Corporate brand strategy: Drivers and outcomes of hotel industry’s brand orientation

The MNC resellers are vastly competitive and capital-intensive. Based on the corporate brand orientation, the objective is to investigate how the individual dimensions of hotel industry’s brand orientation can improve a corporate experience and subsequently create superior hotel performance and retailer preferences. A model of the integration of the hotel industry’s brand orientation was tested in a survey conducted among MNC resellers from hospitality industry. Structural equation modelling was applied to gain insight into the various influences and relationships. The research makes two main contributions. It makes a theoretical contribution by classifying the integration of the hotel industry’s brand orientation for hospitality industry and from this extrapolate key suggestions for further study. The continuous evolution and economic influence of the hospitality industry require the application of innovative marketing practices.     

Solo dining in Chinese restaurants: A mixed-method study in Macao

Given the emergence of solo dining resulting from the changing family structure and increasingly individualised lifestyle in contemporary Chinese society, this study investigates solo dining in the setting of Chinese restaurants in Macao, including the solo dining motivations, behavioural characteristics, and experiences, taking into considerations the underlying social and cultural factors. Adopting a sequential exploratory mixed-method design, 18 interviews were conducted, followed by a survey with 493 local diners. Findings show that freedom of choice and satisfying hunger are the main motivations for solo dining, and some solo-friendly attributes, food-related attributes, and restaurant characteristics are considered as important elements. Solo dining is perceived positively, partly because its perceptions and experiences are shaped by the diners’ socio-cultural backgrounds and unique regional characteristics, in which solo dining is considered relatively common in Macao as opposed to extant literature that has suggested an essentialised assumption about Chinese group-oriented dining preference. Sociocultural insights and managerial implications are provided in catering to the growing solo diner market.     

An investigation of the moderating effects of current job position level and hotel work experience between technology readiness and technology acceptance

Rapid technology development has greatly changed the hotel structure in operation or customer relationship management. Most previous studies simply employed either the technology readiness index (TRI) or considered the technology acceptance model (TAM) to predict consumer behavior from the perceptions of consumers. Nonetheless, only limited studies, if ever any, integrated technology readiness (TR) into technology acceptance model in hospitality. Hence, to bridge the aforementioned research gap, the purpose of the present study is to advance and modify TAM by proposing a new research framework which integrates TR into TAM. Online questionnaire survey was conducted with hotel employees through a well-known survey company Qualtrics. Data were then analyzed by structural equation modelling. Findings indicate the direct relationship between technology readiness (TR) and technology acceptance (TA), and reveal the moderating effects of current job position level and hotel work experience on the proposed research framework. Implications are further discussed.     

Determinants of Innovative Behaviour in the Hotel Industry: A cross-Cultural Study

The present study develops a conceptual framework that sheds light on whether institutional pressures (i.e., normative, mimetic, and coercive) and corporate support can improve innovative behavior across different societies and the moderating role of national cultural dimensions on this link. Our study validated these arguments empirically using data from the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Data were collected and analyzed from 2,618 respondents. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of full-time non-managerial employees selected, from different departments of various four- and five-star hotels across five economically and culturally different societies (UK, UAE, Germany, China, USA). Our results indicated that both institutional pressures and corporate support have positive influence on employees’ innovative behaviour. Furthermore, Hotels in cultures with high levels of individualism and low levels of uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity will indicate higher levels of innovative behaviour in response to corporate support programs. While, hotels in nations with high levels of power distance, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity will indicate higher levels of innovative behaviour in response to normative, mimetic, and coercive pressure. These findings provide important implications for innovative behaviour by developing and validating a multilevel model empirically in the hospitality context.     

