Augmented product perception and attribution theory in tourism

Abstract

This study investigates the functioning of augmented product perception and attribution theory in the tourism sector conceptually and operationally. The reason for this is that these two concepts, which are extremely important in terms of consumer behavior, have not been examined sufficiently. Since the research is essentially exploratory, it aims to test the factual relationships in theory and to examine and test the relationships in the model rather than generalize the findings. For this reason; it was preferred to collect data from different groups at different times via convenience sampling technique and high reliability and validity were obtained in each of field studies. The results indicated that augmented product perception was comprised of two dimensions as staff and atmosphere perceptions, and the impact of staff perception on attribution was found to be higher compared to the impact of atmosphere perception. In addition, it was found that the proposition put forward in the attribution theory cannot be generalized in tourism within the context of this study. The study revealed that consumers made external, permanent and controllable attributions.