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

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Introduction Practitioners as well as academics understand the central importance of customer loyalty to business success. Many studies underline this intuitively sound statement with empirically derived gures: Reichheld (1993) reports signicant growth rates of 60 per cent of an American credit card rm by enhancing the retention rate of its customer base by 5 per cent. Rust and Zahornik (1993) found that it can be ve times more expensive to attract new customers than to retain existing customers. It is argued that increasing retention rates secure future revenues and reduce the cost of future customer transactions (Matzler and Stahl, 2000) that positively contributes to the shareholder value of a rm (Anderson et al., 1994; Anderson et al., 2004; Srivastava et al., 1999). This is also true for skiing destinations as in increasingly saturated marketplaces, the success of a destination strongly depends on a thorough analysis of tourist motivations and on customer satisfaction and loyalty (Yoon and Uysal, 2005). Looking at the determinants of customer loyalty it becomes evident that customer

Managing Service Quality Vol. 18 No. 2, 2008 pp. 163-178 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0960-4529 DOI 10.1108/09604520810859210

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satisfaction that has been regarded as major driver of loyalty is a necessary but not sufcient condition for loyalty. Many researchers claim that the image of a product or service essentially determines the extent of loyalty. With our study we are able to show that indeed very satised customers differ in their loyalty intentions with regard to the perceived image of a ski destination. The relationship between customer loyalty and customer satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a main determinant of customer loyalty. Numerous studies show the positive association between satised customers and repurchase intentions (Mittal and Kamakura, 2001; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml et al., 1996). Positive effects of satisfaction on loyalty are reected in the customers intentions to repurchase a product or service and his/her willingness to recommend it other people. As a consequence rms can be assured of a stable customer base, thereby reducing the acquisition and transaction costs, and attenuating the volatility of revenues (Srivastava et al., 1999). Word of mouth (WOM) is the second, most important form of loyalty. Not directly manipulable by the rm it is of major importance for it, as new customers may be attracted by recommendations of others. Due to the personalized transmission of word-of-mouth to the recipient and the content of personal experiences it is seen as a more trustworthy source of information in the decision process (Swan and Oliver, 1989). Almquist and Roberts (2000) state that consumer advocacy is a major factor positively inuencing brand equity. This might be particularly true for services, as due to the nature of many services an examination of an offer in advance is not feasible and perceived risk of a possible offer rises. From many studies we know however that customer satisfaction does not translate directly into customer loyalty, and that the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty is not a linear one (Oliver, 1999). Gierl (1993) reports that the majority of customers who assert to be principally brand loyal did switch the brand recently even if they were satised with their regular brand. Finkelman and Goland (1990) found that the loyalty rate for car sellers among very satised customers was only 40 to 58 per cent, and Reichheld (1993) claims that 65 to 85 per cent of migrated customers were satised or very satised with their former supplier. As Mittal and Kamakura (2001) showed in their analysis, repurchase rates may also differ systematically among groups at the same level of rated satisfaction. Despite these contradictory results hardly any researcher doubts the necessity of customer satisfaction as a precondition for loyalty. The rst hypothesis thus is formulated in accordance with the actual state of research: H1. Overall satisfaction has positive inuence on loyalty. Drivers of loyalty the role of image In the search of further determinants of customer loyalty, researchers repeatedly proposed image as an important component. Fredericks and Salter (1995) view image as an ingredient of the customer value package that, together with price, product quality, service quality and innovation, determines the extent of loyalty. Similarly, the rating framework of the pan-European Satisfaction Index (EPSI) contains image as a

