Supervision Areas & Topics
In line with my main areas of research and expertise, I am happy to supervise postgraduate students (MA/MSc and PhD) on the following topics.
If you are interested in writing your dissertation or thesis in any of these areas, contact Dr. Barbara Neuhofer via email: Email Me Here
Service Design, Experience Design & Customer Journeys |
– Designing customer experiences in the service sector, tourism and hospitality – Customer journeys & experience touch points (pre/during/post) – Experience design and digital technology – Experience Co-Creation and Personalisation (in hospitality) – Experience Design and Storytelling (in tourism) – Fulfilment, mindfulness in tourist experiences – Adventure tourism experiences – Transformative tourist experiences |
Customer Experiences in the Age of Digital Transformation & Technology Enhanced Tourist Experiences |
– Sense of connectedness and closeness in travel through digital technology – Convenience, efficiency, enablers and barriers to technology experiences – Education and information in technology enhanced experiences – Independence, control and safety through digital technology – Individualisation and personalisation of travel experiences – Locality, authenticity and territoriality – local travel experiences – Gamification of experiences through digital technology – Serendipity, unexpectedness and discovery through digital technology – Social practices in technology enhanced travel experiences – Timeliness and real-time – the experience of the now – Timelessness and memoralisation – capturing moments and memories – Ubiquity and unlimitedness – everything is possible through digital technology |
(Dis)Connectivity & Work-Life Balance Integration in the Digital Age |
– The ‘Dark Side’ of eTourism – (Dis)connectivity: The impact of connectedness on tourist experiences – Hyperconnected tourists: Re-defining work-life balance in the digital age – Work-life integration in the digital age: What is the workplace of the future? – Travelling but still at work: Issues of remaining connected for leisure and travel – (Dis)connectivity: Can people still disconnect and ‘go off the grid’? – Digital Detox: New trend of disconnecting from technology during travel |
Experience Co-Creation, Value Co-Creation & Sharing Economy |
– Experience economy: Innovation of experiences through digital technology – Innovation through co-creation: Co-creating meaningful customer experiences – Customer to customer (C2C) co-creation in tourism and hospitality – Customer to local (C2L) co-creation and local & authentic experiences – Sharing economy & co-creation of experiences |
Smart Tourism, Smart Tourism Destinations & eTourism |
– Smart technology, smart tourism and stakeholder value co-creation: Smart technologies for smart tourism destinations – Experience co-creation in smart tourism destinations: Co-creating in technology-enhanced service (eco)-systems – Smart technologies, smart experiences – Social Media, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Wearable Devices – Gamification and Games (Pokemon Go) in tourism destinations – The smart tourist: Consumer needs and requirements of smart tourists – Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbots and robots – Experience co-creation with robots, scenarios of the future |
The Connected Consumer, Generation Y & Digital Natives |
– The connected consumer: Exploring how digital technology connects work, life & travel – Generation Y & Digital Natives: Connecting or disconnecting during travel? – Connecting or escaping? Exploring technology enhanced experiences vs. technological detox |
Research Methods |
– Mixed methods (Qualitative and quantitative) – Qualitative research (In-depth interviews, case studies, focus groups, ethnography) – Netnography and online content analysis – NVivo qualitative analysis |
Student Testimonials
Testimonials |
“Having Barbara as my master thesis supervisor was one of the best choices I have made so far. She is extremely helpful and she guided me through the whole process with clear instructions and ideas. She motivated me when I was lost and helped me to find the path again. During her supervision she achieved that I became more interested in my topic than I was in the beginning. Working on my own, but with her being behind my back let me to accomplish my master studies on time and with a great result. Thank you very much Barbara!” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2016 Student) |
Current & Completed Supervision
A list of currently on-going and successfully completed supervision can be found below.
