Effects of Integrated Resort Experience on Customers’ Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being

Abstract

This study examines the impact of integrated resort brand experiences (IRBEs) on customer well-being through the satisfaction of psychological needs. Partial least squares path modeling tests the hypotheses using a sample of 535 integrated resort customers. The results reveal that four dimensions of IRBE (i.e., sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual) have differing effects on needs satisfaction dimensions (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Furthermore, the results show that autonomy and relatedness needs positively influence both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Thus, this study strongly demonstrates that specific brand experiences play an important role in the transformation of needs satisfaction into well-being. The current article appears to have a significant application of the concept of needs satisfaction on tourism brand marketing but it has not been tested empirically. Also, this article describes the significance of multidimensional IRBE to marketing strategy.

Keywords

integrated resort brand experience well-being autonomy needs relatedness needs competence needs

Introduction

The globalization of tourism has given rise to “integrated resort” as a new form of tourism. Integrated resort is defined as a facility that provides customers various travel services (e.g., hotel, restaurant, bar, casino, shopping, entertainment, and meetings) in one converged location (Ahn & Back, 2018b). The concept of the integrated resort emerged in 2010 with the setting up of two integrated resorts in Singapore—Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Integrated resorts have developed globally in Asia, Australia, Brazil, and the United States because of their impact on the tourism industry (Pwc, 2016). For instance, after the two integrated resorts were developed in Singapore, the average of tourist visits increased 40%, and $600 million EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was generated by the average integrated resort in 2015 (Pwc, 2016). More and more customers are getting interested in the integrated resorts that attract both gambling and nongambling customers, and integrated resort destinations such as Macau and Singapore have emerged as global tourism destinations (Ahn & Back, 2018b; Botelho, 2018). Integrated resorts are an increasingly important and profitable sector of the tourism industry because they attract international customers.

Researchers have explored the phenomenon of customers’ experience with the service brand from the perspective of the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Self-determination provides a useful framework for understanding the relationship between motivation and psychological needs satisfaction. These basic needs are essential to achieving well-being through tourism and hospitality service environment, which supports their basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. For instance, when customers express their opinions, they perceive autonomy; when they establish an emotional relationship with other customers or employees, they feel relatedness needs; and when they complete an activity, they perceive competence needs. Individual customers’ behavior needs to be identified to know whether service experience satisfies autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction (Shen, Huang, & Li, 2016). Customers’ experience with tourism brands is related to psychological needs satisfaction.

In the brand management context, the concept of brand experience has become an area of great interest in both the academic and the practical context. According to Alba and Hutchinson (1987), brand experience is defined as the customers’ knowledge of and familiarity with a brand or brand category. Brand experience occurs when an interaction or involvement is present between the customers and the brand. Robinson, Abbott, and Shoemaker (2005) suggest that the emotional brand experience starts from the touch point when customers see an advertising, a name, or a logo, and it is an opportunity to differentiate the brand. Understanding brand experience is critical because it influences customers’ postpurchase behavior (Woodham, Hamilton, & Leak, 2017). The concept of brand experience has evolved from single-touch point to multitouch interaction. Specifically, researchers utilized the multidimensional brand experience to understand customers’ behavior. For instance, Payne, Storbacka, Frow, and Knox (2009) defined brand experiences as a series of sensations, feelings, cognitions, and behavioral responses triggered by brand-related stimuli. Similarly, in the tourism and hospitality literature, academic researchers have embraced customers’ tourism brand experience, which occurs when customers interact with brand-related stimuli. For instance, H. L. Chen and Mathews (2017) explore the branding process of leisure resort to provide useful guidelines for building experience-oriented competitive brands. The concept of the brand was widely used to understand destination brand (Pike & Bianchi, 2016), travel agency brand (Yen, Chen, Cheng, & Teng, 2018), and restaurant brand (Namkung & Jang, 2017). Given the wide range of tourism services, tourism and hospitality experience must be studied as such a multidimensional perspective of experience that can affect the customers’ perception and behavior (Ahn & Back, 2018a; Kang, Manthiou, Sumarjan, & Tang, 2017).

Although previous studies have noted a relationship between tourism experience and customers’ well-being (Matteucci & Filep, 2017; Sirgy & Uysal, 2016), there are three gaps in the previous tourism and hospitality literature. First, although brand experiences have been studied in service management (Şahin, Kitapçi, Altindağ, & Gök, 2017), customer products (Iglesias, Singh, & Batista-Foguet, 2011), and business-to-business settings (Lemke, Clark, & Wilson, 2011), its relationship with customers’ psychological needs has been largely unexplored. Positive and strong tourism brand experience can provide brands with the opportunity to differentiate themselves from others by enhancing customers’ positive emotion (Ahn & Back, 2018a). Understanding customers’ psychological needs is crucial for creating their motivation to purchase experiences. Second, there is a lack of studies that have examined the underlying mechanism of customers’ well-being, which has a significant impact on the overall tourism experience. Considering the impact of experiential purchases such as vacations on customers’ emotion, rather than material purchases (Gilovich & Kumar, 2015), there is a need to understand the nature of tourism customers’ well-being. Last, tourism studies have focused on the hedonic approach (e.g., Y. Chen & Li, 2018) yet failed to understand the eudaimonic contribution of tourism activities (Filep, 2014). For instance, Kara, Uysal, Sirgy, and Lee (2013) examined the relationship between leadership style and employees’ well-being by measuring the level of life satisfaction. Not only hedonic well-being but also eudaimonic well-being are critical because it is related to customers’ mental health throughout the consumption experiences. Given that eudaimonic well-being incorporates different aspects of well-being, well-being must include more than happiness or positive emotions (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Kimiecik, 2011).

To address these significant gaps, the authors proposed that customers’ well-being is affected by customers’ experience with integrated resort brands through autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction. Thus, the purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to examine whether integrated resort brand experiences (IRBEs) affect customer satisfaction with psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and (2) to access the impact of needs satisfaction on customer well-being (i.e., hedonic and eudaimonic).

