M. Rosario González-Rodríguez, M. Carmen Díaz-Fernández and Xavier Font
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of customers’ environmental concerns, customers’ perceptions of a hotel’s environmental practices and of the hotels’…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of customers’ environmental concerns, customers’ perceptions of a hotel’s environmental practices and of the hotels’ environmentally friendly images, on customers’ willingness to pay a price premium to stay at environmentally friendly hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical framework comprises both social identity theory and value-belief-norm theory. The data were collected through a survey of 454 customers staying at eco-friendly hotels in Spain. The research model is tested by using a structural equation modelling approach.
Findings
The findings illustrate that customers’ environmental concerns have a greater explanatory value on their willingness to pay a price premium than do their perceptions of the hotels’ environmental practices. Furthermore, these causal relationships are similar in magnitude when considering the mediating effects of the hotels’ eco-friendly image and the environmental practices.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical findings provide managers with a better understanding of how customers’ environmental concerns and their own sense of identification with environmentally friendly hotels influence customers’ behavioural intentions towards willingness to pay a premium.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the literature by highlighting those cognitive processes that influence the customers’ willingness to pay a price premium to stay at environmentally friendly hotels. Hence, the study provides valuable information to hotel managers.
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M. Rosario González-Rodríguez, M. Carmen Díaz-Fernández, Anil Bilgihan, Fevzi Okumus and Fangfang Shi
This study aims to investigate the relationships between electronic word of mouth (eWOM) source credibility, perceived risk and information usefulness and how they influence…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationships between electronic word of mouth (eWOM) source credibility, perceived risk and information usefulness and how they influence tourists’ destination visit intention and online review involvement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this quantitative study were collected via an online survey from 460 participants and analyzed using a partial least squares analysis.
Findings
All four dimensions of eWOM source credibility reduce travelers’ perceived risk associated with destination visits, among which homophily has the greatest influence. Lower levels of perceived risk are associated with higher perceived information usefulness, thus boosting tourists’ eWOM involvement and intention to visit a destination.
Practical implications
Results offer practical implications for how the tourism industry can exploit eWOM as an information source that consumers frequently consult. The results are also valuable for Destination Marketing Organizations, allowing them to determine what type of information promotes positive tourist attitudes and behaviors toward destinations.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies to examine the interaction between eWOM credibility, perceived risk and information usefulness and their effect on consumer behaviors in the tourism context.
eWOM 来源可信度对目的地访问意愿和在线参与的影响:以中国游客为例
研究目的
本研究调查了 eWOM 来源可信度、感知风险和信息有用性之间的关系, 以及它们如何影响游客的目的地访问意图和在线评论参与度。
研究设计/方法/途径
这项定量研究的数据是通过对 460 名参与者的在线调查收集的, 并使用偏最小二乘法分析。
研究发现
eWOM 来源可信度的所有四个维度都降低了旅行者与目的地访问相关的感知风险, 其中同质性影响最大。较低的感知风险水平与较高的感知信息有用性相关, 从而提高游客的 eWOM 参与度和访问目的地的意愿。
实践意义
本研究结果为旅游业如何利用 eWOM 作为消费者经常咨询的信息源提供了实际意义。结果对 DMO 也很有价值, 使他们能够确定哪些类型的信息可以促进游客对目的地的积极态度和行为。
研究原创性/价值
本论文是首批研究 eWOM 可信度、感知风险和信息有用性之间的相互作用及其对旅游背景下消费者行为的影响的研究之一。
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M.E. Díaz‐Fernández, C. González‐Nicieza, M.I. Álvarez‐Fernández, A.E. Álvarez‐Vigil and A. Argüelles Amado
This paper aims to present a computational approach which – setting off from measures obtained by using an overdrilling method – determines, automatically and accurately, stress…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a computational approach which – setting off from measures obtained by using an overdrilling method – determines, automatically and accurately, stress changes undergone in terrain as a consequence of human activity.
Design/methodology/approach
The method presented uses the data from three boreholes and the elasticity theory to represent a numerical system whose resolution allows determining the stress state in a particular point. Since the system obtained is over‐dimensioned, the Levenberg‐Marquardt minimization method has been used in order to minimize errors. This paper details the analysis carried out in order to develop the computational method.
Findings
This paper provides the algorithm for determining inner stresses in a particular point of a rock mass. Besides, a method to verify obtained results is presented, including its computational encoding in C#. Furthermore, the developed methods have been integrated in a computer tool which presents the results in a graphic environment.
Research limitations/implications
The algorithms presented are applicable when using an overdrilling method to measure stresses.
Practical implications
A reliable determination of global stress state demands the use of any method that is numerically difficult to use. Thus, in practice, it is of great importance to dispose of some reliable automatic tool to calculate stress state.
Originality/value
Accuracy in the results obtained with the tool, together with the simplicity of its interface, involves a certain advantage regarding the use of a general‐scope commercial tool, since it allows – without being necessary to be an expert user – quickly obtaining results within the analysed working area.
