Employees intent to leave: A comparison of determinants of intent to leave versus intent to stay

The purpose of the study is to examine whether the predictors that decrease employee intention to leave will also increase employees’ intention to stay. Therefore, the objective of the study is twofold: (1) to examine the influence of perceived organizational support, perceived supervisors’ support, and organizational commitment regarding intent to leave and (2) to investigate the influence of the same variables on intent to stay. A total of 416 hospitality employees in the U.S. participated. The results suggest that perceived organizational support and organizational commitment decreased intent to leave while only perceived organizational support had a positive impact on intention to stay. Implications detail ways that hospitality organizations can focus on increasing their employees’ commitment through perceived organizational support as a critical component of turnover culture.     

When empathy prevents negative reviewing behavior

Previous research has found that peer-to-peer platforms have overly positive reviews. Guided by Construal Level Theory, this research investigates the relationship between social distance, empathy, and tourists’ intention to leave negative online reviews. The first study is a qualitative analysis which compares peer-to-peer settings (i.e., Airbnb) to institutional ones (i.e., Booking.com), and explores whether social closeness hinders tourists’ willingness to provide negative online reviews to express their poor experiences. The second and third study are laboratory studies which show that the mechanism behind reviewing biases is the activation of empathy.This research offers practical implications for both traditional hospitality players, on how to activate empathy, and online platforms operators, on how to increase the reliability of their reputation systems.This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.     

Human factors affecting university hospitality and tourism students' intention to use e-learning: A comparative study between Egypt and the UK

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this study is to apply the technology acceptance model in examining two human factors (i.e., engagement with e-learning, self-efficacy) influencing university hospitality and tourism students' intention to use e-learning in two different higher education contexts: Egypt, as an example of a developing country, and the United Kingdom (UK), as an example of a developed country. A total of 600 online questionnaires were sent to a convenience sample of university hospitality and tourism students. Among the questionnaires returned, 442 were usable ones, representing a response rate of 73.7%. The results from structural equation modeling show that student engagement with e-learning and e-learning self-efficacy had significant effects on both the Egyptian and UK students' intention to use e-learning platforms through the mediating variables of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. Additionally, gender and background were significant factors affecting students' intention.     

A structural model of residents’ intention to participate in ecotourism: The case of a wetland community

Ecotourism supports environmental conservation as well as generating economic opportunities. It additionally strongly emphasizes benefits to the local community and suggests that the involvement of the residents is important for the effective management of tourism. Accordingly, this study explores factors contributing to residents’ participation intention in ecotourism management and proposes a structural relationship between their participation intention, environmental knowledge, attitudes towards ecotourism and the appeal of tourist landscapes. Analysis indicates residents’ environmental knowledge positively affects attitudes towards ecotourism, which in turn directly and indirectly determine the intention to participate in ecotourism through their individual landscape affinity. Thus, residents’ involvement in ecotourism may be stimulated through a) appropriate management strategies aimed at increasing their environmental knowledge, b) encouraging positive ecotourism attitudes, and c) environmental planning that promotes residents’ affinity for local attractions.     

The effects of mentoring on role stress,job attitude,and turnover intention in the hotel industry

In response to a dearth of mentoring studies in the hospitality literature, this study develops and tests a research model to investigate the influence of mentoring functions on role stress, job attitude, and turnover intention in the hotel industry. The data were collected from employees who had experienced mentoring programs at super-deluxe hotels in South Korea. This study conceptualized mentoring activity as having three main functions, including career development, psychosocial support, and role modeling. Structural equation model (SEM) analyses were used to explore the statistical significance of the paths between these functions and the main outcome variables. The psychosocial support function showed a significant relationship with all variables in the model (i.e., a positive effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but a negative effect on role conflict, role ambiguity, and turnover intention). The relationships were not significant between the career development function and role ambiguity, between role modeling and role ambiguity, or between role ambiguity and turnover intention. The results will enable a better understanding of the effects of hotel mentoring programs and indicate directions for improving their outcomes. The findings can help hotel managers in developing more effective mentoring programs.     

