Mobilising identity and culture in experience co-creation and venue operation

This paper examines the multiple ways in which notions of identity and associated cultural values are entangled in the management and operation of commercial hospitality spaces. The paper reviews literature on experience, identity and hospitality operations management within the experience paradigm and argues that existing work provides limited insights into how identities are ‘experientialised’ within hospitality venues. Empirical data are used to demonstrate how management and consumers mobilise direct and associative references to identity. The paper conceptualises the processes involved in venue operation through the notion of inducement, and it discusses the spatial, material, performative and representational practices in the creation of hospitality experiences.     

Entrepreneurship education in hospitality and tourism: insights from entrepreneurs

The perceptions of entrepreneurs in businesses related to hospitality and tourism in a rural community were explored through interviews to better understand their backgrounds, experiences, and insights into education for future entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed for themes and the findings provided ideas for entrepreneurship education in hospitality and tourism and indicated that further attention could be given toward helping students to develop creativity and critical thinking skills, engage in deeper self-discovery experiences, and understand tourism more fully to help prepare them for entrepreneurial roles.     

Wilderness and cultural tour guides,place identity and sustainable tourism in remote areas

This paper is concerned with understanding the relationship between place identity and sustainable tourism in remote areas. It examines wilderness and cultural tourism guides’ place identity and how those identities are deployed in designing and delivering their activities, then evaluates how these activities engage with the goals of sustainable tourism. A mixed-method approach collected data from textual documents, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. A literature review and early document analysis identified three exemplary Yukon place identity narrative themes: (1) Masculinist Narratives, (2) Narratives of the New Sublime and (3) Narratives of Loss. A narrative framework emerged from initial findings and was refined on an on-going basis throughout the research process, and used iteratively as an analytical tool. Sustainable tourism is understood in relation to geotourism and place-based approaches. Instrumentally, the study provides insight into strategies used by guides to engage with, enhance and broaden goals for and understandings of sustainable tourism. It considers the role of infrastructure and the significance of lifestyle entrepreneurs. Authenticity is engaged to examine how it is operationalized as a crucial dimension of sustainable tourism in remote areas and is used to examine instrumental considerations, as well as a potential tool to “liberate place”.     

The interface between hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship,integration and well-being: A study of refugee entrepreneurs

Previous hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship research has emphasized the economic and financial outcomes of entrepreneurship whilst paying less attention to social outcomes. Specifically, minimal academic attention, both in mainstream entrepreneurship research and hospitality and tourism scholarship, has been paid to entrepreneurship as a means to facilitate the integration of refugees and enhance their well-being. To address this gap, this study aims to showcase how entrepreneurial activities in the hospitality and tourism industry contribute to the integration and subjective well-being of entrepreneurs. Drawing on data collected through 38 semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Turkey and the UK, the findings reveal that several factors influence the contribution of entrepreneurial activities to the integration of entrepreneurs and their families within the host society. Entrepreneurial activities also appear to have positive spillover effects on subjective well-being. This paper offers new insights into the social outcomes of hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship by conceptualizing and empirically supporting the relationship between hospitality entrepreneurship, integration and well-being.     

A broader social identity comes with stronger face consciousness: The effect of identity breadth on deviant tourist behavior among Chinese outbound tourists

Deviant tourist behavior (DTB) among Chinese outbound tourists has sparked concerns that such behavior not only exposes destinations to various negative impacts but also damages the international image of China. Hence, it is necessary to explore how to reduce such behavior. Social identity cues are an effective inhibitor of DTB; however, previous research has focused on the influence of the interdependent and interactive nature of social identities on DTB, neglecting the inclusive nature of social identities. To fill this gap, the current study focuses on how Chinese outbound tourists’ identity breadth affects their deviant behavior in international tourism contexts. In Study 1, we examine a distinctive feature of international tourism contexts and find that tourists have high face consciousness. Second, we propose and document that Chinese outbound tourists primed with a broad (vs. narrow) identity develop higher face consciousness and a lower intention to engage in deviant behavior (Studies 1 and 2), with face consciousness mediating this process (Study 3). Finally, Study 4 finds that the number of fellow tourists with the same identity moderates this effect. The influence of identity breadth on DTB is manifest when there are few in-group members present. Our findings provide meaningful practical and theoretical value regarding how to reduce tourists’ deviant behavior through identity-related cues.     

