| While discussions and variables among experiential marketing, experiential value, satisfaction, and loyalty have been studied by researchers for many years, there is little attention and no consensus on how to conceptualize or operationalize a model of causal relationships among these variables. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to both synthesize and build on the efforts to conceptualize the effects of guests' perceptions of experiential marketing, experiential value, and satisfaction on guests' behavioral loyalty. Specifically, this study reported an empirical assessment of a model of causal relationships that simultaneously considered the direct and indirect effects of these variables on guest loyalty. Main issues regarding the reasons and benefits of understanding guest loyalty model were identified and discussed.; This study involved a survey, comprised of five sets of questionnaire concerning demographic data, guests' perceptions of experiential marketing, guests' perceived experiential value, guest satisfaction, and guest loyalty. Seven hundred questionnaires were distributed at sixteen hot-spring hotels of Taitung County in eastern Taiwan. Five hundred and twenty-seven valid questionnaires were collected after discarding incomplete questionnaires ninety-eight and its rate of returned responses was 75.28%. One pilot study was conducted to examine the content validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The content and translation (English to Chinese) of the questionnaire was also examined by the panel of experts, two American and two Taiwanese professors.; The quantitative analysis of the questionnaire was conducted through LISREL and SPSS statistical software for all analyses. In order to understand the general background of the sample, frequency and percentage of demographic data were calculated by using the Software Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSSPC+) 12.0. For using structural equation modeling techniques, LISREL 8.52 was utilized to test validity and reliability of the each measurement constructs as well as to examine the causal relationships among them.; Results of the study indicated that while guests' perceptions of experiential marketing had a direct impact on loyalty behavior, the relationship between guests' perceptions of experiential marketing and loyalty behavior was strongly mediated by perceived experiential value and satisfaction. In conclusions, discussion, and recommendations of the findings for the future research were discussed in this study. |
