Hospitality Managers' Perception of Corporate Social Responsibility: An Explorative Study

In recent years, many factors have influenced the hotel industry to identify areas of social concern most beneficial to it. Staff incentives, rewards, community involvement, and charitable activities, coinciding with increased management and staff education concerning internal and external social responsibilities, have increased. The objective of this study is to investigate how hotel leaders from Hong Kong in high-tier and medium-tier hotels attempt to influence employees' behaviour to act in a more socially responsible manner towards their companies and communities. It highlights both leaders' perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviour of their employees and the instruments used to influence that behaviour. As a first step, this study aims to determine hotel managers' perception of leadership styles and their interpretation of the CSR role in the industry and community. Managers differ in leadership styles, thereby influencing their employees' perception of the CSR role in industry and community. Findings have shown that CSR awareness is deeply incorporated into high-tier Hong Kong hotels where community involvement is particularly strong.     

Determinants and outcome of career competencies: Perspectives of hotel managers in China

This study aims to explore the determinants and outcome of career competencies. Based on the notion that organizations and individuals have respective obligations in the career management of employees’, this study developed perceived “organizational career management’ (OCM) and “career commitment” as determinants and career satisfaction as an outcome of career competencies. Data were collected in the state-owned hotels in China, and structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that both perceived OCM and career commitments have positive, direct effects on career competencies. The findings of this study may benefit both hotels and hotel employees by providing valuable implications.     

The Perceived Importance of Job Attributes Among Foodservice Employees in Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study explored the perceived importance of fourteen job attributes among foodservice employees in Hong Kong hotels. The study identified that Pay was ranked as the most important job attribute, followed by Fringe Benefits, then Advancement and Promotion, respectively. Status, Job Autonomy, Skill Utilization, and Supervision were the attributes ranked as having the lowest importance. Four factors were derived from the fourteen job attributes: Intangible Job Context, Employee Development and Skill Utilization, Remuneration Packages and Workplace, and Intangible Work Rewards. Results of ANOVA indicated that the four factors varied significantly related to the employees' Education Level, Income Level, Position, and Type of Hotel. Implications for future studies of job attributes were discussed.     

Exploring the relationship between employee creativity and job-related motivators in the Hong Kong hotel industry

The purpose of this research is to determine if there is any relationship between employee creativity and job-related motivators, using a case study of hotel employees in Hong Kong. From a sample of 983 employees, canonical correlation indicated there is a relationship between creativity and job-related motivators. Furthermore, the risk-taking dimension under creativity was found to be more correlated to the intrinsic job-related motivators. Intrinsic job-related motivators which include opportunity for advancement and development, loyalty to employees, appreciation and praise of work done, feelings of being involved, sympathetic help with personal problems and interesting work, are found to encourage the hotel employees’ risk-taking behavior. A “See-Saw” model is presented to show the relationship between the two opposing sides: intrinsic motivators and extrinsic motivators versus creativity and risk-taking factors.     

Employees' Perceptions of Performance Appraisal

ABSTRACT

In spite of the importance of performance appraisal for hotels to evaluate their employees, the existing hospitality literature largely covers studies in Western countries only. Prior studies have rarely investigated the issue of performance appraisal in the context of China, the world's largest potential market for generating tourists and receiving tourists. This paper reports on a study that used focus group interviews with employees in an upscale hotel in Hong Kong, a special administrative region in China, on their views of the appraisal system that has been used. Research findings reveal that the system could be further improved.     

Determinants of hotel guests’ satisfaction and repeat patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry

This study examined the relative importance of hotel factors in relation to travelers’ overall satisfaction levels with their hotel stays in Hong Kong and the likelihood of returning to the same hotels in their subsequent trips. Using a factor analysis technique, the study identified seven hotel factors that were likely to influence customers’ choice intentions: ‘Staff Service Quality’, ‘Room Qualities’, ‘General Amenities’, ‘Business Services’, ‘Value’, ‘Security’ and ‘IDD Facilities’. Multiple regression analysis technique was then applied to examine the relative importance of each of these hotel factors in determining travelers’ overall satisfaction levels and their likelihood of returning to the same hotels. In order of importance, ‘Staff Service Quality’, ‘Room Qualities’ and ‘Value’ were the three most influential factors in determining travelers’ overall satisfaction levels and their likelihood of returning to the same hotels.     

Hotel controllers in the 21st century—a Hong Kong perspective on desired attributes

This empirical study carried out in Hong Kong set out to discover how aware are practicing on-property hotel controllers (OPHCs) and hospitality management graduates of desired attributes for the job of a hotel financial controller. It identified profiles of 21st century OPHCs ‘painted’ by practising OPHCs (practitioners) and graduates and matched these with profiles from recruitment specialists (recruiters) and studies reported in the literature on unit controllers in business generally and hotels specifically. The approach to the research, consisted of a quantitative analysis of secondary data that identified interviewees (practitioners, graduates and recruiters) and themes that were then investigated in primary data collection by qualitative methods (content analysis of discourse). The study found that graduates needed to better inform themselves of desired attributes (qualifications, skills and personality). However, practitioners and recruiters formed a consensus on profiles, both perceiving a distinction in profile between OPHCs in ‘international’ type hotels and ‘other’ types of hotel. Perceived attributes of OPHCs in ‘international’ hotels showed many similarities with their counterparts in business generally.     

Hotel Employees' Perception of the Statutory Minimum Wage Policy in Hong Kong

Employee compensation is one of the largest expenses for businesses. Given the labor-intensive nature of the hotel industry, hotel employees' perceptions of the statutory minimum wage (SMW) policy have become a major concern for hotel operators since the introduction of the policy in Hong Kong. This exploratory study examines these perceptions, together with hotel employees' job and compensation satisfaction and intention to leave, since the introduction of the SMW policy. A survey of 161 hotel employees in Hong Kong was carried out. Respondents demonstrated high awareness of the SMW policy but viewed its effect on the hotel industry as limited. The largest gap between the perceived importance of, and satisfaction with, a factor related to job satisfaction was found for the benefits package. As well as making a contribution to the academic literature, this study provides practical implications of the SMW policy for the hotel industry in Hong Kong and other countries considering adopting a similar measure.     

Hotels’ corporate social responsibility practices,organizational culture,firm reputation,and performance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are considered one of the key success factors influencing firm performance. However, how CSR practices should be integrated into an organization’s business practices has not been investigated empirically. The present research proposes an integrated model incorporating the interrelationships among CSR practices, organizational culture, and corporate reputation to improve firm performance in the hotel industry. The proposed model is developed using stakeholder theory and the perceptions of the general managers. According to the study’s results, organizational culture influences different dimensions of CSR. The results further indicate that hotels using CSR practices related to employees and customers strengthen their reputation. Through improved reputation, CSR practices positively influence firm performance. Furthermore, hotel managers perceive that CSR activities in the local community and related to the environment do not significantly affect a hotel’s reputation. Theoretical and practical implications are provided, and the limitations of the study and future lines of research are discussed.     

Competency analysis of top managers in the Taiwanese hotel industry

The purpose of this study was to identify top managers’ competencies in hotel unit leaders perceived to be most critical for career development, and using the Fuzzy Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process methods to determine perceptions of the importance of various competencies in different dimensions. This study uses snowball sampling methods to collect data from 25 hotel top managers and uses qualitative and quantitative surveys, including interviews, questionnaire review and a questionnaire survey. A two-stage research design is adopted to understand the differences in perceived competency requirements better. The analytical results demonstrate the required competencies of top managers in the hotel industry, and divide them into generic and technical dimensions, 18 competency domains, and 107 competency indices. The top three most important competency domains are “leadership,” “crisis management,” and “problem-solving.” The proposed management competency framework provides an important implication for educators, practitioners, and researchers.     

Does bureaucracy kill individual initiative? The impact of structure on organizational citizenship behavior in the hospitality industry

In their quest for improved service quality, hospitality organizations face a paradox. Standardization and centralization are generally perceived as essential to maintaining high service standards. These bureaucratic mechanisms, however, are suspected to have a negative impact on spontaneous “organizational citizenship” behaviors, which are equally essential for flawless service delivery. Empirical results from the Swiss hotel industry suggest that “helping” behavior is more widespread than “voice” behavior among hotel employees. The results also provide support for the hypothesis that “helping” and “voice” behaviors are negatively affected by a centralized organization structure. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Corporate social responsibility practices in four and five-star hotels: Perspectives from Hong Kong visitors

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of visitors to Hong Kong (HK) toward the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of its four-and five-star hotels. Adopting a quantitative approach, a questionnaire was developed based on the current CSR practices of nine four-and five-star HK hotels as identified from the Forbes Travel Guide (2012). A sample of 150 HK visitors was surveyed at the Victoria Peak, Avenue of Stars, and Ladies’ Market, respectively. Factor analysis was used to identify the CSR factors perceived by the respondents and a regression analysis performed to evaluate the specific relationship between them and HK visitors’ attitudes toward hotels adopting such practices. The results show that respondents identified five CSR factors (community, policy, mission and vision, workforce, and environment). Among these factors, environment and mission and vision had the strongest predictive power in explaining HK visitors’ preference to stay, willingness to pay, perception of service quality, and brand image. It is suggested that hotels should therefore emphasize these two areas in their CSR programs.     

The Importance of Hotel Attributes in Contributing to Travelers' Satisfaction in the Hong Kong Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study surveyed 402 international travelers to explore their satisfaction levels towards service and facility quality in three Hong Kong hotel market segments, High-Tariff A, High-Tariff B and Medium Tariff. Six perception dimensions were extracted from 33 hotel attributes by a factor analysis. All six dimensions had a significant impact on the overall satisfaction of travelers with service quality and facilities in the three Hong Kong hotel market segments. Quality of Staff Performance was the most influential factor followed by Quality of Room Facilities, Value for Money, Variety and Efficient Services, Business Related Services, and Safety and Security respectively. It was found that travelers had the lowest satisfaction level towards the Medium-Tariff hotel segment. By identifying the most influential hotel dimension in influencing travelers' satisfaction levels, hoteliers will be in an advantageous position to formulate tactics to meet the changing needs and expectations of travelers. Implementing human resources training that emphasizes the fact that service quality is part of each employee's job should have a significant impact on guest re-purchase intention. The importance of value segmentation cannot be overlooked by hoteliers. Travelers will continue to expect hotels to provide more value-for-money services and facilities and they are expected to shift their purchasing decision to an economic value basis.     

