the conference which contributes to general motivation.

Kim et al. (2009) state that food attributes, relate to satisfaction with conferences as follows:

service delivery, food content quality, recognition of personal preference and menu selection.

With regard to the quality of the food, Armer (2004) states that that is one of the key

attributes in generating a memorable experience at events. Kim et al. (2009) argue that the

role of food in the program of conferences and conventions has been rejected by scholars.

The main findings of these authors are: first, food content quality is the most significant

contributor of all four factors to create overall satisfaction at food functions. With regard to

the content quality of the food the features are related to its attractiveness, tastefulness and

freshness. Second, is satisfaction with food functions, thus the role of food in the program has

a key role for attendees to repeat their attendance. Finally, they advise that event organizers

should pay more attention to the decisive role of food in general and its quality in particular

as it is has a large influence in creating loyalty.

Tanford et al. (2012) in their assessment of the attributes which influence the satisfaction of

conventions found several interesting findings. Firstly, the program’s features are the main

reason for attendance to the convention, it is worth noting that within this food and beverages

are included. Second, food and beverages, have become one of the more significant

contributions to creating satisfaction, indeed one of the most recurrent complaints at

conventions is about the food. Finally, the only negative was that the organizers had not

planned networking opportunities for attendees. Therefore, the authors recommend, that

event organizers should take into consideration the organisation of networking activities in

which the food is an element of socialization such as lunches and receptions because the food

quality is thought to be a crucial factor in customers´ dining experience (Ha and Jang, 2010).

The destination image is one of the important factors involved in the decision process for

delegates (Lee and Back, 2008). Smith and Costello (2009) state that local food may increase

17

the destination image by providing characteristic recipes where the event is delivered. Wei

and Huang (2013) argue that experiencing local food is one of the key factors for a high

degree of satisfaction for several reasons. On the one hand, consumption of local food is a

way to identify the culture and idiosyncrasies of the image, and the other, local food is a

symbol of green meetings because consumption of local food contributes to the practice of

environmental awareness, such as reduction of transport costs and positive impact on the

local economy. The authors recommended that food quality and food service satisfaction

impact on the whole experience.

8.5 Summary

If anything can be concluded after this literature review it is that the emotional connection of

customers towards the products is a very important predictor in generating loyalty that causes

a return to purchase the product, in the case of this paper, product is the event. Most of the

authors have agreed that the first element is satisfaction which creates loyalty. Satisfaction

towards the product can be achieved through different methods. On the one hand a cognitive

way and the other emotional. Importantly, the emotional connection with the product or

service is performed by the consumption of experience. This is achieved through product

quality understood as an emotional experience that leads to behaviour modification that will

make the event attendees want to repeat that experience. However, there are several ways to

get an emotional connection with the event, one of these is to achieve an Emotional

Commitment (E.C.).

E.C. Emotional Commitment is linked to engender loyalty that generates positive feelings

and these are generated largely by means of socialisation among the attendees. E. C. is

considered as a factor that creates loyalty, however, it has not been widely investigated in the

field of conferences and experiences. Nevertheless, what has been investigated by the authors

is how to get to reach E.C, and this is achieved by creating memorable experiences through

offering the event attendees a delightful experience to increase loyalty. It could be argued that

the Experience Economy Model which is based on the Four Realms of an Experience

(Entertainment, Educational, Escapism and Aesthetic) in which the customer can hit the

Sweet Spot which means that he has felt the Four Realms, and consequently has achieved a

memorable experience and he has been delighted by consumption of the product. Moreover,

another area of investigation has appeared to generate loyalty, this is Co - Creation Value.

18

Co-Creation Value is based on the creation of the value of the product through the

relationship between the customer and the firms to create a new product which meets the

needs of the customer. The customer takes part in the production and design and delivery of

the product. This outcome, could be realized by the DART model (Dialogue, Access, Risk

Assessment and Transparency) in which dialogue is the key factor modifying the customers

behaviour which is related to loyalty to the company. Likewise, to understand the needs of

the customer the Co-Creation Value theory developed a new model which is built on the

relationship among its customers. This new model is known as Customer to Costumer (C2C).

C2C the Co- Creation of value through C2C is achieved by the interaction between the

consumers themselves who share their experiences in meetings, setting up their own

communication channels in which have nothing to do with the company. Therefore, it can be

said that it has evolved since the creation of a product-centric company with the creation of

the product based on the channels of communication between business and consumers and

also among themselves, it is what is known as the paradigm Service-Dominant (SD). SD is a

good instrument to use to create value to the firm. This is the MOA model (Motivation,

Opportunity and Ability). MOA model is very useful because allow attendees to develop their

knowledge through interaction with their colleagues. However, it is worth stressing that the

planners are not involved in the organization of spaces and time in which attendees

participate in an event and are allowed to share their experiences.

Finally, it has been found that very little research related to the consumption of food at events

has been published and how this creates an emotional connection that generates loyalty. It has

been found, to a certain extent, that it is the attributes of the food which create satisfaction in

the attendees to a conference. These attributes are related to the quality and delivery of the

food. It is worth pointing out that the program of the meetings is the main driver which

attracts clients to attend the event, but recently food and beverages have been included in the

program´s factors which attendees take into consideration when deciding to attend an event.

To sum up, it could be suggested that the role of food in building an emotional connection as

the key predictor of loyalty is required to be expanded by Academia because there is not

enough literature which covers this matter, which causes a lot of complaints during the

delivery of an event. In conclusion, for the realization of this research all the theories that

have been discussed in this literature review will be taken into account in order to provide

new data and compare it with the existing contributions made by other scholars for the

purposes of helping firms within the Edinburgh area which organize events with the aim of

19

creating an emotional connection with the attendees. This through evaluating one of the new

factors identified as creating loyalty to companies, that of food.

20

9 Methodology

The aim of this paper is examine the role of food in events and how it can generate an

emotional connection with attendees of the event. In the previous chapter, the literature

review has presented us with a multidisciplinary vision of various matters regarding an

emotional connection with an event in general as well as food served at congresses and

conferences and how this generates emotional connection in particular. The field of this

research includes public and private sectors; satisfaction and loyalty to events, emotional

commitment, co-creation value and the role of the food at the events. As stated above there

are few studies that asses the role of food at events. Thus this has not allowed studies to be

taken as models for other approaches adopted by other authors. Therefore, the approach taken

in this research has been done keeping in mind the main aim and objectives in relation to the

literature in this field.

Consequently in this section a Philosophical approach will be taken in which the research and

strategy approach will be covered. In this part an explanation of a qualitative paradigm and

thematic analysis, as a research strategy will be given. Afterwards a description of the data

collection methods will be described; these include sampling, piloting and measuring

instruments such as questionnaire and interviews. In addition an explanation as to how the

data collection will be assessed will be made. Consecutive sections will address matters such

as reliability, validity, generalizations and the ethical regards which have been taken into

account to carry out this investigation. This chapter will finish with a description of the

limitations of this paper.

9.1 Philosophical Approach

The purpose of this research is to survey how to achieve emotional connection to an event by

food and through this generally resulting in loyalty from customers. In the case of this paper,

the research philosophy which has been used is interpretative because it is more focused on

the interpretation of the data rather than quantitative analysis. According to Silverman (2010)

this means that a subjective construction of meaning and understanding will be carried out

instead of just explained, this process will be based on the assessment of the data obtained

(Bryman and Bell, 2007).

21

9.1.1 Research Approach

The research approach adopted in this paper will be an inductive approach. The reason why it

has been chosen is because through this research attempts to suggest new meanings and gain

a deeper understanding of this particular topic in its present context (Saunders et al, 2009).

The principle of this study is not generalization, for this reason an inductive approach has

been selected (Burrell and Morgan, 1979).

Therefore a number of specific observations will be made based on the result of the literature

review, in addition based on the results of the study a number of hypotheses will be given in

order to extend existing theories and some conclusions will be drawn. This objective will be

made based on a specific theory to show results (Bryman and Bell, 2011).

9.1.2 Research Strategy

The research strategy which will be used to obtain the data will be the qualitative method that

is related to the interpretivist approach (Saunders et all, 2012). Silverman (2010) argues that

qualitative data comes from the interpretation of the meanings derived from the experiences

of those interviewed within the context of their lives. According to Bryman and Bell (2011)

this method is more focused on words than quantification and it allows the researcher to

understand how the interviewees interpret their experiences. Getz (2012) states that these

experiences are the result of attitudes, feelings and meanings linked to the experience of the

individuals; Hayllar and Griffin (2005) state that this method is adequate, because the text of

data obtained by interviews may be interpreted in order to allow the researcher to reach a

series of conclusions. Thus, a qualitative approach of the role of the food in designing an

event experience should help in understanding how food influences the emotional connection

of the attendees to an event.

As mentioned above, the aim of this study is to establish a set of conclusions rather than

analyzing a particular theory, therefore, an analysis of the text will be carried out instead of

numeric data. Alasuutari et al (2008, pp 336) state that qualitative research as `a research

strategy usually emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of

data’. Nonetheless, some scholars have stressed that the investigator should take into

22

consideration bias and subjectivity which could be involved in the investigation (Yin 2003;

Zach 2006; Bryman and Bell 2011). Yin (2003) states that in order to reduce possibility of

subjectivity and bias the investigator should understand the contrary findings and

irregularities, as well as offering different explanations of the data collected.

9.2 Research Design

The research model used in this project, that forms the framework of this research, will be an

exploratory approach. The justification for this selection is the lack of material available

about the role of the food in events. This approach allows the researcher to understand a

particular specific situation. A descriptive method allows investigation in detail of what is

happening and an understanding of what the circumstances are and the reasons for these

circumstances will be used. Therefore an understanding of the key issues will be carried out

for the purposes of constructing a meaning of the facts under investigation (Saunders et al,

2012). These issues will be assessed in detail and the reasons and approaches beyond the

current practice (Ib.)

The research strategy will use thematic analysis in which different kinds of employees from

different kinds of companies such as hotels, caterers and conference centres, will be

interviewed. Yin (2003, pp, 12) states that thematic analysis `tries to illuminate a decision or

set of decisions: Why they were taken, how they were implemented, and what the result was’.

In addition, according to Yin (1994) this strategy allows knowledge gain, in a given time that

will raise questions about the ‘how’s and whys’ of a subject, in order to have a thorough

knowledge of the role that food plays at events in real contexts. Therefore, a thematic

analysis will be developed with the aim of research in specific areas of the event rather than

producing general findings. This approach allows the author to gain a specific understanding

of this particular phenomenon and the data obtained will be compared to data taken in order

to relate it to the objectives (Bryman and Bell 2011). This approach allows the researcher to

identify which facts are common across all the cases (ibid). Therefore, an in-depth analysis

will be carried out to achieve several goals. On one hand, paying attention to the peculiarities

of each case, and on the other, relating the common features to all of them (ibid).

Sunders et al (2012) state that this model links with the qualitative method because it

increases the data collection and this may amplify and modify the theories. Consequently,

23

this fact, allows a hypothetical consideration on the findings (Zikmund, 2003). Bryman and

Bell (2011) argue that the data collection will be assessed with transparency, credibility and

integrity to get external validity in multiple case study conclusions.

9.3 Research

There are several methods related to qualitative data collection (Saunders et al. 2012) the

research method which will be used in this paper will be thematic assessment. Thus, the

approach of this method will be questionnaire and interview questions analysis because it

allows the researcher to assess the situation and gives it meaning with which to find out about

the trends of the field of investigation (Bryman and Bell 2011). This thematic analysis is

based on interpreting the natural language data from the opinions and beliefs of the

interviewer transcript in words (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008).

The personal interview face to face and brief questionnaire will be used in the data collection

because it provides a great quantity of information. Semi-structured interview will be the

approach used to collect the data. The interview will be closed and open answer (Bryman

and Bell 2011). The questionnaire will be pre-planned and the questions will be related to the

most important aspects of the role of food in the events that will result from the review of the

literature (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008). In addition, the open responses allow interviewees to

stimulate themselves into contributing more data because they will express their attitudes

opinions and facts (Saunders et al. 2012).

It is worth stressing that self-recognition could be found in the qualitative approach (Bryman

and Bell 2011). In this paper that could be recognized for several reasons: first, the author of

the paper made the questions of the interview and design the questionnaire based on the key

issues which were found in the literature review. Second, the researcher carried out the

interviews face to face. Finally, the investigator selected and interpreted the data of the

interviews and questionnaire in order to generate new findings.

The aim and the objectives of the paper will be taken into account in order to get the richest

data collection for purposes of this research (Saunders et al. 2012).Therefore, a pilot testing

semi structured interview will be made to test the adequacy of the structure of the set of the

questions to ensure the validity and reliability of data gathered and whether or not the

24

questions are understandable, coherent and in harmony with the aims and objectives proposed

in the dissertation.

9.3.1 Sampling

Once the objectives have been established an approach of the sample will be conducted.

According to Bryman and Bell (2011) there are different kinds of criteria to choose the

sample. For the purposes of this research two different approaches have been selected.

Firstly, a convenience sample, because it is proxy, easily accessible and available

participants, and at the same time the author of this paper has been in contact with several

organisations which will take in part in the research through his professional networks.

Secondly, a purposive sample approach has been adopted in order to meet the right

companies which are able to give accurate information and which fulfills the aim of this

research. The author has conducted preliminary research on the Internet with the aim of

ascertaining the main organisations in Edinburgh which organise events and which caterers

supply the food and beverage to those events. During this research it has not always been

easy to get the name of the persons in the events department and email contacts are not easy

to access, for this reason after researching on the internet the author visited in person almost

90 percent of all the firms for the purpose of introducing himself and to explain the topic of

his dissertation in order to find out the names and email of the persons responsible for the

event departments. It is worth stressing that all the companies responded in a positive way.

The outcome of contacting the organisations was the following:

2 unusual venues which rejected to take part in this research project.

2 purpose venues both of them rejected to take part in this investigation.

1 Civic Venue, accepted to take part in this research project.

4 Deluxe Hotels, one accepted to take part in this research project and another three

didn’t answered the request.

1 Academic Venue which agreed to take part in this research project.

4 Catering suppliers two of them accepted to take part in this research project another

two didn’t answer the request.

25

Yin (2003) states that qualitative research should consist of between 4 and 10 interviews,

therefore the sample of this paper more than covers what Yin advises as 14 firms were

identified: 10 firms which organise events and 4 companies which deliver catering.

9.3.2 Measuring Instruments

Saunders et al (2012) argue that there are several methods of carrying out qualitative

research, thematic analysis is one which could be used to collect data. For the aim and

objectives of this research two methods were utilized: a brief questionnaire and semi

structured interview.

9.3.2.1 Participants: Questionnaire respondents and interviewees

The most appropriate employees on which to conduct this research were managers and office

workers who are involved firstly in the organisation and design of events and in the creation

and delivery of food for these events. As stated above these professionals were identified

through a search on the internet and others via in-person visits to the headquarters of the

companies in both cases afterwards the contact was through e-mails.

14 organisations were contacted, it is worth pointing that after sending the introductory email,

in which the proposal of this study was stated, 5 of them did not respond, 4 declined to take

part into this research and 5 expressed their interest in taking part. Also that those firms that

expressed interest in taking part in this paper took longer in making an appointment in order

to do the interviews. That situation was very hard because it delayed all the planning of the

research project.

The respondents in this study come from different academic backgrounds and professional

experience and occupy various positions within organisations. The questionnaire was

provided via e-mail and an interview was arranged to carry out this research in their

workplaces. Thus 5 participants were interviewed.

26

9.3.2.2 Questionnaire Design

A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to gather the primary data. The questions were

drawn from the main journal articles that address the role of food in the events (Kim, Lee,

and Love, 2009; Wei, and Huang, 2013) and an in depth literature review which found the

main functions related to the key factors of the customer satisfaction related to the food and

the major food attributes which make an impact on the attendees’ perceived food

performance with the aim of fulfilling the objectives of this paper. There were 4 questions

related to factors of the food satisfaction and 25 questions related to attributes of food

delivery (see appendix 1) for an example of the questionnaire. The type of questions are

explained as follows:

4 questions related to the key factor of the food which is delivered in the events.

These factors are: food content quality, recognition of personal preference, menu

selection and service. The response to these questions were based on a 5-point Likert-

scale that ranging from 1= strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Bryman and Bell

(2011) argue that Likert scale is a good method to measure positive and negative

attitudes towards a concept or statement.

Within each of the questions of the factors with regard to the food, questions were

formulated with regard to the attributes connected to these factors. In total 25

questions were designed as a yes-no type response.

9.3.2.3 Semi-structured Interviews Design

Conducting interviews has as a key objective to achieve in-depth insights and perspectives of

the topic which are being investigated (Holloway and Wheeler, 2010 in Shipway, R., Jago, L.

and Deery). It is worth stressing that semi structured interviews pay attention to gathering

information therefore their design allows interviewees to take part in them with their own

thoughts, experiences and opinions associated with field of investigation (ibid).

Consequently, a model of semi-structured interview was designed. This model consists of 19

open questions, these questions were distributed in 4 sections, specifically, formulation,

implementation and evaluation. Each section was structured taking into account the main

27

subjects which were stablished form the literature review. The design of the interview was

created with the aim of interpreting the data with the goal of generating findings in a

transversal way (See appendix 2).

9.3.3 Pilot Study

Yin (2003) state that before the collection of data it is useful to carry out a pilot study as the

end of the preparation of the data collection process, because this procedure allows the author

restructuring of the research process design and will also take a major role in the formation

processes of the researcher. Other point of view is provided by Bryman and Bell (2011) who

argue that a pilot study allows the researcher to find which research instruments are adequate

to generate data and find out the possible problems which can happen during the interview.

Likewise, this process takes into account whether or not the questions are really related to the

data which the researcher needs in order to gain the objectives of the investigation (ibid).

Consequently, a self-completion questionnaire and the semi-structured interview were

provided and carried out to a total of 5 individuals to check content adequacy and congruity.

The professional backgrounds of these professionals came from different fields such as

hospitality, event management industry and tourism and they are currently in hotels which are

focused on events, appropriate venue and caterer suppliers. Therefore with the application of

this pilot study the researcher could determine the adequacy of the measuring instrument as a

previous step before implanting it in order to avoid misunderstandings, mistakes, or to

withdraw unsuitable questions with the aim of getting feedback which permits pertinent

changes to be made in order to achieve the aim and objectives.

9.3.4 Data Collection

To ensure direct access in the future for the interviewer personal contact is one of the best

approaches to achieve it Zach (2006). Thus direct contact was made in order to arrange a

week time date for the data collection always taking into consideration the availability of the

participants. The data collection for these 5 interviews were collected during the period of 4

weeks and the interviews were carried out in the offices of the event and caterer management

staff between October-November 2014.

28

The questionnaires were provided by e-mail and one of them was returned completed in the

same way or delivered as a hard copy the same day of the interview. Likewise, a copy of the

design of the interview was sent via e-mail in anticipation of the interviews with the objective

that they could think in advance about the different topics and become aware of the key

issues which will be covered in the interview.

The interviews were held face-to-face and recorded with a voice digital recorder in the

interviewers’ workplace. A transcript of the recordings was made for several reasons. First, it

is needed to have a clear, accurate and fresh account of them (Saunders et al., 2012). Second,

the transcription of the interviews allows a comprehensive understanding of the key themes

which are dealt with during the course of them (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Finally, the

recording and transcription of the interviews will permit the control of bias and maintain

ethics (Saunders et al., 2012). An example of transcription of interview (see appendix 3).

The participants in this research were encouraged to elaborate their answers and in order to

obtain the most adequate data. Because of the fact that the author of this paper wanted to have

the impressions and adequate data a summary of the interviews was carried out (see appendix

4) At the end of the process a letter of thanks was sent to each interviewer in order to express

gratitude for having taken part in this study and for their disposal.

29

9.3.5 Analysis of Qualitative Data

The design of the questionnaire and the interview was made taking into account the follow

lines of inquiry:

Line 1 it includes a series of questions on general orientation of participants in order

to make them aware that they are the right people thanks to the experience they have

in the organisation of events

Line 2 is based of questions linked to each theme of study and its context.

Line 3 is composed of questions which aim to find paradigms or generalisations

across the themes study.

Line 4 cover questions which provide a deeper knowledge beyond the obvious role

of food in the delivery of an event

Line 5 questions related to the consent, anonymity and confidentiality governance.

The most adequate method to assess qualitative data is thematic analysis (Bryman and Bell,

2011). This was chosen by the author in order to meet the objectives, that method is based on

the recognised themes which are derived from obtained data and the purpose of this study.

According to Lofland (2006) from the data obtained special attention was carried out to the

patterns found with the purpose of being categorised and coded. Thus, taking into account the

aim and objectives of this study the key themes were assessed. The analytical process was as

follows:

1) Data Collection.

2) Recognition and classification of the patterns and themes.

3) Choosing the most relevant examples and themes in relation to the literature review

and linked with the objectives of this study.

4) Identification of the relationships between the themes and the construction of meaning

by comparing them with those obtained from the literature review scholars.

30

9.4 Reliability, Validity and Generalisability

According to Bryman and Bell (2001) any kind of research to be integrated has to be based

on reliability and validity. It is worth pointing that in the case of this study generalisation has

not been taken into account as a model of this paper (Burrel and Morgan, 1979).

In qualitative research accuracy has to be one of the principles that guide them, therefore the

researcher has to follow research protocols which have to be based on robust procedures

(Bryman and Bell, 2011). In addition, these procedures have to help to avoid a high degree of

subjectivity which is common in qualitative research (Stake, 1995 and Yin, 2003). For these

arguments thematic assess studies have been the object of analysis in terms of reliability,

validity and likely biases (Bryman and Bell, 2011). Therefore, in order to achieve a neutral

investigation stand point, consideration has been given to the design and process of the study

in which values and perceptions previous to this study had not been held. Consequently, Yin

(2003) notes that to achieve this neutrality a large effort has been made to show sources of

verification such as interviews, documentation, archival records, transcription of the

interviews and participant observation.

With respect to guarantee the validity and reliability of the questionnaire and interview

design, the questions and attributes were selected from the main journal articles which

studied the food function in events (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009; Wei and Huang, 2013). In

addition, validity and reliability of this paper can be observed in the profile of the

participants, as can be seen in table 1, in this study having key management positions such as

EI5 who is General Manager. In addition the subjects come from the main journals articles

and most up to date in this field. Therefore, the objectives have been achieved.

Zach (2006) states that thematic analysis allows replication, therefore an in depth analysis

will be taken in order to identify and analyse patterns as well as generalisations and particular

themes that are found in the cases. With the aim of enforcing this replication strategy a

further survey could be made to obtain `formal generalisations for guiding policy and

collective practice’ (ibid, p.86). This fact is very effective to the readers who can generate

associations between this research, their prior experience, and establishment of the role of the

food in events in other contexts because so that accuracy and enough information has been

31

provided. Stake (1995) states that this approach is nominated as a Naturalistic

Generalisation. This approach allow readers to achieve an in-depth understanding of the field

of investigation thanks to their reflection about the information which has been provided in

the case studies. Thus, it could be argued that readers can relate the data to their own

experience in order to interpret and use the new information in their personal contexts.

9.5 Ethical Issues

This research has been carried out through face to face interviews with professionals with

relevant responsibilities in selected firms. The channel of communication with the

participants has been based on ethical lines. Thus, obtaining primary data will be carried out

in an ethical way. The author of this research will follow ethical principles which are

embodied in University’s `Code of Practice on Research Ethics and Governance’. These key

principles are:

Informed and organisational consent; therefore the interviewees will be well informed

of their participation in this research project and they will participate voluntarily

without coercion and they consent to it by completing and signing a consent form.

Confidentiality and anonymity of the participants will be preserved in other to

guarantee the anonymity of their names, job roles, any professional or personal details

and the names of the organisations will be kept secret. In addition, the contents of the

recordings will be nameless and private.

Likewise, interview questionnaires were sent to the participants in order that if they felt that

some of the questions could cause discomfort, could offend or could affect the confidentiality

of their firms, they were free to remove them.

9.6 Research Limitations

Although the purpose of this study was to analyse the role of food in events as an important

driver to create an emotional connection with the events some limitations have been found.

First, this study has focused on the factors related to food at events, however, there is a factor

related to food that has not been taken into account by the limitation of the study framework.

32

This factor is price value which has been cited by several scholars as a factor that determines

the satisfaction of attendees to events (Baloglu and Love, 2005; Gupta, McLaughlin and

Gomez, 2007; Wu and Weber, 2005).

Second, the time of completion of this study has been limited to 4 months which has resulted

in the geographic area being restricted to the area of the city of Edinburgh, despite other UK

cities having great experience in organizing events such as Glasgow or London, but this

limitation is because the study area has been the capital of Scotland.

Third, with regard to the sample this has not been very wide, in total 14 companies were

contacted 2 of which rejected the possibility of collaborating in this research project and 7

didn’t answerer the request, as a consequence the validation and generalisation of the findings

may be questionable due to the small sample group; although, a larger group of firms would

be positive in achieving the aim and objectives of this paper.

Fourth, as mentioned previously the approach of this study is qualitative which carries a

degree of subjectivity which cannot be rejected (Bryman and Bell, 2011), for this reason a

degree of subjectivity can be found throughout this investigation project.

Finally, the participants worked in different management posts regarding event organisation,

so their opinions were in the function of their professional experiences based on their duties

which they have to develop in their firms.

Nevertheless, the findings of this paper could be useful in providing an understandable re-

evaluation of the role of the food in events. Moreover, a number of recommendations can be

made with the objective of increasing the role of food as an important driver which generates

an emotional connection with the event.

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10 Data Analysis

In this chapter an organisation and analysis of data will be conducted. This data was obtained

by conducting face to face interviews and completed questionnaires by the interviewers. The

structure of this analysis has been raised following the main themes that have been developed

through the questions with the aim of being the most accurate. Therefore this chapter is

divided into three main sections.

The aim of the first section is to provide a short profile of the firms which have taken part in

the research project and their employees who have been interviewed.

The second section is an assessment of the key issues which will be carried out. The path

which has been established is as follow:

1. An analysis of the factors in order to confirm whether or not these factors from the

point of view of the suppliers coincide with the needs of delegates. These factors are:

food content quality, recognition of personal preference, menu selection and service

delivery.

2. An assessment of how emotional connections (EC) affect behavioural intention which

drives loyalty. This is an especially important matter because loyalty could be

achieved modifying behavioural intention and this could be achieved thanks to

generate EC by the attendees. The methods which have been used to gain this

objective are as follow: first, analysing the factors which generate customer

satisfaction, from the point of view of the suppliers in general; second, the role of the

food as a key driver in delegates’ satisfaction, in particular: third, how EC could be

created and the attributes by which this EC could be obtained; finally, the organisation

of special event based on a theme has been made because it is known that kind of

activity is a good example of how to gain EC, thus generating loyalty.

3. Once an assessment of EC has been carried out in general, the next step is how the

food contributes to make attendees feel satisfied then giving rise to EC. The steps to

establish how food can generate EC in delegates is as follow: first, if in the opinion of

the suppliers food served at event generates EC; second, if networking activities in

conferences generate EC; third, focus on the role of food and beverage as a key driver

to generate EC: finally the process by which the suppliers have acknowledgment of

loyalty.

34

4. The next step is how Co-creation model could be a key driver by which EC could be

achieved and generate loyalty. The method which has been selected to cover this

matter is as follows: first, it has been found which channels of communication the

suppliers use to generate co-creation value; second, whether or not during that process

of communication the clients built a co-creation of a new value; finally, it tried to find

out whether suppliers used within the Service Dominant (SD) paradigm the Customer

to customer (C2C) co-creation of value model as a tool to generate EC.

5. The last field of analysis is how the food meets the needs of the delegates, and

therefore creates loyalty in them. The approach to gain this is as follows: on the one

hand it stressed the role of the food and beverage as main drivers which generate EC;

on the other, through food and beverage a high level of satisfaction and memorable

experience could be achieved, at this point, it is worth pointing out that feeling a

memorable experience is one of the best instruments to develop loyalty; and finally it

is believed that one of the most delicate issues in events is complaints about the food

and the delivery of it which affect to the loyalty by their clients.

Moreover, through the whole chapter the main findings and key issues which have arisen

from the thematic analysis with regard to the data collection will be discussed in relation to

the main matters which have been considered in the chapter of the literature review and how

the firms use them to achieve an emotional commitment by the customers with the aim of

obtaining loyalty to events by means of food. In addition at the end of each section a

summary of the main findings will be made, and at the end of this chapter a review of the key

findings will be carried out in order to relate it to the theory.

10.1 Profile of interviews

In the table 1 a description of the general characteristics of firms and respondents who took

part in this role will be made. The lable code will be EI which will identified in this chapter,

likewise the individual designator code will be from EI1 to EI5. During the process of the

interview the interviewees mentioned the name of their firms in these cases the name of the

companies has been changed by `site’ in order to maintain the confidentiality.

35

Table 1 Profiles of the Participants

EIs

Kind

of Firm

Ownership

Involment in

the Delivery

of Events

Respondents:

Position and

Seniority

Firm Aim

EI1

Deluxe Hotel

Private

Involved

a)Events

Executive

7 years

b)Sales

Specialist

1 year

Within a

Multinational

brand is located in

the city centre and

has a dedicated

meeting and events

space. Organising

from corporate

events and

exhibitions, to

banquets and

celebrations.

EI2

Civic Venue

Public

body

Involved

Business

Development

Manager

1 year and 9

months.

Edinburgh City

Centre's multi-

purpose event

spaces, from

conferences,

dinners and

performances to

exhibitions,

seminars and

weddings.

