The Role of Cognitive Development and Socialization in the Initial Development of Team Loyalty

Using Piaget's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the present study examines when children first begin to demonstrate team loyalty. An interview and testing protocol was administered to children aged 5-6 and 8-9. Preoperational, transitional, and concrete operational children were capable of demonstrating a psychological commitment to a favorite team that was resistant to change, but not the behavioral consistency indicative of loyalty. The current study demonstrates that children form preferences for sports teams early in life and that they are capable of forming a commitment to a sports team as young as age 5. The present study is one of the first efforts to include a transitional phase in the assessment of cognitive development. Results from the interviews showed that fathers were the most influential socializing agent relative to introducing children to sports teams and that the gender stereotype associating sports with males was prevalent among children in both age groups.     

A Structural Model of Leisure Constraints Negotiation in Outdoor Recreation

A conceptual model tested the leisure constraints negotiation process of outdoor recreation: motivation and the constraints to participate likely influenced by negotiation efforts. Higher motivation to participate encourages using negotiation strategies and resources to overcome constraints. Experiencing constraints was thought to trigger negotiation efforts. Drawing from social cognitive theory, negotiation-efficacy was proposed to encourage motivation, diminish the perception of constraints and promote negotiation efforts, which indirectly influenced positive participation. The model tested used data collected from a random sample of Arizona residents through hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results support the conceptual model and suggest the constraints negotiation process is a dynamic interaction of influences promoting outdoor recreation participation.     

Resource recombinations in the firm: knowledge structures and the potential for schumpeterian innovation

Building on the resource-based view of the firm, this paper explores the notion of ‘resource recombinations’ within the firm. We suggest such recombinations can occur when competencies within the firm (which are interpreted as organized clusters of firm resources) either combine to synthesize novel competencies (synthesis-based recombinations) or experience a reconfiguration or relinking with other competencies (reconfiguration-based recombinations). Central to this paper is an examination of the antecedents necessary for such innovation to occur, and in particular the nature of knowledge in the firm. We argue that several characteristics of knowledge (tacitness, context specificity, dispersion) and its social organization (the way competencies come to be formed and institutionalized) will have important consequences on the likelihoods of resource recombinations. Our paper develops a model of resource recombination likelihoods and propositions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Khat-chewing in liminal leisure spaces: British-Somali youth on the margins

Khat-chewing, a controversial leisure activity within the Somali diaspora in Britain, has received little attention within the academic field of Leisure Studies. This paper reports on ethnographic research to provide insights into the unique locations where young British-Somali men chew khat, exposing the liminal qualities of such localities. The paper begins with an overview of the contentious position khat-chewing occupies within Somali communities in Britain, highlighting reasons why young British-Somali men hide their association with the leisure practice. The discussion that follows considers how young male khat users conceptualise spatial environments, exposing how these locations temporarily produce a dual sense of privacy and sociality. The ambiences of such temporary leisure spaces remain open to the prospect of discovery, resulting in the use of discretionary tactics to maintain a sense of secrecy. In this context, we discuss how khat-chewing offers a sense of cultural identity and belongingness while also marking young British-Somali men as outsiders – even within their own communities.     

Macroforces driving change into the new millennium — major challenges for the hospitality professional

The fast pace of change will present many challenges in the new millennium. The success of the leader of tomorrow will depend on how well he or she is able to identify the forces that will drive change, invest in industry leading competitive methods that will take advantage of the opportunities presented by these forces and consistently allocate resources to these methods. Identifying the forces driving change is the most challenging aspect of this co-alignment concept. This paper explores the macroforces, which can be expected to drive change, and possible impact they will have on the hospitality organization. These forces include: globalization and economic change, a knowledge-based environment, the future of labor and quality in service delivery systems, and the growing consumer desire for improved well-being. These forces are presented along with the key variables making them up with the goal of understanding their complexities and interdependencies.     

Fairness of prices,user fee policy and willingness to pay among visitors to a national forest

Imposing user fees in Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) contexts has been a controversial issue. Based on the notions of justice and fairness, this study extended previous work examining the relationship between attitudes toward user fees and spending support. In a proposed structural model of price fairness, fee spending support, and willingness to pay (WTP), this paper identified the antecedents of WTP user fees, and empirically examined to what extent the data fit the model. Furthermore, the moderating role of place attachment in the model was investigated by using multiple-group structural equation modeling. Subjects (n = 562) were recreational tourists to a forest area in the southeast U.S. Results revealed that spending support partially played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived price fairness and WTP user fees. A multiple-group invariance test also demonstrated that while the degree of place identity moderated the effect of price fairness on spending support, the degree of place dependence did not influence the relationships among the antecedents of WTP.     

What Do Rental Contracts Reveal About Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard in Rental Housing Markets?

This article examines the pricing of rental contracts for two types of renter households: those who are able to amass a large, up-front security deposit and those with little, or no, security to offer. Empirical tests are presented to suggest that, in dealing with renter households who have little, or no, security to offer, landlords earn at a similar rate of return as lenders who make riskier loans at a high interest rate to borrowers of dubious credit. The analysis suggests that this situation occurs in large part because of the problem of asymmetric information and moral hazard between landlords and renter households regarding the latter's use of the premises.