Literature Review

Self-Determination Theory

Researchers have examined the relationship between tourism experiences and customer well-being (Uysal, Sirgy, Woo, & Kim, 2016; Woo, Uysal, & Sirgy, 2018). According to self-determination theory, customers’ well-being (e.g., fully functioning and personal growth) is influenced by the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Tourism experiences are related not only to hedonic well-being (e.g., feeling pleased after a holiday stay) but also to eudaimonic well-being (e.g., satisfying the basic needs of competence and relatedness) by accumulating experiences (Voigt, Howat, & Brown, 2010). In the previous studies, researchers have suggested the multifaceted characteristics of well-being. According to Ryan and Deci (2001), well-being is categorized as hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Hedonic well-being is represented by subjective well-being such as customers’ happiness, pleasure, high level of positive affect, and low level of negative affect (Bowman, Brandenberger, Lapsley, Hill, & Quaranto, 2010). Eudaimonic well-being can be achieved when customers do activities that are worth doing, meaningful, challenging, and personally fulfilling (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Thus, hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being are both important outcomes and benefits of customers’ experience. The types of customers’ experience are positively associated with customers’ well-being. Specifically, in developed countries, customers spend much of their time and resources in the experiential purchase (e.g., travel) to enhance their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (De Vos, Schwanen, Van Acker, & Witlox, 2013). Well-being strongly contributes to the growth of the global tourism industry.

Customer satisfaction is an important factor for academic researchers, practitioners, and customers themselves. Especially customers’ satisfaction with their life has been extensively studied in the literature (Neal, Sirgy, & Uysal, 1999). Based on the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2001), customers’ life satisfaction is closely related to needs satisfaction including autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The satisfaction of these needs influences an individual’s attitudes and behavior. These dimensions have been considered as key components for understanding customer behavior. Favorable tourism brands are perceived as having attributes and offering benefits that the customers believe will satisfy their needs (Keller, 1993; Zhang, Cole, Hirt, & Bilgihan, 2017). Customers’ needs are satisfied through experiencing leisure (Doerksen, Elavsky, Rebar, & Conroy, 2014), which contributes to their life satisfaction (C. C. Chen, Huang, & Petrick, 2016; Kim, Woo, & Uysal, 2015).

Positive-Activity Model

The positive-activity model also supports the impact of needs satisfaction on the customers’ optimal well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2012). This model suggests that customers feel happiness by satisfying their basic needs (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Self-determination theory defines autonomy as a basic need that concerns the self-endorsed behavior that reflects an individual’s self-view. When customers experience a high level of autonomy, they tend to be satisfied with their lives (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Competence needs refer to customers’ needs of fulfilling one’s activities by using one’s own abilities (Deci, 1985). The need for competence is satisfied by customers’ experience when they achieve desired outcomes by using their own capability. Self-determination theory explains that relatedness is one of the basic psychological needs (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). When customers feel connected with others (e.g., employees or other customers), they feel relatedness needs satisfaction. Various travel experiences fulfill autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs through the consumer experience dimensions of acting (Schmitt, 2010), pragmatic thinking (Gentile, Spiller, & Noci, 2007), and relations (Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2013).

Staying at integrated resort brands are considered as positive activities that increase positive and memorable experience value. The positive-activity model provides an understanding of the effects of experiential purchases on the customers’ needs satisfaction. The positive-activity model supports the notion regarding the relationship between consuming experiential products and customers’ need satisfaction (Sheldon et al., 2010). A variety of experiences fulfill autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs through the consumer experience dimensions of acting (Schmitt, 1999), pragmatic thinking (Gentile et al., 2007), and relations (Schmitt & Zarantonello, 2013). Similarly, Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) suggest that purchasing experiences may increase well-being because they are associated with the customers’ multiple sensory modalities and facilitate positive fantasy-like emotional experiences. On the basis of the aforementioned explanation, need satisfaction is estimated to be formed by an integrated resort experience.

Antecedents of Needs Satisfaction: Integrated Resort Sensory Experience

The design of the service environment is a key concept that can be leveraged to enhance the customers’ perception of enjoyment (Bonn, Joseph-Mathews, Dai, Hayes, & Cave, 2007). Tourism service providers focus on hedonic experiences that perpetuate perceived freedom, heightened involvement, escapism, and fantasy, and the value of such experiences lie in their intrinsically pleasing sensations/facilities (Gursoy, Spangenberg, & Rutherford, 2006). Tourism researchers have examined the impact of sensory elements on the customers’ feeling of autonomy. Ryan, Rigby, and Przybylski (2006) found that the visual elements of a tourism website allow customers to experience a sense of autonomy that subsequently predicts their behavioral intention. The customers’ experience of enjoyment is positively related to their autonomy (Peng, Lin, Pfeiffer, & Winn, 2012). Experience of hedonic pleasure is a critical component of enjoyment, and higher order needs are related to enjoyment (Tamborini, Bowman, Eden, Grizzard, & Organ, 2010). Interest and enjoyment are associated with customers’ motivation for participating in recreational activities such as sports, plays, and games (Frederick & Ryan, 1995; Ryan et al., 2006). For instance, Ryan et al. (2006) found that a high level of enjoyment after playing games is associated with autonomy needs satisfaction. Visual (e.g., pictures and graphics) and audial (e.g., local music and storytelling videos) contents result in a customer’s experience of enjoyment (Huang, Backman, Backman, & Chang, 2016). Sensory contents are considered to satisfy the customers’ autonomy needs by providing them with the experience of enjoyment (Partala, 2011). Various types of sensory stimulation in integrated resorts provide entertaining contents anywhere and anytime, and it can be a powerful source of customers’ autonomy needs satisfaction. Thus, the impact of sensory experience on customers’ autonomy needs satisfaction was hypothesized.

H1₀: Integrated resort sensory brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

H1_a: Integrated resort sensory brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

Integrated resort environments often contain sensory stimuli, such as paintings, background music, slot machines, scent of guestrooms, texture of furniture, and taste of restaurant food. A specific sensory attribute enhances the intrinsic motivation of customers to perform activities for the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Customers perceive enjoyment when they use their senses to enjoy their tourism experience and perceive curiosity when they investigate new knowledge and sensory experience. Such enjoyment and curiosity are important because they are related to a positive perception of ability. Perceived competence is related to self-efficacy, which refers to the customers’ judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute activities. In previous studies, researchers have found that enjoyment is positively and strongly associated with competence needs satisfaction (Ryan et al., 2006; Tamborini et al., 2010). For instance, Tamborini et al. (2010) suggest that enjoyment of video games is related to enjoyment and entertaining, which can be a source of intrinsic motivation including competence. In line with this, a visually attractive mobile application and website can stimulate customers’ sensory experience, which leads to customers’ self-presentation, which influences customers’ positive feeling and experiences. Thus, a high level of self-presentation enhances feelings of self-esteem, and it satisfies customers’ competence needs (Gonzales & Hancock, 2011; Reinecke, Vorderer, & Knop, 2014). Also, using a kiosk to provide visual information (e.g., video brochure of travel, promotion information) can optimize their communication with other attendees. The sensory attributes of integrated resorts influence the customers’ perception of their needs satisfaction by enhancing their engagement, enjoyment, and motivated behavior. Therefore, the impact of sensory experience on customers’ competence needs satisfaction was hypothesized.

