Generation Y: evaluating services experiences through mobile ethnography

Abstract

There have been various ways of measuring service experiences in the past, but Generation Y has different values and mindsets than those of the generations that preceded them. This paper suggests mobile ethnography as an ideal method for data collection, where Generation Y customers are integrated as active investigators. The paper aims to contributing to the debate on museums as experience-centred places, to understanding how the experience is perceived by Generation Y, to identifying the customer journey, to providing an insight into service experience consumption from the mind of Generation Y and to deriving managerial implication for the museum industry of how to approach Generation Y. The exploratory paper undertakes a thorough review of the relevant literature as regards measuring the customer experiences, service design and the museum setting, before mobile ethnography is applied to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra with a sample of Generation Y visitors as the future visitor market. This is one of the few studies to have addressed mobile ethnography in a service context and examined the museum experience of Generation Y. The paper finds that there is a need to involve museum management in service design to improve the servicedelivery process, especially with regard to the the different mindsets of the Millenials.2

Measuring the intention to return to a foreign tourism destination in the cases of two age layers of Generation Y - a logistic regression-centred approach. Evidence from Romania and South Africa

“…The Generation Y-ers are very close to their parents (Eisner, 2005), being active in household decisions, and, because of this strong connection, they move out from their parents' home late (Szamosi, 2006). As consumers, the Generation Y members look for new experiences (Jorgensen, 2003), excitement and entertainment (Muskat et al, 2014). They would select products in many instances based on emotions and stores based on rational reasons (Parment, 2013).…”

“…According to Ratten and Tsiotsou (2010), generational studies will be at the forefront of future tourism consumer behaviour research. Most of the current studies focusing on tourism are comparisons between Generation Y and other generational groups (Li et al, 2013;Xiang et al, 2015;Huang and Petrick, 2010), very few focusing on Generation Y (Nusair et al, 2013;Muskat et al, 2014) and almost none focusing on the structures of Generation Y considering its vivid heterogeneity (Foscht et al, 2009;Paul, 2001).…”

Qualitative interpretive mobile ethnography

“…Examples include an exploration of the ways backpackers share information using mobile phones (Axup & Viller, 2005); a mapping of customer journeys in tourist destinations (Bosio, Rainer, & Stickdorn, 2017); and an exploration of Generation Y's museum experiences (Muskat et al, 2013). Recently, Dimanche and Gibbs (2016) also used mobile ethnography and summarised that it is best suited to explore visitor experiences to improve tourism destination competitiveness.…”

“…Mobile ethnography research uses mobile devices for data collection (Axup & Viller, 2005;Connelly, Faber, Rogers, Siek, & Toscos, 2006;Kourouthanassis, Giaglis, & Vrechopoulos, 2007;Muskat, Muskat, Zehrer, & Johns, 2013;Patrick, Griswold, Raab, & Intille, 2008;Toye, Sharp, Madhavapeddy, & Scott, 2005). Above all, the modern hardware or the application aspects of the devices used in these studies is distinctive.…”

The nexus between sustainable practices in hotels and future Gen Y hospitality students’ career path decisions

“…In this research paper, we adopt and define Generation Y, otherwise known as Millennials, as people born between 1979 and 1994 (Smola & Sutton, 2002;Solnet & Hood, 2008;Solnet, Kralji, & Kandampully, 2012). Generation Y is known to have work-related characteristics, attitudes and motiva-tions that are distinctly different from previous generation and incongruent with con-ventional thinking (McGuire, Todnem By, & Hutchings, 2007;Muskat, Muskat, Zehrer, & Johns, 2013;Solnet & Hood, 2008;Solnet et al, 2012). Born in an era of relative affluence marked with global prosperity, individuals belonging to Generation Y tend to have propensity for issues relating to socialization, and feelings of accomplishment and connectedness (Noble, Haytko, & Phillips, 2009;Solnet & Hood, 2008).…”