Robert D. Nale, Dennis A. Rauch, Samuel A. Wathen and Peter B. Barr
Assessing educational outcomes has been an ongoing activity for higher education over the past several years. This concern is important for business educators as well. Regardless…
Abstract
Assessing educational outcomes has been an ongoing activity for higher education over the past several years. This concern is important for business educators as well. Regardless of any problems institutions have experienced, there is definitely a need to continue for many reasons: e.g., mandates by state legislatures, accreditation bodies and others, and its potential as an input into strategic planning. Thus far, assessment activities have consisted of a proliferation of methodologies ranging from student portfolio analysis to standardized testing. This paper specifically examines the use of importance‐performance analysis for an evaluation of the business core curriculum, as well as some differences among major areas of study, at two distinct points in time.
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Dennis A Rauch, Michael Dwain Collins, Robert D Nale and Peter B. Barr
The purpose of this study is to identify an appropriate factor structure that may be utilized to effectively measure a hotel’s performance relative to service quality in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify an appropriate factor structure that may be utilized to effectively measure a hotel’s performance relative to service quality in a mid-scale setting. Customer perceptions of service quality in mid-scale hotels have largely been ignored; the focus of researchers has been the upscale (4-star) and luxury (5-star) segments.
Design/methodology/approach
A 27-item questionnaire is utilized to measure service quality with an initial sample size of over 2,500 respondents. Principle component analysis is utilized to determine the factor structure and regression analysis to determine which factors may serve as predictors of a hotel’s ability to meet customers’ expectations and to provide value.
Findings
A three-dimensional model emerged from the data, consistent with the theorizing of Rust and Oliver (1994), which includes the service product, service delivery and service environment. The service environment is the strongest predictor of a hotel’s ability to meet guests’ expectations and to provide guests with value within this context, which is inconsistent with findings in upscale and luxury hotels.
Research limitations/implications
The generalizability of this research may be challenged, as the study was conducted within the context of an oceanfront resort destination dominated by leisure travelers; however, the study may be replicated in additional settings to determine if a similar bundling of service quality attributes occurs in other mid-scale settings including business hotels, as well as economy hotels.
Practical implications
A three-factor model may be more appropriate for assessing service quality in a mid-scale (3-star) environment. In this setting, the service environment and service product may be more important measures of service quality than service delivery. This is an important finding, as many mid-scale and select-service, as well as new mid-scale, lifestyle hotel concepts, attempt to drive profitability by deemphasizing service delivery or by utilizing technology to facilitate service delivery. These findings may also assist operators of mid-scale hotels in improving guests’ perceptions of quality, which has been found to increase perceived value and may positively influence purchase or revisit intentions (Kashyap and Bojanic, 2000).
Originality/value
Service quality research has been conducted, almost exclusively, in first-class (4-star) and luxury (5-star) hotels, while the majority of hotels do not fall into these categories. Although guest expectations relative to service quality may be lower in more moderately priced, mid-scale hotels, service quality remains a critical variable that influences a guest’s decision to return or recommend a hotel to others. Many travelers now utilize online reviews to minimize purchase risk by seeking information relative to service quality when selecting a hotel. Consequently, it is more important than ever that service quality is understood in hotels at all service levels. The present research contributes to filling this gap in the literature.
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Robert D. Nale, Dennis A. Rauch and Peter B. Barr
States that the workplace is becoming an increasingly stern taskmaster in its demands for literate employees. However, employees may be moving in the opposite direction, resulting…
Abstract
States that the workplace is becoming an increasingly stern taskmaster in its demands for literate employees. However, employees may be moving in the opposite direction, resulting in a so‐called “literacy gap”. To make progress towards eliminating this gap, it is necessary, first, to investigate the extent of the problem, or whether there truly is a problem. This is the purpose of this exploratory study, which seeks to focus on the identification of the problem. Using various readability indices, the study examines examples of a typical organization’s reading expectations in terms of grade and difficulty levels. Representative samples from high school textbooks are examined to ascertain the existence of a reading level gap. Three particular readability indices are selected for use. The methodology utilized involves the transcription of selected pieces of both job‐ and education‐specific literature. Each piece is analysed using the readability indices, with resulting measurements of readability providing some indication of the assumed educational level of the reader.
