Identifying market segments and their preferences for space tourism:

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Identifying market segments and their preferences for space tourism:

J u s t i n a P a l m i l e r a i t e , S 3 7 9 7 2 9 5

A p p l i c a t i o n o f r e g u l a t o r y f o c u s t h e o r y i n c o n j o i n t a n d l a t e n t c l a s s a n a l y s e s

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DISCUSSION OUTLINE

Context

Regulatory Focus Theory Research Gap

The Aim

Methodology

Results and Discussion Reference

THESIS DEFENCE | 2021

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2011 Denis Tito - the first space tourists (BBC, 2011)

Space X mission 2020: first private company flight taking humans to space (Mosher, 2020) Slow commercialisation: only seven space tourists (Hall, 2020)

$55 million - $250 000 for a pre-purchased ticket (Betz, 2020)

Who is the target group for space tourism?

CONTEXT

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REGULATORY FOCUS

THEORY

PROMOTION FOCUS

Approaching pleasure

Motivated by the feelings of advancement and accomplishment

Approaching the end-state by the eagerness

Focusing more on the presence and the absence of positive outcomes (outcomes that gives pleasure) (Higgins, 1997)

PREVENTION FOCUS

Avoiding pain

Driven by safety and responsibility

Approaching the end-state with vigilance

Focusing more on the presence and absence of negative outcomes (unwanted outcomes that cause pain) (Higgins, 1997).

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RESEARCH GAP

A lack of characterisation of segments for space

tourism based on product and personality attributes connected with promotion and prevention states

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RESEARCH GOAL

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Which segments based on personality and product

attributes influencing promotion and prevention states would prefer to participate in space tourism?

SUB-QUESTIONS:

1) How the promotion and prevention attributes of a product affect perceived utilities?

2) Which product attributes are important for promotionally oriented segments?

3) Which product attributes are important for preventively oriented segments?

4) What segment does not prefer to participate in space tourism?

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CONCEPTUAL MODEL

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HYPOTHESES

H1: At least one segment prefers recreational and relaxational experience over space tourism

Promotionally oriented people prefer… Preventively oriented people...

... orbital flights (H2A)

... training options that take a shorter time (H3A)

... shorter flight operating time (H4A)

… less crowded space travel (H5A)

… having more amenities (H6A)

… going with a partner or a stranger (H7A)

... sub-orbital flights (H2B)

... training options that take a longer time (H3B)

... flights that are operating for a longer period (H4B)

… more crowded space travel (H5B)

… having more amenities (H6B)

… more going with people from their social network (H7B)

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METHODOLOGY

CONJOINT ANALYSIS

6 attributes with 4 levels each Every level displayed 6-7 times

Presented with 3 alternatives and 9 choice-sets

Moderators measured by chronic promotion/prevention scales (Higgins et al., 2001)

LATENT CLASS ESTIMATION

Segmentation variables Descriptive variables:

Demographic variables

Intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints (Crawford &

Godbey, 1987; Jackson & Rucks, 1995; McGuiggan, 2004)

Motivational variables (Pearce & Lee, 2005)

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210 participants

52% women and 47% men

68% younger than 36 years old 76% annual income

Sample:

below $ 100 001

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HYPOTHESES

H1: At least one segment prefers recreational and relaxational experience over space tourism

Promotionally oriented people prefer… Preventively oriented people...

... orbital flights (H2A)

... training options that take a shorter time (H3A)

... shorter flight operating time (H4A)

… less crowded space travel (H5A)

… having more amenities (H6A)

… going with a partner or a stranger (H7A)

... sub-orbital flights (H2B)

... training options that take a longer time (H3B)

... flights that are operating for a longer period (H4B)

… more crowded space travel (H5B)

… having more amenities (H6B)

… more going with people from their social network (H7B)

Green - accepted hypotheses Light green - partially accepted Grey - inconclusive

Red- rejected

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CONJOINT ANALYSIS

Relative attribute importance is more in line with assumptions 'Social' was an important attribute for promotionally and

preventively oriented participants 'Herd-safety' (Palley, 1995)

Fun & in-group bias (Cao et al., 2011)

‘Crowdedness’ vs. 'social': out-group vs. in-group?

