Suzanne K. Murrmann

International labor markets and the migration of labor forces as an alternative solution for labor shortages in the hospitality industry

The hospitality industry attracts a wide variety of workers from a number of different labor markets. Since the world is growing smaller with advanced technologies, finding required labor around the globe has become much easier than ever before. Therefore, considering only locals as a source of labor maybe an outdated recruitment strategy. Continued globalization of the free market economy will encourage the migration of international labor. This paper discusses international labor markets and the migration of labor forces in the hospitality industry worldwide. It proposes that current trends and patterns of worldwide population growth need to be accounted for in developing strategies for addressing labor shortages.

A Pancultural Study of Restaurant Service Expectations in the United States and Hong Kong

The present study explored the relationship between cultural norms and customers’ expectations for service by means of a pancultural factor model of restaurant service expectations. A survey instrument was developed in a three-stage process using input generated from focus groups in both the United States and Hong Kong. The service encounter was the level of measure and the instrument emphasized the behavioral components of service. Data were collected from comparable samples in the United States and Hong Kong. A six-dimensional model of service expectations was generated. Subsequent analyses indicated that the two groups differed significantly in their assessments of importance for each of the six dimensions. The results provide meaningful implications for managing service quality and training customer contact employees.

Motivational Effects of Empowerment on Employees’ Organizational Commitment: A Mediating Role of Management Trustworthiness

Although studies have suggested that employee empowerment has a motivational effect on organizational commitment, the conceptual explanation and the factors that influence this relationship remain unexplored. To fill that gap, this study examines the mediating role of management trustworthiness in the relationship between empowerment and commitment, based on a survey of 330 employees in twenty-nine upscale hotel restaurants in Seoul, South Korea. A test of the model in this study finds that management trustworthiness fully mediates the relationship between influence, a dimension of empowerment, and organizational commitment while it partially mediates between attitude, another dimension of empowerment, and commitment. One implication is that managers can empower employees as a demonstration of the value the firm places its workers. Empowerment can support the notion of management trustworthiness, which is an essential element of organizational commitment.

The effect of cultural orientation on the service timing preferences of customers in casual dining operations: an exploratory study.

Abstract Sociological studies indicate that individuals’ orientations toward time are grounded in cultural tradition. This study employs samples from the USA and Hong Kong to identify if and how these differences impact service delivery expectations for casual restaurant dining. Results provide useful information for the modification of service practices to more closely align with the preferences of diverse consumer segments in the global market place.

An Investigation of the Relationships among Employee Empowerment, Employee Perceived Service Quality, and Employee Job Satisfaction in a U.S. Hospitality Organization

Service organizations wish to retain loyal customers to achieve business goals. With a greater level of uncertainty coming from increasingly demanding customers, service organizations need to empower their employees to go extra miles to meet customer expectations. Using the data from an opinion survey at a U.S. hospitality organization, this study examines the relationships among employee empowerment, employee perceived service quality, and job satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted to test the hypothesized model. Results show that employee empowerment has positive effects on employee perceived service quality and job satisfaction.

Buying centers: Who chooses convention sites?

Abstract A study of how associations choose meeting sites finds several decision patterns. Destination marketers should attempt to discern how the decision is made.

Employee leasing: An alternative staffing strategy

Abstract Because benefits may accrue to both the employed and the employer, leasing workers can be a better alternative than actually hiring employees

Prior Experience Satisfaction and Subsequent Fairness Perceptions Within the Service Experience

ABSTRACT Past service encounters provide powerful information about the future intentions of customers. This study examines 302 recalled customer service encounters and measures the differences in fairness perceptions of the service encounter outcome between new customers and previous customers, and then between customers with previous positive experiences and between customers with previous negative experiences. A significant difference existed between customers with previous positive experiences and those customers with previous negative experiences. Each group reported similar outcomes with their next visit, which leads towards a tendency of repeat performances for the business. The power of understanding the past experiences of the customer is valuable to service researchers and practitioners in understanding the importance of the perception the customer leaves with. It can govern the expectations the customers have as well as help predict the next experience the customer has with the business and influence what they tell others about the business.

The Influence of Context Orientation on Job Seeker Perceptions of Recruitment, Person-Organization Fit, and Job Application Intention in the Hospitality Industry

Through this study the authors investigate the influence of culture, and more specifically context orientation, on job seeker perceptions of recruitment activities and messages, person-organization fit, and job application intention. Researchers sampled 403 college students majoring in hospitality and tourism management from different cultural backgrounds. The results indicated that context orientation was significantly related to both perceptions of recruitment activities and messages. However, context orientation was not found to be associated with perceptions of person-organization fit. Recommendations are offered to examine the perception of fit at different stages of recruitment and the consistency of the influence of culture throughout the recruitment process.

Socially Responsible Customers and the Evaluation of Service Quality

Customers, increasingly, seem concerned about social and environmental issues that often affect their buying behavior and attitudes toward the quality of goods and services purchased. Despite this trend, there exists little empirical research regarding how socially responsible consumers evaluate services and service quality. In this study, we investigate the role that consumer attitudes toward social responsibility play in evaluating service quality. The results of factor analysis show that social responsibility is a salient dimension of service quality and that high socially responsible customers use the concept of social responsibility more pronouncedly than others when evaluating service quality. Our study contributes to the current literature on the evaluation of service quality by a growing customer segment and outlines implications for managers and for future research.