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determinant inuencing the perceived value, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Eskildsen et al., 2004). A favourable image is viewed as a critical aspect of a companys ability to maintain its market position. It has been treated as a construct reecting the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of a destination (Crompton, 1979, p. 18.), a rm or product. The relationship between image and loyalty has brought differing results: while Sirgy and Samli (1989) report a direct relationship among image and store loyalty, the ndings of Bloemer et al. (1998) in the banking industry indicate an indirect relationship where the inuence of image is mediated by service quality. In tourism Kandampully and Suhartanto (2000) found image to be one of the two most important factors for guests of a hotel to consider repurchase and recommendation. For tourist destinations in general, assessing the destinations image is crucial to the design of effective place marketing strategies. Destination image itself may serve as an umbrella for the different geographical units, tourist attractions and various providers of tourist infrastructure and accommodation, and therefore has an enormous impact onto the single enterprises in a destination (Mossberg and Kleppe, 2005). Imagery studies therefore have a long tradition in tourism research. Numerous studies centred on the measurement of destination image (e.g. Echtner and Ritchie, 1993), the structure of destination image (e.g. Walmsley and Young, 1998) and the formation of image (e.g. Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). Concerning the relationship between image and loyalty evidence in tourism literature becomes rare. Kotler et al. (1996) among the few investigating the impact of image on loyalty assume the following sequence: image ! quality ! satisfaction ! post-purchase behaviour. On that basis Bigne et al. (2001) propose that image impacts simultaneously on all three components, namely perceived quality, satisfaction and loyalty intentions. Chi and Qu (2007) in their recent study followed an explorative approach in testing the impact sequence of image, and found that considering the chi-square-difference test, the model where image impacts simultaneously on attribute satisfaction as well as on overall satisfaction, but not directly on loyalty, performed best. This however is rather derived empirically and is less persuasive from a theoretical perspective. Thus, concerning the relationship between image and loyalty there is little agreement among researchers. In contrast, what is widely agreed is that image can be regarded as an attitude-like construct consisting of cognitive and affective evaluations that are reected in the beliefs about and feelings towards an object or destination (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). If image can be viewed as a form of beliefs about a destination it necessarily leads to expectation that will be conrmed or not in the actual holiday experience. This rationale can be derived by drawing the comparison from satisfaction literature and the formation process of attitudes and expectations (Oliver, 1980). Image in this sense is part of a recursive process of attitude change and formation, where the attitude (image) at time1 (t1) leads to expectations about a product. The actual experience of the product and the satisfaction about it at t1 will inuence the attitude (image) at t2, which again is the basis for the disconrmation process and the satisfaction of t2, and so forth. Therefore, in our model we do not postulate a one-way-impact of image on satisfaction, but rather model the

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relationship in form of a reciprocal inuence by drawing a simple correlation. Image in accordance with the rating framework of the pan-European Satisfaction Index (EPSI) and studies in other service elds as cited above is assumed to have a direct impact on post-purchase behaviour: H2. Image has a positive impact on loyalty intentions.

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Evolving loyalty intentions over time Following the rationale explained above that image and overall satisfaction are part of an interdependent process of attitude formation, an important question arises: how does the impact of image and overall satisfaction on loyalty intentions evolve over time? From other studies we know that loyalty intentions are characterised by dynamic aspects. Mittal et al. (1999) in their study in the automobile industry found that service satisfaction was the more important driver for loyalty intentions in the early stage of product use, whereas product satisfaction with the car was the main determinant later in the relationship. Likewise, the relative impact of overall satisfaction and image on loyalty towards ski destinations might change over time. Following traditional attitude research we expect that attitudes evolve over time as the market develops, and the customer gathers experience. With growing experience attitudes towards a brand should become stronger, more accessible, and resistant to change (Priester et al., 2004). In their recent study Johnson et al. (2006) were able to demonstrate that the relative importance of perceived value for loyalty intentions declined over the relationship time, while the importance of two attitude-type constructs, namely affective commitment and brand equity, increased. This study was carried out in the emerging markets of cell phones, which is highly different from services markets and tourism destinations, which are characterized by low switching barriers and high variety seeking behaviour of the customer base. In line with attitude research we propose: H3. The relative importance of overall satisfaction and image on loyalty will be moderated by experience. The more often a visitor has chosen the same destination the more pronounced the image should be, and the less important is the impact of satisfaction for loyalty intentions. Study In the following study we demonstrate the impact of destination image on revisiting intentions of customers in various skiing destinations in the Alps. We broke down the data analysis into two steps: rst a general model is established showing the impact of customer satisfaction and image on loyalty; second we map the satisfaction and image values on two axes, thereby creating a grid with four elds where the differing loyalty intention rates for each segment become evident. Research design Data from the tourism quality check (TQC) study, conducted in the winter 2004/2005, was used to examine the main effects of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty for alpine ski resorts and to investigate the moderating effects. The TQC study is an annual online customer satisfaction survey where more than ten leading alpine ski

