Leveraging human-robot interaction in hospitality services: Incorporating the role of perceived value,empathy, and information sharing into visitors’ intentions to use social robots

Social robots have become pervasive in the tourism and hospitality service environments. The empirical understanding of the drivers of visitors' intentions to use robots in such services has become an urgent necessity for their sustainable deployment. Certainly, using social androids within hospitality services requires organisations' attentive commitment to value creation and fulfilling service quality expectations. In this paper, via structural equation modelling (SEM) and semi-structured interviews with managers, we conceptualise and empirically test visitors' intentions to use social robots in hospitality services. With data collected in Singapore's hospitality settings, we found visitors' intentions to use social robots stem from the effects of technology acceptance variables, service quality dimensions leading to perceived value, and two further dimensions from human robot interaction (HRI): empathy and information sharing. Analysis of these dimensions' importance provides a deeper understanding of novel opportunities managers may take advantage of to position social robot-delivered services in tourism and hospitality strategies.     

A Study of Occupational Stressors Perceived by Hospitality and Tourism Teachers in Taiwan's Vocational Schools

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential occupational stressors for vocational school hospitality and tourism teachers in Taiwan. Data were collected via a questionnaire mailed to 649 hospitality and tourism teachers in 105 vocational schools. The response rate was 74 percent. Factor analysis was employed to identify the underlying dimensions of perceived occupational stressors, resulting in five factors: extra work besides teaching; teaching and counseling; academics and licenses; international and personal issues; and administration and contests. MANOVA and ANOVA tests were used to identify if there were differences in perceived occupational stressors by socio-demographic characteristics and organization-related attributes. The results indicated that sociodemographic characteristics and organization-related attributes played significant roles in perceived occupational stressors identified by vocational school hospitality and tourism teachers. Practical implications were suggested for vocational school hospitality and tourism teachers.     

Sustainable hospitality: a meaningful notion?

This paper explores the concept of sustainable hospitality. The relevance and status of this area of enquiry are assessed by discussing the current status of the concepts involved. These discussions are then linked to progress made in sustainable hospitality both in research and practical applications in the hospitality industry. At least six principal schools of thought within hospitality are noted: hospitality science, hospitality management, hospitality studies, the “three domain school”, the systems thinking school and the pragmatic tradition. This complexity and lack of clear definition are problems. The differences between sustainability and sustainable development, and between weak and strong sustainability add further complexities. This paper shows that progress in both sustainable hospitality and tourism has been limited by these problems. A series of technical, ethical and commercial problems are discussed. However, while sustainable hospitality as a research area is still in its infancy, it is concluded that it is very relevant within the wider context of sustainable tourism research, based on its impact and its specific position within the social–ecological–economic systems under investigation. Key areas of future work are suggested, notably to better understand the impacts of hospitality on the triple bottom line, and to explore systems approaches towards implementation.     

Effects of entrepreneur passion on persuasion: Study of venture capitalist funding decisions toward hospitality and tourism business plan presentation

This study investigates the effects of entrepreneurs' passion on persuasion by focusing on venture capitalist funding decisions toward hospitality and tourism business plan presentation. To this end, we conducted two studies. In study 1, we collected evidence from 13 hospitality and tourism start-up financing projects broadcasted on China Central Television Channel 2 by utilizing a Linguistic csQCA. In study 2, we conducted an experimental analysis of entrepreneur passion and venture capitalists'(VCs') funding decisions via the causality test of 277 participants. Our findings indicate that both cognitive and affective passion have significantly positive effects on VCs' funding decisions and that VCs' involvement moderates the effects of cognitive passion and affective passion on VCs' funding decisions. The established integrative model has important implications for research on entrepreneur passion and investment decisions in entrepreneurial pitches from an involvement perspective, and the impact of entrepreneur passion on persuasion in hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship.     