'Training': satisfaction with minimal training?

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S E G M E N T A T I O N A N A L Y S I S

(NOT-PARTICIPATING) ROMANTICS

Relaxing holidays Going with partner

A higher probability to belong to this group have: younger and lower- income individuals

A balance between interpersonal and intrapersonal constraints

A balance between motivational factors

‘RESPONSIBLE ADULTS’

'Social', 'safety history' (10 years), 'amenities'

Higher 'none option' effects, weaker 'exciting' and 'safest' options' effects than for the Explorers

A higher probability to belong have:

older and higher-income individuals More preventively oriented

Intrapersonal & interpersonal constraints

Driven by self-development

'EXPLORERS'

'Social', 'safety history' (5 years), 'type of flight'

A higher probability to belong have:

men and with higher income More promotionally oriented Intrapersonal constraints

Novelty, self-actualisation, and stimulation, recognition

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LIMITATIONS

Time and experiment limitations resulted in the satisfaction of minimal conjoint requirements, yet a larger sample and a higher number of choice-sets would

improve the quality

Limited analysis of intrapersonal and interpersonal constraints, motivational factors Results accurate for in this specific conjoint setting, with these specific

alternatives

Hypothetical bias

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THIS RESEARCH OFFERS:

We have you covered.

THEORY EXTENSION

Regulatory focus theory applied to the space

tourism field for the first time

Analysis of existing

segmentation research in the space tourism field based on regulatory focus theory which allowed

systematical comparison

INTERESTING INSIGHTS

Going with a loved one is a dominant preference that has not been studied

before

The segment that is not interested in going to space

Identification of segments that are more promotional and preventively focused (such as but not limited to):

RESEARCH

IMPLICATIONS

Proposed numerous research ideas

Managerial implications:

Understanding space tourism segments better

A framework that could be applied for business in relatively risky fields

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REFERENCES

BBC. (2011). World’s first space tourist 10 years on: Dennis Tito. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-13208329

Betz, E. (2020). Six ways to buy a ticket to space in 2021. Astronomy. https://astronomy.com/news/2020/08/six-ways-to-buy-a-ticket-to-space-in-2021 Cao, H. H., Han, B., Hirshleifer, D., & Zhang, H. H. (2011). Fear of the unknown: Familiarity and economic decisions. Review of Finance, 15(1), 173–206.

Crawford, D. W., & Godbey, G. (1987). Reconceptualising barriers to family leisure. Leisure Sciences, 9, 119–127.

Hall, Z. (2020). Meet the 7 private astronaut space tourists. Space Explored. https://spaceexplored.com/2020/02/19/space-adventures-crew/

Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52(12), 1280–1300.

Higgins, T., Friedman, R., & Robert, H. (2001). Achievement Orientations from Subjective Histories of Success: Promotion Pride versus Prevention Pride. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 3–23.

Jackson, E. L., & Rucks, V. C. (1995). Negotiation of leisure constraints by junior-high and high-school students: an exploratory study. Journal of Leisure Research, 27, 85–105.

McGuiggan, R. L. (2004). A Model of Vacation Choice: an Integration of Personality and Vacation Choice with Leisure Constraints Theory. In G. I. Crouch, R. R. Perdue, H. J. P. Timmermans, & M. Uysal (Eds.), Consumer psychology of tourism, hospitality and leisure (volume 3) (Vol. 3, pp. 169–180). CABI Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0261-5177(02)00075-4

Mosher, D. (2020). SpaceX is about to launch its first astronauts, and the stakes for Elon Musk’s rocket company and NASA are epic. https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-launch-nasa-astronauts-demo2-commercial- crew-mission-history-2020-5?r=US&IR=T

Palley, T. I. (1995). Safety in numbers: A model of managerial herd behavior. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 28(3), 443–450.

Pearce, P. L., & Lee, U. Il. (2005). Developing the travel career approach to tourist motivation. Journal of Travel Research, 43(3), 226–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287504272020