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

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Characteristics Gender Age Female Male 14-19 years 20-29 years 30-39 years 40-49 years 50-59 years 60-69 years Over 70 years One-day-trip Weekend Ski holiday Full season pass Skiing Snowboard Others Single Partnership without children Partnership with children Single-parent 1 time 2-5 times 6 -10 times More than 10 times

% of n 6; 172 36.1 62.9 4.7 23.4 31.5 24.4 12.7 3 0.3 11.1 17.1 65.8 5.6 82.6 12.9 4.4 26.2 32.4 39.4 2 14 28.7 17.2 40.1

Type of stay

Type of winter sport

Personal life cycle

Number of visits to the ski resort

Table I. Sample information

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visitors is between 30 and 49 years old, this again is in line with the ofcial statistics, although the elder age group of 60-69 years aged respondents is under-represented (3 per cent in the sample in comparison to 13 per cent in the ofcial statistics), which might be attributed to the type survey. Additionally we have questioned the type of stay, where the majority has undertaken a holiday, and the type of winter sport, where the vast majority prefers skiing followed by snowboarding. Last, the table is completed by information of the respondents personal life cycle stage and their personally estimated level of skiing skills/snow boarding skills. Measures In literature many diverging methods of measuring destination image have been suggested and applied (for a review of tourism measures see Gallarza et al., 2001), and some authors have argued that its measurement is lacking theoretical foundation (Fakeye and Crompton, 1991). Basically, researchers have followed two differing approaches to operationalise image: in the multi-attribute approach, tourism image is assessed on a multi item battery of attributes, obtaining the overall image as a sum ore average of attribute scores (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999; Chi and Qu, 2007). The second approach is followed less often, and captures image with a single-item-scale rating the destination image from very favourable to very unfavourable (Bigne et al., 2001). According to Echtner and Ritchie (1993) tourism image can be assessed on attribute-based dimensions and on a holistic dimension, ranging from common traits to unique features of a destination. For the scope of our study we have chosen to follow the multi-attribute approach and to assess image on the holistic dimension. We have renounced on integrating items reecting unique features of a ski destination, as we have completed the survey in ten different ski destinations. The items selected have been gained from previous studies in the Mountain quality check survey, and are well tested. Respondents were asked to which degree they would associate a certain ski resort ` with the following attributes: exclusivity, fun, good apres ski, high quality, luxury, authenticity, snow security, experiencing nature, family-friendliness, and cosiness (1 very much, 5 not at all). The measurement of customer satisfaction has received considerable attention in literature (Oliver, 1997), and there is wide accordance that the measurement of overall satisfaction differs from attribute satisfaction. In the service quality literature attribute satisfaction is seen to reect quality with single aspects of an offer that is consequently inuencing overall satisfaction (Boulding et al., 1993; Brady and Cronin, 2001). In accordance with literature (e.g. Fornell, 1992; Mittal et al., 1999) we expect overall satisfaction to reect the overall evaluation of a stay and thus it should be the main driver of loyalty, therefore we assessed overall satisfaction with two items on a ve-point Likert-scale from 1 (very satised/fully agree) to 5 (not satised/fully disagree) with two items (how satised have been with X overall? and overall I have enjoyed my stay at X). In relation to service quality and overall satisfaction, behavioural intentions as consequences have been discussed in literature. Among the most discussed forms of loyalty repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth have been investigated (Swan and

Oliver, 1989; Zeithaml, 2000; Zeithaml et al., 1996). In this tradition we have integrated two items capturing loyalty intentions on the two dimensions (repurchase intention and word-of-mouth) on a ve-point scale (from 1 yes, sure, to 5 no, for sure not). Data analysis structural equation modelling In the rst step a structural model was established with structural equation modelling in order to determine the structure of the various constructs and to detect the causal relationships. Figure 1 shows the inuence of customer satisfaction and image on loyalty, and conrms our H1 and H2, as both components exert a positive inuence on loyalty. As the holistic assessment of image according to the data could be split up into three sub-dimensions we have modelled the image as a second order construct. Thus image as an overall impression of a ski destination is reected in the three sub-dimensions of luxury, family/cosiness, and fun. As can be viewed from the path-model we report a strong correlation between overall satisfaction and image (r 0:72). This reects the close connections and the reciprocal inuence of the two constructs, and conrms our view that image and satisfaction should be seen in a strong interactive relationship. Concerning the impact of the two constructs on loyalty, overall satisfaction (b 0:46) is still the most important driver of loyalty, however, also image exerts a strong inuence (b 0:33) on loyalty. Together the two determinants are able to explain 54 per cent of the variance of loyalty intentions. Overall, the model seems to t the data very well as all t measures clearly meet the required cut-off levels whereby the global t measures GFI and AGFI should exceed 0.9 (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1996), and the incremental t measures TLI and CFI are supposed to reach at minimum 0.95 (Hu and Bentler, 1999). Also the psychometric properties of the single constructs

