Dimensions and correlates of consumer value: An application to the timeshare industry

The concept of consumer value has been hailed as the “very underpinning” of marketing, yet the concept has been subjected to limited empirical research, particularly in the hospitality industry. This study investigates the value that consumers derive from ownership of timeshare holiday products. A total of 785 people answered questions regarding their background, timeshare ownership, valuing of timeshare, and satisfaction with timeshare. Confirmatory factor analyses showed consumer value to be a multi-dimensional construct comprising opportunities for relaxation, gift-giving, status, quality, flexibility, fun, new experiences, and financial benefits. These value dimensions varied with other factors such as type of timeshare ownership (e.g., weeks, points).     

Buying a Piece of Paradise- A Case Study

ABSTRACT

The vacation ownership (timeshare) industry is the fastest growing segment in the hospitality industry. With this growth is the need to attain qualified managers and hospitality programs must ascertain the skills that are necessary to meet the demands of this market. The purpose of this study was to discover if there were any significant differences between traditional lodging managers and timeshare managers based upon a manager's knowledge, ability, and attitude related to their job duties. The study did discover some areas that were deemed more important to timeshare managers. These results could be used to help potential employees in the lodging industry discover what type of environment would best match their skill set.     

Compensation practices in the lodging industry: Does top management pay affect corporate performance?

The current study examines the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance in the U.S. lodging industry. It is not clear-cut whether performance leads to compensation or compensation drives firm performance. Our contention is that cash and lagged equity-based compensation drive the firm performance. Our findings suggest that chief executive officer's (CEO) contemporaneous cash-compensation and one-year lagged equity-compensation positively affect the accounting performance measures return on assets and Tobin's Q; but neither compensation components affects the market-performance measure, stock returns, in the lodging industry. Quantitatively similar findings are found for the chief financial officer (CFO). Further robustness test show that further lags of equity compensation of both named executives do not result in increased stock performance in the lodging industry.     

Informing timeshare exchange services on the drivers of customer-driven co-production

Given the continued growth of the timeshare segment and its unique characteristics as an owned leisure lodging product, adopting a service-dominant logic and developing opportunities for co-creation is highly relevant for companies that provide services to this industry. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to explore the drivers that lead to customer-driven co-production in timeshare exchange services, due to the popularity of this option among consumers owning timeshare. Our results indicate that interaction between timeshare owners as customers of the exchange company is a significant driver of customer-driven co-production. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore customer-driven co-production in the timeshare industry. Moreover, our findings are highly significant for timeshare exchange companies and point them to potential areas of improvement in their service processes that could lead to higher customer-driven co-production and, consequently, more valuable experiences.     

Spatial analysis of the U.S. lodging industry, 1963–1977

Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce Census of Business in 1963, 1972, and 1977 were compared on a state by state basis and by standard metropolitan statistical areas in order to analyze the spatial growth points of the U.S. lodging industry. The results point to major lodging growth areas in the Sunbelt states with central Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada and Hawaii as outstanding nodes of development. Metropolitan lodging growth has taken place in the Sunbelt cities with populations of 100,000 to one million, with above average growth in those cities located in the coastal zone.     

An Examination of Organizational Commitment and Intention to Stay in the Timeshare Industry: Variations Across Generations in the Workplace

This study examines differences among individual generations’ organizational commitment and intention to stay in the timeshare industry. The timeshare segment is worthy of study due to expected growth and increase in worldwide lodging brands’ presence. Responses from more than 1,000 survey respondents reveal generational differences that highlight the variations in employee commitment and intention to stay. In addition to the contributions to literature for contemporary study among generational attitudes and behaviors, the implications may provide Human Resources practitioners insight into employee retention drivers relating to organizational commitment. Finally, this study adds to literature and practice by further clarifying generational differences.     

Credit Fluctuations and Lodging Firms: An Investigation of the Differing Capital Structures in the U.S. Lodging Industry

In the area of corporate finance, decisions regarding the constituents of overall capital structure are the most critical. These financing decisions are even more critical to lodging firms because of the unique nature of the industry. This study empirically investigates the effect of credit availability on the leverage of the lodging industry in the U.S. using multivariate analysis of variance. Three time points of differing credit availability (low, high, and average) were identified using the Case-Shiller home price index. Leverage, net leverage, and short-to-long-term debt ratios of large and small U.S. lodging firms were analyzed at these differing credit availability time points to assess any significant differences. Significant effects of credit availability were found on the leverage and net leverage of lodging firms, but no significant effect was found on the short- to long-term debt ratio of U.S. lodging firms. Interestingly, the leverage levels were found to be highest at the average availability of credit than when compared to the high and low availability of credit.     