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Motasem M. Thneibat and Rateb J. Sweis
The aim of this paper is to study and empirically test the relationship between employees' perceptions of the two motivation-enhancing human resource management (HRM) practices of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to study and empirically test the relationship between employees' perceptions of the two motivation-enhancing human resource management (HRM) practices of reward and performance appraisal and both incremental and radical innovation. The paper examines whether innovative work behaviour (IWB) mediates the hypothesised relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 313 unit managers in manufacturing, pharmaceutical and technology companies in Jordan. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS v27 was employed to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.
Findings
The study finds that employees perceive rewards to be significant and to directly influence incremental and radical innovation. Additionally, employees perceive that performance appraisal to be significant for incremental innovation. The study also finds that IWB mediates the relationship between rewards, performance appraisal and incremental and radical innovation. No support was found for the impact of performance appraisal on radical innovation.
Originality/value
Distinctively, this paper considers both incremental and radical innovation in studying the link between HRM practices and innovation. It also takes an intra-organisational perspective by considering employees' perceptions of rewards and performance in fostering innovation. Additionally, it assesses the impact of IWB in mediating the relationship between rewards, performance appraisal and innovation. IWB is rarely empirically studied in the HRM–innovation link specifically when linked with radical and incremental innovation.
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Mirta Diaz-Fernandez, Mar Bornay-Barrachina and Alvaro Lopez-Cabrales
The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and innovation performance in Spanish manufacturing firms. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices and innovation performance in Spanish manufacturing firms. The paper focuses on the number of existing patents, analyzing the extent to which this variable is favored by HRM practices. It will also assess the extent to which patents explain the firm performance and mediate in the relationship between the latter and HRM practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The objective is to assess these relationships using the Spanish Survey of Industrial Strategic Behavior. The longitudinal analysis focuses on the years between 2001 and 2008, a period of great economic growth in Spain.
Findings
The findings show that the most innovative firms were also the most competitive ones. Furthermore, employment security positively affects innovations over time and training on new technologies is associated with the number of patents, when overall compensation practices are high.
Practical implications
This study demonstrated the existence of two objectives that HR managers should be aiming at. On the one hand, the development of patents should be a priority for obtaining better results over time. On the other hand, management should invest in HRM practices because they favor innovation and are neither a waste of time nor resources.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature, surpassing the limitations of previous research, by assessing the role of HRM practices in innovation and company outcomes and by using a longitudinal study design.
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Mirta Diaz-Fernandez, Alvaro Lopez-Cabrales and Ramón Valle-Cabrera
The present paper contributes to the development of sustainable strategies by focusing on the social perspective and the role played by HRM. Specifically, we identified and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present paper contributes to the development of sustainable strategies by focusing on the social perspective and the role played by HRM. Specifically, we identified and compared the employee competencies that supported the compliance strategy as well as the innovative/proactive sustainability strategies – and their impacts on social outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
After formulating hypotheses, we tested them on a sample of 179 companies from the chemical and metallurgical industries using the bootstrap method.
Findings
The results revealed that both sustainability strategies were present in the sample. The compliance sustainable strategy showed to be negatively associated with employee competencies, whilst proactive sustainable strategy firms presented a positive relationship with employee competencies. We also found that compliance strategies failed to have any impact on social outcomes, but proactive strategies had a positive effect on social outcomes. Indeed, normative and foresighted thinking competencies acted as mediating variables in such a relationship.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper lies in three aspects hitherto unaddressed in the literature: first, the conceptualisation and assessment of sustainable strategies focused on a social dimension; second, the identification of individual competencies required developing sustainable strategies; and third, the demonstration that it is only the firms that adopt proactive sustainable strategies that obtain positive social outcomes.
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Alvaro Lopez-Cabrales, Mar Bornay-Barrachina and Mirta Diaz-Fernandez
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of the development of dynamic capabilities from an HRM perspective, considering the leading role of leadership styles and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of the development of dynamic capabilities from an HRM perspective, considering the leading role of leadership styles and their potential impact on the orientation of HR systems and a firm’s capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors designed an empirical study of a sample of 107 Spanish industrial firms, asking HR, production and marketing managers to assess the CEO’s leadership styles, the system of HRM practices applied in their organizations and dynamic capabilities. They applied multiple regressions and mediation analysis.
Findings
The authors’ results suggest that both transactional and transformational leadership styles are positively associated with dynamic capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguration), directly and indirectly, through their effects on HR systems.
Research limitations/implications
This paper approaches dynamic capabilities by using cross-sectional data. A longitudinal analysis would enrich this study. Also, the data aggregation in this paper does not allow to check different HR orientations from different departments. Finally, other HRM practices and strategic orientations could be assessed.
Practical implications
This paper highlights the need to develop CEOs who are able to combine leadership behaviors in such a way that they promote HR systems (skill-based development vs job-based development) and to use them as mediating mechanisms and in order to generate greater dynamic capabilities in the organization.
