Categories of Participants Based on Their Expectations of Instructor-Led Training

SUMMARY

Trainees' expectations of training are important considerations in the development of training programs, yet a lack of research exists to understand the expectations of trainees as they relate to various training delivery methods. To investigate the underlying dimensions or factors that determine trainees' expectations in instructor-led training sessions, 164 surveys were collected from attendees at six different hospitality industry instructor-led training sessions. Utilizing a factor analytic procedure, the following five dimensions of trainees' expectations were identified: courtesy, entertainment, climate, tangibles, and relevance. These expectations of training dimensions were then used to cluster analyze trainees into three groups: “the good-timers,” “the high hopes,” and “the serious students.”     

Hotel career management in China: Developing a measurement scale

This study aims to develop a measurement scale for organizational career management (OCM) in China's hotel industry. The scale development procedure includes four steps: developing initial items, implementing purifying measures, data collection, and assessing the reliability and validity of the proposed measurement scale. Both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are used to test the reliability and validity of the measurement scale thus developed. The development process results in a reliable and valid scale for hotel career management incorporating three dimensions: (1) career appraisal and advice, (2) a career development program, and (3) career training. Given the scarcity of research on career management in China, the measurement scale developed in this study will serve as a foundation for future research. The findings of this study may help to stimulate further empirical research on the relationship between hotel career management and employees’ career commitment and career satisfaction.     

Service Skills and Service Quality

ABSTRACT

Though various types of service skills and knowledge have been suggested for inclusion in service training programs that are designed to improve the competence of frontline service providers, there has been no empirical work to investigate the structural relationships among various types of service skill. In this study, a total of twelve types of service skill are identified. A measurement model for service skills is developed accordingly and tested with the use of hotel service. The results of confirmatory factor analysis reveal acceptable model fit, suggesting that these twelve types of service skill can be classified into two categories: technical versus functional. Performance on technical skills is found to have greater impact on service quality.     

The Impact of Employee Training on Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay in the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT

Training has been found to link with improving job satisfaction and employee intention to stay. The purposes of this research were to investigate the expectations and perceptions of training quality between hotel managers and employees, and to suggest implications for improving training quality and increasing training satisfaction, job satisfaction, and intention to stay among employees in the hotel industry. The conceptual model of this study was developed based on SERVQUAL and the ServiceProfit Chain model. T-test showed that employees perceived low training quality, which suggested employees were not satisfied with training quality and that training quality needed improvement. Results of regression analysis showed that training was positively related to training satisfaction and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction led positively to intention to stay. The indirect effect of training quality on intention to stay was mediated by job satisfaction. This study suggests more understanding of the importance of training quality and its consequences, and to pay more attention to employee training.     

Multidimensional Scaling Analysis in the Determination of Hotel Quality Dimensions–Patagonia,Argentina

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to identify and select quality dimensions for high category hotels in Neuquén and Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina.

The research starts with a battery of 28-quality indicators that was obtained from in-depth interviews with hotel managers, and guest surveys carried out in both locations.

Through a structured interview by filling cards, the research team finds out the dimensionality that groups the hotel service quality items. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis are used to explore the items grouping pattern and to define resulting quality dimensions. An empirical content validated scale for the construct “perceived service quality in hotels” is attained. Its three dimensions are “Physical support and hotel general services quality,” “Room quality” and “Employee service quality.”     

Towards an understanding of total service quality in hotels

The importance of service quality for business performance has been recognized in the literature through the direct effect on customer satisfaction and the indirect effect on customer loyalty. The importance was recognized by Parasuraman et al. [1985. A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing 49(4), 41–51] in the development of SERVQUAL, a measure of perceived service quality across industries. Although the importance of service quality and service quality measurement has been recognized, there has been limited research that has addressed the structure and antecedents of the concept for the hotel industry.This research addresses the antecedents and structure of service quality in the context of the luxury and first class hotel sectors. The data are analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis approaches and a structural model is used to test the structure of service quality.The paper clarifies the dimensions and structure of service quality in the hotel industry. The clarification of the dimensions is important for managers in the hotel industry as it identifies the bundles of service attributes consumers find important. The clarification of the structure is also important as it confirms, in a hotel context, that customers see service quality in its entirety as a second order dimension.     

