Erdogan Koc

An exploratory analysis of the influence of human resource management activities and organizational climate on job satisfaction in Turkish banks

This study aims to explore the influence of human resource management (HRM) activities and organizational climate on job satisfaction in Turkish banks. The study first examines the relative influence of eight HRM activities of: (i) behavior and attitudes (in recruitment and selection); (ii) teamwork; (iii) extensive training; (iv) written policies; (v) training in multiple functions; (vi) incentives; (vii) performance appraisal; and (viii) feedback on performance on job satisfaction. Second, the influence of six factors relating to organizational climate are examined, again from the view point of their influence on job satisfaction. The second group factors are: (i) support for innovation; (ii) managerial competence and consistency; (iii) workload pressure; (iv) cohesion; (v) organizational boundaries; and (vi) organizational ethics. The data collected through interviews from 346 employees from 19 banks show that in addition to the positive impact of HRM activities, organizational climate in particular makes a significant contribution to job satisfaction. The paper presents the influence of the two groups of factors on job satisfaction and the mechanisms through which these factors foster job satisfaction and their implications for practitioners.

The Role of Family Members in the Family Holiday Purchase Decision-Making Process

Abstract This study aims to investigate the role of family members in the purchase decision-making process of domestic tourists in Turkey. In addition to a literature review in the field, a number of research methods, including initial exploratory interviews with tourists, observations at travel agencies, focus group studies and final interviews with consumers, have been carried out to find out various roles played by family members in the purchase of family holidays. The findings of the research indicate that in the purchase of family holidays in the Turkish domestic market, wives have a significant role in a number of purchase tasks. Women appear to be particularly influential in the purchase tasks such as information search, information processing and determination of a specific package holiday to be purchased in the purchase of family holidays. This means that marketers need to take these significant roles played by women in the purchase of holidays into account in designing holiday products and marketing communications messages.

Total quality management and business excellence in services: The implications of all-inclusive pricing system on internal and external customer satisfaction in the Turkish tourism market

Abstract This study explores the influence of an all-inclusive pricing system on Total Quality Management and Business Excellence in the Turkish tourism market, from both employee and customer satisfaction perspectives, within the framework of the Business Excellence (Kanji, 1998) and SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988) models. Based on key informant interviews with tour operators and hotel managers, as well as surveys of employees and interviews with customers at four- and five-star hotels, this study establishes that, if not wisely administered, the adoption of an all-inclusive pricing system may lead to a decline in employee satisfaction, customer perception of overall service quality, and finally, in customer satisfaction.

The impact of gender in marketing communications: the role of cognitive and affective cues

Turkey This paper explores the role of gender in the processing of the marketing communications messages of travel agencies operating in the Turkish domestic tourism market. The study focuses on the family holiday information search process and particularly investigates how wives and husbands respond to different marketing communications messages and why. By the use of focus group studies and interviews with tourists it is established that, although there are similarities between wives and husbands in terms of their responses to various advertisements, the underlining reasons are different. While husbands make their decisions through the use of heuristic devices, such as the credibility of the sender and the attractiveness of the sender and or message, wives make their decisions based on the content of the cognitive and affective cues provided in the marketing communications messages. The research also points out that there is a large potential for improving the marketing communications messages of travel agencies operating in the Turkish domestic tourism market.

New product development in the Turkish tourism market: the case of football tourism

Abstract Turkish tourism industry is mainly dependent on international tourists visiting the country in the summer season for sun and sea tourism. Given the vulnerability of the Turkish tourism industry and the fact that there are recent trends which influence tourism demand, an urgent need arises to diversify tourism products in the Turkish tourism industry. It is established that sport tourism may offer product diversification opportunities for the Turkish tourism market. The paper primarily explores the main criteria used by football teams in selecting a region and accommodation establishment for holding their training camps. It is established that although this sport tourism activity has a significant potential, it may not be easy to establish a competitive advantage for the business firms involved.

A review of country tourism competitiveness, research performance and overall country competitiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore county tourism competitiveness, research performance, and overall country competitiveness with a view to pinpoint certain issues and perspectives to be explored for pubic policy makers.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a discussion paper and it presents data collected from a documentary survey based on an appropriate literature search.Findings – The paper discusses some of the issues influencing country tourism competitiveness.Originality/value – The paper is particularly of interest to public policy makers in government departments (tourism and other) as it reviews country tourism competitiveness and overall country competitiveness and for academicians and research bodies.

Using Weather-Related Derivative Products for Tourism and Hospitality Businesses

Weather risk is a crucial element of overall risk management for a wide variety of businesses (Cao, Li & Wei, 2003) in energy, agriculture, food, tourism and hospitality sectors. Particularly, hospitality businesses such as hotels, restaurants and cafes are highly vulnerable when faced with unexpected weather conditions. For instance in a major metropolitan city like Istanbul, a five-degree-drop in temperature in summer, may cause many city-break tourists to stay indoors rather than to go out and spend their money in restaurants and cafes.

The influence of colour of lighting on customers’ waiting time perceptions

Customers’ waiting time is one of the most important determinants of service quality perceptions and their overall satisfaction with a particular service. This study aims to investigate the influence of colour of lighting on customers’ waiting time period perceptions. Based on a study with 68 participants, it was determined that the perception of the length of the waiting time before the delivery of food in a restaurant showed significant differences according to the colour of the lighting in the service environment. When the colour of lighting in the restaurant was green, the customers perceived the waiting period relatively shorter.

How Can Consumer Science Be Used for Gaining Information About Consumers and the Market?: The role of psychophysiological and neuromarketing research

This chapter provides an in-depth analysis and explanation of psychophysiological/neuromarketing research tools such as the eye tracker, fMRI, EEG, HR, and GSR for gaining an insight into consumer behavior in the traditional food and wine market. The chapter particularly investigates the need for the new psychophysiological/neuromarketing research tools compared with traditional methods, a review of the research carried out with modern consumer science tools, and how data could be collected and analyzed in a traditional food and wine market through the use of these tools. The chapter concludes with a case example showing the application of psychophysiological/neuromarketing research tools.

Hospitality Employees’ Future Expectations: Dissatisfaction, Stress, and Burnout

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore the relationship between future expectations of Turkish hotel employees and employee burnout. A survey with 260 hotel employees across Turkey measured whether employees expected their current levels of stress to increase or decrease in future. Those employees who showed signs of burnout syndrome were the ones who expected their current levels of stress to increase in future. The demographic factors such as age and education also related to stress and satisfaction levels of the employees. The findings point out that hotel employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs at the beginning of their careers, in spite of the higher levels of perceived stress. The study has significant implications for human resource management activities and organizational climate.