Ye Zhang, Jie Gao, Shu Tian Cole and Peter Ricci
To sufficiently fulfill the travel potential of people with mobility impairments (PwMIs), this study aims to propose a valuable supplement to facility/service accommodation by…
Abstract
Purpose
To sufficiently fulfill the travel potential of people with mobility impairments (PwMIs), this study aims to propose a valuable supplement to facility/service accommodation by hospitality/tourism businesses by identifying and purposefully cultivating the superior motivation types for empowering PwMI’s travel pursuits despite challenges. To this end, the study proposes a self-determined versus controlled motivation subdivision to the predominant travel motivation typologies, with its practical value, theoretical value and application feasibility verified.
Design/methodology/approach
To ensure the verification reliability across challenge travels, the study adopts an extreme groups design for data collection. Qualtrics surveys situated in two resort-package scenarios contrast in facility/service accommodation levels are paired with two US PwMI groups contrast in travel capabilities. An unconventional mix of analytical information and seemingly unrelated regressions are adopted for data analyses.
Findings
Self-determined motivations are found as the superior facilitators of PwMI’s challenging resort-travel pursuits, confirming the practical value of the proposed motivation subdivision. The theoretical value is verified given the subdivision’s significant explanatory power for resort-travel attitude and behavioral intentions, after controlling for travel purpose fulfillment. It is also feasible to achieve the targeted cultivation of self-determined motivations by supporting the basic physiological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness.
Practical implications
The study’s context-based findings on the effective motivational mechanisms for PwMI can guide hospitality/tourism businesses to improve PwMI-targeted marketing effectiveness and efficiency.
Originality/value
Key theoretical contributions include expanding the explanatory power of travel motivation typologies, enhanced integration of self-determination theory into travel motivation conceptualization and more accurate reflection of the widespread presence of social factors in travel motivations.
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Hui Zhang, Shu Cole, Xiucheng Fan and Myungja Cho
As the hospitality industry is shifting its focus from service to experience, customers are becoming co-creators of the perceived value of a hospitality service because…
Abstract
As the hospitality industry is shifting its focus from service to experience, customers are becoming co-creators of the perceived value of a hospitality service because experiences customers obtained when consuming a hospitality service involve the participation of the customers. Thus, more research is needed to examine the relationships among consumer’s personal factors and their evaluations of hospitality services. This study developed and tested hypotheses that examined the effects of customers’ intrinsic characteristics on their evaluations of a restaurant service. Data were collected from college students in the United States (n = 220) and China (n = 254) using a scenario approach. Findings reveal that customers’ gender, personality, and cultural background had significant effects on their evaluations of a restaurant service. Specifically, female customers rated the same service higher than male customers on the reliability dimension of service quality and overall service quality; customers with personalities of extroversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness rated the service higher than customers with neuroticism personality on the responsiveness dimension; and customers in individualistic cultures rated the service higher than those in collectivistic cultures on most of the service evaluation measures. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed.
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Noah Hoback, Shu Cole and Jennifer Piatt
Limited research investigates the travel behavior of the retired adult population before retirement and how it changes after retirement. Currently, most of the travel research on…
Abstract
Limited research investigates the travel behavior of the retired adult population before retirement and how it changes after retirement. Currently, most of the travel research on the retired population explores their current travel patterns in retirement. Increased research on travel activity before retirement would allow managers in the tourism industry to better adapt and anticipate the changing needs and demographics of seniors, notably, the various ways this growing population manages travel and specific barriers or concerns they face. The authors examined the changes to the travel patterns – defined as travel frequency, mode of transportation, and geographic location/s (domestic or international) – of those retired traveling before and after retirement. Since retirement is a time of major life change, the authors analyzed how this event impacts travel behavior. This research identified barriers these Baby Boomers and those who are retired experience while traveling, including health, social activities, and financial status, which may impact their travel, the degree to which their travel behavior is affected, and specific environmental and personal factors impacting their travel patterns. This chapter will explore the barriers and motivations to travel for the retired population. Results show that before retirement seniors had less time to travel, obligations at home, and were not interested in as many destinations. After retirement, health barriers negatively impacted an individual’s travel frequency and they were also more concerned about safety while traveling and accessibility to the destinations. After retirement, financial barriers impacted an individual’s domestic travel frequency, with those having lower incomes traveling less. Accessibility to the destination facility and transportation options were major barriers to traveling internationally. Before and after retirement, there was a decrease of 10 percent in international travel.
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Eric Beckman, Fang Shu and Tianyu Pan
The purpose of this research paper is to examine whether enduring involvement theory plays a role in predicting craft beer and food festival visitors' experience of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper is to examine whether enduring involvement theory plays a role in predicting craft beer and food festival visitors' experience of the festivalscape. Though craft beer and brewing is a growing area of research, there has been limited studies and theory application in this area. Around the world, craft breweries are increasing in number and producing more unique styles of beer as the demand for craft beer increases. Craft beer consumers visit many of these breweries and are attracted to craft beer festivals in which they can sample multiple local, regional, national and international craft beers.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative methodology was used based on data collected at the site of the festival. Researchers collected 204 useable surveys from visitors attending the North Miami Brewfest in North Miami, Florida, USA. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the relationships among enduring involvement, festivalscape, satisfaction, revisit intention and word-of-mouth.
Findings
The results revealed that enduring involvement is significant in predicting all four factors of festivalscape (food/beverage quality, convenience, facility and festival staff). The festivalscape factors facility, food quality and festival staff predicted festival attendee satisfaction which in turn predicted both revisit intention and word-of-mouth. However, the festivalscape factor convenience did not influence satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The authors surveyed only one festival in one region in South Florida. Further studies can survey multiple festivals in multiple regions to increase the generalizability of the research model. Enduring involvement theory could be applied to other niche areas in hospitality and tourism in the future (in addition to craft beer tourism).
Practical implications
Craft beer festival organizers should appeal to craft beer clubs, breweries and publications to attract those with a commitment to the craft beer industry to their event. People with an enduring, lasting commitment to craft beer are more likely to have a positive experience of the festivalscape at the event. Lastly, festival organizers should focus on the festivalscape factors facility, festival staff and food and beverage quality to influence satisfaction at the event.
Originality/value
This project applies enduring involvement theory in a festival setting. The research is further unique by adding enduring involvement as a predictor of festivalscape experience.
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Ben Haobin Ye, Hanqin Qiu Zhang, James Huawen Shen and Carey Goh
The aim of this study is to examine the roles of social identity and perceived cultural distance in forming the attitude of Hong Kong residents toward the relaxation of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to examine the roles of social identity and perceived cultural distance in forming the attitude of Hong Kong residents toward the relaxation of the individual visit scheme (IVS).
Design/methodology/approach
Face-to-face interviews with local Hong Kong residents were conducted. A total of 24 respondents’ interviews were qualified for qualitative analysis using the snowball sampling technique.
Findings
The perceived positive and negative impacts, social identity and perceived cultural distance of Hong Kong residents were important in explaining their attitude toward tourism development. Perceived cultural distance influenced both the perceived negative impacts and social identity of residents, which, in turn, affected their attitude toward mainland Chinese tourists and tourism development.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size for the interviews was relatively small; however, it was acceptable for qualitative studies.
Practical implications
First, the Hong Kong Government should enhance civic education among mainland Chinese tourists to reduce their cultural conflicts with Hong Kong residents. Second, the Hong Kong Government should enhance national education among Hong Kong residents to mitigate the negative influence of the relaxation of the IVS.
Originality/value
This study sheds light on the roles of perceived cultural distance and social identity in the attitude of residents toward tourism development, thus narrowing research gaps. Moreover, the current study applies an intercultural-interaction perspective, social identity theory, common in-group identity theory and social distance theory to understand resident attitude toward tourism development.
