Xi Song, Ziying Mo, Matthew Tingchi Liu, Ben Niu and Li Huang
This study initiated an investigation of how the Macau–Zhuhai tourism cooperated and discussed how Macau and Zhuhai could join hands to develop tourism in the region. The study…
Abstract
Purpose
This study initiated an investigation of how the Macau–Zhuhai tourism cooperated and discussed how Macau and Zhuhai could join hands to develop tourism in the region. The study demonstrated an approach for destination marketing organizations to explore online tourist-generated content and to understand tourists' perceptions of the destination image (DI).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,291,057 reviews (535,317 for Macau and 755,740 for Zhuhai) were collected, analyzed and examined to determine how the DI s of Macau and Zhuhai changed during the period of 2015–2019 based on tourist-generated content on travel websites (TripAdvisor, Ctrip.com and Qyer.com) through a text-mining approach.
Findings
The result revealed that Macau and Zhuhai were in a hybrid of competition and collaboration on tourism DI s. First, Macau and Zhuhai competed in hotel and catering industry. Macau was appealing to international tourists and provided high-end and prestigious offerings; while Zhuhai was impressed by cost-effective accommodation and food. Second, Macau diversified industrial structure with diverse “Tourism, Leisure and Recreation” and “Culture, History and Art” more than Zhuhai did. Meanwhile, Macau should balance the different demands of international and Chinese tourists. Third, complementary potentials were found in natural resources, urbanization technology and tourism innovation and related projects.
Practical implications
The research provides valuable insights for policymakers and industrial managers on their endeavors to develop DIs. Policymakers should be able to develop supportive mechanisms and tourism facilitators to promote industrial collaboration and mutual DIs. Managers could refer to the components in the changing DIs and identify the developmental gaps and cooperation potentials in their targeted areas.
Originality/value
The research fulfills the gap in regional tourism studies on Macau, in which the evaluation on synergetic influence and neighbor effect from Zhuhai has been underexplored. Facilitated by up-to-date data mining techniques, the study contributes to both DI and coopetition literature in tourism marketing; and this should inspire further studies on the antecedences of DI changes, resolutions to the competing interests and DIs of different stakeholders in different forms of strategic cooperation in regional tourism. The employment of DIs is an explicit demonstration of tourists' immersion and values attached to the destination, providing effective cues on the status of coopetition.
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Ziying Mo, Matthew Tingchi Liu and IpKin Anthony Wong
Drawing on self-determination theory and the service-profit chain, this study aims to expand the current understanding of the internal processes of internal market orientation…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on self-determination theory and the service-profit chain, this study aims to expand the current understanding of the internal processes of internal market orientation (IMO) on an organizational commitment by investigating the interactive effect between job (task) satisfaction and internal service quality in the field of hospitality and tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the cross-level effects of internal service quality through a time-lagged field study with multilevel structural equation modeling analysis that involved 667 frontline employees from 40 casino hotels.
Findings
The results reveal the IMO has an indirect effect on affective and normative organizational commitments through the interaction of job (task) satisfaction with internal service quality, such that internal service quality compensates for relatively low levels of job (task) satisfaction. While no indirect effect is found on continuance organizational commitment.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the service-profit chain by integrating self-determination theory and by investigating IMO’s indirect effects on commitment through the interaction between job (task) satisfaction and internal service quality.
Practical implications
The study provides practical solutions to the employee servicing and employee retention dilemmas faced by casino organizations.
Originality/value
This study advances the service-profit chain literature by proposing and theorizing an internal process of IMO, through the cross-level buffering effect of internal service quality on the relationship between job (task) satisfaction and organizational commitment. This study further presents the theoretical and managerial implications by understanding how employees’ perceptions and interpretations of IMO affect their commitment.
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Matthew Tingchi Liu, Yongdan Liu, Ziying Mo, Zhidong Zhao and Zhenghao Zhu
The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e. responsibility to customers, employees and society) influences customer behavioural…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e. responsibility to customers, employees and society) influences customer behavioural loyalty in the hotel industry. The mediating effects of brand image and customer trust on the relationship between CSR and customer behavioural loyalty are also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 298 valid responses to questionnaire surveys were collected from a convenience sample in China in 2017. A structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Hotel customer behavioural loyalty can be enhanced by CSR performance. Performance in each of the three CSR domains positively impacted customer behavioural loyalty to different degrees. The impact of CSR on the customer had the strongest influence on Chinese customers’ behavioural loyalty among the three CSR domains of customer, employee and society. Brand image and customer trust were found to be mediators of the relationship between CSR performance and customer behavioural loyalty.
