International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Tingchi Liu, Matthew ; Anthony Wong, Ipkin ; Rongwei, Chu ; Tseng, Ting-Hsiang

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-05-2013-0222

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how perceptions associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence customers’ preference and loyalty in a controversial consumer market. The mediating effect of brand preference between perceived CSR initiatives and customer loyalty is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology in the current study involves the use of questionnaire surveys delivered to a convenience sample in the city of Macau in 2012. A total of 616 valid samples were collected among casino players in a high bet limit area in six major casinos. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated for carrying the study forward. Findings – The findings indicated that customers’ brand preference can be enhanced by their perceptions on CSR. Two CSR initiatives (stakeholders and society) significantly increase loyalty intention, although to varying degrees. The impact of CSR on stakeholders has a stronger influence on customers’ brand preference. Another important finding of the current study is the fact that brand preference is a partial mediator of perceived CSR initiatives and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications – This study verified the relationship among CSR initiatives perception, brand preference and loyalty intention in the context of the Macau gaming industry. Perceived CSR initiatives enhance customer loyalty. Additionally, this study found a partial mediating effect of brand preference between CSR perception and customer loyalty. Practical implications – Customer loyalty can be enhanced with companies’ appropriate investments in social responsibilities. Although a socially responsible brand image of a company is not guaranteed to be a competitive advantage that attracts more premium customers, there is a general consensus that it may result in the latter with appropriate CSR strategies involving the greatest attention directed toward improving stakeholders’ interests. From the marketing perspective, retaining premium customers with a higher brand preference level is a key to both long-term competitiveness and profitability. Originality/value – This study investigates how premium customers’ perceived CSR initiatives of a casino influence their loyalty intention, and also examines how brand preference, as a mediator, influences the relationship between perceived CSR and loyalty intention. Extending the realm of CSR study to understand the linkage between CSR and customer behaviors is also important because multiple theories predict different benefits, and assessing the value of CSR, therefore, requires multiple approaches. Finally, evidence from the research is significant for researchers and practitioners, especially when working on conflicting issues.

Geng, Zizhen ; Liu, Chao ; Liu, Xinmei ; Feng, Jie

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-12-2012-0244

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically test and extend knowledge of the effects of emotional labor of frontline service employee. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examined the effects of emotional labor (surface acting and deep acting) on frontline employee creativity, as well as the mediating effects of different kinds of job stress (hindrance stress and challenge stress) on the relationship between emotional labor and creativity. The research hypotheses were tested using data collected from 416 service employee–supervisor dyads in 82 Chinese local restaurants. Findings – Results show that surface acting is negatively related to and deep acting is positively related to frontline employee creativity; surface acting is positively related to hindrance stress, while deep acting is positively related to challenge stress; and hindrance stress mediates the relationship between surface acting and creativity. Originality/value – This study extends the consequences of emotional labor to frontline employee creativity from a cognitive perspective. It also advances knowledge about the effects of emotional labor on stress by classifying different kinds of job stress caused by different cognitive appraisals of surfacing acting and deep acting, and revealing the role of hindrance stress as psychological mechanism through which surface acting affects creativity.

Huang, Hui-Chun ; Chang, Ya-Ting ; Yeh, Che-Yi ; Liao, Chung-Wei

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-05-2013-0204

Purpose – The authors empirically evaluated the effect of price promotions on customer quality evaluations and repeat-purchase intentions in coffee chain stores. The moderating role of customer characteristics in this process was also investigated. Design/methodology/approach – Consumers in 12 coffee chain stores were surveyed and 488 usable questionnaires were obtained. Relationships in the test model were examined using structural equation modeling techniques. A multiple-group solution was used to test the moderating effects of consumer characteristics. Findings – The results of structural equation modeling analyses suggested that price-promotion activities at Starbucks in Taiwan had a favorable effect on customer quality evaluations and positively influenced repeat-purchase intentions. The moderating effects of consumer characteristics were partially supported. Whereas sex showed no significant moderating effect, consumption frequency did demonstrate a moderating effect. Practical implications – The results indicate that existing customers may see price promotions at Starbucks in Taiwan as a reward or incentive, and thus lead to an increase in favorable evaluations. The findings provide a new perspective that may encourage those involved in the marketing of coffee chain stores to manage price promotions in a more strategic manner by considering customer characteristics. Originality/value – The effects of price promotions on brand evaluation remain controversial and may vary among product categories. Additionally, most studies regarding price promotions have used an experimental approach, and few studies of price promotions in the coffee industry have been reported. The study is among the first to empirically examine the effects of price promotions and the moderating role of consumer characteristics in the process at coffee chain stores.

