: 10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V4I11P112
Muhammad Rachmat. "Deconstructing Experiential Quality: How Operand and Operant Resources Foster Loyalty through Self-Destination Connection" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 4, No. 11, pp. 85-93, 2025. Crossref. http://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V4I11P112
The experiential quality’s link with customer loyalty in the context of tourism marketing is a central issue, and yet empirical findings on this relationship are disappointingly contradictory. In other words, by treating experiential quality as a monolithic construct, the current literature fails to adequately differentiate among the roles played by the various types of resources. By incorporating Service Dominant (S-D) Logic and Self-Congruity Theory, the paper proposes a new dual-pathway model that identifies operand resources (tangible/static) from operant resources (intangible/dynamic). This research presumes that these resources develop loyalty through different psychological mechanisms. Data collected from tourists in Ternate, Indonesia, were examined using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate an important strategic difference: resources of the operand (physical quality of the environment) directly affect loyalty, and form a transactional path generated on functional value. The influence of operant resources (quality of social interactions), however, as opposed to circumstances and societal/estranged/relatives/friends network membership, is mediated completely through self-destination connection, which may be seen as a transformational identity-based path. These results address significant existing theoretical ambiguities in the experience-loyalty domain through the definition of a resource hierarchy perspective. For practitioners, this paper offers an actionable roadmap for strategic resource allocation, calling for a shift from operand-centric competition to operant-enabled advantage derived from value co-creation.
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Destination Loyalty, Self-Congruity Theory, Service-Dominant Logic, Strategic Resource Allocation, Value Co-creation.