A Comparative Study of Generational Preferences for Trip-Planning Resources: A Case Study of International Tourists to Shanghai

Although many previous studies have investigated the information search behavior in some specific age groups of tourists, few of them comprehensively examined the relationships between cross-generational tourists and their preferences for various types of trip-planning resources. This study aimed to fill this research gap. The authors employed correspondence analysis to assess and visually display the correlations between four generational groups—the Silent Generation (aged over 65), the Baby Boomers (aged 50–64 years), Generation X (aged 30–49 years), and Y (aged 18–29 years)—and 10 primary travel information sources for the Shanghai international tourist market. The results indicated that tourists in the Baby Boomers and Silent Generation groups rely most on travel agencies and tour operators. The Generation X tourists are inclined to search websites for their travel information. Generation Y tourists are more likely to consult friends and/or relatives and travel guidebooks. The study has both theoretical and practical contributions. The core values of generations are used to explain their preference of information sources from a theoretical perspective. This study assists destination marketers to design effective promotional strategies suited for different generational segments.     

Use of The Internet for Trip Planning: A Generational Analysis

With recent developments in social media and mobile computing, little is known regarding how different travel segments within the general traveler population actually use the Internet for travel planning. In particular, this study examined various aspects of Internet use among four generational groups including the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y over a six-year period. Findings show a high adoption rate of the Internet among all generations but there are important differences related to information search, trip planning activities, and websites used for online booking. This study provides a timely analysis of information technology use for travel planning and offers meaningful insights for the development of communication strategies for destinations and tourism businesses.     

Generational differences: An examination of work values and generational gaps in the hospitality workforce

The purpose of this study is to identify generational differences and similarities among hospitality employees and managers in order to develop leadership strategies and management styles that can be utilized to increase employee morale and productivity while enhancing recruitment and retention rates of highly qualified workers. Data for this study were collected through a series of in-depth focus group discussions. Findings indicated significant generational differences in world views, attitudes toward authority and perspectives on work. Findings suggested the Baby Boomers respect authority and hierarchy, while the Generation X-ers (Gen X-ers) rebel against authority. Findings also suggested while Baby Boomers live to work, Gen X-ers work to live. The Baby Boomers are willing to wait their turn for promotions and rewards, and are very loyal. On the other hand, Gen X-ers expect immediate recognition through title, praise, promotion, and pay. They also want a life outside of work—they are not likely to sacrifice theirs for the company. The Millennial Generation believes in collective action, with optimism of the future, and trust in centralized authority. They like teamwork, showing a strong will to get things done with a great spirit.     

The relationship between purpose of performance appraisal and psychological contract: Generational differences as a moderator

This study aims to explore the relationship between performance appraisal and psychological contract (PC) from the perspective of U.S. hotel employees, as perceived by different generational cohorts. The current study also examines the moderating role of generational difference on the relationship between perceived performance appraisal purpose (PAP) and hotel employees’ PC. A sample of 230 full time frontline U.S.-based hotel employees was employed to investigate these relationships. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used for data analysis and the results indicated that both administrative and developmental PAP were positively associated with PC. The positive relationship between administrative PAP and PC was significantly strengthened for Generation Y employees than for Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. There was no significant moderation effect of generational difference on the positive relationship between developmental PAP and hotel employees’ PC. The research recommended HR management practices related to designing performance appraisal systems for diverse workplace in U.S.-based hotels.     

Generation effects on work engagement among U.S. hotel employees

Drawing upon generational differences in work values and attitudes, this article examines work engagement of three generational cohorts using survey data collected from 677 customer contact employees in the hotel industry. Results of ANOVA and a series of moderated regression analyses indicate that levels of work engagement significantly differ depending on the generational membership of the employees. The effects of work engagement on turnover intention were significantly moderated by generational differences. Millennials were found to be a more distinct cohort from Gen Xers and Baby Boomers in terms of their level of work engagement as well as the relationship between work engagement and turnover intention.     

