![Professor Sara Dolnicar](/sites/default/files/profiles/2996.jpeg)
Sara Dolnicar
- Email:
- s.dolnicar@uq.edu.au
- Phone:
- +61 7 336 56702
- Phone:
- 0437 216185
- Mobile:
- 0437216185
Overview
Background
Sara Dolnicar was born in Ljubljana (Slovenia), grew up in Vienna (Austria) and now lives and works in Brisbane (Australia). She holds university degrees in psychology and business administration.
Sara is an expert on Airbnb and Airbnb regulation, making hotels operate in more environmentallyb sustainable ways while reducing operating cost, public acceptance of recycled waster and social marketing more generally.
To date, Sara has (co-)authored more than 300 refereed papers and led 16 Australian Research Council (ARC) grants, including the prestigous QEII and Laureate Fellowships. She won more than 30 awards, including two lifetime achievement awards: The US-based Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Distinguished Researcher Award (2017) for ground-breaking research that positively impacts the tourism industry, and outstanding service to the tourism research community (in the association’s 48-year history this award has been given to only four people); and the Slovenian Ambassador of Science 2016, the highest honour the Republic of Slovenia bestows on expatriate Slovenian researchers in recognition of global excellence, impact, and knowledge transfer.
Availability
- Professor Sara Dolnicar is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework) of Business Administration (Advanced), Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
- Doctor of Philosophy, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
- Masters (Coursework) of Natural Sciences (Psychology), International University Vienna
Research interests
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Improving market segmentation methodology
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Making tourists behave in a more environmentally friendly way
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Improving measurement in the social sciences
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Peer-to-peer accommodation networks
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Developing better tools for tourism marketing
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Improving brand image measures
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Attracting good foster carers
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Increasing public knowledge about and acceptance of water alternatives
Research impacts
SEGMENTATION RESEARCH
In the area of market segmentation research, Dolnicar has uncovered flaws in segmentation studies, both at the methodological and conceptual level (Dolnicar, 2002; 2003; 2005; 2007), recently proving that factor analysing items before constructing segments (the predominant method in tourism research) leads to inferior results compared to using the raw data directly (Dolnicar & Grün, 2008).
Dolnicar has also contributed significantly to segmentation methodology. Since her PhD in 1997, which compared nueral networks with traditional algorithms, she has been exploring the usefulness of novel algorithms for market segmentation. Later she adapted bagged clustering — an ensemble method leading to increased stability of solutions — for segmentation purposes (Dolnicar & Leisch, 2000; 2003). Most recently she introduced bi-clustering to solve the item selection problem while grouping individuals (Dolnicar, Kaiser, Lazarevski & Leisch, 2013). A comparative study of indices for determining the number of clusters in binary survey data led to a Psychometrika publication in 2002 (Dimitriadou, Dolnicar & Weingessel, 2002) which is cited by researchers from not only marketing, but also psychology, geophysics and engineering. Dolnicar was part of the research team that invented perceptions-based market segmentation, a nonparametric simultaneous analysis of segmentation, positioning and competition which prevents sequence errors from occurring when both positioning and segmentation decisions are made (Dolnicar, Grabler & Mazanec, 1999; Buchta, Mazanec & Strasser, 2000; Buchta, Dolnicar & Reutterer, 2000). As such, she has made a significant contribution to the improvement of segmentation in the broader context of marketing strategy.
MEASUREMENT
In the the area of measurement in the social sciences, Sara has conducted numerous empirical studies investigating the VALIDITY OF ORDINAL ANSWER FORMATS, raising serious validity concerns about the most popular answer format used by marketers: the ordinal multi-category scale such as the Likert scale (Dolnicar, 2003; Dolnicar, Grün & Leisch, 2004; Dolnicar & Grün, 2007). She also investigated the problem of data contamination by cross-cultural RESPONSE STYLES, and developed an ensemble-based method to assess the robustness of results from potentially contaminated data (Dolnicar & Grün, 2007a; Dolnicar & Grün, 2007b). During her research on the validity of marketing measures as well as ensemble methods for the assessment of response bias in survey data, the question of OPTIMALITY OF ANSWER FORMATS arose. Currently Dolnicar is conducting a large-scale investigation supported by two ARC Discovery grants: one specifically investigating optimal brand image measures (Dolnicar & Rossiter, 2008; Dolnicar & Grün, 2007), the other investigating general answer format optimality. Results indicate that the level-free full binary answer format outperforms more commonly used multi-category answer formats in the context of brand image measurement.