H2₀: Integrated resort sensory brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

H2_a: Integrated resort sensory brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

In the integrated resort setting, customers’ perceived sensory experience is associated with their postpurchase attitude and behavior. For instance, visual and audial communication between customers and service providers can influence their positive evaluation. When customers perceive the sensory aspects of an integrated resort environment, they tend to become connected with others and experience relatedness (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000). Visual, audial, and tactical elements provide brands the opportunity to leverage the brand experiences of their customers by linking their experiences to the brand. For instance, an integrated resort can promote a nostalgic mood by displaying various items associated with the arts, culture, and entertainment (e.g., framed images of poetry and landscape paintings), items that are linked to the customers’ homeland (e.g., objects that are associated with a distant land) and items that remind the customers of their friends and loved ones (e.g., objects that represent close social relationships) (Holbrook & Schindler, 2003). The ambiance of integrated resorts encompasses both cognitive and affective elements and promotes a multisensory experience that can create meaningful relationships and community involvement, both of which are strongly tied to the satisfaction of relatedness needs. Thus, the impact of sensory experience on customers’ relatedness needs satisfaction was suggested.

H3₀: Integrated resort sensory brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

H3_a: Integrated resort sensory brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

Antecedents of Needs Satisfaction: Integrated Resort Affective Experience

The customers’ needs satisfaction is a source of positive experiences and happiness. Affective experience of joy is seen as a long-term cognitive and holistic sense of intrinsic enjoyment. Given that affective brand experience refers to feelings and emotions (e.g., feeling of being welcome in an integrated resort), such experiences are related to the intrinsic feeling of enjoyment that a customer feels when playing golf, gambling, and doing creative activities in an integrated resort. Intrinsic enjoyment is strongly related to affective experiences, easy concentration, ego development, lack of boredom, internal locus of control, and intrinsic involvement (Hamilton, Haier, & Buchsbaum, 1984). Customers may engage in activities that can provide them with interesting experiences, that are easy to achieve and participate in, and that can lead to long-term intrinsic enjoyment (Hamilton et al., 1984). Autonomous needs satisfaction happens when customers can freely join an activity without any contingency and pressure (Vallerand et al., 2003). The enjoyment of shopping, gambling, eating, and staying in hotel rooms all invoke the positive moods and emotions of customers toward the brand, and this affective integrated resort experience motivates customers to complete various activities in harmony. Thus, the authors suggest that affective experience influences customers’ autonomy needs satisfaction.

H4₀: Integrated resort affective brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

H4_a: Integrated resort affective brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

Affective brand experience occurs when the integrated resort brand stimulates the customers’ emotions and feelings and fosters an emotional bond with its customers. Affective integrated resort experience may favor the individual sense of competence under certain conditions. Customers are more likely to feel competent if they feel happy in learning how to play slot machines, interacting with other customers and employees, and planning their travels. Integrated resort brands also provide membership or loyalty programs that increase the happiness and motivation of customers to participate in tourism activities. Thus, an affective integrated resort environment is associated with competence—that is, the desire to efficiently deal with new activities (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Any activity that can lead to positive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and/or satisfies the psychological needs of competence can make the customers happy (Deci & Ryan, 2012; Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013). Thus, the authors hypothesized that affective experience influences customers’ competence needs satisfaction.

H5₀: Integrated resort affective brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

H5_a: Integrated resort affective brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

The feeling of happiness from an integrated resort experience is an affective experience that relates to the presence of positive feelings, such as pleasure, joy, and relatedness, and the absence of negative ones, such as pain, sorrow, and anxiety. Positive emotions stimulate customers to seek information about the brand and to know about the other customers. Relatedness needs refer to the individuals’ efforts to be accepted by and interact with others within a social context (Ntoumanis, 2001); a high level of relatedness influences the customers’ feeling of being connected to and being cared for by another (La Guardia et al., 2000). Relatedness influences the customers’ need to feel a sense of closeness with others (Deci & Ryan, 2000), and a person whose need for relatedness is satisfied is likely to feel connected with others (La Guardia et al., 2000). Baumeister and Leary (1995) argue that the satisfaction of relatedness needs is associated with positive affect, such as feelings of attachment and love. Customers who develop a strong positive image of the brand prefer to be connected and joined with others (Schultz, Kleine, & Kernan, 1989). The emotional richness of customers’ experience is related to the customers’ satisfaction with their relatedness needs. Thus, the impact of affective experience on customers’ relatedness needs satisfaction was suggested.

H6₀: Integrated resort affective brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

H6_a: Integrated resort affective brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

Antecedents of Needs Satisfaction: Integrated Resort Behavioral Experience

Research based on self-determination theory has shown that the customers’ behavioral experiences are related to the extent that their behavior is intrinsically motivated and autonomous. Researchers find that a higher autonomous motivation corresponds to increased occurrences of desirable behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Osbaldiston & Sheldon, 2003). Behavioral experience is related to physical actions and behaviors that are stimulated by integrated resorts. In these resorts, behavioral experiences encompass different types of experiences related to the physical body, such as swimming, golfing, biking, and walking across facilities. Customers can gain a positive behavioral experience by enjoying various types of tourism experiences. IRBE influences the satisfaction of a customer’s need to feel that his or her activities are self-chosen, self-governed, and self-endorsed (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000). In other words, this experience is associated with the customers’ perception that they are not being pressured to behave in certain ways. Thus, the authors hypothesized that behavioral experience influences customers’ autonomy needs satisfaction.

