It’s in the air: Aroma marketing and affective response in the hotel world

Smell is considered to be the sense that is most closely attached to emotional reactions. This makes scent in the hotel environment an important atmospheric variable to study, because fragrances are expected to increase the likelihood of producing an emotional reaction from consumers. Capitalizing on smell’s ability to cue memories and conjure up emotions, the purpose of this research is to examine the emotional states evoked by various hotel scents in a hotel business in Hong Kong that uses scent throughout its premises. More specifically, this study intends to make a connection between the emotional states evoked by the hotel scents and how hotel businesses can make use of their guests’ emotional responses. Scent marketing is an overlooked subject in hospitality and tourism research.     

Holiday taking decisions – The role of spouses

Grounded in part the previous literature on household decision making and in part in the literature on tourism decision making, this paper tries to add to the literature by surveying Turkish academics with respect to spousal purchase decisions. In particular, the study assesses the decision tactics used for several consumer goods including vacation and travel and the link between decision tactics and consumer satisfaction/likelihood to produce positive word of mouth. The study findings confirm that spousal opinions matter and that compromise is a commonly used tactic, regardless of their features of durability (e.g. car, furniture) or non-durability (e.g. vacation, eating out), followed by the introduction of persuasion as the next most powerful tactic. Compromise is also positively associated with the level of consumer/tourist satisfaction with the product and the intention to recommend.     

The role of food service in tourist satisfaction

The paper is based on empirical investigation carried out amongst a 341-sample population visiting the Black Sea resorts of Romania in August 1997. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role and importance of food service in tourist satisfaction and to note any differences in satisfaction levels between regional groups. Analysis of the findings revealed that significant differences existed between three tourist groups’ satisfaction perceptions of value for money, quality of food, number of dishes, standard of food service, variety of dishes, presentation of food and speed of service in general; and of bread, coffee, meat and soup in particular. Overall results further indicated that quality of food, value for money, variety of dishes, attractiveness of surroundings and presentation of food were the attributes that most affected the overall food service experience in Romania. The paper concludes that food service is an important contributor to tourist satisfaction and that there are significant differences in satisfaction levels with food service between eastern and western European, and Romanian tourists.     

U.S. and Latin American stock market linkages

This paper examines to what extent the Latin American equity markets of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico have become more integrated with the US equity market. We empirically measure integration by finding the dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) between each market and that in the U.S. using a DCC multivariate GARCH model. We then track how these correlations evolve over time using a smooth transition model which not only shows when greater integration first occurred but also how long it took these correlations to transition to their new levels. Our sample period stretches from December 30th, 1988 to March 26th, 2004. Results show an increase in the degree of co-movement between these countries’ equity returns and those in the U.S. although the magnitude and speed of these increases greatly varies across these four countries.     

Simple Model of Resource Degradation and Agricultural Productivity in a Subsistence Economy

Resource degradation poses problems in many developing countries. In the model presented in the paper, current agricultural production lowers future land productivity. Since agents must produce to meet current subsistence needs, this can lead to a poverty trap in which land quality is continuously degraded over time. However, the model shows that not all subsistence farmers fall into this trap, although it might be difficult in practice to distinguish among those belonging to each case. The model also demonstrates why government programs such as income transfers, loans, and price controls might have differing effects upon economic outcomes depending upon the specific circumstances of farmers.     

Enrolment in Higher Education and Changes in Income Inequality

Using a cross‐section of countries, this paper empirically examines whether greater enrolment rates in higher education are associated with increases or decreases in subsequent income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient. It finds a negative association between the two, suggesting that countries with larger enrolment rates saw their income inequality decrease relative to other countries. These findings are robust to the inclusion of several control variables and to limiting the sample to non‐OECD countries.     

FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND RELIGION: A CROSS‐COUNTRY ANALYSIS

This paper empirically examines whether female labour force participation (FLFP) in a cross‐section of countries between 1985 and 2005 varies depending upon the religion practised in these countries. Using a cross‐sectional empirical specification, we initially find that FLFP is lower in Muslim countries. However, the association between Islam and FLFP greatly diminishes once other controls are included in the regression, suggesting that Islam might not diminish FLFP as some have argued. Moreover, once these additional controls are included, the association between Islam and FLFP is similar to that between Catholicism and FLFP. Countries where Protestantism is prevalent or where no religion is practised have higher FLFP. Finally, we find some evidence that the association between FLFP and religion is weakening over time.     

Critical Areas and Entry Points for Sustainability‐Related Strategies in the Sugarcane‐Based Ethanol Industry of Brazil

This study reveals five critical areas that Brazil's sugarcane‐based ethanol industry could capitalize on to incorporate sustainability into their firms' strategies. The emergent theoretical framework represents a starting point for further investigations aimed at integrating the sustainability construct and strategies for the industry. A growing body of literature calls for strategic management to adapt to complex and ever‐changing environments and sustainability trends. For many firms in developing economies, sustainability remains isolated from mainstream strategy, resulting in reactive approaches on the part of management. A qualitative research method – grounded theory – was used to induct from data. Five themes emerged from the analysis providing guidance on where sustainability‐related strategies ought to begin. This research posits that existing sectoral innovation systems could be used to channel sustainability‐driven innovations. In addition, a combination of public and private efforts to foster innovations based on the emergent themes could increase the value of industry under study, while lessening its social and environmental footprint. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Comparing Customer and Supplier Perceptions of Value Offerings: An Exploratory Assessment

This paper proposes an exploratory assessment of similarities and differences between the perceptions of suppliers and their customers about what is important in a value offering—and to which extent—in a specific business sector.     

Scale variable specification in a money demand function for Malaysia

We investigate what scale variable is most appropriate in the money demand function for Malaysia. Candidates include income, consumption, disposable income, and domestic absorption and these are considered for simple sum M1 and M2 and for Divisia M1 and M2. Non-nested tests and other model selection criteria such as R² are used. The non-nested tests for the M1 aggregates are inconclusive but more support is given for income as the scale variable for the M2 aggregates, especially for Divisia M2. The other procedures also show that income is preferred for M2 and some support is also given for income for the M1 aggregates.