Hania Janta

Investigative management and consumer research on the internet

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce the notion of investigative research on the internet (IRI) and conceptualise its processes through the principle of streaming. It seeks to discuss the similarities and differences between IRI and netnography and considers various aspects of the IRI process, including site selection, sampling, data collection and analysis.Design/methodology/approach – Investigative internet‐based research uses the techniques of ethnography and netnography, including variations of participant observation and analysis of visual and textual material. Three international empirical cases are used to illustrate the application of IRI and streaming in research on international workers, consumer cultures and on emerging business phenomena.Findings – IRI has a number of potential applications for hospitality management academics and practitioners. Streaming can help to understand the processes involved in conducting netnographic research, and streaming is a more appropriate way to conceptualis...

Polish migrant workers in the UK hospitality industry: Profiles, work experience and methods for accessing employment

Purpose – This paper aims to draw from a wider study that explores the experiences of Polish migrant workers in the UKs hospitality sector across the UK. It seeks to focus on findings that reveal the profile of Polish migrant workers and the methods used for accessing employment by Poles in the UK hospitality sector.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on primary data collected through qualitative and quantitative methods, comprising an online survey, interviews and netnography.Findings – The profile of workers emerging from the study indicates that those who work or worked in UK hospitality are predominantly young, female and highly qualified. Migrants work in various hospitality departments and an important pattern shows that they gradually move to jobs in supervisory and front‐of‐house positions. Informal methods for accessing employment used by highly qualified people suggest that migrants lack knowledge of local institutions and labour practices that would allow them to choose jobs that are...

Coping with loneliness: A netnographic study of doctoral students

This study aims to fill an empirical void in our understanding of how doctoral students, both domestic and international, cope with loneliness and isolation, and what types of tactic they use during different phases of their doctoral studies to overcome such issues. Data gathered through a netnographic study show that loneliness is a major problem for both domestic and international students and that it occurs at different stages of the doctoral study. Tactics used by participants to deal with this issue include multiple forms of (face to face and online) social interaction, professional development and escape from the doctorate. The paper discusses avenues for further research alongside some practical recommendations that might be implemented at universities to decrease feelings of isolation among students and further reduce drop-out rates.

Responsible hospitality: theory and practice

where E is the number of day visitors; P, the average number of passers-by; S, share of excursionists among passers-by; Q, inverse of share day visitors who passed through a certain street; and D, average times excursionist passed by a certain street. Following this, this interesting book illustrates the dichotomy of being a visitor or a consumer. On the basis of the assumptions that a visitor is any traveler who took a trip to any destination beyond the common environment for less a year, Vanhove acknowledges that tourism consumption poses itself as the primary factor to conduct an all-encompassed economic impact analysis (by the effects of tourism). This is important but truthfully incomplete. In addition, the economic analysis must be based on a coherent combination and identification of tourism-specific products, formed by the local resources used by tourists, the goods for consumption, and the elaborated service. Epistemologically speaking, Vanhove’s contributions appear to be related to the start of a new tradition that focuses on the study of tourism from the supply in lieu of demand as widely studied up to date. Again and again throughout all the chapters, he reminds that “indeed, tourism is a phenomenon that was originally defined from the point of view of demand. The starting point is the classification of good and services. Not all goods have the same relevance for the estimation of tourism consumption” (p. 33). The homogeneity or heterogeneity of goods and elaborated products would play a crucial role in the formation of an industry, and since tourism would encompass some incompatible services, it cannot be called “an industry”. Ultimately, only this view can be possible if economists of tourism turn their attention from demand to supply. In sum, this book can be seen as a major contribution to the field of tourism economics.