H7₀: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

H7_a: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

The behavioral experiences that a customer wants to gain in integrated resorts reflect his or her preferred lifestyle or leisure activities (Schmitt, 2010). Customers can gain a positive behavioral experience by enjoying those activities that are related to their lifestyle. Integrated resorts can offer many opportunities for gaining behavioral experiences and provide several antecedents that can increase motivation (e.g., challenges, rewards, and feedback). When customers feel competent in their skills when participating in tourism activities, they feel highly capable of performing a certain behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985). When customers perceive positive behavioral brand experiences, they feel able to perform or change their behavior. Thus, the impact of behavioral experience on customers’ competence needs satisfaction.

H8₀: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

H8_a: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

Integrated resorts provide behavioral experiences, such as gambling, attending conferences, shopping, and playing golf. These experiences may enhance the need of customers to connect with others, construct their identities, and express themselves (Arnould & Price, 1993; Carter & Gilovich, 2012). Relatedness is satisfied when customers engage in activities that build their sense of belonging with others (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Customers satisfy their relatedness needs when they play table games and golf with other customers, attend conferences, interact with other attendees, and shop with their friends at the mall. Thus, behavioral leisure activities in integrated resorts may also satisfy the relatedness needs of customers.

H9₀: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

H9_a: Integrated resort behavioral brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

Antecedents of Needs Satisfaction: Integrated Resort Intellectual Experience

Customers gain intellectual experience when visiting integrated resorts. Various technologies (e.g., kiosks in lobbies and tablet computers in rooms) facilitate the consumers’ brain activity and subsequently enhance their intellectual brand experience. Engaging in gambling activities (e.g., slot machines and table games) also improves the intellectual integrated resort experience of these customers. Autonomy needs can be satisfied when customers engage in behaviors that express their true identities and make them feel in charge of their own actions (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Integrated resort experiences offer customers with meaningful and flexible choices to balance their curiosity, skills, and goals, thereby making these customers feel that their behaviors are based on their own intentions. When the autonomy needs of customers are satisfied in an intellectually conditioned environment, they function more positively and gain positive experiences. Thus, the authors suggest that intellectual experience leads customers’ autonomy needs satisfaction.

H10₀: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

H10_a: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their autonomy needs.

In an integrated resort, customers enjoy cognitive tasks, such as playing slot machines and participating in various events. Integrated resorts provide multiple learning paths and customized interaction tools that allow customers to build their own competence. Many integrated resorts provide information through websites and mobile applications, and these technologies make their customers feel intrinsically motivated. The need for competence is related to achieving desired outcomes (White, 1959), and the perception of physical competence influences performance, behavior, cognition, and affect (Weiss & Ebbeck, 1996). Customers enjoy and seek out cognitively engaging activities, such as waiting for gambling results (which stimulates their intellect), receiving resort-related information quickly (which satisfies their demand for fast service), and attending entertainment shows (which stimulates their creativity), all of which satisfy their competence needs. Thus, the impact of intellectual experience on customers’ competence needs satisfaction was hypothesized.

H11₀: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

H11_a: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their competence needs.

Relatedness is associated with the satisfaction of needs that foster self-determination, and the failure to satisfy such needs will influence one’s controlling behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Experiencing relatedness means feeling connected to peers and belonging to communities. Recently, many integrated resorts have developed online platforms to allow their customers to express themselves and connect with other customers. Social media such as Facebook can enhance customers’ ability to connect with one another and to meet their relatedness needs (Sheldon, Abad, & Hinsch, 2011). Similarly, the social media of integrated resorts provide an intellectual experience by allowing their customers to actively communicate with a diverse set of acquaintances. Social media rely on collaboration, remixed texts, and self-publishing to offer individuals a new way to participate in communities and communicate with others. Social media experiences allow customers to connect with others and satisfy their relatedness needs. Hence, the authors suggest that intellectual experience influences customers’ relatedness needs satisfaction.

H12₀: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience has no significant effect on the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

H12_a: Integrated resort intellectual brand experience positively influences the customers’ satisfaction of their relatedness needs.

Consequences of Needs Satisfaction: Well-Being

Most customers want to be happy and try to feel happiness by earning more income, pursuing better careers, or buying a new car. Although these life circumstances can influence one’s happiness, they do not influence one’s well-being (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). To improve one’s happiness and invoke positive emotions, simple cognitive and behavioral strategies can be employed (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Previous studies show that the relationship between life circumstances and happiness is not as strong as intuition would suggest (Ed, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Researchers suggest that the satisfaction of basic needs (e.g., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) is a better predictor of positive emotions than one’s income (Diener, Ng, Harter, & Arora, 2010). Recent evidence also shows that needs satisfaction mediates the relationship between activities and well-being. Positive activities are related to the need of satisfying the feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Sheldon et al., 2010) and promoting positive emotions that may influence one’s well-being.

Many researchers suggest a positive relationship between customers’ tourism activities and their well-being (Neal et al., 1999; Sirgy, 2010). Tourism participation is a driver that affects customers’ satisfaction with their overall life. Several researchers have provided subtly different forms and definitions of well-being. For instance, well-being has been described as a cognitive aspect of subjective well-being that refers to people’s global evaluation of the quality of their lives (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, 2005). The overall cognitive and global evaluation of one’s quality of life has also been identified as a component of subjective well-being (Campbell, Converse, & Rogers, 1976). The subjectively perceived quality of life is based on an individual’s preferences in multiple life domains and his or her satisfaction in these domains (Henrich & Herschbach, 2000). This subjective sense of well-being alludes to one’s overall happiness with life (Lent et al., 2005) and the summary evaluation of objects along a dimension ranging from positive to negative (Petty, Wegener, & Fabrigar, 1997).

Well-being is a fundamental element of quality of life that refers to subjective internal states as well as to individual physical and psychological feelings. Researchers have used different terminologies to distinguish hedonic well-being from eudaimonic well-being and assessed well-being from different perspectives (Haybron, 2001; Ryan & Deci, 2001). The first perspective is hedonic well-being, which refers to the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 1999). Hedonic well-being has also been related to a life experience associated with pleasure, arousal, feelings, and fun (Hirschman & Holbrook, 1982). The hedonic approach to understanding individual well-being has been a topic of interest in the assessment of subjective well-being, which measures happiness, quality of life, and life satisfaction. Happiness is an affective mood or state (e.g., positive or negative) that reflects the affect that people feel toward their current state of affairs, whereas life satisfaction refers to the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his or her life. Subjective well-being is associated with a general subjective evaluation of life in various domains and in general (Heller, Watson, & Ilies, 2004). The evaluation and satisfaction of discrete experiences also influence an individual’s life satisfaction. However, recent studies have questioned the efficacy of solely using hedonic well-being to understand customers’ life satisfaction (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Huta & Ryan, 2010).