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Figure 1. The impact of image (2nd order) and satisfaction on loyalty (path model)

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indicate an appropriate structure (Table II). All indicators have good factor loadings and the respective factor reliabilities closely approach or surmount the required reliabilities. Whereas for the scale reliability with Crombachs alpha a minimum of 0.7 is required (Nunnally, 1978), in structural equation modelling factor reliabilities should exceed 0.6 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988), which is the case for the constructs in our model. Equally the average variance extracted of the constructs can be judged as satisfactory with values close to or over 0.5, and thus convergent validity of the constructs can be seen as fullled (Hair et al., 2006). Discriminant validity can be estimated by calculating the Fornell-Larcker-ratio (Fornell and Larcker, 1981), the reached value must not exceed 1 as displayed in Table I all of our constructs comply with this guideline. The Image-satisfaction-grid The fact that image has a highly signicant inuence onto loyalty becomes even more evident when taking a look at the descriptive gures of revisiting intention and word-of-mouth. In Figure 2 we mapped the satisfaction and image scores on two axis, resulting in a four-eld-grid. On both dimensions the scores for the single indicators according to the conrmatory factor analysis have been summed up and the mean was computed. Due to the coding from 1 (very much associated, very satised) to 5 (not at all associated, not satised) a small value on each dimension indicates a better standing. Accordingly eld no. 4 represents the most satised customers who also have a most favourable image of a ski resort. Contrary customers located in eld no. 2 are neither very satised nor do they indicate to have a positive overall image of a destination. The gures in the centre of each eld in the grid indicate the extent to which customers are willed to stay loyal with a ski resort. We report three indicators of
Average variance extracted 0.43

Construct Luxury

Item Luxury Exclusivity High quality Snow security Coziness Family-friendliness Fun ` Apres-Ski Luxury Family Coziness Fun Overall satisfaction Enjoyment of stay Revisiting intention Word-of-mouth

Factor loading 0.59 0.62 0.87 0.62 0.74 0.57 0.88 0.49 0.75 0.80 0.68 0.95 0.92 0.56 0.90

Factor reliability 0.75

Fornell-Larckerratio 0.67

Family/coziness Fun Image (2nd order)

0.60 0.58 0.79

0.43 0.41 0.56

0.79 0.71 0.92

Table II. Psychometric properties of the constructs in the path model

Customer satisfaction Loyalty

0.94 0.69

0.88 0.53

0.69 0.92

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Figure 2. The imagesatisfaction-grid

loyalty: the two indicators used in the conrmatory factor analysis, namely revisiting intention (RVI) and word-of-mouth (WOM), and additionally we report an extra index called long-term relatedness (LTR), where customers where asked whether in future they intend to remain/become regular guests of a ski resort. The grid clearly shows that image makes a dramatic difference in loyalty behaviour: customers in eld no. 4 evidence the highest revisiting intentions, word-of-mouth and intentions to remain regular visitor of a ski resort. Customers in eld no. 1 are equally satised with a ski resort, but are distinguished from eld no. 4 customers by a lower perception of image. This shortfall results in less favourable loyalty indices, as all three indicators of loyalty are lower than in eld no. 4. The most extreme difference becomes evident looking at eld no. 2, which represents customers with modest satisfaction and image ratings: only 62 per cent of these customers intend to revisit the same ski destination again (almost 30 per cent less than in eld no. 4), and only 48 per cent of these customers are willed to recommend this ski resort to others (50 per cent less than in eld no. 4). The moderating inuence of experience To test H3 (the relative importance of image and overall satisfaction on loyalty differs along the customers experience with the destination), we conducted a multi-group analysis in AMOS. The number of visits to ski destination served as a moderating variable, and we split the data into two groups according to the number of repeat visits