The why,how, and what of public policy implications of tourism and hospitality research

We synthesized policy implications of tourism and hospitality research by reviewing 12,269 articles published in 10 leading journals from 2012 to 2021. The most common rationale for policies (i.e., the why) is market failure, while the most typical role of policies (i.e., the how) is to create incentives. In addition, policies are typically hybrid and include suggestions for formal and informal institutional setups (i.e., the what). Because our review revealed that only 114 articles (i.e., 0.93%) included the why, how, and what of actual policies, we offer a theory-based research agenda on policy-making focused on making tourism and hospitality more inclusive and focusing on evolutionary dynamics, providing an understanding of the impact of crises and contemporary solutions, focusing on resilience and institutional complexity, and addressing the actors and time dimension. Our results, combined with those of our suggested research directions, will benefit organizations and society and simultaneously enhance the perceived societal value-added, contributions, and stature of tourism and hospitality research.     

The influence of family tradition and psychological traits on entrepreneurial intention

This paper investigates the influence of family tradition and psychological traits on the entrepreneurial intention of university hospitality students in the UK. The empirical study was predicated on the need to consider both socio-demographic variables and especially family background and personality traits. The research also tested the suggestion that risk taking propensity may act as a potential mediator. The findings of the study suggest that family entrepreneurial background and innovation influence the intention to start a new business; that there is positive relationship between tolerance of ambiguity and risk taking propensity; and a negative relationship between locus of control and risk taking propensity. The paper emphasizes the importance of taking a more holistic approach when researching the factors that influence entrepreneurial intention.     

Tourist misbehavior: Psychological closeness to fellow consumers and informal social control

The challenge of tourist misbehavior has drawn increasing attention from academic researchers and practitioners in the hospitality and tourism sector. Drawing on the concepts of psychological closeness and the perceived certainty of informal social control, this paper proposes that tourists (vs. non-tourists) are more inclined to misbehave in a given service situation because they feel less close to fellow consumers sharing the same service environment and perceive a lower likelihood of disapproval from them. However, personal implication (i.e., the extent to which fellow consumers suffer directly or indirectly from the misbehavior of the focal consumer) mitigates the effect of tourist status on the intention to misbehave. The results from three experiments confirm these arguments and show that the perceived certainty of informal social control (i.e., the perceived likelihood of disapproval) is a mediator that explains the interactive effects of tourist status and personal implication on intention to misbehave.     

An Empirical Approach to Identifying Cross-Cultural Modifications to International Hospitality Industry Sales Training

Abstract

This study uses six of Wilson's (1995) “success” variables in long-term buyer-seller relationship development to analyze whether relationship marketing concepts can be applied globally in hospitality sales training programs. It looks at the cross-cultural differences that exist between various regions of the world (i.e., North America and Asia) in the way buyer-seller relationships are perceived by hotel salespersons. This study found differences in the importance given to the “success” variables do exist across international boundaries. Recognition of the differences can provide assistance to hospitality industry marketers in designing and modifying sales training programs focused on developing long-term buyer-seller relationships.     

Attention to Chinese menus with metaphorical or metonymic names: An eye movement lab experiment

Food is as cultural as it is practical, and names of dishes accordingly have cultural nuances. Menus serve as communication tools between restaurants and their guests, representing the culinary philosophy of the chefs and proprietors involved. The purpose of this experimental lab study is to compare differences of attention paid to textual and pictorial elements of menus with metaphorical and/or metonymic names. Eye movement technology was applied in a 2 × 3 between-subject experiment (n = 40), comparing the strength of visual metaphors (e.g., images of menu items on the menu) and direct textual names in Chinese and English with regard to guests’ willingness to purchase the dishes in question. Post-test questionnaires were also employed to assess participants’ attitudes toward menu designs. Study results suggest that visual metaphors are more efficient when reflecting a product’s strength. Images are shown to positively influence consumers’ expectations of taste and enjoyment, garnering the most attention under all six conditions studied here, and constitute the most effective format when Chinese alone names are present. The textual claim increases perception of the strength of menu items along with purchase intention. Metaphorical dish names with bilingual (i.e., Chinese and English) names hold the greatest appeal. This result can be interpreted from the perspective of grounded cognition theory, which suggests that situated simulations and re-enactment of perceptual, motor, and affective processes can support abstract thought. The lab results and survey provide specific theoretical and managerial implications with regard to translating names of Chinese dishes to attract customers’ attention to specific menu items.     

