Jacques Bulchand-Gidumal

Online Customer Reviews of Hotels As Participation Increases, Better Evaluation Is Obtained

Customer reviews posted on the web and through social media (electronic word of mouth [eWOM]) have grown in importance for tourism businesses, but most studies have examined the effects of the content of reviews, particularly negative reviews (i.e., their valence). This study considers both the valence and the volume of eWOM using a broad and varied sample of 16,680 hotels in 249 tourist areas. The study found a relationship between valence and volume, in the sense that early reviews of a business tend to be disproportionately negative. As the number of reviews increases, the valence becomes more balanced, and the negative effect is mitigated. Moreover, the study agrees with other findings that positive comments are more common than negative reviews. Whether or not hotels actively respond to negative reviews, one implication of this study is that hoteliers should try to increase the number of reviews they receive to balance the positive and negative representations of their property (in addition to investigating and correcting the causes of negative comments). Those promoting tourist destinations should follow a similar strategy of facilitating access to customer review sites to obtain a balance of negative and favorable ratings.

Maximizing the positive influence of IT for improving organizational performance

In the analysis of whether information technology (IT) has an impact on organizational performance, focus is usually placed on the relationship between an organizations investments in IT and that organizations performance. Therefore, it is standard to devote special attention to the size and complexity of the organization, to the investments in other organizational resources that may affect the performance of IT, and to the manner in which the two variables are measured. However, one area that has not been well explored is the manner in which the relationship between investments in IT and organizational performance develops. In this article, we show empirically that the planning and management of IT influence the organizations endowment of resources (physical and human), which consequently has positive effects on each of the IT-related areas usually found in organizations (applications, reliable and secure systems and communications, and training and support). In turn, the functioning of these areas influences the impact of IT on the organization, which then has positive effects on organizational performance. We have used data corresponding to IT management in Spanish universities, as well as independent rankings that are useful for evaluating their performance.

Good moves, mistakes and unexpected events in an initiative to improve public management in the ICT service provision at a university

New public management aims to improve the efficacy and other performance criteria of public organizations. To that end, it is based on principles like specialization and public organization desegregation, and on practices such as outsourcing and the development of internal markets. This article presents a public university management action comprising the creation of an information and communications technology service enterprise. The bases for this initiative include theoretical approaches as well as practical issues. The value of this work is that it studies the referred initiative implantation process and its subsequent effects. The case method is used to analyse some theoretical proposals of new public management. The result is that good moves, mistakes and unforeseen consequences have been found, making it a source of learning for academics and professionals in this field. Points for practitioners Internal markets constitute an appropriate mechanism to achieve the benefits of new public management. However, when implementing it, care has to be taken in several aspects: (1) the use of private sector initiatives in the public sector is complex and many different aspects have to be considered; (2) the human resources of the contracting company have to be involved in the process from the very beginning and; (3) measures of performance of the process must be developed and put into practice. That said, internal markets allow an increase in the number of services delivered without increasing the number of work posts, providing the parent firm with the advantages of both outsourcing and insourcing.

New evidence of the relationship between employee satisfaction and firm economic performance

Purpose – Employee satisfaction appears in any discussion about how employees can contribute to organizational performance. The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between employee satisfaction and organizational performance; this later measured with three firm-level performance outcomes (return over assets, operating margin, and revenue per employee). Design/methodology/approach – At different times and from two independent sources the authors obtained firms’ data about worker attitudes and financial and productivity performance, respectively. The analyzed sample of 475 firms is the biggest among the studies that analyze performance and employee satisfaction at the firm level. The impact of employee satisfaction over firm performance was assessed. Findings – Overall satisfaction and satisfaction with senior leadership, compensation, and work/life balance, respectively impact firm performance. Research limitations/implications – The ratings come from both employees and ex-employees and the i...

Information technology and front office employees’ performance

The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of information technology (IT) in the performance of front office employees in hotels. This is done by testing and analyzing up to what level the task performance content of receptionists depends on IT and by testing and analyzing up to what level the contents of the service encounters in which they participate depend on IT.,This paper includes in-depth interviews with 30 receptionists, using the job task performance model and the critical incident technique in the service encounter model.,IT takes part heavily in the task performance of front office workers, who rely on IT to get their job done. On the other hand, in service encounters, the value of the human presence is still high, and in most critical incidents, IT do not participate.,The sample was located in the same destination with only two types of hotels.,The dependence of front office employees with IT is so high that some of the receptionists could be substituted by IT in the near future. However, human participation in satisfactory critical incidents is very high.,Receptionists should get ready and trained taking into account that the value they provide is higher in tasks that are both not routine and in which face-to-face interactions take place.,Usually, front office employees are managed with human resources view, without taking into consideration specifically how IT has spread into the hospitality industry.

Worker word of mouth on the internet

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the consequences of an unexplored and real worker behavior on the internet (worker electronic word of mouth (weWOM)) for human resource image, as well as to analyze its impact on job seekers and employee’s intentions and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach - – The research objectives were tested through a web-based experiment based on real weWOM. Through a self-selected sample procedure, 238 individuals were exposed to three types of weWOM: positive, negative, and intermediate. Findings - – Depending on the kind of weWOM people see on the internet, perceived HR image changes. Positive, intermediate, and negative weWOM produce different behavioral intentions with respect to different recruiting aspects. weWOM also influences two important employee attitudes and resulted more credible than firms’ recognitions. Research limitations/implications - – The sample is a convenience one. Since managers may be reluctant to admit weWOM’s credibility the relationship between weWOM and other employees’ attitudes data should be analyzed. Practical implications - – weWOM may constitute an indicator for anticipating applicants’ key behavior (intention to apply, intention to recommend a company, and compensation demands). In order to stimulate it companies should generate relevant information about the most common categories of weWOM and place it on the employer review websites. Additionally, if weWOM is positive it can be used to create a positive external constructed image among the staff. Social implications - – weWOM is a current phenomenon without information about its implications. Most of the websites that host it are free accessible. This research offers specific data about how people react to it. Originality/value - – Employer review websites are probably the preferred channels to express work-related WOM. Nevertheless the current spread of the internet only one study has been conducted about it. This research fits in the current social media age and sheds new information about this kind of communication. The findings contribute to strengthen the theory about how organizational image is built showing that WOM and social media exposure are significant determinants of two types of organizational images. Also we contribute to the theory about recruitment showing detailed information regarding what may occurs during the first phases of this practice.

Value Chain of Technology in Higher Education Institutions: From IT Resources to Technological Performance

Different studies confirm that the presence of IT in firms, together with human and other organizational resources, has a positive influence on the performance of organizations. However, the details of the process through which that influence is produced have not been clarified. This study is based on an extensive IT data base corresponding to a sample of universities and presents an IT-technological performance value chain and confirms the hypotheses about its functioning. The result is a value chain that begins with the IT planning, passes through different components related to technology in organizations and ends with the performance of the technology. We believe that this research is useful to higher education institutions managers by allowing them to have a clear path on how to improve the return of IT investments.