Md. Aftab Anwar

Consumption values, destination cues and nostalgia on the attitude in the selection of destination for educational tourism: the mediating role of destination image

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between consumption values (CV), destination cues (DC), nostalgia and attitude in the selection of destination for educational tourism, and the mediating effect of destination image (DI). Design/methodology/approach The research applied descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling techniques. The study tested the reliability and validity of the measurement model through CFA, Cronbach’s α and inter-correlation analyses. This research applied the structural equation model to examine the relationship between the research variables using 250 foreign students. Findings The results of data analysis support the stated hypotheses. All the direct relationships were significant and positive. However, DI found a partial mediating role among the relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. Research limitations/implications From this research the tourism researchers, policymakers and managers of the respective higher learning institution may develop a complete understanding of the antecedents of attitude formation of the edu-tourists which were not even studied before from the perspective of educational tourism. Originality/value To date, there have been few empirical studies examining the attitude of the edu-tourists in the selection of a destination for educational tourism. Therefore, understanding the purpose of CV, DC and nostalgia in a tourist’s decision-making operation, and their theoretical relationship, will make both scientific and practical contributions.

Edu-tourist’s perceived service quality and perception – the mediating role of satisfaction from foreign students’ perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test a conceptual model that takes into account both edu-tourists’ perception and perceived service quality in explaining purchase intention of academic degrees from the foreign universities. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on an empirical examination with applying multivariate data analysis. The data were collected through survey questionnaires and analysed by using structural equation modelling procedure. Findings The survey result discovered that the relationship between perceived service quality and edu-tourist’s satisfaction was significant and positive. The relationship between edu-tourist’s satisfaction and intention to purchase was also significant and positive. Meanwhile, edu-tourist’s satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between their perceived service quality and intention to purchase. Nevertheless, this research also explored that the edu-tourist’s satisfaction plays a significant mediating effect in between the relationship of perception and intention to purchase. Research limitations/implications This empirical study will contribute in understanding the behaviour of international students to construct the theoretical knowledge on the edu-tourism industry, which has been neglected in tourism research. Originality/value The paper will be of use to the management and policymakers in the higher education sector in understanding the customer’s expectation for the edu-tourism destination. This study contributes to the growing literature on education travel destination, where the researchers investigated the role of tourist’s satisfaction by using perception and perceived service quality towards their intention to visit a destination for education tourism. In addition, understanding the role satisfaction on the relationship between perception and perceived service quality towards the purchase intention will make both scientific and practical contributions for the decision-makers.

Assessing organizational citizenship behaviour through constructing emotional intelligence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationships of the dimensions of emotional intelligence (EI) with organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). EI is the capacity to recognise and articulate emotions among the individuals and others in the workplace. Emotional capabilities can be used to enhance a person’s ability in this particular field who can exhibit better OCB. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the relationships of EI and its components with OCB among the employees who are working in the commercial banks of Malaysia. Data were collected from 293 employees from ten commercial banks operating in Peninsular Malaysia. Findings Structural equation modelling approach was applied to this study and identified that employee EI plays a major role for enhancing their citizenship behaviour in the organization. The three components of EI, namely, use of emotion, others emotion appraisal, and regulation of emotion are having great effect on OCB. Research limitations/implications Scholars can develop new research agenda to identify the nature of effects it might have on employee’s performance that can boost the ultimate goal of the organization. Practical implications The empirical evidences from the findings of this study can contribute to advancing the current knowledge in the fields of organizational management and industrial sector by showing the differentiating effects of the dimensions of EI on OCB. Social implications This study has the capacity to enhance management awareness concerning recruiting people in terms of EI. People from different culture with high level of citizenship behaviour can able to get the job. Originality/value Findings from this study may create awareness and interests about the significance of conducting more research on EI and OCB by incorporating other variables/constructs of interests. Through the findings of this empirical study, it is confirmed that this research has provided some assessment and developed new knowledge about the effects of employees’ EI and how they relate this to their OCB.