Multilevel model of management support and casino employee turnover intention

This study proposed and tested a trickle-down model that manager support at the functional department level affect frontline employees' attitudes toward supervisor support at the operational level and subsequently influence leader-member exchange (LMX), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and turnover intentions. Three mediators were identified from the cross-level analysis, namely, supervisor support, group trust, and OCB. A survey collected valid responses from 336 line level casino employees who represent 112 work groups from 39 departments nested in 17 casinos. The hierarchical linear model (HLM) results indicate that (1) supervisor support mediates the relationship between departmental support and individual level LMX, (2) group trust mediates the relationship between supervisor support and hence employee turnover intention, and (3) OCB mediates the relationship between LMX and employee turnover. Our findings have important implications for casino management and operators by developing an efficient management support system to reduce the intention of frontline employees to quit.     

Embracing or fighting the urge: A multilevel investigation on casino service,branding and impulsive gambling

Academics and practitioners are increasingly interested in how branding and service may affect consumer behaviors. In view of intensifying competition in the casino industry, understanding these relationships would help casino operators achieve competitive advantage. The current study draws on the relevant marketing literature, and examines the antecedents, moderators and consequences of consumer buying behaviors, with a focus on impulsive buying in the casino settings. The proposed antecedents are casino service environment and employee service. Customer brand attachment and loyalty behaviors are modeled as consequences, and casino brand equity as a cross-level moderator. A quantitative method was employed for the purpose of this study. The survey was undertaken at 22 major casinos in Macau through a multilevel design. Results show that the casino service environment indeed induces impulsive gambling. Whilst employee service has little influence on impulsive gambling, the effect is enhanced by casino brand equity. Employee service is particularly salient for casinos with low brand equity. Impulsive gambling does have significant influence on loyalty outcomes through the mediating effect of brand attachment. Brand equity also demonstrates cross-level linear and nonlinear effects on the chain relationship, with the linear effect significantly larger. Implications for practitioners and the literature are provided to conclude the paper.     

A casino-induced satisfaction of needs: scale development and its relationship with casino customer loyalty

Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this study develops a five-factor casino-induced satisfaction-of-needs scale and examines its relationship with casino customer loyalty using Macau as a study context. The findings show that the respondents’ most visited casinos had only marginally met the respondents’ various inner needs; there is still ample room for Macau casinos to improve the level of their customers’ satisfaction regarding customers’ inner needs. Among the five types of inner needs, self-actualization appears to be one need that requires more attention than the others because it was rated as the need that was the least satisfied but contributed the second most to measuring satisfaction. Additionally, Macau casinos should continue their efforts to improve and maintain a safe and secure casino environment, coupled with providing a variety of quality foods and beverages, for their customers. Lastly, safety and security, self-actualization and physiological needs were found to positively affect casino customer loyalty.     

An exploratory study of the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance

This exploratory study examines the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance using Macau casinos as a sample. The results indicated that better-performing casino brands were associated with greater customer-based brand equity, which comprises brand loyalty, brand image and brand awareness. Furthermore, Asia Pacific-based casino brands in Macau outperformed their U.S.-based counterparts in terms of customers’ perceived quality, suggesting the need for U.S.-based casino brands to better cater for the needs of Macau casino visitors and to localize their services. Future research directions are also suggested.     

Native American casino marketing on the web

The Internet and its component, the World Wide Web (WWW or Web), as well as the casino industry grew tremendously in the United States in the past decade. While there are various estimates about the future size of the Internet and the casino market, all agree that the two will continue to grow substantially. However, very few studies have discussed Internet use within the casino industry. This study reviewed 58 Class III Native American casino web sites. Content areas analyzed included introduction to the casino organization, local destination attractions, food and beverage services, accommodations, entertainment and recreation facilities, maps and directions to casinos, links to related commercial and regulatory agency web sites, and user friendliness. Web site features were evaluated based on marketing mix and principles.     

Understanding casino experiential attributes: An application to market positioning

Customer experience is becoming more critical in the service encounter. Although the literature is beginning to understand the role of experience in enticing customer satisfaction and loyalty, the criteria of customer experience evaluation is missing. The objective of this article is to explore the attributes that customers use to gage their experience in the context of the casino. In addition, the relationships between customer characteristics and the experience attributes are also investigated. The authors present a perceptual map illustrating the market position of major casinos in Macau based on the experiential attributes customers defined. The findings shed new light on the understanding of customer experience and provide scholars and managers insights into the factors that relate to various experiential attributes in the context of casinos. This study also presents an alternative method that allows researchers to interpret the dimensions of a perceptual map more objectively.     

