Casino Service Research Articles

코로나19로 인한 비대면 카지노 운영의 필요성

Purpose: The purpose of this study is the necessity of non-face-to-face casino operation due to COVID-19. Method: Current literature studies on various video streaming, live streaming, iGaming, and social casino operations in non-face-to-face casino operations due to COVID-19 have been investigated. Results: It was confirmed that foreign-only casinos' business performance was rapidly deteriorating due to COVID-19, while non-face-to-face casino operation performance increased. Conclusion: The introduction of non-face-to-face casino services (video streaming, live streaming, iGaming, social casino) using ICT technology to overcome the COVID-19 and periodic infectious disease crisis and maintain foreign casino customers (VIP, Mass, etc.) is also expected to be another fundamental improvement in responding to the global pandemic. Interdisciplinary Research Implications: This study is a study in the field of tourism on the current status of the non-face-to-face casino industry, and interdisciplinary research with the field of physical education in the future will be able to examine the impact of COVID-19 in the non-face-to-face sports betting market.

Development and validation of a casino service quality scale: A holistic approach

The primary purpose of this inquiry was to reexamine casino service quality scale development in a major U.S. gaming market. A secondary objective was to then examine this relationship with the satisfaction and loyalty constructs, as the structural connection among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty has been established as an indicator of retention. This examination fills a research gap by investigating different service factors in casino resort operations with distinct, measurable items. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were employed in the investigation. The four casino service quality factors that emerged were gaming service, restaurant service, hotel service, and cleanliness. This model clearly deviates from previous attempts at casino service quality scale development, and we posit that the scale in this research is more actionable for managers. Our findings indicated that the second order model, CASQUAL, was directly related to customer loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Mainland Chinese Casino Visitors to Macau: Linking Service, Brand Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

Few studies have investigated the moderating influence of brand image on customer satisfaction and loyalty. The purpose of this study was to examine the link from casino service to satisfaction (affective and cognitive satisfaction) and loyalty (revisit intention and intention to recommend). The influence of brand image as a moderator was also proposed. A quantitative survey was conducted with 240 casino visitors in Macau. The findings demonstrate that cognitively and affectively satisfied customers were more inclined to revisit and recommend a casino. These relations were stronger for customers who scored higher in brand image than for those who scored lower. The moderating influence of brand image was supported for revisit intention but was not supported for recommendation. The study provides promotional marketing strategies for the casino industry and theoretical suggestions for future study.

Effects of employees’ personality and attachment on job flow experience relevant to organizational commitment and consumer-oriented behavior

Although scholars have been interested in the relationships between various personality types and flow experience, research has neglected to examine consumer-oriented behavior from the standpoint of employee attachment styles when placed within specific types of hospitality settings. To address this gap, a comprehensive framework based on theories of personality and attachment was developed and tested to examine the effects that five personality types, in combination with job flow experience, organizational commitment, and consumer-oriented behavior have upon frontline casino service employees, when moderated by anxiety and avoidance attachment. Results reveal that employee personalities involving openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism have significant effects on job flow experience, which, in turn, positively influences employee organizational commitment and consumer-oriented behavior. Anxiety attachment moderates the relationships between these five personalities and job flow experience. Avoidance attachment was found to moderate the relationships between four of the five personality traits and job flow experience.

In-Flight Casinos, Is It Really a Nonsensical Idea? An Exploratory Approach Using Different Choice Experiments

Most airlines make various efforts to enhance their customers’ levels of in-flight satisfaction while offering alternative services and entertainment. As an innovative service item, some international airlines plan in-flight casino facilities to relieve their customers’ boredom and fatigue emanating from tedious long flights. Using a study sample of casino visitors in Korea, we intend to better understand how potential airline passengers show their willingness to pay for the hypothetical in-flight casino services. We also employ multiple choice experimental techniques to examine preference heterogeneity embedded in the sampled population. Based on study results, several management strategies are discussed for offering tailored in-flight entertainment services to targeted market segments.

