Economy & Service

Building Trust During Covid-19 Recovery

The current research, within the foundations of dual coding theory and source credibility theories, studied the effectiveness of cleanliness communication formats (textual, visual, and label) and the impact of an expert- (vs. self-) inspected label on a number of consumer outcomes.

Start & End Date

01/06/2021 - 30/11/2021

Main Applicant

Clergue, V., EHL Hospitality Business School

Co-applicant(s)

Chen, M.-M., EHL Hospitality Business School

External Funding

HES-SO

Project Description

While many are willing to return to a post-COVID “new normal”, this return will depend on individuals’ ability to trust that they are safe in public spaces. Thus, hospitality companies have been increasingly communicating their commitment to cleanliness and safety. In this project, our goal is to identify the most effective format (verbal, visual, label, or a combination) to communicate cleanliness in terms of intention to visit a property, willingness to pay for a stay, attitude, and trust toward the brand. In addition, we study the effect of communicating a partnership with an expert institution in cleanliness (vs. communicating the property was self-inspected) on the same focal variables.