International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Wong, Antony King Fung; Koseoglu, Mehmet Ali; Kim, Seongseop (Sam)

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-05-2020-0493

This study aims to examine the current state of the research activities of scholars in the hospitality and tourism field by analyzing the first 20 years of the new millennium.Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal analyses using 14,229 journal articles as data source were realized by adopting BibExcel, Gephi and VOSviewer network analysis software packages.FindingsThis study provides a comprehensive overview of the hospitality and tourism research based on authorship and social network analysis, with patterns of prolific authors compared over four distinct periods.Research limitations/implicationsThe hospitality and tourism academic society is clearly illustrated by tracing academic publication activities across 20 years in the new millennium. In addition, this study provides a guide for scholars to search for multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities. Government agencies and non-governmental organisations can also benefit from this study by identifying appropriate review panel members when making decisions about hospitality- and tourism-related proposals.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use bibliometric analysis in assessing research published in leading hospitality and tourism journals across the four breakout periods in the new millennium.

Errajaa, Karim; Legohérel, Patrick; Daucé, Bruno; Bilgihan, Anil

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-06-2020-0637

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of scent congruence with the brand image in the formation of consumers’ reactions to the atmosphere of a place.Design/methodology/approachUsing a factorial design (i.e. scent congruent with the brand image, scent not congruent and control), an experiment was conducted in a multi-service and hospitality space welcoming both local consumers and tourists (N = 303).FindingsThe findings show that when the scent is perceived as congruent with the brand image, reactions in the store are more favourable. It is not enough to use a scent that “smells good” or that is congruent with other factors (e.g. sensory environment); the scent must be perceived by consumers as consistent with the brand image. Findings also reveal that the diffusion of a scent congruent with the brand image improves guest satisfaction, intention to revisit and perceptions of the product and service.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations are both the emphasis on direct links and the focus on a French brand (café/co-working space franchise). It would be appropriate to extend the research to other contexts.Practical implicationsThe findings show how important it is for hospitality organisations to use scents to generate a positive impact on their guests. Hotel, restaurant and café managers wishing to enhance customer reactions through the creation of an olfactory atmosphere should take scent congruence with the brand image into consideration.Originality/valueThe study of the effects of the atmosphere on consumer behaviour as a function of olfactory congruence with the brand image uses in-situ experimentation (café/co-working and food and beverage area).

Aboramadan, Mohammed; Turkmenoglu, Mehmet Ali; Dahleez, Khalid Abed; Cicek, Berat

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-04-2020-0348

Building on leader-member exchange and social cognitive theories, this paper aims to propose a model of the influence of narcissistic leadership on hotel employees’ behavioral cynicism through the mediating roles of employee silence and negative work-related gossiping on this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe model was examined using covariance-based structural equation modeling using data collected from 468 employees working in several different departments in Italian hotels.FindingsThe findings illustrate that narcissistic leadership positively affects behavioral cynicism. Furthermore, employee silence and negative work-related gossiping are shown to have a significant mediating effect on this relationship.Practical implicationsThe study may be of use for hotel managers as it demonstrates how narcissism can be very damaging to their organizations and employees.Originality/valueTo date, this study is the first to examine negative work-related gossiping and employee silence as mediator variables in the relationship between narcissistic leadership and behavioral cynicism in the hotel industry. Further, this research makes a significant contribution to the hospitality literature as the topic of narcissistic leadership has not, to date, been adequately investigated in the sector.

Gassmann, Shari-Estelle; Nunkoo, Robin; Tiberius, Victor; Kraus, Sascha

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-06-2020-0596

This paper aims to formulate the most probable future scenario for the accommodation sharing sector within the next five to ten years. It addresses the following six thematic aspects: relevance, different forms of accommodation sharing, users, hosts, platforms, and finally, industry regulation.Design/methodology/approachThis study identifies the most likely holistic future scenario by conducting a two-stage Delphi study involving 59 expert panelists. It addresses 33 projections for six thematic sections of the accommodation sharing industry: relevance, different forms of accommodation sharing, users, hosts, platforms, and finally, industry regulation.FindingsThe results indicate that the number of shared accommodations and users of home-sharing will increase. Moreover, the cost advantage is the predominant driver for users to engage in the accommodation sharing segment, and for the hosts, the generation of an extra income is the primary incentive. Finally, the regulation within this industry is expected to be more effective in the foreseeable future.Practical implicationsThe results are critical, not only to advance our theoretical understanding and stimulate critical discussions on the long-term development of accommodation sharing but also to assist governments and policymakers who have an interest in developing and regulating this sector and developers seeking business opportunities.Originality/valueWhile there is ample knowledge about the past and current development of accommodation sharing in tourism, little is understood about its potential future development and implications for consumers, the economy, and society. To date, no scientific research is available that develops scenarios about the future of accommodation sharing.

Gour, Alekh; Aggarwal, Shikha; Erdem, Mehmet

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-07-2020-0760

The dynamic yet volatile nature of tourism and travel industry in a competitive environment calls for enhanced marketing intelligence and analytics, especially for those entities with limited marketing budgets. The past decade has witnessed an increased use of user-generated content (UGC) analysis as a marketing tool to make better informed decisions. Likewise, textual data analysis of UGC has gained much attention among tourism and hospitality scholars. Nonetheless, most of the scholarly works have focused on the singular application of an existing method or technique rather than using a multi-method approach. The purpose of this study is to propose a novel Web analytics methodology to examine online reviews posted by tourists in real time and assist decision-makers tasked with marketing strategy and intelligence.Design/methodology/approachFor illustration, the case of tourism campaign in India was undertaken. A total of 305,298 reviews were collected, and after filtering, 276,154 reviews were qualified for analysis using a string of models. Descriptive charts, sentiment analysis, clustering, topic modeling and machine learning algorithms for real-time classification were applied.FindingsUsing big data from TripAdvisor, a total of 145 tourist destinations were clustered based on tourists’ perceptions. Further exploration of each cluster through topic modeling was conducted, which revealed interesting insights into satisfiers and dissatisfiers of different clusters of destinations. The results supported the use of the proposed multi-method Web-analytics approach.Practical implicationsThe proposed machine learning model demonstrated that it could provide real-time information on the sentiments in each incoming review about a destination. This information might be useful for taking timely action for improvisation or controlling a service situation.Originality/valueIn terms of Web-analytics and UGC, a comprehensive analytical model to perform an end-to-end understanding of tourist behavior patterns and offer the potential for real-time interpretation is rarely proposed. The current study not only proposes such a model but also offers empirical evidence for a successful application. It contributes to the literature by providing scholars interested in textual analytics a step-by-step guide to implement a multi-method approach.

Huang, Songshan (Sam); Yu, Zhicheng; Shao, Yuhong; Yu, Meng; Li, Zhiyong

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-07-2020-0650

This study examines the relative effects of human capital (HC), social capital (SC) and psychological capital (PC) on hotel employees’ job performance.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 417 employees from seven five-star hotels in China was recruited for the study. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to confirm the quality of measurement structures. Stepwise regression was used to examine the relative effects of the three capitals on hotel employees’ job performance.FindingsPC was found to be the strongest predictor of self-reported job performance (SJP) among the three capitals under investigation. Education and work experience in the HC domain affected SJP, whereas SC dimensions did not. However, only education and work experience in the HC domain were found to affect supervisor-rated job performance (RJP).Practical implicationsGiven the impact of PC on hotel employee’s SJP, human resource managers should attend to this capital in staff recruitment, retention and training and development.Originality/valueThis study provides a holistic comparative lens to examine the relative contribution of the three capitals on hotel employees’ job performance. This will help to further clarify the roles played by each of the capitals in hotel service work, thus advancing the development of the theories underlying each of the three capitals.

Sarwar, Aisha; Muhammad, Lakhi

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-01-2020-0051

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that can hinder employee performance. Thereof, this study also investigates the mediating role of perceived incivility and the moderating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) to address “why” and “when” employee performance is undermined.Design/methodology/approachData from 485 employees of hotel industry were gathered in two-time intervals (T1 and T2) by conducting a survey. The time interval gap between Time 1 and Time 2 was 15 days. The data of the respondents were analyzed by using Smart PLS3.FindingsThe results revealed that injustice perceptions led to perceived incivility, while organizational dehumanization and perceived incivility decreased employee performance. Perceived incivility mediated the relationship between interactional injustice and employee performance. Moreover, PsyCap played the moderating role in curbing the effect of stressor.Practical implicationsThis study offers hotel managers a valuable insight to formulate effective strategies that can enhance performance and PsyCap amongst their employees, aside from minimizing stressors within the context of hotel industry.Originality/valueThis research contributes to literature by focusing on factors that can undermine employee performance. The study outcomes have essential implications for students, researchers and practitioners. The valuable insights facilitate researchers to focus on factors that lead to deterioration of employee performance, instead of investigating the often-sought employee performance increment factors. This study aids fresh research endeavor by establishing a new avenue for investigation. Hotel managers may find this study insightful to minimize adverse stressors that could deteriorate employee performance.