Uncovering the service profit chain in the casino industry

PurposeThis paper, from a marketing and management perspective, aims to review the relevant literature germane to casino studies. The review discusses the major findings from previous studies, provides a critique and identifies research gaps for future studies. In particular, the research foci presented in this paper rest on the service profit chain (SPC) model. The review involves studies relating to the constructs of the chain model and comprises sections that are categorized based on the internal link between management and employees, interaction between casino service employees and customers and profitability link.Design/methodology/approachThe approach used in the current study involves a systematic review of the relevant academic literature with a focus on SPC studies in the casino industry, along with critical evaluation and analysis to identify research gaps. Google Scholar, EBSCOHost, Science Direct, Emerald and other academic databases were used to search relevant studies relating to casino and gambling research streams.FindingsThe review identifies several research gaps on the basis of the SPC link. Specifically, internal service quality needs more attention from both the practice and research points of view. Casino employee research should be extended to include personal traits and characteristics that may contribute to employee performance and loyalty. In the interaction between casino service providers and gamblers, more studies should be undertaken on the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing initiatives and promotions. Externally, the paper points out that more appropriate measurement of customer loyalty and casino profitability should be explored.Research limitations/implicationsThis review provides references to focusing on key competitive advantages and presents guidelines on improving business growth and profitability for casino managers. The paper also identifies research areas that future studies should attend to.Originality/valueThe paper is the first thorough literature review of gaming research on marketing and management with a focus on the SPC model. This review represents a new era of gaming research, extending the problem gambling research focus into a broader scope embracing other disciplines.

Are heavy players really loyal customers in the Korean casino industry?

This study explores whether heavy spenders in casinos are really loyal customers. It applies a volume segmentation technique in order to identify segments of the Korean casino market and then examines differences among emergent segments in terms of service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty. An onsite survey was conducted for casino gamblers at K casino, which allowed the research team to interview gamblers in a live gambling situation. A total of 470 usable questionnaires were collected. A two-step cluster analysis identified three emergent segments: recreational players, high spending players, and high frequency players. The results show that high frequency players were less satisfied with all four dimensions of casino service quality than recreational players. Ratings for satisfaction, loyalty, recommendation, and word-of-mouth were significantly lower for high frequency players and high spending players than for recreational players. These findings imply that, interestingly, traditional assumptions regarding customer loyalty do not seem to apply to the casino market. Casino marketers should focus on identifying truly loyal customers rather than merely heavy players to ensure their sustainable operation. This study addressed that volume segmentation appeared to be important in the casino industry and revealed unique characteristics of the Korean casino market.

Critical Incidents of Casino Services: Qualitative Evidence from Asian VIP Customers

Critical Incidents of Casino Services: Qualitative Evidence from Asian VIP Customers

Does mindfulness reduce emotional exhaustion? A multilevel analysis of emotional labor among casino employees

Mindfulness has received considerable attention over the past few years in prior psychology literature. However, the role of mindfulness has yet to receive sufficient attention in the service sector, especially the casino service sector. The objective of the current study is to examine whether casino frontline employees’ perceptions of surface acting mediate the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion and to investigate the moderating role of a climate of authenticity in the process of their formation of emotional exhaustion. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness has a significant negative influence on their surface acting, which ultimately has a significant positive effect on their emotional exhaustion. In addition, the significant positive association between surface acting and emotional exhaustion is moderated by the authentic climate. A higher degree of authenticity within the climate weakens the positive impact of surface acting on casino employees’ emotional exhaustion.

Effect of Past Experience on Perceived Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction: The Case of Chinese Casino Visitors

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to test the moderating effects of casino visitors’ past experience on service quality and customer satisfaction; and second, to explore how every dimension of service quality influences casino visitors’ satisfaction and also to compare the difference between first-timers and repeat visitors regarding casino visitors’ perceived service quality and satisfaction. To achieve the research aim, a sample of 304 gaming customers in Macau was used and structural equation modeling analysis was performed. The findings reveal that each casino service quality dimension has different effects on customer satisfaction. First-timers reported higher levels of service quality and satisfaction compared with repeaters. Moreover, past experience moderates the relationship between service quality and satisfaction. The research yields insights into casino tourist research. Some implications are provided for the literature as well as casino practitioners.