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Carles Mulet-Forteza, Juanabel Genovart-Balaguer, José Maria Merigó and Emilio Mauleon-Mendez
The International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management is a leading international journal in the field of hospitality and tourism management. It was started in 1989, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management is a leading international journal in the field of hospitality and tourism management. It was started in 1989, and it turns 30 years old this year. To celebrate this anniversary, this paper presents a bibliometric overview of the publication and citation structure of the journal over the past 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevant issues in terms of keywords and topics and who is achieving better results in terms of authors, universities and countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The Scopus database is used to collect the bibliographical material. A graphical mapping of the bibliographic data is developed by using VOSviewer software. It produces graphical maps with several bibliometric techniques, including co-citation, bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence of keywords.
Findings
The results indicate that English-speaking countries are producing the highest number of articles in the journal, followed by Asian institutions, with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as the most productive institution.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no papers that present a general overview of the publication and citation structure of this journal. Its 30th anniversary is a good moment to develop this study.
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Le choix du thème général de ce 35e congrès de l'AIEST n'a pas été laissé au hasard. En analysant les tendances évolutives de la demande touristique, il s'agissait, comme le…
Abstract
Le choix du thème général de ce 35e congrès de l'AIEST n'a pas été laissé au hasard. En analysant les tendances évolutives de la demande touristique, il s'agissait, comme le soulignait le président Kaspar dans son introduction, de prolonger, en une période de crise et de bouleversement de nos sociétés, non seulement la discussion sur l'évolution du tourisme en général, mais d'ajouter un volet spécial celui de la demande touristique, du comportement du touriste vu sous ses aspects socioculturels et économiques.
Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le…
Abstract
Avant‐propos sous les auspices de l'Institut international de Coopération intellectuelle, paraissait en 1934 le t. I, consacré à l'Europe, du Guide international des Archives. Le questionnaire envoyé à tous les États européens comportait sous les points 4 et 6 les questions suivantes: ‘Existe‐t‐il un guide général pour les diverses catégories d'Archives ou des guides particuliers pour l'une ou l'autre d'entre elles?’ et ‘Existe‐t‐il des catalogues imprimés, des publications tant officielles que privées, susceptibles de constituer un instrument complet de référence pour tout ou partie importante des fonds d'archives?’ Les réponses des divers pays à ces questions, malgré leur caractère très inégal, ont fait du Guide international un bon instrument d'information générale sur les Archives. Malheureusement les circonstances ont empêché la publication du volume consacré aux États non européens, tandis que le temps qui s'écoulait tendait à rendre périmés les renseignements fournis sur les Archives européennes.
Paulina Nillie Adzoyi, Robert Jan Blomme and Ben Quarshie Honyenuga
Increased competition amongst the hotel industry players has challenged managers not to focus their attention exclusively on ways to attract and satisfy their customers, but to…
Abstract
Increased competition amongst the hotel industry players has challenged managers not to focus their attention exclusively on ways to attract and satisfy their customers, but to invest in customer retention strategies with the potential to ensure superior performance of their hotels. This study aims to determine strategies to retain customers in hotels in Ghana, an emerging market. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect data from 677 hotel employees in 56 Ghanaian licensed hotels. Based on SmartPLS, study findings indicate that customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention embedded in the tangibility and reliability dimensions of the lodging quality index are important for customer retention among hotels in Ghana.
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Paulina N. Adzoyi, Robert J. Blomme and Ben Q. Honyenuga
The competitive nature of the hotel industry has given the impetus to practitioners and researchers to invest in Customer Retention strategies and research. Although numerous…
Abstract
The competitive nature of the hotel industry has given the impetus to practitioners and researchers to invest in Customer Retention strategies and research. Although numerous studies have investigated Customer Retention in the hotel industry, there is still uncertainty regarding Customer Retention in emerging markets. This study, therefore, adds to the existing knowledge by exploring Customer Retention in Ghana, an emerging market. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey of 873 customers of 56 hotels in four regional capitals located in the southern part of Ghana. Findings indicate that service Tangible and Reliability indirectly relates hotel Customer Retention in Ghana, an emerging market.
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Pierre Defert and Robert Pichot
Périodiquement un grand frisson secoue le monde politique et financier de l'Occident: le Tiers Monde ne peut plus (ou ne veut plus) rembourser ses dettes. On imagine en…
Abstract
Périodiquement un grand frisson secoue le monde politique et financier de l'Occident: le Tiers Monde ne peut plus (ou ne veut plus) rembourser ses dettes. On imagine en catastrophe le pire: krachs bancaires et boursiers et finalement la solution facile: remettre leurs dettes purement et simplement aux pays débiteurs. La voie intermédiaire du tourisme ne semble pas avoir été sérieusement envisagée;