Jingwen (Daisy) Huang, IpKin Anthony Wong, Qi Lilith Lian and Huiling Huang
What kind of robotic service do customers prefer when they dine out alone? This study aims to investigate how robotic service type affects solo diners’ attitude toward robotic…
Abstract
Purpose
What kind of robotic service do customers prefer when they dine out alone? This study aims to investigate how robotic service type affects solo diners’ attitude toward robotic service and restaurant revisit intention, through the mediation of rapport. It also examines the moderating effects of the need to belong and restaurant type.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were conducted. Study 1 used a one-factor between-subjects design to test the effect of robotic service type on rapport and solo diners’ responses. Study 2 conducted a 2 (robotic service type: service-delivery vs entertainment) × need to belong quasi-experimental design to examine the moderation of need to belong. Study 3 used a 2 (robotic service type: service-delivery vs entertainment) × 2 (restaurant type: traditional restaurant vs solo-friendly restaurant) factorial between-subjects design to test the moderation of restaurant type. A qualitative study (Study 4) complements the experimental results based on semistructured interviews.
Findings
Entertainment (vs service-delivery) robotic service has a stronger effect on solo diners’ responses, with rapport serving as a mediator. Additionally, solo diners with a heightened need to belong demonstrate an intensified rapport effect when receiving entertainment-oriented robotic service. Furthermore, restaurant type plays a moderating role between robotic service type and consumer responses. For traditional restaurants, solo diners who receive entertainment (vs service-delivery) robotic service tend to form stronger rapport and favorable responses. The results of the qualitative study elucidate and support the hypothesized relationships of the experimental studies.
Practical implications
Restaurant operators could consider offering entertainment-based smart devices that allow solo diners to indulge themselves during the dining encounter. Restaurants could also design environmental cues that can signify a sense of comfort, such as redesigning tables with individual seats for solo diners to enhance their perceptions of shared characteristics among other solo diners in the same space.
Originality/value
This research advances the literature on solo dining and robotic service, by investigating how human–robot interaction can fulfill solo diners’ relatedness goals, as self-determination theory suggests. This inquiry also represents an early attempt in the hospitality literature to empirically examine the influence of robotic service type on consumer responses through the mediation of rapport.
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Meeok Cho, Jaehee Jo, Taejin Jung and Natalie Kyung Won Kim
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the use of videoconferencing for communication between the audit committee (AC) and auditors affects the quality of client firms’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether the use of videoconferencing for communication between the audit committee (AC) and auditors affects the quality of client firms’ audits.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes the mandatory disclosure information on AC–auditors communication using 1,065 Korean listed firm-years for the fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The details of AC–auditor communication (i.e. the extent of firms’ use of videoconferencing) are manually collected from audit reports.
Findings
This study finds that videoconferencing has a negative impact on audit quality, suggesting that it is not an effective communication medium between AC and auditors. The results are robust to alternative research designs (e.g. entropy-balanced sample, propensity score matching analysis and change analysis) that address endogeneity concerns. This study also finds that while the negative effect of videoconferencing is mitigated by holding more frequent AC meetings, neither AC independence nor expertise mitigates this effect.
Research limitations/implications
This paper suggests that videoconferencing may affect audit quality by hurting the discussion between the AC and auditors.
Practical implications
The findings that videoconferencing impairs the effectiveness of ACs and thus lowers audit quality have practical implications as the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed how AC members and auditors interact. This study offers timely and valuable insights into the potential implications of these pandemic-induced changes on audit environments.
Originality/value
This study provides large-sample empirical evidence that directly examines the effect of videoconferencing on audit quality, enhancing the understanding of the communication dynamics between the AC and auditors. This study also contributes to the literature on the role of ACs in emerging markets by highlighting the information processing role of the AC.
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Prosper Bangwayo-Skeete and Ryan W. Skeete
Aficionados of wine festivals, a component of wine tourism experience, engage in vigorous online discussions that influence fellow travelers’ purchase behaviors. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Aficionados of wine festivals, a component of wine tourism experience, engage in vigorous online discussions that influence fellow travelers’ purchase behaviors. This study aims to delve into these overlooked discussions, identifying emotions, topics and assessing their usefulness in TripAdvisor’s Travel Forums for two US wine festivals: Taste of Yountville and Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, located in traditional and nontraditional wine tourism destinations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses state-of-art sentiment analysis and topic modeling methods to extract emotions and underlying latent topics in travel forum discussions. Drawing from information theory, two regression analyses are performed on 10,677 forum posts to examine how the extracted Ekman’s emotions and key underlying topics influence the helpfulness of wine forum posts for each festival.
Findings
While three topics were identified in Epcot and four in Yountville, both festival platforms highlight travelers’ common preferences for “culinary experience” and “planning” attributes but reveal notable differences in their utility. Other shared novel findings include the importance of “anger” and “surprise” emotions on the helpfulness of forum posts.
