@article {1034, title = {Priority Systems at Theme Parks from the Perspective of Managers and Customers}, journal = {Technology Innovation Management Review}, volume = {6}, year = {2016}, month = {11/2016}, pages = {40-47}, publisher = {Talent First Network}, address = {Ottawa}, abstract = {Waiting times are becoming an increasingly important customer-experience challenge in theme parks. The seemingly ever-present problem of long queues for rides and attractions is being tackled by the development of priority systems. These innovations allow customers to join an alternative queue that bypasses the congestion faced by regular customers. In other words, by paying extra, customers can purchase the right to be served sooner. Such systems are becoming prevalent, but there is a lack of empirical research into priority systems at theme parks in the academic and management literature, which suggests that in-depth empirical analysis is necessary in order to understand the consumer decision-making process when making this purchase. This article examines priority systems at theme parks both from the viewpoint of park management and of customers. To address this gap, we surveyed nearly 1,000 customers at a major theme park in Spain and conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 theme park managers to assess both customer and manager attitudes towards waiting generally and priority systems specifically. Our results reveal that these priority systems facilitate market segmentation. When theme parks offer this "wait or pay" option, different groups of customers are identified based on their attitudes: those who wait in regular lines and those who are willing to pay to avoid lines. Thus, this innovative system creates an important source of new revenue while also improving the customer experience by reducing waiting times and minimizing congestion. Following a discussion of our results, we offer practical recommendations to managers who need to address the challenges of waiting times in theme parks and wish to improve both profits and customer experiences by implementing a priority system.}, keywords = {innovation, managers, priority queues, theme parks, tourism, tourist behaviour, waiting time}, issn = {1927-0321}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1034}, url = {http://timreview.ca/article/1034}, author = {Gilda Hernandez-Maskivker and Gerard Ryan} } @article {819, title = {The Role of Managers as Agents in Successful Service Innovations: Evidence from India}, journal = {Technology Innovation Management Review}, volume = {4}, year = {2014}, month = {08/2014}, pages = {18-26}, publisher = {Talent First Network}, address = {Ottawa}, abstract = {The article is based on a three-year study of 70 business executives belonging to 20 large organizations operating in India to identify the kind of interventions used by agents (managers) to make service innovations successful. For the purpose of analysis, the subject organizations were classified into highly successful, successful, and unsuccessful organizations on the basis of their growth rate, and their practices were analyzed to identify the role of agents in those processes or related decisions. The article also compares the practices followed by organizations based in India with global organizations operating in India to understand the contextual issues of service innovations.}, keywords = {agents, entrepreneurship, global organizations, India, intrapreneurship, managers, service innovation}, issn = {1927-0321}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/819}, url = {http://timreview.ca/article/819}, author = {Shiv S. Tripathi} }