Liu, Yi; Hu, Han-fen

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-08-2020-0856

Consumers’ evaluation of online review helpfulness has been widely examined. The extant literature suggests that the attributes of review content (e.g. review length and extremity) influence review helpfulness. However, review length cannot fully reflect the richness of the review content. Anchoring on information diagnosticity and extremity bias, this study aims to explore the effect of review comprehensiveness on its helpfulness.Design/methodology/approachField observations were obtained from 11,812 online restaurant reviews on a popular restaurant review platform. A controlled experiment was conducted to further delineate the effect of review comprehensiveness.FindingsReview comprehensiveness moderates the effects of review length and an extremely negative review on helpfulness. It also confirms that for reviews of the same length, one covering more aspects is perceived by consumers as more helpful.Practical implicationsDifferent aspects of information in a review can efficiently assist decision-making. The results suggest that review platforms can better design their interface by providing separate areas for different product aspects. The platform can then receive more comprehensive and helpful reviews and increase the diagnosticity of these.Originality/valueThe study enriches the literature by introducing review comprehensiveness and examining the joint effects of review length and comprehensiveness on helpfulness. It also contributes to the literature by indicating how to reduce the effect of review extremity.

Sainaghi, Ruggero

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-08-2020-0884

This paper aims to explore two research questions. The first focuses on the main methodological characteristics of previous studies in the field of price and revenue research in terms of commercial peer-to-peer accommodation platforms (P2P APs). The second compares the 33 articles and identifies the convergent and divergent findings. The literature review outlines some future research avenues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a literature review that explore the price and revenue determinants in the field of P2P APs (such as Airbnb). The methodology shows how the sample was defined and is based on three steps: selection of papers, sample selection, and coding. The research was carried out in March 2020 and generated an initial sample composed of roughly 3,000 articles. A two-stage inclusion/exclusion process was applied to select the final sample, which includes 33 articles.FindingsThe empirical findings report the main antecedents of price and revenue as well as the methodological domains of the analyzed papers. Focusing on determinants, six blocks of variables were identified. The listing variables (48%), host characteristics (18%), location (12%), guest review (11%), destination characteristics (11%) and external comparison (1%). For each block, convergent and divergent findings are illustrated.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of this study relate to the criteria used in selecting the sample and the manual coding activity. This last decision (manual coding activity) was based on the limited number of papers available and the wide spectrum of variables used.Practical implicationsThe practical implications are many, and they include a greater awareness of the variables that influence price and revenue as well as the impact that these variables could have on rates. Furthermore, managers interested in analyzing specific topics or variables can find analytical support in the information reported in the appendices.Originality/valueThe evidence provided is useful both for scholars considering further research in this field and for practitioners seeking to define pricing policies. Some future research avenues have been outlined, including new topics for development and methodological advancements.

Li, Shuhao; Wei, Min

2021 International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

doi: 10.1108/ijchm-07-2020-0656

This study aims to investigate the effect of hotel servicescape on customer citizenship behaviors “CCBs” by addressing customer engagement as a mediator and gender as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachA total of 619 questionnaires were collected from hotel customers. Structural equation modeling was applied for data analysis.FindingsCustomer engagement mediates the effects of physical and social servicescapes on CCBs of providing feedback to an organization, making recommendations and helping other customers. Moreover, the indirect effects of physical servicescape on the three types of CCBs through customer engagement are stronger for male than for female customers, whereas no significant gender difference is observed in those effects of social servicescape on these types of CCBs through customer engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThis study can help hotels promote the three types of CCBs and customer engagement by creating wonderful physical and social servicescape elements. The major limitation is that this study collected survey data outside the hotel environment.Originality/valueThis study enriches current knowledge on the servicescape-driven responses by exploring how hotel servicescape elements affect the three types of CCBs through customer engagement. Additionally, the different moderating roles of gender in the indirect influences of servicescape elements on these types of CCBs are presented.