%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2016 %T Priority Systems at Theme Parks from the Perspective of Managers and Customers %A Gilda Hernandez-Maskivker %A Gerard Ryan %K innovation %K managers %K priority queues %K theme parks %K tourism %K tourist behaviour %K waiting time %X 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. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 6 %P 40-47 %8 11/2016 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1034 %N 11 %1 Rovira i Virgili University Gilda Hernandez-Maskivker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Management at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain. She has a PhD in Tourism and Leisure and a Master's degree in Analytical Techniques and Innovation in Tourism, both from Rovira i Virgili University. Her main research line is on waiting times in tourism services and tourist behaviour. Gilda has also collaborated with the Maldives National University Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies in Malé, Maldives; HTSI-ESADE in Barcelona, Spain; Ostelea-EAE in Barcelona; and the European University School for Tourism in Milan, Italy. %2 Rovira i Virgili University Gerard Ryan is an Associate Professor and accredited Full Professor (ANECA, Spain) in Marketing at Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain, and he is a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University in Ithaca, USA. He is a founding member of FHOM, which is part of the Catalan government’s map of official research groups. He is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, la Revista Escritos Contables y de Administración, and the Irish Journal of Management. He is a regular reviewer and an award recipient of the Emerald Group for his research. His main research interests are consumers, time, and waiting. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1034 %0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2014 %T The Role of Managers as Agents in Successful Service Innovations: Evidence from India %A Shiv S. Tripathi %K agents %K entrepreneurship %K global organizations %K India %K intrapreneurship %K managers %K service innovation %X 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. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 4 %P 18-26 %8 08/2014 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/819 %N 8 %1 Management Development Institute Gurgaon Shiv S. Tripathi is an Assistant Professor in the area of Strategic Management at the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon, India. He holds a PhD degree from Vinod Gupta School of Management at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He has published papers in the area of product and service innovations, growth strategies, and innovations in large organizations. He has presented papers at national and international conferences organized by the Indian Institutes of Management, Indian School of Business, and Strategic Management Society, USA. His current research interests include service innovations, open innovations, ambidexterity, and innovation in large organizations. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/819