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Purpose -The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relationship between customer perceptions of public relations (PR) and customer loyalty; to test for the moderating role of brand image in that relationship. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected in a survey of customers of the insurance industry in Taiwan, using a questionnaire designed on the basis of focus-group discussions with 30 consumers. Hierarchical regression analysis of data from 367 respondents was used to test two hypotheses. Findings -The results show that consumers' perception of an organisation's PR practice is an antecedent of loyalty. The impact of public relations perception (PRP) on customer loyalty is stronger and more significant when the brand image is favourable. If it is unfavourable, the effect of PRP on customer loyalty is negligible. Research limitations/implications -This study extends previous research by examining the moderating role of brand image. Further research is indicated, to identify the key moderators of the driving force of PR in relation to customer relationship marketing. Originality/value -This paper proposes an original eight-item scale for the assessment of customer PRP activity, which can be applied in practice to measure its effectiveness under different brand-image conditions.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to clarify the question: should management segment the markets according to different ''cultures'', serving the target consumers with the minimum ''cultural shock'' and providing the most appropriate service for consumers from different nations? Design/methodology/approach -This research regards Hofstede's cultural perspective as the main basis for deduction. Drawing on a self-administered questionnaire, the data are collected from Taiwanese and American consumers in the international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Based on theoretical considerations, hypothesis are proposed to examine what are the Taiwanese and American consumers' evaluation factors toward international tourist hotel service quality.Findings -Based upon the empirical findings of this research, Taiwan consumers and American consumers have different cognition toward international tourist hotel service quality due to their cultural difference. The differences are most pronounced in the perceptual categories labeled ''Assurance'', ''Tangibles'', ''Reliability'', ''Reaction'' and ''Empathy''. Cultural differences do influence consumer behavior.Research limitations/implications -The research problems and objectives of this research are merely to understand if there is any difference between the two and where the differences might lie. However, according to the research finding, ''cultural difference'' plays a significant role. Since this research is a ''descriptive study'' which cannot assure causality, future research can investigate effect and causality of ''national culture dimension'' and ''service quality dimension'' and further expand the theory.Practical implications -In order to respond to different cultural values, enterprises should recognize different needs of consumers from different cultures and employ various operational strategies, diminish the gap between expectation and cognition of service quality, transcend cross-cultural boundaries, upgrade consumers' cognition toward hotel service quality. Via the characteristic of international tourist hotel industry, which is highly connected with consumers, one can thus clarify the consumers' various responses under the influence of their different cultures. Furthermore, with the related study on service marketing, one can supplement the theory from the cross-cultural perspective. As to the empirical aspects, the said study is able to function as a reference for upgrading the cultural sensitivity of the industry. Originality/value -Previous researches neglect whether there is any difference between the optimal international marketing strategies with respect to ''service'', the intangible product, and the ''tangible product'' of manufacturing industry. Confirming the difference of each country can result in valuable insight such as understanding the relationship among culture, economics, society and space. Consequently, understanding the cultural differences with respect to evaluation and cognition of service quality qualifies as the most important issue for this...

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Past research on advertising endorsers has focused solely on a single country; additionally, types of endorsers have been manipulated by comparing two or three types at most, e.g., celebrity, employees, and consumers (or experts). Very little research has explored endorsers' advertising effectiveness in the context of the hotel industry and then, only employee endorsers were used as the independent variable. Thus, conducting comparative research of the responses to hotels' endorsement advertising by local Taiwanese and visiting American tourists can enrich the empirical basis of this field. This research adopted a 5 ϫ 2 between-subjects factorial design. In total, 634 samples were valid. Specifically, 334 subjects were from American tourists-281 were from five experimental groups, and 53 were from the control group. In contrast, 300 subjects were from local Taiwanese tourists-250 were five experimental groups; 50 were the control group. The results revealed that local Taiwanese tourists' responses to advertising appear stronger than those of American tourists when a hotel employee or expert is used in the endorsement advertisements. In contrast, American tourists' responses to the consumer endorser were stronger than those of local Taiwanese tourists. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: