International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

Conrad Lashley

2007 International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817710

Purpose – An emerging hospitality studies focus amongst British academics prioritizes the study of host and guest transactions as a key feature of hospitality research and publications. This short paper introduces the papers in the special issue. Design/methodology/approach – Provides a brief review of the papers within the issue. Findings – The study of host and guest transactions extends beyond commercial hospitality management activities. A large number of human interactions can be better understood through host and guest transactions. Commercial hospitality management through service quality management, employee relations, customer and employee transactions as well as the development of customer loyalty can also be informed by the study of hospitality through the study of host guest transactions. Originality/value – Outlines how the papers in this special issue provide a flavor of some of the research themes that social science perspectives suggest.

Kevin D. O'Gorman

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817729

Purpose – The emergent paradigm of hospitality studies does not have a coherent philosophical foundation. In seeking to identify a philosophy of hospitality this paper explores Derrida's contribution, along with other writers in philosophy and postcolonial theory, who are either writing in the field or have developed his works. Design/methodology/approach – Derrida and others are often cited within the context of the emerging paradigm of hospitality studies. In order to examine and critically evaluate the possibility of the construct of a philosophy of the phenomenon of hospitality, the review of the philosophical concepts is set within three perspectives: individual moral philosophy; hospitality and the nation states, and hospitality and language. Findings – Although examining the writings of Derrida and others provides an insight into the phenomenon of hospitality, a coherent philosophy of hospitality seems to be an enigma; possibly because hospitality is not a matter of objective knowledge. Research limitations/implications – In order to inform the emergent paradigm of hospitality studies there needs to be a continuing multi‐disciplinary study of hospitality; further inter and intra disciplinary research and investigation is required. Originality/value – The paper illustrates that critical analysis is more important than the unquestioning acceptance of the views of philosophical theorists.

Barry O'Mahony

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817738

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reveal insights into the relationship between migrant communities and the hospitality industry by examining the case study of Irish migrants into nineteenth century Victoria in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides examples of the pattern of engagement with the hospitality industry as well as individual and family stories that highlight how hotel‐keeping and the service of alcohol in Melbourne and regional Victoria in the mid‐to‐late 1800s, was a key element in social improvement and mobility of Irish migrants at that time. Findings – Although the relationship between the English and the Irish in the nineteenth century could be classified as difficult, the tensions that characterised Anglo‐Irish relations in a European context were remarkably absent in colonial Australia. This paper describes how conditions in the colonies when the majority of Irish migrants arrived allowed them to use the hospitality industry to improve their social standing and to consolidate their position in Australian society. Research limitations/implications – Migration presents an interesting interface between host communities and guest migrants, which go to the heart of hospitality. In addition, this case study suggests there are some interesting avenues to be followed by exploring cases of other migrant communities both in their relationships with hosts, but also in the opportunities offered by the hospitality industry for opportunities denied to migrants in wider community. Practical implications – The opportunities offered to migrants in the hospitality industry can provide a useful means of engagement for migrants into host communities through employment, and more importantly through the cultural interface allowed through hospitality enterprises whereby the migrant as guest acts as host to host community members in hospitality entrepreneurship. Originality/value – The paper has value to both practitioners and academics because it provides an example of migrant experiences and the opportunities presented by the hospitality industry for employment, entrepreneurship and ultimately community integration.

Conrad Lashley

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817747

Purpose – This discussion paper aims to provide an introduction to revised ways of understanding and approaching the study of hospitality. Design/methodology/approach – In addition to the consideration of hospitality from an array of social science and arts perspectives, the paper advocates an engagement with critical studies tools and concepts. These perspectives allow the study of hospitality which is critical to the deconstruction of meanings of hospitality, and to present an array of insights which better inform visions of the subject. Findings – The paper discusses the importance of critical thinking and outlines three philosophical positions relating to the study of hospitality and hospitality organisations. It suggests that too much academic research appears managerial in focus and is weakened by the lack of critical ways of thinking about hospitality. In particular, the paper goes on to highlight recent developments in hospitality research which are informed by different social science perspectives. Research limitations/implications – The study is based on a literature review though informed by a number of research projects. Future research projects picking up on the interplay between cultural, domestic and commercial hospitality contexts are major implications of this paper. Practical implications – The paper implies that commercial and educational hospitality practice would be better informed by both critical perspectives and reference to a number of social science and arts perspectives on hospitality. Competitive business strategies based on customer quality experiences will in future need to be informed by these perspectives. Originality/value – This paper provides a unique overview of hospitality informed both by hospitality research for careers in hospitality and the study of hospitality as a social interaction. As such it has value to both industry practitioners and to academics interested in studying hospitality and hospitableness.

