Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research recent issues

A World Ranking of the Top 100 Hospitality and Tourism Programs

Severt, D. E., Tesone, D. V., Bottorff, T. J., Carpenter, M. L. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

The article provides an analysis of scholarly contributions to 11 hospitality and tourism refereed journals for the years 2002 to 2006. It presents the top 100 programs as ranked by instances of publications across 11 journals for a recent 5-year period. For the 5-year period, results indicate The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the top position based on sums of instances, authors, and articles. Second, the researchers updated, modified, and extended a previous study published by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research for similar information for the years 1992 to 2001. Following the update, an additional 15-year aggregate snapshot of research output for top producing institutions provided a top 18 over the last 15-year period. Next, researchers provide an updated analysis by contribution and world region among the specific journals with results indicating a large growth in the number of articles produced in Asia going from 6% of all publications over the earlier 10-year period from 1992 through 2001 to nearly 15% of published articles over the past 5-year period from 2002 through 2006. The article concludes with suggestions for the extension of similar studies and provides implications for hospitality and tourism educators.

Dining for Safety: Consumer Perceptions of Food Safety and Eating Out

Knight, A. J., Worosz, M. R., Todd, E. C. D. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

This study investigates whether perceptions about food safety are related to how often consumers eat at restaurants. More specifically, it examines how the following affect the frequency of eating at restaurants: (a) concern about food safety issues, (b) food safety performance of restaurants, (c) how often consumers think about food safety, (d) the belief of having had food poisoning, (e) knowledge about food safety, and (f) sociodemographic variables. Using data from a nationwide telephone survey conducted with 1,014 randomly selected U.S. adults, the results indicated that perceptions of food safety do influence how often consumers eat at restaurants. Concern about food safety issues, thinking about food safety, and having experienced food poisoning were related to frequency of dining out. When comparing those who eat at restaurants rarely, occasionally, and often, most of the significant differences were between those who eat at restaurants rarely and those who dine out occasionally or often.

The Roles of the Physical Environment, Price Perception, and Customer Satisfaction in Determining Customer Loyalty in the Restaurant Industry

Han, H., Ryu, K. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

This research aims to examine the relationships among three components of the physical environment (i.e., décor and artifacts, spatial layout, and ambient conditions), price perception, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the restaurant industry. A total of 279 cases from a survey were used to assess overall fit of the proposed model and test hypotheses using structural equation modeling. The three factors of the physical environment strongly influenced how customers perceived price, and this price perception, in turn, enhanced customer satisfaction level and directly/indirectly influenced customer loyalty. Décor and artifacts were the most significant predictors of price perception among the three components of the physical environment. Furthermore, both price perception and customer satisfaction played significant partial/complete mediating roles in the proposed model. The paper provides potential ways for restaurateurs to increase customer loyalty by improving their understanding of the roles of physical environment, price perception, and customer satisfaction.

Activity-Based Costing in the Hospitality Industry: Evidence From Greece

Pavlatos, O., Paggios, I. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

The purpose of this article is to provide some empirical evidence of the current general trends regarding the practical consideration, adoption, and use of activity-based costing (ABC) in the hospitality industry. To this end, a survey was conducted with 85 firms of the Greek hotel sector with the use of questionnaires. Results showed that the adoption rate of an ABC system could be considered rather satisfactory. For the hotels that have adopted ABC, the survey showed that they apply it throughout all the core areas of management accounting, especially in pricing decisions and customer’s profitability analysis. The nonusers reported that the main reason for rejecting it is the satisfaction of the existing cost accounting system and the high cost of an ABC implementation.

Country Club Members' Perceptions of Value, Image Congruence, and Switching Costs: an Exploratory Study of Country Club Members' Loyalty

Back, K.-J., Lee, J.-S. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships among perceived value, member satisfaction, switching costs, and member loyalty in the country club industry. In particular, this study sought to ascertain the mediating role of member satisfaction in the relationships centered on value—loyalty and image congruence—loyalty and the moderating role of switching costs in the member satisfaction—loyalty relationship. The results revealed a significant mediating effect of member satisfaction, whereas switching costs did not play a significant moderating role in the member satisfaction—loyalty relationship. Findings from this study will enhance understanding of how to cultivate club member loyalty.