Residents' perceptions of casino impacts: A comparative study

The primary purpose of this study was to explore differences in residents' perceptions of casino development between South Korea and Colorado. The communities surveyed are former depressed mining areas with significant historic characteristics. The secondary purpose was to investigate whether social exchange theory is appropriate to explain residents' perceptions of the impact of casinos on community support for casino development. In general, three factors of residents' perceptions and support were found to be significantly different between the two study sites. Furthermore, the effects of positive social impact on benefits, of both positive social impact and negative environmental impact on support, and the benefit factor on support level were significantly different between the two data collection areas. The study findings support the appropriateness of social exchange theory in explaining residents' responses in both study areas.     

The Relationships Between Casino Quality,Image, Value,and Loyalty

This research builds on the idea that casino customers’ subjective, global judgments of service quality are shaped by experience of its specific attributes, and examines how casino customers form their evaluative attitudes toward the casino experience in the Macau context. Using the data collected from 525 Macau casino customers, we first identify four casino quality dimensions; namely, supporting facilities, staff service, diversity, and equitableness. We then test and validate a proposed model for the structural relationships between casino image (as a consequence of the four quality dimensions), value, and loyalty. In particular, value is shown to be a mediator of the relationship between image and loyalty from the perspective of casino customers. The results of our study can show Macau casino operators what constitutes customers’ casino experiences and aid them in enhancing their image, perceived value, and customer loyalty toward casinos.     

California Resident Motives for Gambling at Indian Reservations Versus Las Vegas

The casino gaming sector has become a lucrative part of the hospitality industry. California Indian casinos have expanded to now compete with casinos in Las Vegas, but more California residents gamble in Las Vegas casinos. Little research has been conducted to reveal why California residents travel to Las Vegas to gamble at casinos when California Indian casinos are closer. Thus, this study focused on what motivates California residents to gamble at California Indian casinos as opposed to those who gamble at Las Vegas casinos. A total of 300 online surveys were used for data analysis. First, exploratory factor analysis was performed to find the underlying dimensions of casino motivations. Second, independent-samples t-tests were conducted to compare the perceptions the two groups have of casinos. Then, one-way ANOVA tests were implemented to find differences between casino motivation factors and six different demographic variables. This study will help both California Indian and Las Vegas casinos to assess their services and more effectively market to California residents.     

Riverboat casinos’ impact on host communities: Comments from business owners and residents

A qualitative component was incorporated in a gaming impact study to explore how business owners and residents make sense of their lives and experiences with the presence of a riverboat casino in their community. Data collected were categorized to summarize their perceptions on the effect of riverboat casinos on their businesses, their lives, and the community. Most respondents’ comments represented a balanced view of the casinos’ influence. Increased gambling addiction appeared to be their major concern. This article provides insights of the real feelings of people who were affected the most by the gaming development.     

Work Stress Among Casino Industry Supervisors in Macao Casinos

This study explores mid-level supervisors' perceptions of their sources of work stress and ways of coping with it. It reports the results of in-depth interviews with 40 pit supervisors and managers in Macao casinos. The results reveal that role ambiguity, work overload, and a high level of customer demands and unreasonable complaints are the work stressors that are commonly experienced by casino supervisors and employees in other hospitality sectors alike. Additional work stressors experienced by the casino supervisors are also identified, such as the inability or unwillingness of subordinates to perform, surveillance by senior management, overly harsh company policies, and a punitive atmosphere. Like employees in other hospitality settings, casino supervisors are found often to use their personal resources and social networks to cope with stress. This article recommends active managerial actions as a more long-term and effective means of coping with employees' work stress. Suggestions for managerial measures to prevent and reduce stress problems are offered.     

A patron,a referral and why in Macau casinos—The case of mainland Chinese gamblers

Delivering high quality service tends to improve the loyalty of valued customers. Operators should have an understanding of how customers react to the service provision. The current investigation is undertaken in Macau casinos and explores the relationship between service quality and loyalty of casino members and non-members with a focus on gamblers from the mainland China. Gamble loyalty is operationalized on the basis of attitudinal and behavioural dimensions. A quantitative method is used to explore these relationships. Casino service quality is measured by using a newly developed four-dimensional scale named CASERV. The results indicate that service quality explains significant variance in gambler attitudinal loyalty but not behavioural loyalty for casino members and non-members. In particular, service delivery contributes substantially to gambler attitudinal loyalty. Surprisingly, non-members report higher level of service quality perceptions and are more likely to act as referral for the casino and to spread positive word-of-mouth communications; whereas members do appear to patronize the casino more frequently and to play longer in the casino of their first choice during their visit in Macau. Implications of these findings are provided for practitioners and researchers.     

