PhD Studentship - The John Kent Institute

Today Bournemouth University is launching the John Kent Institute in Tourism (JKIT) in a function in London. The John Kent Institute in Tourism was established in November 2009 through a gift made to the University by one of the world's leading tourism entrepreneurs, John Kent. This new BU-based Institute will fund a considerable number of PhD studentships in tourism research, starting with eleven PhDs over the next four years. The School of Services Management is respected globally as a centre of excellence for tourism study and research; it boasts the largest cohort of postgraduate tourism students in the UK and is home to the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR), one of the leading research centres of its kind in the world. The new Institute will complement the work of this Centre by attracting high-calibre PhD students to BU.

In 2010, the JKIT is awarding four studentships from 11 research areas. I am involved in the supervision of one of the areas as part of the supervisory team for the project entitled Consumers as producers: the dimensions of consumer-to-consumer co-creation in the event experience. A more detailed description of the project is shown below.

If you think you have (or know someone who has):

• outstanding qualities and be motivated to complete a PhD in 3 years
• an honours degree at Upper Second Class (2.1) and/or an appropriate Masters degree
• an IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 minimum

and, of course, if you are enthusiastic about this research idea, I strongly encourage you (or someone you know) to apply to this studentship.

The application deadline for all studentships is 30 April 2010. For further information go to the John Kent Institute in Tourism page

Miguel

Project Description

Consumers as producers: the dimensions of consumer-to-consumer co-creation in the event experience.

Over the past ten years, many authors have emphasised that western societies have moved on from the 'service economy' to the 'experience economy'. The experience concept emphasises the importance of emotions and the meanings associated with these emotions. The emphasis has, thus, shifted from the technical performance of what is produced to the individual and notably the emotions and personal transformation that result from experiences. Despite the emergence of the 'experience economy', research within consumer experiences is still in its infancy.

From a marketing point of view, the design of products that encapsulate the features of an experience has been hampered by the limited conceptual understanding of what leads to a good experience. The general contention is that experiences result from an individual's interaction with stimuli, which can be divided in to three: the setting, the staff and other participants. While research from an experience point of view is scarce in relation to these three categories, the first two types of stimuli have been the focus of past research through the concept of service quality. The third category has been much less researched, despite its critical importance in the experience of certain product categories such as events and festivals.

Unlike many other products, events are consumed by groups of people who come together to celebrate, honour, discuss, sell, teach about, encourage, observe, or influence human endeavours. The 'social gathering' nature of events means that the interaction between event participants takes on a critical role in shaping the event experience. This interaction between participants implies that, unlike other product categories, the event experience results from both egoistic (the attendee as a consumer) and altruistic (the attendee as producer) behaviours. The recognition that attendees contribute to the construction of the experience leads to the concept of experience co-creation, which is explored in this research. Despite this importance, few studies have been carried out with the specific aim of looking at customer-to-customer interaction, as opposed to the co-creation of the experience with the business itself. Developed from a marketing perspective, this study will employ concepts of consumer psychology and product management to develop a model of co-creation in the event experience. A better understanding of the principles behind co-creation would greatly help experience marketers in planning for better experiences through influencing the co-creation process.