Well-being must include additional aspects apart from life satisfaction, such as personal development. In this approach, eudaimonic well-being is linked to the concept of eudaimonia, which refers to the fulfillment of human potential that results in personal growth and develops one’s psychological strengths to meet his or her goals (Ryan & Deci, 2001). While hedonic well-being is associated with happiness, pleasure, and positive affect, eudaimonic well-being is related to the actualization of human potential or realization of one’s true nature. The main difference between these two perspectives is that hedonic well-being refers to the satisfaction of any type of desire, while eudaimonic well-being is related to the satisfaction of needs that are necessary for personal functioning and human development. The eudaimonic concept is rooted in Aristotle’s view of human happiness, which assesses the goodness of living in a manner that actively expresses one’s excellence of character or virtue (Haybron, 2001). Waterman (1993) suggests that eudaimonic well-being occurs when the individual has a high level of involvement in specific activities. Eudaimonic engagement is closely related to experiences of interest, motivation, types of work, and joy at work (Csikszentmihalyi & Hunter, 2003). Thus, in the tourism setting, eudaimonic well-being also incorporates different aspects of well-being in addition to hedonic well-being (Smith & Diekmann, 2017; Voigt et al., 2010).

Autonomy Needs and Well-Being

Based on self-determination theory, the satisfaction of autonomy needs is an antecedent of customer well-being. Ryan, Sheldon, Kasser, and Deci (1996) provide a framework that illustrates the relationship among autonomy, motivation, and well-being. They show that intrinsic motivation (i.e., motivation that is closely related to basic needs) is associated with enhanced well-being, while investment in extrinsic motivation (i.e., motivation that is presumed to be unrelated to basic needs) does not enhance well-being. Autonomy is positively associated with positive mood and vitality, which are the components of well-being, by enhancing the intrinsic motivation of individuals (Reis, Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe, & Ryan, 2000). By engaging in various activities in an integrated resort, customers achieve both hedonic happiness—which is related to the pleasure derived from certain activities (e.g., a holiday trip)—and eudaimonic happiness—by finding meaning in their lives (Filep & Deery, 2010). Autonomy needs satisfaction is related to an integrated resort experience of choice and the feeling of being the initiator of one’s own action (Deci & Ryan, 2008). This type of satisfaction also leads to the customers’ positive feeling of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Therefore, the authors propose that autonomy needs satisfaction leads to customers’ hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.

H13₀: Satisfaction of autonomy needs has no significant effect on the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H13_a: Satisfaction of autonomy needs positively influences the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H14₀: Satisfaction of autonomy needs has no significant effect on the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

H14_a: Satisfaction of autonomy needs positively influences the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

Competence Needs and Well-Being

When customers feel their capabilities in participating in travel activities, their competence needs are satisfied. For instance, recently, many integrated resort brands have been equipped with various types of leisure services such as meetings, golf-courses, and video games. Customers can satisfy competence needs by using their own skills and techniques to perform tasks (e.g., presentation, golfing, and swimming). Based on self-determination theory, innate propensity for personal growth and high-level functioning is associated with positive psychology (Bertsch & Ostermann, 2011). A high level of competence is associated with favorable outcomes, such as well-being (Sheldon et al., 2010). When customers feel competence satisfaction by achieving their desired outcomes during travel, this type of satisfaction may be linked to their well-being. In the integrated resort setting, hedonic well-being is related to short-term pleasure, and long-term satisfaction can be achieved through the satisfaction of competence needs. Thus, the customers’ hedonic and eudaimonic well-being can be achieved through the satisfaction of their deeply held competence during travel.

H15₀: Satisfaction of competence needs has no significant effect on the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H15_a: Satisfaction of competence needs positively influences the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H16₀: Satisfaction of competence needs has no significant effect on the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

H16_a: Satisfaction of competence needs positively influences the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

Relatedness Needs and Well-Being

Several studies based on self-determination theory have examined the impact of relatedness needs on psychological well-being. Relatedness needs can be satisfied when customers feel a sense of mutual respect, caring, and reliance on others (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), which helps them achieve their desired goals, such as establishing good relationships with others. This goal achievement is directly related to the satisfaction of relatedness needs and well-being. As Liu and Yu (2013) suggest, people perceive that social support such as feelings of being cared for and receiving help from others influences their psychological well-being. Customers can experience a strong sense of well-being when they effectively integrate with the service environment. Similarly, in the integrated resort setting, various leisure activities provide customers with the opportunity to connect with other customers or employees. The customers’ integrated resort experiences are associated with their happiness, pleasure and positive affect, actualization of human potential, and realization of one’s true nature (Figure 1). Thus, the authors hypothesized that customers’ satisfaction with relatedness needs may also be linked to their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.

H17₀: Satisfaction of relatedness needs has no significant effect on the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H17_a: Satisfaction of relatedness needs positively influences the customers’ hedonic well-being.

H18₀: Satisfaction of relatedness needs has no significant effect on the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

H18_a: Satisfaction of relatedness needs positively influences the customers’ eudaimonic well-being.

