Effects of the Big Five personality traits on tipping attitudes,motives, and behaviors

Knowledge about the personality predictors of tipping attitudes, motives, and behaviors could shed light on the psychological processes underlying tipping and might allow service workers to better predict and manage their tip incomes. To those ends, analyses of online survey data revealed numerous direct and indirect (through tipping motives) Big Five personality trait effects on tipping attitudes and behavior. For example, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness affected tipping likelihood and tip sizes through its enhancement of intrinsic tipping motives. Also, the effects of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism on leaving sub-normative (<15%) or normative (15%–20%) restaurant tips were independent of the traits’ relationships with self-reported tipping motives. However, the sizes of these and other personality effects were small, so there is little to be gained from using customer’s personalities to predict their tipping behavior.     

Culture,religiosity, and economic configural models explaining tipping-behavior prevalence across nations

Unique from prior research that deconstructs culture into separate attributes and reports on the symmetric “net effect” of each, the current study identifies holistic configurations of culture that account for the prevalence of tipping behaviors across tourism industries. Consistent with the theory that distinct holistic cultures predict tipping and non-tipping behaviors, the findings identify configurations of cultural attributes (e.g. “masculine benevolence”, “feminine benevolence”, and “achieving individualist”) in combination with national religiosity and economic well-being that account for the majority of nations with high prevalence of tipping—as well as configurations (e.g. “collective individualist”) that account for nations with low prevalence of tipping. These configurations provide tourism operators, regulators, service providers and tourists with insight about the drivers of tipping expectations at the national level and therefore enable better management of the tourism experience. The paper also demonstrates the usefulness of a complexity theory approach to explore complex phenomena by revealing holistic configurations of antecedent conditions; identifying multiple configurations that explain the same outcome; demonstrating that configurations for high and low prevalence are asymmetric, and; demonstrating that antecedent conditions operate in opposite ways depending on other ingredients in a configuration.     

The effects of restaurant servers’ perceptions of customers’ tipping behaviors on service discrimination

Scholars have noted that the institution of tipping may encourage restaurant servers to provide discriminate service. The prospect of receiving an excellent tip from a patron, for example, is thought to encourage servers to discriminately provide excellent service. In contrast, the prospect of receiving a poor tip from a patron is thought to encourage servers to extend service that is commensurately poor. The effects of service workers’ a priori assumptions about customers’ tipping behaviors on service discrimination have however not been adequately assessed to-date. This article addresses this gap in the literature by assessing how server sensitivity to demographic tipping differences affects their proclivities to discriminately provide either excellent or poor service in response to the prospect of receiving an excellent or poor tip, respectively. Using a multilevel modeling technique (HLM), findings show that server sensitivity to demographic tipping differences is predictive of servers’ propensities to discriminately allocate excellent service but not poor service. The implications for the management of restaurant operations along with directions for future research are discussed.     

What's in a tip? The creation and refinement of a restaurant-tipping motivations scale: A consumer perspective

According to Segrave (1998), since the late 1800s, the study of tipping has provoked debate in a range of abstract dimensions such as economics, sociology, and psychology. To date, the research on the topic has been largely qualitative in nature, while addressing motivating themes (service, social norm, and future service considerations) in isolation from one another. Following a thorough examination of the literature, there is a definite lack of research on the development and testing of a more holistic quantitative scale aimed at identifying the motivational Gestalt driving actual consumer tipping behavior. Therein lies the major theoretical contribution of this study, namely the development and testing of a Tipping Motivations Scale, which over two separate analyses, supports a number of drivers of consumer tipping motivation.In this study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the empirical dimensions of consumer tipping motivations. The results obtained indicate a reasonable fit between the data and the proposed model across both analyses. This was repeated on two separate occasions and the results largely remained consistent. The findings point to the key role of service in driving the consumer's decision to tip. Other important factors included social conformity, the issue of future visitation, and server actions. Further research is needed to explore whether these dimensions remain constant among other sample groups and across different tipped professions.     

