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Etemad Reza

Main skills

Strategy Marketing

Main contract

EHL Hospitality Business School
Route de Berne 301, 1000 Lausanne 25, Switzerland, CH

BSc HES-SO in Hôtellerie et professions de l'accueil - EHL Hospitality Business School

Marketing international
Marketing des services
CRM
Gestion de l'information client et canaux de distributions

Completed

Human-Robot Interaction in a service delivery context

AGP

Role: Main Applicant

Description du projet : The market of service robot technologies and telepresence solutions is expected to grow continuously during the next ten years. By 2025, 85% of customer interactions will take place without a human agent (Schneider, 2017). This tendency will have a major impact on firms' service productivity. Several questions have begun to emerge: How is our personal data used during our interaction with a robot? Does the robot have the authorization to record a situation or an interaction with a guest? Should robots be taxed? Are robots being used to save money by replacing humans? All of these questions need to be answered in an ethical charter. Such a document does not exist yet. The development of the next generation of service robot technologies will have a significant impact on the productivity of firms', on jobs, and on the customer experience; consequently, this research seems to be an important topic for our society. This sea change should be accompanied by an in-depth understanding of the situation that incorporates the points of view of all stakeholders..

Research team within HES-SO: Etemad Reza , Gentinetta Justine

Partenaires académiques: HES-SO Rectorat; VD - EHL - EHL

Durée du projet: 30.11.2019 - 31.05.2021

Montant global du projet: 100'000 CHF

Statut: Completed

Bringing hospitality inside seniors' smart homes

AGP

Role: Main Applicant

Description du projet : We are currently experiencing a revolution in connected healthcare technologies that will help the elderly to increase their autonomy and help them to live in their houses as long as possible. Our goal is to bring hospitality inside their homes. Our 2 main objectives are: 1. To extend and apply the technology acceptance model (TAM) to connected healthcare technologies. 2. To develop a tool for measuring the quality of service delivered by home care service companies using these technologies.

Research team within HES-SO: Etemad Reza

Partenaires académiques: HES-SO Rectorat; VD - EHL - EHL

Durée du projet: 01.09.2016 - 28.02.2018

Montant global du projet: 99'000 CHF

Statut: Completed

Humanisation du site web d'achats et création de valeur dans la relation entre fournisseurs «Food & Beverage » (F&B) et leurs clients hôteliers/restaurateurs : Evaluation du potentiel en Suisse

AGP

Role: Main Applicant

Financement: HES-SO Rectorat; VD - EHL - EHL

Description du projet : Un Agent virtuel est un personnage animé qui accueille et aide un internaute dans sa navigation - voir, en vente B2C*, les sites IKEA.FR, VOYAGESSNCF.COM, E-GALICIA.COM (1e banque privée argentine). La majorité des agents qui existent se trouvent, de fait, sur des sites de vente aux particuliers (B2C). Nous souhaitons étudier l'intérêt de l'agent virtuel en contexte B2B*, et Hôtelier. Cette étude explore l'impact de l'introduction d'agents virtuels dans le cadre de la relation fournisseur-client dans l'hôtellerie et la restauration en Suisse, le fournisseur étant le fournisseur F&B et le client l'hôtelier-restaurateur. Pour ce faire, l'étude vise à comparer les sites Web de fournisseurs partenaires du projet qui ont des agents virtuels avec ceux qui n'en ont pas. Cette comparaison va se faire sur la base d'une part des effets générés sur des variables cognitives et affectives (risque perçu, confiance, facilité de navigation, rapidité de la transaction) mesurés par une enquête (questionnaire) et des entretiens auprès de la profession, et d'autre part de l'impact sur des variables comportementales déterminées à l'aide des fichiers logs et des commandes générées pendant la navigation. En pratique nous monterons une expérimentation avec un site de commande/achat en comparant le comportement de l'utilisateur-acheteur, avec vs sans agent virtuel. Note * : B2B : Business-to-Business, vente d'une entreprise/institution à une entreprise/institution ; B2C : Business-to Customer, vente au client final individuel. Ces deux domaines sont fort compartimentés en recherche comme en enseignement : il est rare qu'il y ait des ponts et transfert de connaissances entre ces deux domaines

