社会化视角下接待业服务机器人对顾客体验的影响研究

随着人工智能和自动化技术日渐普及,服务机器人被越来越多地引入旅游接待业,但其应用尚处于探索阶段。在已有文献和理论基础上,本文依据互联网、社交媒体中接待业顾客对服务机器人的评价信息,以及对接待业顾客和员工进行深度访谈的数据,分析顾客对机器人服务的感知及体验。研究发现:(1)对机器人服务的感知涉及工具、社会化两个属性,社会化属性对顾客的愉悦体验产生重要影响;(2)服务机器人通过提升服务和营造愉悦氛围两条路径改善顾客体验。在此基础上,本文构建了服务机器人影响顾客体验的概念模型。本文从社会化视角探讨服务机器人的顾客体验感知,对服务机器人设计、服务场景管理和体验设计具有启示意义。     

Service Quality in Tourism Research

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent development of service quality research. It relates the key issues and approaches to the tourism and hospitality sectors. It identifies the need for further research into the meaning and management of service quality in tourism and hospitality.     

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.     

Training Tourism and Hospitality Managers in Universities

ABSTRACT

The paper examines tourism and hospitality management training with a focus on an undergraduate tourism management programme, introduced in a Malaysian university. It assesses the overall effectiveness of the programme, in satisfying the institution's broad objectives, the needs and expectations of potential employers and that of the student. The paper identifies specific issues such as student admission policies, implementation of the practical industry training, divergent views on the value of the programme and internal course coordination activities as some of the significant difficulties experienced. Recommendations designed to help resolve those difficulties are then suggested.     

The Past,Present, and Future of Hospitality and Tourism Higher Education in Hong Kong

SUMMARY

Hospitality and tourism management programmes are widely available in Hong Kong. At present, there is no official publication on the history and development of higher education in hospitality and tourism management in Hong Kong. This paper aims to review the history and current status of hospitality and tourism higher education in Hong Kong, focusing on the programmes offered at sub-degree, degree, and post-graduate degree levels, and to explore future directions for its development.     

The Virtual Enterprise

Abstract

This article discusses the need for enhancements in the way that tourism education is conducted and shows how changes in the way that technology is used in the global tourism and hospitality industry has necessitated that change. It offers as a solution an educational model called “The Virtual Enterprise” (VE). The history of the model and its implementation at a U. S. community college, as a professional education curriculum that has shown great potential to prepare students for the global nature of the 21st century workplace, is discussed. The Virtual Enterprise, has shown itself to be a business simulator that inculcates both technical and “soft” skills to students. Tourism and hospitality educators face two challenges in preparing their students for the work place. One is to prepare them with the technical skill sets that will create demand for their services amongst employers in the marketplace. The second is to find classroom exercises and simulations that allow students to take those skill sets and put them to the test under “game conditions.” The Virtual Enterprise educational model meets both of these challenges.     

Reviewing the Profile and Behaviour of Internet Users

SUMMARY

Despite the wide-spread discussion of e-commerce advantages, research of e-commerce business models in the tourism literature has, to date, focused primarily on organisational, business and technical factors. In contrast, social considerations, i.e., factors related to the general societal context influencing the shape and adoption of e-commerce models in practice, have not been adequately addressed. As the wide success of e-commerce heavily depends on its adoption by society, it is imperative to develop a better understanding of the profile and behaviour of Internet surfers and shoppers. Thus, robust research on the adoption of e-commerce needs to consider the societal issues/factors affecting people and their environment. In this vein, by reviewing a great amount of literature from different disciplines, this paper aims to develop a holistic perspective for examining online tourists by integrating the study of individual, organisational, industrial, societal, and technological aspects of e-business. By consolidating and synthesizing a great number of studies, the paper also aims to identify and discuss future research opportunities and directions aiming to further examine Internet users and their behaviour.     

An Investigation of Professional Development Education for Tourism and Hospitality Employees Through University and Industry Cooperative Education Partnerships

ABSTRACT

Cooperative educational partnerships in Australia are innovative education partnerships where universities join with a business or industry association in a working relationship. The partners share resources to develop and provide undergraduate award-bearing professional development education courses for employees and association members. The aim of this research is to investigate the nature of outcomes that encourages tourism and hospitality organisations to encourage professional development education for their employees and members.

This research used a qualitative approach to understand and analyse five cooperative education partnerships operating in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia. The outcomes emerging for tourism and hospitality organisations include encouraging confidence and loyalty in employees and a strengthening industry commitment to further education. The university saw professional development education provided through cooperative education partnerships as becoming part of their core education activity. Communication difficulties between different organisation cultures appear to be a barrier to overcome.     

Are students customers? Tourism and hospitality students’ evaluation of their higher education experience

ABSTRACT

Research has suggested that higher education students assume multiple roles during their studies. Moreover, the student-as-customer model has been discussed for years and needs more in-depth discussions than other roles. Few studies have investigated education experiences from this perspective. This research contains two studies. Study one investigates faculty members’ perceptions on students’ roles in higher education and found students should not be considered purely as customers. Other roles were found. Study two investigates students’ perception of their roles in university education and how the education experiences influence their satisfaction towards university choice. A majority of the students see themselves as the “recipient of knowledge”. The six dimensions of higher education experience include “student-centred service” (SCS), “diversity and global citizenship” (DGC), “coproduction of learning experience”, “reliance on teachers” (ROT), “responsibility”, and “whole person development” (WPL). SCS, DGC, ROT, and WPL were found to have significant impact on student satisfaction.     