The effects of tipping policies on customer satisfaction: A test from the cruise industry

Many in the media have called for the abolition of the practice of tipping and at least some resorts, private clubs, hotels, and restaurants have replaced tipping with automatic service charges or service inclusive pricing. Particularly notable in this regard is the cruise industry, where several of the largest brands have switched to an automatic service charge system. Given the popularity of tipping and its perceived role as an incentive/reward for service, such moves to replace tipping with service charges seem likely to have negative effects on customer satisfaction. We test this expectation by examining the effects of Carnival Cruise Line's tipping policy change in the early 2000s on its customers’ evaluations of their cruise experience. After controlling for the effect of ship and review date, we found that Carnival Cruise Line's guests rated their cruise more positively when they sailed under a voluntary-tipping policy than when automatic service charges were added to their onboard bills. However, this effect was small and need not deter firms from replacing voluntary tipping with service charges. Discussion of this finding focuses on ways services marketers might be able to mitigate this modest negative effect of service charges.     

Tipping: The case of hotel turndown service

Turndown services are experiential and value-added practices to make guests feel cared-for in luxury hotels. Previous research has found that when receiving an additional or exceptional service, people may feel obligated to respond with a reciprocal behavior, such as providing tips. This study aims to investigate the effects of hotel turndown services on tips given to hotel room attendants. The results revealed that the room attendants received more tips for providing turndown service, both in terms of the frequency of receiving tips and the amount of those tips. The findings suggest that without the existence of a tipping norm in hotel guest rooms, the relationship between service and tip seems much clearer.     

Tipping policy effects on customer satisfaction: An informative failure to replicate

Analysis of online reviews indicates that Royal Caribbean’s abandonment of tipping on March 1, 2013 had no reliable effect on its customers’ ratings of either the overall cruise experience or the cruise service/staff. This finding stands in opposition to previous studies which reported that customer satisfaction and service ratings fell after organizations abandoned voluntary tipping policies in contexts where tipping is normative. Since tipping is no longer common in the cruise industry, the failure to replicate suggests that earlier effects were probably caused by people’s subjective preference for the tipping policies they were used to in those contexts rather than by tipping’s actual effects on service delivery.     

Service Failure,Tipping Behavior,and the Effect of Service Industry Experience

The relationship between tipping and the service provided is not always linear. Factors such as demographic profile of the consumer, industry norms, and social norms affect the amount of tip. Results from the current study reveal that tipping varies when service failure occurs due to servers’ fault or organizational failure. Consumers with prior professional experience in the restaurant industry can distinguish between causes of failure, and tip accordingly. Consumers with prior professional restaurant experience were found to tip significantly more than those consumers that do not have prior hospitality experience. Tip rates for service failure due to organization failure tend to be higher compared with the service failure due to servers’ mistakes indicating that consumers do not penalize a server when the organization has caused the service failure.     

From angels to demons: Uncovering the relationships between tipping,social dignity,OCB and incivility intentions

Building upon equity, expectancy-disconfirmation, and social exchange theories, this research broadens the tipping literature by examining employees’ psychological and behavioral responses when receiving tips that differ in size from expectations, and how managers’ support influences perceptions. Using a 2 (actual-expected tipping discrepancy: higher vs. lower-than-expected tip size) x 2 (manager delivered social praise: presence vs. absence) between-subjects experimental design, the study finds that employees receive higher-than-expected tip size (vs. lower-than-expected tip size) have a higher level of social dignity, which promotes employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The results also support an interaction effect of manager delivered social praise and tipping discrepancy on employees’ social dignity. The results provide important theoretical and managerial implications to the tipping, social dignity, OCB, incivility, and social praise literature.     