Research team within HES-SO: Etemad Reza

Partenaires professionnels: Touchmind

Durée du projet: 01.01.2010 - 30.06.2011

Montant global du projet: 89'600 CHF

Statut: Completed

2023

Instilling the core tenets of hospitality in healthcare services :

Scientific paper ArODES

the role of service assurance and social presence

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Cindy Yoonjoung Heo, Valentina Clergue

International Journal of Hospitality Management, 111, article 103492

Link to the publication

Summary:

The rising elderly population around the globe together with an improved life expectancy is driving demand for effective healthcare. As healthcare technologies become increasingly innovative, various types of connected devices have been developed in order to provide high-quality healthcare services. The research question of this study is whether the presence of such devices and perceived assurance affect the satisfaction of the health service recipient. This study focuses on homecare services for elderly people and explores the effect of social presence by machines vs. humans and service assurance by machines vs. humans on customer satisfaction. This study found that using connected devices does not significantly impact customer satisfaction with the healthcare service provider. The findings of this study highlight the importance of perceived service assurance levels as well as social presence delivered by humans for homecare services.

Augmenting growth

Professional paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Hospitality Talk, 10, 2, p. 24

Link to the publication

Summary:

Hospitality businesses can leverage AI technologies to great effect in various tasks, such as housekeeping, maintenance, reception, transportation, and room service, writes Reza Etemad-Sajadi.

2022

How ethical issues raised by human–robot interaction can impact the intention to use the robot?

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Antonin Soussan, Théo Schöpfer

International journal of social robotics, 2022, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 1103-1115

Link to the publication

Summary:

The goal of this research is to focus on the ethical issues linked to the interaction between humans and robots in a service delivery context. Through this user study, we want to see how ethics influence user’s intention to use a robot in a frontline service context. We want to observe the importance of each ethical attribute on user’s intention to use the robot in the future. To achieve this goal, we incorporated a video that showed Pepper, the robot, in action. Then respondents had to answer questions about their perception of robots based on the video. Based on a final sample of 341 respondents, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypotheses. The results show that the most important ethical issue is the Replacement and its implications for labor. When we look at the impact of the ethical issues on the intention to use, we discovered that the variables impacting the most are Social cues, Trust and Safety.

2021

How to increase the customer experience by the usage of remote control robot concierge solutions

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Michael C. Sturman

International journal of social robotics, To be published

Link to the publication

Summary:

The objective of this study was to understand how consumers react and respond to a service experience provided by the robot, Pepper. To form our predictions, we applied and tested an extended version of the technology acceptance model (TAM). For the method, pre-recorded gestures were used to attract people to interact with Pepper, and participants were asked to pose questions to the robot for 5 to 10 min. Then, we distributed a questionnaire to these participants to gather data on their impressions of the interaction. Based on a final sample of 180 respondents, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypotheses. Our results showed the fundamental importance of Social Presence when it comes to the use of robots. Social presence had a direct positive effect on Usefulness, Trust, and Emotional Appeal, and significant indirect effects through all three paths on Intention to Use. Moreover, The Fear of Robots negatively impacted the Intention to Use. We also found that when people were in discussion with the robot, they completely forgot that a human concierge is controlling the robot from another place. This study provides important insights into how and why consumers react to a service-providing robot, which is an important stream of research as this technology becomes more feasibly implemented in the hospitality industry.

2020

The impact of connected health technologies on the quality of service delivered by home care companies :

Scientific paper ArODES

focus on trust and social presence

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Gil Gomes Dos Santos

Health marketing quarterly, 2021, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 287-296

Link to the publication

Summary:

The objective of this paper is to focus on the impact of connected health technologies on the quality of service delivered by home care companies for the seniors. The focus will be on “trust” and “social presence” dimensions. We used SERVQUAL for measuring the quality of service delivered by home care companies. We targeted elderly people using connected health technologies (assistive alarm, telecare, sensors, etc.) at home and receiving health care at home. We received 213 questionnaires back by post. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS). The results show that the level of trust in these technologies impacts significantly almost all dimensions of SERVQUAL. In parallel, the perception of the social presence with the use of these technologies impacts positively the empathy and tangibles dimensions of SERVQUAL.