Originality/value
The authors are proposing that HRM can be applied to leverage a firm’s competitive advantage, as HR systems mediate for obtaining different dynamic capabilities. Second, it could be concluded that any CEO should combine or display traits of both forms of leadership styles (transformational and transactional) in order to develop the full range of dynamic capabilities. Finally, this paper can provide some insights into the way dynamic capabilities can be measured and approached, through HRM microfoundations.
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Saba S. Colakoglu, Niclas Erhardt, Stephanie Pougnet-Rozan and Carlos Martin-Rios
Creativity and innovation have been buzzwords of managerial discourse over the last few decades as they contribute to the long-term survival and competitiveness of firms. Given…
Abstract
Creativity and innovation have been buzzwords of managerial discourse over the last few decades as they contribute to the long-term survival and competitiveness of firms. Given the non-linear, causally ambiguous, and intangible nature of all innovation-related phenomena, management scholars have been trying to uncover factors that contribute to creativity and innovation from multiple lenses ranging from organizational behavior at the micro-level to strategic management at the macro-level. Along with important and insightful developments in these research streams that evolved independently from one another, human resource management (HRM) research – especially from a strategic perspective – has only recently started to contribute to a better understanding of both creativity and innovation. The goal of this chapter is to review the contributions of strategic HRM research to an improved understanding of creativity at the individual-level and innovation at the firm-level. In organizing this review, the authors rely on the open innovation funnel as a metaphor to review research on both HRM practices and HRM systems that contribute to creativity and innovation. In the last section, the authors focus on more recent developments in HRM research that focus on ambidexterity – as a way for HRM to simultaneously facilitate exploration and exploitation. This chapter concludes with a discussion of future research directions.
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Ricardo Vinícius Dias Jordão and Vander Ribeiro de Almeida
One of the main contemporary challenges in organisations is finding ways of measuring their intellectual capital (IC), and its effects on competitiveness and financial…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the main contemporary challenges in organisations is finding ways of measuring their intellectual capital (IC), and its effects on competitiveness and financial sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of IC on the long-term financial performance of Brazilian companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering that previous studies have not been able to explain the role of IC in financial sustainability (measured by long-term corporate performance), this paper attempts to fill this gap by means of a quantitative, descriptive and applied study. Based on the theories of knowledge management, accounting and finance, the authors have undertaken a study of the companies listed on the BM&FBovespa, based on secondary data, using a multi-industrial cut, over the period 2005 to 2014, using descriptive and multivariate statistics.
Findings
The analysis supports three major conclusions: IC influences positively the profitability and corporate return of these companies; the more intangible-intensive public companies listed on the BM&FBovespa demonstrate higher financial sustainability than the others, in terms of profitability and corporate return, either individually, globally or by industry; and that IC helps increase financial performance, systematically, over time.
Research limitations/implications
Contributions of the following types were sought: theoretical (increasing an understanding of the effects of IC on business performance from a long-term perspective – an understanding that is still only incipient in the management literature); and empirical (increasing an understanding of the role of IC in the differentiation of companies, in organisational profitability and on the return on applications of resources).
Practical implications
The original proposal for the measurement of financial performance presented in this paper proved to be valid and consistent, complementing what is known about the subject under examination, contributing to the improvement of management theory and practice and providing a competitive benchmarking process. This can make it possible for company analysts or managers to evaluate their company in relation to its industry or its market as a whole by means of such indicators, individually or combined with other quantitative or qualitative metrics.
Originality/value
The results of this research reduce a gap in the management and accounting literature, as they shed light on the performance measurement process. In addition to the range and depth of the statistical tests carried out, attention should be drawn to the originality of the proposal presented in this paper. This facilitates the measurement of the effects of IC on financial performance through the selection and application of specific indicators for the assessment of the contribution of IC to organisational results.
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Mercedes Villanueva-Flores, Mirta Diaz-Fernandez, Dara Hernandez-Roque and Marloes van Engen
This study aims to examine whether the psychological capital of male and female university students explains the intention to undertake entrepreneurism. Following Ajzen’s theory…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether the psychological capital of male and female university students explains the intention to undertake entrepreneurism. Following Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, the aim was to study whether perceived behavioural control and subjective norms influence entrepreneurial intention and if subjective norms moderate established relationships, in both genders.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modelling and analysis of variance was applied to test the hypotheses amongst students at a Spanish university.
Findings
The results showed that gender differences in psychological capital, in perceived behavioural control and in subjective norms existed between the male and female population, which explain gender differences in entrepreneurial intention. Similarly, subjective norms acted as a moderator in the relationship between psychological capital, the perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention, with the moderating impact being higher on the female population.
Practical implications
The results obtained in this paper indicate that developing perceived behavioural control and the psychological capital of university students in training programmes of male and female students helps to promote their entrepreneurial intention. Similarly, the results suggest that building a support network, for instance of family and groups of friends is key to fostering entrepreneurial intention, particularly for women.
Originality/value
Entrepreneurship is key to the successful employability of current and future generations in the labour market. This study examined key antecedents of student’s entrepreneurial intention and how these are gendered. For both men and women (investing in) psychological capital is important. Informal social support was shown to play a key role in women’s entrepreneurial intention.