Leveraging employee emotional intelligence in casino profitability

Drawing on the link between service quality and casino profitability, this paper describes the roles of frontline employees in delivering casino service quality and analyses how management can nurture employee emotional intelligence's (EEI) contribution to casino revenue growth. This study is conceptual in nature. The analysis builds from identifying the emotional contents embracing service encounter involving casino frontline employees and customers. The identification area approaches from emotional work performed by employees, referred to as emotional labor, the emotional service delivered by casinos, customer attributed emotions and emotional contagion. The study comprehensively analyses how EEI can manage and regulate emotionally charged service encounters which subsequently affect customers’ perception of employee behaviours and service performance over service encounters. These encounter performance forms customers’ perception of casino service quality which leads to customer loyalty and ultimately casino profitability. This theory-focused study presents an additional venue with great potential for casinos to enhance business performance and financial growth, as well as providing new insights into the role of EEI in organizations for researchers in the relevant field.

Embracing or fighting the urge: A multilevel investigation on casino service, branding and impulsive gambling

Academics and practitioners are increasingly interested in how branding and service may affect consumer behaviors. In view of intensifying competition in the casino industry, understanding these relationships would help casino operators achieve competitive advantage. The current study draws on the relevant marketing literature, and examines the antecedents, moderators and consequences of consumer buying behaviors, with a focus on impulsive buying in the casino settings. The proposed antecedents are casino service environment and employee service. Customer brand attachment and loyalty behaviors are modeled as consequences, and casino brand equity as a cross-level moderator. A quantitative method was employed for the purpose of this study. The survey was undertaken at 22 major casinos in Macau through a multilevel design. Results show that the casino service environment indeed induces impulsive gambling. Whilst employee service has little influence on impulsive gambling, the effect is enhanced by casino brand equity. Employee service is particularly salient for casinos with low brand equity. Impulsive gambling does have significant influence on loyalty outcomes through the mediating effect of brand attachment. Brand equity also demonstrates cross-level linear and nonlinear effects on the chain relationship, with the linear effect significantly larger. Implications for practitioners and the literature are provided to conclude the paper.

Service attributes as drivers of behavioral loyalty in casinos: The mediating effect of attitudinal loyalty

This study takes its cues from the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), service quality, and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions to investigate the effect of casino service attributes on gambler loyalty. The posited theoretical model was tested using Structural Equation Modeling with a sample of 4511 gamblers. Findings indicate that the intention to return fully mediates the effect of casino ambiance and emotions on return patronage. Feelings pertaining to emotions have the greatest effect on casino players' intention to return. Additionally, emotions have the strongest indirect effect on return patronage. Results highlight the importance of player intent in order to secure their actual return to casinos. In the context of gambling loyalty research, service quality attributes influence return patronage through intention to return. Theoretically, this study shows that attitudinal loyalty is a strong predictor of action loyalty in casinos in a causal fashion.

A Model of Brand Prestige Formation in the Casino Industry

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to investigate the antecedents and consequences of brand prestige in the casino industry. To test the proposed model, this study collected data from 228 casino customers in the United States. The results of the data analysis show that three types of casino service quality (i.e. game service, service environment, and service delivery) influence the formation of brand prestige and can thus help to enhance social value, brand preference, and revisit intentions. Finally, brand consciousness moderated the relationship between brand prestige and brand preference.

AHP를 활용한 복합리조트 카지노의 개발전략 요인과 우선순위 분석

The objective of this study is to identify successful strategic factors and priority for the development of Integrated Resort(IR) casino in Korea. The study proposed a hierarchical structure for the assessment of strategic factors for IR casino. To achieve this objective this study employed Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and Delphi methods with 31 casino related experts. Delphi data were collected from the experts using an online survey through e-mail. The experts suggested five main factors with 39 components which included game facilities, casino service & marketing, themed facilities, hotel/convention facilities, and corporate responsible management. The results of AHP indicate that the most important factor of IR casino development was the development of themed facilities and landmarks, followed by casino service and marketing, hotel/restaurant, convention facilities, table game, atmosphere of casino, Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR), and slot machine. The findings will provide policy makers and developers with significant insights in preparing for the development of strategic IR casino.