EI3

Academic

Venue

Public

Charitable

Body

Involved

Head of

Conference

and Events

1 year and 6

months.

Planning,

organisation and

delivery of high-

quality events and

delegate

management

36

services in

Edinburgh

EI4

Caterer

Supplier

Private

Involved in

supplying

food and

beverage

Operation

Manager

9 years and 8

months.

Is a part of a

National big

company which is

dedicated to deliver

catering at iconic

national and

international

events.

EI5

Caterer

Supplier

Private

Involved in

delivering

events and

supplying

food and

beverage.

General

Manager

Of Private

Events

2 years and 2

months.

Delivering of high

level in catering

and hospitality in

which the event

design takes

important role in

National Events

It can be seen there is a wide variety of companies involved in this study. Three of them are

dedicated in the organising, planning and delivering of events (EI1, EI2 and EI3). However

their facilities are very different for example EI1 is a Deluxe hotel within its own space

dedicated to delivering events; in contra there is a Civic Venue in the heart of the city which

only focuses on the delivering of events, it is worth nothing that this venue hires external

caterers to deliver the food and beverage of its events. EI3 is an academic venue which offers

different kinds of meetings, in different places and offers accommodation, in addition it has

its catering service and delegate registration and management services for the events. With

regard to the caterer companies EI4 is dedicated only to the delivery of the food and beverage

otherwise EI5 not only delivers the food and beverages but also plans and designs the whole

event in which the landscape plays a key role in generating a special atmosphere.

With regard to the proprietorship there are differences. On the one hand, EI1, EI4 and EI5 are

private, on the other EI3 and EI4 are public, being charitable EI3.

37

10.2 Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate

Satisfaction

In this section an analysis of the main factors and attributes involved in the food function in

the events will be made. As it can be observed the four key factors with their attributes will

be divided in four sections.

In order to analyse the most appropriate data obtained from the questionnaires four tables

related to each factor and their attributes will be presented. Following an interpretation of the

data collected, comparison will be made to the main articles of the literature review.

It could be said that in general terms there were no big differences in the answers from the

participants. However, the differences which were found out came from the catering firms

which deliver the food at the final stage. Nevertheless, the findings are very interesting

related to the aim of this section.

10.2.1 Factor 1. Food content quality

Table 2 shows the responses to factor 1: food content quality and its attributes.

Table 2 Factor 1: Food Content Quality

Factor 1 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5

Food Content Quality 5 5 5 4 5

The food function attributes are taken into consideration, or not, to obtain that

experience

Tasty Food Yes Yes yes Yes Yes

Fresh Ingredients Yes Yes yes No Yes

Right Menu Yes Yes yes Yes Yes

Attractive Food Yes Yes yes No Yes

It can be observed that the most important factor to achieve a high degree of satisfaction in

events, is food content quality, scoring 4.80 on the Likert scale, this data agrees with the

findings achieved by Kim Lee and Love (2009), on the other hand it was found that Wei and

Huang (2013) positioned this factor in second place . It could be argued that the venues that

hosted such as EI1, EI2 and EI3 which organise events scored the highest marks. In contrast,

catering firms such as EI4 did not achieve the highest scores, surprising because they deliver

the food. This data has to be understood from the point of view of supply. With regard to the

attributes which help to gain satisfaction all of them are taken into consideration by the

38

suppliers except fresh ingredients and attractive food by EI4, this differs to Wei and Huang

(2013) in which all the attributes are considered.

10.2.2 Factor 2. Recognition of personal preference.

Table 3 shows the responses to factor 2: recognition of personal preference and its attributes.

Table 3 Factor 2: Recognition of Personal Preference

Factor 2 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5

Recognition of Personal

Preference

5 5 4 3 5

Do you offer any of the following?

Available Special Dietary Menu Yes Yes yes Yes Yes

Unique Menu Selection Yes Yes yes yes Yes

Correct Order Yes Yes yes yes Yes

Memorable food Function Yes Yes yes yes Yes

Networking Opportunity Yes Yes yes Yes-No Yes

Recognition of Personal preference is scored with 4.4 on the Likert scale which means that

this factor is the last one taken into consideration by suppliers. This finding does not link with

Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which puts it in to third place of importance in food satisfaction.

With regard to the attributes all the participants agree with Kim, Lee and Love (2009).

However there are some exceptions. On the one hand, EI4 `states that a memorable food

function depends on the budget of the organiser firm’. On the other, according to EI4:

“Networking opportunity is taken into consideration depending on the kind of event,

for example for an award ceremony that attribute is very important as opposed to a

conference which is determined by what the client wants to achieve”.

That means that the organiser should take into account networking meetings as a key element

to achieving a high level of satisfaction by the delegates. It is worth stressing that this is

contrary to Kim, Lee and Love (2009) and the reason is that this paper is based on the point

of view of the delegates-demand and not from the side of the suppliers.

39

10.2.3 Factor 3. Menu Selection

Table 4 shows the responses to factor 3: menu selection and its attributes.

Table 4 Factor3: Menu Selection

Factor 3 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5

Menu Selection 5 4 5 4 5

Do you offer any of the following?

Variable Beverage Yes Yes yes Yes Yes

Variable Menu Yes Yes yes No Yes

Menu to Keep Awake Yes Yes yes No Yes

Health Conscious Diets Yes Yes yes Yes Yes

Carbohydrate Conscious Yes Yes yes Yes No

Low-fat Yes Yes yes Yes On

Request

Low-cholesterol Yes Yes yes Yes On

Request

Organic Categories Yes Yes yes No On

Request

Religious Requirements Yes Yes yes Yes On

Request

Other Specific Scottish

Themed

Concerning menu selection the factor scored 4.6 on the Likert scale which means that it is in

second place with food satisfaction from the point of view of the provider. That means that

this data differs from Wei and Huang, (2013) in which this factor is in first place in the

classification and from Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which is in fourth place in the

classification. With regard to the attributes of this factor these are taken into consideration by

the planner as can be found in Kim, Lee and Love (2009). However, there are some

exceptions as can be appreciated as follows:

EI4 “argues that variable menu attributes should be avoided but sometimes clients

insist; second, regarding `menu keep’ awake is not applicable as the client choses the

menu”.

That means that they as suppliers try to avoid to offering this kind of menu as a standard

menu.

EI5 notes that ‘carbohydrate consciousness is not taken into consideration but its firm

previously asked its customers’, in this instance EI4 states that this attribute is borne in mind

40

upon request of the customer. This data differs from Wei and Huang, (2013) who state the

planners have to take into consideration these food attributes of the menu selection to satisfy

the customer. In addition it is interesting that EI1 notes ‘that sometimes the clients are

looking for specific menu based on Scottish food’. It could be argued that suppliers do not

always satisfy their customers needs with their standard menus.

10.2.4 Factor 4. Service Delivery

Table 5 shows the responses to factor 4: service delivery and its attributes.

Table 5 Factor 4: Service Delivery

Factor 4 EI1 EI2 EI3 EI4 EI5

Service Delivery 5 4 5 4 5

Do you consider in your preparation the following?

Sufficient Space Between Seats Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Prompt Service Yes yes Yes Yes Yes

Comfortable Seating Yes yes Yes Yes Yes

Friendly Service Yes yes Yes Yes Yes

Proper Food Temperature Yes yes Yes Yes Yes

Attracting Dining Room Setting Yes yes Yes Yes Yes

With regard to the service delivery factor this is scored at 4.6 on the Likert Scale, this in the

same place as menu selection in the classification. It is worth pointing that this factor is first

place of importance in food satisfaction in the Kim, Lee and Love (2009) study, in addition

for those scholars food content quality has the same score. With respect to the attributes

related to service delivery there is a practically unanimous point of view by them in

considering all attributes to achieve an excellent delivery. It is worth noting that there are

some statements from the side of the suppliers which do not appear in the other papers

because they come from the point of view of the attendees. These are as follow:

EI2 notes “that sufficient space between seats and proper food temperature are legally

required and it does not depend on the needs of clients!”

That means that in this case of the suppliers they are more concerned about these attributes

than delegates because for them is legal requirement.

41

EI5 states “that comfortable seating is taken into consideration depending of the

budget of the organiser and an attractive dining room is subjected by the availability

of the venue”.

It could be said for this quotation that comfortable seating should not have depend on the

budget but rather as a standard of quality of the suppliers.

10.2.5 Summary

It could be said that the factor of the food and its attributes are the same for the suppliers and

delegates, but it is worth pointing out that the priorities are always the same. For example

Factor 1 (food content quality) has the same priority from both parties. However, Factor 2

(recognition of personal preference) in this paper is in the last position on the Likert scale and

Factor 3 (menu selection) in this paper is in the second place and from the point of view of

the delegates it is not a priority. In addition Factor 4 (service delivery) is in the second

position whilst the point of view of the demand is in the first place. It is worth noting that

some factors are dependent on the budget of the organiser such as; achieving a memorable

food function, in contrast to delegates who do not take into account the budget to obtain this.

Once the food factor and its attributes which generate satisfaction in consumers have been

taken in to consideration, the next step is to assess of how EC changes behavioural intention.

10.3 How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention

With the aim of achieving this objective several issues have been covered such as how

satisfaction leads to behavioural intention, the role of EC in this process, thus the method to

create EC within finding out which attributes generate EC and from them whether or not

events based on a theme are a useful instruments to gain EC which drives loyalty.

42

10.3.1 Satisfaction Leading to Behavioural Intention

The degree of satisfaction a delegate achieves in attendance at an event has several purposes:

firstly increasing their desire in the future to want to meet again at an event organised by the

organising company, and secondly, the intention of recommending colleagues attending the

event (Wei and Huang, 2013).

Factors Generates Customer Satisfaction and Ultimately Gain Repeat

Attendances

With the aim of achieving more understanding of customer satisfaction the participants were

asked to explain which factors generate customer satisfaction and ultimately gain repeat

attendances. There were different kinds of answers dependent on the kind of suppliers,

sometimes there were coincidences and other divergences. For example, program with

breaks, location and cost are key factors for EI1, EI2 and EI3. It is worth pointing out that

interviewee 2 of EI1 stated that:

“The meeting is all about networking because people coming together to discuss

ideas…..throughout to talk to each other”

This declaration means the importance of the socialisation in the conference market this fact

for E2 is also important. Another point to take into consideration is explained by EI3 which

states that flexibility about the venues, menus and services are crucial for customer

satisfaction, however the most important factor which creates satisfaction in its customers are

the delegates and event and management services because of the fact that the organisers are

looking for this kind of service.

From the point of view of caterers such as EI4 these factors are cost, quality of food and

speed of services. Some of these findings are linked to previous scholars for those factors are

cost as an attribute of the program and networking activities as an external program (Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). However, EI5 states that:

“The venues generate satisfaction because customers look for interesting venues with

cultural heritage”.

43

This statement points to a new value which has to be taken into consideration in order to gain

more satisfaction, that is cultural heritage as an advertisement reclaim.

The Role of Food as a Key Driver in Customer Satisfaction at Conferences

With the purpose of obtaining a deep insight into the role of food as a key driver in customer

satisfaction at conferences the findings are as follows: very important and imperative for all

of them, this finding links with (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009; Tanford, Montgomery and

Nelson, 2012; Wei and Huang, 2013). The most interesting of their answers were their

arguments. One hand, EI1 interviewee 2 stated that:

“ If the food was not what the customers expected they will remember the food of that

event was not very nice the memory of the event will be impaired”

For that testimony it could be said that food can have a negative effect in the experience of

the event.

On the other hand, EI4 explains an awards ceremony that the attendees will remember for a

long time the quality and service of food served more than the ceremony itself. In the same

vein this.

Finally, EI3 states that:

“The worst and best feedback of the events is about the food and this interviewee

believes that food is absolutely critical factor to generate satisfaction”

This declaration points out the key role of food as a driver to achieving satisfaction and is

linked with the findings of Kim, Lee and Love (2009)

10.3.2 Emotional Connection

Emotional commitment is a key driver to address behaviour change in consumers in order to

create loyalty from them to the event, this is due to the fact that emotional commitment is

able to generate positive feelings that make this change possible (Tanford, Montgomery and

44

Nelson, 2012). In this section the data analysis is divided into two subsections. On the one

hand it will assess how emotional connection affects behavioural intention in general, and on

the other the input that food makes to emotional connection, in particular.

10.3.2.1 Examine the procedure of how emotional connection affect behavioural intention

This part is subdivided in four sections which are related with the aim topics found in the

literature review chapter.

Create an Emotional Connection

Firstly, the participants were asked to describe how they create an emotional connection (EC)

with the organisations with which they work. There were different approaches to this matter.

For example, EI2, EI3, EI4, EI5 explained that they generate EC with their customers right

through building relationships with their clients. The method used to generate this EC were

different from each other. For instance E1I and EI2 state that they built this relationship

trying to get to know their customers whilst as well as possible and to meeting their needs.

EI3 notes that:

“They have a team of ten people to understand everything about their customer and

what is important to them, In addition maintaining a channel of communication after

the event asking them for feedback on the event and if there is anything that did not

meet their expectations and make the necessary changes therefore leaving the clients

feeling that have been listened to”

This statement shows how this firm carefully cares for its customers throughout the delivery

process of an event by a special mention in the emotional part of it.

In contrast, for EI1 they achieved EC by exceeding the expectations of their customers and

EI5 that to establish EC by doing things differently. This data differs from Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) who state that the EC by the attendees is generated by the

program satisfaction. Therefore, it is appears that the factors that generate satisfaction in

delegates differ from what the suppliers anticipate.

45

Attributes which Generate EC

Secondly, they were asked which attributes generate EC, again there were a wide range of

responses. Most of them based on personal relationships, however, they contrast in specific

attributes. For example EI1 emphasises “the warmth of staff who makes their customers feel

more comfortable” and at the same time E12 states “they feel taken care of” this data is

linked to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who note that feeling emotionally

attached to a convention is the main attribute to generate EC. On the contrary, flexibility is

the main attribute for EI3, and trust and making its customer look good are important for EI5.

The third question was if those firms that have EC with their organisation, have they built a

sense of loyalty to their organisation? All the answers followed the same course for instance

EI1 argues that EC creates a loyalty by their customers, EI4 and EC is based on partner

relationships they point out that is loyalty on both sides. According to Tanford, Montgomery

and Nelson, (2012) EC is the main driver of loyalty. It is worth noting EI3’s statement:

`”To be honest if you do something to break that loyalty – repeat customers will

often give us the opportunity to rectify the mistakes- rather than just walking away”

It could be understood if there is a strong feeling of EC the problems could be solved and the

loyalty is not impacted.

Some of the interviewees knew the percentage of loyalty to their firm such as EI3 which was

70% and EI2 was about 40%, the rest of them said that in the majority of the cases they have

worked with some of their loyal clients for more than 5 years. Whilst the participants agreed

that relationships based on partnerships created a sense of loyalty and therefore EC, Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) state that EC is the main driver of loyalty but not how this

can be achieved.