The Use of Acceptable Customer Waiting Times for Capacity Management in a Multistage Restaurant

Hwang, J., Lambert, C. U. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

This study took an integrated approach to restaurant capacity management by capturing major types of capacity and multiple stages of service and incorporating customers’ expectations. A simulation was used to measure the current restaurant’s performance in meeting the waiting time standards and to identify the threshold requirements of resources to meet the different levels of customer expectations of waiting times. The results showed that the current restaurant needed to adjust capacity levels to meet the customer service standards, and more than one combination of multiresource thresholds existed because the threshold level of each resource varied with the other types of resources.

Research Conferences

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:48:43 PDT

Defining the Hospitality Discipline: a Discussion of Pedagogical and Research Implications

Ottenbacher, M., Harrington, R., Parsa, H.G. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

Hospitality is one of the oldest professions and is regarded as a powerful economic activity that touches many aspects of human life. On the other hand, hospitality is a relatively new academic discipline that has no consensus on its scope and exposure. This obvious absence of consensus on the scope of the hospitality field has been a limiting factor in advancing the discipline-specific research agenda and teaching practices that affect this field. In response to this lack of clarity in definition or understanding of the field of hospitality, this article discusses a variety of definitions for hospitality and presents how a variety of researchers have classified hospitality in earlier research. The author argues that the term hospitality is a broad term or a construct, consisting of a diverse group of industries. This situation creates substantial issues in terms of the external validity of empirical studies in the hospitality literature, and raises the question of whether unique and identifiable dimensions of hospitality exist that separates it as an independent field of study from the other social sciences. In fact, it is argued that the lack of definitional consensus on the term hospitality significantly impairs the pedagogical integrity, thus, affecting the ability to establish the epistemological roots of the new and emerging hospitality discipline. In the current study, a conceptual classification of the term hospitality is suggested, and research issues in assessment of the multidimensional nature of the hospitality construct are described.

A Two-Stage Approach To Efficiency Modeling: an Application To the Australian Hospital Food Production Industry

Assaf, A., Matawie, K.M. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

In this article, the authors have considered the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to calculate and analyze the level of technical, allocative, and cost efficiencies of Australian hospital foodservice operations. Based on the DEA outcomes, a Tobit regression model was then introduced to show the significance of some management characteristics on the level of each of the derived DEA efficiency. This two-stage method was tested on a sample of 89 hospital foodservice operations, representing all the states of Australia. The analysis showed that the average DEA indices of technical, allocative, and cost efficiencies were 65.3%, 81.5%, and 52.3%, respectively. This indicated that allocative efficiency is more significant than technical efficiency as a source of improvement in cost efficiency. The results from the statistical model highlighted the importance of managers' education and experience in improving the level of technical, allocative, and cost efficiencies in hospital foodservice operations.

Family Restaurant Brand Personality and Its Impact On Customer's eMotion, Satisfaction, and Brand Loyalty

Lee, Y.-K., Back, K.-J., Kim, J.-Y. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of restaurant brand personality on customer's emotions (positive and negative), customer satisfaction, and brand loyalty using structural equation models. The study also explores the applicability of the five-factor model of brand personality scales to the restaurant industry. Empirical data were gathered from 475 diners at five properties of a chain restaurant via survey questionnaires. This study confirms five brand personality dimensions in the restaurant industry. Also, the study findings suggest that customers' emotions play the dominant role in explaining satisfaction and brand loyalty. Marketers would gain much by continuously monitoring restaurant customers' perceptions of restaurant brand personality.