Multilevel environment induced impulsive gambling

The study investigates the relationships among casino service environment, impulsive gambling and gambling behaviors. Analysis of service environment is approached from both individual and organizational perspectives. The investigation involves testing organizational service environment as a moderator and impulsive gambling as a mediator. Results indicate that casino service environment does explain significant variance in impulsive gambling which subsequently influences gambling behaviors. The mediation testing shows that impulsive gambling demonstrates partial and full mediation effects between various service environment factors and the outcome variables. Casino service environment on an organizational level also successfully moderates the linkage between individual perception of service environment, impulsive gambling and gambling behaviors. The findings have strategic implications for both researchers and practitioners. In particular, this study contributes to service and gambling research by incorporating individual and organizational environmental factors into consumer behavior analyses. Potential applications of the findings are highlighted for casinos and problem counselors.

Determining the Attributes of Casino Customer Satisfaction: Applying Impact-Range Performance and Asymmetry Analyses

ABSTRACTThis case study assesses the asymmetric relationship between the relative importance of service quality attributes and overall customer satisfaction in Korean casino settings, using impact-range performance analysis (IRPA) and impact asymmetry analysis (IAA). Results validated the rigor of IRPA and IAA over importance–performance analysis (IPA) in identifying key determining attributes of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction among various casino service quality attributes based on three-factor theory. The theoretical and practical implications of this study’s findings are included to enrich both academicians’ and casino industry professionals’ understanding of customers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards casinos, and the development of a marketing strategy.

Revisiting Problem Gamblers’ Harsh Gaze on Casino Services: Applying Complexity Theory to Identify Exceptional Customers

ABSTRACTThis study revisits the theory, data, and analysis in Prentice and Woodside (2013). The study here applies fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to customer service–evaluation data from seven mega casinos in the world's gambling capital—Macau. The study includes contrarian case analysis and offers complex algorithms of highly favorable customer outcomes—an alternative stance to theory and data analysis in comparison to the dominant logic of statistical analyses that Prentice and Woodside (2013) report. Contrary to their principal hypotheses, Prentice and Woodside (2013) report a negative main effect between problem gambling and casino service evaluations. The findings in the reanalysis here include more complex, nuanced views on the antecedent conditions relating to high problem‐gambling, immediate service evaluations, and desired customer behavior measures in casinos. Counter to the findings using symmetric testing via multiple regression analysis in Prentice and Woodside (2013), the present study, using asymmetric testing via fsQCA, recognizes the occurrence of causal asymmetry, and draws conclusions from different algorithms leading to high scores for favorable and unfavorable outcome conditions. The findings indicate that not all problem gamblers gaze on casino services harshly; the minority of problem gamblers who view casinos positively versus harshly may be the most valuable customers for the casinos—the casinos’ exceptional customers.

Linking service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in casinos, does membership matter?

The paper compares casino service quality evaluations, customer satisfaction and loyalty between casino members and nonmembers, and investigates the relationships among these variables. In particular, the study examines a mediation relationship by proposing that customer satisfaction intervenes between casino service quality and customer loyalty. The investigation is undertaken at six Macau casinos that provide membership to customers. The results show that customers without holding any membership have higher evaluations of casino service quality; nevertheless, casino members tend to choose the casino which they hold membership with as their first choice. The mediation testing indicates that including customer satisfaction in the model increases the variance in customer loyalty only in the case of casino members. Finally, each casino service quality dimension has different effect on gambler satisfaction and loyalty. The research yields insights into customer loyalty research. Strategic implications are provided for the literature as well as casino practitioners.

Problem Gamblers’ Harsh Gaze on Casino Services

ABSTRACTThis study provides a first look at the perspectives and profiles of casino problem gamblers. The study proposes that problem gamblers (1) have unique antecedent conditions and (2) evaluate their casino service more favorably than nonproblem gamblers. While first proposition receives support, the findings counter the second; surprisingly, problem gamblers view casino service with a harsh gaze. The coverage here includes overall and specific findings from face‐to‐face interviews with gamblers (n = 348) inside seven casinos in the world's largest gaming destination (Macau). The interviews included asking participants to complete the “Problem Gambling Severity Index” (identified to participants as “My gambling‐related experiences”). The study includes both fit and predictive validities of overall service quality models for each of the seven casinos—these findings support the nomological validity that specific patterns of antecedents and outcomes associate with problem gambling. Policy and managerial implications inform how to go about creating unique marketing service designs to assist problem gamblers in managing their gambling behavior.