perceived value
Literature Review
Concept of Perceived Value
Hajj is known as the annual pilgrimage to Makah performed by various religious followers of the Muslim religions all over the world. Hajjj is considered as one of the largest annual events in the planet and managing such an event as a very tedious endeavour (Osman & Shaout, 2014, p.25). In order to make such events to be as pleasant, safe and rewarding as possible for the participants, the governments of countries where such mega events take place are required to invest a substantial amount of national resources. Most of the participants are Muslims who come from different parts of the globe and have their own distinct languages and culture that observe the Islamic pilgrimage, Hajj, to Mecca at least once in their life time (Osman & Shaout, 2014, p.25). The estimate Hajj goers include about 4-5 million travelers every year who visit the cities of Medina and Makah in Saudi Arabia (Osman & Shaout, 2014, p.25). The yearly Hajj ritual is being done on an exact specific number of days which takes place on the last month of each lunar year (Osman & Shaout, 2014, p.25).
There are also some considerations for the travelers of the Hajj pilgrimage such as the perceived value that is dependent on the quality or kind of service that has been provided to the client, or the travelers in this case.
Hypothesis: The perception of quality value, price value and overall satisfaction of the travelers are the main considerations that will influence the attendance of Hajj Pilgrimage.
Perceived value refers to the evaluation or comparison of the benefits, sacrifices and emotions. In order to measure the perceived quality or performance, it should be completed with sacrifices and with to be able to measure the perceived value. On the other hand, perceived quality is mainly composed of cognitive construct, which gives emphasis on the result, and wherein the expectations are evaluated to the result achieved (Sanchez, Callarisa, Rodriguez and Moliner, 2004, p.395).
The concept of perceived value is also dependent on the quality or kind of service that has been provided to the client which can be quantified based on customer utility in relation to the perceived benefits or assessment of such products, goods or services (Yang, Liu, Jing & Li, 2014, p.1735). At the same time, perceived value has been defined as the essential result of marketing activities and the first-order element in establishing a good marketing relationship (Sanchez, et al., 2004).
The definition of perceived value will greatly depend on the client’s overall assessment of the product that shall be based on the perception of what was received and given by the one providing the goods or services. On the other hand, based on the utilitarian perspective, the perceived value has been regarded as “the function of acquisition utility and transaction utility” (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1735). It is vital to include the importance of price and quality to be able to identify the dimension and measurement of perceived value such as in the case of tourism and hospitality.
When making an assessment of the perceived value in the mega events, the multidimensional approach should be used since it covers the cognitive or the “functional”, and affective or the “emotional” aspects of perceived value (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1735). The cognitive dimension simply means overall economic assessment of made by Hajj travelers based on the quality value and price value of the event. On the other hand, the affective or emotional dimension refers to the emotions or feelings that the travelers will remember by looking at the emotional value or experiential value when they join the pilgrimage.
It bears to stress that perceived value is a subjective and dynamic paradigm that will vary depending on the religion, culture and philosophy of the travelers in the marketing aspect (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1735). For the Hajj travelers, it is important to focus on how they perceive the value of their destinations such as the pilgrimage where they will get to visit the cities of Medina and Makah in Saudi Arabia that may influence their overall satisfaction and loyalty to the one providing the service when they join the mega event.
This study will present will make an assessment of the tourist market by showing how the relationship of each individual type of perceived value, as opposed to the overall perceived value, satisfaction, and loyalty of the Hajj travelers who will keep coming back every year. The best approach to weigh these variables is by looking at the marketing design to be able to implement effective marketing strategies. Thus, the quality value, functional or price value, and emotional value are the categories or dimensions of perceived value that should be applied for mega events such as the Hajj pilgrimage. It is important to discuss the dimensions one by one, namely, the quality value, price value, emotional value and experiential value.
One of the unhappy experiences that the pilgrims have to go through during the arrival is that some of them have to wait for several hours at the airport before check in can be completed due to overcrowding (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015, p.43). In fact, there are thousands of pilgrims who come from various countries who may go missing for days or weeks since they do not remember their residence location. In order to prevent the pilgrims from being lost, the Hajj managers provide every pilgrim with a wrist band that bears an identification number (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015, p.43). It is through the identification number that helps the pilgrims from being lost but such information are not readily available to the police and other government agencies (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015, p.43).
