Managing supply chain relationships in the hospitality services: An empirical study of hotels and restaurants

Limited research examines the effects of interorganizational trust and interdependence on the relationship quality between supply chain partners in the hospitality services. It is also not well understood how the interorganizational joint team manages the relationships between hospitality firms and their suppliers. Drawing on the social exchange theory and the resource dependence theory, we propose a model and hypotheses to articulate the mediation effect of joint teamwork on the relationships between interorganizational trust, interdependence, and relationship quality. We rigorously analyze survey data from hotel and restaurant procurement managers. Our findings confirm that interorganizational trust and interdependence have significant effects on joint teamwork. Meanwhile, the teamwork mediates the effects of interorganizational trust and interdependence on relationship quality. Our work enriches the understanding of supply chain relationships in the hospitality services, and provides meaningful insights for the hospitality firms to manage supply chains. Finally, we conclude our work with suggestions for future research.     

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the U.S. restaurant industry

The current study examines how the effect of COVID-19 on U.S. restaurant firms’ stock returns varies according to the firms’ pre-pandemic characteristics by employing three firm-level dimensions (financial conditions, corporate strategies, and ownership structure). Employing 795 firm-year observations obtained from annual reports and other databases, this study found that restaurant firms with past characteristics of larger size, more leverage, more cash flows, less ROA, and more internationalization are more resilient to stock declines reacting to COVID-19 than otherwise similar firms. Whereas, dividend, franchising, institutional ownership, and managerial ownership did not show any significant moderating effect on the relationship between COVID-19 and stock returns. This study sheds light on the research topic by providing insights into drivers of restaurant firm’s stock returns during the COVID-19 shock. Future studies can employ the variables and method used in the current study to extend the understanding of the issue.     

Regeneration in a mass-tourism resort: The changing fortunes of Bugibba,Malta

International images emanating from Malta’s tourism authorities are of a tourism product typified by quality accommodation, attractive aesthetics, urban environment and design, and the proximity of cultural attractions.     

Public involvement and tourism planning in a historic city: the case of the Old City of Jerusalem

One of the most widely discussed parameters in the field of tourism management and development concerns the issue of the cooperation and involvement of the public in decision-making processes. In regions characterized by various types of conflicts, questions regarding tourism management and development and the role of the local populations in these processes are political and ethical issues of the highest degree for the society and culture of that location. The aim of this article is to present the tremendous political sensitivity regarding the status of the Old City of Jerusalem, since there is no consensus on its political status which is one of the major stumbling blocks to finding a solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The purpose of this article is not to propose a solution to the political conflict of which Jerusalem is part, but rather to argue for the central place that should be devoted to tourism in a future solution, and within that, to emphasize the involvement and cooperation of the public in the processes of tourism management and development and how in the case of Jerusalem it should be implemented in East Jerusalem and particularly in the Old City.     

Green practices in the restaurant industry from an innovation adoption perspective: Evidence from Taiwan

This study proposes an integrated model that combines the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the innovation adoption theory to investigate the attitudinal and behavioural decision factors on adopting green practices in the restaurant industry in Taiwan. The results demonstrate that attitude and perceived behavioural control have positive effects on behavioural intention while social influence is insignificant. Perceived innovation characteristics have direct positive effects on attitude and indirect positive impacts on behavioural intention to adopt green practices. Managerial implications are discussed.     

Fueling ecological neglect in a manufactured tourist city: planning,disaster mapping,and environmental art in Cancun,Mexico

Abstract

This article explores how tourism urban governance fuels patterns of ecological neglect. It turns a critical eye on Cancun, a leading Caribbean beach tourist destination and battered epicenter of anthropogenic climate change. First, the article contextualizes Cancun’s design and construction as a state development project and manufactured tourist city. It describes the city’s socio-spatial segregation and highlights the role of hurricanes in processes of beach enclosure. Second, it explores a series of risk maps elaborated as responses to international demands on coastal disaster mitigation and beach erosion. I show how local authorities, academics, and the Mexican state are bound to disregard risk maps to further enclose the Caribbean beach and keep the city productive for tourism. Finally, I look at the adoption of anthropogenic narratives on climate change as tourist attractions in Cancun’s Underwater Museum of Art, a unique coalition between conservation, art and tour-operators in the city. I show that turning sea level rise and ocean acidification into tourist spectacles through copyrighted art, this attraction depoliticizes tourism’s responsibility in patterns of environmental degradation. The article serves to reflect on the tacit paradoxes that plague efforts to imagine alternative environmental politics and sustainable tourism urbanisms outside neoliberal trends.     