Effects of customer incivility on frontline employees and the moderating role of supervisor leadership style

Customer incivility toward frontline employees (FLEs) is a widespread phenomenon within tourism and hospitality industries, severely depleting the psychological resources of FLEs and delivered customer service. Drawing on the job demands-resources and conservation of resources frameworks, the current research compares the effects of the two most common forms of customer incivility on FLEs' psychological responses and behavioral intentions (study 1). Moreover, this work explores the degree to which supervisor leadership style can mitigate the depleting effects of these two forms of customer incivility on FLEs (study 2). Findings demonstrate that FLEs' responses to customer incivility episodes remain contingent upon supervisor's leadership style and acknowledge that an empowering (vs. laissez-faire) leadership style can better mitigate the depleting effects of both customer incivility forms on FLEs' role stress, rumination, retaliation and withdrawal intentions. The implications of these findings for tourism and hospitality theory and practicing managers are discussed.     

Towards decolonising tourism and hospitality research in the Philippines

In recent years, scholars have focused their attention on demarcating the neocolonial situations that permeate the tourism and hospitality academy. The ‘critical turn’ in tourism studies called for the decolonisation of tourism and hospitality research. In this paper, I explore and challenge the state of tourism and hospitality research in the Philippines, by analysing the works of Filipino tourism and hospitality academics. Through a systematic quantitative literature review, I identify the research themes investigated by Filipino scholars on Philippine tourism and hospitality and examine the methodologies and epistemologies employed in the selected research outputs. The findings indicate that colonial legacies and neocolonial situations are strongly present in Philippine tourism and hospitality knowledge production. To challenge these scenarios, I suggest a decolonial agenda informed by Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology), a native epistemological perspective. This article serves as a contribution to the epistemological decolonisation of tourism knowledge production in Asian contexts.     

Tourism and hospitality industry job-attainment beliefs and work values among Australian schools leavers

Five hundred and ninety-four Australian high school students were surveyed so as to investigate basic work values and tourism and hospitality industry job-attainment criteria. The most highly ranked work values were self-development, creativity and management, whereas the most highly ranked tourism and hospitality industry job-attainment criteria were motivation, positive attitudes and personal appearance. Females were found to rank highly criteria such as motivation, positive attitudes and a liking for people, whereas males are found to rank highly the contacts of the applicant. Prospective tourism and hospitality industry employees generally associated the work value-self development with a range of tourism and hospitality job-attainment criteria, though not formal education and contacts. The work value regarding management was, however, associated with personal appearance, practical experience, good references and positive attitudes. Implications of these results for prospective tourism and hospitality industry employees, careers counsellors and the industry are examined.     

Work–leisure conflict and its associations with well-being: The roles of social support,leisure participation and job burnout

In hospitality and tourism industries employees, work–leisure conflict (WLC) resulting from job characteristics can affect work attitudes and personal life. This study revealed that social support has moderating effects on the relationships among work–leisure conflict, leisure participation, job burnout and well-being. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis of 488 valid questionnaires collected from a sample of employees in the hospitality and tourism industries showed that (1) WLC positively affects job burnout and negatively affects leisure participation and well-being; (2) leisure participation is positively associated with well-being, but burnout is negatively associated with well-being; (3) leisure participation and job burnout have mediating roles in the full model; (4) social support is a moderator in the full model. The analytical results of the study provide a reference for managing employees in the hospitality and tourism industries.     

A Review of Personality Research in the Tourism and Hospitality Context

Most commentators agree that human relations are central to tourism and hospitality. Different personalities thus display different reactions to the same task. This article provides an overview of prior studies on personality in the context of tourism and hospitality. Using EBSCOHost's Hospitality & Tourism Index, the largest online database for tourism and hospitality research, we analyzed published articles on the topic. Broadly speaking, prior studies can be grouped into the seven dimensions of disposal, biological, intrapsychic, cognitive, social, and adjustment in personality research, plus brand personality. Interestingly, our results show although the Internet has become one of the major marketing channels for hospitality and tourism, only a small number of published articles are related to consumers' online behavior. We thus propose that this area be further researched in the future.     