ENGAGING TIMESHARE OWNERS IN TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT: TOURISM PLANNING AND TOURISM MARKETING IMPLICATIONS

It is important to understand tourists' willingness to participate in tourism planning and the factors influencing their willingness because they are an integral part of the destination and ultimately one of the main buyers of the product. Timeshare owners are a special group of tourists who have additional connections with the tourism destination through their timeshare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, civic engagement, sense of place, and willingness to participate in tourism planning.

This study was based on a questionnaire survey of U.S. timeshare owners. The total sample size was 302. A two‐stage structural equation modeling approach was applied in data analysis. Results from the measurement model suggested that the model fit the data quite well. Results from the structural model suggested that timeshare owners' perceptions of tourism planning, their past history of civic participation, and their sense of place significantly impact their willingness to participate in tourism planning, while timeshare owners' past experience in political participation did not significantly affect their willingness to participate in tourism planning. Implications of the findings in tourism planning and tourism destination marketing are presented.     

Moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress in the U.S. restaurant industry

During the recent and ongoing economic turmoil, countless businesses have been facing financial distress and many have filed for bankruptcy. This issue is especially critical for the restaurant industry due to restaurants’ sensitivity to economic fluctuations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the financial distress issue in the U.S. restaurant industry. In particular, the study examines a moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between a firm's leverage and degree of financial distress. The dataset includes publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms during the period 1990–2008. The study measures the degree of financial distress by modified Z-scores, and findings suggest a positive moderating effect of capital intensity on the relationship between leverage and financial distress.     

Performance Analysis of Lodging REITs in Relation to Market Segments

This article examines the financial performance of lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) in relation to their market focus. Secondary data were collected for from 2004 to 2008 from lodging REITs that were traded on major U.S. stock exchanges. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to assess the efficiencies of market segments to generate financial performance. The results showed that two lodging REITs were consistently efficient during the study period relative to other lodging REITs. In particular, lodging REITs investing and/or operating in one or more relatively similar market segments and those focusing on the upper-upscale segment were more efficient than others. This study could provide managers, owners, and investors of lodging REITs preliminary evidence of the relationship between market segments and firm performance. This article also proposes a framework for future investigations to assess the performance of REITs.     

Board structure and CEO compensation: Evidence from U.S. lodging industry

Using a sample of U.S. lodging firms, this paper examines the relationship between board of director characteristics and chief executive officer (CEO) compensation. Previous research shows that larger boards are detrimental to the effectiveness of the board of directors and deteriorate the control imposed on CEO actions and pay. Board independence is also suggested as an important quality to emphasize the control on the CEO. We propose that U.S. lodging firms’ board of directors provide a nice setting to investigate the effects of size and independence on CEO compensation level. Our findings suggest that CEO compensation is not related to board size, and positively related to proportion of the outside board members. These findings are contrary to the findings of previous studies. Our findings may provide significant insights to lodging firms’ board of directors to structure efficient compensation packages.     

How is the hospitality and tourism industry different? An empirical test of some structural characteristics

Structural characteristics, such as competition, risk, leverage and capital intensity, directly impact the strategic management of firms operating within an industry. We provide an empirical test and formally compare the structural characteristics of the hospitality and tourism (HT) industry with other industries. Our results, based on a sample of firms from the S&P 1500 index over 21 years, show that the HT industry has higher leverage, higher risk, higher capital intensity and higher competitive rivalry than other industries in the U.S. economy. The formal identification and recognition of these differences provides justification for using the HT industry as a context for testing business theories, and can explain differences in decision-making and firm outcomes such as financial and social performance, as well as efficiency, growth, and survival of HT firms.     

Internationalization and exposure to foreign currency risk: An examination of lodging firms

Corporate internationalization has often been linked with exposure to risk arising from foreign currency valuation. The theory of economic exposure, however, postulates that when demand and activities are sensitive to purchasing power parities, the value of domestic firms can also be influenced by exchange rates. Suspecting that domestic lodging firms are subject to foreign currency risk, the current study applied a cash-flow model in order to quantify the operating exposure of US lodging firms against currencies that significantly account for visitors to the U.S. Heckman's two-step estimation was subsequently used to examine the effect of internationalization on estimated exposure coefficients. The results indicated that domestic firms are more likely to sustain foreign currency risk, as multinationals may be capable of diversifying away the risk. The higher foreign sales ratio of lodging firms led to greater foreign currency risk, while the increased degree of operational hedging and franchising mitigated the foreign currency risk of multinational lodging firms.     

Does franchising help restaurant firm value?

A company's financial performance is of keen interest to many groups of people, including management, employees, shareholders, government, and so on. Although franchising has been one of the most common strategies to maximize a firm's financial performance in the restaurant industry, little research has been conducted regarding the relationship between the degree of franchising and the restaurant firm's financial performance. This study initially proposed a sigmoid relationship between the degree of franchising and the restaurant firm's financial performance based on the diversification theory. Findings, however, do not fully support the sigmoid relationship; rather a more quadratic or inverted U-shaped relationship was found.     