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to a ski destination (how often have you been to destination X). The group with rst-time-visitors comprises n 855, the second group with regular guests (more than ten visits to the same destination) was n 2; 456. One model restricts the parameters of satisfaction on loyalty, and image on loyalty, to be equal across groups. The more general model allows these parameters to vary across groups (see also Homburg and Giering, 2001). If x2 improves signicantly when moving from the restricted to the more general model, image and overall satisfaction have a differential effect on loyalty, and experience can be seen as a moderator. Signicance is assessed on the basis of the x2-difference between the models with the use of a x2-distribution with one degree of freedom. In the rst step of the moderator analysis, an overall x2-difference test for the moderator variable was conducted. Two models one that imposes equality constraints on image and satisfaction on loyalty across the subgroups, and a general model that allows these parameters to vary freely across the subgroups were compared. The null hypothesis assumes that the visitors experience with a ski destination does not have any effect on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty, and image and loyalty. This null hypothesis must be rejected, as the Dx2, for all parameters set equal across subgroups, is signicant (Dx2 53; 496 *), indicating that the number of visits to a ski destination serves as moderator variable (Table III). Regarding the two regression paths from satisfaction and image on loyalty however, only for one our assumption can be conrmed. The satisfaction loyalty relationship is signicantly moderated by experience, thus the more often visitors chose to travel to a ski destination the less important overall satisfaction for future loyalty intentions will be. Image in relation to overall satisfaction gains in importance, while for the absolute value of this regression path, no signicant amplication can be observed. This might appear surprising on the rst view, however, the model comparison shows, that there are signicant differences among subgroups concerning the measurement weights. The assumption that image is perceived equally in both groups signicantly pejorates the model (Dx2 50:940 *). Thus it can be concluded that the inuence of experience on image is located directly at the perceptual level of image. This again is in line with the argument made by Baloglu and McCleary (1999) who state that the formation of image for one and the same destination differs according to target groups. In our case the two groups that are distinguished by their visiting frequency can be regarded as two different target groups. Members of these two groups obviously have different image perceptions. Comparing the standardized factor loadings of the
Chi-square difference (DDF 1) Regular guest (.10 times) 0:170 (t 11:488 *) 0:147 (t 7:727 *) Dx2 11:037 * Dx2 0:001

Path Satisfaction-loyalty Image-loyalty

Experience 1 time 0:302 (t 9:448 *) 0:145 (t 3:013 *)

Table III. Results of the moderator analysis (number of visits as moderator)

Notes: Dx2 for all gammas set equal across subgroups (DDF 4): 53.496 *; Dx2 for measurement weights set equal across subgroups (DDF 7): 50.940 *

two groups they appear to be higher in the group with regular visitors than in the novice group (see appendix). Thus it can be concluded that with increasing number of visits the image becomes stronger, more pronounced, and less susceptible to change. This again is in line with studies in literature we have cited above (Johnson et al., 2006). Discussion and managerial implications Customer satisfaction is an important driver of loyalty. It is however not a very reliable and not the only determinant of loyalty. With our analysis we show: . that image in addition to overall satisfaction executes a strong impact on loyalty intentions; . with our satisfaction-image-grid we were able to demonstrate how large the differences in loyalty intentions between equally satised customers are, if they only differ in their image perceptions of a ski resort; and . the moderator analysis revealed that image in the course of time gains in relative importance for loyalty intentions compared to overall satisfaction. A number of theoretical and managerial implications can be derived from the ndings of this study. Most ski resorts use some form of satisfaction survey (Perdue, 2002). As brand image obviously plays an important role, in these surveys brand image should be included. For managers of ski resorts the grid is a useful tool to determine the own position in terms of satisfaction and image, two important indicators of loyalty. In a next step, the different ski resorts could be mapped within this grid, thereby determining the loyalty propensity of the customer base, and at the same time having a benchmark against other ski resorts. Using structural equation modelling, for each single ski resort it is possible to assess the relative importance of brand image versus overall satisfaction. Hence, mangers of ski resorts should be able to better identify the drivers of loyalty and derive more effective strategies to increase the customers willingness to revisit the ski resort and their willingness to recommend it to others. This can be reached by fostering concrete improvements to enhance satisfaction and image of a destination. In particular for rst-time visitors a good overall performance is crucial to initiate positive loyalty intentions. For visitors coming for the rst time to a ski destination, the evaluation of attribute performance and the integration of that in an overall satisfaction judgement is the most important driver for loyalty. Image at this point of time exerts a signicant inuence too on loyalty intentions, but a far less important one than overall satisfaction. Once the one-time guest decides to revisit a destination the satisfaction-image-interdependence leads to clear and relative robust image perceptions, which are less susceptible to change. With increasing experience the importance of overall satisfaction declines, and in relation that of image increases. This implies that, once a positive image has been built up, visitors do no longer pay thus much attention on performance evaluation and are more apt to give a further chance if failures happen. For managers of ski destinations this means to perform best at new customers, and to accurately cultivate image for repeat customers.