免税购物游客感知价值的量表开发与实证检验

游客感知价值源自营销学领域的顾客价值理论,是游客基于感知利得与利失的权衡对旅游产品或旅游服务的总体评价,已成为旅游企业稳固竞争优势的新动源。现阶段,国内外免税购物市场竞争局势日渐激烈,免税购物游客感知价值研究能为免税店管理方提供科学的运营管理依据。文章以有消费经历的免税购物游客为研究对象,研究区域为三亚国际免税城,运用SPSS 22.0和AMOS 17.0软件对正式调研所获得的324份有效样本数据进行实证分析。在梳理游客感知价值测量相关文献的基础上,严格遵循量表开发的规范步骤(确定构念范围、发展初始测项、纯化初始测项、预调研、正式调研、探索性因子分析、验证性因子分析、信效度检验),开发了包含6个维度24个测项的免税购物游客感知价值量表,6个维度分别为感知环境价值、感知成本价值、感知管理价值、感知功能价值、感知服务价值、感知声誉价值,并通过构建结构方程模型检验了量表的稳定性。最后,总结了研究的理论贡献与管理启示。     

Testing the proposed “GuidePerf” scale for tourism: performances of tour guides in relation to various tour guiding diplomas

The satisfaction perceived from the performance of tour guides (TGs) affects tour operators and other services in the tourism industry. As the tour guiding performance becomes more crucial in service quality and tourist satisfaction, education also becomes a critical tool to enhance the tour guiding performance. Using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with seven TGs in Cappadocia/Turkey and employing content analysis of the data, the Tour Guide Performance Scale (GuidePerf) was developed in this particular study. Reliability and validity of GuidePerf were supported by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale was composed of 18 items and three dimensions, namely: “personality and efficiency,” “presentableness,” and “proficiency.” Proceeding to the next step with the approval, the GuidePerf was conducted on the tour participants (TPs) who were guided by three different TG types in terms of the education they had received. The results revealed that there is significance when “presentableness,” and “proficiency” dimensions are considered.     

The development of an evaluation scale for B2B service quality: The case of the Korean convention industry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop scale dimensions for evaluating professional convention organizers (PCOs) from the perspective of conference hosts. Based on a literature review of B2B service quality and convention service quality, and in-depth interviews with host organizers in the Korean convention industry, five quality dimensions were identified: potential, process, personal, technical, and outcome qualities. The reliability and validity of the five dimensions were verified using empirical data. The results show that service quality between PCOs and hosts should be considered to be a holistic experience rather than a set of separate factors as discussed in previous studies. This paper also contributes by proposing that the five scales serve as a managerial tool for PCOs to evaluate their own performance and as criteria for hosts to develop effective business relationships with service providers.     

Using Performance Measurements to Explore the Influence of Service Quality Dimensions on Customer's Perception of Overall Value of a Nature Based Tourism Outfitter

ABSTRACT

Customers of leisure services have increased their expectations of experience providers in recentyears. As the competition among service providers has increased for customers, service providers have begun to focus efforts on assessing the quality of the experiences they provide for their guests. Using the findings from their investigations, leisure service providers seek to modify current program offerings, add new experiences that enhance the perceived quality of their experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of using service performance measurements to determine if customer's perception's of service performance significantly predicts their perception of trip value, likeliness to recommend, and likeliness to repurchase from the same outfitter, and overall quality in the context of white water rafting. A total of 309 guests of an outfitter were surveyed for this study. Service performance was measured within the context of four company-specific dimensions (Reservation, Transportation. Facilities, and Guides). MANOVA and discriminant analyses were used to test each of the four hypotheses. Results of the MANOVA revealed that reservations, facilities, transportation and guides do significantly predict, overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend the experience next year, and overall quality. However, only transportation and facilities were significant when asked about repurchasing the trip from the same outfitter next year. The strongest predictor resulting from the discriminant analyses for three variables (overall perceived value, the likelihood to recommend these outfitters and overall quality) was reservations. In contrast the strongest predictor of repurchasing the experience from the same outfitter was transportation.     