2019

The impact of cultural dimensions on the perceived risk of online shopping

Scientific paper ArODES

Lassaad Ghachem, Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Anca-Maria Milovan-Ciuta, Costinel Dobre

Studia Universitatis Babes Bolyai - Negotia, 2019, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 7-28

Link to the publication

Summary:

This article analyzes the influence of cultural factors on the perceived risks of buying online. To this end, we conducted a survey on a sample of Francophone African students, through an online questionnaire. In order to test the developed research model, we opted for structural equation modeling (SEM), using the Smart PLS 2.0 software. Data analysis has highlighted the importance of power distance in perceiving the risks of online buying and, on the other hand, the fact that online buying risk perception is less important in cultures where uncertainty avoidance is high. Based on these research results, marketers could adapt their marketing approaches at a local, regional or international level.

Senior citizens’ acceptance of connected health technologies in their homes

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Gil Gomes Dos Santos

International journal of health care quality assurance, 2019, vol. 32, no 8, pp. 1162-1174

Link to the publication

Summary:

The objective of this paper is to focus on seniors’ acceptance of the usage of connected healthcare technologies in their homes. The authors integrated into technology acceptance model (TAM) several latent variables such as social presence, trust and degree of intrusiveness perceived with the use of connected health technologies.

The impact of service recovery output/process on customer satisfaction and loyalty :

Scientific paper ArODES

the case of the airline industry

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Laura Bohrer

Tourism and hospitality research, 2019, vol. 19, no 2, pp. 259-266

Link to the publication

Summary:

The purpose of this research is to identify the impact of airline passengers’ perception of service recovery output/process on their satisfaction and loyalty. We want to identify the direct and indirect effects of service recovery on airline passenger loyalty by distinguishing the output and the process of the service recovery. A questionnaire was distributed to airline passengers who had a problem during their last airline flight. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares, a variance-based structural equation modeling method. As findings, we observed that in general, clients were not satisfied with the way that the service has been recovered. The most frequent reason for complaining was a problem due to flight delay, followed by a problem with the baggage, overbooking, and flight cancellation. Nevertheless, the findings reveal the positive impact of service recovery’s output/process qualities on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The output quality of service recovery is the most relevant.

2018

Are customers ready to accept revenue management practices in the restaurant industry?

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

International journal of quality reliability management, 2018, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 846-856

Link to the publication

Summary:

Purpose : The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of revenue management practices to the restaurant industry. The author wants to observe customers’ readiness to accept revenue management practices based on price variation, booking policy, table management, and control duration. The author also wants to measure the impact of these four practices on customer patronage intention. Design/methodology/approach : A survey was conducted with 251 respondents. As the author had several latent variables, partial least squares, a variance-based structural equation modeling method, was used. Findings : The author found that the majority of these practices are perceived unfair. The only two practices that are considered as fair are price variation between lunch/dinner, and cancellation in case of late. The most unfairly felt practice is the policy-related time spent at the table. The results also showed that the perceived fairness of these practices influences customer patronage intention. The author observed that price variation according to the lunch/dinner period, weekday/weekend period, and time of the day will influence the desire to frequent the restaurant. Booking policy will also impact customer patronage intention. The table management and control duration policies do not impact customer patronage intention, even if these practices are perceived unfair. Practical implications : Restaurant managers, desiring to apply revenue management practices, should be aware of the fact that practices linked to price variation will have a stronger influence on the customer intention to revisit the company than control duration practices. Moreover, restaurant managers must “educate” their clients by clearly communicating the advantages of these practices for the customers. Originality/value : Even if several studies focused on the fairness perceived of revenue management practices in hospitality industry, there is a lack of research about the impact of price variation and control duration on patronage intention, especially for the restaurant industry. This is the first time the author measured the concrete impact of price variation, booking policy, table management, and control duration on patronage intention. Moreover, the author integrated several new practices that have never been studied in the past such as the date of booking (e.g. 5 percent reduction if the booking was done four days in advance) or the fact of changing tables for dessert and coffee.