The Socially Aware Baby Boomer: Gaining a Lifestyle-Based Understanding of the New Wave of Ecotourists

As the Baby Boomers approach retirement, tourism, in general, is expected to increase among members of this generation. This increase in travel is expected to be accompanied by a surge of interest in ecotourism—resulting in a new wave of ecotourists, over the next quarter century. This four-nation analysis of the post-war Baby Boom generation in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States (the CANZUS countries) argues that Baby Boomers should be segmented by their lifestyle characteristics, in order to isolate the best prospects for ecotourism. Data are presented to show that the prime-prospect ecotourist among Baby Boomers is in the Socially Aware lifestyle group, in Australia, and its counterparts in the other CANZUS populations—Autonomous Rebels in Canada, Educated Liberals in New Zealand, and Actualisers in the United States. Additional data on the travel motives and value priorities of Socially Aware Baby Boomers give a fuller picture of this group. Members of the Baby Boom generation are currently experiencing middle age; the psychological implications of this life stage for ecotourism activity are also given. Strategy pointers are offered for the ecotourism manager, given the growing importance of the Socially Aware Baby Boomer as an ecotourist.     

Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation the pathway to foster meaningful work and helping behavior for millennials?

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation affects organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through meaningful work. This work is significant for three reasons: the joint examination of CSR, meaningful work, and OCB is novel; the comparative effects of CSR perception versus CSR participation have not been examined previously; and this is the first examination of such relationships for different generations of employees. Data from 245 employees of four-star hotels were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach and multigroup analysis (MGA). Results reveal that CSR participation has a strong influence over work-related outcomes. The strongest effect of CSR participation on helping behavior is in Generation Y whereas CSR perception has a strong indirect effect on helping behavior through meaningful work in Generation X. These findings offer managerial implications to hotel managers on how best to manage generational differences in predicting helping behavior at workplace.     

COVID-19: The effects of job insecurity on the job engagement and turnover intent of deluxe hotel employees and the moderating role of generational characteristics

COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented crisis in all industries around the world. This study sought to verify that job insecurity, as perceived by deluxe hotel employees, significantly affects their job engagement and turnover intent and to determine the moderating effect of generational characteristics. The finding showed that perceptions of job insecurity had negative effects on the engagement of deluxe hotel employees. Also, employees’ job engagement can decrease turnover intent. The engagement of employees fully mediated the relationship between perceptions of job insecurity and turnover intent, and job insecurity caused by COVID-19 had a greater influence on Generation Y than Generation X in reducing job engagement, indicating that the negative impact of job insecurity is higher in Generation Y.     

Food tourists’ connectivity through the 5A journey and advocacy: comparison between generations Y and X

ABSTRACT

By adopting the new 5A model of Marketing 4.0, which conceptualizes a consumer-driven paradigm shift in digital marketing, this study empirically investigated food tourists’ connectivity throughout the 5A process (aware, appeal, ask, act, and advocate). Furthermore, we compared the 5A journeys of Generation Y and Generation X. Along the 5A path, both generations indicated the strongest social connectivity in the ask stage. Generation Y showed stronger social connectivity than Generation X, while there was no significant difference in channel connectivity. The social connectivity in the advocate stage was most strongly correlated with that in the act stage. Within each generation, active netizens were more strongly engaged in sharing and positive/negative advocacy. Based on these findings, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications.     

Residents' Perceived Impacts of Gaming Development in Macau: Social Representation Perspectives

The purpose of the research was to provide a better understanding of local residents' perceived impacts of gaming tourism based on social representations theory. An empirical investigation was conducted in Macau, where gaming tourism is under explosive development. Through a survey of 396 local residents, two social representation groups were identified: “Ambivalents” and “Rationalists”. The two social representation groups presented significantly different perceptions and attitudes toward the impacts of gaming tourism in Macau. The three most significant factors that influenced residents' representations were personal income, perceptions of gaming tourism being able to increase personal/family income, and satisfaction with government performance in managing gaming tourism development. The research provides theoretical implications for future gaming impact studies and also practical ones for local governments and stakeholders in the tourism industry in Macau and other gaming destinations.     