What recovery options to offer for loyalty reward program members: Dollars vs. Miles?

Research shows that offering monetary compensation is effective in restoring customers’ equity perceptions following a service failure. However, little is known about loyalty reward program members’ responses to various types of recovery options. This study fills this important void by investigating two types of compensation: a discount coupon (in dollars) and bonus reward points (in miles) in the airline context. This study further investigates the boundary effect of controllability of a service failure. Our findings show that, when the flight delay is perceived as highly controllable by the airline company (i.e., scheduling error by flight crews, repatronage intention was higher in the 50-dollar discount vs. 2500 bonus miles condition. Conversely, repatronage intention did not differ between the two compensation options when the flight delay was perceived as uncontrollable i.e., inclement weather. Our findings help hospitality and tourism firms leverage service recovery initiatives for loyalty reward program members.     

The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions for 2009 H1N1 influenza on travel intentions: A model of goal-directed behavior

Theoretically, in the tourism context this study introduced a new concept of non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) for influenza, and tested the impact of NPI on the behavioral intention of potential international tourists. This study also extended the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) by incorporating the new concepts of NPI, and the perception of 2009 H1N1. The model found that desire, perceived behavioral control, frequency of past behavior, and non-pharmaceutical interventions predicted tourists’ intention but perceptions of 2009 H1N1 had nil effect on desire and intention. Personal non-pharmaceutical interventions were theorized as adaptive behavior of tourists intending to travel during a pandemic which should be supported by tourism operators on a system-wide basis. Practically, this study dealt with the issue of influenza 2009 H1N1 with the study findings and implications providing government agencies, tourism marketers, policy-makers, transport systems, and hospitality services with important suggestions for NPI and international tourism during pandemics.     

The relevance of visitors’ nation brand embeddedness and personality congruence for nation brand identification,visit intentions and advocacy

The identification with a brand enhances loyalty and purchase intentions. Little is known, however, if this relationship holds in a nation brand context and which variables drive nation brand identification (NBI). This study investigates the relevance of nation brand embeddedness (i.e., the social integration of the individual) and personality congruence (i.e., the congruence between an individual’s and a country’s personality) for NBI, nation brand advocacy and visit intentions. A study of 421 Germans as potential visitors of the Republic of Ireland as a holiday destination was conducted to test the proposed relationships. Results from structural equation modeling showed that NBI and personality congruence strongly influence visit intentions, while nation brand embeddedness is a strong predictor of brand advocacy. Important implications for destination management can be derived.     

The effect of environment risk,corporate strategy,and capital structure on firm performance: An empirical investigation of restaurant firms

The co-alignment process has been used in hospitality strategy as a framework to explain strategic orientation of firms. In this study, using a sample from the US restaurant industry, the authors test the simultaneous impact of surrogates from constructs identified as part of the co-alignment model, i.e. environment, strategy, and structure, on firm performance. Results indicate that a significant variance in firm performance is explained by the variables from the foregoing constructs of the co-alignment model. The robustness of this study provides restaurant firms’ managers a basis to evaluate their firms’ strategic orientation vis-à-vis its impact on firm performance.     

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.     

Factors affecting undergraduates' commitment to career choice in the hospitality sector: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Little is known about the factors underlying students’ commitment to career choices in the hospitality industry in non-western contexts. This research explores the drivers of commitment to career choice among undergraduates studying hospitality in Saudi Arabia. Employing the Social Cognitive Career Theory, this research examines commitment to hospitality career against personal and contextual variables, together with two control variables of (i.e., “year of study” and “industry experience”), expected to influence students’ career decisions. From a valid sample of 227 students, it was found that “self-interest,” “outcome expectations,” “the nature of working environment,” “the nature of working day,” “nepotism (wasta),” “industry experience,” and “year of study” were the best predictors of students’ commitment to career choice; in contrary, “social status” and localization (saudization) of workforce were not significant determinants. Implications of the findings and avenues for future research are also discussed.     

When and how can organizational punishment stop unethical pro-organizational behaviors in hospitality?

How can hospitality employees be prevented from engaging in unethical behavior toward customers with the intention of helping their organization (i.e., from displaying unethical pro-organizational behavior directed at customers, UPB-C)? Drawing on ethical decision-making (EDM) theory, we propose that organizational punishment for unethical behavior and service climate will jointly inhibit UPB-C via moral disengagement. We test our hypotheses across two studies. In Study 1, using a sample of 122 frontline service employees, we find that, when both organizational punishment for unethical behavior and service climate are higher, UPB-C is lower. In Study 2, we replicate the above findings using a two-wave panel data from a sample of 191 employees who had service roles in the hospitality industry, and further indicate the role of moral disengagement in explaining the interactive effects of organizational punishment and service climate on UPB-C.     

Social learning? Conformity? Or comparison? — An empirical study on the impact of peer effects on Chinese seniors' intention to purchase travel insurance

This study aims to explore seniors' consumption behavior characteristics and the impact of peer effects on their intention to purchase travel insurance. The multiple regression analysis of logistic binary categorical variables revealed that peer effects influence seniors' intention to purchase travel insurance through social learning, conformity, and comparisons. Other factors (e.g., spending power, education, and perceived risk) affect such intentions; however, we can control these. We categorized the senior travel-insurance market and pioneered the introduction of peer-effect theory into research. Overall, this study (i) promotes more specialized research into travel-insurance marketing theory; (ii) results in reduced marketing expenditures for this demographic; (iii) result in better targeting/promotion; and (iv) realizes multiplier effects in this domain.     

In darkness we seek light: The impact of focal and general lighting designs on customers’ approach intentions toward restaurants

For many hospitality businesses, environmental lighting design can be a powerful tool to be leveraged to stage the servicescape when creating marketing collateral to attract customers. Addressing this underexplored topic, the current research examines how and why focal and general lighting designs, as presented in the restaurant’s ambient images, influence consumers’ approach intentions: namely, the perceptions of attractiveness of the restaurant and their visit intention. Our findings demonstrate that images that present focal lighting (e.g., table lighting) against a generally dimmed dining ambience can effectively boost the restaurant’s perceived attractiveness and visit intention among diners who are of high (vs. low) relational intimacy. Moderated-moderated mediation analysis (Hayes, 2018) further reveals that it is ambient intimacy that explains such effects. Theoretical and managerial implications of this research are presented before discussing limitations and future research opportunities.     

Reducing burnout and enhancing job satisfaction: Critical role of hotel employees’ emotional intelligence and emotional labor

Despite its strong theoretical relevance with emotional labor, employees’ ability to understand and regulate emotions (i.e., emotional intelligence, EI) has seldom been studied, especially how it affects hotel employees responding to the firm's display rules (i.e., emotional labor) and experiencing burnout and job satisfaction. Thus, this study investigated direct and indirect effects of employees’ EI on two different forms of emotional labor (i.e., emotional effort: EE; emotional dissonance: ED): burnout and job satisfaction. Data were collected from 309 customer-contact hotel employees and managers in the United States. Results of structural equation modeling showed that EI had a direct, positive effect on EE and personal accomplishment and a direct, negative effect on ED and depersonalization. EI was also found to indirectly affect job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion through the mediating roles of personal accomplishment and ED, respectively. Additionally, ED was found to directly affect depersonalization and indirectly affect job satisfaction through emotional exhaustion while EE directly affects personal accomplishment and indirectly affects job satisfaction through personal accomplishment. Finally, personal accomplishment was found to mediate the depersonalization–job satisfaction relationship. Managerial implications for human resource practices are provided.