Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Using Ethological Approaches to Understand Skiers’ Behavior in Cable Cars Queues in Order to Improve Overall Satisfaction: An Empirical Study Conducted in the Swiss Alps

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover Exploring Services Science (IESS 2017)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 279))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

In a service quality perspective, the animal behavior of humans (e.g. human ethology) in queues has, to our knowledge, never been observed. This paper provides an empirical exploratory enquiry with the scope to understand skiers’ behaviors in cable cars queues in order to improve their overall satisfaction. We carried 82 immersions and 43 semi-directed interviews in the Swiss Alps (Valais), during the scholar vacations of February 2016. Along with the literature review, this research provides hypotheses to better understand the interface between a human queue and a mechanical transportation system. To adjust to the rigid system of the cable cars, our results show that a queue’s regulation is mostly based on ethological behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I.: Human Ethology. Aldine De Gruyter, Hawthorne (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Maister, D.: The psychology of waiting lines. In: Czepiel, J.A., Solomon M.R., Surprenant C.F. (eds.) The Service Encounter: Managing Employee/Customer Interaction in Service Businesses. D. C. Heath and Company, Lexington Books, Lexington (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Naumann, S., Miles, J.: Managing waiting patients’ perceptions: the role of process control. J. Manag. Med. 15(5), 376–386 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Nie, W.: Waiting: integrating social and psychological perspectives in operations management. Omega Int. J. Manage. Sci. 28(6), 611–629 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Baker, J., Cameron, M.: The effects of the service environment on affect and consumer perception of waiting time: an integrative review and research propositions. J. Acad. Mark. Sci. 24(4), 338–349 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. McDonnell, J.: Music, scent and time preferences for waiting lines. Int. J. Bank Mark. 25(4), 223–237 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rafaeli, A., Barron, G., Haber, K.: The effects of queue structure on attitudes. J. Serv. Res. 5(2), 125–139 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Choongbeom, C., Atul, S.: Assessing the relationship between waiting services and customer satisfaction in family restaurants. J. Qual. Assur. Hospitality Tourism 13(1), 24–36 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Van Riel, A.C.R., Semeijn, J., Ribbink, D., Bomert-Peters, Y.: Waiting for service at the checkout: negative emotional responses, store image and overall satisfaction. J. Serv. Manage. 23(2), 144–169 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Whiting, A., Donthu, N.: Closing the gap between perceived and actual waiting times in a call center: results from a field study. J. Serv. Manage. 23(5), 279–288 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Nah, F.: A study on tolerable waiting time: how long are Web users willing to wait? Behav. Inf. Technol. 23(3), 153–163 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Burkhardt, R.W.: Patterns of Behavior: Konrad Lorenz, Niko Tinbergen, and the Founding of Ethology. ISBE Newslett. 18(2), 38–41 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Sylvie, O.: Boris Cyrulik: L’affectivité nous façonne. L’Express, Paris (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I.: Human ethology: concepts and implications for the sciences of man. Behav. Brain Sci. 2(1), 1–26 (1979)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Markóczy, L., Goldberg, J.: Management, organization and human nature: an introduction. Manage. Decis. Econ. 19(7/8), 387–409 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Guercini, S.: New qualitative research methodologies in management. Manage. Decis. 52(4), 662–674 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Otubanjo, O., Amujo, O., Cornelius, N.: The informal corporate identity communication process. Corp. Reputation Rev. 13(3), 157–171 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Low, B.: The behavioral ecology of resource consumption: why being green is so hard. Hum. Ethology Bull. 29(2), 3–26 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Jones, L.K., Jennings, B.M., Goelz, R.M., et al.: An ethogram to quantify operating room behavior. Ann. Behav. Med. 50(4), 487–496 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Weisfeld, G.E., Goetz, S.M.M.: Applying evolutionary thinking to the study of emotion. Behav. Sci. 3(3), 388–407 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Huang, R.: RQDA: R-Based Qualitative Data Analysis. R Package Version 0.2-0 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hall, E.T.: The Hidden Dimension: Man’s Use of Space in Public and Private. The Bodley Head Ltd., London (1966)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Fragnière, E., Sullivan, G.: Risk Management: Safeguarding Company Assets. Thomson, Boston (2007)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thanks Christelle Deillon, Michael Kambly, and Lionel Emery for their commitment to this project, especially for their data gathering.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service Design Lab, HES-SO, Le Foyer - Techno-Pôle 1, 3960, Sierre, Switzerland

    Emmanuel Fragnière, Valentine Gaillet, Benjamin Nanchen & Randolf Ramseyer

  2. University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

    Emmanuel Fragnière

Authors
  1. Emmanuel Fragnière
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Valentine Gaillet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Benjamin Nanchen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Randolf Ramseyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin Nanchen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, eCampus University, Rome, Italy

    Stefano Za

  2. Department of Automatic Control and System Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Monica Drăgoicea

  3. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

    Maurizio Cavallari

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this paper

Cite this paper

Fragnière, E., Gaillet, V., Nanchen, B., Ramseyer, R. (2017). Using Ethological Approaches to Understand Skiers’ Behavior in Cable Cars Queues in Order to Improve Overall Satisfaction: An Empirical Study Conducted in the Swiss Alps. In: Za, S., Drăgoicea, M., Cavallari, M. (eds) Exploring Services Science. IESS 2017. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 279. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56925-3_33

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56925-3_33

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56924-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56925-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation