Does managerial ownership influence franchising in restaurant companies?

Although the link between managerial ownership and firm performance is often explained in relation to a firm’s risk-taking behavior, little is known about how managerial ownership affects corporate risk-taking in industries characterized by high financial and operational risks, like the restaurant industry. To understand this important and understudied link, our study draws upon agency theory to examine the relationship between managerial ownership and franchising, typically a risk-reduction strategy of restaurant firms. Our results from panel data analyses using a sample of 962 firm-year observations show that managerial ownership is negatively associated with degree of franchising. Further, we find that after considering the scope of managerial discretion, there is a U-shaped relationship between managerial ownership and degree of franchising such that the degree of franchising decreases as managerial ownership increases up to a certain level, but then increases in tandem as managerial ownership increases to higher levels. Our results indicate that there is an optimal level of franchising associated with managerial ownership, implying that owners can influence their firms’ risk-taking behavior by setting target managerial ownership goals and designing effective incentive contracts.     

Can time soften your opinion? The influence of consumer experience valence and review device type on restaurant evaluation

The objective of this study is to investigate how review temporal distance influences the conformity of consumer restaurant review ratings. By employing an innovative dataset pairing consumer reservation records and consumer online reviews, the findings of this study indicate that (1) in general, temporal distance has a positive influence on restaurant evaluation conformity; (2) consumption experience valence moderates the influence of review temporal distance on restaurant evaluation conformity, with a negative dining experience strengthening the positive effects; (3) review device moderates the influence of review temporal distance on review conformity, with reviews posted via mobile devices weakening the positive effect of temporal distance; and (4) compared to reviews posted via PCs, mobile reviewers appear less likely to be influenced by prior reviews. Findings from this study provide practical insights for restaurants’ management of online reviews.     

Does a minimum wage increase endanger restaurant jobs? Examining the role of franchising

This study examined the effect of federal minimum wage increases on the U.S. restaurant industry. Based on the competitive labor market perspective, this study expected that minimum wage increases would negatively (positively) influence restaurant employment (compensation), while franchising would positively moderate the minimum wage-employment (minimum wage-compensation) relationship. The results of the analysis showed that minimum wage increases negatively influence employment, while franchising positively moderates the adverse effect of minimum wage increases on restaurant employment. This study also revealed that minimum wage increases positively influence per employee compensation, but franchising does not significantly moderate the relationship. This study suggested that franchising provides a buffer that absorbs the adverse effects of minimum wage increases on restaurant employment. Conversely, franchise restaurants may face potential service quality issues because franchise firms seem to strategically adjust full-time employees to part-time workers to address minimum wage increases.     

How to win the consumer’s heart? Exploring appraisal determinants of consumer pre-consumption emotions

Emotions are key drivers of consumption in the tourism and hospitality sector. Therefore, advancing our understanding of the determinants of consumer emotions is critical for tourism and hospitality marketers to effectively influence consumer affect-driven consumption behavior. However, research on the determinants of pre-consumption emotions remains under-explored. This study aims to fill the research gap and proposes a theoretical framework to explain affect-driven behavior. Grounded on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotions, we hypothesize that marketing stimuli are personally appraised based on several dimensions such as novelty and goal relevance. These appraisal dimensions determine the elicitation of positive emotions, leading to behavioral intentions. A total of 655 participants were recruited for an empirical study to test this framework in the context of a tourism event experience. We use an experimental research design to examine consumer appraisals, emotions and behavioral intentions in four conditions: two marketing visual formats (poster vs. video) over two delivery channels (advertising vs. e-word-of-mouth). Research outcomes support the theoretical framework of consumer affect-driven behavior, suggesting that the elicitation of positive emotions beneficially guides consumer behavior in goal striving and novelty seeking. Based on this, emotion-focused marketing implications are recommended, including goal-based segmentation, goal-relevant content development and the use of eWOM as an emotion-enhancing message delivery channel.     

Does corporate image really enhance consumer’s behavioural intentions?

This study determines that cognitive image and affective image have various mediation roles between the environmental marketing strategy and behavioural intentions. By utilizing an online survey for data collection, a total of 280 complete responses were obtained. The results reveal that the different corporate images perceived by customers would result in various behavioural intentions. In particular, Cognitive image plays a mediating role between environmental marketing strategy and the revisit intension while environmental marketing strategy benefits the willingness to pay a premium through cognitive image.     

Does living in the vicinity of heritage tourism sites influence residents’ perceptions and attitudes?