How do lifestyle hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs manage their work-life balance?

This study uses border theory to explore how lifestyle hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs manage their work-life balance. This research utilizes in-depth interviews and observations from Dali and Lijiang, China. Three types of findings emerged. First, for lifestyle entrepreneurs, work and personal life are not divided; business is considered a style of living, not work. Second, lifestyle entrepreneurs’ boundary management tactics include temporal tactics, physical tactics, and psychological tactics. Third, the factors influencing the work-life balance of lifestyle entrepreneurs include personal factors and the contextual factors related to tourism destinations. This paper contributes to border theory by indicating how an individual’s psychological borders have a decisive effect on work-life balance perception, and how both the tourism and Chinese contexts moderate the psychological borders of work-life balance to some extent.     

Total Quality Management and Tourism and Hospitality Education

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the application of quality management concepts in relation to the provision of tourism and hospitality education, with a specific focus on Thailand. The key quality concepts, namely quality control, quality assurance, quality audit and “Total Quality Management” (TQM) are identified, and the applications of these concepts in the provision of tourism and hospitality education are discussed. The paper explores three main themes. The first is to examine how quality issues have been applied to tourism and hospitality education. Second, the paper outlines the concepts of quality management, which represent the key element of a TQM strategy to implement conformance to standards and quality improvement. The third theme discusses the specific case of Thailand, drawing on research in its early stages which examines quality management in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand. An outline of the nature of tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is provided, followed by a synopsis of the significant challenges facing Thai tourism and hospitality education. A procedure for examining quality in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is proposed.     

The Place Identity - Performance relationship among tourism entrepreneurs: A structural equation modelling analysis

Drawing on the literature on tourism, entrepreneurship, environmental psychology, and corporate philanthropy, this research examines how place identity, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and support for community influence the entrepreneurial performance of small and medium tourism enterprise (SMTE) owners. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling are used to analyse the responses from 301 tourism entrepreneurs operating in regional South Australia. The data supports a model suggesting that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a significant, positive effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and support for the community. Findings also suggest that the place identity of tourism entrepreneurs has a positive, indirect effect on entrepreneurial performance: a tourism entrepreneur’s sense of identity with the place in which his/her business operates contributes toward entrepreneurial success.     

Commercial hospitality in destination experiences: McDonald's and tourists' consumption of space

This paper examines the multiple roles that globalised, branded spaces of hospitality can play in tourists' experiences in destinations. It is argued that previous studies have not considered adequately how such commercial hospitality services and spaces interact with and influence tourists' experiences of places. Drawing on a netnographic analysis of online discussions of McDonald's, this study explores how tourists perceive these hospitality venues, and how they use them to engage with foreign destinations and negotiate the ‘work of tourism’. The data show how tourists (re)construct their identities through reflections on consuming McDonald's. The data also demonstrate that tourists critically evaluate discourses of authenticity and the (in)authenticity of consuming McDonald's. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for the marketing and management of McDonald's and similar branded commercial hospitality venues, the marketing and management of destinations, and it outlines avenues for further research.     

Control,use and ownership of big data: A reciprocal view of customer big data value in the hospitality and tourism industry

While the large-scale harvesting of consumer data is a common practice in the hospitality and tourism industries, the seemingly unassailable right of companies to collect and share consumer data is not without critics. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of data-based value co-creation under varying conditions of consumer control and benefits. Academic and press articles were used to explore the nature of big data value co-creation in a wide range of hospitality, tourism, and other industries. A forward-looking approach was adopted by considering the implications of policy and technology as key mechanisms for sharing the power dynamic regarding the ownership, control and use of personal data. The results suggest that reciprocal big data value creation can be seen as a function of the level of benefit and control afforded to consumers regarding the use of their data. Four types of reciprocal big data value creation are proposed.     