Industrial heritage tourism development and city image reconstruction in Chinese traditional industrial cities: a web content analysis

ABSTRACT

Studies on industrial heritage and industrial tourism development at the city level in China are limited. Through a web content analysis of the industrial components in cities’ images and tourism, this paper attempts to explore whether old industrial cities are promoting industrial heritage tourism and rebuilding postindustrial images. A total of 20 traditionally industrial cities were selected as samples for data collection based on the content of their official websites, and this study finds that industrial heritage and industrial tourism are rarely promoted or even mentioned on those websites, indicating that industrial culture is gradually being eroded in China. Traditional Chinese industrial cities tend to look for opportunities to participate in global competition rather than reflecting and preserving their past through the process of urban development. More attention should be paid in the future to integrating industrial culture into Chinese urban development, both in academic research and in practice.     

Innovative behavior motivations among frontline employees: The mediating role of knowledge management

Labor-intensive industries face challenges when designing innovative, customer-oriented service strategies at the employee level, since service is mainly produced and delivered to customers not by technology or machines but by human resources. In other words, the role of frontline employees is particularly critical in customers’ belief formation of whether a service company is innovative or not. Therefore, this study was conducted to formulate and investigate the psychological process of frontline employees’ innovative behaviors. To achieve the purpose, this study collected data from frontline employees in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. This study contributes to the motivation literature in human resources management by adapting and considering a marketing approach based on three aspects of motivation: global, contextual, and situational. This study also examined whether motivation factors may increase knowledge-management capabilities and subsequently stimulate innovative behaviors, which are critical to the successful implementation of service improvements among frontline employees.     

The influence of collectivism in restaurant selection: A sentence completion experiment

In a between-subjects experimental design, Korean-Americans and U.S. born non-Koreans were asked to watch a virtual tour of a restaurant and then complete the following sentence: “This restaurant is a good place to go when….” Findings indicate that the Korean-Americans were much more likely to finish the sentence with a collective phrase than the non-Koreans. Moreover, those Korean-Americans utilizing an integration pattern of acculturation were more prone to demonstrate a collective mindset in the sentence completion task than those employing an assimilation pattern of acculturation.     

Food safety in restaurants: The consumer perspective

The study aimed to reveal the indicators that consumers in Mainland China employ to evaluate food safety level of restaurants and find how the use of them varies across consumer subgroups. A national survey was carried out and 1076 respondents completed questionnaires which consisted of 33 questions. The results showed that the consumers preferred to assess a restaurant’s food safety level based on “sensory perception of food” and “restaurant environment”. Although official inspection certificate is one of the reliable indicators, the consumers seldom use it. Furthermore, consumers from different subgroups used different indicators. The females were much more finicky – they employed more indicators to protect them from unsafe restaurants. These results demonstrated a need for better education to create discerning consumers to expel those that fail to deliver safe food. Restaurants can rely on the results to develop effective marketing communication to match the consumers’ decision attributes.     

Commercial hospitality in restaurants and tourist accommodation: Perspectives from international consumer experience in Scotland

This study investigates international consumer perceptions of their restaurant dining and hotel accommodation experiences to identify the common core elements of hospitality in commercial settings. A qualitative approach was adopted to explore the deep-rooted reactions, feelings, and perceptions of consumers. The empirical data are based on semi-structured interviews with 20 international postgraduate students in Scotland. The data analysis specified five categories of perceived commercial hospitality, including: interpersonal interaction, psychological connection, openness to different cultures, sensation satisfaction, and perceived value. Additionally, this study proposed a model of commercial hospitality for interpreting the dynamic and interactive relationships among different components. Complex hospitality experience relies primarily on customer emotional and social values. Several strategies based on perceived value and cultural differences were also developed to cater to various customer needs.     

Impact of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of households on demand for Food Away from Home in the United Arab Emirates

Using a random sample of 485 household from Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, the study estimates household demand for Food Away from Home (FAFH). The study uses household production model to estimate the demand for FAFH. The estimated income elasticities for FAFH are positive and elastic implying that growth in expenditure on FAFH outpaces growth in income. Urdu speaking have the highest growth in expenditure on FAFH as their income grow, followed by Emiratis, English and Arabs. As compared to Emiratis, Arabs and English spend significantly less amount on FAFH while Urdu speaking spend significantly higher amount. The expenditure on FAFH in popular restaurants is statistically less as compared to Asian restaurants. Hence, the industry should expect a growth in demand for FAFH especially keeping in view the expanding Emirati economy.     

Nostalgic experiences in time-honored restaurants: Antecedents and outcomes

With a long history and strong culinary heritage, time-honored restaurants are often associated with the phenomenon of nostalgia. However, research on nostalgia and nostalgic experiences in time-honored restaurants is largely absent. This study built a framework for nostalgic experiences to understand nostalgia triggers as antecedents and consumers’ revisit intention as the outcome. A survey of 366 residents in Beijing and Shanghai, China, revealed that nostalgia triggered by food and service staff significantly evoked consumers’ memories, and the food and restaurant environment stimulated the communitas component of nostalgic experiences. Memory had a positive effect on both communitas and positive emotions, while communitas had a positive effect on positive emotions. Finally, positive emotions resulted in significantly increased revisit intention.     