Abstract

This study investigates whether the perceptions and attitudes of residents living within the vicinity of heritage tourism sites differ from those living further afield. It examines residents’ attitudes toward tourism development; community attachment; environment and culture attitudes; economic gain; and involvement, alongside the moderating role of distance from heritage tourism sites. In doing so, it investigates how the aforementioned factors influence residents’ perceptions of tourism development in their city. Data was collected from inhabitants of Kashan and Tabriz, two historic cities couched within Iran’s growing heritage tourism sector, and analyzed using partial least squares - structural equation modeling. The findings demonstrate significant differences between the perceptions of tourism impacts, economic gain, environmental and cultural attitudes, and involvement between residents living within the vicinity of heritage tourism sites and those living further afield. However, these findings contradicted the hypotheses; identifying higher positive perceptions, environmental and cultural attitudes, economic gain, and involvement for residents living far from heritage tourism sites. Further, the findings did not support the moderating role of distance for the effects of influencing factors on residents’ perceptions. Therefore, this study proffers significant theoretical contributions and practical implications with regards to developing sustainable tourism in Iran.     

An examination of restaurant employees’ work-life outlook: The influence of support systems during COVID-19

The main objective of this research paper is to examine the influence of perceived support (i.e., organizational support and social support) on life satisfaction (i.e., current and anticipated life satisfaction), which is hypothesized to increase restaurant employees’ loyalty organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and decrease their intentions to leave the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the moderating effects of employees’ resilience and employment status are also examined. Analyzing the responses of 609 restaurant employees using structural equation modeling (SEM), findings revealed that all direct effects were supported, except for the effect of anticipated life satisfaction on intention to leave the restaurant industry. Lastly, the moderating role of resilience in the relationships between current life satisfaction and restaurant employees’ loyalty OCB and intentions to leave the industry was confirmed. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.     

The socially distant servicescape: An investigation of consumer preference’s during the re-opening phase

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic restaurant operators had to close their dining rooms for dine-in service for a number of weeks; however, once they were allowed to re-open concern still existed over safety and socially distancing many operators had to get creative in ensuring guest and worker safety. The current study sought to assess consumer perceptions and preferences regarding different types of dining room setups that were implemented by restaurants around the U.S. during the re-opening phase to ensure proper social distancing amongst guests. A quasi-experimental design was implemented where respondents were shown images of two different dining-room setups and provided responses to questions based on their perceptions and preferences for these socially distant servicescapes. Overall, respondents indicated that partitions between tables were preferred to mannequins being placed at tables. Academic and practical implications are discussed.     

Older adults’ parasocial interaction formation process in the context of travel websites: The moderating role of parent-child geographic proximity

This study aims to identify the effects of age identity and innovativeness on parasocial interaction (PSI), and the moderating effect of parent-children proximity between age identity and PSI, and to examine the causal relationships between PSI, well-being and word-of-mouth (WOM). A sample of 271 U.S. residents aged 50 and older were recruited through an online survey company. The conceptual model was developed and tested using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results found that psychological and physical age have positive effects on PSI, whereas social age has a negative one. Importantly, innovativeness had a negative impact on PSI regardless of the age identity. The psychological and social age induced PSI to a stronger extent when the children lived out of state. Finally, PSI was found to lead to well-being and WOM, whilst well-being itself had a positive effect on WOM. The managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Examining traditional restaurant diners’ intention: An application of the VBN theory

Prior research has demonstrated the significance of traditional food in the marketplace. However, there is a lack of studies that elucidate the consumer behavior of traditional restaurant patrons, particularly local residents. By utilizing the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory, the current study develops a consumer behavior model to enhance our understanding of the effect of consumers’ attitudes toward traditional restaurants. To this end, the study examines the structural relationships among traditional values, beliefs, social norms, personal norms, and purchase intention. The results show that individuals’ value of cherishing traditional culture has a significant effect on their purchase intention through beliefs and norms. In addition, we find that age and gender serve as partial moderators. The results of this study provide traditional restaurateurs with insights for developing effective marketing strategies to attract and retain local customers.     

Early warning indicators? The effect of consumer and investor sentiments on the restaurant industry

This study looks at the influence of cyclical fluctuations of the consumer confidence index (CCI) and the volatility index (VIX) as early-warning indicators of the variations in restaurant performance. The industry has traditionally focused on past data and on microeconomic influences to anticipate its future performance, a procedure that does not consider possible cyclical fluctuations in restaurant performance metrics. These fluctuations are driven by sentiments of consumers and investors. The study uses the cyclical component of the applied data, followed by unit root and cointegration testing, with subsequent application of the Limited Information Maximum Likelihood technique. The results show both indicators have an effect on restaurant performance, where VIX has an impact on the current, expected, and overall restaurant performance, while the CCI’s influence is only partial (current performance). Policy-makers and planners could benefit from anticipating features of indicators to assess and steer the future performance of the restaurant industry.     

