Changes in the Perception of a Service During its Consumption: A Case of Organised Tours

The use of multiattribute attitude models to explore and predict consumer behaviour is very popular among marketers. These models provide an account of the integration process by which consumer perceptions are combined to form an overall evaluation of the product[l-5]. Underlying these models is the assumption that the overall attitude is a sum (often produced by adding or averaging) of the discrete product attribute evaluations. These models serve as a diagnostic tool, and guide marketers in the development of attitude change strategies. Researchers using the multiattribute models emphasise the direction (positive or negative) and the intensity (high or low) of the attitude. This approach focuses on the content aspect of the attitude. Based on this approach, a marketer interested in changing consumers’ attitudes can locus on changing the set of salient attributes and/or changing the direction or intensity of the evaluation [6, 7]. It is believed that additional insights into consumer behaviour can be gained by an analysis of the structural aspect of the attitude system. Consequently, in this article the system of interrelationships among product attributes and the positioning of the various attribute subgroups within the attitude system is analysed. The structural aspect of the attitude is first described. Then, changes in it are identified and the usefulness of the structural analysis for understanding attitude change is demonstrated.