Can a Celebrity Serve as an Issue‐Relevant Argument in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

While celebrity endorsement has been traditionally perceived as a peripheral cue in the elaboration likelihood model, several conceptual studies suggest otherwise that it may play a significant role in delivering issue‐relevant information when celebrity–product congruence exists. The current study provides empirical evidence that a celebrity indeed serves as an issue‐relevant argument by investigating the interaction effects between endorser–product congruence and product involvement on consumer responses in two different match‐up conditions. Moderated regression analysis results indicated that product involvement strengthened the effect of expertise‐based endorser–product congruence on consumer responses. However, the relationship between attractiveness‐based endorser–product congruence and consumer responses generated insignificant results. Research findings entail that a celebrity persuades consumers through the central route when the expert image in particular fits well with the endorsed product. Further analyses indicated that attitude toward the brand mediated the relationship between attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intention in both match‐up environments.     

I'll Have Fries with That: Increasing Choice Complexity Promotes Indulgent Food Choices

Three studies showed that the way that options are presented in a choice set—as combinations of intersecting attributes or in a more sequential “a la carte” choice format—affects the degree to which consumers adhere to their goals in the consumption setting. Specifically, using the context of food consumption and healthy eating, results showed that consumers were more likely to make double indulgent choices, the choice of both an indulgent entrée and an indulgent side item, when choosing from a menu consisting of predetermined “combination meals” than when selecting among the same entrée and side options in an a la carte fashion. Studies 2 and 3 implicated a goal distraction mechanism in driving the effect; the combination format, with its cross‐cutting of product choices into various combinations, reduces the salience of goal‐related constructs on implicit measures. In showing that different product presentation formats can affect the degree to which consumers make goal‐consistent choices, the current work adds to work on the effects of environmental influences on goal progress and goal achievement. Implications for encouraging goal‐consistent behavior in the context of healthy eating as well as other important consumer goal contexts are discussed.     

International Students in Asia: Travel Behaviors and Destination Perceptions

This study investigates the incidence of international student travel in Taiwan. It was found that Chinese, Asian and other international students behave somewhat differently from respondents in prior studies conducted in Western settings. Cultural background influenced the travel behaviors of international students as well as their perceptions of Taiwan as a tourism destination. The visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market induced by Asian respondents offers greater tourism-related potential than the travel activity that students themselves undertake. The contrary was found for non-Asian students where the student-induced VFR market is small and prospectively less attractive than the student market. The Chinese international student travel market and induced VFR market showed less potential than anticipated, perhaps because of the embryonic stage of diplomatic and commercial relations between Taiwan and mainland China.     

The Relationships Amongst Emotional Experience,Cognition, and Behavioural Intention in Battlefield Tourism

The objective of this study was to identify the hypothesized relationships amongst emotional experience, cognition, and behavioural intention in battlefield tourism. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was administered and 655 valid questionnaires were collected at heritage site related to the Sino-French War in Keelung, Taiwan. The results revealed significant positive relationships between emotional experience and cognition as well as between cognition and behavioural intention. Structural equation modelling verified that cognition fully mediated the effects of emotional experience on behavioural intention. Moreover, this study suggests that cognition may be an accurate predictor of behavioural intention, particularly in regard to battlefield tourism.     

Does hospitality diversity education make a difference in undergraduate students’ emotional intelligence

Soft skills are typically referred to as the attributes exhibited or contained by an individual that display his/her ability to interact with others. Two types of soft skills that are often discussed within the hospitality industry are diversity awareness and emotional intelligence. Diversity may be explained or defined as a state of unlikeness, the conditions of being different, and all things that make us different. Areas where differences may exist include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political affiliation and emotional reaction. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been defined as the ability to perceive, understand, regulate, and harness emotions in the self and others. How one deals with emotion is one characteristic that varies from culture to culture. Research has shown that EI may be a contributing factor in a moment of truth being considered a failure or success. The purpose of this study was to examine if undergraduate student EI scores change after completing a diversity issues course. Students completed the Assessing Emotions Scale on the first class day. At the conclusion of the 15-week course covering approximately 20 diversity issues concepts students completed the same EI assessment. Paired sampled t-testing was conducted to determine whether mean differences existed when comparing post and pre-course scores. Results of this study suggest that certain components of EI are significantly changed after taking the diversity issues course.     

The relation among self-efficacy,learning approaches,and academic performance: an exploratory study

Self-efficacy influences students’ activities, effort and persistence, and it can help predict their motivation and academic performance. This study attempts to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy, preferred learning methods, and academic performance under different learning methods in a unique hospitality course setting. The results indicate that hospitality management students prefer a “learn by doing” approach instead of computer-based learning and lecturing. This study concludes that self-efficacy affects the academic performance in both lecturing and practical learning in hospitality education. However, students’ preference in terms of learning methods does not influence their academic performance. Emphasizing “learn by doing” in the hospitality higher education curriculum is recommended in addition to recruiting faculty members with extensive industry experience. Conversely, it is recommended that faculty find the means to increase students’ self-efficacy when adopting different teaching approaches.     

Leader political skill and casino dealer morale: the mediating role of follower perceptions of leader–member exchange

Our study investigated the follower perceptions of leader–member exchange (FPLMX) as a mediator between leader political skill (LPS) and follower morale and tested these relationships using data obtained from casino dealers in Korea. Social astuteness, interpersonal influence, networking ability, and apparent sincerity are the indicators of LPS, while follower morale is composed of job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment. The results from structural equation modeling suggest that the research model we have proposed is viable. Broadly speaking, FPLMX is a partial mediator between LPS and follower morale.     

The politics,satisfaction, loyalty,and success of Ph.D. students in hospitality and tourism

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of organizational politics in educational institutions with regard to graduate students’ satisfaction with supervision and loyalty toward advisors, and thereby success of students in the Ph.D. program, within the hospitality and tourism discipline. The findings demonstrate that satisfaction and loyalty play important roles in doctoral students’ experiences in graduate education. Several implications for students and faculty are discussed.