The impacts of complementary information technology resources on the service-profit chain and competitive performance of South African hospitality firms

The potential of information technology (IT) resources to empower employees, to shape customer service and contribute to the competitive performance of hospitality firms has received much attention. Yet empirical evidence has been lacking. This study draws on the resource-based view of the firm and the service-profit chain framework to develop and test a model of the effects of a complementary system of tangible and intangible IT resources on employee and customer service outcomes and on competitive performance. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 112 hospitality establishments operating in South Africa. Results revealed that the complementary system of IT resources has significant direct effects on competitive performance whilst its effect on customer service outcomes is fully mediated by employee outcomes. Results support the contention that hospitality service is information intensive. In addition to employees, tangible and intangible IT resources demand the attention of hospitality managers and their role in competitive strategy must be considered.     

Understanding corporate philanthropy in the hospitality industry

This study makes a unique contribution to the corporate social responsibility literature, both from a theoretical perspective and corporate philanthropy (CP) perspective that has been under-researched so far. Specifically, it extends the investigation of the motives of CP to the hospitality industry in the emerging country of Taiwan and is the first examination of the determinants of CP in the hospitality industry based on the value enhancement (VE) and agency cost (AC) theories. Previous studies found that either AC or VE determinants, not both, play a major role in making philanthropy decisions. This study reveal new and interesting findings using the data from 13 publicly traded hospitality companies in Taiwan collected between 1996 and 2011. Panel regression test results show that both VE determinants (labor intensity and profitability) and AC determinants (board size and the ratio of independent directors to total directors) were found to be significant factors in explaining the discretionary behavior of CP in the hospitality industry. Furthermore, the lagged philanthropy-to-sale ratio was also significantly related to CP decisions in the hospitality industry in Taiwan, suggesting that the behavior of CP in the Taiwanese hospitality industry is persistent. The possible explanation is that changing philanthropy pattern may lead to market-adverse expectations and reactions and damage the reputation of companies.     

Asymmetric effects of tourist arrivals on the hospitality industry

This study makes a unique contribution to the hospitality literature by examining the asymmetric effects of total tourist arrivals in six segments of tourist arrivals (pleasure, business, visiting relatives, conference, study, and others) on Taiwan’s hospitality industry. Regression test results confirm that the contribution of the overall tourist arrivals and both pleasure and visiting relatives segments to hospitality industry growth is not asymmetric, as it is found in periods of expansion and contraction. The beneficial effect of the business segment on hospitality industry growth is asymmetric, existing only in periods of business cycle expansion. However, the conference, study, and other segments make no significant contribution to hospitality industry growth. The study’s valuable policy implications offer guidance to Taiwan’s tourism authorities, hospitality business owners, and managers.     

A deeper look at national culture and leadership in the hospitality industry

Increased internationalization and demographic shifts have made multicultural management a prime concern for hospitality leaders. Past research suggests that cultural similarity between managers and subordinates impacts employees’ appraisal of their leaders and work-related attitudes. Extending this line of research, the purpose of this paper is to examine more closely how employees evaluate leaders with varying national cultures and identify any subsequent employee responses. First, the results of an open-ended questionnaire on cultural influences, perceived leadership and work-related outcomes administered to 112 hospitality managers and staff members in a highly multicultural environment are discussed. Next, perspectives drawn from in-depth interviews with 12 hospitality stakeholders help to synthesize the findings. The results suggest that this is a highly complex issue, which can have a significant impact on employee reactions their leaders and the service received by guests. Implications for hospitality leaders are discussed.     

Supply management practices and performance in the Canadian hospitality industry

As the competition to gain customers becomes more intense, the hospitality industry has faced increasing pressure to find new approaches to create and deliver value to customers through supply chain management (SCM) practices. Over the past decade there has been a growing realization of the important contribution that purchasing and supply management can have on an organization's performance. This paper addresses SCM practices, with an emphasis on strategic purchasing (SP), in one sector of the Canadian hospitality industry. Using data collected from 105 Canadian hotels, this study tested seven hypotheses of the impact of SP on SCM practices and verified the impact on the hotel's performance. All of the hypothesized relationships were supported. The results indicate that SP is positively related to the relationship with the supplier (SR), communication (COM), service quality (SQ), financial performance (FINP), and customer satisfaction performance (CUSP). The managerial and research implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.     

