The influence of national culture on the strategic use of salesperson pricing authority: A cross-country study within the hotel industry

At some hotel properties individual catering sales managers are empowered with the authority to make price adjustments, but at other properties they must ascertain the permission before adjusting prices. This research collected and analyzed data from 392 hotels in 28 countries and found that national culture has an influence on the price empowerment decision. Specifically, catering sales managers are more likely to be granted pricing authority in: (1) individualistic societies than in collective societies; (2) low power distance cultures than in high power distance cultures; and (3) low uncertainty avoidance societies than in high uncertainty avoidance societies.     

Environment management in the hotel industry: does institutional environment matter?

Limited theoretical attention has been paid to understand the underlying drivers of hotels’ engagement in environment management (EM). By using institutional theory, this study provides an integrated model that captures various social drivers of hotels’ engagement in EM. The associations between the three dimensions of institutional environment and hotel environmental practices were empirically tested, as well as the moderating role of hotel characteristics. A total of 414 usable surveys representing 414 hotels were collected from hotel managers in China. The results demonstrate positive associations of hotel EM practices with supportive state regulations, shared industry standards, competitors’ EM practices and expectations from various stakeholders such as employees, local community, and investors. Particularity, the strength of positive relationships between specific institutional pressures vary across hotel sizes and scales. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed     

A multilevel investigation of the link between ethical leadership behaviour and employees green behaviour in the hospitality industry

The present study develops a multilevel model that examines the effects of supervisory ethical leadership behavior at the team level on employees green behaviour mediated by CSR at the organisational level, employees well-being, and taking responsivity at the individual level. Data were collected from a sample of 936 supervisors and 2284 employees from 184 hotels in United Arab Emirates. Utilizing multisource data and multilevel path analysis, the results indicated that supervisory ethical leadership behavior has indirect effect on green behavior through CSR, employees-wellbeing and taking responsibility behavior. These findings provide important implications for ethical leadership-green behavior link by developing and validating a multilevel model empirically in the hospitality industry.     

International hotel chains and environmental protection: an analysis of Hilton's we care! programme (Europe, 2006–2008)

Using the case study method, this paper evaluates and analyses Hilton's we care! programme for improving the environmental performance of the 70 Hilton Worldwide hotels in operation in Continental Europe in 2006–2008. It explores the practical dimension of “greening” hotel operations in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and demonstrates the close links between CSR and human resource management (HRM) in hotels. It deepens the understanding of corporate environmentalism and seeks to disseminate best practice among hospitality managers. The programme's distinctive and innovative character as well as its weaknesses and strengths are highlighted. Barriers to behavioural change in hotel operation are discussed. The programme involved over 16,000 employees, created hotel-specific action teams linking all employee levels and reduced energy use per square metre by 15%, water use and CO₂ emissions per guest night by 8% each over three years. Avoided utility costs totalled US$16 million, of which US$9.6 million can be attributed to changes in human behaviour. The paper makes a case for a holistic approach that combines the introduction of IT-based measurement and performance-assessing tools with genuine employee empowerment and green awareness raising. The study concludes with future managerial policy recommendations that simultaneously bear upon corporate environmentalism and HRM.     

The influence of uncertain demand on hotel capacity

We examine the effects of uncertain demand on hotel capacity using the operation data of international tourist hotels in Taiwan from 1996 to 2008. Abel (1983) argued that demand uncertainty leads to an increase in the capacity of a firm if uncertain demand takes the form of output price uncertainty for the competitive market. We empirically test Abel's model. Our findings support the demand uncertainty hypothesis in Abel's model. Moreover, our results indicate that effective management of hotel capacities is a more important issue for managers of medium-sized hotels than for small or large-sized hotels in the Taiwanese hotel industry.     

