Word-of-mouth of Generation Z in tourism
Negativan WOM generacije Z u turizmu
Abstract
Users can have different experiences when using tourism services. The biggest problem for companies and other potential tourists is a negative experience that arises from an unmet need. It can be shared publicly via social media, privately in the form of negative word-of-mouth to family or friends, or by taking no action. Due to the increasing use of the Internet, users today feel much less discomfort when expressing their negative experiences. It can be observed that negative experiences are significantly caused by negative emotions that arise from unmet needs. In expressing their dissatisfaction, the greatest importance is attributed to Generation Z as the leading generation in the development of tourism. Their main advantage is reflected in the fact that they are young people who spend their daily lives in an online environment where they actively search for information. As they are characterized by high levels of family travel planning and a constant need for entertainment, the company‘s primary goal should be to eliminate dissat isfaction by providing high-quality services in line with user expectations. To understand how Generation Z users express their complaint behavior and whether they decide to share negative WOM, a study was conducted in the Republic of Serbia using the Pearson correlation test. The results obtained indicated that dissatisfied users express their complaint behavior by sharing negative recommendations both through websites and forums or directly to people in their close environment. The results of the conducted study may be a significant foundation for future research on the complaint behavior of Generation Z in tourism, especially if the sample is expanded to a larger number of respondents and research is conducted beyond the borders of the Republic of Serbia.
Apstrakt
Prilikom korišćenja turističkih usluga korisnici mogu imati različita iskustva. Najveći problem za kompanije, ali i druge potencijalne turiste, predstavlja negativno iskustvo koje se javlja kao rezultat nezadovoljene potrebe. Ono može biti podeljeno javno putem društvenih mreža, privatno u obliku negativne preporuke (eng. negative word-of-mouth – WOM) upućene porodici ili prijateljima, ili da se turista odluči na ponašanje bez akcije. Usled sve veće upotrebe interneta, korisnici danas osećaju mnogo manju neprijatnost prilikom iznošenja svojih negativnih iskustava. Ono što je moguće uočiti kada je reč o negativnom WOM-u jeste da je negativno iskustvo značajno prouzrokovano negativnim emocijama koje proističu iz nezadovoljene potrebe. U iskazivanju svog nezadovoljstva najveći značaj se pripisuje generaciji Z kao vodećoj generaciji u razvoju turizma. Njihova osnovna prednost se ogleda u tome što je reč o mladim ljudima koji svakodnevnicu provode u onlajn okruženju u u kom aktivno tragaju za informacijama. Kako ih karakteriše visok stepen angažovanosti u planiranju porodičnih putovanja i konstantna potreba za zabavom, osnovni cilj kompanija treba da bude otklanjanje nezadovoljstva pružajući usluge visokog kvaliteta u skladu sa očekivanjima korisnika. Za potrebe razumevanja na koji način korisnici generacije Z ispoljavaju svoje žalbeno ponašanje i da li se odlučuju na deljenje negativnog WOM-a, sprovedeno je istraživanje na teritoriji Republike Srbije primenom Pirsonovog testa korelacije. Dobijeni rezultati su ukazali da nezadovoljni korisnici svoje žalbeno ponašanje ispoljavaju deljenjem negativnih preporuka i putem sajtova i foruma, ali i direktno ljudima u svom bliskom okruženju. Rezultati sprovedenog istraživanja mogu biti značajna osnova za buduća istraživanja žalbenog ponašanja generacije Z u turizmu, posebno ukoliko se uzorak proširi na veći broj ispitanika i istraživanje sprovede van granica Republike Srbije.
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