Hong Kong Hotels' Sewage: Environmental Cost and Saving Technique

Chan, W., Wong, K., Lo, J. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

With the continuing strong growth in international arrivals to Hong Kong, more hotels are planning to open in the coming years. The sewage problem stemming from local hotels is expected to be worsened. The current study covers the years 1998 to 2005, plus a projection for the years 2006 to 2009. A survey of water use and conservation in 28 local hotels has been conducted. All established norms and ratios related to water consumption in this study are on a per room basis. The environmental impact of sewage discharged is converted into monetary terms on the basis of how much the hotel industry would need to spend in order to avoid the impacts. It is found that the average volume of water consumed per occupied room decreased from 1.145m³ in 1994-1996 to 0.904m³ in 2001-2002. In 2005, the environmental costs value was more than HK$187 million and exceeded HK$364 million in 2008. It is also found that flow regulator and submeter are the two most commonly used water-saving devices in local hotels. Some recommendations are made to save water, particularly in the laundry, kitchen, and guestroom.

Simultaneous Impacts of International Diversification and Financial Leverage On Profitability

Jang, S., Tang, C.-H. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

This study examines international diversification and financial leverage in a simultaneous equations model to understand how they affect profitability after accounting for the endogeneity between strategic and financial decisions. An analysis of hotel companies showed an inverted U-shaped relationship between financial leverage and profitability, implying an optimal leverage pattern for maximum profitability. The study also found that international diversification significantly, but only indirectly, influences the profitability of hotel firms through the moderating role of leverage. This indicates that financial leverage is more closely related to profitability than international diversification. However, the results also suggest that the effect of international diversification still needs to be considered when making financial decisions.

The Effect of Management Commitment To Service On Employee Service Behaviors: the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

Hyun Jeong Kim, , Tavitiyaman, P., Woo Gon Kim, — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

This study focuses on the effect of four management-commitment-to-service factors (i.e., organizational support, rewards, empowerment, and training) on employees' job satisfaction and service behaviors. Ten hotels, located in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, participated in this study. The structural equation model using Thai hotel workers indicated that rewards, empowerment, and training are positively related to job satisfaction but did not support a path from organizational support to job satisfaction. The positive impact of empowerment on employees' job satisfaction in a high-power-distance culture such as Thailand was an unexpected finding. It may result from proper training and reward systems offered to young Thai frontline employees who are familiar with and favor U.S. (Western) culture. Furthermore, job satisfaction was found to have a significant influence on Thai employees' extra-role customer service behaviors and cooperation. In summary, this study shows that job satisfaction serves as a mediator between three management service initiatives (rewards, empowerment, and training) and employees' service behaviors toward customers and coworkers.

The Relation Between Interest Rate Derivatives, Debt Maturity Structure, and Exposure in the Lodging Industry

Singh, A. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation between interest rate derivatives, interest rate exposure, and debt maturity structure in a sample of lodging firms from 2000 to 2004. Lodging firms face greater exposure from their debt liabilities compared with exposure from their operating cash flows. The results show that small unrated firms are more likely to issue short-term debt and swap into fixed-rate debt to reduce exposure to interest rate risk. On the other hand, larger and highly rated firms will swap from fixed debt into floating-rate debt. The results are robust to alternative specifications and also provide support for the agency cost and information asymmetry theoretical arguments for using interest rate derivatives. In addition, the yield spread, interest rate exposure, and debt ratings are determined to be significant factors in explaining interest rate derivative positions.

Corporate Social Responsibility Within the U.S. Lodging Industry: an Exploratory Study

Gard McGehee, N., Wattanakamolchai, S., Perdue, R. R., Onat Calvert, E. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

This exploratory study examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the lodging industry by measuring the contributions to communities made by lodging properties throughout the United States. This work is significant for two reasons: (a) It attempts to develop a theoretical foundation for CSR within the U.S. lodging industry; (b) it signifies one of the first attempts to quantify one component of CSR, corporate giving, within the U.S. lodging industry. A random sample of lodging properties in the United States was surveyed, and they were asked to report their various contributions to community. Although a limited response prevented generalizability, based on 421 responding properties, regression analysis suggested that the industry made various contributions worth more than $815 million or 3.6% of total industry profits in 2005. The results also showed that a number of structural variables affected the quantified social component of CSR among lodging properties as well as the existence of CSR written policies, processes, and principles.