Tipping behavior in Canadian restaurants

This study tested several common stereotypes held by restaurant servers about tipping behavior, using detailed, household-level Canadian recall data on over 73,000 restaurant meals during the 2000–2005 period. Most variation (84%) in tip amounts was explained by a meal's price. Regarding tipping rates, however, two-stage least squares and logistic regressions explained only a small portion of variation. Diners’ previous tipping history was the dominant predictor of tipping rates. Statistically significant results supported each tipping stereotype, but the average magnitude of impacts appeared too low to justify basing staffing or service quality decisions on diner-specific tipping expectations.     

Multifaceted trust in tourism service robots

In recognizing the increase in the use of service robots by service industries, identifying the structure of trust in intelligent robots is crucial for tourism studies. This paper first proposes a model of multifaceted trust in service robots comprised of three constructs – performance, process, and purpose – and, second, tests the trust model that considers institution-based trust, trusting belief, and intention. As a result, this paper identified a higher-order formative construct of trust in service robots with the highest importance for a performance construct (Study 1). The antecedents of the multifaceted trust in tourism service robots are then identified (Study 2). This study provides important theoretical and methodological contributions to the fields of information technology and tourism.     

Service quality and tipping: The moderating role of the quality of food

A substantial body of empirical research has analyzed the disparity between tip size and service evaluation but there has been surprisingly little emphasis on food quality. Since customers rate food quality relatively high along with service and atmosphere, the present study examined food quality as a moderator in the service–tipping relationship.     

Customers’ perceptions of service quality: Do servers’ age stereotypes matter?

This study aims to explore whether various service quality conditions and age stereotypes would affect perceptions of service quality in customers of fine dining restaurants in Taiwan. This research also identifies the moderating effect of servers’ age stereotype, age in-group bias, and respondents’ age on perceived service quality. A total of 406 subjects participated in the study with 2 (scenarios of service quality: favorable vs. unfavorable) × 2 (ages of server: young vs. middle-aged) between-subjects factorial design. The results showed that the respondents’ perceived service quality of server with young appearance was better than the counterpart with middle-aged appearance on tangibles and reliability dimensions under favorable and unfavorable service quality conditions. However, the differences were not significantly affected by servers’ age stereotypes.     

Individual differences in self-attributed motives for tipping: Antecedents,consequences, and implications

A web-based survey of consumers finds that: (i) individual differences in self-attributed motives for tipping load on two factors – intrinsic and self-presentational motives,(ii) more people claim to tip for intrinsic reasons than for self-presentational reasons, (iii) demographic differences in motives for tipping are small, (iv) individual differences in self-attributed motives for tipping are rooted in more general dispositional tendencies toward conformity and feelings of gratitude, (v) intrinsic motives for tipping are associated with larger restaurant percentage tips and greater likelihood of non-restaurant tipping, and (vi) self-presentational motives for tipping are associated with smaller restaurant percentage tips.     

Tipping Perceptions: Taiwanese Tour Leaders' Perspectives

This study aims to investigate how tour leaders (TLs) in Taiwan perceive the issue of tipping, and to identify the factors which influence TLs to solicit tips. It also examines the impact of tipping in relation to the job performance of TLs. Data collection involved participant observations and interviews with travel agencies' managerial staff and TLs. This study found that TLs see tips as a significant source of income if they are not well-paid by their employers. This study suggested that selfish economic behavior has a significant impact on tips received. The consequences are mainly caused by travel agencies' operating policies regarding the price competition and low payment of TLs. TLs have a tendency to perceive tips as a service charge rather than a voluntary payment. Slowly, but not unanimously, including tips in the price of the tour might be an alternative for the future practice of travel agencies in Taiwan. It is expected that the results of the study can help travel agencies in Taiwan to draw up an appropriate tipping policy and to extend literature on service performance in the travel industry.     