The perceived impacts of casino gambling on a community

Proposals have been made to legalize a single hotel casino in each of the towns of Adams and Hull, Massachusetts. A telephone survey of a systematic sample of 400 respondents in the Adams and Hull area was conducted in order to assess the perceived impacts of a hotel-casino in each of these locations. The findings show little consensus as to the positive impacts, but much greater agreement over the negative impacts that a hotel casino might have in the respondents' towns. The major factor in predicting respondents' attitudes toward legalization was found to be their perception of the impact a hotel-casino would have on the character of their town. Other major factors were the impact of the hotel-casino on crimes involving drugs and prostitution, the effectiveness of the State government at regulating casino gambling, the respondent's age, the impact of the hotel-casino on the overall standard of living, and the impact of the hotel-casino on jobs for local residents.     

Unraveling public support for casino gaming: The case of a casino referendum in Penghu

By integrating the social exchange theory (SET) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study unravels the factors associated with residents’ intention to support casino gaming development in Penghu in future referenda. Residents’ attitudes toward casino gaming development in their community were examined in the SET framework while their intention to support such development was investigated in the TPB framework. Despite that partisan difference did not have a significant interaction with TPB variables, past behavior exerted moderating effects determining residents’ intention to support casino gaming development through two TPB variables: subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Implications are provided.

Abbreviations: ATTU: attitude; DPP: Democratic Progress Party; ECOI: perceived economic impact; ENVI: perceived environmental impact; INT: intention to support casino gaming development in future referenda; KMT: Kuomingtang; PBC: perceived behavioral control; PPB: perceived personal benefit; SET: social exchange theory; SN: subjective norms; SOCI: perceived social impact; TPB: theory of planned behavior     

The social‐economic and educational implications of establishing casinos in Penghu,Taiwan

Toward opening casinos in Penghu, Taiwan, it still remains a controversial issue today. Proponents regard a casino as an excellent economic booming tool that quickly generates revenue for local communities and residents. Many government officials consider that casinos pave the way in a seemingly painless and effective fashion for collecting tax revenue and providing job openings against decreasing local unemployment. However, opponents lay emphasis on the social costs associated with casinos, such as crime, compulsive gaming, and decadence of the work ethics.     

Perceptions of casino dealers toward organizational justice: Are there any gender differences?

The emphasis on equity and diversity is vital for businesses to flourish. Promoting workplace equality, essential to enhance employees' satisfaction in delivering excellent service quality, requires understanding of the perception of employees as well as the problems they face. This study examines whether gender equality exists among frontline casino employees, the degree to which inequality is experienced and the consequence of such perceptions, through face-to-face, in-depth interviews with the dealers in Macao. The theory of organizational justice is adopted. Results revealed that perceived inequality and injustices were stronger among the male dealers. Male dealers perceived stronger distributive and procedural injustices than females, while female dealers perceived stronger interactional injustice than males. The perceived injustices resulted in various negative work attitudes among employees. Recommendations to improve work attitudes and counterbalance the inequities are proposed.     

Gendered construction of Macau casino: a social semiotic analysis of tourism brochures

This paper analyses the represented images of men and women in casino ads of Macau, examines the impact of gender power in the casino industry and discusses the social–cultural construction of masculinity and femininity in a culturally diverse context. A social semiotic analysis of a range of casino brochures and leaflets is presented. The analysis reveals that stereotypical portrayals of gender roles persist in Macau’s casino ads, which privilege the male tourist gaze and reproduce the gender power relations within the hetero-patriarchal system. Despite the trend of women’s involvement in public gambling, casino gambling continues to be upheld as a masculine activity in Macau. The study argues that the casino space is constructed through two aspects – the simultaneous masculinisation of gambling and feminisation of interactive service work, which reflect, respectively, the traditional expectations of the gambling culture and the demands of the modern service-intensive casino business.     

The indirect impact of casual dining on low-end gaming in destination and local casinos

The role of casino amenities is an important issue for casino operators and developers seeking to maximize gaming revenues, space utilization, and return-on-investment. The indirect impact of casual restaurant covers on low-denomination slot volume and cash table drop was investigated using daily data from two casinos. One casino primarily served local repeat customers while the other catered to a drive-in tourist business. Using estimates from time-series regression analysis, restaurant covers were significantly related to gaming volumes. The impact of dining volume on low-end slot play was especially strong in the local market casino, resulting in a substantial financial contribution.     

The relationship between institutional ownership and casino firm performance

This study examined the relationship between institutional ownership and firm performance in the casino industry from 1999–2003. Given the evidence of the endogeneity of institutional ownership in the casino industry, institutional ownership was found to be a significant and positive determinant of casino firm performance as measured by a proxy for Tobin's Q in a simultaneous equations system. This study reveals that investing institutionally in casino firms may help casino industry investors mitigate the agency problem caused by the separation of management from ownership. In addition, financial institutions tend to invest in larger casino firms with lower financial leverage.