Segmenting the Business Traveler based on Emotions, Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intention.

Abstract

As travel is part of their work, business travelers are assumed to be focused on carrying out a work related task, rather than feeling emotionally stimulated during their trip. Due to this belief, there is limited research on consumer emotions within this segment of the travel market. However, not only is business travel an experience and therefore it involves emotions, but many business trips have a strong leisure component and business travel decision-making is often emotionally charged. This paper segments the business travel market based on emotions, satisfaction and behavioral intention. Using a sample of 400 managers in small-medium-size companies, the study demonstrates that the relationship between emotions and satisfaction is not uni-directional as far as business tourism is concerned. For two of the four segments, the valence of emotions translated into an opposite level of satisfaction/intention. The segments were found to differ in personal and trip-related variables.