Branding destinations versus branding hotels in a gaming destination—Examining the nature and significance of co-branding effects in the case study of Macao

This paper considers destinations and hotels operating within a gaming destination as co-branded experiential choice products. Specifically, it examines the overall and individual effects of visitors’ perceived brand equity of a gaming destination and their perceived brand equity of various hotels, including ‘flagship’ or branded hotels, in terms of influencing their reaction to a hypothetical brand loyalty scenario in which their intended and preferred hotel was unable to provide accommodation thus forcing them to either: (1) choose an alternate hotel in the destination and continue with the visit, (2) cancel the trip and choose another destination to visit, or (3) insist on staying at the preferred hotel but postpone the trip at another period. The study's expectation is that visitors’ response to such a hypothetical scenario is moderated by the relative influence of their perceived brand equity for the destination and for hotels. The emergent gaming destination of Macao is used as a case study for this purpose. The study's findings indicate that visitors’ overall destination brand equity perceptions—rather than hotel brand equity perceptions—is robustly significant when it comes to influencing visitors’ response to the brand loyalty scenario. Results of the study indicate several relevant implications for destination management organizations (DMOs) seeking to enhance their destination-branding efforts and for hotel operators, especially internationally branded hotel chains.     

Investigation of Social Media Marketing: How Does the Hotel Industry in Hong Kong Perform in Marketing on Social Media Websites?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which social media marketing is being utilized in the Hong Kong hotel industry. Marketing performance of 67 hotels in Hong Kong on 23 social media sites was evaluated according to 18 criteria adapted from past studies. The results indicate that hotels generally have a poor performance in using social media to learn about customers. Major problems regarding the hotels' social media marketing efforts are identified. Implications behind these problems and recommendations for improvement are made accordingly.     

What drives employees’ intentions to implement green practices in hotels? The role of knowledge,awareness, concern and ecological behaviour

This study investigates the effects of three green triggers – environmental knowledge, environmental awareness and environmental concern – and employees’ ecological behaviour on their intentions to implement green practices in hotel companies. Data was collected through a survey from 438 hotel employees in Hong Kong and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that the three green triggers are positively associated with ecological behaviour and ecological behaviour is positively associated with intention to implement green practices in hotels. Additionally, ecological behaviour mediates the relationship between the three green triggers and intentions to implement. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

An Examination of the Relationship Between Employee Perception and Hotel Brand Equity

Brand management stresses the importance of satisfying the needs of external customers. Employee branding management shows an evolving trend as employees begin living the brand. It is, therefore, necessary that employees are convinced by the hotel brand prior to having confidence to “sell” the brand to customers. The present study aims to investigate employee perception toward hotel brand equity, particularly in the Hong Kong hotel industry. Factor analysis is used to identify four underlying factors—namely, employee commitment, employee engagement, employee identification, and service quality. The four constitute the perception of the employee on the evaluation of the brand. Correlation analysis is employed to examine relationship among the underlying factors and three dimensions of hotel brand equity—including brand image, brand awareness, and perceived quality. Moderate association is generally noted, and perceived quality has the most significant relationship with employee perception on brand equity. Managerial implications on employee branding management are introduced to hotel management. Topics for future research are also recommended.     

Social responsibility and total quality in the hospitality industry: does gender matter?

This empirical study examines the role of gender diversity in top management teams (TMTs) and their impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is an underexplored topic within the hotel sector. Based on stakeholder theory, we argue that the relationship between gender diversity and hotel performance is indirect and mediated by CSR. Our study also analyses how the implementation of total quality management (TQM) and CSR influences hotel stakeholder results, and hence business performance. Using a sample of Spanish hotels, we provide evidence that gender diversity in TMTs increases the level of implementation of CSR within the hotel industry. The results show that the impact of gender diversity on hotel performance is mediated by CSR. The findings also suggest that the adoption of TQM and CSR management philosophies improves the capacity of hotels to benefit their stakeholders, and that this improvement has a positive effect on hotel performance.     

Exploratory study of understanding hotel employees’ perception on work–life balance issues

This paper explores hotel employees’ perception on work–life balance issues. In-depth interviews and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data. Factor analysis discovered seven factors: (1) enough time-off from work; (2) workplace support on work–life balance; (3) allegiance to work; (4) flexibility on work schedule; (5) life orientation; (6) voluntary reduction of contracted hours to cater for personal needs; and (7) upkeep the work and career—the determinants perceived by employees to attain “better” work–life balance in the dynamic hotel environment. Adopting an employee-centric and integrative approach are the critical success factors for implementation of a work–life balance program.