Huseyin Arasli

Customer based brand equity: evidence from the hotel industry

Purpose – The paper aims to explore interrelations of the four brand equity components; brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand image in hotel industry and improve the conceptualization of customer‐based hotel brand equity.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the recommendations of previous studies, the scale constructed to measure consumer‐based brand equity included brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived quality and brand image. The present study used a sample of 345 actual customers from 11 different countries whose accommodation in North Cyprus hotels was used to test the relations of the proposed model Path analysis.Findings – The findings in this paper support the three‐dimensional model of customer‐based brand equity in hotel industry. Brand awareness dimension was not found significant in the tested model for hotels. The present study contributes to the understanding of customer‐based brand equity measurement by examining the dimensionality of this construct.R...

Customer service quality in the Greek Cypriot banking industry

Purpose – To measure the service quality perceptions of Greek Cypriot bank customers and to examine the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and positive word of mouth, in the light of changing bank market dynamics due to EU accession.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 260 retail bank customers responded to a Greek translated version of SERVQUAL. After descriptive and factor analysis, multivariate regression analysis was used to estimate the impact of service quality dimensions on overall customer satisfaction and the impact of satisfaction on positive word of mouth.Findings – The SERVQUAL scale proved to be of a three‐dimensional structure in this study. Results revealed that the expectations of bank customers were not met where the largest gap was obtained in the responsiveness‐empathy dimension. Reliability items had the highest effect on customer satisfaction, which in turn had a statistically significant impact on the positive word of mouth.Research limitations/implicatio...

A comparison of service quality in the banking industry: Some evidence from Turkish‐ and Greek‐speaking areas in Cyprus

Purpose – To analyze and compare service quality in the commercial banking sector of a small island economy – Cyprus and to investigate the relationship between overall bank customer satisfaction in the Turkish‐ and Greek‐speaking areas of Cyprus and positive word‐of‐mouth about their banks.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 268 commercial bank customers responded to a Greek and Turkish translated version of the SERVQUAL instrument. After descriptive and factor analysis, multivariate regression was used to estimate the impact of service quality dimensions on overall customer satisfaction and word of mouth.Findings – The responsiveness dimension failed to load and thus the SERVQUAL scale proved to be of a four‐dimensional structure in this study. Research results revealed that the expectations of bank customers in both areas were not met and that the largest gap was found in the empathy dimension. The assurance dimension had the largest influence on customer satisfaction and overall satisfaction of b...

The effects of nepotism on human resource management: The case of three, four and five star hotels in Northern Cyprus

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential effects of nepotism on human resource management (HRM) practices through the use of Turkish Cypriot hotel employees in three, four, and five star accommodation establishments in Northern Cyprus.Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were distributed to full time hotel employees in three, four, and five star hotels in Northern Cyprus. Of the 500 distributed, 257 usable questionnaires were retrieved. A judgmental sampling approach was used.Findings – The principal finding is that nepotism has a significant negative effect on HRM, job satisfaction, quitting intention, and negative word of mouth. The study also shows that HRM exerts a significant positive effect on job satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – This study reveals that nepotism is an unprofessional phenomenon that provides benefits merely to the family members or close friends. Therefore, nepotism paralyzes human resource practices and affects the level of satisfac...

“No more tears!” A local TQM formula for health promotion

Given the fast diffusion and growing prominence of quality management in many industries, a new model for healthcare is designed which could serve as a serious contributor to health practices in third world countries. The aim of this research is to show the way that public and private hospitals in Cyprus function, and answer the question of how to increase total quality using public opinion in the healthcare industry in developing countries. Finally, having compared the total quality efforts of public and private hospitals in the Famagusta region of Cyprus, we conclude that the public sector is in a much worse position than the private sector in terms of total quality.

The Impact of Self-Efficacy on Job Outcomes of Hotel Employees

Abstract This study aims to examine the effect of self-efficacy on job performance, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment using data collected from employees in three-, four-, and five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus as its setting. The research hypotheses were tested using LISREL 8.30 through path analysis. The model test results demonstrated that self-efficacy is a significant determinant of job performance. This study, however, failed to find a significant positive association between self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Although not hypothesized, the results of the present study revealed that job performance mediates the impact of self-efficacy on job satisfaction. In addition, the results of the path analysis showed that self-efficacy is among the significant predictors of affective organizational commitment. The model test results provided empirical support for the rest of the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, the path-analytic findings indicated that job satisfaction exerts a significant positive influence on affective organizational commitment. The model test results also demonstrated that job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment are negatively associated with intention to leave. Discussion of the results, implications for hotel managers, and future research directions are presented in the study.

Effects of Job Standardization and Job Satisfaction on Service Quality

ABSTRACT This study develops and tests a model which examines the effects of job standardization and job satisfaction on service quality by using Turkish frontline employees in multiple service industries in Northern Cyprus as its setting. Study results show that job standardization and job satisfaction exert significant positive effects on service quality. Empirical evidence also suggests that job standardization has a significant positive impact on job satisfaction. Implications of the results for service managers and avenues for further research are discussed in the study.

Towards business excellence in the hospitality industry: A case for 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels in Iran

This study aims to develop and suggest a new ‘in-house’ quality improvement model for small- and medium-sized hotels. This model is assumed to be fast, simple, and effective for hospitality organisations because it includes the proven critical success factors of Kanjis excellence model. In addition, this article provides a better understanding of how different groups of frontline managers, chiefs, and employees perceive their readiness towards the business excellence culture and performance in 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels in Tehran, Iran. The survey data used in the analyses include a sample size of 507 managers, chiefs, and lower-level employees. A one-way ANOVA analysis was used to test significant differences and business excellence performance of the proposed model. Using a self-administered Questionnaire, we found that most employees, chiefs, and managers in Tehran gave their lowest scores to quality culture practices and business excellence performance.

The Interface between Organizational Learning Capability, Entrepreneurial Orientation, and SME Growth

This paper investigates the interface between organizational learning capability, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and small business performance. It reports on the findings from 350 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Cyprus operating in the services and retailing sectors. The findings indicate a positive relationship between EO and sales and market share growth, but not between EO and employment growth. There is also a positive relationship between organizational learning capability and EO. This paper contributes to the small business management literature by providing a holistic analysis of the interface between organizational learning capability, EO, and growth.

Dear top management, please don’t make me a cynic: intention to sabotage

Purpose The conceptualization of service sabotage failed to adequately tap the domain of interest. Phenomena like turnover and service sabotage are difficult to measure and are not suitable for individual-level study. However, “intention” is suitable for individual-level or management-oriented studies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A new scale (eight items) to measure the intention to sabotage was developed and tested using a sample of bank (n=313) and insurance (n=258) employees in Nigeria. Cynicism and the desire for justice are the roots of sabotage. As such, the inability to stabilize institutionalized work processes and procedures may cause employees to be overcome with the intention to sabotage service, prior to the actual sabotage. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this paper investigates the impact of employee cynicism on intention to sabotage as moderated by procedural justice. Findings The analyses suggest that employee cynicism is related to the intention to sabotage, and procedural justice moderates the relationship between employee cynicism and intention to sabotage. The findings endorse the model of interest, and implications of this study for research and practice are discussed. Originality/value The study differentiated service sabotage from intention to sabotage, and developed and tested a scale to measure the intention to sabotage.