46

Organisation Special Events Based on a Theme

Fourth, in order to increase EC to achieve more loyalty thus more competiveness the

participants were asked if they organised special events based on a theme in which all the

servicescape factors such as lighting, music, walls, design, aroma and room layout are taken

into consideration. Depending on the kind of supplier the responses were positive EI1, EI2,

EI4, EI5 and negative for EI3. For example, on the one hand, recently EI1 said that:

“They organised an event based on a Scottish theme in which different factors were

taken into considerations such as the taste, because the chef created a special menu,

sight and sound factor’

On the other, EI4 said that:

“Last summer they created an indoor garden theme in which they had fake grass and

flower pots on the station tables”

These two statements referred to above highlight some specific examples through the

development of events based on all elements of servicescape.

In addition, EI5 has its own design team which develop ideas around audio visual, florist and

designers. Those which design this theme event consider that these encounters create EC with

their firms because this experience provides a new and different experience to remember

(EI1). These findings are related to Nelson (2009) which state that these new event design

model enhance the satisfaction and the EC. It is worth pointing out that EI5 believes that:

“These events generate EC for several reasons: first, the clients are excited about

something different and new but in the conference market depends on the budget, on

the other this theme event makes customers feel relaxed and this generates EC on the

part of the attendees”

The most important matter of that statement is the concepts of feelings such as to be excited

and feeling relaxed as a method to generate EC. Therefore, it is clear that servicescape

design is important to engage attendees and clients.

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10.3.3 Summary

It could be said that all the participants generate EC, building relationships with their

customers that drives loyalty by the organisers and clients. The methods by which this is

achieved are different, for example EI3 pointed out the flexibility with their clients whilst EI2

try to make their clients feel taken care of. Finally, the participants which organise events

based on a theme in which all elements of serviscape are taken into account stated that these

events created EC with them, for example EI5 stated that the attendees which participate in

this kind of events generate EC with their firms because of the fact that they feel more

relaxed and open minded.

Previously EC as driver to loyalty has been assessed, the next step is the relation between

food and EC.

10.4 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection.

The method by which EC can be achieved by the role of the food as a key driver to

generating satisfaction will we made. The process to achieve this goal is as follows: firstly,

whether or not food served at events develops EC; The role of the networking and the food

served in these meetings generates EC; in the end; the methods by which participants have

the acknowledgment of loyalty by their clients.

Food Served at Events which Generated EC

The first question of this section was if the participants think that food served at their events

generated EC by their clients. EI1 interview1 said that food generated EC commitment

because this generates “happy hormones”, but it is not just the food, the food quality and the

service of the food, EI4 pointed out the importance of flexibility and service. However, EI1

Interviewee2 said that:

“If you explain to your customer what they are eating they understand more about the

food and this understanding improves the EC”

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It could be said that explanation and knowledge for the delegates about what they are eating

and drinking drive to achieve EC.

Therefore, these findings are related to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, (2012) because

food is one of the program factors of the whole which generates more satisfaction thus more

EC. Another opinion was expressed by EI2 who explained that people have EC with food but

for her firm it is not the most important because several caterers deliver the food. On the

other hand, EI3 responded that it is more practical to have finger food and for EI5 described

that:

“It is more difficult for the conference market because of the expectations of the

customers from different nationalities are different. For example the expectations of

the delegates from Japan about food may be different from that of Spanish delegates”.

From that statement it could be deduced that the matter of expectations about the food is key

issue to improve EC.

Food and Networking Activities

Another point of view about EC related to the food and networking activities, was as follow:

When organising an event do you take into consideration spaces and time to plan networking

activities such as lunches, breaks, receptions in which food and beverage are key in their

planning strategy? EI.1 interview1 responded that “absolutely yes the first thought taken into

consideration is the place”, EI2 is the space. EI1 interviewee2 explained that food is the

second the priority in networking activities. EI.3. said that:

“For informal networking times and breaks are critical however the interviewee thinks

that being fed and watered are essential but she was not sure about the importance of

food in those breaks’, but her firm has live twitter links and if the lunch is not good it

is at risk because people chat on twitter and the reputation of your food is very

important”.

It could be said that the food is an important driver to obtaining a good reputation of the event

and the role of the social media as an instrument to communicate this reputation.

49

EI4 does not take part in the program because they only deliver the food to fulfill the

requirements of the customers. EI5 takes part in the planning of the activities especially

when “they are dealing with new clients”. The scholars findings are that the organiser does

not pay enough attention to these activities in which EC could be generated (Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson, 2012). Once again the point of view of the suppliers is different

from that of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who based their findings on the

delegates.

The Role of Food and Beverage as a Key Factor in Which to Generate EC

The role of food and beverage as a key factor in which to generate EC in their customers

produced different points of view. For EI3 explained that:

“For fine or gala dinner the food is important and generates EC however for

conferences the clients are looking for good and easy fulfilling food, the participant

knows the importance of the food and advises their customers but these only take into

consideration the food linked with the budget”

Here the issue appears to be the function of food as a fulfillment of the delegates needs

related to the costs and the importance of food in the social networking activities. Tanford,

Montgomery and Nelson (2012) argue that cost are not the most important to get EC thus

loyalty. For EI1 interviewee2 food and beverage creates EC which generates loyalty. EI4

believes that:

“The organiser generates EC with the host venue and likewise delegates connect

emotionally with the organiser but not with them as a caterer”

It is worth noting from this declaration that sometimes whoever the firm responsible for

delivering the food is at the end of the chain to generate EC.

However, opposing this view EI5 states that:

“food and how it is presented and the delivery of the service are key drivers to

achieve EC thus loyalty”.

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In this case it is not only the food that is important but rather the service. Mason and

Paggiaro, (2012) states that organisers should improve the quality and service because this

creates positive emotions which build emotional experience and affect the behavioral

intentions which address enhancing loyalty. Mason and Paggiaro, (2012) agree with the

findings of this paper, however, Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) disagree because

they do not take into consideration the budget as the main factor in creating EC thus

generating loyalty, due to their perspective coming from delegates rather than suppliers.

Acknowledgment of the Loyalty

The last view of this section is about the method how they acknowledge the loyalty. They

were asked as follow: given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example

word of mouth. Have you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation? The

answer was unanimous for all of them personal recommendation was of vital importance, the

reasons for this are as follow: EI1 “is because of the food and the knowledge that they are

very approachable team”; for EI2 the reason is the venue and its stunning room and

atmosphere, as well the location in the city centre; EI5 established that:

“There are two ways by which they are recommended one is the delegate that

attended an event and the other is recommendation between different departments of

big companies, and the food is one of the most important arguments for this word of

mouth because they deliver different events for the same conference in different

venues but their clients ask them to deliver the food in the different venues because

their food is always excellent”

For that explanation it could be argued that food is really a key argument to recommendations

by worth of mouth. Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (201 by2) state that one of the key

factors which indicate behavioural loyalty is recommendation for the following years events;

here both sides appear to agree; Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) do not state how

recommendation is achieved in contrast to this paper which states clearly the reasons for this.

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10.4.1 Summary

For the findings it could be argued that for most of participants not only food but also service of food

served at events contribute to generate EC, for example for EI1 interviewee 2 food is a key driver

which addresses loyalty. In addition, with respect to the role of networking activities and the food

served in them as drivers to generate EC there are different point of view. On the one hand, EI1 stated

that the food is important at these kind of meetings and if you give more explanations about the food

the attendee will feel more involved which increases the degree of EC, however EI2 stated that for

networking activities the place is the main factor and EI4 does not take part into the planning of them.

The most significant method by which the participants noted loyalty by their clients is through word

of mouth and EI1, EI4 and EI5 pointed out that the food is one of the reasons to recommend them.

The next step in the process of this research process is analysing the Co-creation paradigm

and C2C model as a drivers which addresses EC.

10.5 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate

Loyalty

The Co-Creation Value model has become a very useful tool to increase the degree of

satisfaction of consumers, furthermore it generates loyalty and increases the level of

expenditure on them (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer, 2012). Likewise, within this model

Customer to Customer (C2C) allows customers to co-create a new value of the company

throughout face to face networking activities because they take part actively in the process of

creating a new product/service sharing their experiences (Gruen, Osmonbekov and

Czaplewski, 2007; Rihova et al., 2013).

Therefore, in this section the collected data analysis will be carried out firstly from the point

of view Co-Creation Value model and secondly C2C paradigm. The actions which have been

taken into account to gain this objectives are as follows: on one hand, which channels of

communications participants use to create EC and whether or not during this process a co-

creation of new values has been developed, on the other, try to find out if C2C is used by

them as an instrument to increase the level of EC.

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Channels of Communication

The participants were asked about the channels of communication they use in order to

maintain dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event and during this dialogue

did they notice that their clients created a new value? The responses were of different nature.

On the one hand, all of them use the same channels e-mail, phone and conference calls. It is

worth pointing out that EI1 interviewee1 stated phone calls are better than email because

speaking on the phone to your client is more personal than e-mail. Grissemann and

Stokburger-Sauer (2012) state that the internet has changed the communications channels

such as e-mail, thus co-creating a new value more quickly. However, on the contrary to that

statement EI interview2 expressed that “the best approach to communicate is personal face to

face meeting” (F2F), for example EI5 that F2F meetings are the most appropriate channel to

maintain relationships between their agents and the clients, this is in line with Payne et al.,

(2009) who noted that F2F is a good method of communication to create relationships. In

fact, EI5 stated that:

“They refer to clients as a part of the company family and treat them like a friend

because this allows the firm to understand better the needs of their customers and

exceed their expectations”

EI5 uses the concept of family as the most important approach to treat their customers to

build a strong relationship. In addition, EI5 established that they use social media to continue

that relationship. It appears all the parties are agreed.

Co-Creation of a New Value

In respect to if they noticed during this dialogue that their clients co-created a new value, EI2

stated its firm was doing all the time because “value is everything in the world of events” in

fact EI2 stated that:

“Providing a memorable experience of the event the clients is happy and is loyal to

your company”

53

That means that happiness could be achieved throughout by delivering a memorable

experience.

This related to Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer (2012) who state that the degree of co-

creation value is correlated with the level of customer satisfaction and has an on effect on the

index of satisfaction and loyalty. On the contrary other interviewees are not sure about co-

creation value in the process of building a relationship, such as EI3 explained that they

deliver a lot of events and do not have enough time to co-create value with all of them, as

well EI4 explained that:

“Not all of their customers want to be involved in this process indeed if any of their

clients want to be part of this process they can come to its office, you cannot force the

client to become involved”

That statement means that the scholars and the author of this paper believe in Co-creation

value as a method to achieve EC but not all the customers have to be involved.

From the point of view of the author what was expressed by EI1 they supposed that:

“During this dialogue co-creation value was created because of the fact that `Humans

are fundamentally emotionally creatures and no matter whatever interaction you have

with anyone in any walk of life you are always going to have an emotional connection

because humans are emotional you are always going to have an emotional connection

with them”

This statement is linked to the idea of having a memorable experience of the event but based

on the human relationships and feelings. Thus, the point of view of the participants concurs

with the findings of Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer (2012) in that co-creation value

generates EC. Noteworthy, however, it is that not all participants feel it was necessary nor

had the time to develop this kind of relationships.

Costumer to Customer (C2C) Co-Creation Value Model

With regard to the C2C paradigm the interviewees were asked if they organise this kind of

meeting and if they thought that meetings generated loyalty to them. Those that did not

organise C2C encounters were asked if they thought it was a good idea to develop C2C

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model of Co-creation value as a method of generating loyalty to their firms. Only EI3

organise these kind of sessions in which the customers are asked about their opinions about

the particular service, venue or menu, they gather different clients and share their opinions. In

addition, EI3 said that:

“This kind of meeting generates loyalty to them because their clients are provided

with nice food and drink and are asked about their opinion and this fact generates

emotional connection to them because the clients are listened to and this makes the

clients feel special”

Again it could be deduced that feelings are important to gain loyalty. This is linked to Gruen,

Osmonbekov and Czaplewski (2007) that point that C2C sharing experiences enhance the

loyalty behaviours by the customer to the firms.

With regard to those who did not organise C2C meetings on the one hand EI1 interviwee1

expressed that “I don’t see why not…..I must admit I have never come across something like

that”, on the other E14 thinks that is not sometimes we do “I would not rule it out in

future…It is not something I have thought about”. Both opinions are about the same point

which is related to Rihova et al. ( 2013) the social sphere is critical in the C2C model to co-

create a new value and these interviewees agree to the fact taking into consideration

organising this sessions in which social networking exchanges having a key role.

However, on the contrary EI2 explained that:

“C2C encounters are not a good idea to generate loyalty by their clients because of the

fact that those clients with good ideas for events, want to keep them to themselves.

These successful ideas are treated confidentially because some of their customers are

direct competitors and do not want to share them”

It is clear that EI2’s possible industrial espionage is a critical factor to be considered when

embarking on this course of action. However, by introducing the idea to some of the

participants as a tool may prove successful to some organisations in the future, whilst other

have found it very useful and implement the strategy already.

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10.5.1 Summary

It could be said that the most effective channel to creating co-creation new value is face to

face meeting by which a new co-creation value has been generated because of the fact that

human relations play a key role which drive EC. With respect to C2C only a firm which

organises these kinds of meetings w gives rise to EC as a behaviour which addresses loyalty.

However, for those which do not organise them, EI2 noted that is not a good idea in order to

avoid industrial espionage, nevertheless the rest of the participants believe that C2C is an

excellent tool to improve the degree of EC as a bridge between satisfaction and loyalty.

Once the role of co-creation value has been made, the last part of this research project is to

analyse in depth whether or not the food at events meets the needs of the delegates then

generates loyalty in them.

10.6 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in Them

The role of food in conference satisfaction is a key factor which drives attendees’ return

intention (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009). According to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012)

this is because food and beverage is one on the programs factors which generate more

satisfaction, emotional commitment which addresses loyalty. Thus, in this section the

collected data related to the food is an instrument by which EC can be generated because of

creating memorable experiences which drive loyalty by attendees to events which can be

assessed. To gain this objective three, questions were formulated. One, interviewees were

asked if their clients when planning an event take into consideration the food and beverage as

a main driver which generates EC which drives loyalty. Two, from their point of view, do

they think food and beverage are important to achieve a high level of satisfaction and

memorable experience, therefore, generate loyalty to their firms? Three, they were questioned

if they receive a lot of complaints about the food when they deliver an event. The answers are

as follows:

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Food and Beverage as Main Driver which Generates EC

With regard to the fact that if their clients when planning an event take into consideration the

food and beverage as main driver which generates EC which drives in loyalty the answers

were as follow. EI1 said that:

“Definitely, their clients take into consideration food as a tool to achieve a memorable

experience because they remember that and they say oh I want to repeat that

experience”

EI5 expressed that:

“The important point is understanding the needs of the clients and exceeding their

expectations in fact EI5 food is the main part which creates loyalty to us”

In both statements the food is considered as a key tool to creating a memorable experience

which drives loyalty. According to (Kim, Lee and Love, 2009, pp. 226) ` it was proven that

satisfaction with food function programs was the leading driver of an attendee’s intent to

return’. For EI1 and EI5 this understanding allowed them to exceed the expectation which

surprised their customers which drives in delighting them and this generates a high level of

loyalty because in both cases they have clients who return to them every single year. That

statement is linked to what is stated by Berman (2005) for which to delight to your customers

by exceeding their expectations is a key factor to get loyalty by them. However, EI2 as a

civic venue explained that they do not have control over the food and EI3 explained that:

“Food definitely has an impact on making an event a memorable occasion and their

clients will come back because the food is important to them as a structure of the

whole event”

That means the whole event is the key issue to create a memorable experience and the food

is significant element of the event. Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) argue that

creating an emotional commitment drives loyalty and food as one of the key program factors

which generates satisfaction. The generation of EC by food is an area of agreement by all

parties, participants, suppliers and organisers.