APPLIED RESEARCH
Sara has worked with many industry partners since commencing her academic career in Austria. For example, she assisted the Austrian Business Chamber (Hotel Section) in developing a research-based national hotel starring system for Austria. She advised the Austrian Ministry of Tourism on strategic matters and undertook research for the Austrian National Tourism Organization. In Australia, she has for many years worked with a consortium of not for profit organisations responsible for the placement of foster children. Currently she is working with a group of online market research companies in developing and testing improved survey measures specifically designed for the online environment.
Works
Search Professor Sara Dolnicar’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2017
Journal Article
Which hotel guest segments reuse towels? Selling sustainable tourism services through target marketing
Cvelbar, Ljubica K., Grun, Bettina and Dolnicar, Sara (2017). Which hotel guest segments reuse towels? Selling sustainable tourism services through target marketing. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25 (7), 921-934. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2016.1206553
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Someone's been sleeping in my bed
Karlsson, Logi and Dolnicar, Sara (2016). Someone's been sleeping in my bed. Annals of Tourism Research, 58, 159-162. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2016.02.006
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Increasing sample size compensates for data problems in segmentation studies
Dolnicar, Sara, Grun, Bettina and Leisch, Friedrich (2016). Increasing sample size compensates for data problems in segmentation studies. Journal of Business Research, 69 (2), 992-999. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.09.004
Featured
2016
Journal Article
Does eco certification sell tourism services? Evidence from a quasi-experimental observation study in Iceland
Karlsson, Logi and Dolnicar, Sara (2016). Does eco certification sell tourism services? Evidence from a quasi-experimental observation study in Iceland. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24 (5), 694-714. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2015.1088859
Featured
2014
Journal Article
The science of attracting foster carers
Randle, Melanie, Miller, Leonie, Dolnicar, Sara and Ciarrochi, Joseph (2014). The science of attracting foster carers. Child and Family Social Work, 19 (1), 65-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00881.x
Featured
2014
Journal Article
Using graphical statistics to better understand market segmentation solutions
Dolnicar, Sara and Leisch, Friedrich (2014). Using graphical statistics to better understand market segmentation solutions. International Journal of Market Research, 56 (2), 207-230. doi: 10.2501/IJMR-2013-073
Featured
2014
Journal Article
The attitude-behaviour gap in sustainable tourism
Juvan, Emil and Dolnicar, Sara (2014). The attitude-behaviour gap in sustainable tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 48, 76-95. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2014.05.012
Featured
2013
Journal Article
Asking good survey questions
Dolnicar, Sara (2013). Asking good survey questions. Journal of Travel Research, 52 (5), 551-574. doi: 10.1177/0047287513479842
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Newspaper coverage of water issues in Australia
Hurlimann, Anna and Dolnicar, Sara (2012). Newspaper coverage of water issues in Australia. Water Research, 46 (19), 6497-6507. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2012.09.028
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Evaluation of structure and reproducibility of cluster solutions using the bootstrap
Dolnicar, Sara and Leisch, Friedrich (2010). Evaluation of structure and reproducibility of cluster solutions using the bootstrap. Marketing Letters, 21 (1), 83-101. doi: 10.1007/s11002-009-9083-4
Featured
2010
Journal Article
When public opposition defeats alternative water projects - The case of Toowoomba Australia
Hurlimann, Anna and Dolnicar, Sara (2010). When public opposition defeats alternative water projects - The case of Toowoomba Australia. Water Research, 44 (1), 287-297. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2009.09.020
Featured
2009
Journal Article
Environmentally friendly behavior: can heterogeneity among individuals and contexts/environments be harvested for improved sustainable management?
Dolnicar, Sara and Gruen, Bettina (2009). Environmentally friendly behavior: can heterogeneity among individuals and contexts/environments be harvested for improved sustainable management?. Environment and Behavior, 41 (5), 693-714. doi: 10.1177/0013916508319448
Featured
2008
Journal Article
The low stability of brand-attribute associations is partly due to measurement factors
Dolnicar, S. and Rossiter, J.R (2008). The low stability of brand-attribute associations is partly due to measurement factors. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 25 (2), 104-108. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2007.10.002
Featured
2008
Journal Article
Challenging “Factor Cluster Segmentation"
Dolnicar, Sara and Grün, Bettina (2008). Challenging “Factor Cluster Segmentation". Journal of Travel Research, 47 (1), 63-71. doi: 10.1177/0047287508318910
Featured
2008
Journal Article
Environment-friendly tourists: what do we really know about them?