Antecedent 1: Quality
For the quality value, perceived quality should be considered as the most important dimension of perceived value since it will define the perception of the experience that the Hajj travelers will expect. The quality value will depend on their experience that the Hajj travelers will experience by vising the mosques and historical sites in Medina and Makah in Saudi Arabia
Antecedent 2: Price
Based on the marketing principle, the price value or economic value is the utility derived from the product due to the reduction of its perceived short-term and longer term costs, and the key variable that can influence the client’s choice (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1736). The price value, as well as the functional value can result to high customer satisfaction. Particularly, the price value is regarded as one of the core elements that has bears significant effect on the overall satisfaction of the travelers and can also establish their strong loyalty. The combination of price value and functional value will result to overall customer satisfaction (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1736).
In marketing the price value is important because it will depend on the ability of the client or customer to pay for the product, good or service. Thus, it is essential that the price of the whole Hajjj pilgrimage is economical in order to attract travelers to join the annual mega event experience.
Antecedent 3: Emotion
Based on the marketing concept, the emotional value is derived from the ability to arouse feelings of the travelers which will depend on how they are attracted to a particular event or destination (Yang, et al., 2014). Some travels opt to attend an event or go to a particular destination to find peace and spiritual comfort. It is important to highlight on investing on the emotional value in a relationship to be able to achieve the best transactional relationship with the travelers. Emotional value is important in order to make the travelers that they achieved their purpose when joining an event. The emotional value becomes an integral part of Hajj travelers’ perceived value since it can affect the reputation of the organizers of the mega event in the long run. In fact, emotional value carries a positive effect that it may be an effective marketing strategy through word of mouth where the travelers give a high recommendation about their travel experience to their family and friends.
Appealing to the emotion of the travelers is important emotional benefits may also affect the choices between instrumental alternatives that are functionally equal to other aspects (Sanchez, et al, 2006, p.396). It bears to note that perceived value is a dynamic variable that is being experienced by every person. Hence, after consumption, it is necessary to include subjective or emotional reactions that may vary depending on the feelings generated by each of the consumer (Sanchez, et al, 2006, p.396). Therefore, cultivating positive emotions that the Hajj travelers experienced during the pilgrimage will encourage them to make positive recommendations to their friends, family and others. However, organizing a tourist experience that gives out emotional value will not be an effective marketing tool without the considering price and quality will not have the same effect (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1735). Hence, the organizers of mega events such as the Hajj pilgrimage should pay close attention to experiential value by focusing on building positive experiences for the travelers throughout the whole marketing process (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1735).
Antecedent 4: Experience
On the other hand, experiential value, which is also known as epistemic value, refers to the utility that is acquired that a person may feel as a result of the activity or destination that stirs the curiosity, gives novelty, and satisfies the desire of the travelers seeking adventure (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1739). The experiential value is the personal behavior of the travelers who are in search of new experiences. The switching behaviors of the travelers will depend on the type of adventure that they want to engage in (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1739).
Consequences of Perceived Value in Mega events
The experience of the travelers who participate during the mega events such as the Hajj pilgrimage is personal way since it may fall as a religious ritual (Song, Lee, Park & Hwang, 2015, p.402). The travelers may want to create unforgettable memories every time they join the yearly pilgrimage in order to obtain a lingering “experience” (Song, Lee, Park & Hwang, 2015, p.402). Thus, it is vital to concentrate on the value of experience since it will determine the worth of the visited destination of the travelers such as the cities of Medina and Makah located in Saudi Arabia as the destinations of the pilgrimage. Such experience creates a functional value because the experience is worth the money spent by the travelers. Thus, experience value is closely related to emotional value in the sense that the tourists build their experience that is founded on the interrelationship created between their minds and the particular destination they had visited (Song, et al., 2015, p.402).