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Food and Beverage Factors to Achieve a High Level of Satisfaction and

Memorable Experience

In respect to the second question if their point of view, is that they think food and beverage

are important to achieve a high level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore,

generate loyalty to their firms. EI1 expressed that:

“Food is very important to achieve a memorable experience in fact one method they

use to achieve this is design menus in which local food of the region is presented

because it allows customers to know more about the culture of the destination”.

In that statement it is worth pointing out that the acknowledgement of the culture of the

destination could be achieved thanks to the use of local food. Wei and Huang (2013) noted

that a useful method to achieve a high degree of satisfaction by the delegates is through the

consumption of local food where the event is placed. For the caterers, EI4 stated that “food

produce satisfaction is important but it depends on the budget” and EI5 pointed that:

“…food and drink is the exciting part of the conference… I have got one conference

where we did some different things on breaks- some energy boosters, some fun

things- which presented really differently and that really sticks in mind so it was

memorable”

For EI5 to gain a memorable experience could be achieved with how the food is presented.

However, EI2 expressed that:

“The delegates go to a conference because of the program and the location and not

because of the food at the decision stage, but when they are at the event the food is

very important because it is a source of energy… you are not engaged by the correct

food and drink”

That statement makes clear that food is an important element when the event is delivered but

not in the first step of the decision process to attending an event. This is linked to one of the

findings of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (pp. 312, 2012) `food and beverage were not

part of the program factor at the decision stage, but did become part of the program factor in

ratings of satisfaction’. Again, this is an area where all the participants are on the same

opinion.

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The Complaints about Food and Beverage Served at Events

Finally the matter about the complaints that the firms received the responses was as follow.

EI1 they do not just receive complaints, EI4 is on the same opinion but when they received

one of them about their company the complaints are treated as a positive issue to improve

their service. EI5 was more categorical in noting that they do not receive complaints.

However, EI3 stated that:

“They do not receive a lot of complaints but when it happens immediately they

address the issue go to talk with the customer and solve it with the aim that next time

the experience will be a good one”

It is worth noting that for EI3 the most important action to carry out to solve any

inconvenience is to resolve as soon as possible and learn from these complaints. With regard

to this subject Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) noted that for the most part the

complaints at the events are related to the food and beverage. Therefore there seems to a

difference in findings from this paper and Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) contrary

to all complaints are about food and beverage, nevertheless the participants in this study they

do not receive many complaints about the food. It could be argued that the participants in this

study did not want to admit to receive many complaints about.

It is worth noting that in the statements which were noted by the participants at the end of the

interviews. On one hand, EI1 expressed that:

“They have never thought about the role food as an instrument by which a

memorable experience could be created”

That statement is very relevant because it comes from a hotel which delivers events as a

whole and they thought about food and beverage with the aim of feeding and watering

people, but not as instruments to generate memorable experiences. On the other, EI3 stated

that “the food is an important factor but within the whole planning of the conference”.

Finally EI5 noted that:

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“…the food is important but this has to be accompanied by excellent delivery service

which is a key factor to achieve satisfaction”

In this declaration food has to be accompanied by outstanding delivery with the aim of

achieving satisfaction. This is related to the findings by Kim, Lee and Love (2009).

10.6.1 Summary

The most relevant findings with regard to the role of food as an instrument to generate

loyalty, are that food is an excellent tool to achieve a memorable experience which drives

loyalty (EI1 and EI5), however for EI4 it is dependent on the budget and for EI3 is not only

about the food but also location venue and facilities. It is worth stressing that serving local

food is a helpful resource to create a memorable experience because the attendees are more

involved in the culture of the destination. Finally, EI5 stated that they enjoy exceeding the

expectations of their clients making the delivery of events differently which addresses loyalty

because EC has been built. The complaints about the food are not a big issue because the

participants do not usually receive them and if some of them receive complaints these are

faced and solved as soon as possible.

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10.7 Summary of the Findings

Factors and Attributes of the Food function in Events which Generate

Satisfaction

Comparing the data from this paper with that of the scholars there are some differences

according to the factors of the food which generate satisfaction; firstly, factor 1 (food content

quality) is the priority in this paper, in contrast with the findings of Wei and Huang (2013) is

in the second position. Secondly, factor 2 (recognition of personal preference) in Kim, Lee

and love (2009) is scored in the third position whilst in this paper is in the last position.

Thirdly, factor 3 (menu selection) for Wei and Huang (2013) takes the first place and in this

paper is in the second one. Finally factor 4 (service delivery) is the highest scored for Kim,

Lee and love (2009), while in this paper is in the second position.

How Emotional Connection Affects Behavioural Intention

It could be said that all the participants generate EC building relationships with their

customers which drives loyalty between the organisers and clients, these findings match those

of Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012). The methods by which this is achieved t are

different, for example EI3 pointed out the flexibility with their clients whilst EI2 try to make

their clients feel taken care of. Finally, the participants which organise events based on a

theme in which all elements of serviscape are taken into account stated that these events

created EC with them in the same way as Nelson (2009) which states that events based on a

theme generate EC. One of the reasons is that, for example EI5 stated that the attendees

which participate in these kinds of events generate EC with their firms because they feel

more relaxed and open minded.

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The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection.

For the findings it could be argued that for most of participants not only food but also service

of food served at events contributes to generate EC, for example for EI1 interviewee 2 food is

a key driver which leads to loyalty. These findings are linked on the one hand, to Kim, Lee

and love (2009) who note that food delivered in events is a key factor in return intentions for

the following year, to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) which argue that food is a

key element of the program by which EC is created. In addition, with respect to the role of

networking activities and the food served in them as a driver to generate EC there are

different points of view. On the one hand, EI1 stated that the food is important in these kinds

of meetings and if you give more explanations about the food the attendee will feel more

involved which increases the degree of EC, however EI2 stated that for networking activities

the place is the main factor and EI4 does not take part into the planning of them. With regard

to this matter the scholars’ findings suggest that the organisers do not pay enough attention to

the planning of networking activities (ibid.) The most significant method by which the

participants noted the loyalty by their clients is through the word of mouth and EI1,EI4 this is

the same method for Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012). It is worth noting that EI5

pointed out that the food is one of the arguments to recommend them.

Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate

Loyalty

It could be said that the most effective channel to create co-creation new value is face to face

meeting by which a new co-creation value has been generated because of the fact that human

relations play a key role which drive EC thus generate loyalty by the clients. Grissemann and

Stokburger-Sauer stated that (pp. 1489, 2012) ‘co-creation enhances customer satisfaction

and loyalty toward the company’, however they do not refer to the method to achieve this

loyalty. With respect to C2C only a firm which organises this kind of meetings which gives

rise to EC as a behaviour which encourages loyalty, these findings are related to those which

were found by Gruen, Osmonbekov and Czaplewski (2007), in addition these authors noted

that organisers need to take into account C2C exchange as a part of their value delivery of the

events because C2C impacts on the perception of the value of the company by customers.

62

However, for those who do not organise them, EI2 noted that is not a good idea to avoid

industrial espionage, nevertheless the rest of the participants believe that C2C is an excellent

tool to improve the degree of EC as a bridge between satisfaction and loyalty.

The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in

Them

The most relevant findings with regard to the role of food as an instrument to generate

loyalty, it could be noted that food is an excellent tool to achieve a memorable experience

which drives loyalty (EI1 and EI5) that is linked to the findings of Kim, Lee and love (2009),

however for EI4 it is dependent on the budget and for EI3 it is not only about the food but

also location venue and facilities. It is worth stressing that serving local food is helpful source

to create a memorable experience because the attendees are more involved in the culture of

the destination, in the same direction are the findings of Wei and Huang (pp.265, 2013) that state

‘the opportunity to experience local cusine contribute greatly to attendee satisfaction’. Finally, EI5

stated that they enjoy exceeding the expectation of their clients making the delivery of events

differently which encourages loyalty because EC has been built in the same line as Berman

(2005) in that delight is a more powerful element to create loyalty than satisfaction. The

complaints about the food are not big issues because the participants do not usually receive

them and if some of them receive complaints these are faced and solved as soon as possible

these findings do not match to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) who note that the

most complaints in delivery of the events are related with food and beverage which are

provided in them.

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11 Conclusions and Recommendations

The aim of this paper is to determine what role food has in designing an event experience and

how this influences the emotional connection of the attendees to the event with the purpose of

getting loyalty by them. To achieve this aim the author of this investigation established 7

drivers/ objectives. It is believed that these objectives have been met for several reasons are

as follows:

Objective 1: A literature review has been carried out with the aim to revision of

relevant research in the different themes.

Objective 2: The key factors of the food and their attributes that generates satisfaction

in delegates which are the same for the suppliers and the attendees however the

priorities of them are not the same for some and others have been investigated.

Objective 3: An examination of the procedure of how Emotional Connection affects

behavioural intention has been carried out and it has been demonstrated that building

relationships between the suppliers and organiser drive into the creation of Emotional

connection thus a loyalty is given rise to.

Objective 4: The analysis of the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and

emotional connection has resulted in food and the service as key drivers which

contribute to enhance the satisfaction throughout the process in the creation of

Emotional Commitment.

Objective 5: Evaluate how Co-Creation Value Model can generate Emotional

Commitment to generate loyalty. This objective has been met for several reasons. On

the one hand, Emotional Connection is achieved by the creation of human

relationships based on the face to face encounters; on the other hand, these actions

drive the creation of loyalty by the clients. In addition C2C Co-creation New Value

model has been assessed as a useful tool to enhance the loyalty between organisers

and suppliers.

Objective 6: Explore the role of food in meeting the needs of delegates, creating

loyalty in them. With regard to this objective it has been established thanks to the

food a memorable experience of the event exceeding their expectations and needs,

therefore, a memorable experience is created with the aim of increasing the level of

EC thus developing a degree of loyalty.

64

Objective 7: Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on the research

findings which have been realized in the present chapter.

In addition, a number of conclusions will be presented related to the objectives based on the

data found in the chapter on data analysis in the same way that a number of practical

recommendations will be described with the objective that they are a useful tool for all

suppliers who are involved in the delivery of an event. Finally, a number of proposals will be

given for future research in this field of knowledge

11.1 Conclusions

11.1.1 The Key Factors of the food and their Attributes that Generates Satisfaction in

Delegates

With regard to the key attributes of food that generates satisfaction in delegates. It could be

said the key factors and their attributes are taken into consideration by the delegates and the

suppliers which have participated in this research project. However there is a difference in the

priorities of the stakeholders of these factors. For example, on the one hand, Factor 1 (food

content quality) is the main factor for the supplier and for the attendees, however it takes

second place according to (Wei and Huang, 2013); on the other, Factor 2 (recognition of

personal preference) in this paper it is in the last position on the Likert scale, this differs

from Kim, Lee and Love (2009) which puts it in the third position, however it is worth noting

that with regard to achieving a memorable food function it is dependent on the budget of the

organiser; likewise, Factor 3 ( menu selection) from the point of view of the suppliers takes

second place, however, according to Wei and Huang (2013) takes first place; finally, Factor 4

(service delivery) is the most important driver for Kim, Lee and Love (2009) and in this

study is in the second position

Regarding the answers of the interviews related to drivers which improve satisfaction in

customers the location and cost are key factors for EI, EH2, for interviewee 2 of EI1 stated

that all the meeting is about networking, for EI4 the cost, quality of food and speed of

services, however, EI5 states that the venues generate satisfaction because its customers look

for interesting venues with cultural heritage. EI3 event and management services are

important to fulfill the satisfaction of the planner firms. To sum up it could be said that it has

65

been found that more factors generate satisfaction than previous studies have shown which

state that the most important factors were the cost and networking and management services

(Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson, 2012).

With respect to the analysis of the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional

connection, these could be observed in several ways. On the one hand, all the participants

agree that food and beverage service in an event creates an emotional connection with the

attendees because of the fact that independent of the type of the event, people always

remember more whether or not the food was good or not than what the event was about

because of the fact that satisfaction is formed by cognitive and emotional components

(Mason and Paggiaro, 2012).

11.1.2 Emotional Connection (EC) Affects Behavioural Intention

With regard to the procedure of how emotional connection (EC) affects behavioural intention

the process can be divided into different steps. Firstly all the interviewees generate Emotional

connection with their customers throughout building relationships with their customers with

the aim of knowing their clients as well as possible, their needs and meeting those needs. The

methods used to shape these relationships in creating EC differ from each other, for example

EI1 pointed out that warm staff makes clients feel more comfortable, EI2 tries to make their

clients feel taken care of, EI3 stressed the flexibility as a driver to generating EC and for EI5

trust and making its clients look good are the most important driver. Secondly, all the

participants agreed with the fact that EC drives the creation of a feeling of loyalty because the

attendees feel an emotional link with the event, according to Tanford, Montgomery and

Nelson (2012). It is worth stressing what EI3 explained was that when the firm has built a

strong EC if there are any problems with the clients these can be solved and the relationship

does not break down. Some of them have a high percentage of loyalty such as EI3 which has

70%. Finally, the question was asked if the organiser of events based on specific themes did

those generate EC. Almost all of them, except EI3, responded that they organise this kind of

event in which all the servicescape factors are used with the aim of creating a specific

atmosphere. In fact EI5 has a specific all designed event in which audio visual, flowers, walls

and room layout were taken into account. Likewise, all of them were agreed that the fact that

these kind of special events created EC in their clients, this is in the same findings of Nelson

(2009), for example EI5 talk of these theme based events making attendees feel excited about

66

something different and new and at the same time making them feel relaxed and more open

minded, however organising these events in the conference market depended on the budget of

the clients.

11.1.3 The Contribution that Food Makes to Satisfaction and Emotional Connection

With respect to the contribution that food makes to satisfaction and emotional connection

again there are different arguments which depend on the type of supplier. For E1, EI4,E15

food and service contributes to generate EC, however, EI3 explained that it depends on the

kind of event, for instance for gala dinners food is critical, nevertheless, for conference lunch

is about good and easy access to food. However EI2 expressed that the customers need to be

fed and watered and the planners should take into account the times of the breaks because in

the afternoon delegates are more tired so they need more wake up menus. It is worth noting

that for some of the participants food and beverage could be a key factor which generates EC

thus loyalty, for example for EI1 interviewee2 food is fundamental to achieve loyal

customers, for EI5 is the food and service and the design of how the food is presented.