Figure 1

Proposed Model of Integrated Resort Brand Experience, Needs Satisfaction, and Well-Being

Method

Data Collection

Data were collected from a sample of customers of integrated resorts using an online survey. The authors used a popular online survey website, Amazon Mechanical Turk. Amazon Mechanical Turk is an online labor market with workers who voluntarily participate in tasks in return for a payment. The quality of Amazon Mechanical Turk data was found to be as reliable as conventional data collection methods (Mason & Suri, 2012). Before respondents participated in the survey, the definition of the integrated resort (i.e., integrated resort refers to a converged location for casino and noncasino services, including lodging, eating and drinking places, entertainment, retail, and convention targeted for massive market segments) and the consent form were provided. To qualify the respondents, the first filter question asked the respondents whether they had the experience of staying at integrated resorts. If the respondents had an integrated resort experience, they were then asked to name integrated resort brands that they had recently visited within the past 1 year. The integrated resort brand name was then auto filled for the remaining questions relating to the brand in the survey. For instance, if the participant mentioned “Marina Bay Sands” as the most recently visited integrated resort, this brand name was embedded into the entire questionnaire (e.g., staying at Marina Bay Sands makes a strong impression on my visual sense or other senses, staying at Marina Bay Sands makes me feel cared about). Respondents were offered a monetary incentive by the research firm. The survey had no missing data due to its forced responses to answer policy. A total of 535 respondents completed the questionnaire. A total of 289 males (54.0%) and 246 females (46.0%) participated in the survey. Among the participants, the majority of them were 25- to 34-year-olds (54.4%), followed by 35- to 50-year-olds (22.4%). Most of the respondents had a bachelor’s degree (42.8%).

Measurements

Multi-item measures with a 7-point Likert-type scale were adopted and modified from previous relevant literature. Content validity was ensured through working with tourism and hospitality academic experts and conducting a pilot study with hospitality graduate students. Also, by conducting the pretest, the overall quality of the survey items including its reliability and validity were increased. In measuring IRBE, the authors adopted Brakus, Schmitt, and Zarantonello’s (2009) four dimensions (sensory, affective, intellectual, and behavioral). All needs satisfaction items were adapted from Thomson (2006). Hedonic well-being was assessed using five items from Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin (1985). Next, eudaimonic well-being was measured by Diener et al.’s (2010) eight-item scale. One item of eudaimonic well-being was omitted (“I am optimistic about my future”) because the factor loading of this item was less than 0.40 (Hatcher, 1994; Hsu, Kang, & Wolfe, 2002). The measurement items and psychometric properties for the constructs are provided in Table 1.

Table 1

Measures, Standardized Factor Loadings, and Cronbach’s Alpha Values

Items	Mean	SD	Item Loading	Cronbach’s Alpha	Rho_A	Composite Reliability	AVE
Sensory experience	5.64	1.08		0.86	0.88	0.92	0.79
This IR makes a strong impression on my visual sense or other senses.			0.85
I find this IR interesting in a sensory (visual, auditory, or tactile) way.			0.91
This IR appeals to my senses.			0.90
Affective experience	5.25	1.17		0.89	0.82	0.89	0.74
This IR induces feelings and sentiments.			0.81
I have strong emotions for this IR.			0.89
This IR generates emotional experiences.			0.87
Behavioral experience	5.07	1.21		0.89	0.82	0.89	0.73
I engage in physical actions and behaviors when I experience this IR.			0.87
This IR results in bodily experiences.			0.84
This IR is action oriented.			0.85
Intellectual experience	4.97	1.34		0.88	0.88	0.93	0.81
I engage in a lot of thinking when I visit this IR.			0.92
This IR makes me think.			0.91
This IR stimulates my curiosity.			0.87
Autonomy needs satisfaction	5.44	1.08		0.85	0.85	0.91	0.77
This IR makes me feel free to do things my way.			0.85
This IR makes me feel free to be who I am.			0.90
This IR makes me feel free when I stay at this resort.			0.88
Competence needs satisfaction	5.26	1.56		0.88	0.88	0.92	0.80
This IR makes me feel competent.			0.83
This IR makes me feel capable.			0.86
This IR makes me feel effective.			0.84
Relatedness needs satisfaction	5.03	1.23		0.88	0.89	0.92	0.74
This IR makes me feel cared about.			0.79
I feel a lot of closeness with this IR.			0.89
This IR makes me feel a lot of closeness with others.			0.87
This IR makes me feel very close to this brand.			0.88
Hedonic well-being	5.22	1.17		0.91	0.90	0.92	0.70
In most ways, my life is close to my ideal.			0.85
The conditions of my life are excellent.			0.87
I am satisfied with my life.			0.88
So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.			0.84
If I could live my time over, I would change almost nothing.			0.74
Eudaimonic well-being (psychological well-being)	5.59	0.95		0.91	0.91	0.93	0.64
I lead a purposeful and meaningful life.			0.81
My social relationships are supportive and rewarding.			0.78
I am engaged and interested in my daily activities.			0.83
I actively contribute to the happiness and well-being of others.			0.81
I am competent and capable of doing the activities that are important to me.			0.79
I am a good person and live a good life.			0.81
People respect me.			0.77

Note: IR = integrated resort; SD = standard deviation; AVE = average variance extracted. The items were measured on a 7-point scale, where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree.

Data Analysis

To test the hypothesized relationship, the variance-based partial least squares (PLS) path modeling technique was used with SmartPLS 2.0 (Ringle, 2005). PLS technique is useful to examine relatively complex models with a large number of manifest variables (more than 20 proposed relationships), minimal restrictions on measurement scales, and residual distributions (Henseler, Ringle, & Sinkovics, 2009). In the tourism literature, PLS modeling has been widely used because it makes it possible to estimate a less restricted model and does not need to meet a solid theory (Kim, Lee, & Chung, 2013). Furthermore, t values were used to test for signiﬁcance by conducting a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure (Henseler et al., 2009).

Measurement Model

As the first step, the measurement model was examined to analyze the relationship between the latent variables and its indicators. All results are described in Table 1. Reliability was supported because all factor loadings were greater than 0.70 (Henseler et al., 2009). In terms of internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability exceeded a recommended threshold of 0.70 (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998; Henseler et al., 2009). The average variance extracted was greater than 0.50, which provides the evidence of the convergent validity (Table 2). Finally, discriminant validity was found because the square roots of the average variance extracted are greater than the correlations of the latent variables in the model (Hair et al., 1998; Henseler et al., 2009).

Table 2

Interconstruct Correlations: Discriminant Validity

Construct	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Sensory IRBE	0.89
2. Affective IRBE	0.63	0.86
3. Intellectual IRBE	0.52	0.72	0.85
4. Behavioral IRBE	0.45	0.71	0.68	0.90
5. Autonomy NS	0.71	0.64	0.56	0.52	0.88
6. Competence NS	0.53	0.67	0.63	0.64	0.68	0.89
7. Relatedness NS	0.48	0.71	0.70	0.69	0.59	0.67	0.86
8. Hedonic well-being	0.31	0.39	0.36	0.43	0.38	0.38	0.44	0.84
9. Eudaimonic well-being	0.48	0.44	0.40	0.43	0.48	0.46	0.42	0.72	0.80

Note: IRBE = integrated resort brand experience; NS = needs satisfaction. Square root of average variance extracted is shown on the diagonal of the matrix; interconstruct correlation is shown off the diagonal.