It is important to highlight the experience of the travelers since it is innate in every person and everyone has their own interpretation of their unique experience and the outcome will be a different emotional value. Nowadays, the travelers are constantly looking for positive and emotionally fulfilling experiences that they won’t forget as long as they live.
The emotional value is derived from the ability to arouse feelings of the tourist which will depend on how they are attracted to a particular destination such as the mosques and churches in Medina and Makah that the travelers visit during the pilgrimage to strengthen their Muslim faith. In fact, emotional value carries a positive effect that it may be an effective marketing strategy through word of mouth where the travelers give a high recommendation about their travel experience to their family and friends.
Conclusion
While Hajj is a fundamental part of the Muslim faith, it cannot be considered as a tourist phenomenon (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015). Such mega event is part of the Islamic faith for the Muslims to perform sacred pilgrimage based on their belief as stated in the Quran. Such mega event is not the ordinary pilgrimage sites in the world where the people go as both pilgrims and tourists (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015, p.45). Therefore, when the travelers decide to go to the Hajj pilgrimage, the emotional value becomes more important than the quality and price value because nothing can quite prepare them for the sheer beauty of the experience and the overwhelming feeling of humility that overcomes them during the Hajj (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015, p.45).
Hence, based on this study, it is clearly shown that the Hajj pilgrimage is a very important element of the faith of every Muslim. The majority of the people who perform the Hajj pilgrimage cannot be considered as tourists since they are individuals who practice the teachings of their religion by doing acts that show great humility and devotion during the mega event (Raj & Bozonelos, 2015). For the travelers, the pilgrimage to Makah and Medina is a unique spiritual experience that will bring persons who come from various parts of the world who come from various backgrounds to create one community who believe in the same faith and devote worship for their creator (Raj & Bozonelos 2015).
Some of the pilgrims have to go through personal sacrifices that they have to endure to complete the pilgrimage. Particularly, the movement in and around Makah can be very time consuming. The organizers of the pilgrimage should look for better ways of transportation to prevent the long delays and facilitate smooth transition of pilgrims during the Hajj (Osman & Shaout, 2014, p.30).
Thus, price value is not important for the people who go to the Hajj pilgrimage because they are not after the money that they spend during the journey. In effect, the consumption of travel services will not be dependent on the price value or the quality value for the level of services offered by the agents during their pilgrimage journey since the travelers are after the emotional value or experiential value above anything else. In effect, the pilgrims or travelers who came from different countries may find the price value the least of their consideration since they are will to pay their travel agents for the standard of package provided by the Hajj operators and travel agents, who offer their services offered by the for the duration of journey. While it is essential that the price is affordable and economical to attract more travelers, some clients are will to pay for the highest quality of product or service in order to fulfill their religious obligations. However, it is vital for travel agents to reach more travelers who want to join the pilgrimage, regardless of their social status in life. An affordable price will also ensure the more travelers will back every year to perform the pilgrimage.
While it may be true that the price-value perceptions has been considered as being highly context-specific, the Muslims from various part of the world who have the means to spend for their religious obligations are not very sensitive about the travel price.
Experiential value is more important for them because the pilgrims who travelled from various part of the world are in search of new experiences to strengthen their faith. The switching behaviors of the travelers will depend on the type of adventure that they want to engage in. Although the experiential value has seldom been considered as an integral part that form customers’ satisfaction, some experts believe that it creates a positive impact on tourism (Yang, et al., 2014, p.1739). Thus, it is vital to concentrate on the value of experience since it will determine the worth of the visited destination of the travelers (Song, et al., 2015, p.402). Such experience creates a functional value. The experience value is closely related to emotional value in the sense that the tourists build their experience that is founded on the interrelationship created between their minds and the particular destination they had visited (Song, et al., 2015, p.402).
It is important to highlight the experience of the pilgrims since it is innate in every person and everyone has their own interpretation of their unique experience and the outcome will be a different emotional value. More than the price value and the quality value, the travelers are constantly looking for positive and emotionally fulfilling experiences that they want to cherish as part of the Muslim faith.
References:
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