According to Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson (2012) food and beverage are important

drivers within the satisfaction of the conference program but in that study there is not any

reference to the type of the breaks in which food is provided and matters about the how the

food is served, for example EI1 states that if you explain to the customers more about the

food which is provided this understanding generates more EC by attendees. Another matter

concerns the role of the food in networking activities and if they collaborate in the planning

of them. On the one hand, some of them take part in the planning of them such EI1 and EI5

but always depend on what the clients need and their experience in organising conventions

and conferences, EI4 does not take part in this, on the other, EI1 said that food is a priority in

this kind of activity while EI2 opinion is the importance of place in which taking part these

kind of breaks take place. In contrast, the point of view of the delegates, is that they need

more time for breaks to develop more networking links (Tanford, Montgomery and Nelson,

2012). Finally one of the methods of noting the loyalty of the clients is the word of mouth

with regard to this issue all of the interviewees agreed (ibid), however the reasons for

personal recommendations differ from each other, for EI1 and EI4 and EI5 is the food and the

venue and room atmosphere for EI2.

67

11.1.4 Co-Creation Value Model can Generate Emotional Commitment to Generate

Loyalty

Relating to the evaluation of how Co-Creation Model can generate Emotional Commitment

to generate loyalty. It can be concluded that most of the respondents based face to face

encounters as a better communication channel with customers so that all together as partners

create a new co creation value with the firms. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that in this new

model which is based on Service Dominant paradigm, human relations play a key role as a

result of participants feel happy and emotional connection between customers and companies

are generated which leads to the development of the loyalty by customers. This is because the

companies know their customers better, their needs and therefore cover and even exceed

them. With respect to the C2C paradigm it is useful to create a co-creation value which is

used by an interview which stated that these kind of sessions give rise to emotional

connection with clients which derives loyalty because the clients are treated as a partner and

are taken into consideration, in addition the social sphere is very important. Almost all the

firms which do not organise these meetings agree that C2C is good tool to get to know more

effectively their customer in deed some of them have never thought about this matter.

However, EI2 in contrast disagree with these opinions because C2C encounters do not allow

to maintain the privacy of their clients and their successful ideas because some times are

competitors each other.

11.1.5 The Role of the Food in Meeting the Needs of Delegates, Creating Loyalty in

Them

Finally, it could be concluded that related to the exploration of the role of food in meeting the

needs of delegates, creating loyalty in them that according to our respondents EI1 and EI5 the

organisers take into consideration food as a useful instrument to achieve a memorable

experience which creates EC which drives loyal behaviour when they planning an event EI3

explained that food and beverage are important to obtain a memorable experience but for

their clients it is part of a whole including location, venue and facilities. However, for EI4

this depended on the budget. With regard to the point of the interviewees the role of the food

to achieve a memorable experience is critical (EI1, EI5) for EH4 depending on the budget

and for EH3 in the decision stage it is not important, however when the event is being

68

delivered the food and drinks are key factors to gaining a high degree of satisfaction because

the attendees needed to be fed and energized, as well as enhancing the reputation of the

organisation. It is worth noting that the methods to achieve that memorable experience are

different. For example EI1 the delivery of local food is a very useful tool because this allow

their clients to know more about the culture of the destination, for EI5 everything is based on

doing things differently and surprising their clients exceeding their expectations thus creating

delight in them which generates an emotional commitment and loyalty by them to their firm

for this interviewee the service is very important too. Because of the prestigious firms our

participants are working with it could be noted that there are a few complaints and these are

solved quickly and serves to improve the service.

11.2 Recommendations

The main objective of the event management companies is to get new customers and in turn

keep the ones they have, developing in them a sense of loyalty. There are several ways to

achieve this. One of them is to take into consideration whether the priorities regarding the

factors of the food and their attributes are at the same level on both sides, the suppliers and

the attendees, another is related to the cost, planning networking activities and special venues.

In addition the suppliers should improve the services such as event and management.

It is highly recommended that the firms which organise and deliver events have the

knowledge of what the factors which contribute to generate satisfaction in their clients are;

this could be made by organising meetings based on the costumer to costumer Co-creation

model with the aim of finding out what the needs are of their customers.

Another point to take inconsideration is the strong impact of the food in the memory of the

event, therefore it is highly recommended that the suppliers bears in mind the importance of

the food as a tool to improve the image of their firms. One way to achieve this is exceeding

the food expectations of the planner firms and their customers.

It could be argued that EC is a key driver to generating loyalty by the customers, as above

mentioned the needs of the three different actors in this play are not the same but it has to

achieve a great deal in which all of them are working in the same direction. Therefore several

approaches are recommended. On the one hand the suppliers should advise their clients that

to achieve a EC and meet the needs of attendees the organiser should take into consideration

69

planning very carefully the networking activities because of the fact that in these the

delegates are very interested because they can socialise and share their knowledge. The aim is

that the clients feel relaxed thus open minded and feel free to communicate, it is opinion of

the author that to achieve this goal several actions should be carried out: on the one hand

access to the food as to be easy and quick, type of food, coffee, beverages offered matches

the purpose of these social meetings. On the other the quality of the food has to be excellent

and this has to be tasty and well presented, and finally the service has to be flexible, and the

atmosphere and place in which the breaks and networking activities are placed have to

surprise and makes attendees feel at ease. With all these factors the aim is to ensure the

clients have an emotional experience leading to intensify loyalty. The issue about the

constraints of the budget is recurrent in the findings of this paper, nevertheless it is the

opinion of the author of this paper that if the budget is not very big instead of providing lamb,

chicken could be served but this has to be really tasty, most of the time the taste of the food is

not only about the ingredients you use to make the recipe but also how to combine and cook

these.

With regard to Co-creation value there are two recommendations. It can be established that

this model is very effective in order to generate EC and then loyalty, therefore it is

recommended that the firms plan training courses for their employees by sales and marketing

departments which have to deal directly with clients. In these courses the key objective is to

make employees be aware about the importance of creating relationships with their customer

as a partner in order to participate actively in the process of design, creation and delivery of

the event. The second, is highly recommended organising C2C meetings in which suppliers,

organiser and attendees take part with the aim of sharing their opinions about the delivery of

events. These sessions has a positive effect on the clients because they feel listened to and

looked after these give rise to the motivation of the participants and enhance the EC.

Moreover, these meetings create positive feelings about the brand image of the firm which

causes strong fondness to the brand subsequently generating loyalty by customers. These

sessions are not about sharing the professional secrets of the companies, nobody has to be

identified, it is about sharing experiences in order suppliers, organiser and attendees achieve

the most reliable information about the strengths and weakness of all of them with the aim in

the future and memorable event will be deliver, not about industrial espionage.

The recommendations with regard to the role of food as a tool to achieving a memorable

experience then loyalty by organiser and delegates several actions are recommended. On the

70

one hand, rethink the relation between value for money to delivering a memorable food

experience. On the other, it is known that food and the delivery of it are really important as a

factor program to achieve a high degree of satisfaction, however not all the suppliers and

organisers have the same opinion, however more voices stated that the food is really key

issues in event industry therefore this author is pro the planning of meetings Costumer to

Costumer in which all the stakeholder (Suppliers, Venues, caterers, organisers and delegates)

with the aim of achieving an understanding and different points of view of the participants,

therefore to understand the needs and the motivators which generate in them a memorable

experience, in addition it could be a good idea that in that meetings the food, drinks and the

service delivery delighted attendees as a method of showing the aim of these kind of C2C

meetings. Finally, it is highly suggested that all the suppliers encourage the presence of local

food in their menus as a method of improving image destination which motivate attendees

from different part of the world that destination.

To sum up, nowadays the cognitive part of the conferences is not enough to attract loyal

clients, it is about feelings and thoughts. Therefore, organisations have to be aware that we

are human beings and we need to be fed and watered and these are basic human needs. In

addition one of the best methods to socialise is thanks to social networking activities

therefore in these acts the food and service has to be delivered with a high degree of quality

to delight customers and give rise to a memorable experience in the participants which will

create an emotional connexion between organiser, suppliers and delegates and this will drive

generating loyal behaviour because as the more senses are involved in these experiences the

more memorable it will be, for example smell and aromas are able to change emotions and

memories which are critical to create a memorable experience.

71

11.3 Future Research

For future research it is recommended that the role of the food as a tool to achieve memorable

experience has to be investigated from the point of view of the suppliers and in different parts

of the world. Other recommendations are needed such the role of C2C meetings as a useful

tools to understand the necessities, in terms of food and beverage, of all the stakeholders of

events industry with the aim of increasing the loyalty by the customers to the firms; the

relation between value for money with the objective of an improved food experience without

increasing the price, for example it could be to serve tasty chicken instead of lamb; finally

the author believes in the necessity of achieving a deep understanding of local food to

improve the image destination thus attract more attendees.

72

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13 Appendices

13.1 Appendix 1 Self-administrated Questionnaire

Please could you let me know in order of importance the next factors of food, the most

important to gain a memorable experience (please mark 1-5).

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

Factor 1- Food content quality. 1 2 3 4 5

The food function attributes are taken in consideration, or not, to obtain that experience.

Tasty Food Yes/No

Fresh ingredients Yes/No

Right Menu Yes/No

Attractive food Yes/No

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

Factor 2- Recognition of 1 2 3 4 5

Personal preference.

Do you offer any of the following?

Available special Yes/No

Dietary menu

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Unique menu Yes/No

Selection

Correct Order Yes/No

Memorable food Yes/No

Function

Networking Yes/No

Opportunity

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

Factor 3- Menu Selection 1 2 3 4 5

Do you offer any of the following?

Variable beverage Yes/No

Variable menu Yes/No

Menu to keep Yes/No

Awake

Health conscious Yes/No

Diets

Carbohydrate Yes/No

Conscious

Low-fat Yes/No

Low-cholesterol Yes/No

Organic Categories Yes/No

Religious requirements Yes/No

Other specific Yes/No

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Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

Factor 4- service 1 2 3 4 5

Delivery

Do you consider in your preparation the following?

Sufficient space Yes/No

Between seats

Prompt service Yes/No

Comfortable Yes/No

Seating

Friendly service Yes/No

Proper food Yes/No

Temperature

Attractive dining Yes/No

Room setting

Thanks very much for completing this questionnaire.

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13.2 Appendix 2 Design of the Interview

13.2.1 Satisfaction

13.2.1.1 Could you explain which of the following factors you use to generate greater customer

satisfaction and ultimately gain repeat attendances: program, networking, location, cost and

external activities?

13.2.1.2 How important do you think Food and beverage are within these factors which generate

satisfaction?

13.2.2 Emotional Commitment

13.2.2.1 Could you describe me how organisations which you work with generate an

emotional conection (ie. Loyalty). with your firm?

13.2.2.2 Those firms that have EC with your organization, have they built a sense of loyalty

with your organization?

13.2.2.3 Do you think that the food served at your events has generated an EC?

13.2.2.4 When organising or planning an event do you take into consideration spaces and

time to plan networking activities, such as lunches, breaks, receptions, breaks which

food and beverages, and how they are key in your planning strategy?

13.2.2.5 In your experience do your clients when organizing and event ask you to organize a

special dinner based on a theme in which all the servicescape factors are included?

13.2.2.6 Given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example word of

mouth. Have you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation?

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13.2.3 Co-Creation Value

13.2.3.1 Which Continuous communication channels have you created with your customers

in order to maintain a dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event?

13.2.3.2 In this process are your clients involved in the creation and selection of different

menus such as vegetarian, Vega, gluten free, fresh products, local food?

13.2.3.3 Do you usually organize meetings between your customers with the aim of sharing

their experience of the product and co-create a value of it?

13.2.3.4 How have you organized and have you assessed the outcomes of their experiences,

for example, have you noticed whether food has a key role in this process?

13.2.3.5 C2C has generated loyalty to your firm?

13.2.4 Food

13.2.4.1 Are food and beverage taken into consideration when your clients organize an event

with your firm with regard to your clients´ return intention?

13.2.4.2 From your point of view, do you think food and beverage are important to achieve a

high level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore, generate a loyalty to

your organization?

13.2.4.3 Were the food and service at the conference memorable?

13.2.4.4 Do your clients take into consideration the food as a main driver to create a high

level of satisfaction thus generating a strong Emotional Commitment which drives

loyalty?

13.2.4.5 Do you usually receive a lot of complaints, about the food which is served at events?

Thanks very much for your collaboration in this research project.

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13.3 Appendix 3 Transcription of an Interview

13.3.1 Satisfaction

German

One of the great challenges of the company is to attract delegates to attend events. One of the

reasons why repeat guests attend conferences is that they have a high degree of satisfaction

event.

Could you explain which of the following factors you use to generate customer satisfaction

and ultimately gain repeat attendances: programme, networking, location, cost and external

activities.

Interviewee 1

…For the rest I think the programme is really important especially to make sure you have

good breaks in between and so is the location every event has a budget so it is very important

for us to be able to deliver within that budget.

The cost …..every event has a budget so that’s very important for them so if the event goes

over budget you will have some explaining to do. So we’re here to make sure that that

doesn’t happen

German

Could you explain to me what is the most important of these for you? In your experience with

your customers.

Interviewee 1

Okay for me I would say the location

German

Ah yes! Interesting.

Interviewee 2

I would say networking just because people want to, when they come to a hotel come to a

meeting it’s all about meeting people and people coming together to discuss ideas I do think

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that whilst I do agree with XXXX that location is very important I also think networking is

very important because ultimately that is the purpose they are here, to talk with each other.

German

How important do you think food and beverages are within these factors with generate

satisfaction?

Interviewee 1

I would say very important, if you go to a networking event and if you have food that was

perhaps wasn’t what you were expecting, you wouldn’t be very happy would you? So like for

yourself if your university invited you to a networking event how would you feel?

German

I don’t feel well, but from the point of view of the customers do you think it is really

important?

Interviewees1 and 2

Yes definitely.

German

Can you explain it, in a few words?

Interviewee 1

Just what I was explaining there, if you go to an event and the food wasn’t what you were

expecting you will remember that the food wasn’t very nice.

Interviewee 2

You would be disappointed. I think we know when we first speak with clients about potential

events almost always one of the first questions is ‘what food is it?’ you know , ‘what’s the

food like?’ and you know that is really a key focus of their event because ultimately they’re

trying to not impress you know put on a really good experience for their guests or clients.

And I think that is definitely one way of showing how much they care for their… by how

much thought they put into it by producing and giving them what they want. So I would say it

is imperative.

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German

13.3.2 Emotional Commitment

Okay thank you very much it’s very interesting

Now we come to the emotional commitment …Emotional commitment is one of the factors

that can generate more loyalty in an organisation by attending conferences and lectures.