2016

The impact of online real-time interactivity on patronage intention :

Scientific paper ArODES

the use of avatars

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Computers in human behavior, Septembre 2016, vol. 61, pp. 227–232

Link to the publication

Summary:

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of online real-time interactivity on the desire of users to visit and to purchase products/services from the company in the future. Online real-time interactivity has been increased by the use of avatars. We also investigated the antecedents of online real-time interactivity by focusing on trust, emotional appeal, and social presence. As far as the methodology is concerned, we designated companies using avatars on their websites. We asked respondents to visit these websites and then fill in our questionnaire. We received 945 questionnaires back. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. The results show that online real-time interactivity significantly increases the patronage intention. The results also illustrate the impact of the degree of trust and the emotional appeal on user's perception about the online real-time interactivity. Nevertheless, the impact of the emotional appeal is less relevant compared to the degree of trust. Moreover, the degree of trust in the information found on the website explains user's emotional appeal during the conversation. Finally, avatar's social presence has a significant impact on trust and emotional appeal. Our results have immediate and direct implications for avatars' developers and companies who want to invest in improving the real-time interactivity of their website.

Airline Passenger Loyalty The Distinct Effects of Airline Passenger Perceived Pre-Flight and In-Flight Service Quality

Scientific paper

Etemad Reza

Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 2016

Link to the publication

2015

The impact of hedonic and utilitarian value of online avatars on e-service quality

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Lassaad Ghachem

Computers in human behavior, November 2015, vol. 52, pp. 81–86

Link to the publication

Summary:

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of avatars’ utilitarian and hedonic values on the different dimensions of e-service quality. Despite the existence of many studies focusing on the impact of the avatar on user’s online experience, there is a lack of research on the effect of avatars’ values on the different dimensions of websites’ perceived quality. We asked respondents to interact with an avatar and then fill in our questionnaire. We applied this process to 8 different service companies’ websites with an avatar already integrated. We received 945 questionnaires back. In order to measure e-service quality, we used WEBQUAL. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. Results show that the utilitarian and hedonic values of the avatar increase significantly the perception of the website’s quality. The utilitarian value of the avatar impacts 9 of the 10 dimensions of e-service quality. The hedonic value impacts 5 of the 10 dimensions of e-service quality. The results of this study are relevant to the academic world, as we identified that the utilitarian value of an avatar can impact nearly all dimensions of WEBQUAL. Our results can also have immediate and direct implications for companies who want to improve a specific dimension of their website by the use of an avatar. Moreover, this study will be useful for developers of online agents in order to adjust the knowledge of their avatars to clients’ and users’ needs.

The impact of service tradability on the choice of entry mode :

Scientific paper ArODES

the case of computer-related service firms

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

TQM Journal, January 2015, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 79-93

Link to the publication

Summary:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the choice of entry mode of computer-related (CR) service firms which are in a process of internationalization. The authors will focus on the characteristics of service defining its tradability. Design/methodology/approach – The objectives are achieved by first exploring the general drivers and the drivers specific to service firms via qualitative interviews and a literature review. Then, the model is tested empirically on CR service firms using structural equation modeling using partial least squares. Findings – Results show that the degree of tradability of the service influences the choice of entry mode. The higher the degree of tailor-made offer and face-to-face contact with the client, the more firms opt for an entry mode with high control, such as establishment abroad and/or joint-venture. Finally, firm size and international experience are also significant drivers behind the selection of entry mode. Research limitations/implications – As firms often choose several entry modes simultaneously, it is difficult to lead the research. Practical implications – In exports of digitalized and standardized services with little face-to-face contact, physical presence abroad is less important for success. It is more difficult to successfully market tailor-made services at the international level. Therefore, firms with limited capabilities should start exporting standardized services requiring limited face-to-face contact. Small firms wishing to become global players should preferably focus on exports of digitalized services and use internet, which is an attractive distribution channel. Moreover, when the confidentiality required for the service is an issue for the company, it is better to start with geographically near markets. Originality/value – In this research, service tradability came out as an original concept including service-specific characteristics leading to the selection of entry mode(s). The authors focussed on four characteristics of services which are on-line transmissibility, degree of confidentiality required, face-to- face contact, and finally the degree of customizability