Have the Perceptions of the Successful Factors for Travel Web Sites Changed Over Time? the Case of Consumers in Hong Kong

Cheung, C., Law, R. — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

This research note reports on a study about online consumers' view on the successful factors for travel Web sites. Empirical evidence from a large scale domestic Omnibus survey conducted in 2007 revealed that 31.8% of the interviewed Hong Kong residents had visited at least one travel Web site in the past 2 years and that 17.6% of this group of respondents had also made online purchases on travel-related products. These results showed an increasing percentage of both online browsers and purchasers compared with a similar study conducted in 2000. More important, when comparing the views of online purchasers with online browsers, significant differences are found on their perceptions of "secure payment methods" and "online booking and confirmation."

Research Conferences

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:48 PDT

The Impact of Government Weekend Policy Changes and Foreign Institutional Holdings On Weekly Effect of Tourism Stock Performance

Chen, M.-H., Woo Gon Kim, , Liao, C.-N. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

Since the Taiwanese government implemented a 2-day weekend policy, traveling activities have become increasingly popular, and foreign institutional holdings (FIHs) on stocks of tourism firms have soared. This study investigates the influence of the weekend policy changes and increasing FIHs on the weekly effect of tourism stock returns over the period between 1994 and 2004. First, this study tests whether there is any weekly effect of tourism stock returns and whether weekly effects, if any, persist or diminish after the weekend policy changes. It is found that a significantly negative Tuesday effect on tourism stock returns existed. Second, the impact of the increasing FIHs on the negative Tuesday effect is examined. The increasing FIHs on tourism stocks not only weaken the negative Tuesday effect, but also decrease the risk of negative Tuesday returns. Policy implications based on the main findings are provided to guide tourism business managers, policy makers and investors.

Understanding Travelers' Experiences of Gastronomy Through Etymology and Narration

Kivela, J. J., Crotts, J. C. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

Gastronomy is an important attribute in the development of niche travel and niche destinations, and although related literature supports the view that there is a connection between tourism and gastronomy, little is known about culinary tourists, which prompt these following questions: Does a destination's gastronomy contribute to the quality of the travelers' experiences while they are visiting the destination? Is there a culinary travel market segment, and who are these travelers? Do travelers return to the destination to resample its culinary delights? Through examples from in-depth interviews with travelers, this article addresses how individual and group leisure travelers manifest socially constructed narratives about the destination's gastronomy and culinaria. Such expressions are carried out through consumption and experiences of food and of culture though food. It is argued that accounts and stories of the destination's gastronomy and culinaria work particularly well in individuals' efforts to "narrate experiences and feelings." The study's objective, therefore, is to identify areas of commonality in the way in which travelers perceived and experienced gastronomy while visiting a destination. Specifically, the study aimed to determine (a) whether the destination's gastronomy contributed to the quality of visitors' experience, (b) whether visitors would return to the destination because of its gastronomy, and (c) whether culinary travelers represent a distinct market segment of an overall visitor market. This is a follow-up qualitative study to Kivela and Crotts (2006), which was also undertaken in Hong Kong and Macau. Qualitative feedback from the study reaffirms that as a contemporary cultural resource, gastronomy satisfies all the conventional requirements of cultural tourism products. Evidence suggests that motivation to travel for gastronomy reasons is a valid construct for the purposes of market segmentation. Qualitative results of the interview analysis reveal that gastronomy plays a major role in the way that visitors experience a destination and indicate that some travelers would return to the same destination to savor its unique gastronomy.