Could you describe to me how organisations which you work with generate an emotional

connection (i.e.) loyalty with your firm?

Interviewee 2

I would say clients do, um we do have a lot of customers and clients that come back because,

you know that said that the event worked really well – the space was wonderful but also the

food was great – we do have a lot of repeat clients and I do think that does generate loyalty

and it does encourage them to come back and use the space again. Would you agree?

Interviewee 1

Yes definitely and also we don’t have a very high percentage of staff turnover so you get to

know your clients, and because they are comfortable they feel at ease they know already what

they’re expectations are so they don’t have to repeat themselves every year – that definitely

creates an emotional connection with them. You kind of meet on a personal level so I would

say that’s mostly creates loyalty.

German

Could you let me know which attributes generate EC for example: attached emotionally to

your firm, feel like part of the family when working with you, they consider loyal to this

convention?

Interviewee 1

I think it’s how welcoming first of all, how warm the staff are. If they feel they are being

greeted very nicely – they feel at home and they are going to feel more comfortable – I think

that’s probably my top one.

Interviewee 2

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I think you have to connect with a person on a personal level and you have to engage with

them and your work with them before you take it any further – because if someone doesn’t

feel that they can work or work with you then you’ve lost it – that’s your first step – once

you’ve achieved that then you can move on.

German

To engage them?

Interviewee 2

Yes, exactly. So you have to do it on a personal level before you can move on.

German

Very interesting

Those firms that have EC with your organisation, have they built a sense of loyalty to your

organisation?

Interviewee 1

I would say it definitely creates loyalty if you have a connection yes

German

Do you the percentage of customers who are loyal to you – more or less?

Interviewee 1

I wouldn’t be able to put a percentage on it, but we do a lot of annual repeat business – so it’s

a considerable amount. But I don’t have a percentage.

German

Do you think that food served at your events has generated an EC?

Interviewee 1

If they like the food there is going to be an emotional commitments, happy hormones, call

them whatever you like, so you are going to be more engaging with the events so I’m not sure

if that’s exactly what you are meaning?

German

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The question is for example your customer almost after the event says ‘oh I feel very well

with whole plan of the event but especially any kind of comments about the food… in a

strange way I feel at home with your food

Interviewee 2

Do you mean they feel comfortable with the quality?

German

Not only about the quality

Interviewee 1

I think the food is a very important factor in making that connection with you, for that

thought I think it would be more the delivery of the food so it would be more of the service

rather than the food itself for that click, but the food is a very very big portion of it. But if

you’re eating in a restaurant and you have beautiful food but perhaps the way it was delivered

to your table was not what you were expecting, then even though you remember the food you

won’t be as fond of the memory because – you remember oh yes the steak was beautiful but

the server perhaps wasn’t quite as well trained as they could be, so I think you need both

elements together. You need the service together with the food.

Interviewee 2

I also think it’s important for your guests to know what it is that they are eating. Obviously

with us we are quite – in delivering our food we like to offer quite a wide variety of food

items and some of it you wouldn’t necessarily have on an everyday menu. And I think that if

you explained to your guests what it is that they are eating, then they can therefore, because

they know what it is, then they can understand even more and sometimes they can take that

away and try it themselves or something. But if you help them understand it… they’re some

things on the menu that even, we look at, and because it’s so new, we also ask – what is this?

How do you make or whatever? I think it’s also about them knowing what it is and

understanding it, so they identify with it on that level as well. It’s not just the taste of it or

liking that soup.

German

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Yes, another thing. When organising or planning an event do you take into consideration

space and time to plan networking activities, such as lunches, breaks, receptions, breaks

which food and beverages, and how they are key in your planning strategy?

Interviewee 2

It is ..absolutely

Interviewee 1

We definitely take that into account, when recommending the space first of all, we try and

figure out first of all what they are trying to achieve from the event and they we try a cater the

space for it, so we are very lucky we have a beautiful big atrium and it works great for

networking so where that’s possible we would recommend atrium just so if people like the

freedom of movement really but at the same time have food and beverages served there as

well, so yes we definitely keep that in mind.

German

And the networking is activities really…. For you and your clients?

Interviewee 1

I think for our clients as well because clients are choosing a location depending on how well

it’s going to fit, so if networking is their priority they’re going to somewhere where we have

the same type of thoughts really.

German

Do you think food and beverage are key factors in which to generate EC in the attendees?

The people who really are eating?

Interviewee 2

Definitely. I mean we don’t always speak with the attendees because quite often there are so

many of them that we only ever really speak with the planner or the organiser for that from

their side. But certainly, quite often these clients will come back to us and they say to us …

we want to come back because we got such great feedback from our clients… so we don’t

necessarily have that first hand from them but we do from organisers and so forth.

German

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One way to generate an EC between companies and customers is through the creation of a

memorable experience that creates an emotional connection in the delegates and therefore

increases their satisfaction. One way to increase the emotional connection is through the set

design of a room by creating an event based on a theme in which the servicescape are

included ambient conditions: such as noise, music and light; atomospheric such as music,

aroma, drama and food are taken into consideration.

Ok. Very interesting. I think it is what I thought. In your experience do your clients when

organising an event ask you to organise a special dinner based on a theme in which all the

servicescape factors are included.

Interviewee 2

Yes, I think definitely, it people are wanting something special and they want it themed then

we will also work with someone to create a special menu, and we also work with our chefs so

the clients can meet the chef and speak to the chef to create a menu for their event in the lead

up to it. And then they can also sometimes do menu tastings, so they’ll come in before the

event, about a month before, try 2 or 3 different dishes, see which one they like the best and

then that will be what’s served at their event. Certainly we will always endeavour to work

with what the client wants. If that’s important to them, then that will contribute to the over-all

success of the event.

German

What I mean, for example if one of your clients actually to organise a gala dinner for example

with a theme- say based in the late Victorian period, how the food, the lights.. everything is

around the theme. That is what I say – if you organise this kind of. .. experience it is more

focussed?

Interviewee 1

We have organised a lot of specialised dinners, for example until recently we do a lot of

Scottish themed dinners. So I’ve done one recently that was a Sherlock Holmes event – it

was a drinks reception, it wasn’t a dinner, but we had to create, do research what they used to

eat back then, create a canapé menu which reflects those ingredients. And as soon as guests

walk in the room because there is the taste factor, the sight factor, the sound factor all creates

more of a connection to the event, rather than just maybe having the decoration but then the

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food doesn’t match the theme, so it has to be a total package. We do, do quite a lot of events

like that.

German

With light…. Do you change the atmosphere…?

Interviewee 1

Yes, you would need to because if you are working with a specific room it can be used in the

morning for a conference you need to turn it into to ‘pub’ feel for example, you have to

change the atmosphere of the room. A lot of time we hire screens where it’s like a fake front

of a bar of a pub and you put that in the room just to create a different atmosphere in the

room.

German

Do you that experience created an emotional experience with you? With your company?

Because this is a very side of the conference programme

Interviewee 1

I think it would make it more memorable.

German

Memorable?

Interviewee 2

I think we’re proud of it, we’re very proud when we deliver something the client specifically

wanted – something out of the ordinary - there’s a great deal of pride in it – we would not

necessarily have that because we’re not part of it because we deliver it, but we do remember

it, we always take photos and this is how we remember it.

German

Ok and this is about the photographs.

Do you think organising companies should plan those kinds of activities to generate

emotional commitment and enhance the memorable experience?

Interviewee 1

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I think that’s their target they don’t want to do an event and people walk away like nothing

has happened, they want people to remember it, so I think when our clients are organising

something they have the memorable factor in mind. They want to achieve that.

German

And do you think they achieve EC with you?

Interviewee 1

Yes because we would meet the client quite a lot, to identify what they are trying to achieve,

so we can work towards that together so you build a relationship, then an emotional bridge

there.

German

Given that loyalty can be achieved through various means, for example word of mouth. Have

you ever got a new customer through personal recommendation?

Interviewee 1 and 2

Yes. Definitely

German

What was the reason they chose your organisation? Was food one of them?

Interviewee 2

I think it just depends, but definitely service and definitely food, and the knowledge that we

are a very approachable team. We work people and we always want to meet with people so

there’s that and I think we are a very welcoming hotel so.

German

13.3.3 Co-Creation Value

Ok. Congratulations. And now Co-creation value.

Which continuous communication channels have you created with your customers in order

to maintain a dialogue throughout the creation and tailoring of the event?

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Interviewee 1

I think the biggest one I would say is personal appointments, like we’re doing just now, we

get to build a connection and we get to identity exactly what the objective is and we’ll work

towards that together. If that’s not possible we work with a lot of organisations out with the

UK, we get a lot of conference calls as well. But ideally a personal I think, they can see the

space as well.

Interviewee 2

Yes, I think the more personal it is, the better it is, the easier it is, because at the end of the

day people are dealing with people, it’s not a computer that you’re going to be dealing with.

So yes you can e mail and yes you can telephone – telephones are a bit different because you

can speak to them. I know that if I’m a client and XXX is my event partner and I’m on the

phone to her then yes she’s on the end of the phone but if I come and meet her I know that

XXX will be here,I know she’ll be dealing with it and I can ‘suss’XXX out’ and know that ,

that’s who I want to plan my event, so I definitely think personal meetings are the best way to

go forward.

German

Personal meetings, Ok. How much value do you place on customers having a memorabl e

experience?

Interviewee 1

It’s all about a memory isn’t it, if you’re not going to have, as long as it’s positive experience,

I think that’s the most important thing.

German

During this dialogue have you noticed that your clients have co-created a new value with

your firm.

Interviewee 1

Attention to detail probably because you’re adding more value.

Interviewee 2

And responding to and fulfilling individuals specific requirements, because every event – the

reason for people being here is very individual and very specific to them and there might be

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one small thing which to us in the grand scheme of things wouldn’t necessarily be the first

thing you would think of but to them it is hugely important like for example – having an

umbrella – if they want an umbrella we’ll get them one if that makes them happy. If you’re

wanting more along food lines the we have an annual conference – there are two of them –

and with next year being Scotland’s year of food and drink host – the whole menu has to be

as locally sourced as possible, and that’s their objective for next year. Last year was an

entirely different objective they didn’t want Scottish, they didn’t particularly mind if it wasn’t

locally sourced – next year is all about where the food has come from.

So I think we have to fulfil those specific requirements.

German

How do you notice that this is specific to meet their needs? And if they have developed this

EC?

Interviewee 1

I think it’s being able to rely on someone as well, because it’s like you say, if you go to IKEA

;you buy something from them, you build their furniture so you are co-creating with IKEA.

With us, they come to us, they tell us what they want to get, we plan it together- so we are

making the event together we’re building kit together, so that’s going to add more value I

suppose.

German

Yes, and has this created EC?

Interviewee 1

I think so, because if you manage to come together and to create what in the end the client

wanted there’s going to be a connection there because it takes quite a lot of appointments and

work to create that event

Interviewee2

Humans are fundamentally emotionally creatures and no matter whatever interaction you

have with anyone in any walk of life you’re always going to have an emotional connection

because humans are emotional you are always going to have an emotional connection with

them. So I know if XXX during work, we get on at work, we’ve got an emotional connection

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at work, or with friends outside, it doesn’t really matter what walk of life you’re always going

to have that it’s just making sure it’s going to be a positive one, it’s constructive.

German

In this process are your clients involved in the creation and selection of different menus such

as; vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Fresh produce, local food?

Interviewee 1

For big dinners we do a lot of menu tasting, so they come here and we have a menu either we

would send to them to let them choose something from the menu to try it. The once they are

here they can try the normal menu then if they don’t like that we can change things or if they

want to create a Vegan menu then we can do that together with the client, so we use are

normal menus as a template to start kind of, and then they can change things

German

Make it more salty, spicier, for example?

Interviewee 1

Yes or, I like the chicken served with potatoes I would prefer to have Duck – so we try the

Duck with the potatoes to see if it works. We try to create a menu together it all depends on

what the client wants we’ll always customise to the clients’ needs.

German C2C

Within the paradigm has appeared Service Dominant mind another recent model based on co-

creation of value through interaction among customers, Customer – Customer C2C. In these

meetings or forums the customer co creates a new value by sharing their experience of

creation, design, production and product delivery.

Do you usually organise meetings between your customer with the aim of sharing their

experience of the product and co-create the value of it?

Interviewee 2

Do you mean word of mouth?

German

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No, do you hold meetings especially for clients who use your services to discuss their

experiences ?

Interviewee 2

Well, first of all clients always talk. People will always speak about their experiences. That

always goes on, if they’re at the same or different events it still goes on. But we do create,

we do have…

Interviewee 1

Yah, every year we try to hold a party for our clients as a thank you and that gives them the

opportunity to get to talk together amongst their friends as well so it’s a net-working event,

for organisers who will share their experiences – so we do one proactively every year.

German

How do you organise, and assess the outcome of their experience?

Interviewee 1

It’s more of a thank you, so there aren’t any exercises to proactively share their experiences

but we do have a variety of channels for people to be able to share thoughts. We have;

MPSS, Trip Advisor, Twitter, Facebook so there are channels there where people can share

their experiences

Interviewee 2

I mean you can go on to our Twitter Feed and see lots of clients respond to; they take

photographs of things, what they have in the hotel – then they will publically thank you. So, I

know that even on Saturday we had clients in and we did some big food things for them and

they put that on to Twitter we got the exposure there.

German

Ok. Do you think this kind of party has created any loyalty to you?

Interviewee 2

I think so, because they appreciate being invited as acknowledgment of how important they

are to us – so again you’ve built a connection, they know that they are valued and that we

really want to continue working with them.

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German

I wanted to ask do you think it’s a good idea to develop C2C model of co-creation value as a

method to generate loyalty to your firm?

Interviewee 1

I don’t see why not, because it would give people the opportunity to talk about their

experiences and pick up ideas from each other. I must admit I’ve never come across

something like that, but I don’t see why it would be a bad thing.

It’s not something we do, we arrange thank you’s and people get to talk about their

experience but it isn’t a set agenda it’s people just end up talking with people from different

walks of life – so it does happen but not in a set way – you just end up talking about your

experience.

German

13.3.4 Food

In recent times scholars have taken into consideration food and beverage as an important

factor in the event programme. Even though, some of them have come to the conclusion that

food is a factor that generates customer loyalty to the event.

Are food and beverage taken into consideration when your clients organise an event with

your firm with regard to your clients return intention?

Interviewees

Oh definitely. I don’t know – well I suppose they’ll tell us what they want – if we can deliver

it then that’s the first step done, the first box ticked. It must live up to expectations or rather

not just live up to but exceed their expectations – so we have to deliver the food they weren’t

expecting, it has to be better than they were thinking – therefore they will then think oh that

was absolutely wonderful we’ll come back. Because you don’t want them to think – yeh that

was good I’ll go back, if you think that was amazing I want to go back then that’s different

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from saying that was just good, I will go back. You know – if it was good you say yeh, if it

was excellent you want to experience it again.

German

What you mean is that you want to delight your customer?