A structural approach to social representations of destination collaboration in Idre,Sweden

Collaboration is a social activity shaped by interactions. Taking a structural approach in social representations theory, the present research used a cognitive mapping method to analyse and compare the mental models of actors regarding collaborations in Idre, Sweden. Tourism actors share a core system in their representations which develops around packaging and selling of the tourism product to an international market, indicative of a hegemonic representation. Issues of quality, shared responsibility, trust, inclusivity and power were also revealed and should be taken into account in planning tourism and collaborations in the area. Findings indicate that actors hold multiple representations of collaboration, which reflects the social complexity apparent in the tourism destination, and the evolutionary character of social representations.     

Operating small tourism firms in rural destinations: A social representations approach to examining how small tourism firms cope with non-tourism induced changes

This study explores the representation that owners and managers of small tourism firms ascribe to their rural destination and how non-tourism induced changes interfere with this representation and motivate coping as guided by social representations theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-four owners and/or managers of at least one small accommodation property in Gloucester, New South Wales, Australia. The informants became involved in the area's accommodation sector primarily driven by the lifestyle goals embedded in their representation of Gloucester. The perception that mining-induced changes might transform Gloucester into a mining town as opposed to its current representation as a town with a mine has motivated many informants to cope. However, coping is impeded by feelings of powerlessness, perceived uncertainties, and distrust in both government and industry. The findings provide preliminary insight into why and how small tourism firm owners/managers cope when faced with change from the perspective of social representations.     

Understanding Generation Z through collective consciousness: Impacts for hospitality work and employment

This paper offers insights into Generation Z (Gen Z), using the collective consciousness as an underlying mechanism that shapes generationally distinct human values and behaviors. Written life narratives of 125 Gen Z, University students in Thailand, were used to identify links and commonalities between shared experiences, human values and work behaviors. A combination of major national and global events, personal events, social and technological vehicles played a key role in shaping Gen Z’s collective consciousness, leading to a number of salient human values, including universalism, benevolence, self-direction, achievement and security. The links between collective consciousness and values offer a pathway to a more accurate understanding about generational groups and their corresponding work behaviors. Implications for managers and policy are offered which can facilitate attraction, retention and engagement of Gen Z in the 2020s workplace. Impacts of COVID-19 are addressed and suggestions offered in relation to potential impacts on this generation in a work context.     

Virtual and Hybrid Meetings: Gaining Generational Insight From Industry Experts

The focus of this study is to identify best practices, opportunities and barriers for planning and managing virtual and hybrid meetings for baby boomers, generation X, and generation Y. Through application of the generational cohort theory, a modified Delphi method was employed to identify best practices, opportunities and barriers for virtual and hybrid meetings for these three generations. The Delphi method engaged an expert panel of meeting professionals who made planning recommendations for each generational cohort. Results indicate generational perceptions of meeting attendees are considered by meeting professionals, based on their meeting planning experience, as they plan and execute their meetings, thus supporting the generational cohort theory.     

Citizens' Representations of China's Golden Weeks

For over a decade Chinese tourism policy has constrained the holiday periods for its citizens to a limited number of well-defined Golden Weeks. This study explores the representations of 450 Chinese residents from five popular tourist regions in these holiday periods. The study is embedded in the framework of social representations theory underpinned by an emic approach to this topical issue. More specifically, the researchers employed an open-ended survey in Mandarin, eliciting the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the structured holiday periods. Many positive features of each individual Golden Week were identified, while some problems resulting from congestion were also highlighted. A common and hegemonic social representation was revealed and presented using the treemaps approach. A range of key managerial interventions are required for improving the periods as travel opportunities both within and outside China.     