Peter Lugosi

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817756

Purpose – This paper examines customers' participation in the production of commercial hospitality. Drawing on a study of queer consumers (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals), the paper considers the ways in which frequently circulated understandings, or myths, shaped consumers' actions. The case study is used to highlight previously under examined dimensions of participation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on an ethnographic study of bar culture. The principal method of data collection was participant observation, which involved working at one venue for 27 months, as well as social visits throughout a five‐year period. Participant observation was complemented by semi‐structured interviews with 26 informants, 19 of whom were interviewed repeatedly during the research. Findings – The paper suggests that three myths were evident in consumers' behavior: commonality, mutual safety, and the opportunities for liberated, playful consumption. Focusing on two particular aspects of participation: performative display and frontline labor, the paper discusses the ways in which these myths influenced patrons' actions. Research limitations/implications – The study suggests that an examination of the cultural dimensions of patronage provides crucial insights into consumer participation. The results will be relevant to social scientists and management academics seeking to understand the relationship between shared interest and identity, consumption, and the production of hospitable spaces. Originality/value – This study provides a new understanding of both the nature of and motivations for consumer participation. This challenges existing approaches, which have tended to focus narrowly on the managerial aspects of participation in the service sector.

Martha G. Robinson; Paul A. Lynch

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817765

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of control, fake solidarity and breakdown in hospitality. Following Robinson and Lynch, the need to explore the subjective experience of hospitality through literature is identified as being highly important to the understanding of this social phenomenon. One poem was chosen as a means of exploring subjective dimensions of hospitality and a detailed study was undertaken. Design/methodology/approach – From a total of 60 published poems on hospitality originally identified, one poem was selected owing to the interesting conceptual issues it raised, “Coffee with the meal” by Ogden Nash. The method of analysis is a sociolinguistic study from a critical discourse analysis perspective. Findings – Issues are elicited concerning management control, the micro‐ and macro‐universes affecting hospitality (as defined in Robinson and Lynch), the significance of forms of discourse in the construction of hospitality, issues leading to a breakdown in the consumer's perception of the hospitality experience. In Ogden Nash's poem, the breakdown is presented at the inter‐personal level between the service provider (the waiter) and the customer. Research limitations/implications – The investigation of sociolinguistic discourse from a critical discourse analysis perspective, applied to textual analysis provides a potentially valuable tool for analyzing literature in the search for insights into the assumptions and cultural discourse about hospitality. In this case, the chosen poem suggests that experiences of hospitality in commercial hospitality settings are subject to control by service deliverers. The insights provided can be instructive as comments on the experience of being a guest in commercial contexts. The poem is illustrative rather than representative. Practical implications – The analysis of these poems can be useful in developing a sensitive awareness of service breakdowns and the perceptions of customers. The research can assist in the development of a more customer‐centric approach to guest and host relations in commercial settings. Discussion focuses upon the significance of discourse, how we know hospitality, curriculum implications and means of advancing qualitative research methods used in hospitality. Originality/value – The use of literary criticism of poems is a unique approach which suggests that the study of hospitality can be informed invoking a multidisciplinary approach, by insights from fields of study not immediately linked to the management of commercial hospitality operations.

Hazel Andrews; Les Roberts; Tom Selwyn

2007 International Journal of Culture Tourism and Hospitality Research

doi: 10.1108/17506180710817774

Purpose – This paper aims to provoke discussion and reflection on the role of the erotic in the cultivation of spaces of hospitality, and to provide a theoretical consideration of the structural similarities of hospitality and eroticism. Design/methodology/approach – With reference to classical studies as well as debates in the social science literature, the paper starts by examining some of the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings to hospitality and eroticism. It then develops this analysis by considering examples drawn from ethnographic studies of “traditional” hospitality settings as well as of commercial hospitality environments of charter tourism. Findings – The main outcome of the discussion is to demonstrate the structural relations between hospitality and eroticism. By situating the analysis within a broad theoretical and ethnographic context, it is shown that the erotic has historically functioned as a socially‐binding and communicative mode of social intercourse that, while undermined by the demands of a market‐based culture of commercial hospitality, is also able to flourish within these same adverse conditions. Research limitations/implications – This paper invites further research into the connections between hospitality and eroticism in settings similar to and different from those described in the paper. A fuller ethnographic study of the relationship between the two is needed, as well as an exploration of more theoretical perspectives on hospitality drawn from the social science literature. Practical implications – By highlighting the socially binding role of eroticism in the structuring of host‐guest relations, the paper draws on and contributes to a broader politics of love and sensuality that will inform critical reflections on commercial and market‐driven hospitality practices. Originality/value – This paper provides an original insight into the interrelationship between hospitality and eroticism. It further illuminates previous writings on both subjects but particularly that of eroticism and is supported by empirical data. It is of particular interest to those studying hospitality from a social science perspective.