The effect of a sustainable label portfolio on consumer perception of ethicality and retail patronage

Scientific paper ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Valery Bezencon

International journal of retail and distribution management, January 2015, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 314-328

Link to the publication

Summary:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of distributing sustainable labels on the retailer’s corporate brand. More specifically, the objectives are to investigate how the scope of a portfolio of sustainable labels affects the consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) of the retailer that distributes them and to understand how the perceived ethicality affects retail patronage. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 230 individuals participated in a street intercept survey. Data were analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings – Both the perceived scope of the portfolios of collective sustainable labels and retailer-owned sustainable labels improve the CPE of the retailer. In addition, the CPE of the retailer increases patronage. The portfolio of collective sustainable labels has more impact on the CPE of the retailer than the portfolio of retailer-owned labels, but the latter has more impact on retail patronage. Research limitations/implications – In addition to limitations inherent to the methodology (e.g. survey based on stated behaviours), the model developed is simple and exploratory and does not include potential boundary conditions of the highlighted effects. Practical implications – Sustainable labels may not only contribute to product sales and product positioning, but also to position the retailer brand by improving the consumer perception of ethicality and indirectly increase retail patronage. Originality/value – Anchored in the branding literature, this research is the first to conceptualize sustainable labels as a portfolio and measure their collective impact on the retailer’s corporate brand and indirectly on patronage.

2014

The influence of a virtual agent on web-users’ desire to visit the company: The case of restaurant’s website

Scientific paper

Etemad Reza

International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 2014

Link to the publication

2013

The antecedents of consumer satisfaction and loyalty in fast food industry: a cross-national comparison between Chinese and Swiss consumers

Scientific paper

Etemad Reza

International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 2013

Link to the publication

2012

What drives international performance? Insights from computer-related service firms

Scientific paper

Etemad Reza

JCC: The Business and Economics Research Journal, 2012

2024

Service robots with extended AI knowledge :

Conference ArODES

factors impacting the intention to use

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Valentina Clergue

Proceedings of the EuroCHRIE 2024 Conference : "Building bridges and overcoming challenges"

Link to the conference

Summary:

Technology is continuously improving and becoming smarter and cheaper, which is transforming the service sector. Specifically intriguing is the development of robots instilled with AI knowledge. Despite the potential benefits of service companies using robots, there are also important ethical considerations to be taken into account to ensure that consumers accept these smart devices. This study examines how participants’ assessment of ethical issues affects the risks perceived and their intention to use a service robot. Several other variables such as ease of use, level of usefulness, emotional appeal, and social presence are also integrated into our model.

2023

Service robots with extended AI knowledge such as ChatGPT :

Conference ArODES

the user point of view about ethical issues in a service delivery context

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Valentina Clergue

Proceedings of the 4th International Hospitality Conference on “Hospitality Robotics: Engineering, Experience, Ethics”

Link to the conference

Summary:

The constant advancements in the field of technology and specifically in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are gaining attention from researchers and practitioners (Lu et al., 2020). Despite potential benefits, many customers remain uncomfortable with using robots (Lu et al., 2020). According to academic literature, customers may have mixed feelings toward AI robotic device usage, especially in the service context (Lin et al., 2020). This is not surprising considering that technological advancements induce fear and lack of trust at the beginning (Etemad-Sajadi et al., 2022). The current research aims to examine user perceptions of robots with extended AI knowledge. More specifically, the empirical study will look at participants’ assessment of four ethical items – trust and safety, autonomy, privacy and data protection, and replacement, with the goal to understand better which one/s is important for the customer’s intention to use a service robot, which to our knowledge is the first academic research to do so.