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Lucas Liang Wang, Qing Dai and Yan Gao
New venture status is the most prominent feature of entrepreneurial startups, but its performance implications have remained under-studied. This study aims to bridge this…
Abstract
Purpose
New venture status is the most prominent feature of entrepreneurial startups, but its performance implications have remained under-studied. This study aims to bridge this knowledge void and offer precise guidelines for startup managers in boosting performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops and tests a multi-perspective model on the linkage between new venture status and firm performance by integrating I/O economics, resource-based view and dynamic capability perspective. The arguments from the first two perspectives point to an adverse effect of new venture status, which is contingent, respectively, on business differentiation and resource endowments. The third perspective grounds a positive relationship between new venture status and performance, which is more pronounced for firms with weaker dynamic capabilities.
Findings
Quantitative evidence from a sample of new and established firms in China shows that the direct effect of new venture status is negative but insignificant. Neither business differentiation nor dynamic capabilities moderate the relationship. Low resource endowments, however, reinforce the negative influence of new venture status. New venture status, thus, shapes firm performance through resource scarcity from resource-based view rather than competitive vulnerability from I/O economics or strategic flexibility from dynamic capability perspective.
Originality/value
Newness and new venture performance have both been extensively examined in literature. But the relationship between them has remained largely omitted. The multi-perspective model and the findings in this study help clarify the confusion as to whether newness is good or bad in the context of an emerging market and reveals the subtle mechanism the effect of newness unfolds.
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Qi Shi, Shufang Xiao, Kaiwen Chang and Jiaying Wu
With the accelerated technological advancement, innovation has become a critical factor, which affects the core competitiveness of a company. However, studies about the…
Abstract
Purpose
With the accelerated technological advancement, innovation has become a critical factor, which affects the core competitiveness of a company. However, studies about the relationship between internal stock option mechanisms and innovation productivity remain limited. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the impact of stock options and their elements design on innovation output from an internal mechanism perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 302 stock option incentive plans announced and implemented between 2006 and 2016, this study uses the propensity score matching and difference-in-difference model to find out whether the implementation of stock options improves the innovation outputs of enterprises.
Findings
Based on the statistical analysis, it is concluded that: stock options can stimulate corporate innovation; a stock option may drive innovation outputs through two ways, performance-based incentives and risk-taking incentives, with the latter one playing a more dominant role and the risk-taking incentives of stock options, could be optimised when the non-executives granting proportion is larger, the granting range is limited, the incentive period is longer, the exercisable proportion is increasing, the price-to-strike ratio is lower and relatively loose performance assessment criteria are applied.
Originality/value
The conclusion reached in the study may provide valuable information to listed firms in designing and implementing the stock option plans.
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Noel Scott, Brent Moyle, Ana Cláudia Campos, Liubov Skavronskaya and Biqiang Liu
Ada T. Cenkci, Megan S. Downing, Tuba Bircan and Karen Perham-Lippman
Dan Huang, Dong Lu and Jin-hui Luo
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the extent of religion in a firm’s social environment affects corporate innovation and innovation efficiency from the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the extent of religion in a firm’s social environment affects corporate innovation and innovation efficiency from the perspectives of religion-related risk aversion and religion-based social norms.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 8,601 Chinese firm-year observations from 2007 to 2012, this paper examines the relationship between religion and innovation intensity, as well as innovation efficiency. A battery of checks, that is, adopting Heckman selection model, using a province-level measure of religiosity and an alternative measure of innovation intensity, and taking the stochastic frontier analysis method to capture corporate innovation efficiency, are conducted to alleviate the concern of self-selection and to guarantee the robustness of the findings of this paper.
Findings
This paper finds strong evidence that firms registered in more religious regions, that is, regions with more Buddhist monasteries within a certain radius, undertake fewer innovation activities as measured by the ratio of R&D investment over total sales income but achieve higher innovation efficiency reflected by the value-relevance of R&D investment.
Originality/value
This paper complements the existing literature by suggesting that religion can serve as an informal social mechanism and performs a “less is more” effect in disciplining corporate innovation activities.