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Conclusions and future research directions From a theoretical point of view it has been shown that brand image, or in our case destination image, as a more affective, and less cognition-based perception indeed has an additional inuence on customer loyalty. This logic can be derived if one accepts the above outlined, and widely agreed view that image is an attitude-like construct with cognitive and affective components (Baloglu and McCleary, 1999). It implies that it is not mere the cognitive evaluation of service quality and in turn customer satisfaction but also the more emotional perception of the brand image that drives loyalty, and inuences the consumers intention to recommend the destination to others and their plan to revisit a destination again. Hence, this study supports previous ndings that found that emotions in addition to cognitions are relevant. Whereas, however, most previous studies in the service industry focused on consumption-specic emotions, i.e. emotions originated from cognitive evaluations of products or services, and their impact on customer satisfaction (Mano and Oliver, 1993; Mooradian and Olver, 1997; Oliver, 1993), we focus on the more emotional content of brands, independent of perceived quality and satisfaction. This lead us to the interesting question, under which conditions the cognitive evaluation of service quality and satisfaction have a stronger impact on loyalty, and in which situations do the more affective perceptions of brand image shape loyalty intentions. Previous literature has identied a number of moderating variables, e.g. personal characteristics, situational factors etc. (Homburg and Giering, 2001; Matzler et al., 2007). With our study we enlarge the knowledge in this domain, as our results show that the importance of cognitive satisfaction evaluation for the prediction of loyalty intentions declines with increasing number of repurchase. In relation to overall satisfaction the impact of image on loyalty increases although the absolute values do not vary signicantly. Future research should investigate further moderators of these relationships, for example the strength of these relationships might vary across customers (e.g. extremely brand-conscious customers vs. non-brand-conscious), and travel purpose. In the case of hotels, for example, business travellers could rely more on service quality whereas for tourists (e.g. honey-mooners) it could be more the brand that counts. Generalizing these ndings, it could be that for some services image is the more important determinant for loyalty. This could be true especially for services where the potential for creating differentiating value propositions has been fully exploited and the offers of all competitors look alike. Here, a favourable image might be the only non-imitable factor that leads to higher loyalty among customers, as it provides the customer base with an additional social value. Image might be a more important determinant for loyalty also in highly technical services, or in services where the number of customer-employee-interactions has been largely replaced by self-servicing technologies (for example the banking industry). A favourable image from off-line times might be transferred to the new-media era, and serve as a cadre for trust and loyalty. Finally, the number of moments of truth could moderate the relationships. The more moments of truth a service potentially has the more possibilities the customer has to evaluate the service on a cognitive basis. With fewer moments of truth the customer has to rely more on the affective evaluation and brand image of a service than binding loyalty intentions to cognition-based satisfaction judgements.

Limitations Limitations of our study may be seen in the self-selected sample, as respondents have been recruited via the ski resorts web page. Thus customers who never visited one of the web pages had no opportunity to be part of the sample. However, studies show that especially in tourism, online information search and booking constitute a common consumer pattern of customers (Market, 2006). In order to assure the comparability of the survey across ski resorts the questionnaire in the online survey is standardised, thus for each ski resort the same questions are posed. This implicates that unique features or product specialisation strategies of ski resorts that might shape image too, are not weighted correspondingly in the survey. In order to resolve this problem unstructured interview techniques for capturing destination image in all ten ski resorts would be necessary, which goes beyond the scope of our study.
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Appendix
Factor loadings regular guest (.10 times) 0.657 0.880 0.637 0.614 0.746 0.589 0.756 0.546

Image dimension

Item Exclusivity High quality Snow security Luxury Coziness Family-friendliness Fun ` Apres-Ski

Factor loadings 1 time 0.546 0.838 0.591 0.510 0.691 0.595 1.027 0.460

178

Luxury

Family Table AI. The standardized factor loadings Fun

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

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