Structural Model Results

Results of the structural models provide information about the relationship between the latent variables in the proposed model. The impact of sensory experience on customers’ satisfaction with autonomy needs (H_1a: γ = 0.50, p < .05) and competence needs (H_2a: γ = 0.16, p < .05) was found. However, in this study, sensory experience does not significantly influence relatedness needs satisfaction. In support of Hypotheses 4a, 5a, and 6a, the data reveal that affective IRBE has a positive and significant effect on customers’ satisfaction with autonomy needs (γ = 0.18, p < .05), competence needs (γ = 0.25, p < .05), and relatedness needs (γ = 0.44, p < .05). Also, the data reveal that behavioral experience has a positive and a significant impact on satisfaction with competence needs (H_8a: γ= 0.19, p < .05) and relatedness needs (H_9a: γ = 0.20, p < .05) but no signiﬁcant effect on autonomy needs satisfaction. The effect of intellectual IRBE on customers’ satisfaction with three basic needs, including autonomy (H_10a: γ = 0.11, p < .05), competence (H_11a: γ= 0.27, p < .05), and relatedness (H_12a: γ= 0.30, p < .05) were found.

The positive effect of customers’ satisfaction with autonomy needs in both hedonic (H_13a: β = 0.18, p < .05) and eudaimonic (H_14a: β = 0.29, p < .05) well-being was confirmed. Positive impact of competence needs satisfaction on eudaimonic well-being (H_16a: β = 0.18, p < .05) was revealed. Finally, a signiﬁcant path coefﬁcient was estimated from relatedness needs satisfaction on both hedonic (H_17a: β = 0.32, p < .05) and eudaimonic (H_18a: β = 0.12, p < .05) well-being. The proposed model explains 58% of autonomy needs satisfaction (R² = 0.58), 54% of competence needs satisfaction (R² = 0.54), and 68% of relatedness (R² = 0.68) needs. Also, 22% of hedonic (R² = 0.22) and 28% of eudaimonic (R² = 0.28) well-being are explained by the proposed variables (Table 3).

Table 3

Structural Model Results

Hypothesized Relationships	β	T statistics	Results
H1a: Sensory IRBE → Autonomy NS	0.50	9.90	Supported
H2a: Sensory IRBE → Competence NS	0.16	3.19	Supported
H3a: Sensory IRBE → Relatedness NS	−0.04	0.94	Not supported
H4a: Affective IRBE → Autonomy NS	0.18	3.04	Supported
H5a: Affective IRBE → Competence NS	0.25	3.63	Supported
H6a: Affective IRBE → Relatedness NS	0.44	9.28	Supported
H7a: Behavioral IRBE → Autonomy NS	0.09	1.38	Not supported
H8a: Behavioral IRBE → Competence NS	0.19	3.14	Supported
H9a: Behavioral IRBE → Relatedness NS	0.20	4.39	Supported
H10a: Intellectual IRBE → Autonomy NS	0.11	2.24	Supported
H11a: Intellectual IRBE → Competence NS	0.27	4.19	Supported
H12a: Intellectual IRBE → Relatedness NS	0.30	6.62	Supported
H13a: Autonomy NS → Hedonic well-being	0.18	2.90	Supported
H14a: Autonomy NS → Eudaimonic well-being	0.29	4.72	Supported
H15a: Competence NS → Hedonic well-being	0.02	0.26	Not supported
H16a: Competence NS → Eudaimonic well-being	0.18	2.24	Supported
H17a: Relatedness NS → Hedonic well-being	0.32	4.22	Supported
H18a: Relatedness NS → Eudaimonic well-being	0.12	2.20	Supported

Note: IRBE = integrated resort brand experience; NS = needs satisfaction.

Discussion and Implications

The current research contributes to well-being studies, which is yet underexplored in the tourism and hospitality industry. Thus, the author responds to the need for understanding the role of customers’ specific experience. Specifically, the author developed a conceptual model explicating the outcomes of brand experience including needs satisfaction and well-being. The empirical findings support the fact that multidimensional brand experiences are key drivers of customers’ satisfaction with psychological needs. Specifically, in the context of the integrated resort, this research identified the impact of autonomy and relatedness needs on both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Similar to previous studies, the mediating role of needs satisfaction and the linkage between activities and well-being were found.

Theoretical Implication

Brand experience is increasingly becoming an important topic in the context of tourism marketing. The current study tested the key dimensions and outcome of IRBE. The major contributions of this study are threefold. First, in the integrated resort setting, four dimensions of IRBE are differently associated with customers’ needs satisfaction. In line with recent tourism and hospitality studies, in the integrated resort setting, this study found that customers’ brand experience can be measured with a multidimensional construct (Barnes, Mattsson, & Sørensen, 2014; Kumar & Kaushik, 2018). Also, understanding their relative impact is important, but previous research tends to examine its relationship with the brand-related outcome (Ahn & Back, 2018a). However, this study expands the existing knowledge about brand experience by examining the relative impact of four types of IRBE on customers’ needs satisfaction. For instance, the authors found that affective and intellectual IRBE have positive effects on all basic needs satisfaction, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness. One possible explanation is that when customers visit integrated resorts, perhaps customers prioritize affective and intellectual experience compared with sensory and body-oriented activities. However, the relative impact of sensory and behavioral IRBE were found. Although the nonsignificant impact of sensory IRBE on relatedness needs satisfaction is surprising, there are some possible explanations. It is plausible that once the level of customers’ perception of sensory experience goes above the optimal point, they exhibit lower levels of relatedness due to the distance. The author encourages further replication on the link between sensory IRBE and needs satisfaction in other contexts to ensure the generalizability of these results. Also, for the behavioral IRBE, this indicates that customers who are highly involved with activities that can stimulate their curiosity or logical thinking, they are more likely to demonstrate their satisfaction with competence and relatedness needs.