Originality/value
The current research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that CSR activities are not all equally effective. Results reveal that the society dimension of CSR had the strongest impact on Chinese customers’ brand image of hotels among the three CSR dimensions investigated. In terms of Chinese hotel customers’ trust, the CSR–customer dimension plays the most effective role. The findings also support the notion that Chinese consumers are beginning to use CSR information to evaluate hotels.
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Yongdan Liu, Matthew Tingchi Liu, Andrea Pérez, Wilco Chan, Jesús Collado and Ziying Mo
The clothing industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, although manufacturers and retailers are trying to revert this tendency by applying ethical fashion…
Abstract
Purpose
The clothing industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, although manufacturers and retailers are trying to revert this tendency by applying ethical fashion principles. Drawing on the knowledge–attitude–behavior (KAB) model or practice, this study aims to predict Chinese consumers' purchase intention of ethical fashion by employing and extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB).
Design/methodology/approach
The extended TPB model incorporates knowledge of ethical fashion and trust in the fashion industry and two critical variables in ethical fashion literature to explain the purchase intention of ethical fashion. Primary data from 245 Chinese respondents were collected in 2019. The model was tested and analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings
Results show that the extended TPB model has higher predictability than the original TPB model. Attitude toward ethical fashion and subjective norm significantly predicts purchase intention while perceived behavioral control (PBC) does not. In addition, trust of ethical fashion is positively related to attitude toward ethical fashion and purchase intention, whereas knowledge of ethical fashion plays a significant role in predicting trust and the three TPB factors. The subjective norm was found to have the most significant impact on consumers' intention to purchase ethical fashion, which shows that social pressure from one individual's reference group is the most dominant factor in forming consumer's purchase intention on ethical fashion.
Originality/value
The findings enrich the past literature on ethical fashion that trusting belief is a salient determinant of consumers' attitude toward ethical fashion and purchase intention of ethical fashion products. The findings also supported the applicability of KAB and TPB in the domain of ethical consumption in the context of a developing country.
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Ziying Mo, Matthew Tingchi Liu and Peiguan Wu
The purpose of this study was to theorize and examine a Pygmalion perspective in how leader and coworker expectations predict in-role and ex-role employee green behavior (EGB).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to theorize and examine a Pygmalion perspective in how leader and coworker expectations predict in-role and ex-role employee green behavior (EGB).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a time-lagged field study, data were collected from a sample of 71 leaders and 340 members to examine the hypothesized relationships with a multilevel model (group level and individual level).
Findings
The results showed that leader green behavior and self-efficacy for EGB (i.e. the Pygmalion process) mediate the relationship between leader expectations and EGB, while self-efficacy mediates the relationship between coworker expectations and EGB. In addition, this study found that the effect of coworker expectations and EGB via self-efficacy is stronger when leaders themselves demonstrate a higher level of green behavior.
Originality/value
This study also aims to provide a multilevel theory and investigates the interplay between multilevel variables in encouraging EGB. It also extends previous EGB literature through investigating a different process (i.e. the Pygmalion process) relating leader expectations for EGB to EGB. Moreover, this study develops implications of Pygmalion process on EGB from theoretical and practical perspectives.
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Matthew Tingchi Liu, Yongdan Liu, Ziying Mo and Kai Lam Ng
Travel websites allow tourists to share their thoughts, beliefs and experiences regarding various travel destinations. In this paper, the researchers demonstrated an approach for…
Abstract
Purpose
Travel websites allow tourists to share their thoughts, beliefs and experiences regarding various travel destinations. In this paper, the researchers demonstrated an approach for destination marketing organisations to explore online tourist-generated content and understand tourists' perceptions of the destination image (DI). Specifically, the researchers initiated an investigation examining how the destination image of Macau changed during the period of 2014–2018 based on user-generated content on travel websites.
Design/methodology/approach
Web crawlers developed by Python were employed to collect tourists' reviews from both Ctrip and TripAdvisor regarding the theme of “Macau attraction”. A total of 51,191 reviews (41,352 from Ctrip and 9,839 from TripAdvisor) were collected and analysed using the text-mining technique.