Satisfaction and positive emotions: A comparison of the influence of hotel guests’ beliefs and attitudes on their satisfaction and emotions

This research provides a comparative study of two comprehensive servicescape models to explore the underlying influence of various hotel elements on guests’ satisfaction with, and emotional responses to, their hotel stays. Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research sought to identify the differences in guests’ beliefs and attitudes about the elements of hotels’ public areas, rooms, ambiance, social, and green practices in determining their satisfaction and emotions. Two structural models were developed illustrating the theorized interrelationships between identified constructs. Data collected through an online survey from 310 guests stayed in upscale hotels with four-star ratings were used for the analysis. Results from two structural models revealed that the model with attitudes is a better predictor of guest satisfaction and emotions than the model with beliefs. Further, emotionally attached guests engage more in WOM than did satisfied guests. Hotel managers need to offer experiences that consist of elements that matter to customers since customers’ attitude towards various service elements determine their satisfaction and emotional attachment with hotels. Additionally, in order to get brand promoters through WOM recommendations, hotels need to focus on emotionally attached customers than satisfied customers.     

Between gratitude and gratuity an analysis of tipping

The phenomenon of tipping is regarded in this article as representing a basic problem in many service situations: the need to reconcile the economic, social, and psychological elements of server-client interaction. Tipping is analyzed from three perspectives: economic, social, and social-psychological. It is demonstrated that economic exchange and social exchange rationales, while providing important insights into the phenomenon, cannot capture all its aspects. The prevalence of tipping in tourist situations is a case in point. It is shown that only the introduction of social psychological considerations into the analysis helps to account for tourist tipping. Several propositions for further studies of tipping are offered and the wider theoretical and practical significance of the phenomenon is pointed out.     

Complexity of occupational health in the hospitality industry: Dynamic simulation modeling to advance immigrant worker health

Hispanic immigrant workers, who are heavily employed in low-skill/low-wage lodging and foodservice jobs, work in environments that induce disproportionate health and safety risks. Traditional research approaches have produced only partial insights into the risks of Hispanic immigrant hospitality sector workers, failing to fully capture the underlying dynamic, structural, and systemic complexity of hospitality worker health. This paper has three objectives: (1) to outline the multifaceted and disproportionate health and safety risks of these workers; (2) to introduce a systems paradigm with potential to contribute to more promising approaches in occupational health and safety research in tourism and hospitality; and (3) to elaborate on how computational simulation modeling can fortify occupational health and safety research in tourism and hospitality, and offer a heuristic example of a risk prevention model among Hispanic immigrant hospitality workers rooted in a stakeholder-based system dynamics modeling approach.     

The Effects of Travel Agent Characteristics on the Development of Trust: A Contingency View

Abstract

Trust is a key factor in the establishment of long-term relationships between travel agents and their customers. Prior research across service industries has documented that both “person-related” (e.g., empathy, politeness, and customer/service representative similarity) and “offer-related” (e.g., customization, competence, reliability, and promptness) service representative characteristics have an impact upon trust. However, the relative importance of these characteristics, and in some cases the direction of their relationships with trust has varied across studies. In this paper, we posit a contingency model of trust, suggesting that within the travel agency industry, the effects of the above variables on trust will be moderated by length of customer/service provider relationship. Our model is tested in a business-to-business context by means of a mail survey involving 487 small business owners. The small business owners provided data about their relationships with their travel industry service providers (i.e., agents). Our results demonstrate how corporate travel agencies can work toward the establishment of trust with their clients under varying market conditions.     

Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on tipping behavior in a restaurant

Recent research has shown that exposure to songs with prosocial lyrics was associated with prosocial behavior and accessibility of prosocial thoughts. However theses studies were performed in a laboratory setting where participants were instructed to listening songs alone in a room. So the effect of prosocial songs in a natural setting, with several people in a room and with various ambient noises still remained in question. An experiment was carried out in a restaurant in order to test if listening or not, prosocial songs by patrons, was associated with variation in their tipping behavior. Results showed that prosocial songs were associated with a significant increase in tipping behavior.