Has this had a memorable effect on customer loyalty?

Interviewee 1

Yes I would say so definitely, it creates an experience so people will remember it, so when

they remember it your brain automatically says oh I want to repeat. So if they have a great

food and beverage experience they remember it fondly so they want to come back

Interviewee 2

I think that’s evidenced by the fact that we do have so many repeat customers, we do have a

lot of annual events – they come to every single year, so I think that’s testament to what I’m

saying.

German

Is the food always a key point?

Interviewees

Yes, it’s not the only point but it is key point?

Interviewees

I think they do yes, because they don’t want to give their clients a bad experience. They want

the delegates to have a good experience because they know their delegates may not come

back so I think they bear that it mind.

Also I think we’re in the hospitality industry and when clients come here they’re being

hospitable to their clients – one of the key components in the hospitality is food and

beverage, we’ve also got service – when you first think of hospitality you think of food and

beverage and if you fail on that then that’s it you’re not being hospitable.

German

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From your point of view do you think food and beverage are important to achieve a high

level of satisfaction and memorable experience, therefore generate a loyalty to your

organisation?

Interviewees

Yes, definitely.

German

Is the food and beverage service at the conference memorable – normally?

Interviewees

I would say so because we try and give something a little bit different from what’s out there.

We try and have local food for example on Friday we tend to offer fish and chips on the

menu, you’re in Scotland and traditionally on Friday you would have fish and chips so we try

and encompass that in our working menus.

I think serving local food from either the country you are in or the city you are in but also

tailoring your menu to what event it is, for example for the Association of Lamb Producers-

they want to have some nice lamb- we try and engage with the organiser – we’ll sit down and

see how we are going to make it a memorable event for them

German

This means you are trained to look for the needs of your customers – not just surface

Interviewees

Yes we need to dig a little bit deeper to see how we are going to make an event special.

We try and see how we are going to make it a little bit special

German

EC Is a stronger factor than programme factor to achieve loyalty behaviour. And food has

become a significant part of the programme that shows a high level of satisfaction.

DO your clients take into consideration the food as a main driver to create a high level of

satisfaction thus generating a strong EC which drives loyalty?

Interviewees

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Yes food is really important for our clients.

German

What has been your strategy to gain this?

Interviewees

I think it’s with our correspondence with the clients we do it on a personal basis I think we’re

very that the clients that come to our hotel are already aware that the food and the service is a

very bit and important factor in the success of their events. And if not we just talk about it –

to make sure we are delivering what they want

German

Are you and your clients aware of achieving a memorable experience?

Interviewees

I think so because when our clients choose their menus they bear that in mind – even if you

have a very low budget, there are quite a lot of menus for low budgets, when they are

deciding which menu to go with they are bearing in mind what their clients want to create a

memorable experience for their clients – so I do think they bear that in mind.

German

Do you usually receive a lot of complaints about the food which is served at events?

Interviewees

We ensure the clients are happy with it, they know what they are going to get- we make sure

they are totally happy with what’s being served. We are always in communication with

them, we will respond to it if they don’t want something and we’ll do all we can to change it.

Obviously if you have a dinner for 500 and you’re going to serve lamb you will always get

some people like things cooked a little bit more than others – but I wouldn’t say there was

anything hugely major.

I wouldn’t say we receive a lot of complaints at all. We’re quite lucky.

German

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Why do you think this is?

Interviewees

I think it’s because it’s quite good. We’re very lucky in the hotel that everyone works well as

a team. Even though we meet the clients quite a lot – we do try and get as much information

as possible. I’ve been to event where the starter came out a little bit cold this because the

service team didn’t know there was going to be a speech first so the food was lying in the

pans for a while. So by working together as part we make sure that each department is aware

of what is happening to avoid any instances like that. It’s about asking questions.2

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13.4 Appendix 4 Summary of an Interview

13.4.1 Satisfaction

German

Factors used to generate customer satisfaction….

Interviewee

Location is a key one for us, I suppose, the location and the venues we look after are quite

varied; museum, assembly rooms which is quite a large conference venue for us – facilities

for up to 500 people, the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons – so the

venues themselves provide satisfaction in customers because they are interesting xxxx

venues. So it gives us quite a good starting point I think. It’s not just a hotel, they’re getting

to see something which has got historical significance, relevant to what the conference may

be – for example a lot of conferences at the Royal College of Physicians are medical related.

The networking side of it comes in on the industry side of it as well, the Royal College of

Surgeons has a lot of relevance.

The costs for us is something that – we are a value for money company – not expensive but

not cheap – so for a lot of people coming to conferences budget plays a large part – some

companies are not able to reach our price point. I think the product that we provide is a very

valuable product – we look at things along the lines of; food presentation, the service

provided, the innovation that we provide – so we look to satisfy our companies in all those

different ways. A lot of them will tell us that we’ve got £4 to pay per head and that is not

something we can supply – we have a lot of expenses and wages to pay and we have to cover

these costs so that’s important.

In terms of customer satisfaction we have ‘FAM’ trips – familiarisation trips – we work with

repeat clients which we can spend time and money with – we will provide dinner so that they

can see the standard we can provide. We did an awards conference recently because it is part

of our industry and for that we had 200 people in the catering so it was in our interest to say

to them we can do you this etc and say we won’t charge you for this and that – this then

exposes us to 200 industry people who can see our XXXX portfolio is fantastic for example

and will use us for that later.

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German

How important are food and beverage in CS

Interviewee

I suppose it is the most important because it is the main thing we provide – for me

specifically we go in as part of a panel of caterers - so when a client comes to us not because

of a hotel they are coming to get a quote as well as other caterers – so they are coming to us

purely as caterers – they have already established that this is where they want to hold their

conference with good facilites – seating, auditorium etc so we have to match that- for me it’s

food and drink – it’s what our product is so what we’re selling. We pride ourselves on being

an innovative company; we do dinners doing lots of different things – not exactly molecular

cuisine but something a little bit different which we are trying to incorporate that into our

conference market as well. Conferences are not always the most interesting things so a lot of

people will look forward to the food side of it - so yes food and drink is the key part of it to

us and doing things differently.

13.4.2 Emotional Commitment

Interviewee

XXXX XXXX has a family feeling a lot of it is described or found in our private market –

those that are coming to us for weddings perhaps, which is a big part of our business, so if

they have further daughters other daughters will have their weddings with us and build on it

that way – so we provide a good product and people follow us.

On the conference side it’s a little bit harder, once you’ve got people booked, for a new

company which has potentially a lot of business – I will perhaps bring our pricing down a

little bit, or give certain things away for free because it allows us to hook that company and

get them interested in what we do. – We then need to impress on the day, provide the highest

standard of product and staff to impress them so they will come back. It’s about dealing with

the organiser of the event as well. Also the follow up process as well – finding out how did

we do? How can we do things differently? and just building the relationship that way.

For some of the larger conferences we have a sales and marketing team – the sale manager

will deal with some of the larger firms – so that we can find out what other things we can

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offer – so we follow on with them and work with them so we can become their preferred and

favoured caterer.

German

Do you engender a feeling of family with your clients? And loyalty?

Interviewee

It’s probably a harder thing to do, because the clients are coming in and it’s business point of

view, with private clients it’s lets have fun – it’s all about fun – weddings etc. With business

clients you have to build up a relationship – they buy into what I can provide which is trust so

in that respect they are buying into an emotional commitment to that – I making them look

good in front of their bosses their people they have invited to their conference – If I don’t

make them look good in front of these people – they won’t come back to me again because

they will embarrassed. So I think that is the emotional things – it’s getting people to trust you

and buy into you.

So trust is the main one and to make our clients look good – they want the pat on the back at

the end of conference etc.

German

EC loyalty?

Interviewee

With clients trust - if we make them look good they trust us and will come back to us. But

we’ve got it with the venues as well- we work closely with them they can offer us 500 people

at a venue so they’ve got quite a commitment with us as well – we work with them for

several years and that builds the commitment

German

Do you know the percentage of loyalty

Interviewee

I haven’t got the figures but we’ve got a client we’ve been working with for a number of

years it’s an event for only 8 people but they come to us twice a year – they come to us and

they have got that loyalty – it must be that EC that makes them come back year after year –

it’s an investment because every so often these clients will have a big event and if we have

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done the background work – showing that there is not job too big or small – by putting in that

time and effort we will get the contract for say gala for 500 people – making me glad I put in

all that time and effort over the years for the 8 people.

German

Food generates EC?

Interviewee

I think it does, it’s hard to quantify in the conference market, the delegates are always

changing , their nationalities change- so people may come from Spain and their ideas about

what they are expecting may be different from other people from elsewhere – it’s trying to

match those. We also work with agents – people who organise conferences, so I think that is

where we can build relationships and a commitment with the clients.

The agents we work with a lot – on the events, doing tastings, building relationships about

our standards and our food, our preparation etc they will understand and recognise what we

can do and will expect and understand that we provide food to a certain standard – above the

rest not be confused. Building EC by spending time with them – doing tastings – here at our

venues as well even if they’re not hosting an event at that particular time if they’ve got the

time to come to see us and we can build up the relationship – so we could do the next event

for them – they can see the possibilities of what we can offer.

German

Breaks – food and beverage?

Interviewee

It all depends on what the guest needs, we build around that, it’s not about what’s easy for us,

it’s about what’s good for the client. We need to advise sometimes especially if it’s first time

they have done a conference – so they are scared and anxious – so we can advise , help them

make decisions about what is appropriate and possible within the parameters they give us.

Do you stress the importance of food around the breaks?

Interviewee

It’s important to show not just from the food side but from the service side as well – passing

on to a client - that the first person they will be seeing is from the catering company – so

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they have that first image right – food is key as well how it’s presented but it’s also about the

presentation.

Looking at when you’re organising – the client will get excited about certain things – so it’s

tapping into that – it’s leading them into a particular direction that you know is going to work

- so they will get involved in that sort of EC yes.

Creation of memorable experience – set design of a room ambience…

Interviewee

We do many things on that – it usually comes down to cost – it’s always something that

restricts what we do especially the conference market. However, we are bespoke caterers

therefore things in the private market which have more money – mean we do have lots of

experience of putting on themes etc – we have a big team we tap into our team for ideas-

audio visual, florists, designers – make things looks more interesting even at conferences – a

lot of conference dinners – yes theming is a fantastic thing to do but it can be difficult

because of budget constraints.

It’s easier to make an EC when you have done something different or you have a theme. You

have much more to work on and get excited about – conference market is key but doesn’t

always allow your creative juices to flow.

I did a conference recently with some Norwegians and at the end of the conference they

wanted some network time to chat over the conference – buffets filled with pretzels and beers

– like pub food creating a relaxed environment – which means they can get the best out of the

conference – being relaxed.

German – Do you thinks this relaxation helps with EC?

Interviewee

I think it comes down to the staff – person to person – is where EC comes from the manager

is relaxed then the staff can be relaxed – chat to the guests and this is the kind of system we

have.

A lot of conferences – delegates may be nervous and not relaxed in a strange city and with

new people if staff a relaxed they can feel relaxed themselves.

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German – Personal recommendations of clients?

Interviewee

Yes we get this a lot. There’s 2 ways this can happen. Personal recommendation is one – a

person /delegate who has already attended a conference and liked their experience with us

and will go on to hold their own conference later. Or within a big organisation like the health

service where we do a conference for one department who will then speak to another

department and they will recommend us as we looked after them well. I think it is the food

that has influenced their decision as we hold conferences at different venues – but the

standard of food is always excellent.

German

How do you work with venues- your relationships?

Interviewee

An example - a client came to the venue to find out about the suitability, we held the main

event at one of the venues and then moved to an evening venue at another prestigious

building in Edinburgh – if by using both our venues we can then give them a slight discount

because they are using us for both catering in both venues.

I work with our venue on things like – if we are putting on a cabaret for a client – sourcing

suitable tables and chairs – what space is available and we have regular meetings to deliver a

good event.

We generally have monthly meetings with the venue – we invite them to come to our

premises and showcase new ideas we may have – we have some wine and good food to

promote our relationship with the venue – consolidating EC – at the end of the day it is

business.

13.4.3 Co –Creating Value

German – transfer of knowledge between yourself and customers

Relationship channels?

Interviewee

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I think we have a couple of key relationship channels –providing the initial relationship

having started a number of years ago – then continues as staff members leave and new

members come and it’s about the continuation of the relationship.

Face to face communication – almost like a friend – a normal conversation not like a business

transactions. Agents remain constant but their clients change – so they have to understand

their clients’ needs but we have a secure relationship with agent.

Building up things for the future – it’s about exceeding expectations and making suggestions

by understanding what their needs are before they have realised themselves what they need –

especially the agents.

We refer to clients as with the XXXX‘ family’ – face to face and with social media as well –

everybody likes to be promoted by other people. Which elevates their presence as well as our

own – makes the relationship more like a family.

German

Do think this family feeling helps to create a memorable experience?

Interviewee

I think so, otherwise it becomes just another faceless conference – building on dialogues with

us, one to one – with not just the clients but the clients with their delegates.

There is a new law coming in which means we have to recognise and understand new

allergens etc – so that ‘s always on our minds – menus include vegetarian etc – balanced and

diverse from an interesting point of you.

German

Taste sessions offered?

Interviewee

Chefs create something new – it has to be tested by key clients and we ask for feedback to see

if it works on all levels. We do this for all types of food. Most of our food is suited to what

most people want rather than individual requirements – over and above that people do let us

know if we need to cater for one or two individuals with special dietary requirements which

we are happy to do – rather than create a special menu for everyone.

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C2C Co- Creation Value

Probably no to be honest – there is one way where we do events where we invite are clients

to come. For example our chef went and learnt some new recipes and we invite our private

clients and agents to taste our new menus and recipes.

German

Can they exchange their experiences about you

Interviewee

We do get feedback from clients but it is not exactly what you are asking? I think it sounds

like a good thing to do but I think it is a hard thing to do.

13.4.4 Food

Interviewee

I think it’s Important to exceed the expectation of the clients. In order to do that I think we

need create understanding of what their needs are so we can meet and exceed them.

Clients are very aware of what we provide they know that what we produce is bespoke –

which creates loyalty. Food and beverage is what we can shine with – it’s the main part of

loyalty to us – my gut feel is they are being loyal because of what we provide.

For clients to have great experience – often it’s the food and drink that is the exciting part of

the conference.

I’ve got one conference we did some different things on different breaks – some as energy

boosters, some as fun things – I would present it really differently- and that really sticks in

my mind – so if it was memorable for me surely it would stick in the mind of the conference

attendees.

We use a lot of our own staff which I interview and pick myself – it’s a feeling about a

special kind of person – the right personality.

German

Do you use food as a main driver for satisfaction?

110

Interviewee

It’s getting the balance right – between food and staff. How food is serviced and how a guest

will perceive the look of the food.

Interviewee

No complaints! No really if we have mis-delivered what the client was expecting perhaps we

get complaints about that – but rarely.