Perceptions of Job Satisfaction and Job Performance in the Timeshare Industry

ABSTRACT

This study examines timeshare sales representatives' perceptions with respect to demographic and job related factors. Three leading U.S. timeshare companies were solicited to participate in this research. They were asked to distribute surveys to their sales representatives. The data were analyzed through the use of analysis of variance and a post hocmultiple comparison procedure to understand the timeshare sales representative perceptions of job satisfaction and job performance. The results show that there are demographic influences on the perceptions of job satisfaction and job performance.     

Marketing timeshare in Singapore: An analysis of potential customers and present owners

Timeshare has gained recognition and acceptance in many Asian countries in recent years, but is relatively slow in gaining momentum in Singapore. Timesharing is a type of real estate ownership, which may include hotels, resorts, holiday villas, apartments and more, whereby ownership is split among individuals on the basis of time. This paper presents a study on the attitude of potential consumers on timeshare, and to investigate the current satisfaction level of timeshare owners in Singapore. Two questionnaires were designed to survey the attitude of potential consumers and the timeshare owners. The findings showed that potential consumers’ perception of timeshare is generally negative in Singapore. The main reasons for this negative perception include undesirable sales tactics used in the industry and negative media coverage which tainted the image of the industry. Developers should provide facilities at the resorts to help timeshare owners achieve their desire for rest and relaxation, amongst other reasons.     

The corporate social responsibility–financial performance link in the U.S. restaurant industry: Do economic conditions matter?

This study examines the role played by economic conditions (recessionary periods) on the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) in the U.S. restaurant industry. The choice of industry setting is based on the fact that the restaurant industry is subject to consumer discretionary expenditures and is thus highly sensitive to the state of the economy. This study further examines the relationship between CSR and CFP by dichotomizing CSR activities based on whether they are related to the firm's core operations or not, thus parsing out the effect of operations-related (OR) and non-operations-related (Non-OR) CSR activities, providing a more nuanced explanation of how some CSR activities may be more beneficial than others, to firm value in hard economic times.     

Revisit to the determinants of capital structure: A comparison between lodging firms and software firms

This study validates the contradiction between capital structure theories and previous empirical studies, and it further identifies lodging firms’ unique leverage behavior through a comparison to software firms, using a generalized least squares analysis. This study also explores the joint effects of key financial leverage determinants. The findings indicate that fixed assets, growth opportunities, and the joint effect of these two variables are the significant long-term debt determinants of the lodging industry. The analysis of the joint effect also suggests that fixed assets and growth opportunities affect each other's relationship with long-term debt usage. With the findings on lodging firms’ unique financing rationale, authors hope to provide useful information for corporate financial planners and lending institutions regarding debt-financing behavior.     

旅游业上市公司多元化经营能够降低公司风险吗？——基于2004—2012年A股上市公司数据的实证研究

我国的旅游业上市公司普遍存在进入房地产业、高新技术产业等行业的多元化经营现象。国内外学者对多元化经营与公司风险之间的关系展开了一系列的研究,但是没有得出一致的结论。截至目前,对旅游类企业多元化经营能否降低公司风险的研究仍较为欠缺。因此,文章以2004—2012年国内23家A股旅游业上市公司1的184个截面数据为样本,利用多元回归分析法检验了旅游业上市公司多元化经营对其公司风险的影响。旅游行业自身的行业特征及其多元化特点使得针对旅游业上市公司多元化经营行为的分行业研究产生了与以往整体层面的研究截然不同的结论：旅游业上市公司多元化经营能够降低公司的财务风险,但无法降低公司的经营风险。进一步对多元化类型进行区分后发现：旅游业上市公司相关多元化水平的提升可以显著地降低公司的财务风险,但无法显著地降低公司的经营风险;而非相关多元化水平的提升无法显著地降低公司的财务风险与经营风险。基于上述研究成果,文章从促进融资体系多元化、完善主业发挥自身优势、谨慎选择多元化行业3个角度对旅游业上市公司的多元化发展提出了建议。     

Identification of risk factors in the hospitality industry: Evidence from risk factor disclosure

This study identifies the main risk concepts and themes reported by U.S. lodging companies in their annual fillings for both 2008, when risk reporting was considered generic and under a financial crisis, and 2016, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) push for more specific risk reporting and under an economy recovery environment. The content analysis provided by Leximancer allowed to identify the main themes for 2008: conditions, debt, subject, gaming, insurance, agreements and shares; and for 2016: results, subject, debt, certain, shares, information and tax in descending order of relative importance. The results indicate a shift: while in 2008, the emphasis relied on the risks resulting from economic conditions, in 2016, the companies' focus was on results, and on information security risks. Findings also indicate that companies are increasing specific in risk reporting, as the theme subject referring to hospitality-related risks became the second largest theme in 2016.