Second, this study contributes to the tourism and hospitality studies by providing evidence of the impact of leisure experiences on customers’ life. Although some researchers have examined the role of tourism and hospitality experience in their life (Sirgy, Kruger, Lee, & Yu, 2011), there are limited studies that examine the underlying mechanism of customers’ well-being in the tourism and hospitality context. In this study, autonomy and relatedness needs satisfaction were found to have positive effects on the two dimensions of customer well-being. In particular, customers’ satisfaction with autonomy and relatedness needs were considered to have a positive impact on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. These results are consistent with prior research that shows that these needs are antecedents of well-being (Reis et al., 2000). This indicates that customers who are highly satisfied with their self-endorsed selves and connected with others are the ones more likely to demonstrate their satisfaction with life. Finally, the results also revealed that competence needs satisfaction does not influence customers’ well-being. The results also showed that customers’ satisfaction with their capabilities does not link to customers’ evaluation of their life. These results emphasize the role of customers’ satisfaction with autonomy and relatedness needs, in that consumers proactively create personalized experiences and values with socializing through sensory, affective, and intellectual experiences with the integrated resort brands.

Finally, in line with the previous marketing studies (Rowley, 2005), this study emphasizes the importance of customers’ segmentation and profiling in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Specifically, this study found that customers’ visiting purpose is important to understand the relationship between brand experiences and needs satisfaction. The perception of behavioral brand experience and relatedness needs satisfaction were significantly more positive and significant for gambling purpose customers than for nongambling purpose customers. For customers who visited integrated resorts for gambling, the impact of behavioral experience on autonomy needs satisfaction was higher than for customers who visited integrated resorts for nongambling purposes (e.g., business travel, family travel, and friends travel). Also, in terms of the relationship between relatedness needs satisfaction and hedonic well-being, the difference was significant. This outcome indicates that the impact of relatedness needs satisfaction on hedonic well-being is significantly higher among customers who visited integrated resorts with gambling purpose than among customers with nongambling purpose. Customers who visited integrated resorts with gambling purpose tend to involve various gambling activities. Because relatedness needs can be satisfied with mutual interaction, participating in games might lead to cooperation with other customers, and it allows them to feel the social connection.

Practical Implications

This study provides useful implications for practitioners. First, the current research empirically examined the proposed model with brand experience in the context of integrated resorts along with its possible antecedents and outcomes. Brand managers can use the findings of this study to develop marketing programs. The findings of this study indicate that the impact of sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual experiences on customers’ satisfaction with psychological needs varies. Customers’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs satisfaction seem to be shaped by their experience of sense, emotion, cognition, and action in the integrated resorts. Integrated resort service providers can take the opportunity to develop specific strategies on stimulating sensory experience using unique and authentic design, background music, and the scent of the lobby. For instance, the Art Museum of Marina Bay Sands has provided sensory values to customers. The company recently introduced Art Science on Screen, which is an exhibition using moving image, video, and film. In terms of affective experience, relationship marketing strategies can be used to promote customers’ positive emotions. For example, providing extra rewards using the membership program and advanced services may improve affective experience. To ensure the intellectual experience, integrated resort brands can provide a high level of network quality and friendly mobile application services. Customers’ online and mobile participation in the brand community will provide useful information and enhance intellectual engagement. Behavioral experience can be increased via customers’ physical activities. For instance, in the integrated resort setting, entertainment, recreation, sports, and walking influence customers’ psychological condition. Brand application can be used to promote physical activities in the integrated resorts (e.g., suggesting walking-travel).

Second, this research provides empirical guidelines for tourism and hospitality service providers by identifying key drivers of customers’ well-being through travel experiences. For instance, managers are able to offer integrated resort brochures to inform customers about new product and service introductions. Also, customized education is an approach for increasing customers’ motivation and competence in the integrated resort setting. Using the education system in which technologies and skills are combined, can meet individual customers’ educational needs (e.g., facility-related information, activity-related information, destination-related information). The findings of our study show that customers satisfaction with relatedness needs has a direct effect on both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Service providers, must, therefore seek to drive the connection between existing and potential customers. The organizations should aim to strengthen connections between customers and integrated resort brands regarding meeting the customers’ values by designing effective communications about the brands to customers. Also, due to the important role of the integrated resort in customers’ and local residents’ life, the government could minimize negative images and maximize benefits. Local governments can use the proposed items to monitor local customers’ needs satisfaction and well-being. Improving the safety of integrated resort environment, enhancing belongingness of local residents, developing education programs, and offering social relations event are useful to increase customers’ quality of life.

Limitations and Further Research

This study has several limitations that can present opportunities for further research. First, this research proposed the conceptual model of integrated resort customers’ well-being, which includes IRBE, needs satisfaction, and well-being. However, in this study, the authors did not consider the impact of demographic characteristics. Because in the previous studies researchers have suggested the difference across difference demographics (e.g., gender, age, income, and education), more examination including demographic characteristics can expand the finding of the current studies. Second, the proposed scale in this study is tested using overall experience in the integrated resort. Further testing is necessary to generalize the results of this study. Therefore, future researchers used the proposed model to validate the scale in different cultures and countries (e.g., Asia and Europe). Also, exploring the role of various situational factors (e.g., duration of stay and frequency of visiting, types of integrated resort) across different culture may enhance the understanding. Last, in this study, integrated resort is defined as the property that provides both gambling and nongambling travel services. If possible, future research can conduct the study from a gambling-focused versus a nongambling focused integrated resort perspective to more accurately examine differences in customers’ perceptions.

Summary

This research has shown the key role of customers’ tourism and hospitality experience in their well-being by enhancing psychological needs satisfaction. Not only does this approach enable researchers to identify possible antecedents of customers’ life satisfaction, but it also enables practitioners to optimize customers’ satisfaction with autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs by customizing various brand experiences. This approach is applicable to various kinds of tourism and hospitality services. It represents a considerable advance in understanding the role of customers’ specific experience (i.e., sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual) in the formation of their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.

Footnotes

ORCID iD

Jiseon Ahn

Jiseon Ahn, PhD (e-mail: anji.yaongc@gmail.com), is a senior lecturer at Taylor's University Lakeside Campus, Selangor, Darul, Ehsan, Malaysia. Ki-Joon Back, PhD (e-mail: kback@uh.edu), is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, Houston, TX. Carl Boger, PhD (e-mail: cboger@uh.edu), is a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, Houston, TX.

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