Development and validation of the hospitality emotional labor scale

This paper describes the development and validation of a 19-item instrument (hospitality emotional labor scale, HELS) for assessing employees’ perception of emotional labor in hospitality organizations. Three studies were conducted to purify the scale items, examine the scale's dimensionality, and to evaluate the scale's reliability, factor structure, and validity. The internal consistency coefficients from the three studies, ranging from .69 to .88, evidence the reliability of the HELS. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential applications of the scale.     

Intention to pay conventional-hotel prices at a green hotel – a modification of the theory of planned behavior

Numerous studies have employed the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to understand customers’ behaviors in various fields, but none has tested and extended the theory to explain customers’ decision formation to pay comparable regular-hotel prices for a green hotel. This is the first study designed to test and modify the TPB by including environmental concerns, perceived customer effectiveness and environmentally conscious behaviors, which are critical in explaining eco-friendly consumer behaviors. Salient belief items were identified using an elicitation method (focus group and open-ended survey). A survey obtained 389 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that measurement items for all study variables had an adequate level of reliability and validity. The findings from the structural equation modeling showed that the proposed model had a satisfactory fit to the data and better predicted hotel customers’ intention than the original TPB. The results also indicated that all antecedent variables of intention significantly contributed to forming the intention to pay conventional-hotel prices for a green hotel. Respondents were happy to have minor inconveniences, e.g. reusing towels and using recycled products, and were keen to learn about the positive environmental attributes of green hotels. Benefit awareness was shown to be important in customer decision-making.     

Scale and scope economies of international tourist hotels in Taiwan

Based on the survey data of Taiwan's international tourist hotels in 2000, this paper applies Zellner's seemingly unrelated regression technique to a simultaneous system of a translog multi-product cost function and its corresponding factor share equations to investigate the extents of scale and scope economies of Taiwan's international tourist hotels. The empirical results show that product-specific scale economies exist for accommodation, food and beverage, as well as other services. Ray scale economies are significantly present. Economies of scope exist in providing food and beverage and other services jointly, as well as accommodation and food and beverage services jointly. However, economies of scope may not be present when accommodation and other services are jointly provided.     

Fueling Green Dining Intention: The Self-Completion Theory Perspective

This study aims to examine how self-identity of consumers influences intention to pay a premium to consume green food. Moreover, this research investigates the relationship between recollection of past dining experience and intention to consume green food. The self-completion theory (SCT) is to explain the compensatory effects of the preference to consume green food. Exposure to environmental information demonstrates the effects of priming. Two experiments were conducted to illustrate the effects of priming and recollection of past behavior that harmed the environment of consumers. The results show that after mere exposure to information on green dining, participants preferred to consume green food (priming effects). Similar results were obtained from the experiment where participants were asked to recall their past behaviors that harmed the environment. Asking individuals to recall past behavior proved to be an effective way to motivate patrons of green dining to find a moral equilibrium (compensation effects).     

Service Climate in Restaurants

This study focused on identifying the most relevant dimensions of service climate in restaurant settings. A series of confirmatory factor analysis were performed to check the construct validity of the service climate using data collected in a field survey of 452 frontline employees working in 31 different foodservice establishments. Four dimensions of service climate were identified: service vision, service training, supervisor support, and reward and recognition. The validated 22-item scale of service climate can be used as a potential tool for evaluating the service climate in foodservice establishments.     

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.     

Developing Chinese tourist's leisure literacy scale from the perspective of Chinese culture

The purpose of the study is to establish a scale for Chinese leisure literacy. One investigation and two surveys are conducted in the scenic areas of Taiwan and China. For initial item generation, the investigation includes 60 in-depth interviews by semi-structured questions. To refine the measurement scale, the first survey of 786 respondents was utilized by exploratory factor analysis. For scale verification, the second survey interviews 1121 respondents for validity assessment by confirmatory factor analysis. This study finds that leisure literacy has 5 dimensions, including leisure knowledge, leisure skills, leisure cognition, leisure behavior, and Taoist/Confucianist state-of-mind. This study also finds that, as influenced by Taoism/Confucian culture, a Taoist/Confucianist state-of-mind is valued over leisure knowledge, leisure cognition, and leisure behavior; in different cultural backgrounds, the cultivations of individuals' leisure literacy may differ. Accordingly, the study provides reference for the implementation of leisure education and leisure activities.     

Understanding the human side of green hospitality management

Green training is considered as crucial factor in green human resource management, stimulating environmental performance in an organisation. However, the effects of environmental training on the performance of organisations in the hospitality industry have so far been under-studied. At the same time, hospitality industry in India has attracted significant attention, and therefore deserves to be studied further. This study explores the mediating effects of green competencies and proactive environmental management maturity as well as the moderating effect of environmental commitment. In order to conduct empirical analysis, a survey instrument is developed for data collection. The results indicate the following relationships: (a) a positive and significant relationship between green training and environmental performance; (b) a mediating effect of green competencies; (c) a mediating effect of proactive environmental management maturity; and (d) a moderating effect of environmental commitment. This work provides insights towards the ‘human side’ of transitioning towards sustainable hospitality management.     