Transformation,meaning-making and identity creation through folklore tourism: the case of the Robin Hood Festival

Folklore tourism is often regarded as a subset of heritage tourism, although it has received less attention than comparable heritage events based on documented historic events such as civil war re-enactments and living history sites. Although the ‘theming’ of landscapes and the journeying to places based on their literary association enjoys a long tradition, this paper focuses on the relationship between tourism and folklorism. It explores how folklore events appropriate contemporary and social interpretations of stories to entertain whilst also outlining how legendary historical personalities can play a role in generating tourism. In 2013, a constructivist methodology was employed using 20 in-depth interviews and participant observations to generate qualitative data at the Robin Hood Festival in Nottinghamshire, UK. Numerous themes emerged after coding including the way folklore events blend historic fact and fiction, the power of the imagination to create spaces, and the importance of natural settings and spaces to transform people and places. However, three dominant themes emerged which are specifically presented in this paper, these are: (a) a sense of freedom and escape felt by participants, (b) camaraderie and inter-personal social authenticity and (c) the transformation of self and creation of alternative (additional) social identities.     

Towards decolonising tourism and hospitality research in the Philippines

In recent years, scholars have focused their attention on demarcating the neocolonial situations that permeate the tourism and hospitality academy. The ‘critical turn’ in tourism studies called for the decolonisation of tourism and hospitality research. In this paper, I explore and challenge the state of tourism and hospitality research in the Philippines, by analysing the works of Filipino tourism and hospitality academics. Through a systematic quantitative literature review, I identify the research themes investigated by Filipino scholars on Philippine tourism and hospitality and examine the methodologies and epistemologies employed in the selected research outputs. The findings indicate that colonial legacies and neocolonial situations are strongly present in Philippine tourism and hospitality knowledge production. To challenge these scenarios, I suggest a decolonial agenda informed by Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology), a native epistemological perspective. This article serves as a contribution to the epistemological decolonisation of tourism knowledge production in Asian contexts.     

Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India

COVID-19 outbreak has presented unprecedented circumstances before the fragile tourism and hospitality industry. The highly infectious novel coronavirus continues to thwart the sector and raises serious questions about the present and future survival of the sector. The research addresses two important concerns, first, pertains to the major challenges that hospitality and tourism industry faces amid current conditions; and second relates to the vital learnings for the industry. The study draws on the interviews with 15 participants in senior positions in hospitality industry, and tourism and hospitality education services. Responses to the interviews were content analysed, which resulted in 27 sub-themes that were further condensed into 4 major themes. The dominant sub-themes that emerged out of the qualitative enquiry included need of multiskilling and professional development of the employees, increased sense of hygiene, sanitation and related SOPs, optimism toward revival of the industry, media roles, and need of better crisis preparedness. Subsequent overarching themes included “Human Resource Management”, “Health and Hygiene”, “Continuity” and “Concerns”. The study critically discusses prominent themes in the light of the existing arguments from the literature and reflects on implications for the decision makers. The major implications of the study are in the form of determined themes adding to the evolving theory on COVID-19 pandemic and tourism & hospitality industry; and managerial recommendations to address host of issues while taking essential learnings stemming from the current circumstances. Limitations and scope of future research are also discussed.     

Entrepreneurial bricolage,ambidexterity structure,and new venture growth: Evidence from the hospitality and tourism sector

This study aims to investigate the links between entrepreneurial bricolage, ambidexterity structure, and new venture growth in the Chinese hospitality and tourism industry. Survey data were collected from 345 entrepreneurs involved with new hospitality and tourism ventures in China. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses of this study. The results indicate that both the combined and balanced dimensions of ambidexterity play mediating roles between entrepreneurial bricolage and new venture growth performance. By exploring the underlying mechanism of the relationship between entrepreneurial bricolage and new venture growth in the hospitality and tourism sector using a comprehensive theoretical model viewed through the lens of ambidexterity, the theoretical and practical implications for management are addressed, and possible directions for future research are discussed.     

Leveraging human-robot interaction in hospitality services: Incorporating the role of perceived value,empathy, and information sharing into visitors’ intentions to use social robots

Social robots have become pervasive in the tourism and hospitality service environments. The empirical understanding of the drivers of visitors' intentions to use robots in such services has become an urgent necessity for their sustainable deployment. Certainly, using social androids within hospitality services requires organisations' attentive commitment to value creation and fulfilling service quality expectations. In this paper, via structural equation modelling (SEM) and semi-structured interviews with managers, we conceptualise and empirically test visitors' intentions to use social robots in hospitality services. With data collected in Singapore's hospitality settings, we found visitors' intentions to use social robots stem from the effects of technology acceptance variables, service quality dimensions leading to perceived value, and two further dimensions from human robot interaction (HRI): empathy and information sharing. Analysis of these dimensions' importance provides a deeper understanding of novel opportunities managers may take advantage of to position social robot-delivered services in tourism and hospitality strategies.     