What drives employees’ intentions to implement green practices in hotels? The role of knowledge,awareness, concern and ecological behaviour

This study investigates the effects of three green triggers – environmental knowledge, environmental awareness and environmental concern – and employees’ ecological behaviour on their intentions to implement green practices in hotel companies. Data was collected through a survey from 438 hotel employees in Hong Kong and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that the three green triggers are positively associated with ecological behaviour and ecological behaviour is positively associated with intention to implement green practices in hotels. Additionally, ecological behaviour mediates the relationship between the three green triggers and intentions to implement. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

Predicting Innovative Information Systems (IS) Behavior of Frontline Employees in Hotels

Although the existing information systems (IS) literature investigated technology acceptance in the early stages of implementation, it is outdated and has a theoretical limitation in its understanding of users as passive recipients of technology. Addressing such limitations, this research focuses on innovative IS behavior as a crucial pattern of IS behavior. To predict innovative IS behaviors of front-office employees at hotels, this research analyzes the personal attitude of commitment to service quality and organizational conditions of psychological empowerment and organizational IS support for employees. The research results emphasize personal attitude, the significance of organizational predictors, and the effect of their interaction on innovative IS behaviors.     

Depletion of psychological,financial, and social resources in the hospitality sector during the pandemic

This study details how psychological, financial, and social factors shape employee deviant interpersonal behaviors during a pandemic. Data were collected with a survey of 372 front-line employees of hotels and analyzed with PLS-SEM. The findings showed social disconnectedness and perceived risk of unemployment leads to perceived isolation, which further creates depression in employees. The findings also showed that depression is positively related to employee deviance. Financial strain is a major cause of perceived isolation, depression, and deviant behaviors among front-line employees. Results also proved that social support reduces fear of isolation, depression, and employee deviance. This study provides guidelines that hotels need to understand the psychological stance of employees and design policies to overcome employee perceived fears and psychological disorders.     

Hotel employees’ perceptions on corporate social responsibility: The case of Hong Kong

This study examines the perceived importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) attributes of Hong Kong hotel employees and their hotels’ performance on those attributes, and to determine underlying performance factors that ultimately lead to the perceived overall CSR effectiveness of hotels. The importance–performance analysis results show that Hong Kong hotels generally performed well on 17 out of the indicated 30 CSR attributes. Furthermore, the attribute “promote innovation in products and services” was considered to be overkill, and another attribute, “demonstrates a commitment to the environment,” requires the immediate attention of hotels. Six performance factors were extracted and Hong Kong hotels performed best in the area of finance. The factors “state of affairs” and “novelty” positively and significantly affected employees’ perceived overall CSR effectiveness of their hotels. Almost 70% of the respondents agreed that Hong Kong hotels had been effective in carrying out their CSR. Hotels in Hong Kong should find our study results helpful in pinpointing CSR attributes considered of various importance and performance levels from the perspective of one of their important stakeholders, their employees. In particular, the relatively low awareness toward the environment of both the employees and the hotels should alert the hotel management to invest greater efforts in environmental protection.     

Hotel Employees' Perception of Green Practices

This study examined how hotel employees perceive green practices. Data was collected from 220 employees working in eight green certified hotels in Orlando, Florida. Study results from an importance–performance analysis revealed that the surveyed employees rated their hotels' performance in green practices lower than the importance levels. A positive correlation was found between the employees' organizational commitment and their perception on the company's green practices. The relationship between the respondents' key demographic characteristics and their perception of green practices was also investigated. Lastly, implications for hotels are discussed to assist the companies to promote and train green practices among their employees.     

