Emily Ma

Modeling OCB for hotels: don't forget the customers.

Most research examining organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has focused on employees’ efforts that benefit the organization or the individuals’ coworkers. A third dimension that is critical for the hospitality industry is behavior above and beyond the specific job description that is directed at customers. While most OCB studies have considered what behaviors are essential to corporate citizenship, but specific behaviors might be culturally bound. To avoid cultural issues, a more effective approach is to analyze the targets of citizenship behavior, that is, the organization, coworkers, and customers. A study of 240 hotel workers in China found support for a three-leg model of OCB, combining behavior aimed at these targets: at the organization itself, at coworkers, and at customers. Citizenship behavior aimed at the organization includes such activities as promoting a hotel’s products and making favorable comments about the property outside of work. Citizenship behavior in support of coworkers includes assisting them as needed and taking time to listen to coworkers’ concerns. Customer-focused OCB includes such activities as maintaining a positive attitude at work and performing duties carefully and accurately. Although this study did not expressly measure the results of such actions, previous work has shown increases in guest satisfaction and company revenue when OCB activities are high.

Customer Loyalty With Fine Dining: The Moderating Role of Gender

Building customer loyalty is an important strategy for the success of fine-dining restaurants. Knowing individual customers’ differences, especially the distinction between male and female customers in service quality and image perception, as well as satisfaction and loyalty formation, is crucial to attract and retain customers. This study examined the structural relationships among food quality, staff service quality, image, customer satisfaction, and loyalty in the context of fine-dining restaurants with a special focus on gender’s moderating effects. The results showed that food quality and staff service quality both contributed to the customers’ satisfaction and perceived image of the restaurant. Restaurant image and customer satisfaction explained a large variance in customer loyalty. Gender moderated five out of the six proposed relationships, which supported gender’s moderating role in the context of fine-dining restaurants.

The Affective and Dispositional Consequences of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Study

Despite its known impacts on organizational effectiveness, few studies have investigated organizational citizenship behavior’s (OCB’s) impact on the individual employee. This study explored the affective and dispositional consequences of OCB for hotel employees and their relationships with turnover intention. A cross-cultural comparison of U.S. and Chinese hotel employees was incorporated into the survey-based research design. The results supported positive emotion, continuance commitment, and workplace social inclusion as consequences of OCBs and mediators in the OCB–turnover relationship, with significant differences by OCB targets. The results also supported culture’s moderating role in the relationship of OCB and its consequences. The implications of the findings and directions for future research were discussed.

Impacts of China Tourism Law on Chinese Outbound Travelers and Stakeholders: An Exploratory Discussion

China’s first Tourism Law came into force on October 1, 2013 with the purpose of regulating malpractices in the tourism industry, in particular coercive shopping, low price, and poor quality tours. It is still not clear how it has impacted on travelers and the relevant stakeholders, such as destinations and travel agencies. As an exploratory study, the authors have identified and analyzed the possible outcomes of the Tourism Law’s impacts on various stakeholders and pointed directions for future research on this topic.

Hospitality Management Students’ Expectation and Perception of a Virtual Field Trip Web Site: An Australian Case Study Using Importance–Performance Analysis

ABSTRACT This study examined students’ expectations and perceptions of quality features of a virtual field trip in a course within a hospitality degree. A quantitative research design was used and data were collected from 182 hospitality students at an Australian university. Descriptive analysis and Importance–Performance analysis were performed to analyze the data. The results revealed that overall students were satisfied with the quality of the learning experience they gained from using the website. Through Importance–Performance Analysis, the study also identified aspects of the website that need to be further improved. The study enriches the literature in electronic-learning and confirms the virtual field trip as an effective tool for supporting the practical components of hospitality education and improving students learning experience. To allow a similar approach to be applied to other courses within hospitality degrees, additional research is required to assess its effectiveness in terms of students’ learning experience and educational outcomes.

Transaction Cost and Resources Based Views on Hotels’ Outsourcing Mechanism: An Empirical Study in China

ABSTRACT Guided by the Transaction Cost Theory and the Resource Base Views, the study proposed a framework on hotel outsourcing decisions and empirically tested it. Data were collected using a survey from 240 supervisory and management level hotel employees in China who’ve dealt with outsourcing. The study found that suppliers’ cost-efficiency and specialization contribute to the overall efficiency of hotels, which further enhances the perceived overall service performance of outsourcing suppliers and hotels’ long-term commitments with outsourcing suppliers.

Conceptualization and Operationalization of an Altruistic and Egoistic Continuum of Organizational Citizenship Behavior Motivations

This study proposes and empirically tests a holistic framework of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) motivation that uses an altruistic–egoistic continuum. It also tests the structural relationships between altruistic and egoistic motivations and different dimensions of OCB. Analysis of questionnaire data from 398 hotel employee respondents supported eight of nine proposed relationships. Study results indicate a continuum incorporating multiple altruistic and egoistic motivations and suggest that OCB can be stimulated by both altruistic and egoistic motivations. The findings show that managers should facilitate positive social exchange in the hotel, provide constructive feedback regarding the desired performance, and encourage employees to engage more often in OCB directed toward the organization.

A study of the effects of leisure time on China's economic growth: a neoclassic growth model.

The aim of this study is to assess the effects of leisure time on Chinas long-run economic growth. Two compensation effects of leisure are introduced into the growth model to assess if leisure choice-set affects economic growth in the long term. Time series data covering 23 years (1981- 2003) are used in the study, and a neoclassic growth model is employed to analyze the data. The result shows a weak and negative relationship between leisure time and Chinas long-term economic growth.

Understanding wine tourism in China using an integrated product-level and experience economy framework

ABSTRACT Wine tourism in China is an emerging market. This study addresses two research questions: the product offering and the tourist experience in this market. Findings of an exploratory study using netnography were examined by combining product levels theory and the experience economy model. The resulting proposed theoretical framework identified the status of Chinas wine tourism market as situated in the infancy stage. Results revealed the core product needed more customers’ involvement, and enrichment of the augmented product, to best position the wine destinations. While, enhancing educational, entertainment, and escapist experiences would benefit the whole experiences and increase future loyalty.

Destination attractiveness and travel intention: the case of Chinese and Indian students in Queensland, Australia

ABSTRACT Destination attractiveness is an important stream of literature. Australia has been recognized as one of the world’s most attractive destinations. This study looked into international students’ perceptions of Australia as an attractive international tourism destination as well as their travel intention. A sample of 252 Chinese and Indian international students participated in the study. Students’ perceived destination attractiveness and how it influenced their travel intention, pleasure of travel and place attachment were investigated. The study also looked into perception differences between Chinese and Indian students using t-test and hierarchical regressions.