Mentoring for gender equality: Supporting female leaders in the hospitality industry

The hospitality industry struggles with problems with staff motivation, commitment and retention, whilst also having an entrenched glass ceiling that limits career opportunities for many women. Mentoring is a useful function to support and develop staff, and may be particularly important for helping women overcome gendered barriers to progression. This paper reports on a year-long qualitative study of a women’s mentoring programme in the hospitality industry in the UK. Drawing on data from 71 interviews with a sample of 13 mentors and 14 mentees, the findings illustrate the persistent gendered obstacles women experience as they try and negotiate careers in masculinist hospitality organisations. The mentoring programme offers individual support for the mentees, and also begins to challenge gendered discourses of success in hospitality careers, illustrating that mentoring has an important role to play in both career development and in confronting gender inequality in the hospitality industry.     

A review of the business case for CSR in the hospitality industry

Despite prolific research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in its various forms in the hospitality industry, there is no consensus regarding the business case for CSR initiatives. Using a stakeholder lens, we review the research on CSR and its rationale by analyzing its impact on the environment, employees, customers, community, and investors in the hospitality industry. Our review analyzes 170 articles published between 1990 and 2017 covering different conceptual frameworks, measures, and samples to evaluate the current state of the field, integrate findings, identify gaps, and suggest avenues for future research. Our review calls for a) more studies that examine hospitality-specific CSR initiatives to examine impact on firm performance, b) greater theory-driven research, and c) expansion of contexts both in terms of different sectors of the industry and geographical locations, than is covered by existing studies. Future research directions are provided.     

Zimbabwean hospitality students’ experiences of sexual harassment in the hotel industry

This study investigates the experiences of Zimbabwean hospitality management students in relation to sexual harassment. The students were asked to draw their responses from their industrial attachment year which is part of their four-year degree program. Guided interviews were conducted with 77 final year hospitality management students who had undertaken their industrial attachment in the hotel industry. Findings reveal that sexual harassment is not uncommon in Zimbabwean hotel workplaces. Coworkers, managers and customers were identified as perpetrators. The lack of sexual harassment training in the Zimbabwean hospitality, as well as the non-response of managers to some sexual harassment cases are possible indicators of the inadequacy, or complete lack of sexual harassment policies in Zimbabwe's hotel industry. The researcher suggests that human resource managers in the hotels should formulate, in consultation with Zimbabwean law and labour relations experts, sound sexual harassment policies. Continuous educational training for all employees and managers is also necessary to encourage more employees to report cases and to deter offenders.     

An overview of Internet-based surveys in hospitality and tourism journals

Survey research has reached an era when the Internet is commonly used as a research tool in different fields of study. Yet, the use of this method in tourism and hospitality research has not been fully explored. This study provides a state-of-the-art assessment of journal publications in the past ten years to reveal how the Internet has been incorporated into tourism and hospitality research. Various aspects of online research in tourism and hospitality are identified via reviewing relevant articles retrieved from the EBSCOhost.     

Conceptual model for analysing management development in the hospitality industry: A UK perspective

This paper presents a conceptual, contingent model of hospitality management development (MD). Having explored the dimensions and relationships in the model, it is then applied to the UK hospitality industry through analysing the nature of the hospitality industry for potential influences on MD and evaluating research into its practice. The embryonic model is presented as a vehicle to enhance understanding of the complex influences and contexts of hospitality MD and to distinguish distinctive characteristics of MD in the hospitality industry.     

Impacts of positive and negative corporate social responsibility activities on company performance in the hospitality industry

In spite of growing concern for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in various industries including the hospitality industry, the relationship between CSR activities and financial performance is a rarely examined subject in the hospitality context. Especially, research measuring the separate impacts of positive and negative CSR activities on companies’ financial performances remains, as yet, unconsidered. Thus, this study examines different impacts of positive and negative CSR activities on financial performance of hotel, casino, restaurant and airline companies, theoretically based on positivity and negativity effects. Findings suggest mixed results across different industries and will contribute to companies’ appropriate strategic decision-making for CSR activities by providing more precise information regarding the impacts of each directional CSR activity on financial performance.     