2021

Traditional to online over night :

Conference ArODES

hospitality student satisfaction during the first Covid-19 semester

Laura Zizka, Inès Blal, Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Martha Sandoval Alvarado

ICERI2021 Proceedings : 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation

Link to the conference

Summary:

Student satisfaction has been the focus of research projects gauging how students evaluate the higher education institution (HEI) on a program and course level. In traditional courses, student satisfaction revolves around the teacher, pedagogical style, and academic resources available. For fully online courses, students typically rate the experience based on four relationships: Learner-faculty, learner-learner, learner-content, and learner-technology. However, the spring semester of 2020 was neither traditional nor fully online; rather, it entailed an immediate and brutal shift from one learning mode to another. With Covid-19, faculty worldwide attempted to maintain the execution of their educational mission for their students and themselves. This paper investigates the factors impacting students’ satisfaction with their remote learning experience throughout the ‘forced’ confinement period in one HEI. Although initially communicated as a temporary closure in March 2020, this HEI Switzerland was obliged by the Swiss government to remain closed throughout the rest of the academic semester (i.e., 11 weeks). Unlike other Swiss HEIs that took weeks to move online, this HEI shifted to remote teaching over the weekend. In this unique setting, there was no break in the learning cycle for the students. Based on the literature, a 19-question survey conducted in June 2020 examined the relationships students have in three educational settings, i.e., learner-technology, learner-faculty, and learner-content, to the amount, accuracy, frequency, relevance, and timeliness of the messages communicated to students for these three categories. A total of 2254 Bachelor students from this Swiss HEI received this survey. The results from this study are critical to management and faculty as schools are currently preparing for the September intake in the midst of still uncertain covid-related times. This paper concludes with recommendations for creating future innovative ‘planned’ digitized courses programs that increase student satisfaction.

Ethical issues linked to the interaction between human and robots in a service delivery context

Conference ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Proceedings of the EuroCHRIE2021 conference

Link to the conference

Summary:

The goal of this research is to focus on the ethical issues linked to the interaction between human and robots in a service delivery context. The originality of this research comes from that fact that potential users will have to define the importance of each ethical attribute on their overall intention to use the robot in the future. This method should allow us to uncover which ethical items are important for the customer’s intention to use a frontline service robot. Moreover, we focus our ethical issues applied to frontline service robots in order to have a more concrete ethical tool for this precise technology. In doing so, we do not intend to come up with generic principles that apply to all robots, but to uncover the ethical principles which are important specifically for the intention to use frontline service robots.

Frontline service delivery :

Conference ArODES

the usage of a robot

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Proceedings of EuroCHRIE2021 conference

Link to the conference

Summary:

The objective of this study was to improve the customer experience by focusing on the impact of avatar concierge solution which can be controlled and moved by a human agent with gestures in distance. We want to tend and apply the technology acceptance model (TAM) to service robots designed for improving the customer experience.

2019

Hospitality inside seniors’ homes :

Conference ArODES

the impact of trust and social presence through connected health technologies

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Proceedings of 2019 APacCHRIE & EuroCHRIE Joint Conference

Link to the conference

Summary:

Bringing hospitality inside seniors’ homes is an essential challenge. The objective of this paper is to focus on the impact of trust and social presence through connected health technologies on the quality of service perceived. We used SERVQUAL for measuring the quality of service delivered by home care companies. We also adapted SERVQUAL to our context by adding a new dimension called communication. As far as the methodology is concerned, we distributed our survey by post to 605 seniors. We targeted elderly people using connected health technologies (assistive alarm, telecare, sensors, etc.) at home and receiving health care at home. We received 213 questionnaires back. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. The results show that the level of trust in these technologies impacts significantly almost all dimensions of SERVQUAL. In parallel, the perception of the social presence with the use of these technologies impacts positively the empathy and tangibles dimensions of SERVQUAL. These results are particularly relevant to stakeholders in the health industry in their quest to improve their products/services. A better understanding of the relation that the elderly have with connected health technologies is an essential prerequisite to supporting the development of new solutions capable of meeting the specific needs of our seniors.