Findings
The results reveal that the frequency of casino-related words decreased in reviews by both international and mainland Chinese tourists. Additionally, international and mainland Chinese tourists perceive the DI of Macau differently. Mainland Chinese tourists are more sensitive to new attractions, while international tourists are not. The study also shows that there are differences between the government-projected DI and the tourist-perceived DI. Only the “City of Culture” and “A World Centre of Tourism and Leisure” have built recognition with tourists.
Originality/value
Given the easy accessibility of online information from various sources, it is important for destination marketing organisations to analyse and monitor different DI perspectives and adjust their branding strategies for greater effectiveness. This study uncovered the online DI of Macau by using text mining and content analysis of two of the largest travel websites. By analysing and comparing the differences and relationships among the frequently used words of tourist-generated content on these websites, the researchers revealed some interesting findings with important marketing implications.
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Jin Xue, Ziying Mo, Matthew Tingchi Liu and Ming Gao
The objective of this study was to improve understanding of frontline staff's subjective happiness and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating the roles of…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to improve understanding of frontline staff's subjective happiness and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating the roles of employees' busy mindset and leader conscientiousness.
Design/methodology/approach
The link between employee anxiety and subjective happiness was also explored, and the cross-level mediating effect of employee anxiety was tested using a multilevel design. A survey of 373 frontline staffers and 74 team leaders in the integrated resorts (IRs) was conducted in three waves: April (Time 1), May (Time 2) and June (Time 3) in 2020. The data were analysed with SPSS and Mplus using a hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) method.
Findings
The results indicated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, a busy mindset increased frontline staff's anxiety and thus decreased their subjective happiness, and leader conscientiousness remedied the effect of anxiety on subjective happiness.
Practical implications
The findings are relevant to frontline staffers, team leaders in the hospitality industry and corporate service departments. Against the background of COVID-19, conscientious leaders can significantly help employees to overcome their anxiety and insecurity and improve their subjective happiness, answering the urgent call to deal with the challenges of the new work–life environment.
Originality/value
The study differs from previous other studies in two dimensions: First, the authors explored the interactions of the affective events from the cross-level perspectives, i.e. both team level and individual level. Second, the authors conducted this research on the mental issues of the hospitality frontline staffers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which remains a black box to be explored.
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Matthew Tingchi Liu, Yongdan Liu and Ziying Mo
This research extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and aims to study the underlying factors that influence Chinese consumers' purchase intentions towards green products…
Abstract
Purpose
This research extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and aims to study the underlying factors that influence Chinese consumers' purchase intentions towards green products. The conceptual model encompasses four elements (subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, moral norms and attitude) and one consumer response (purchase intention).
Design/methodology/approach
The current research employs a questionnaire survey and two experiments. In Study 1, the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling with 485 consumers in China. Study 2 employed a single-factor, two-condition (morally engaged vs control), between-subject design.
Findings
The findings reveal that the morally extended TPB framework is more applicable in predicting Chinese consumers' green purchase intentions than the original TPB model. Attitude plays the most significant role in predicting purchase intentions, and moral norms prove to be a mediator of the relationship between the original construct of subjective norms and purchase intentions. The findings further revealed that moral norms comprise the underlying mechanism of the relationship between subjective norms and attitude.
Originality/value
This study therefore expands the TPB theory by including moral norms. Moreover, it contributes to the literature by clarifying the direct, indirect and total effects of each TPB element on the purchase intentions towards green products. Finally, managerial implications are given.
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This paper aims to discuss the concept of fetishism as an important but understudied kind of magical relationship to objects. Fetishism in the context of contemporary consumption…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the concept of fetishism as an important but understudied kind of magical relationship to objects. Fetishism in the context of contemporary consumption is conceptualized as a multilayered construct underlining the attribution of an aura and magical power to a product to achieve personal goals.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted to highlight contextual factors influencing the emergence of fetishism in contemporary consumption, to underline the instrumental and aspirational dimensions of fetishism and to provide a definition of contemporary product fetishism.
Findings
The results show that fetishism appears as fragmented and unstable magical beliefs toward products related to a need to cope with uncertain and important aspirational situations.
Originality/value
The paper provides a multidisciplinary approach of fetishism to provide insights regarding this phenomenon and its manifestations in the context of contemporary consumption.