The Application of Activity-Based Costing in a Hong Kong Buffet Restaurant

Abstract

Previous research has shown that Activity Based Costing is a feasible method for establishing overall menu profitability. In this study, a model for Activity Based Costing that had been applied to a fine dining restaurant was tested in a buffet style restaurant in Hong Kong, China. The outcome of this study indicates that the restaurant model could also be applied to a buffet style restaurant with good results. In addition, the model was able to trace undistributed operating expenses to individual dinner buffet items, thereby revealing that every time the restaurant sold a dinner buffet, it realized a loss of HK $33.     

Effects of dissatisfaction in tourist services: The role of anger and regret

Dissatisfied customers due to a service failure probably will switch the provider, will complain and/or will spread negative word-of-mouth. However, to what extent some specific emotions triggered by dissatisfaction can mediate between the latter and the previous mentioned behaviours? A sample of 359 users of restaurants and 308 users of hotel services has shown that, whereas anger has a significant influence on the three behaviours under study, regret only affects switching and negative word-of-mouth. Furthermore, slight differences between hotels and restaurants have been found because, in the case of restaurants, anger is not an antecedent of switching whereas regret has an inverse effect on complaining.     

Critical success factors for tourist destination governance in times of crisis: a case study of Antalya,Turkey

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to identify the critical success factors for the development of crisis management and strategy for the governance of the tourist destination of Antalya, Turkey. Data was obtained from in situ interviews, participant observation, and documentation. Interviews were conducted with the main tourism stakeholders representing both public and private sectors in Antalya. Findings show that the critical success factors of responsiveness, shared roles, strategy formation, and collaboration are vital for effective crisis management. The study also highlighted the fact that in the area of shared roles and collaboration, encompassing the characteristics of coordination, communication, cooperation, and knowledge transfer, stakeholders are proving ineffectual, thereby obstructing the development of necessary strategies for crisis management and the recovery process. Further, ineffective governance, adopted by local stakeholders, has had a substantial negative impact on the process of developing future effective crisis management strategies.     

Enhancing service quality improvement strategies of fine-dining restaurants: New insights from integrating a two-phase decision-making model of IPGA and DEMATEL analysis

The traditional IPA model has been considered to be a decision-making tool for service quality management. However, the IPA model does not meet the assumptions of the service quality gap, and also cannot explore the connection between service quality attributes, which can easily lead to decision-making errors of service quality management. The purpose of this study is to apply the IPGA model and DEMATEL to explore the service quality improvement priority of fine-dining restaurants and the causal relationship between service quality attributes, and use it as the decision-making reference of service quality strategy planning and resource reorganizing for the restaurant industry with limited resources. The study applied the customers of 8 fine-dining restaurants in Taipei City as the study object, and there are 502 effective samples. The study result shows that the dimensions of reliability, responsiveness, and assurance are concentrated here, and are the restaurant service quality dimensions that most need to be improved from the customer perceptive. In addition, the total effect of reliability is the highest among all the service quality dimensions. Reliability and responsiveness, in addition to impacting each other, will impact assurance and empathy. According to the study result, through IPGA and DEMATEL, the service quality performance of fine-dining restaurants and the resource input priority can be grasped more objectively and accurately, which can be used as a reference for manager to plan the service quality improvement strategy.     

Turnover's relationships with sales, tips and service across restaurants in a chain

This study used restaurant level data from a casual-dining restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States to examine turnover's relationships with sales, tips and service. Turnover was negatively correlated with sales and service among high-volume restaurants but not among low-volume restaurants. Interestingly, the opposite pattern was observed for turnovers’ relationship with tip percentages—turnover was negatively correlated with tip percentages among low-volume restaurants but not among high-volume restaurants. Plausible explanations for these findings are discussed along with their practical implications.     

Rapid responding to the COVID-19 crisis: Assessing the resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally impacted the restaurant and bar industry. Simultaneously, this industry is already undergoing structural change. Using the concept of organisational resilience, we analyse the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on owner’s assessment of resilience in the German restaurant and bar industry. Findings from an online survey with 623 owners and managers show that ex-ante business problems, and financing by loans or credit, reduce the likelihood of owners perceiving their business as resilient; while, delivery and takeaway service, ownership of property and higher age of owners, increase the likelihood of enterprise resilience. The paper contributes to understanding how restaurants and bars absorb and cope with the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, we make recommendation for future research on the recovery and adaptability of the business sector.