Developing a professional competence scale for kitchen staff: Food value and availability for surplus food

The aim of this research was to establish a scale of surplus food professional competence for kitchen staff. The research mainly explored three sections: knowledge competency, attitude competency, and skill competency. The dimensions of the scale were developed through exploratory factor analysis with knowledge competences, including the two dimensions of sanitation knowledge and culinary knowledge; attitude competences, including the three dimensions of personal moral attitude, food handling, education and training; and skill competences, including the two dimensions of menu analysis and planning and management. The results for the scale indicated good discriminant validity, convergent validity and reliability. The model comparison showed that the two-level–three-factor model was significantly better than the other models.     

Enhancing customer-based brand equity through CSR in the hospitality sector

ABSTRACT

Corporate social responsibility is considered an important element in the development of brand equity. Extant research in this context is mainly focused on the relationship between this corporate philosophy and financial performance, overlooking its potential to develop competitive advantages through brand equity dimensions. The aim of this research is to explore the impact of socially responsible aspects on hotel brand equity. To test the proposed model personal surveys of hotel customers were conducted. A structural equation model was developed to test the research hypotheses. The findings show that corporate social responsibility has positive effects on brand image, perceived quality, brand awareness, and brand loyalty.     

Customer Satisfaction,Training and TQM

Abstract

Managers within the hospitality industry make frequent reference to TQM principles. The extent to which these principles are applied effectively within the human resource management area of hospitality however remains under-researched. By applying TQM principles, this paper focusses on the relationship between customer service and training drawing upon comparative data from Western and Thai hotels. The paper also examines the perceptions of staff towards of hotels' guest-orientation and the provision of quality guest services. The researchers found that guest assessments of the performance of hotel frontline staff depend on their services function (e.g., front-office, housekeeping). The service quality skills needed by frontline staff were also found to differ in the case of Western and Thai hotels. Such differences merit proper consideration on the part of managers within the major hotel chains. The various findings may assist hospitality managers to determine appropriate strategies for the enhancement of guest services particularly in cross-cultural settings.     

贫困与非贫困户旅游扶贫政策绩效感知差异研究——以恩施为例

为了明确回答旅游扶贫是否存在"扶富不扶贫"现象,文章以恩施州22个旅游扶贫重点村农户的问卷调查数据为依据,以农户感知为视角,采用探索性因子分析从政策执行和效果两大方面探索旅游扶贫政策绩效感知的维度,并评价感知水平,采用独立样本t检验分析贫困户与非贫困户对旅游扶贫政策绩效感知的差异及形成原因。研究发现:旅游扶贫政策绩效包括3个政策执行感知维度和6个政策效果感知维度;受访农户总体上对宏观政策覆盖的感知高于对微观政策覆盖和政策执行力度的感知,对旅游发展带来的环境、经济、素质提升的正面效应感知高于对环境、经济、社会负面效应的感知,但认可度都不高;与非贫困户相比,贫困户更不认可旅游发展促进了地方经济的发展、个人收入的增加和素质提升的作用,却更认可旅游发展带来的经济成本,表现出相对剥夺感。最后,根据研究结果,从充分发展旅游经济、实施制度增权、建立利益分享机制3个方面为恩施州旅游扶贫政策的完善提出了针对性建议。     

Determinants of Exhibition Service Quality as Perceived by Attendees

Abstract

This study attempted to identify comprehensive determinants (or dimensions) of exhibition service quality as perceived by attendees. Dimensions of exhibition service quality were constructed and identified, which are relevant for attendees to accomplish their objectives in an exhibition. The empirical results produced six dimensions of exhibition service quality: booth management, contents, registration, access, booth layout and function, exhibition and booth attractiveness. Contents turned out to be the most important dimension of exhibition service quality. Attendees were most concerned with number of participating exhibitors; quality of products or service exhibited; and conferences, seminars and events organized at the exhibition. We also confirmed the positive impacts of service quality on overall satisfaction and behavioral intention.     