Student career prospect and industry commitment: The roles of industry attitude,perceived social status,and salary expectations

This study examines the effects of students' perceptions of the nature and social status of work in the tourism and hospitality industries, and of their salary expectations, on their attitudes toward career prospects and employment intention. Results based on a sample of tourism and hospitality students in a major Asia Pacific travel destination indicated that the perceived nature of the work had no significant relationship with career prospects; however, nature of the work was a significant factor contributing to the perceived social status of the industry. In addition, social status had an effect on the students' perceptions of the career prospects, and perceived career prospects was a significant determinant to students' commitment to the industry. The author further explores the moderating effect of salary expectation and discusses theoretical and practical implications of the results. Findings of this study provide a fuller understanding of industry commitment and its antecedents.     

Motivations for entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality sector: A social cognitive theory perspective

A critical examination of the literature suggests that further work is needed to understand the relationship between small tourism and hospitality businesses and their external social-economic environments. In particular, the nature of personal and environmental factors influencing tourism entrepreneurship remains unknown. Focusing on one type of small business, guest houses, this study aims to examine entrepreneurs’ motivations from a dynamic perspective and explore the nature of personal and environmental factors affecting motivations for entrepreneurship. Taking a qualitative approach, four patterns of change in (or maintenance of) motivation are identified. Guided by social cognitive theory, this study finds that, among the relevant personal factors are cognitive beliefs, intrinsic needs, and demographic factors, while the environmental facilitators include changes in the tourism market, changes within the industry, and changes in setting/location. Finally, a model of small business operators’ motivations for engaging in entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality sector is proposed.     

Fostering corporate sustainability in tourism management through social values within collective value co-creation processes

Collective value co-creation is not fully explored in management research. The phenomenon of social value co-creation has not been investigated in detail either, particularly regarding sustainable tourism management. In our work, we investigate the role of social values within the collective value co-creation process, as a key factor for building sustainable tourism management practices able to generate sustainable benefits to all stakeholders. The study setting is Sardex, a complementary currency community based in Sardinia (Italy). By adopting a qualitative methodology, and through face-to-face interviews, the entrepreneurs’ relationships were analysed using dialogue, trust, and reciprocity as core factors of value co-creation within the hospitality and tourism firms grouped in Sardex. Particularly, we explored whether, and to what extent, reciprocity was the salient factor in the process of value co-creation. Findings show that social values, and especially reciprocity, are the backbone of value co-creation: they foster corporate social orientation, which brings together corporate social responsibility and sustainability, and represent our contribution to enrichen theoretical and practical perspectives in this multidimensional field.     

Collage creation: unexplored potential in tourism research

This paper proposes collage creation as an elicitation tool of underexplored potential in tourism research. Collage creation was employed within an exploratory research investigating the destination image of Jordan. This work focuses on the process of the tool development, and reports the assessment of the tool-related trustworthiness in this specific application. Collage creation emerged to be a valuable tool; it proved efficacious in encouraging participants’ elaboration of thoughts, aiding self-expression, and disclosing preconceptions and stereotypes. Further tool development would benefit both tourism and hospitality research, while applications of the tool may be useful for destination marketing development and renewal.     

The Airbnb paradox: Positive employment effects in the hospitality industry

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which Airbnb supply affects employment in the hospitality, tourism, and leisure industries. Accordingly, we analyzed the effects of Airbnb supply on various sectors in the hospitality, tourism, and leisure industries in 12 major metropolitan statistical areas in the United States for the period between July-2008 and February-2018. The results showed that Airbnb supply positively affects employment in all sectors of the hospitality, tourism, and leisure industries. The magnitudes of these effects are not only statistically but also economically significant. Although prior studies have showed that Airbnb has an adverse impact on hotels' financial performance measures, our results show that employment in the hotel sector increases with increased Airbnb listings. While this outcome might be contradictory to the general conjecture, such evidence calls for a comprehensive investigation of Airbnb's overall economic impact. Research and practical implications are further discussed.     