Koyuncu, Mustafa ; J. Burke, Ronald ; Astakhova, Marina ; Eren, Duygu ; Cetin, Hayrullah

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-06-2013-0238

Purpose – The aim of this article is to examine the relationship of service employees perceptions of servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and employee’s reports of service quality provided to clients by their hotels. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 221 frontline employees, a 37 per cent response rate, working in four- and five-star hotels in Cappadocia, Turkey. Previously developed and validated measures of servant leadership (Liden et al. , 2008) and service quality (Parasuraman et al. , 1988) were used and both were found to be highly reliable in this study. Findings – Respondents were generally young, had relatively short organizational tenure and had high school educations. Respondents having longer organizational tenures and those working in five-star hotels reported lower levels of servant leadership. Longer tenured employees, and males, rated some dimensions of service quality lower as well. Service employees reporting higher levels of servant leadership from their supervisors/managers generally indicated higher levels of service quality. Research limitations/implications – Some limitations should be noted. First, all data were collected using respondent self-reports, raising the limited possibility of response set tendencies. Second, the sample, while reasonably large, may not be representative of all hotel employees in Turkey. Third, all properties were located in one region of Turkey and may not be representative of hotel employees in other regions of the country. Practical implications – First, organizations could select individuals exhibiting higher levels of servant leadership potential based on indications that these individuals are interested in developing long-term relationships with staff and co-workers and in helping them become more skilled in doing their jobs. Selection can also be augmented by servant leadership training (Fulmer and Conger, 2004). Supervisors/managers could be coached to help them develop their staff and help them meet their unique goals (Raelin, 2003). Finally, workplace cultural value supportive of both servant leadership and service quality can be identified, modeled by senior level managers, supported and rewarded. Originality/value – Most studies focus on defining and measuring servant leadership or service quality. This study investigates the relationship between servant leadership and service quality.

Luoh, Hsiang-Fei ; Tsaur, Sheng-Hshiung ; Tang, Ya-Yun

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-03-2013-0153

Purpose – This study aims to explore the relationship between job standardization and employee innovative behavior, as well as the mediating and moderating effects of employee psychological empowerment. Little research has been focused on the conflicting concepts of job standardization and employee innovative behavior. Design/methodology/approach – Respondents chosen from frontline services in tourist hotels in Taiwan were used to examine the mediating and moderating roles of psychological empowerment on the established relationships between job standardization and employee innovative behavior. The results were analyzed using hierarchical regression models. Findings – The results show that job standardization had a negative effect on employee innovative behavior. In addition, employee psychological empowerment mediated the effect of job standardization on innovative behavior. Subsequently, employee psychological empowerment played a buffering role and moderated the job standardization–innovative behavior relationship. Practical implications – Hotel management needs to use both training and work process review to help employees innovate while still understanding the meaning of their work, enhancing self-efficacy, self-determination and the impact of decision-making. Originality/value – This study gives both theoretical and empirical evidence to clarify the effect of psychological empowerment on the importance of job standardization and innovative behavior in organizations. This is the only study that has investigated this topic in the hospitality field and therefore makes significant strides in understanding the impact of psychological empowerment on hotel employees’ innovative behavior.

Han, Heesup ; Hwang, Jinsoo

2014 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/IJCHM-04-2013-0163

Purpose – This study was designed with the aim to examine the formation of golfers’ intentions to play golf on traditional golf courses by considering the moderating impact of their outcome beliefs regarding the playing of screen golf. Other goals in this research were to test the mediating impact of desires and to identify the relative importance of study variables in generating intention within the proposed conceptual framework. The Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) was utilized to make a precise prediction of golfers’ intentions. Design/methodology/approach – The dataset was developed by distributing surveys in person at screen-golf cafés. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the fit of the proposed model and assess the hypothesized relationships. Tests for metric invariance were used to examine the moderating impact of outcome beliefs. Findings – Results from the SEM revealed that the proposed model predicted golfers’ intentions well, explaining significant amounts of variance. Desire acted as a significant mediator in the proposed conceptual framework. Compared to other study variables, both positive anticipated emotions and subjective norms had superior ability in generating golfers’ intentions to play real golf. Moreover, results from the test for metric invariance indicated that the intensity of golfers’ perceived benefits of playing screen golf affected their decision formation as a moderator, decreasing their intention to play real golf. Originality/value – Research considering the impact of screen golf on golfers’ decision-making processes is rare in the golf industry. Filling this gap, the present study successfully demonstrated that golfers’ decision formation is sufficiently explained by the MGB, and their perceived outcomes from playing screen golf represent a possible threat to the traditional golf industry.