The Importance of Hotel Attributes in Contributing to Travelers' Satisfaction in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study surveyed 402 international travelers to explore their satisfaction levels towards service and facility quality in three Hong Kong hotel market segments, High-Tariff A, High-Tariff B and Medium Tariff. Six perception dimensions were extracted from 33 hotel attributes by a factor analysis. All six dimensions had a significant impact on the overall satisfaction of travelers with service quality and facilities in the three Hong Kong hotel market segments. Quality of Staff Performance was the most influential factor followed by Quality of Room Facilities, Value for Money, Variety and Efficient Services, Business Related Services, and Safety and Security respectively. It was found that travelers had the lowest satisfaction level towards the Medium-Tariff hotel segment. By identifying the most influential hotel dimension in influencing travelers' satisfaction levels, hoteliers will be in an advantageous position to formulate tactics to meet the changing needs and expectations of travelers. Implementing human resources training that emphasizes the fact that service quality is part of each employee's job should have a significant impact on guest re-purchase intention. The importance of value segmentation cannot be overlooked by hoteliers. Travelers will continue to expect hotels to provide more value-for-money services and facilities and they are expected to shift their purchasing decision to an economic value basis.     

A Factor Analysis of Internal Service Constructs in the Lodging Industry

Abstract

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry's Extended Model of Service Quality has received a great deal of attention in various disciplines. Nearly all the work on this model has addressed either the dimensionality of the consumer service perceptions or the way in which the model measures quality. Only one work has been identified that addressed the internal components of their model. It is critical that organizations understand the internal factors that affect the delivery of a high quality service experience. This research subjects the internal constructs identified by Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry to a factor analysis study in the lodging industry. This research found that the management factors did not function as proposed. New factors are identified based on exploratory factor analysis and a comparison of the two models is presented.     

A Sales Forecasting Benchmarking Model

ABSTRACT

The present qualitative study utilized a long interview protocol to evaluate the sales forecasting process in the commercial restaurant setting. This qualitative study consisted of interviewing twelve managers representing seven companies. The results validated the four dimensions; functional integration, approach, systems, and performance measurement found earlier in more general business settings. The companies were found to exhibit characteristics of three of the four stages in the four dimensions. The fourth stage, representing the most actualized company, was not reached by any of the companies in this study. This could be interpreted to mean that the commercial restaurant setting is not as advanced as conquerable companies in the industry. The concept, training, emerged during the analysis. Scenarios were developed to explain the relationship of training to the original dimensions.     

Diversity Management Training Initiatives

Abstract

This study investigates diversity management training initiatives (DMTIs) currently practiced within the lodging industry. The results suggest that once an employee becomes involved in the diversity management training initiative, their perception of its importance increases. It was also concluded that the perceived impact of DMTIs is positive for both minority and non-minority employees. The findings support the notion that the lodging industry is operating in a very diverse environment. Thus, emphasizing communication and educational training initiatives while reiterating their importance to all involved is necessary for success.     

Service Quality Measurement and Triadic Interaction

Abstract

The authors recognise the importance of the service quality encounter and the critical roles played by three direct stakeholders: customers, front-line staff and operational managers, in the assessment of restaurant service quality. The paper therefore argues the merits of adopting a triadic perspective on restaurant service quality assessment and presents the details of a comparative analysis of stakeholder perceptions of service quality performance that was undertaken in three full-service restaurants in Manchester, U.K. The results showed that service providers tended to overrate the quality of service in full-service restaurants, if customer perceptions are used as the standard of comparison. Managers' ratings showed the least convergence with those of customers whilst there was a high degree of convergence between the perceptions of front-line service providers and customers on many of the dimensions. With the exception of the tangible dimension, there were statistically significant differences in service quality performance between the perceptions of stakeholders. Overall, the results have highlighted areas of particular concern and priority which require more in-depth research with qualitative methods; they therefore support the adoption of a triadic perspective in the assessment of restaurant service quality performance.