Stakeholder Service Perspectives: a Triadic Analysis of Service Quality in South Mississippi Fine Dining Restaurants

Oubre, J. J., Brown, D. M. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

The primary goal of this study was to replicate and extend earlier work by Fallon and Schofield that examined the relationship between customer, wait staff and manager perceptions in fine dining restaurants. Subjects included 266 participants from three fine-dining restaurants in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Participants completed a survey instrument revised from the Fallon and Schofield instrument. Participants ranked the most important question in each section of the survey instrument to determine which factor in each quality dimension was most important. There were no significant differences among the participants by restaurant. Composite data were examined to identify differences in perception among participants using analysis of variance. A relationship between wait staff and customers confirmed the earlier work by Fallon and Schofield that managers ranked quality service dimensions higher than other participant groups. Customers ranked service higher as compared with wait staff, which is a new finding for this research.

Linking Marketing Efforts To Financial Outcome: an Exploratory Study in Tourism and Hospitality Contexts

Denizci, B., Li, X. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

The purpose of this article is to improve the understanding of the marketing-finance interface by developing a model to capture the relationship between marketing efforts and the creation of owners' firm-related wealth in tourism and hospitality industries. In addition, this study combines the balance sheet and income statement—driven measures (i.e., profit margin, Tobin's q) and off-income-statement measures (i.e., customer satisfaction score) to assess the effect of marketing efforts on a firm's financial performance. The findings indicate that marketing efforts indeed affect the owner's firm-related wealth as measured by financial performance variables. Overall, this study provides a valuable benchmark for further research in the area of marketing productivity in the tourism and hospitality industries.

The Effects of Relational Benefits On Customers' Perception of Favorable Inequity, Affective Commitment, and Repurchase Intention in Full-Service Restaurants

Kim, W., Ok, C. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

The purpose of this study is to investigate how relational benefits (including confidence benefits, social benefits, and special treatment benefits) affect customers' perceptions of favorable inequity and affective commitment, and thus ultimately affect customer retention. The study first develops and presents a conceptual model of the relationships that exist between the constructs of "relational benefits," "favorable inequity," "affective commitment," and "repurchase intention." This model is then empirically tested using 411 sample long-term customers of full-service restaurants. The results indicate that relational benefits trigger customers' perceptions of being favorably treated and that these perceptions, in turn, induce customers to form an affective commitment and repurchase intention with respect to particular restaurants. The study confirms the strategic importance of relational benefits in fostering relationships with long-term customers in the context of full-service restaurants.

Are Late Life Gamblers a Lucrative Market in Gambling Tourism? a Case Study of Iowa, United States

Chhabra, D. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

This study investigated the lucrative potential of late life gamblers in terms of spending, switching, travel, and economic impact. It further offered comparisons with the non—late life cohort. A rigorous process of statistical testing indicated both similarities and dissimilarities between the older and the younger cohorts. Switching emerged as a significant predictor of spending. The economic impact model using IMPLAN software afterward indicated significant economic potential of the late life market in terms of direct, indirect, and induced impacts.

Research Conferences

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:59:57 PDT

An Empirical Study of Forecast Combination in Tourism

Haiyan Song, , Witt, S. F., Wong, K. F., Wu, D. C. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

The performance of forecast combination techniques is explored at different time horizons in the context of tourism demand forecasting. Statistical comparisons between the combination and single-model forecasts show that the combined forecasts are significantly more accurate than the average single-model forecasts across all forecasting horizons and for all combination methods. This provides a strong recommendation for forecast combination in tourism. In addition, the empirical results indicate that forecast accuracy does not improve as the number of models included in the combination forecasts increases. It also appears that combining forecasts may be more beneficial for longer-term forecasting.