Literature in strategic management in the hospitality industry

This literature review of the research in strategic management in the hospitality industry covers the 2 year period of 2002–2003. Using a contingency model framework for the analysis the research reported in refereed journals in the field of hospitality is reported. Additionally, research that considered the context of the hospitality industry but published in non-hospitality refereed journals was also included. Key issues and needs in the area are provided at the conclusion.     

Analysis of E-commerce and information technology applications in hotels: Business travelers' perceptions

Numerous research studies have been conducted that are related to e-commerce and information technology (IT) applications in the hospitality industry with regard to business operation, profit, output, and management perspective. The focus of this study is to examine current e-commerce and IT applications in the hospitality industry and to identify the business travelers' perceptions in order to improve customer service. One of the problems in the hospitality industry is that customers want advanced e-commerce and IT applications, but restaurants and hotels are not necessarily implementing them. This study discusses the typical problems and obstacles of implementing e-commerce and IT applications in hospitality, using the lodging e-commerce and IT applications to satisfy customers, and developing the lodging e-commerce and IT applications as a corporate competitive advantage. Moreover, this study investigated a variety of e-commerce and IT applications related to customer service, satisfaction, and retention as well as e-commerce and IT applications as a distribution channel for receiving travelers' information and accommodation booking. This study provides valuable implications for hospitality practitioners about customer perceptions relative to e-commerce and IT applications.     

Towards a theoretical model of technology adoption in hospitality organizations

Technology is an important strategic asset for hospitality organizations to improve organizational performance and strategic competitiveness. However, adoption and diffusion of technology are complex processes, which are affected by a number of internal and external factors. As a result, understanding the factors affecting a hospitality organization's technology adoption behavior is of paramount importance to both practitioners and academia. This study proposes a model that describes the process of technology adoption in hospitality organizations. Specifically, two modifications of the existing Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) have been proposed in order to capture the adoption behavior at the organizational level.     

Theory in hospitality management

This paper comments on the absence of any commonly agreed theoretical framework about hospitality management. A tentative proposition is made for a model which identifies the inter-dependent and inter-related elements of hospitality management which might be used as a basis for management teaching and development as well as for research.     

Budgeting practices in the Turkish hospitality industry: An exploratory survey in the Antalya region

The present study aims to explore budgeting practices of Turkish hotels in the Antalya region which is the most prominent tourism center of the country. The results indicate that having a budget committee and budget manual are common for Turkish hotels. Secondly, participative budgeting is advocated within the industry. Furthermore, budget period seems dynamic, because hotels state that they revise budgets and make periodic reporting within the budget period. Profitability and cost control are the primary reasons in budget preparation. Finally, budgets are viewed as one of the primary performance indicators.     

Segmenting networking orientation in the hospitality industry: An empirical research on service bundling

This paper focuses on the topic of collaboration in tourism destinations. Collaboration is key to overcome the fragmentation of the tourism industry and to better satisfy the more and more experience-centric tourist. Tourism operators are increasingly involved in various types of collaborative partnerships. One among them is service bundling, which is the creation and the supply of tourism packages. The study analyses the drivers of the development of service bundling and provides a segmentation of the hospitality industry according to operators’ networking orientation. A sample of 164 hoteliers from a tourism-based region in Italy was surveyed. Four clusters of hoteliers were identified and profiled: the Relational/Socials, the Opportunists, the Innovators, and the Marketers. Each shows a specific approach to collaboration and reveals different motivations to be engaged in a partnership. Some managerial implications and directions for policy makers are also provided.     

The business case for diversity management in the hospitality industry

Societal and regulatory pressures increasingly encourage firms to invest in and manage workplace diversity. In service industries like hospitality and tourism (HT) where customer interface and service is salient, diversity management assumes even greater importance than compared to other industries. Yet the link between investment in diversity and its relationship with financial performance is not known. This study compares diversity management between HT and non-HT firms, and finds that HT firms manage diversity by taking more initiatives than other firms. More importantly, it finds that investment in diversity translates into superior financial performance when measured by Tobin's Q and firm credit rating.