What factors influence Generation Y’s employee retention in the hospitality industry?: An internal marketing approach

Individuals from Generation Y are entering into the hospitality job market, but little is known about their intention to remain in the hospitality business. The purpose of this study was to examine what factors affect a Generation Y employee’s intention to remain with a hospitality company with respect to internal marketing tactics. Qualtrics, an online survey service company, was used to distribute and collect a self-administered questionnaire survey. A theoretically proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results of this study indicated that “work environment” significantly influence Generation Y employees’ job satisfaction, followed by “empowerment,” “pay,” and “relationships with managers,” which in turn, influences “employee commitment” and “intention to remain in hospitality business.” The implications of the study are discussed.     

Does size matter? Corporate social responsibility and firm performance in the restaurant industry

Despite an increasing number of hospitality studies on the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), the literature has predominantly focused on the CSR–CFP relation without considering moderating factors. Consequently, the current study introduces firm size as a potential moderator on the CSR–CFP relationship. Performing a two-way fixed-effects model by firm and year with Newey-West standard errors, this study finds that firm size moderates the effect of positive CSR on CFP while it does not moderate the effect of negative CSR on CFP in the U.S. restaurant context.     

Does a leader’s “partiality” affect employees’ proactivity in the hospitality industry? A cross-level analysis

This study examined the impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation on employees’ proactive customer service performance (PCSP). A cross-level model of LMX differentiation, emotional labor, PCSP, and group positive emotional climate was proposed and tested on a sample of 44 groups consisting of 294 individual frontline employees from 6 hotels located in western, central, and eastern China. The results showed that LMX differentiation at the group level is negatively related to employees’ PCSP, while another variable at the same level, positive emotional climate, is positively related to PCSP. Surface acting and deep acting, two major forms of the regulation of emotional labor, were found to mediate the relationship between LMX differentiation and PCSP. The influence of surface acting and deep acting on the employees’ PCSP is moderated by positive emotional climate at the group level. Additionally, the application of these findings to research and future practice is discussed.     

Effects of employees’ social exchange and the mediating role of customer orientation in the restaurant industry

This study aims to investigate the consequences of customer-employee exchage at work based on the social exchange theory. Moreover, it is to understand how the social exchange leads to employees’ prosocial service behaviors by investigating the mediating role of customer orientation. This study applied quantitative research design using cross-sectional survey approach by targeting frontline employees who had customer interactions in the full-service restaurant industry. The results present that the more employees have social exchange with customers, the more they tend to show customer service behaviors within and beyond their role requirements. In addition, customer-employee exchage leads to employees prosocial service behaviors indirectly by increasing the level of customer orientation. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in the study.     

Diversity of offerings and consumer’s expenditure: an exploration of agritourism in China

ABSTRACT

As diversification becomes a pressing issue in China’s agritourism, extant literature provides insufficient and controversial findings on its influence. This research investigates the influence of the diversity of offerings on consumer’s expenditure, considering its interactive effects with quality and distance, by conducting analyses of hierarchical regression, multiple-linear regression and exploratory factor analysis. It is found that the diversity of offerings does not affect consumer’s expenditure alone, but interactively with quality and distance; consumer’s expenditure can be maximised with an optimal distance depending on the diversity of offerings; and there are four main business models of agritourism in China.     

Does the sequence of presentations matter for academic conferences? An application of the peak-end rule in event management

Abstract

In psychology, the peak-end rule has been used to describe the effects of emotional factors on live experiences. However, it has yet to be examined in the contexts of events and conferences. This study investigated the influence of conference presentation order, excitement following peak experience, previous conference experience, and time since one’s last visit on conference satisfaction and loyalty. Although no significant differences in satisfaction and loyalty were found with regard to the order of presentations, previous experience and time since last visit were found to have significant effects on attendees’ outcomes. End-of-conference peak experiences exhibited the strongest influence on loyalty.     

‘What’s the Story in Balamory?’: The Impacts of a Children’s TV Programme on Small Tourism Enterprises on the Isle of Mull,Scotland

Film- and television-induced tourism effects have been witnessed in a number of locations world-wide, creating a range of positive and negative impacts for host communities and environments. The children’s television programme Balamory, filmed on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has created a new tourism phenomenon for the island, leading to concern that Mull’s reputation as a green destination for the discerning might be displaced by a less desirable form of tourism. Through a questionnaire survey of tourism businesses on Mull, this paper explores the perceptions of television-induced tourism and the effect of Balamory on business activity during the 2003 season, exploring customer numbers, spending, turnover and profitability, along with attitudes to the new visitors. The research also explores the implications for sustainable tourism development, particularly recognising the limited life-span of film- and television-induced tourism and issues relating to displacement of traditional markets, with an emphasis on sustaining tourism as a means of generating revenue to support a rural island community.