Practical implications
These findings enhance wine festival managers’ and destination planners’ understanding of online travelers’ preferences and cognitive evaluation of user-generated contents’ usefulness. This marketing intelligence informs strategies for boosting the wine destination’s economic development.
Originality/value
This research offers a novel comparative analysis of social media on wine festival tourism experiences in diverse regions. Unlike hotel reviews, typically posted after consumption, forums offer unique and broader perspectives on discussions before, during, and after experiencing the wine festival.
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Mirza Mohammad Didarul Alam, Khalid Hussain, Khaldoon Nusair and Shamsun Nahar Momotaz
This paper investigates the influence of e-service quality (process and user experience) and price fairness on customer satisfaction, which, as a consequence, affects brand love…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the influence of e-service quality (process and user experience) and price fairness on customer satisfaction, which, as a consequence, affects brand love toward Food Delivery App (FDA) services. More importantly, it examines the moderating roles of generation (Gen Y vs Gen Z) and usage frequency (low vs high) in affecting user behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 354 food delivery app users (Gen Y and Z) in Bangladesh through structured questionnaire and analyzed with PLS-SEM.
Findings
The findings show that, apart from reliability, all the dimensions of service quality influence app users’ satisfaction, which, in turn, enhances their brand love. Furthermore, the outcome reveals that the impact of customer satisfaction on brand love is stronger among Gen Y compared to Gen Z. Finally, the outcomes suggest that as users use the FDA services more frequently, the relationship between customer satisfaction and brand love weakens.
Practical implications
The study outcomes facilitate the FDA service providers and restaurant operators to focus on the quality and price of services to ensure the satisfaction and brand love of Gen Y and Gen Z. Separate policies must be taken for Gen Y and Gen Z to manage their brand love towards FDA services.
Originality/value
Grounded on the S-O-R paradigm and the Generational Cohort theory, this study expands the knowledge horizon of FDA services by focusing the behavior of Gen Y and Gen Z. More specifically, investigating how the impact of user satisfaction on brand love towards FDA services changes across generations and usage frequency are the novel contributions of this study.
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Maximilian Haug, Christian Maier, Heiko Gewald and Tim Weitzel
Social media communities contain like-minded members who disclose opinions about various topics that are important to them. These communities often function as echo chambers…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media communities contain like-minded members who disclose opinions about various topics that are important to them. These communities often function as echo chambers, filter bubbles or separate spaces for users to share conforming opinions and discredit others deliberately. In extreme cases, they build their alternative reality with limited information that can lead to real-world action, as seen in the storming of the capitol. Therefore, we need to better understand the mechanisms of opinion disclosure in such communities.
Design/methodology/approach
We base our research on the spiral of silence theory to understand both trait-based and state-based fear of isolation as the mechanism that prevents opposing opinions in three scenarios focusing on topics dominating the mainstream US media landscape at that time: immigration, presidential election and COVID-19. We recruited 164 participants from an online research platform and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Our results reveal empirical evidence that state-based fear of isolation prompts community members to express agreement and support for the community’s opinion, regardless of their views. We show that hot-button issues impose an even greater danger of establishing an environment in online communities that becomes an echo chamber of filter bubbles.
Originality/value
The spiral of silence theory provides a fine-grained understanding of the concept of fear of isolation, which was either used as a trait or as a state. Furthermore, we go beyond the initial hypotheses of the spiral of silence and show that within online communities, members stay silent and start to argue against their own opinions.
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Xiaoying Tang, Mengjun Wang and Hui Li
The purpose of this study is to examine whether service innovation capability can affect firm performance in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context, and, if…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether service innovation capability can affect firm performance in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context, and, if so, how.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a theoretical framework illustrating the performance impacts of service innovation capability through the business model in the AEC sector. An empirical study was conducted to test the hypotheses using 374 valid questionnaires using structure equation model (SEM).
Findings
The results verify that service innovation capability positively influences firm performance mediated by the business model. As to the direct effect, service innovation capability is positively associated with firm performance.
Originality/value
This study highlights how service innovation capability affects performance and reveals the underlying mechanism.
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Edem M. Azila-Gbettor, Jewel Dela Novixoxo and Ben Q. Honyenuga
This study aims to examine the influence of employee vitality and tenure on the nexus between citizenship fatigue and knowledge-sharing behaviour among academic staff in Ghanaian…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the influence of employee vitality and tenure on the nexus between citizenship fatigue and knowledge-sharing behaviour among academic staff in Ghanaian higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 876 faculty members from traditional and technical universities was chosen for the study using convenience sampling technique. Data was analysed using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4.
Findings
Results reveal that citizenship fatigue negatively influences faculty members’ knowledge-sharing behaviour. In addition, employee vitality and tenure mitigate the negative influence of citizenship fatigue on faculty members’ knowledge-sharing behaviour.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the management of higher education institutions should focus on creating a workplace culture that cultivates workplace vitality and promotes long tenure to reduce the negative influence of citizenship fatigue on the knowledge-sharing behaviour among faculty members.
Originality/value
This study represents one of the earliest attempts to examine a theoretical framework that connects citizenship fatigue, employee vitality, knowledge-sharing behaviour and employee tenure within the context of higher education.
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Vinod Kumar, Sachin Kumar, Ranjan Chaudhuri, Sheshadri Chatterjee, Demetris Vrontis and Saeedeh Rezaee Vessal
This study aims to examine how an organization’s innovation capability could influence research and development (R&D) performance. It also investigates if industry–academic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how an organization’s innovation capability could influence research and development (R&D) performance. It also investigates if industry–academic knowledge transfer has a moderating relationship between organizational innovation capability and exploration and exploitative innovation in improving the R&D performance of the organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the literature and dynamic capability view, a conceptual model was developed and then validated using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique considering 387 responses from academicians and industry personnel.
Findings
The study found that industry–academic knowledge transfer has a significant moderating impact toward improving innovation capability, organizations’ R&D performance and exploration innovation. However, it has an insignificant moderating impact on improving innovation capability and exploitative innovation.
Practical implications
Organizational innovation capability is characterized by both exploratory and exploitative innovation. Both types of innovation support the R&D performance of an organization. Also, organizations that closely work with academic institutions could gain significant R&D knowledge from academic expertise. This study provides food for thought for the academic community as well as industry policymakers.
Originality/value
There are significant opportunities for academic institutions to gain practical knowledge from industry which can help them to accelerate their R&D activities. However, transferring knowledge between industry and academia has challenges related to intellectual property, patents and so on. Not much research has been conducted in this area. Thus, the proposed research model is unique and adds to the existing literature.
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Zahrotush Sholikhah, Tur Nastiti and Gugup Kismono
In the contemporary globalized era, where conscientious and inclusive leadership (IL) are increasingly valued, cultivating altruistic prosocial tendencies (APT) among future…
Abstract
Purpose
In the contemporary globalized era, where conscientious and inclusive leadership (IL) are increasingly valued, cultivating altruistic prosocial tendencies (APT) among future leaders becomes critical. However, a significant gap persists in understanding the optimal approach for assisting young leaders with commendable social sensitivity. This study aims to examine the connection between IL and a leader’s APT and focuses on the moderating role of internalized values (IV) among young leaders in Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopted a quantitative methodology, using an online survey to gather data from 12.584 participants in the “Kampus Mengajar” program. The data analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The study highlights the significant association between IL and APT among leaders, emphasizing the importance of inclusive approaches in fostering prosocial behavior. Additionally, it reveals the moderating impact of IVs, indicating that leaders who embrace values promoting societal belongingness are more inclined toward altruistic actions. This nuanced insight contributes to theoretical discourse and offers practical implications for organizations and educational institutions aiming to cultivate socially conscious leadership among young leaders.
Originality/value
This study advances scholarly understanding by exploring how IL shapes APT among young leaders, integrating insights from Role Identity and Role Identity Salience theory. By examining the moderating role of IVs, the study offers nuanced insights into the conditions that enhance this relationship.
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Jiaxing Wu, Wang Renxin, Xiangkai Zhang, Haoxuan Li, Guochang Liu, Xuejing Dong, Wendong Zhang and Guojun Zhang
This study aims to design a small-size conformable flexible micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) vector hydrophone to meet the miniaturization requirements of unmanned…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to design a small-size conformable flexible micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) vector hydrophone to meet the miniaturization requirements of unmanned underwater vehicle.
Design/methodology/approach
The cilia receive the acoustic signal to oscillate to cause changes in the stress on the beam, which in turn causes changes in the piezoresistive resistance on the beam, and changes in the resistance cause changes in the output voltage.
Findings
The results show that the flexible hydrophone in the paper has a sensitivity of −182 dB@1 kHz (re 1V/µPa) at 1 Pa sound pressure, can detect low-frequency hydroacoustic signals from 20 to 550 Hz and has good spatial directivity, and the flexible substrate permits the hydrophone to realize bending deformation, which can be well attached to the surface of the object.
Originality/value
In this study, a finite element simulation model of the hydrophone microstructure is constructed and its performance is verified by simulation. The success rate of the proposed MEMS transfer process is as high as 94%, and the prepared piezoresistors exhibit excellent resistance characteristics and high consistency. These results provide innovative ideas to enhance the performance and stability and achieve miniaturization of hydrophones.