Undergraduate students’ perceptions of the importance of English in the tourism and hospitality industry

Educators commonly promote English as beneficial to future employability, but students’ perceptions of the importance of English in the tourism and hospitality industry are often not considered. It is important that students’ perceptions are examined as gaining better insights could allow more positive attitudes to both English and the industry being fostered. This study investigated the perceptions of students (n = 71) enrolled at a university in Japan and found no statistically significant differences based on gender, country of origin, year of study, work experience, or future work intentions. However, it was indicated that communicative competence, confidence, English listening, and English speaking were the factors perceived to be most important by the students. Consequently, it is suggested that tourism and hospitality courses should incorporate components that focus mainly on these skills, but not to the detriment of English reading and writing, which were also perceived as important.     

How do lifestyle hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs manage their work-life balance?

This study uses border theory to explore how lifestyle hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs manage their work-life balance. This research utilizes in-depth interviews and observations from Dali and Lijiang, China. Three types of findings emerged. First, for lifestyle entrepreneurs, work and personal life are not divided; business is considered a style of living, not work. Second, lifestyle entrepreneurs’ boundary management tactics include temporal tactics, physical tactics, and psychological tactics. Third, the factors influencing the work-life balance of lifestyle entrepreneurs include personal factors and the contextual factors related to tourism destinations. This paper contributes to border theory by indicating how an individual’s psychological borders have a decisive effect on work-life balance perception, and how both the tourism and Chinese contexts moderate the psychological borders of work-life balance to some extent.     

A Study of Hospitality and Tourism Information Technology Education and Industrial Applications

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the subject relevance of Information Technology [IT] in Hospitality and Tourism Management programs with the skills deployed at workplace. This study aimed at investigating the graduates' transition from education to employment, and to determine how well they appear to be equipped to meet the needs of the hospitality and tourism industry. One hundred and seventeen graduates responded to a mail survey. These graduates rated the importance of IT skills at workplace, the level of IT teaching in hotel and tourism management programs, and the self-competence level in IT. This study concluded that a gap exists between the IT skills required at work and the IT skills acquired from the university.     

Why do we teach what we teach? Perspectives from Asia’s hospitality and tourism program directors

This study investigates the forces shaping curriculum design of hospitality and tourism undergraduate programs in Southeast and East Asia. The topic has received little attention in the past. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 hospitality and tourism program directors from 8 regions in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines) and East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Macao, South Korea). The results indicated that the industry as one major stakeholder has strong influences on curriculum in multiple ways. This can be seen in the way industry commentary shapes the objectives of the programs, graduate competencies, and the subject material favoring employability for the hospitality and tourism industry. Accreditation was viewed as more essential in designing a curriculum for the higher institutions in the Southeast Asia compared to East Asia. The availability and expertise of staff were viewed as the least important forces in shaping the curriculum.     

The nexus between sustainable practices in hotels and future Gen Y hospitality students’ career path decisions

This study explored tertiary hospitality students’ attitudes and overall perceptions about green and sustainable practices; and how these may impact their future career paths in the hotel industry. A thematic analysis with data from 12 semi-structured interviews with students in a hotel management school in Australia was used to identify patterns and interpretive themes. Results revealed positive attitudes among Generation Y hospitality students towards working in a green and sustainable hotel environment. Implications highlight the need for sustainability education in the curriculum of tertiary education providers and strong emphasis on sustainability practices in employee training programs. The results also suggest possible impacts of sustainability practices in recruiting and hiring in the hospitality industry and how this may affect future hospitality employees and leaders.     

Tourism firms’ environmental rankings and financial performance: a multidimensional scaling approach

The relationship between firms' environmental initiatives and financial performance continues to generate considerable interest. Despite the progress made in the study of this relationship, there is a paucity of research addressing tourism sector firms’ simultaneous environmental and financial performance. This research sheds light on the link between tourism-related firms’ environmental and financial performance. Results indicate that firms that performed well financially ranked higher on environmental initiatives. This suggests that firms’ financial performance may influence environmental performance since firms with good financial performance are better able to allocate more resources to support environmental initiatives. However, since investments in environmental initiatives require financial and manpower resources, firms should only invest in such initiatives if resources are not diverted from core functions, since such actions could affect overall firm viability. Results also indicated that firms that have adopted green initiatives can be classified into four clearly defined categories: progressive firms, which includes firms that simultaneously excel on green initiatives and financial performance; repressive firms or those that perform poorly on both; aggressive firms or those that perform admirably financially but poorly on environmental initiatives; and green firms or firms that perform admirably on green initiatives but poorly financially.     

Hospitality Employees’ Future Expectations: Dissatisfaction,Stress, and Burnout

This study aims to explore the relationship between future expectations of Turkish hotel employees and employee burnout. A survey with 260 hotel employees across Turkey measured whether employees expected their current levels of stress to increase or decrease in future. Those employees who showed signs of burnout syndrome were the ones who expected their current levels of stress to increase in future. The demographic factors such as age and education also related to stress and satisfaction levels of the employees. The findings point out that hotel employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs at the beginning of their careers, in spite of the higher levels of perceived stress. The study has significant implications for human resource management activities and organizational climate.