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.
Other topics, not listed here, can also be agreed upon in individual cases.
If you are interested in writing your dissertation or thesis in any of these areas, contact FH-Prof. Dr. Barbara Neuhofer via email: Email Me Here
| Experience Economy and the Transformation Age |
| – Transformation economy & experience design: How to design and guide transformative experiences? – Transformation age: The future of transformative travel experiences – Transformative experiences and positive psychology – Adventure, outdoor, extreme sport and mountaineering transformative experiences – Positive and negative valences of transformation– Transformative experiences in the events and meetings industry – Transformative experience spaces (third space and liminality) – Education in the age of the transformation economy: Learning journeys of the future – Social element of transformative experiences: Exploring individual and collective transformations – Transformative experiences and existential authenticity – Personas of transformation: Understanding the ‘who’ is in the pursuit of transformation – Transformative experiences and the Hero’s Journey – Transformative experiences, mindfulness and spiritual experiences – Transformative experiences: Social impact and community – Transformative experiences and personal growth – Transformation, Personal Development, and Maslow’s Plateau Experiences |
| Service Design, Experience Design & Customer Journeys |
| – Customer journeys and experience touch points – Experiences and digital technologies – Experience design and personalisation – Experience design and storytelling |
| 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? – Digital elasticity: Travelling but still at work? – (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 |
| eTourism, Smart Tourism & Robotics |
| – 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 – Robots in the future workforce – Robots and human co-creation – Tourism & technology futures |
| 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 – Scenario planning |
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) ” Dr. Barbara Neuhofer is a diligent, caring, and life-changing Professor. She creates transformative experiences for students that guide them to personal and professional development, not only through her teaching methods, but in her kind and helpful character. As a professor and mentor, Dr. Neuhofer goes above and beyond to strive for her students’ success. She is inclusive and creative in her teaching methods in order to allow for each students to have his or her own personal experience in her class. Dr. Barbara Neuhofer changes the lives of the students she teaches, she and will continue to do so in the future. ” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2017 Student) “Since the beginning of my studies, I knew that Barbara is the best supervisor for my master thesis. Her motivation and work attitude are one of a kind and her innovative mindset is really valuable. Barbara guided me through the whole process by making me think about situations from different perspectives.” (FH Salzburg, IMT 2017 Student) |
Current & Completed Supervision
A list of currently on-going and successfully completed supervision can be found below.
PhD Thesis Examination
Francisco Femenia, University of Alicante, Spain: “Smart Tourism Destinations: Incorporating A Demand Approach To Improve Destinations Management‘ (2019)
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 Internal Pre-Viva Examination Paco Femenia, University of Alicante ‘Tourist Experiences And Smart Technologies Within Smart Tourism Destinations: The Tourist Perspective’
PhD Supervision
- PhD Project Visit Host and Supervisor for Katerina Volchek, Hong Kong Polytechnic University ‘Value Maximisation For Personalised Information Service In Tourism‘, at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences research visit (Apr-Aug 2019)
- 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
 | Completion | Name and Dissertation Title |
| 2020 | Melina Scholl & Jasmin Hopf Multisensory VR experiences for destination marketing | |
| 2019 | Filippo Vicentini Airbnb and stakeholder value co-creation in hospitality | |
| 2019 | David Riedl CXO Chief Experience Officer as a job of the future | |
| 2019 | Jennifer Wohlgamuth An ethnoconsumerist service design in retail | |
| 2019 | Bianca Magnus Future of AI for customer experiences in events | |
| 2019 | Lukas Grundner Future of AI in destinations | |
| 2018 | Le Danh Dat
Online Marketing in Vietnam |
| | 2018 | Jingming Tinh Minh Tran
Chinese cruise industry |
| | 2018 | Hanh Nguyen
Factors Affecting Band Equity of Online Travel Booking Service in Ho Chi Minh City |
| | 2018 | Julia Angerer
Digital detox as new travel experience: customer’s motivations for onsite (dis)connection – Case study of Austrian tourism offers |
| 2019 | Katherine Guevara
Sharing economy experiences |
| 2019 | Giulia Wälter
The role of influencers in tourism marketing |
| 2019 | Erminio Laudani
An eye-tracking study of cognition load in tourism marketing | |
| 2019 | Ashelle McFee
How do responsible travellers use their mobile in the destination they travelled to? | |
| 2019 | Sean Ralph
Millenials: A risk management analysis to optimize the customer experience |
| 2019 | Sonia Rostagnol Sharing economy and tourist profiles |
| 2019 | Thuy Linh To
Gamification in events experiences |
| | 2017 | Daniella Sallai
Development of an experience design implication model in the context of Hungarian spas |
| 2019 | Emina Velic
Tourist experiences and customer loyalty |
| | 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 |
| | 2017 | Akwasi Boadi
Gamification as a tool to enrich the experience of visitors at dark tourism destination: a case study at Elmina Castle (Ghana) |
| | 2017 | Volha Famina
Creation of a Boutique hotel concept authentic to its location |
| 2019 | Sandra Metz
Asian travellers in Hospitality |
| | 2017 | Jennifer Relota
SoCoMo and the tourist experience : The influence of SoCoMo on the tourist experience using the example of Snapchat |
| 2018 | Niloufar Rouzbeh
The influence of virtual reality on social presence |
| 2018 | Abdul Karim El-Najar
Artificial intelligence in tourism: The future of travel experiences |
| | 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 |
| | 2016 | Vipapavee Sucanthapruek
An enhanced consumer experience through technological innovation: a study of JW Marriott Hotel in Bangkok |
| | 2016 | Saruda Kokiatsakul
Human Resources Practices and Front Office Department: A case study of Holiday Inn Bangkok Hotel |
| | 2016 | Germano Formisano
Impact of smartphones on digital natives during their leisure time and holidays |
| | 2016 | Abbie-Gayle Johnson
Airbnb: Connecting tourists with local experiences |
| | 2016 | Jeannette Camilleri
Experience Co-Creation and Co-Destruction in the Sharing Economy |
| | 2016 | Peter (Yao-Yen) Tu
The effect of co-creation on customer willingness to pay |
| | 2016 | Adelola Makinde
Social media as a tool for service recovery in hospitality. A case study of Budget Hotels in Southampton, UK. |
| | 2016 | Bhushan Raut
The role of technology as a facilitator of quality service provision in Luxury Hotels and Upscale Hotels |
| 2016 | Roberta Belotti
Work related pressures of the Reception Department and their effect on Service Quality – A case Study |
| 2016 | Pira Arunrat
How social media influences Thai travelers when they decide to travel in Thailand |
| 2016 | Mantanaporn Satianpattanakul
Impact and use of technology for tourism and hospitality services and experiences |
| 2016 | Eleftherios Varkaris
The influence of Social Media on the hotel decision-making process |
| | 2015 | Anna Mattsson
Co-created customer experience and sense of community in Bed & Breakfasts |
| | 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 |
| | 2015 | Pareena Saengfai
An investigation of factors that can attract and hinder foreigners to travel to Thailand |
| | 2015 | Ozal Turan
An investigation into the usage of guest facing hotel technologies and their possible effects at upscale hotels in Istanbul |
