What do Chinese consumers want? A value framework for luxury hotels in China
研究从价值共创视角开发了豪华酒店价值的五维度框架，并发现享乐价值是中国消费者购买意愿的最强预测因素，而象征价值和关系价值影响不显著。
Purpose In the past decade, the luxury hotel industry in China has experienced rapid growth. To date, few scholars have investigated what consumers value about their experiences in luxury hotels generally, let alone specifically in the Chinese context. As a result, little is known about what Chinese consumers value in luxury hotel services. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to (1) develop a five-factor luxury hotel value framework from a value co-creation perspective; and (2) assess the relationship between these value dimensions and Chinese consumers’ intentions to stay in luxury hotels. Design/methodology/approach In total, 492 Chinese luxury hotels consumers participated in the study. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the proposed measurement model, and a hierarchical linear regression was used to test the relationship between luxury hotel value and purchase intentions. Findings The authors assessed five dimensions of luxury hotel value in the current study: utilitarian value, symbolic value, hedonic value, relational value and financial value. The regression results indicate that for Chinese luxury consumers, hedonic value is the most important predictor of luxury hotel purchase intentions, followed by financial value and utilitarian value. Interestingly, symbolic value and relational value do not significantly influence Chinese consumers’ luxury hotel purchase intentions. Practical implications Luxury hoteliers in China can use the value framework when making decisions about market segmentation and brand positioning and to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates target consumers’ purchase intentions. They can also use such knowledge to tailor their product offerings to the preferences of target consumers. Originality/value The current study is the first empirical test of a luxury hotel value framework from a value co-creation perspective in the Chinese market. Taking Chinese luxury consumers’ unique characteristics into consideration, the authors further investigate the relationships between various dimensions of luxury hotel value and Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions.