Understanding and managing the threat of common method bias: Detection,prevention and control

Common method bias can appear when both the independent and dependent variable is captured by the same response method. While the consequences of common method bias can be detrimental to a study's validity, they are, as the authors empirically show, often neglected in tourism research. The authors provide a comprehensive discussion of sources of common method bias, as well as methods to identify and control for it. They structure these controls and critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. The authors develop a decision tree that features recommendations for choosing appropriate procedural and statistical controls. By doing so, they hope to spur recognition of the threat of common method bias and active management thereof in future tourism research.     

Adolescents’ choice and pursuit of their most important and interesting leisure activities

This study investigated the choice and pursuit of adolescents’ most important and interesting leisure activity. It is underpinned by the concept of serious leisure, recent perceptions of seriousness as a continuum and calls for incorporating contextual elements of serious activity pursuit. A questionnaire survey was administered to 832 students from 10 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Students were asked to nominate leisure activity that they regarded as most important and interesting as well as to complete an adapted version of the Serious Leisure Inventory and Measure (SLIM). Results showed the popularity of sports and performance and graphic arts activities and of psychological reasons for activity choice. There were variations in activity choice between boys and girls and across schools as well as across levels of seriousness in activity pursuit. The study adds to the scant knowledge of adolescents’ serious leisure and enhances understanding of motives for and meanings of serious engagement.     

The mediating role of positive affectivity on testing the relationship of engagement to academic achievement: an empirical investigation of tourism students

Undergraduate tourism and hospitality students participated in the current study to investigate the effect of student engagement and positive affectivity on academic achievement. Additionally, positive affectivity is treated as a mediating variable between engagement and achievement. The study sample was amassed at a university in Northern Cyprus. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses revealed that student engagement and positive affectivity had a significantly positive effect on academic achievement. The results also depicted a full mediation of positive affectivity between engagement and achievement. A variance inflation factor test did not reveal inflated results. In addition, Harmans’ single factor test revealed that the common method bias issue is well below the cut-off point. Limitations and implications are also discussed.     

Common method bias in hospitality research: A critical review of literature and an empirical study

Common method variance has received much attention in the behavioral sciences. Nonetheless, scant scholarly effort has been invested in handling common method variance in hospitality research. This study investigates the current status of controlling for common method variance in hospitality research and assists researchers in taking appropriate actions. Study 1 shows hospitality researchers’ endeavors to control for common method bias through a critical review of literature published in four leading hospitality journals in the ten years from 2006 to 2015: International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. In Study 2, empirical investigations examine the effectiveness of a procedural remedy (temporal separation) and a statistical control (an unmeasured method factor approach) with two independent samples. The results of Study 1 reveal that most survey-related publications in the four journals fail to address or acknowledge common method variance. Moreover, only a limited number of techniques is found to be used to control for method variance. The findings of Study 2 suggest that temporal separation with a time lag of one day leads to a weak control for method variance; however, the use of an unmeasured method factor significantly helps control for method variance in the model.     

A critique of “Response Bias” in the tourism,travel and hospitality research

Measurement accuracy of respondents' opinions, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors is vital for better managerial suggestions, theoretical conclusions and advancement of science. There is a growing concern, voiced frequently in other disciplines that a high rate of response bias exists and this casts serious doubts on generalizability of conclusions. Based on limited research on the topic, this paper examines the extent to which response bias is acknowledged as a limitation in tourism, travel and hospitality research. Additional analyses were carried out to explore i) researchers' attentiveness to cautions when citing a biased study and ii) editorial policies of journals against bias. The results revealed that i) acknowledgement of response bias was low, ii) that researchers’ negligence to reported response bias limitations was high, and iii) that editorial policies of the examined journals were far from encouraging authors to discuss and include response bias related limitations. Implications were discussed.     

Willingness to Pay for an Ecological Park Experience

The purpose of this study is to estimate an ecological park's use values and to show the statistical relationship between emotional/psychological determinants and visitors' willingness to pay (WTP). The study employs the contingent valuation method (CVM) to elicit the park's economic values. CVM, however, has been criticized due to potential exaggeration bias, so this study attempts to reduce this bias by reaffirming visitors' “yes” responses. Results demonstrate a more conservative WTP, and show that sense of place meanings did not have a significant relationship with respondents' WTP but satisfaction did influence people's willingness to pay for an ecological park experience.     

Photograph Presentation Order and Range Effects in Visual-Based Outdoor Recreation Research

Visual-based research methods are commonly used to provide an empirical basis for formulating evaluative standards related to recreation use levels. Visual research methods applied in this context are subject to several potential measurement biases. This article examines two such potential biases in visual-based recreation research methods: order effect bias and range effect bias. In a lab setting, respondents evaluated recreation photographs from Rocky Mountain National Park regarding the acceptability of people at one time (PAOT). Results indicated photo presentation order and the PAOT range depicted both had an effect on photograph acceptability ratings. Potential methodological revisions to the visual-based method are discussed.     

归因偏差视角下旅游行为失范成因研究

游客旅游行为失范时有发生,威胁着旅游资源与环境安全。心理归因影响个体行为逻辑,归因偏差是解释心理归因的经典理论。本文引入归因偏差理论,采用实证方法探究旅游行为失范背后的归因偏差因素,为减少旅游行为失范提供心理学依据。研究发现,归因偏差能够引致旅游者心理认知偏差,后者直接引发和助推旅游行为失范。心理环境和群体心理对引致旅游者的心理认知偏差和行为失范具有显著作用,归因偏差成为旅游者弱化旅游行为失范结果的心理屏障,可激发或促进旅游行为失范的发生或持续。研究认为旅游地可从完善硬件监控、控制游客流量、强化失范行为负面教育、发挥在场监督作用等方式削弱归因偏差效应。     

Sample bias in contingent valuation: A comparison of the correction methods

Abstract

This article compares various methods for correcting contingent valuation aggregate benefits when the sample is known to be biased. A sample is defined as the population, and response rates are simulated on the basis of a measure of salience. The simulated response rates suffer from nonresponse bias and selection bias. Coefficient and benefit estimates that result from weighting and self‐selection correction approaches are compared with the true coefficient and benefit estimates. Our results indicate that at both low and high response rates the standard approach leads to bias, and either correction approach will reduce the bias in coefficient and benefit estimates.     

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Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between nonrespondent, self selection bias on mail return surveys from two visitor groups in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The authors suggest that engagement in a specific recreation activity at a specific location may be a significant criterion for defining a population as homogeneous. This is important because a homogeneous population is less susceptible to nonrespondent bias in mail return surveys. A brief contact instrument was given to individuals as they left the Sugarlands Visitor Center and as they entered the Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail. Upon completing the contact survey, participants were asked to complete and return, by mail, a detailed visitation questionnaire. The contact survey was recoded to reflect “returned”; and “not returned”; the mailed survey. A chi‐square analysis was used to determine if there was an association between respondents’ returning or not returning the mailed survey and their responses to the brief contact instrument. No significant association was found. Based upon these and other findings, the authors suggest that determinations of nonrespondent bias should be made before detailed follow‐up mail survey procedures are initiated.     

Why is hospitality employees’ psychological capital important? The effects of psychological capital on work engagement and employee morale

This study examines work engagement as a partial mediator of the effect of psychological capital (PsyCap) on employee morale in a sample of hotel employees. A survey was carried out with 312 front-line staff from 15 five-star hotels in Seoul, Korea. A one-month time-lag design (Time 1: PsyCap and work engagement; Time 2: employee morale) was used to reduce potential common method bias. The hypothesized relationships in the model were tested using structural equation modeling. The results suggest that work engagement partially mediates the effect of PsyCap on job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. Specifically, front-line employees with high PsyCap are more engaged with their work and more likely to display job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. The study concludes with a discussion of its empirical findings, strengths, theoretical contributions, and practical implications. Limitations and their implications for future studies are also reviewed.     

Assessment bias of environmental quality (AEQ), consideration of future consequences (CFC), and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) in tourism

Optimism bias in the environmental field and its effects on environmental behaviors have not been well investigated to date. This study examines if temporal and spatial biases exist when tourists assess the environment’s current and projected quality of (1) their residential places, (2) their travel destinations, and (3) a country overall. Thereafter, we examined the effects of assessment bias and consideration of future consequences on tourists’ environmental behaviors (including behaviors in destinations and general behaviors). In a sample of Chinese domestic tourists, temporal optimism was dominant in their assessment of the future environmental quality for all three spatial areas, above. Spatial optimism was found when comparing residential places and destinations to the whole country, but spatial pessimism was found when comparing residential places to destinations. Assessment bias was not associated with the environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) of tourists. However, the consideration of future consequences and absolute environmental quality assessment did have a significant influence on their ERB. Furthermore, the general ERB of tourists had a significant effect on their site-specific destination ERB.     

A triple whammy effect of employees' gender,job type,and service outcomes on consumer behavior

The extant literature reports inconsistent results regarding the effect of employee gender on customers' attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, the previous research on congruency bias has mainly focused on female-dominant jobs. To address these issues, this study examined how customers' gender stereotypes affect their service evaluations and revisit intentions. Grounded in role congruity theory, congruency bias, and justification-suppression models, the results showed that employee gender and gender congruency with the norm for the job have differential impacts on customer evaluations. Furthermore, this study found asymmetric impacts of congruency bias on customer experiences. For example, customers showed lower satisfaction and revisit intention when female employees failed in a male-dominant job than when their male counterparts did. However, they showed equal levels of satisfaction and revisit intention when male and female employees failed in a female-dominant job. The results provide important insights into how to reduce customers' gender bias toward different gender-dominated jobs.     

When and how the psychologically entitled employees hide more knowledge?

The purpose of this study is to examine how psychological entitlement is associated with knowledge hiding behaviors and why some individuals, unlike others, indulge in more knowledge hiding behaviors because of entitlement tendency. Using a time lag study design, we collected data from 241 participants from hospitality sector of Pakistan. The results indicate that psychological entitlement is positively associated with knowledge hiding behaviors and this relationship is mediated by abusive supervision perceptions. Our results also show that hostile attribution bias strengthens the positive impact of psychological entitlement on abusive supervision perceptions. Moreover, the indirect effect of psychological entitlement on knowledge hiding behavior via abusive supervision perceptions is stronger for employees with high levels of hostile attribution bias than employees with low levels of hostile attribution bias.     

Measurement of destination brand bias using a quasi-experimental design

Image of a country as tourism destination brand can involve a biased or distorted view that is different from its objective reality. Although several destination image studies make references to negative destination images and stereotypical perceptions, bias in images of destination brands has been overlooked by researchers so far. A modified version of Gensch's methodology is used to measure three different spaces of destination image and identify potential biases in it. A quasi-experimental design is applied on three groups of students, using a promotional movie as the stimulant, representing the destination brand, Turkey, known to have a rather distorted image. The results show that the applied methodology can be used effectively in measuring the negative bias in the images of tourism destination brands. Negative bias was found in the perception of both Attractions and Basics factors of Turkey as a tourism destination brand. Managerial and theoretical implications are provided along with limitations and future research suggestions.     

Perceptions of cruise travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: Market recovery strategies for cruise businesses in North America

The study aims to identify consumer perceptions of the cruise industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to provide market recovery strategies for cruise businesses. The relationship between perceptions among cruise experience and COVID-19 financial status groups were explored. The results of analyses of data from 759 respondents indicated that travel constraints negatively influence behavioral intention through negativity bias. Further, perceived crisis management positively affects behavioral intention through attitude-trust. New consumers’ behavioral intention is significantly affected by the negativity bias, and the perceived crisis management manipulates the trust of financial-affected consumers.     

Test of the validity of the Beaman,Kim, and Smith supply factors

A new measure of supply, termed a “supply factor,” was derived from participation data by three researchers and reported on in an earlier issue of this journal. One weakness in their presentation was their failure to test the proposition that the “supply factor” correlates closely with a traditional inventory of supply. To test for this correlation, this study replicates their method for golf and golf courses. A significant correlation (r² = 0.74) betwen golf courses and the golf supply factor was found.     

Exploring tour guiding styles: The perspective of tour leader roles

Although previous studies have investigated the tour leadership styles of tour leaders, no scale is available for evaluation. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid measurement for assessing tour guiding styles from the perspective of tour leaders' roles. Following in-depth interviews, content analysis, and a Q-sort method, we generated the initial items. Twelve tour guiding styles were extracted from an exploratory factor analysis on 243 tour leaders. A confirmatory factor analysis on 474 tour members was then performed to identify the validity of the 43-item tour guiding styles scale. This study extends current knowledge of the tour guiding styles of tour leaders and provides a foundation for building future theoretical concepts of related constructs. The scale provides a useful tool for tour leaders to measure their guiding styles. Furthermore, the results can serve as a reference for travel agencies in arranging tour leaders.