Behavioral Intentions of Wine Tourists in Southern New Jersey
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Behavioral Intentions of Wine Tourists in Southern New Jersey Using the Experience Economy Framework by L. Renee Baker A dissertation submitted to the faculty of Wilmington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration Wilmington University April 2016 ii Behavioral Intentions of Wine Tourists in Southern New Jersey Using the Experience Economy Framework by L. Renee Baker I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standards required by Wilmington University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration. Signed _________________________________________________________ Ruth T. Norman, Ph.D., Chair of Dissertation Committee Signed _________________________________________________________ Robert W. Rescigno, Ed.D., Member of Dissertation Committee Signed _________________________________________________________ John L. Sparco, Ph.D., Member of Dissertation Committee Signed _________________________________________________________ Donald W. Durandetta, Ph.D., Dean, College of Business Original signed copy is on file in the DBA Dean’s office and is available upon request. iii Dedication I dedicate this dissertation with gratitude and love to my awesome and amazing family, my supportive and loving husband, Les and my beautiful and smart children, Ty, Ebony, and Nia. You mean the world to me. I love you all so much. Your belief in me and support of this process made this possible. To my parents, Ronald and Emily, your unwavering love and support has always been appreciated. I love you and appreciate you more and more every day. To my forever friend and ‘sister’, Linda, you are the best. Thank you for always being there for me throughout life’s journey. To my close friend, Laila, from business school and beyond, thank you for being a friend. I am especially grateful for all of your help and support including weathering the elements to help me get my research done. I appreciate you, babe. To my buddy, Laney, thank you for being a friend and driving to endless wineries and exploring Southern New Jersey to get this research completed. To my extended family and friends, thank you for standing by me. Every experience, both good and bad, is a learning opportunity. Throughout this journey, I have learned so much about myself and what it truly means to pursue what you really want. Although there is so much more I want to learn, it will be more focused and more aligned to my desires and how I want to feel. So while this journey has ended, I am looking forward to what’s next in this journey called life and enjoying every moment of the ride with gratitude and happiness. Like a fine wine, I will only get better with time. The best is yet to come…onwards and upwards. Cheers! iv Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my dissertation committee for their patience, guidance, an unwavering support, and valuable feedback throughout the dissertation journey. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Robert Rescigno and Dr. Ruth Norman for their extraordinary leadership of the DBA program during my tenure at Wilmington University. Also, I thank the faculty and staff of the DBA program at Wilmington University for their commitment to excellence in teaching and their dedication to helping students succeed. To my wonderful and supportive classmates. Your intelligence, professionalism, ambition, and inspiration helped me get through. I hope I encouraged you as much as you have encouraged me. Thank you, Dr. Donna Quadri-Felitti & Dr. Anne Marie Fiore for your extensive research on this topic and your time and guidance throughout the process. Many thanks to the American Wine Society, specifically Joe Broski, Board Member and Jaki Giberson, CS, Chapter Chair of the Hammonton Chapter. To all of the Southern Jersey vineyard owners that took the time to talk to me and allowed me to complete the research at the vineyards - Thank you. Last but not least, I have to acknowledge the person who encouraged me to get a doctorate. This process would not have started if it wasn’t for Dr. Denny Gioia, who during my MBA program at Penn State, saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself and encouraged me to pursue a doctorate. v Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand the experiential perceptions and behavioral intentions of wine tourists in the Southern New Jersey Wine Region using the experience economy framework. The central constructs of the experience economy model are the 4Es: education, esthetics, entertainment, and escapist. To date, there is limited information and research on wine tourism in New Jersey. This study surveyed 197 participants and explored the extent to which satisfaction with these dimensions of the winery experience correlates with intent to return and intent to recommend. The findings suggest that wine tourists in Southern New Jersey are pleased with their winery experiences. Furthermore, the findings indicate that perception of esthetics and education was positively associated with intent to return in the Southern New Jersey wine region. Perception of esthetics, education, entertainment, and escapist are positively associated with intent to recommend. Overall, the perception of esthetics had the largest effect on both intent to return and to recommend. vi Table of Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iv Abstract ......................................................................................................................................v List of Figures .............................................................................................................................x Figure .........................................................................................................................................x List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xi Table ......................................................................................................................................... xi List of Appendices ................................................................................................................... xii INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 Background .................................................................................................................................1 The Wine Industry ......................................................................................................................2 Wine Tourism .............................................................................................................................3 Wine Tourism and the Experience Economy ...............................................................................4 The Southern New Jersey Wine Industry .....................................................................................6 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................9 Research Aims and Objectives .................................................................................................. 11 Working Model ......................................................................................................................... 11 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 12 Research Question Number One ........................................................................................... 12 Research Question Number Two .......................................................................................... 12 Research Question Number Three ........................................................................................ 12 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................................... 12 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................... 13 vii Summary .................................................................................................................................. 14 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................................................ 15 Criteria Used in the Literature Review Search ........................................................................... 15 Experience Economy ................................................................................................................ 15 The 4Es in the Experience Economy ......................................................................................... 17 Entertainment ....................................................................................................................... 19 Education ............................................................................................................................. 19 Esthetics ..............................................................................................................................