This paper aims to outline the context for social tourism as an approach that can help deliver societal goals, such as reducing inequalities, as well as benefits for deserving…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to outline the context for social tourism as an approach that can help deliver societal goals, such as reducing inequalities, as well as benefits for deserving beneficiaries and the tourism industry. The paper highlights how social tourism can develop in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes a conceptual approach to discuss these issues.
Findings
This paper finds that there is a great deal of potential for social tourism to contribute to the future sustainability in the tourism industry.
Originality/value
This paper provides a concise overview of the topic of social tourism and a model that can help researchers and other readers to understand the ways that social tourism can contribute towards a more sustainable and equitable tourism future.
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Yuqing Liu, Chunxiao Li, Scott McCabe and Hong Xu
By adopting retrospective evaluation theories, this study aims to explain how innovations provided by separate suppliers in the tourism value chain influence tourist’s perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
By adopting retrospective evaluation theories, this study aims to explain how innovations provided by separate suppliers in the tourism value chain influence tourist’s perceived value of the overall experience and further uncover which innovative product attributes are more effective in improving tourist perceptions of the overall value.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey yielded 584 valid responses from tourists who had experienced specific tourist product innovations during their travels. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed theoretical model.
Findings
The results reveal that tourists evaluate overall travelling experience value either by recalling an intense, impressive moment (i.e. a heuristic approach) or through an evaluation of the overall utility gained from the whole trip (i.e. a normative approach). Furthermore, innovations that are perceived as increasing convenience and enabling learning contribute to tourists’ overall value perception through both normative and heuristic approaches, while immersion resulting from innovation only contributes to overall perceived value through the heuristic approach.
Practical implications
Given the complex service ecosystem of tourism destinations, each tourism service provider should consider how innovations contribute to the experience of the whole trip and which attributes of innovations increase tourists’ overall perceived experience value.
Originality/value
This study complements existing knowledge by revealing the relationship between product innovation in tourism sectors and tourists’ perceived value of the whole trip. Moreover, it offers a theoretical framework for further investigation into service product innovation in hospitality and tourism industry.
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Vahideh Abaeian, Kok Wei Khong, Ken Kyid Yeoh and Scott McCabe
The purpose of this study is to explore how senior managers of independent hotels perceive the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a holistic analysis of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore how senior managers of independent hotels perceive the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a holistic analysis of motivations of undertaking both social and environmental initiatives.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducts qualitative interviews with 22 Malaysian senior hotel managers together with ethnographic observations.
Findings
Emergent themes show that CSR is a dynamic concept involving complex struggles and trade-offs between fulfilling business objectives, paying heed to personal ethical values and considering cultural norms when making decisions regarding the adoption of a range of environmental and social initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to legitimacy theory by highlighting that in the absence of pressure from key stakeholders for responsible initiatives, managers still proactively engage in CSR initiatives. More surprising still is that they set expectations instead of simply aligning or responding to the key stakeholders’ pre-set demands. Meanwhile, the uniqueness, size and purposeful selection of the sample limit the applicability of the findings to wider geographical and cultural locations.
Practical implications
While Malaysian hotel managers are willing to use CSR practices to demonstrate their commitment to their employees and the local communities where they operate, it is equally important that they utilize other media (such as their websites or social media) for both promotional and legitimacy building purposes. Within the context of growing tourism for economic development, the Malaysian Government can develop more effective strategies, rewards or incentives for encouraging businesses to undertake and improve CSR adoption for sustainability of this industry.
Originality/value
By extending the scope of CSR studies beyond firm performance issues, we attempt to show the wider set of motivations and contexts considered important in determining hotel engagement in CSR programs.
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Alain Yee Loong Chong, Kok Wei Khong, Teng Ma, Scott McCabe and Yi Wang
The purpose of this paper is to examine what influence travelers’ adoption of online reviews, and whether the online reviews will influence their travel planning decisions.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine what influence travelers’ adoption of online reviews, and whether the online reviews will influence their travel planning decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 193 respondents from eWOM websites and analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results revealed that eWOM has a significant influence on travel decisions. Furthermore, travelers were willing to adopt information from eWOM and this information was useful in their travel planning and decisions. Gender and time spent on online reviews were found to affect travel planning and decisions. Travelers also found that the reviews and issues raised in eWOM had credibility and were of good quality.
Research limitations/implications
The study was not able to incorporate all factors which may be relevant to this study and so further theoretical development may be necessary to develop the conceptual model. The sample size, while adequate, can be expanded further.
Practical implications
Operators and administrators of eWOM can use these findings to develop more user-friendly interfaces so that more positive reviews and sales can be generated.
Social implications
The results showed that travelers who adopt the information in eWOM will, in turn, use eWOM in their travel planning. This confirms the importance of eWOM and travelers in general will translate their pre-travel decisions into actual travel planning.
Originality/value
This research extended existing eWOM and information system adoption studies and focused on the travel planning context. This research validated the significant roles of eWOM argument quality and credibility in predicting the information usefulness of eWOM.
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Cognitive literary criticism is introduced as a bridge between cognitive approaches to the study of persuasion, and literary traditions in consumer research. As a successor to…
Abstract
Purpose
Cognitive literary criticism is introduced as a bridge between cognitive approaches to the study of persuasion, and literary traditions in consumer research. As a successor to reader-response theory, cognitive literary theory focuses on the cognitive processes of interpretation, while keeping an eye on the aesthetic properties of the text. Paradigmatically cautious researchers might shy away from attempts to marry positivist cognitive constructs to interpretivist cultural theory, but this chapter argues that these qualms also conceal missed opportunities for the study of persuasion.
Methodology/approach
Insights from cognitive literary criticism are demonstrated at the hand of a LEGO ad.
Findings
Theory of mind and conceptual blending are crucial cognitive skills involved in the interpretation of persuasive texts.
Originality/value
Most research to date has kept literary and cognitive approaches to persuasion separate, black-boxing the processes of persuasion. This chapter argues for a revitalization of interest in aesthetic detail, informed by insights from cognitive science.
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Giuseppe Melis, Scott McCabe and Giacomo Del Chiappa
To date, most studies on value co-creation processes in tourism have thus far focused on the company–customer relationship. Tourism experiences are produced by a number of firms…
Abstract
To date, most studies on value co-creation processes in tourism have thus far focused on the company–customer relationship. Tourism experiences are produced by a number of firms and organizations collaboratively. Hence, there is a need to further develop knowledge about co-creation issues also adopting the perspective of the network of relationships between local stakeholders (both public and private) which are involved in tourism development within a certain tourist destination. This conceptual study applies the theoretical approaches of Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004a) and Ramaswamy and Gouillart (2010) in an attempt to identify a set of constructs that could influence the way local stakeholders can co-create the tourism offer. Specifically, the contribution of this chapter is placed on the development of a possible empirical application of the DART model to analyse the co-creation paradigm by adopting a supply-side perspective, which is still a quite non-common approach in tourism literature.