A thematic analysis of crisis management in tourism: A theoretical perspective

The hospitality and tourism industry for a variety of reasons is vulnerable to crises of various origins and scope. Thereby, research regarding crises in this industry has received significant attention among scholars. This study presents the results of a qualitative thematic analysis (TA) of the literature concerning crisis management in hospitality and tourism. A total of 207 research publications from 1986 to 2019 were analyzed. The findings revealed eight major themes that emerged in the literature over time. We critically discuss these themes with suggestions and directions for future research in this area. The study also identifies a shortage of scholarly attempt to conceptualize crisis management and thus explores the sensemaking perspective to shed further light on explaining the themes that emerged in the analysis.     

Cultural political economy and urban heritage tourism

The paper explains a cultural political economy “framing” for interpreting heritage tourism in urban contexts. Key ideas behind this research perspective are explained and illustrated through discussion of past research studies of urban heritage tourism. It is underpinned by a relational view of the inter-connectedness of societal relations, and an emphasis on taking seriously both the cultural/semiotic and the economic/political in the co-constitution of urban heritage tourism’s social practices and features. A case study of heritage tourism in Nanjing, China considers cultural political economy’s relevance and value, including the distinctive research questions it raises. It reveals, for example, how economic relations in the built environment were related to tourist meaning-making and identities in the cultural/semiotic sphere.     

The influence of demographic characteristics of hospitality alumni on entrepreneurship factors in Egypt

The purpose of this article is to study the effect of demographic characteristics of hospitality alumni on entrepreneurship factors, and determine which factors are the most important for the alumni to become entrepreneurs. A questionnaire had been developed and distributed online using Google Forms. Data were collected from 314 hospitality alumni. All the hypotheses have been supported, proving that the investigated demographic characteristics have a significant effect on entrepreneurship factors, particularly motivation, innovation and personal skills. The study’s sample was limited to alumni of faculties of tourism and hotels in governmental universities only. Policy-makers implication, practical implication, and social implication are discussed based on the results of this study. This is one of the first studies in Egypt to study the effect of demographic characteristics of hospitality alumni on entrepreneurship. Moreover, it provides significant findings that can enhance the overall status of entrepreneurship in Egypt’s hospitality industry.     

Beyond authenticity and commodification

Authenticity and commodification are central to academic debates in tourism. Previous analyses suggest that the commercialization of local identities leads to negative consequences. Based on a long-term study in Eastern Indonesia, this paper examines authenticity from three perspectives: government, tourists, and villagers. While the former two reflect views highlighted in the literature, the villagers’ interpretation is different: tourism brings a sense of pride and identity and also a political resource to manipulate. Seen in this context, the debates about authenticity should examine how the notion is articulated, by whom and for what purposes, to reveal in what circumstances cultural tourism leads to positive responses and empowerment.     

Fostering corporate sustainability in tourism management through social values within collective value co-creation processes

Collective value co-creation is not fully explored in management research. The phenomenon of social value co-creation has not been investigated in detail either, particularly regarding sustainable tourism management. In our work, we investigate the role of social values within the collective value co-creation process, as a key factor for building sustainable tourism management practices able to generate sustainable benefits to all stakeholders. The study setting is Sardex, a complementary currency community based in Sardinia (Italy). By adopting a qualitative methodology, and through face-to-face interviews, the entrepreneurs’ relationships were analysed using dialogue, trust, and reciprocity as core factors of value co-creation within the hospitality and tourism firms grouped in Sardex. Particularly, we explored whether, and to what extent, reciprocity was the salient factor in the process of value co-creation. Findings show that social values, and especially reciprocity, are the backbone of value co-creation: they foster corporate social orientation, which brings together corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and represent our contribution to enrichen theoretical and practical perspectives in this multidimensional field.