Trade associations as corporate social responsibility actors: an institutional theory analysis of animal welfare in tourism

Most travel trade associations ignore their responsibility towards sustainable development broadly and animal welfare in particular. We analyse the development and implementation of animal welfare standards across 62 national and international associations using interviews, surveys, content analysis of published materials and websites. Only 21 associations mention sustainability in their websites, and only six refer to animal welfare. Of these, three associations have well-developed animal welfare activities (ABTA, ANVR and GSTC) [AQ1] and only one (lightly) monitors its members’ sustainability and animal welfare standards (ANVR). ABTA’s Animal Welfare Guidelines are the de facto industry standard, despite being designed for information (not auditing) purposes and lacking enforcement mechanisms. We examine jolts that prompt some associations to respond to external pressures and the institutional entrepreneurship process that triggers a process of reflexivity, theorisation and diffusion of a broader sense of responsibility. We examine the field-level conditions that lead to mostly mimetic pressures on large European tour operators (that compel them to act due to reputational risk management), with minimal normative pressures that would diffuse animal welfare practices across other association members. Change is not divergent, and the resources allocated to animal welfare protect trade associations’ members from criticism without binding them to implementation.     

Hospitality Managers' Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Explorative Study

In recent years, many factors have influenced the hotel industry to identify areas of social concern most beneficial to it. Staff incentives, rewards, community involvement, and charitable activities, coinciding with increased management and staff education concerning internal and external social responsibilities, have increased. The objective of this study is to investigate how hotel leaders from Hong Kong in high-tier and medium-tier hotels attempt to influence employees' behaviour to act in a more socially responsible manner towards their companies and communities. It highlights both leaders' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviour of their employees and the instruments used to influence that behaviour. As a first step, this study aims to determine hotel managers' perception of leadership styles and their interpretation of the CSR role in the industry and community. Managers differ in leadership styles, thereby influencing their employees' perception of the CSR role in industry and community. Findings have shown that CSR awareness is deeply incorporated into high-tier Hong Kong hotels where community involvement is particularly strong.     

Scanning,perceived uncertainty,and the interpretation of trends: A study of hotel directors’ interpretation of demographic change

This paper examines how scanning can affect the interpretation of a specific trend and the uncertainty related to this interpretation. Based on a two-stage interpretative process, this study tests a series of hypotheses linked to scanning, trend interpretation and perceived environmental uncertainty, using survey data from the Swiss hotel industry concerning the ageing population trend. The study uncovers considerable evidence to support the main propositions, and in particular, shows how general scanning relates to positive interpretations of change and builds confidence in managers, whilst lowering perceived uncertainty. It is further found that high performance hotels engage in more scanning and experience lower uncertainty related to specific issues than do low performance hotels. This paper is innovative in examining how general scanning, not just issue-specific scanning, can reduce two types of issue-specific uncertainty, as well as influence interpretations.     

Retention of Hourly Hotel Employees

Abstract

The major objective of this study was to explore the reasons behind hourly employee turnover in the hotel industry. Data was collected from 230 hourly employees in ten small and medium-size hotels located in the Southeast U.S. The results empirically confirmed that hourly employees' retention was predicted by self-fulfillment and working conditions rather than monetary rewards. More specifically, employees who were more likely to stay with their current employer: were not interested in finding another job, had a positive experience with their hotel's company policies, were satisfied with their current job, attributed a higher level of importance for paid vacation, had a positive experience with regard to their hotel's humane approach to employees, and did not attribute a high level of importance for having a fun and challenging job.     

Hotels’ corporate social responsibility practices,organizational culture,firm reputation,and performance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are considered one of the key success factors influencing firm performance. However, how CSR practices should be integrated into an organization’s business practices has not been investigated empirically. The present research proposes an integrated model incorporating the interrelationships among CSR practices, organizational culture, and corporate reputation to improve firm performance in the hotel industry. The proposed model is developed using stakeholder theory and the perceptions of the general managers. According to the study’s results, organizational culture influences different dimensions of CSR. The results further indicate that hotels using CSR practices related to employees and customers strengthen their reputation. Through improved reputation, CSR practices positively influence firm performance. Furthermore, hotel managers perceive that CSR activities in the local community and related to the environment do not significantly affect a hotel’s reputation. Theoretical and practical implications are provided, and the limitations of the study and future lines of research are discussed.     

Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation the pathway to foster meaningful work and helping behavior for millennials?

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation affects organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through meaningful work. This work is significant for three reasons: the joint examination of CSR, meaningful work, and OCB is novel; the comparative effects of CSR perception versus CSR participation have not been examined previously; and this is the first examination of such relationships for different generations of employees. Data from 245 employees of four-star hotels were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach and multigroup analysis (MGA). Results reveal that CSR participation has a strong influence over work-related outcomes. The strongest effect of CSR participation on helping behavior is in Generation Y whereas CSR perception has a strong indirect effect on helping behavior through meaningful work in Generation X. These findings offer managerial implications to hotel managers on how best to manage generational differences in predicting helping behavior at workplace.     

Can innovative behavior be led by management? A study from the lodging business

This study examined the effects of hotel management leadership on employee innovative behavior in Chinese hotel organizations. Using a dyadic sample of 164 hotel supervisors and 603 service employees at 23 four-star and five-star hotels in 11 Chinese cities, we investigated whether organizational commitment mediated the effects of leadership on employee innovative behavior. We also examined how organizational tenure moderated leadership and innovative behavior through organizational commitment. Findings from our moderated-mediation model revealed that organizational commitment mediated the relationship between leadership and innovative behavior. Similarly, organizational tenure moderated the relationship between leadership and organizational commitment: there was a stronger relationship for long-tenured employees and a weaker relationship for short-tenured employees. However, the effect of higher leadership on organizational commitment was stronger for short-tenured employees than long-tenured employees. Our results spotlight the importance of fostering organizational commitment, which directly affects innovative behavior and through which supervisors can influence individual innovative behavior.     

饭店业员工过度劳动的实证分析与管理

近年来,过度劳动问题已严重影响到人们的工作生活和健康。文章以山东省饭店业为例,对员工的过度劳动状况进行调查。基于因子分析结果,从员工的生理表现、工作状态、行为反应3个维度14项指标进行过度劳动的方差分析。结果表明,饭店员工的过劳程度总体呈现中等偏上的水平,其中,性别、年龄、职位层级不同,过度劳动的生理表现差异性显著;受教育程度、工作年限、职位层级、饭店星级的不同,过度劳动的工作状态差异性显著;性别和受教育程度的不同,过度劳动的行为反应差异性显著。在分析结论的基础上,提出过度劳动两大系统6个层面的有效管理系统。     

Employees' perceived job performance,organizational identification,and pro-environmental behaviors in the hotel industry

Employees' engagement in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is crucial for greening hotels and improving hotel performance. This paper argues that we can explore employees' PEB motivations from a positive externality/spillover perspective because such voluntary behaviors benefit actors other than the employees, namely, the hotels that employ them and the surrounding natural environment. Accordingly, compensation and internalization could motivate employees' PEBs. This paper attempts to advance research on internalization by focusing on the oneness between employees and organizations and by proposing that organizational identification (OI) is an essential predictor of employees' PEBs and can be improved by increasing their perceived job performance (PJP). Additionally, this paper argues that PJP can affect employees' PEBs through OI. In the context of the positivism research philosophy, the current study utilized a survey method to collect data from employees working in Chinese hotels and performed ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis to test the proposed hypotheses, which were all supported empirically.     

Assessing dimensions of organizational trust across cultures: A comparative analysis of U.S. and Indian full service hotels

This study delves into the organizational trust based similarities and differences across “individualist” and “collectivist” service employees in hotels. Specifically, the three dimensions of organizational trust, i.e., integrity, commitment and dependability are compared across the two samples from the U.S. and India to highlight how employees perceive the level of each of the three dimensions across cultures. Findings suggest that the three dimensions represent the trust construct across different national cultures. However, in comparing the individual dimension of the trust construct, a significant difference exists between the perceptions of employees in the two cultures, suggesting that perception-based differences exist across cultures.