PhD Thesis Examination
- PhD Transfer Viva Voce Examiner Nguyen Thi Thao Quynh ‘Understanding Emotional Intelligence among hotel employees during interactions with co-workers and customers in Vietnam’ (2016)
PhD Supervision
- PhD Supervision Paco Femenia, University of Alicante ‘Tourist Experiences And Smart Technologies Within Smart Tourism Destinations: The Tourist Perspective’, at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences research visit (Feb-May 2017)
- PhD Thesis Supervision Natalia Torres ‘Modelling the Meal Experience in a la Carte Restaurants’ Bournemouth University (2015 – 2016)
- PhD Supervisor Training. Completed. Bournemouth University (2015)
Masters Supervision
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Completion | Name and Dissertation Title |
On-going | Le Danh Dat Online Marketing in Vietnam |
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On-going | Jingming Tinh Minh Tran Chinese cruise industry |
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On-going | Hanh Nguyen Factors Affecting Band Equity of Online Travel Booking Service in Ho Chi Minh City |
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On-going | Julia Angerer Digital detox as new travel experience: customer’s motivations for onsite (dis)connection – Case study of Austrian tourism offers |
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On-going | Stephanie Angerer Usage of mobile devices in destinations under the roaming like at home policy |
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On-going | Katherine Guevara Sharing economy experiences |
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On-going | Giulia Wälter The role of influencers in tourism marketing |
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On-going | Erminio Laudani An eye-tracking study of cognition load in tourism marketing |
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On-going | Ashelle McFee How do responsible travellers use their mobile in the destination they travelled to? |
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On-going | Sean Ralph Millenials: A risk management analysis to optimize the customer experience |
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On-going | Sonia Rostagnol Sharing economy and tourist profiles |
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On-going | Thuy Linh To Gamification in events experiences |
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2017 | Daniella Sallai Development of an experience design implication model in the context of Hungarian spas |
On-going | Kastriot Shala Value co-creation and cultural heritage |
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On-going | Emina Velic Tourist experiences and customer loyalty |
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2017 | Sabine Sarlay Collaborating and connecting: Sharing economy as a game changer in the aviation sector? Commercial air travelers’ willingness to pay premium for luxury services in tourism |
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2017 | Akwasi Boadi Gamification as a tool to enrich the experience of visitors at dark tourism destination: a case study at Elmina Castle (Ghana) |
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2017 | Volha Famina Creation of a Boutique hotel concept authentic to its location |
On-going | Sandra Metz Asian travellers in Hospitality |
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2017 | Jennifer Relota SoCoMo and the tourist experience : The influence of SoCoMo on the tourist experience using the example of Snapchat |
On-going | Niloufar Rouzbeh The influence of virtual reality on social presence |
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On-going | Abdul Karim El-Najar Artificial intelligence in tourism: The future of travel experiences |
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2017 | Mamadou Faye Smart Tourism Destinations: What salient smart components of Amsterdam city impact on the in-situ experiences of the tourists? The Case Of Amsterdam City |
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2016 | Vipapavee Sucanthapruek An enhanced consumer experience through technological innovation: a study of JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok |
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2016 | Saruda Kokiatsakul Human Resources Practices and Front Office Department: A case study of Holiday Inn Bangkok Hotel |
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2016 | Germano Formisano Impact of smartphones on digital natives during their leisure time and holidays |
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2016 | Abbie-Gayle Johnson Airbnb: Connecting tourists with local experiences |
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2016 | Jeannette Camilleri Experience Co-Creation and Co-Destruction in the Sharing Economy |
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2016 | Peter (Yao-Yen) Tu The effect of co-creation on customer willingness to pay |
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2016 | Adelola Makinde Social media as a tool for service recovery in hospitality. A case study of Budget Hotels in Southampton, UK. |
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2016 | Bhushan Raut The role of technology as a facilitator of quality service provision in Luxury Hotels and Upscale Hotels |
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2016 | Roberta Belotti Work related pressures of the Reception Department and their effect on Service Quality – A case Study |
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2016 | Pira Arunrat How social media influences Thai travelers when they decide to travel in Thailand |
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2016 | Mantanaporn Satianpattanakul Impact and use of technology for tourism and hospitality services and experiences |
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2016 | Eleftherios Varkaris The influence of Social Media on the hotel decision-making process |
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2015 | Anna Mattsson Co-created customer experience and sense of community in Bed & Breakfasts |
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2015 | Ya-Wen Huang An exploratory study of the service quality in the Taiwanese restaurant and the relative impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty |
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2015 | Pareena Saengfai An investigation of factors that can attract and hinder foreigners to travel to Thailand |
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2015 | Ozal Turan An investigation into the usage of guest facing hotel technologies and their possible effects at upscale hotels in Istanbul |