Dolnicar, Sara, Crouch, Geoffrey I. and Long, Patrick (2008). Environment-friendly tourists: what do we really know about them?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16 (2), 197-210. doi: 10.2167/jost738.0
2024
Journal Article
Guiding people to take less food from the buffet: Two survey experiments that introduce a new simulated buffet scenario
Greene, Danyelle, Grad, Gašper, Zinn, Anna K. and Dolnicar, Sara (2024). Guiding people to take less food from the buffet: Two survey experiments that introduce a new simulated buffet scenario. Food Quality and Preference, 121 105273, 105273. doi: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2024.105273
2024
Journal Article
Does every hotel room need a minifridge? Empirical evidence from consumer self-reports and an automatic sensor-based system measuring electricity consumption and guest use
Dolnicar, Sara, Greene, Danyelle, Layeghy, Siamak and Portmann, Marius (2024). Does every hotel room need a minifridge? Empirical evidence from consumer self-reports and an automatic sensor-based system measuring electricity consumption and guest use. Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights, 5 (2) 100134, 100134. doi: 10.1016/j.annale.2024.100134
2024
Journal Article
Understanding how a commitment-based pledge intervention encourages pro-environmental tourist behaviour
Cooper, Elizabeth, Dolnicar, Sara and Grün, Bettina (2024). Understanding how a commitment-based pledge intervention encourages pro-environmental tourist behaviour. Tourism Management, 104 104928, 104928. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104928
2024
Journal Article
Should the risk of social desirability bias in survey studies be assessed at the level of each pro-environmental behaviour?
Zhu, Oscar Yuheng, Greene, Danyelle and Dolnicar, Sara (2024). Should the risk of social desirability bias in survey studies be assessed at the level of each pro-environmental behaviour?. Tourism Management, 104 104933. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104933
2024
Journal Article
An Extended Pre-testing Protocol in the Lead-up to Field Studies
Zinn, Anna K., Greene, Danyelle, Demeter, Csilla and Dolnicar, Sara (2024). An Extended Pre-testing Protocol in the Lead-up to Field Studies. Journal of Travel Research. doi: 10.1177/00472875241266617
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Sara Dolnicar is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Developing and Testing the Effectiveness of Theory-Driven Behaviour Change Interventions for Food Waste Reduction
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Danyelle Jayne Greene
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Doctor Philosophy
Enticing consumers to choose plant-based meals in restaurants: a randomized field experiment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Anna Zinn, Dr Danyelle Jayne Greene
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Doctor Philosophy
NUDGING TOURISTS, THE TOURISM WORKFORCE AND TOURISM MANAGERS TOWARDS A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BEHAVIOUR
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Anna Zinn
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Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the Capabilities of LoRaWAN IoT Technology for Multisensor Data Collection and Analysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Siamak Layeghy, Associate Professor Marius Portmann
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Master Philosophy
Decreasing the aircon usage of hotel guests
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Danyelle Jayne Greene, Dr Anna Zinn
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Doctor Philosophy
Reducing global tourism carbon emissions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ya-Yen Sun, Dr Futu Faturay
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Doctor Philosophy
Low-energy LoRaWAN-based automatic and continuous measurement of organisational environmental performance.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Siamak Layeghy, Associate Professor Marius Portmann
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Doctor Philosophy
Reducing aircon use in hotels
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Anna Zinn, Dr Danyelle Jayne Greene
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Essays on Habit as a Driver of Tourist Pro-Environmental Behaviour
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Monica Chien, Dr Faith Ong
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Towards Sustainable Tourism: Assessing the effectiveness of interventions and measurement methods
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ya-Yen Sun
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Data quality in online surveys: Essays on improving respondent participation and response effort
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Aaron Tkaczynski
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Using Psycho-physiological Methods in Three Tourism Contexts to Measure Consumer Attention to Pro-environmental Information
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Andy Lee
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Essays in environmentally sustainable tourist behaviour
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jie Wang
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Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Sara Dolnicar directly for media enquiries about:
- airbnb
- collaborative consumption
- desalinated water - public acceptance
- destination image
- disaster resilient tourist
- foster care
- market segment
- market segmentation
- peer-to-peer networks
- questionnaire development
- recycled water - public acceptance
- sharing economy
- short term accommodation
- short term letting
- survey research
- sustainable tourism
- tourism
- tourism marketing
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