Explaining regional economic multipliers of tourism: does cross-regional heterogeneity exist?

This study investigates the determinants of tourism-related economic multipliers, which are calibrated from regional input–output tables of 30 Chinese provinces. Several latent class regression models are applied to capture cross-regional heterogeneity and investigate the determinants of output, income, and employment multipliers. Results indicate that the level of economic development is positively associated with output multiplier, and it is also positively associated with employment multiplier when the multiplier is large. Moreover, the size of tourism economy is negatively associated with employment multiplier when the multiplier is small. Some policy implications are presented based on empirical results.     

Volunteers as tour guides: a stakeholder–agency theory case study†

The use of volunteer tour guides by commercial tour operators has attracted little scholarly attention. This paper presents a qualitative case study of a commercially organized tour led by volunteer tour guides, and explores how the guides' status as volunteers shaped experiences of tour customers. Analysis, underpinned by stakeholder–agency theory, highlighted a range of service delivery issues that emerged during the tour. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed, with particular reference to how tour operators might negotiate the vexed issue of managing service delivery quality in the context of tour services paid for by customers, yet delivered by volunteers. Further research is required to explore potential differences in the willingness of tour operators to invest in human resource development initiatives for paid versus volunteer tour guides, along with possible flow-on implications for tour guides' role performance and customer satisfaction.     

The host–guest interactions in ethnic tourism,Lijiang, China

One key way to understand the influences of tourism on destination communities is through host–guest interactions. Yet most current studies on host–guest interactions focus on their nature and outcomes, and rarely on the microscopic process. This study focuses on one local resident’s home located in Baisha Town, Lijiang, China, and investigates in depth the interaction processes there. By focusing on the intense interactions at the micro level, this study finds that locals and tourists often shifted the roles they played in the interactions between them. Also, the locals seem to be more active in the role shifting. The power of locals arises from their control of local knowledge and their usage of their private houses for business.     

Royalty bargaining in Public–Private Partnership projects: Insights from a theoretic three-stage game auction model

This study presents a transformed first-price sealed-bid auction with independent private values to determine the equilibrium royalties and subsidies in Public–Private Partnerships. The proposed model implies that royalties and subsidies are influenced by the true values bidders assign to a target project and the payoff received by a government from taking up its outside options instead of its bargaining power. In addition, such payoff is vulnerable to collusion. A real case is also detailed to show how reported signals, royalties and subsidies are determined in different cases.     

Cournot and Bertrand Competition when Advertising Rotates Demand: The Case of Honda and Scion

We develop a model to explain why firm behavior differs in the market for small cars. Firms such as Honda compete in output (Cournot) and produce marketing campaigns with universal appeal, while firms such as Scion compete in price (Bertrand) and produce targeted marketing campaigns. We show that this mixture of Cournot and Bertrand behavior can occur when advertising rotates demand. When behaving as a Cournot-type firm such as Honda, it is more profitable to pursue a mass-market advertising campaign that rotates demand counterclockwise when it faces relatively low unit costs and a flat demand function. When behaving as a Bertrand-type firm such as Scion, it pays to pursue a niche-market advertising campaign that rotates demand clockwise when it faces relatively high unit costs and a steep demand.     

“I’ll wait for him”: Understanding when female shoppers prefer working with gay male sales associates

This article explores an under-researched area in retailing; namely, straight female shoppers’ preferences for working with gay male sales associates. Study 1 employs qualitative methodology to show that female shoppers often prefer working with gay male sales associates when they are older or heavier than female sales associates. Study 2 employs experimental methodology to show that female shoppers desire to work with gay male associates more than their straight male counterparts when they are purchasing merchandise requiring non-sexual intimacy, such as apparel and cosmetics. The results should help retailers understand why many female shoppers willingly, and comfortably, work with gay male sales associates and the role of gay associates in various retail departments.     

Supervisors' overtime hours,abusive supervision and leader–member exchange: How supervisors' long work hours harm their relationships with subordinates

The current research examines the consequences of supervisors' overtime hours on subordinates. Drawing upon the stressor-emotion model of counterproductive behaviors, we argue that supervisors' overtime hours positively relate to abusive supervision behaviors through negative emotions, which in turn undermine leader–member exchange relationships. We further posit that this process is exacerbated among subordinates with a strong relational self-concept. Multisource multilevel data collected from an organizational sample of 181 employees and longitudinal data from 416 employees from multiple organizations support our predictions. This research indicates that the consequences of working overtime extend beyond supervisors, as subordinates may be negatively affected when their supervisors work long hours. We discuss implications for both theory and practice.     

Agents or stewards in community forestry enterprises? Lessons from the Mayan Biosphere Reserve,Guatemala

Community forestry enterprises are increasing participation in forestry activity and have become a favoured approach for reaching goals of conservation, poverty reduction and community development. Much has been written about the importance of supportive policy frameworks, technical assistance, the broader market in which these enterprises operate and the need for more significant control by communities over forests and their benefits through secure resource rights as key points of action. However, there is still a considerable knowledge gap in terms of understanding their organizational behaviour and how it affects the accomplishment of their goals. This paper takes a first step in filling this gap and analyses managerial behaviour in CFEs through the use of theories on principal–agent relationships. Data collected from CFEs in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve in Petén, Guatemala reveal important insights about managerial behaviour in these firms and how embeddedness of the CFE within the wider community plays a major role in managerial decision-making. Several policy implications are derived from these findings.