Factors influencing social capital in rural tourism communities in South Korea

This study aimed to identify the factors influencing social capital as it affects community conflict management for community residents in rural tourism villages. An on-site survey consisting of self-administered questionnaires was conducted with residents of rural tourism communities. These self-administered surveys were obtained from 380 community residents in the study area. A factor-clustering method identified distinct segments: high social capital (52%) and low social capital (47.7%). The estimation of a binary logistic regression model determined the characteristics of community residents who were most likely to be associated with each type of social capital. Results indicated that fruit, vegetable and rice farmers who also operated farm-stay businesses and rural activity programmes for tourists had the most social. We suggest that certain types of government policy programmes are helpful for increasing social capital and managing community conflicts by means of involvement in the tourism business.     

The role of relationship quality in integrated destination marketing

ABSTRACT

This study illustrates the role of the relationship quality perceived by the international public, which is increasingly discussed in public diplomacy research. It leads to the implications for integrated destination marketing of a host country in targeting the international public, where the host country is considered both as a tourism destination and as a place for business and investment. The study proposes a model illustrating the intervention of relationship quality in the way tourism destination image and country image are associated with tourism and business behavioral intentions. Empirical testing shows that image itself cannot assure that the international public would support the host country. Instead, it establishes the critical role of enhancing relationship quality.     

Employee job satisfaction and customer-oriented behavior: A study of frontline employees in the foodservice industry

ABSTRACT

As the significance of frontline employees increases in the foodservice industry, organizations are paying more attention to internal marketing and customer-oriented behavior for the success of their business. Thus, this study surveys restaurant employees to investigate the impact of development and rewards on job satisfaction and customer-oriented behavior from the perspective of restaurant employees. This study not only supports aspects of previous literature, but also proposes a testable and parsimonious research model by exploring development, rewards, job satisfaction, and customer-oriented behavior simultaneously and revealing how those factors are correlated. Finally, limitations and future research directions are addressed.     

Tourism's role in urban regeneration: examining the impact of environmental cues on emotion,satisfaction, loyalty,and support for Seoul's revitalized Cheonggyecheon stream district

This study explores the use of sustainable tourism as a tool for the regeneration and “greening” of urban areas. It is based on evidence from the revitalization of the Cheonggyecheon stream district in downtown Seoul, a process that emphasized nature conservation and recreational opportunities. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of environmental cues on emotion, satisfaction, loyalty, and support for the revitalized Cheonggyecheon stream district by applying a stimulus–organism–response framework. We conducted an on-site survey on visitors to Cheonggyecheon during November 2010. The results indicated that environmental cues from the revitalization arouse positive emotions that lead to visitor satisfaction and loyalty, which, in turn, bring about strong support for the stream and further tourism development. Structure and ambiance affected both positive emotion and satisfaction. Visitors appreciated not only nature, but also man-made facilities (e.g. culture center, artificial waterfall, fountain, artwork, stepping stones, lighting, signage, and nightly laser show) that aroused positive emotion and satisfaction. A strong case is made for long-term and holistic planning to maintain the natural and man-made surroundings of Cheonggyecheon in order for it to remain popular with visitors and residents. Discussions and implications are drawn from the findings.     

The value chain's use for the service industry

The value chain model (Porter, 1985) has been originally developed for manufacturing. Therefore, applying it to the service industry may cause several problems. This study examines the value chain's use for the service industry with particular reference to the hotel rooms division. Findings from the research show that the value chain technique is also useful for service organizations but its meaning in the strategic process is different from that for the manufacturing industry.     

Labor market outcomes under digital platform business models in the sharing economy: the case of the taxi services industry

Business Economics - This research investigates the effects of ride-sharing online platforms on the taxi and limousine industry. It also compares and contrasts labor market outcomes between...     

Do Poorly Governed Acquirers Transfer Wealth to Targets in Cross‐Border Acquisitions?

We use the number of antitakeover provisions (ATPs) as a proxy for corporate governance and examine its impact in US domestic and foreign acquisitions made by US acquirers. We find that the targets of poorly governed acquirers earn higher postannouncement premiums, despite controls for deal characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, and country‐level protections, suggesting that these acquirers overpay. Puzzlingly, in contrast with the domestic US findings of Masulis, Wang, and Xie, poorly governed acquirers in cross‐border deals experience higher announcement period returns. The relation between governance and target returns appears concave, but this nonlinearity disappears once differences in country‐level governance and deal characteristics are accounted for.     

Foreign direct investment motivations and knowledge acquisition from MNEs in overseas subsidiaries

Despite studies exploring factors affecting knowledge acquisition from multinational enterprises in subsidiaries, what accounts for a successful acquisition is unresolved. We argue that such disparity may stem from inattention to investment motivations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in foreign markets and to the fact that learning patterns of subsidiaries can be influenced by foreign firms' market‐seeking or efficiency‐seeking behaviors. We find that absorptive capacity in learning organizations and daily interactions with knowledge possessors are essential to learning from parent firms. In addition, active support from parent firms is particularly crucial for subsidiaries seeking to improve operational efficiency of MNEs. We also suggest that potential absorptive capacity plays a catalyst role in initiating knowledge acquisition, particularly in cases where MNEs have market‐seeking motivations. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do feminists still respond negatively to female nudity in advertising? Investigating the influence of feminist attitudes on reactions to sexual appeals

To test the belief that feminism and sexualization of women in advertising stand in opposition, this study employed a large US national sample (N = 1298) to examine how consumers’ feminist attitudes differentiate and predict their ethical judgment and ad-related evaluations of sexual images of women in advertisements. The results indicate that (1) consumers with higher feminist attitudes evaluated sexual ads more favorably than those having lower feminist attitudes, and (2) consumers’ feminist attitudes positively predict ad-related evaluations with full mediation of ethical judgment. These findings, which diverge from previous research, may indicate that contemporary feminists view sexual images of women differently than in previous decades. Theoretical and practical implications are described.