An Examination of Attendee Brand Loyalty: Understanding the Moderator of Behavioral Brand Loyalty

Lee, J.-S., Back, K.-J. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

Retention of brand-loyal attendees induces deep commitment to an association meeting and great resistance to other conferences'marketing efforts, thereby contributing to high revenue and market share. This study provides additional information about the path from brand satisfaction to attitudinal brand loyalty (ABL) via brand trust through updated expectation of brand value (UEBV) as a mediator on the brand satisfaction—brand trust path. Also, the study investigates the differential tendencies to ABL by high and low behavioral brand loyalty (BBL) attendees within the conceptual model. According to the structural invariance test across two groups, (a) all paths showed significantly positive signs, (b) UEBV was found to serve as a mediator, and (c) BBL was supported as a moderator except for the brand trust—ABL path. Unexpectedly, low BBL attendees showed a stronger tendency toward the path from brand satisfaction to brand trust than did high BBL attendees. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Affect, Travel Motivation, and Travel Intention: a Senior Market

Jang, S., Bai, B., Hu, C., Wu, C.-M. E. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

The senior tourism market has received increased attention as the importance of this market segment becomes more evident. However, limited efforts have been devoted to understanding psychological aspects of senior tourists. The primary objectives of this research are to investigate seniors' affect and travel motivation as well as interrelationships between these two constructs and to discover the effects of affect and motivation on travel intentions of seniors aged 65 or greater. Using Taiwanese seniors as the study sample, the authors identify "novelty seeking" as the most important travel motivation factor from five extracted factors. It is also found that both positive and negative affective states have significant impacts on travel motivations and that only positive affect is significantly related to future travel intention. Among motivation factors, novelty-seeking not only can be stimulated by affect but also arouses travel intention. The findings of this exploratory study provide empirical support to understand psychological aspects of senior travelers.

Individual Change Schemas, Core Discussion Network, and Participation in Change: an Exploratory Study of Macau Casino Employees

Liu, W.-p., Lui, S. S., Man, D. C. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

Individuals'participation in organizational change is crucial to the success of a change initiative. We propose that such participation is based on three aspects of individual change schemas: change salience, change valence, and change inference. We further propose that the core discussion network of individuals may moderate the relationships between their change schemas and their participation in change. Using a sample of employees from a major casino operation in Macau, which suddenly faced intense competition after enjoying a 40-year monopoly, this study empirically examines how individuals' change schemas, participation in change, and core discussion network are related. The results support most of the hypotheses. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Price-Sensitivity Measurement: a Tool for Restaurant Menu Pricing

Raab, C., Mayer, K., Kim, Y.-S., Shoemaker, S. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

Setting the correct price for hospitality products is a crucial management task that has a major influence on a firm's profitability. In general, there has been a lack of academic interest in the area of pricing in services. The restaurant industry typically establishes prices by marking up a variable cost percentage and by intuition, or by trial-and-error methods. This study illustrates how restaurant managers can use price-sensitivity measurement to assess their guests' price sensitivity. By means of a relatively simple survey, restaurant managers can gain insights about their menu pricing directly from their customers. This study uses data collected from a Hong Kong buffet restaurant, but the technique could be applied in virtually any restaurant setting. The results reveal price ranges that represent real value for dinner buffet patrons.

The Effect of Preconsumption Mood and Service Recovery Measures On Customer Evaluations and Behavior in a Strategic Alliance Setting

Weber, K., Sparks, B. — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

In recent years, researchers have devoted considerable attention to the study of service failure and recovery, predominantly focusing on the impact of a single service failure event. More recently, several researchers have begun to investigate how multiple service failures over an extended time period influence consumer evaluations. However, current research has ignored the impacts of service failures and recovery measures in situations in which two or more service organizations are involved in the service provision, as is the case in a strategic alliance setting. The present study reports on an experiment that investigated the impact of preconsumption mood and service recovery measures on consumer evaluations in an airline alliance setting. The implications of the study results, both theoretical and managerial, will be discussed and future research directions proposed.

Research Conferences

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST

1ST CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS 8th Asia Pacific Forum for Graduate Students' Research in Tourism

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:35:02 PST