The Determinant of the Hospitality Industry's Unsystematic Risk: A Comparison Between Hotel and Restaurant Firms

ABSTRACT

Unsystematic risk is accepted as an important factor in stock valuation. Despite the importance, little has been done to study the relationship of unsystematic risk to stock values in the hospitality industry. This study attempted to advance the understanding of financial variables that could be related to unsystematic risk of hospitality firms. Regression models were developed for hotel and restaurant firms, using unsystematic risk as the dependent variable and financial variables as independent variables. The major findings of this study indicate: 1) more profitable hospitality companies have less unsystematic risk, 2) reducing reliance on debt financing could reduce unsystematic risk, 3) the positive relationship between operating leverage and unsystematic risk, suggesting that decreasing operating leverage could mitigate the stock price volatility of hospitality firms, and 4) large hotel and restaurant firms have less unsystematic risk than small firms. This study should help management of hospitality firms incorporate effects of shareholder expectations into their operational decision making as an integral part of long-range financial planning.     

Understanding the dimensions of customer relationships in the hotel and restaurant industries

The purposes of this research were, first, to examine the dimensionality of hospitality customer relationships and, second, to develop a multi-dimensional customer relationship scale validated with both antecedent measures of marketing effectiveness and effect measures of financial performance. While hospitality marketing research has frequently focused on the relationships between various marketing actions and different dimensions of customer relationships, there is a lack of research examining customer relationships as a multi-dimensional construct. For both the hotel and restaurant industries, scale development procedures with confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify the dimensions of customer relationships: engagement, motivation, commitment, cross-buying, word of mouth, and defection. The nomological validity of these dimensions was tested using the antecedent of service quality and the effect of customer lifetime financial value. The paper concludes by articulating, first, the theoretical and practical applications of the proposed scale and, second, an agenda for future research.     

Developing green management standards for restaurants: An application of green supply chain management

Hospitality businesses influence the sustainability of their natural environment by consuming significant amounts of natural resources. However, research on applying green supply chain management (GrSCM) with process of food production to construct green management indicators for restaurants is lacking. This study thus establishes a green management standard with GrSCM that green restaurants can implement. This study combines GrSCM and food and beverage management to develop green restaurant standards, and primarily adopts the Delphi Technique to develop green standards of restaurant management. A total of 23 experts from government, industry, and academia were invited to participate. The results show that green restaurant management standards comprise three facets (green foods; green environment and equipment; and green management and social responsibility), nine sub-facets, and 81 indicators: besides five indicators for the new established restaurant, the remaining 76 were standards for existing restaurants in Taiwan. In addition to its practical implications, an important contribution of this study is its application of GrSCM to establish a green management standard for restaurants.     

The relationships between food-related personality traits,satisfaction, and loyalty among visitors attending food events and festivals

This study applies the concept of food-related personality traits to hospitality and tourism and identifies relationships between personality, satisfaction, and loyalty. An on-site survey was carried out with 335 visitors attending the Gwangju Kimchi (local food) Festival in South Korea between 15th and 19th of October, 2008. The relationships between 4 latent constructs (food neophobia, food involvement satisfaction, and loyalty) and 16 indicators were measured using structural equation modelling. The findings showed that food neophobia had a negative effect on satisfaction and loyalty, food involvement had a positive relationship with loyalty, and satisfaction and loyalty showed a significant positive relationship.     

Destination fascination: Conceptualization and scale development

This study developed a Destination Fascination Scale (DFS) based on the attention restoration theory. Through the multi-study method, this study performed a literature review to sort five DFS dimensions. Then, 13 in-depth interviews are conducted, resulting in 209 statements, which later be narrowed down into 30 items under six dimensions. In study two, 470 survey responses from national parks are collected. Twenty-five items in six dimensions emerged in exploratory factor analysis. In study three, 473 survey responses from national forest recreation areas are collected for testing confirmatory factor analysis, resulting the final 24-item DFS. Tests of criterion-related validity showed that the six dimensions were significantly related to destination loyalty. In study four, cross-validation analysis was performed using 240 survey responses from theme parks to test model stability and model extension of the developed six-dimensional 24-item DFS.     

Green events,value perceptions,and the role of consumer involvement in festival design and performance

This study explores the dimensionality of event attendees’ “green” involvement in festival settings. Given growing interest in environmental issues, it explores relationships between eco-friendly services, and visitor perceptions, intentions, or choices, using the theory of involvement, and involvement–value relationship studies. Special attention is given to comparative advantages attained by events having green policies and practices, and to assessing how much attendees will pay for those practices through event spending. A green involvement scale was developed, tested, validated and refined, before being used at the major Macau Food Festival, obtaining a 406 person data set, which was analyzed by factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results had both theoretical and managerial implications. There is a strong linkage between green involvement and perceived value. To obtain maximum comparative advantage, however, marketing efforts must focus on promoting green initiatives. For example, attendees who take an interest in and feel connected to environmental issues in their life will spend significantly more. Green design and waste management were the most important drivers of perceived green value, followed by green food and green environment and activities. Our findings show that festival attendees will pay 28% more for green food if they perceive the event offers them green values.     

Developing a competency model for private club managers

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the competency model for private club managers. This study developed and identified a valid and reliable model for managerial competencies that can be applied to private club managers. A total of 596 club managers responded to the survey, and the respondents were randomly divided into two subsamples: sample A was used for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and sample B was used for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). EFA resulted in 58 items, consisting of 10 dimensions, and the CFA confirmed the 10 dimensions of managerial competencies model (51 items), consisting of (1) golf, (2) facility maintenance, (3) human resources–legal, (4) leadership–interpersonal, (5) food and beverage, (6) club governance, (7) sports and recreation, (8) accounting, (9) marketing, and (10) strategic management. A model was developed in order to further understand important managerial competencies needed for managing a private club operation in the United States. This model can be used to update certification requirements and professional development programs for club managers, as well as update university curricular offerings.     

Do I fit in? Impact of race on hospitality student perceptions of departmental climate

Recent reports by the NAACP show there is lack of minorities in upper management positions in the hospitality industry. One possible reason this deficiency exists is that the pipeline of qualified minority hospitality program graduates is slow. This study examined the perception of cultural climate held by hospitality students about their department as a possible antecedent of this stagnation. Current students in hospitality programs evaluated the cultural climates within the department and its effect on satisfaction using the Student Perception of Racial Climate Scale (SPRCS) and items from the Cultural Attitudes and Climate Questionnaire (CACQ). Results indicate a positive attitude toward cultural climate in hospitality management programs; however, both minority and nonminority students highlighted a lack of minority role models both in the classroom and the industry. Theoretical and practical implications for hospitality education and the industry are identified.     

Customer Expectations of Casual Dining Restaurants: The Case of Liberty Tap Room

The current research examines the importance of restaurant attributes as rated by customers dining in a casual-style restaurant located in a medium-sized city in the Southeast United States. Previous research and the models used to measure customer perceptions of restaurant attributes were reviewed. The assessment instrument chosen for the current study was adapted from DinEX, developed by Antun, Frash, Costen, and Runyan (2010). A total of 92 customers completed the survey over a 10-day period in late August and early September of 2011. Results showed that customers rate food and service attributes as most important when dining out. Attributes related to atmosphere received moderate importance ratings. In using a confirmatory factor analysis, six latent variables emerged: social connectedness, service quality, atmosphere, food quality, healthfulness, and food value. The only statistically significant differences between the factors related to the demographic variables were that females rated the healthfulness of the food options as more important than males, and dinner customers rated the food value as more important than the lunch customers. Implications for restaurant operators and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Curriculum analysis of foods and beverage management of technological and vocational education in Taiwan

The purposes of this study are to analyze developmental trends, hospitality curricula structures and strategies of curriculum development for planning the integrated curriculum of foods and beverage (F&B) management of the vocational and technological educational system in Taiwan. The qualitative and quantitative research methods – theoretical analysis, document analysis, focus group in-depth discussion, and questionnaire investigation – were applied to this study. The vertical curriculum design – from vocational high school level to college and university level – and contents were developed by this study. The major findings of the research provide a basis for curriculum development of F&B management education.     

Disentangling green service innovative behavior among hospitality employees: The role of customer green involvement

Regardless of the role of customers in co-creating value with organizations, how customer involvement drives employees, particularly in the hospitality industry, to engage in green service innovative endeavors has been scarcely examined. This study seeks to uncover how and when customer green involvement nurtures green service innovative behavior among hotel employees. The dataset was formed from the responses from 519 employees and 84 managers working in Vietnam-based hotels and analyzed via multilevel structural equation modeling. The results demonstrated the role of hotel employees’ green information management motivations (i.e., green information proactiveness, transparency, and formality) in mediating the positive relationship between customer green involvement and employee green service innovative behavior. Internal green marketing orientation functioned as an enhancer for the effects of customer green involvement on green information management motivations. This research contributes to the stream of green behavior research by bringing together customer green involvement and green service innovative behavior in the hospitality literature and unraveling the mechanisms behind their relationship.