How can the hospitality industry help senior homes ? :

Conference ArODES

the usage of connected health technologies

Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Proceedings of 2019 APacCHRIE & EuroCHRIE Joint Conference

Link to the conference

Summary:

The objective of this paper is to extend and apply the technology acceptance model (TAM) to connected healthcare technologies for the elderly. As far as the methodology is concerned, we distributed our survey by post. We targeted elderly people using connected health technologies (assistive alarm, telecare, sensors, etc.) at home and receiving health care at home. We received 213 questionnaires back. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS). The results show that the level of trust in these technologies impacts significantly the perception of usefulness and the degree of intrusiveness. In parallel, the degree of usefulness of these technologies impacts positively elderly people’s intention to accept their usage. Finally, one can claim that the perception of the social presence with the use of these technologies impacts positively the degree of perceived usefulness, trust, and intrusiveness.

2016

Nursing homes :

Conference ArODES

how can residents' experience be improved?

Françoise Richter, Reza Etemad-Sajadi

Proceedings of EuroCHRIE 2016 Conference

Link to the conference

Summary:

This study aims to analyze whether nursing homes residents are satisfied with the services and support they receive. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with residents, families, and staff were conducted in Switzerland. The results indicate that the majority of the residents entered nursing homes due to a decrease in autonomy but also following a decision made by their relatives. Many of the residents acclimated themselves to their new environment although not all their needs were fulfilled. The need to maintain relationships with family and staff is crucial. The organization of activities is also necessary to residents’ stability and to ensure they continue to feel their existence has meaning and that they can still be useful. This also helps to ease the transition and ensure continuity between their home and nursing home facility. Staff and relatives work for the well-being of residents but should offer more individualized support and a more personalized welcome to their patients.

2015

The impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty :

Conference ArODES

the case of airline industry

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Laura Bohrer

Proceedings of EuroCHRIE conference 2015

Link to the conference

Summary:

The purpose of this research is to identify the impact of airline passengers’ perception of service recovery on their satisfaction and loyalty. A questionnaire was distributed to airline passengers who had a problem during their last airline flight. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. As findings, we observed that in general, clients were not satisfied with the way that the service has been recovered. The most frequent reason for complaining was a problem due to flight delay, followed by a problem with the baggage, overbooking, and flight cancellation. Nevertheless, the findings reveal the positive impact of service recovery’s output/process qualities on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The output quality of the service recovery concerns the concrete resolution of the problem. The process quality of the service recovery concerns the overall procedure including the response speed, employees’ explanations, and empathy.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty in airline industry

Conference ArODES

Reza Etemad-Sajadi, Laura Bohrer

Proceedings of EuroCHRIE conference 2015

Link to the conference

Summary:

The purpose of this research is to identify the factors impacting customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the airline industry. We analyzed passengers’ perception of service quality during the pre-experience stage, the experience itself, and the post-experience. In parallel, we measured the impact of the price fairness on customer satisfaction. As far as the method is concerned, we asked to airline passengers to focus on their last airline flight. We received a total of 203 responses. As we had several latent variables, we used partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. Results show that the quality of service in the pre-experience stage (pre-flight) was perceived as more important than the quality of service during the flight itself. Moreover, the fairness of the price also influences customer satisfaction.

Achievements

PEOPLE@HES-SO
Directory and Skills inventory

Etemad Reza

Main skills

Marketing international

Service Marketing

Customer eXperience

CRM

Human Computer Interaction

Strategy Marketing

PEOPLE@HES-SO Directory and Skills inventory

Etemad Reza

Main skills

Marketing international

Service Marketing

Customer eXperience

CRM

Human Computer Interaction

Strategy Marketing

PEOPLE@HES-SO
Directory and Skills inventory