A review of entrepreneurship research published in the hospitality and tourism management journals

This research evaluates the entrepreneurship research in field of the Hospitality and Tourism Management to obtain a better understanding of its progress and potential. The study examines entrepreneurship articles published in seven leading hospitality and tourism management journals from 1986 to 2006. Findings indicate that Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management are the top three journals that publish entrepreneurship research. However, the amount of entrepreneurship research in the leading hospitality and tourism management journals appears less than expected. Publication of empirical work has not increased over time over the past 21 years, and theoretical work remains at a consistently low level. Even for empirical studies, there is a lack of methodological sophistication of analytical and statistical tools. The results suggest a concern that entrepreneurship research remains under studied; therefore, more theoretical work is needed to map a course of study and to develop a framework unique to the entrepreneurship domain of hospitality and tourism research. The good news is that there are abundant opportunities for scholars in hospitality and tourism management to explore the field of entrepreneurship as a viable research paradigm.     

Communicating across tourism silos for inclusive sustainable partnerships

Abstract

Overcoming traditional tourism silos to develop long-term relationships with stakeholders is essential for transformational change. Adopting broader networks connects researchers to pertinent issues facing society, develops reciprocal capacities for learning, and creates inclusive sustainable partnerships. As critical tourism scholars and not-for-profit employees, we illustrate the journey of how we engaged collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, from businesses, not-for-profits and the university, to tackle issues of economic disadvantage and social exclusion. Critical hospitality and dialogue theory were adopted to provide a framework for the processes of collaboration, research, networking, and advocacy work for inclusive sustainable spaces. Drawing on our involvement with co-founding a collaborative research network, the Network for Community Hospitality, and analysis of data from two Ketso workshops and interviews with 41 network members, we present reflections on setting up and facilitating the network. In addition, two examples of collaborative Network activities are presented to illustrate the techniques and dialogic communication processes for doing critical hospitality. The article thereby contributes by providing empirically informed and reflexive understandings into the experiences of working and communicating within long-term inclusive partnerships with diverse stakeholders to create traction for positive social sustainable change.     

Total Quality Management and Tourism and Hospitality Education

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the application of quality management concepts in relation to the provision of tourism and hospitality education, with a specific focus on Thailand. The key quality concepts, namely quality control, quality assurance, quality audit and “Total Quality Management” (TQM) are identified, and the applications of these concepts in the provision of tourism and hospitality education are discussed. The paper explores three main themes. The first is to examine how quality issues have been applied to tourism and hospitality education. Second, the paper outlines the concepts of quality management, which represent the key element of a TQM strategy to implement conformance to standards and quality improvement. The third theme discusses the specific case of Thailand, drawing on research in its early stages which examines quality management in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand. An outline of the nature of tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is provided, followed by a synopsis of the significant challenges facing Thai tourism and hospitality education. A procedure for examining quality in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is proposed.     

Exploring the relationship between proactive personality,work environment and employee creativity among tourism and hospitality employees

This study explores the effect of proactive personality on creativity and intrinsic motivation enhancement within the tourism and hospitality industry. Using a questionnaire survey, this study generated 283 valid questionnaires. Background variables and moderating effects were analyzed, and causal path relationships were confirmed with structural equation modeling. Proactive personality fosters a positive moderating effect of creativity-supporting physical work environments on intrinsic motivation. In the hospitality and tourism industry, creativity can be practically fostered by recruiting passionate talents, supporting new ideas, and providing creativity-supporting physical environments.     

Abusive supervision and emotional labour on a daily basis: The role of employee mindfulness

This study examined the relationships between abusive supervision, subordinates' work engagement and their emotional labour on a daily basis. Based on an experience sampling study of 95 frontline hospitality employees over 10 working days, the results revealed the complex consequences of abusive supervision on subordinates in the hospitality industry. The results showed that daily abusive supervision was positively related to employees' daily surface acting through their daily work engagement, but it was not significantly related to daily deep acting. In addition, subordinates' mindfulness moderated the relationship between daily abusive supervision and subordinates' daily work engagement. These findings reveal employees’ daily responses to abusive supervision and can help tourism and hospitality managers develop relevant training programmes and policies to reduce the negative impact of abusive supervision and thus protect employee well-being.