社会化视角下接待业服务机器人对顾客体验的影响研究

随着人工智能和自动化技术日渐普及,服务机器人被越来越多地引入旅游接待业,但其应用尚处于探索阶段。在已有文献和理论基础上,本文依据互联网、社交媒体中接待业顾客对服务机器人的评价信息,以及对接待业顾客和员工进行深度访谈的数据,分析顾客对机器人服务的感知及体验。研究发现:(1)对机器人服务的感知涉及工具、社会化两个属性,社会化属性对顾客的愉悦体验产生重要影响;(2)服务机器人通过提升服务和营造愉悦氛围两条路径改善顾客体验。在此基础上,本文构建了服务机器人影响顾客体验的概念模型。本文从社会化视角探讨服务机器人的顾客体验感知,对服务机器人设计、服务场景管理和体验设计具有启示意义。     

Joint audits and mutual ties of audit firm networks

There has been a lively debate following the 2007 financial crisis regarding the role of joint audits. Prior research argues that joint audits may improve audit quality because of shared audit efforts. However, empirical evidence has been inconclusive. To gain insight into how Big 4 audit firm imprimaturs have become a source of legitimacy in the audit industry, this article investigates how audit networks drive the audit industry in Saudi Arabia. Based on the application of quantitative and qualitative research methods, we conclude that the Big 4 audit firms have strong mutual ties, but ties with other local and international audit firms are weak. We also find the oligopolistic nature of the Big 4 audit firms and international audit firms. Specifically, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, and PKF are controlling over 68% of the audit market. Interviews with accounting professionals suggest that several benefits of joint audits exist, but certain additional costs are also implicated. Our findings are particularly relevant for regulators and local and international policymakers in rethinking and evaluating the appropriateness of either the mandatory or voluntary nature of joint audits in developing countries.     

When gamification backfires: the impact of perceived justice on online community contributions

ABSTRACT

While online communities may enhance firm performance, they commonly fail to retain members. To address this challenge, scholars and managers call for the use of gamification. However, despite gamification’s growing use in online communities, insight into its effect on member experience and behaviours remain limited. We hypothesise that gamification affects member-perceived distributive and procedural justice. In experimental studies, we assess the impact of in-gamification perceived justice on member contributions. We find that while high in-gamification perceived procedural justice acts as a necessary prerequisite for member contributions, high distributive justice can reduce game-related uncertainty, thereby rendering gamified practices less fun, particularly for low-engaged community members that tend to value rewards. We add to the literature by (a) pinpointing the core role of perceived justice in the persistence of online communities, and (b) unveiling that high distributive justice can lead gamification to backfire in online communities by affecting member experience and contributions.     

The nature of trade,global production fragmentation and inflationary dynamics: Cross-country evidence

This study investigates under which circumstances trade has impact on inflation dynamics by examining the independent effects of trade intensity, intra-industry trade and trade on value added. Trade in goods is decomposed into consumption (final) goods and intermediate inputs to deepen the assessment of the role of the globalisation of production activities on inflation dynamics. Open-economy new Keynesian Phillips curve (NKPC) analyses suggest that inflation is sensitive to domestic factors and that the relevance of external factors changes with respect to the nature of trade, country groups and time. Vertical intra-industry trade in intermediate inputs and value-added trade play important role, whereas final goods trade has no statistically significant effect on inflation dynamics.     

中国高新技术企业认定政策绩效评估

高新技术企业认定政策是国家为扶持和鼓励高新技术企业发展而提出的一项重要政策，但其实施效果如何有待验证。采用2007、2010及2011年《中国工业企业数据库》数据，运用双重差模型对高新技术企业认定政策绩效进行评估。通过实证研究发现：①高新技术企业认定政策有助于提高企业市场价值及市场占有量；②高新技术企业认定政策对企业研发投入的增长影响不显著；③相对于中小型企业，高新技术企业认定政策对大型企业影响更大。最后，提出相应的政策建议，以期为我国高新技术企业认定政策完善提供启示。     

山岭隧道洞口浅层滑坡处治关键技术研究

受地形地质条件、工程经济以及勘察深度等因素的制约,山岭重丘区隧道不可避免地会受到各种不良地质灾害的影响.为解决隧道穿越洞口浅埋段滑坡体的施工安全问题,以乐业至百色高速公路永乐隧道工程为研究背景,针对其地形地质条件及滑坡体情况,结合洞内变形与滑坡体变形相互作用机理,对隧道穿越洞口浅埋段滑坡体施工关键技术进行研究,并针对性地提出"洞外加固处治+洞内严格控制沉降"的综合处治方案.实践结果表明,本隧道工程穿越洞口浅层滑坡体的施工过程安全顺利,采取的施工控制措施方案实施效果良好.