Rukai indigenous tourism: Representations,cultural identity and Q method

In tourism, cultural representations of indigenous destinations are problematic. They are essential to the promotion of tourism, making destinations understandable and desirable to visitors. But they are also blamed for upsetting the cultural equilibrium of smaller destinations. However, in practice, the origin, mechanism and effects of touristic representations are not easy to identify. In this study, the problem of representations and resident cultural identity in indigenous tourism is explored. In consideration of the generative nature of representations and the contingency of subjectivities toward them, this study is context-specific, focusing on a small but significant community in southern Taiwan where indigenous tourism is a dominant industry and social issue. Q method, a technique designed for the systematic study of subjectivity in terms of opinions, beliefs, and attitudes is employed, eliciting responses from a P set (sample) of 30 participants. Subjectivities were elicited using photographs of one cultural representation, the indigenous Rukai standing stones. It was found that representations must be learned but can be ignored, and that in this community tourism is not the only socio-economic power that drives the feedback loop between representations and subjectivity. For tourism management, implications are that representations can be highly effective tools for destination promotion when informed by the diverse and highly individualized subjectivities of its residents and the production of quality local products.     

Evidence of a low-carbon tourism paradigm?

The global tourism industry has benefited from exceptional growth; however, a number of challenges have the potential to seriously undermine the industry's future aspirations. This research uses social representation theory to understand how the social group of tourism experts makes sense of the phenomena of “tourism growth”, “low-carbon tourism”, “peak oil” and “risks for tourism”, and whether representations are indicative of different underlying paradigms. A total of 101 experts from various tourism professions and key demographics were interviewed using the free associations method. The findings reveal distinct representations of the four phenomena, but also significant linkages between them, in particular in relation to the global economy, transportation, energy supply and sustainability. Further, whilst experts appear grounded in the Dominant Social Paradigm of consumerism and neoliberal capitalism, there is evidence of alternative views that question some of the fundamental assumptions of the growth paradigm. In particular, when asked about low-carbon tourism and peak oil, experts advanced associations that indicated an Alternative Paradigm. A broader paradigm shift originating from within tourism, however, alone is unlikely.     

Sights of sites: picturing heritage,power and exclusion

This paper explores the visual representations used to illustrate, promote and communicate a particular idea of heritage in the tourism literature, which provides an instance within which to examine the material consequences of a dominant discourse. This examination takes place within the context of current New Labour policy initiatives, which have put forward a new role for heritage, both in terms of the touristic experiences it can provide and as an instrumental tool for social inclusion and civic engagement. It is argued in this paper that these consciously designed objectives have also opened up a conceptual space within which images of heritage are drawn upon to undertake a course of ideological work that affectively reaffirms and legitimizes the cultural symbols of an elite social group as a consensual representation of national heritage.     

The effects of generational work values on employee brand attitude and behavior: A multi-group analysis

The competitive hospitality industry requires effective external and internal brand management. Since service employees bring the brand to life, insight regarding their motivational drivers is important. Given a multigenerational hospitality workforce, individual motivations will likely differ and therefore inform attitudes and behavior differently. Adopting work values as a motivational lens, and drawing on generational theory, this study surveys 303 hospitality employees to understand how generational collective memories (i.e., formative referents) inform individuals’ work values. Further, it examines how generational work values differentially influence employees’ perceived brand fit and brand citizenship behavior. The results suggest that an individual’s collective memories from their formative years influence their work values, with altruistic, social and intrinsic work values having a positive impact on employee brand attitude and behavior, while extrinsic and leisure work values have no significant impact. Generational differences are evident, but not always in a manner that is consistent with previous literature.     

For Me or Not for Me? Exploring Young Adults’ Museum Representations

Abstract

While museums are widely recognized for their important roles in society, there are concerns about their relevance to young adults, who are claimed to rarely cross museums’ thresholds. This study explores social representations of museums held by 259 young Australian and Chinese adults. The analysis revealed a shared social representation of museums as places for school groups, families, or cultural elites who sought to learn from exhibits of authentic objects. While there were some differences between the perceptions of Chinese and Australian respondents, it was clear that neither group regards museums as places for young adults. Both groups suggested museums would be more appealing if they were more engaging, relevant, welcoming, and offered opportunities for social interaction with peers. Implications for the future design of museums are discussed.