Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism

Tourists’ Perceptions of Eco-Sustainable Practices While Traveling

James B. Aday et al. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:30:00 PST

Eco-Sustainability is a growing and firmly recognized spectrum in the hospitality field. Recent data indicates eco-sustainable tourism accounts for a growing percentage of total worldwide tourism receipts. The economic influence, leveraged with the positive environmental implications associated with sustainability practices, has resulted in the emergence of eco-sustainability as an up and coming area of study. Further research implies consumers are willing to seek out eco-sustainable businesses. Additionally, the data suggests these travelers are inclined to pay extra for such businesses.

This study aims to examine whether or not tourists who employ eco-sustainable practices in their daily routines also maintain these practices while traveling for pleasure. The research will essentially bridge the gap between conflicting research which indicates a willingness to pay more, and studies which exhibit price sensitivity in relation to travelers green practices. While tourists may indicate they are environmentally-conscious in their personal lives, research scrutinizing the extent to which these habits are applied during travel will be valuable to businesses seeking to identify themselves as eco-sustainable. Furthermore, this study will help to ascertain whether tourists seek out environmentally-friendly hotels and restaurants, or whether these entities are viewed as simply a convenience while travelling. This research is unique in its approach, since it will examine which traits consumers are looking for in a green hospitality business, and whether these firms will benefit financially from increased demand if environmentally conscious policies are adopted.

The Moderating Effect of a Manager’s Transformational Leadership on the Relationship between Restaurant Employees’ Perceived Organizational Injustice and Workplace Deviant Behavior

JungHoon Jay Lee et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

The findings of prior studies suggest that employees are likely to engage in deviant behavior in the workplace when they perceive organizational injustice. Given that employees’ perceived organizational injustice leads to workplace deviant behavior (WDB), a manager’s leadership has significant implications for reducing WDB because leadership has been considered the process of influencing people to change their attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs towards organizational goals. Therefore, it is hypothesized that a manager’s leadership may change the strength of the linear relationship between employees’ perceived organizational injustice and WDB. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effects of transformational leader behaviors on the organizational injustice and employee WDB relationship in the foodservice industry.

A Study of the Impact of Restaurant Affiliation on Part-time Workers’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Yu Shan Liu et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

The purposes for this study are: 1) To examine the influence of the management style of restaurant affiliation (chain and independent restaurants) on the relationships between organization citizenship behavior and three factors: a. part-time employee’s perceived supervisor support, b. part-time employee’s perceived organizational support, and c. organizational commitment; and 2) To compare the different level of work perceptions and organizational commitment between part-time workers of chain restaurants and part-time workers of independent restaurants. Survey was conducted among 185 part-time workers in the restaurant industry. The results indicated that management styles of different restaurant affiliation have influence on part-time workers.

The Next Table Over: The Impact of Others' Service Experiences on Emotions, Perceived Justice, and Satisfaction

Lydia Hanks et al. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:30:00 PST

Service failures are common and often times such failures are witnessed by other customers, but very little is known about how consumers react to service recovery efforts aimed at other customers. Using the deontic theory of justice as a framework, this study examines consumers’ reactions to justice directed toward other customers. Results show that the valence of the other customer’s recovery attempt had a significant impact on the focal customer’s reactions and evaluations, and that the focal customer’s reactions were moderated by the valence of their own service experience. Managerial implications and limitations are discussed.

Examining the Influence of Team Knowledge on Effectiveness of Service Management Teams

Priyanko Guchait Mr. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

The influence of team knowledge on team learning behavior, team performance, and team viability was tested using service management teams in a restaurant setting. Teammates’ taskwork knowledge and teamwork knowledge was both conceptually and empirically distinguished and their convergence or ‘sharedness’ was assessed. Preliminary results showed that both shared taskwork and teamwork knowledge were positively related to performance, viability, and team learning behavior.

Expatriate General Manager Perceptions of Hotel Management in Jamaican Four and Five Star Properties-An Exploratory Study

Julaine S. Rigg et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

With the increasing globalization of the hospitality industry, expatriate assignments have become a necessary undertaken. There is a competitive advantage to be gained through expatriate managers who can operate firms effectively. Most international hotel corporations still employ expatriates to help in professionalizing the hospitality services and management in the Caribbean. However, while studies have been conducted on expatriates management in various countries, research on expatriate management in a Caribbean context have been practically non-existent, with only one study attempting to look at the area. The intent of the present exploratory study therefore is to understand expatriate general managers’ perceptions of hotel management on the island of Jamaica. Face to face interviews were conducted with 9 expatriate general managers from four and five star hotels in Jamaica between May and June 2010. Preliminary results indicate that there are a myriad of human resources, organizational and operational factors that impact hotel management for expatriates. Factors such as flexibility, cultural appreciation, patience, fairness, respect and being funny were seen as important for expatriate success in Jamaica. Managers must therefore be aware of how these issues may impact on their ability to manage effectively and be successful in their international assignments.

Fundraising Strategies of Nonprofit Organizations: Measuring ROI and Success in a Time of Economic Crisis

Leslie Gwen Jablonski — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

Fundraising is a vital part of many associations across the United States—many organizations depend greatly on the generosity of the public to continue to serve their constituents. However, what do these foundations do when the economy is not conducive to raising money? How to they alter their strategies to continue to promote their cause and create the capital needed to survive? The following research aims to discover the answers to these questions, focusing on the strategies that have proved successful during times of economic crisis. Throughout the exploration there will be a particular focus set on the event industry and its involvement in the realm of fundraising. The aim of the research is to understand how the events hosted by non-profit organizations have changed or been altered to deal with the ever-changing tide of the United States economy. The case study presented focuses on foundations located in Michigan, an area of the country that has seen overwhelmingly drastic effects of the most recent economic crisis.

An Exploratory Study of Hospitality Student Volunteers’ Motivation and Satisfaction in Food and Wine Festivals

Hang Wu et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF HOSPITALITY STUDENT VOLUNTEERS’ MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION IN FOOD AND WINE FESTIVALS

Hang Wu School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Florida International University

Eunju Suh School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Florida International University

Jinlin Zhao School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Florida International University

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore and examine the motivation and satisfaction of hospitality student volunteers in food and wine festivals. It aims to investigate and identify the factors that festival managers need to use to motivate, satisfy, and retain hospitality student volunteers in order to organize a successful event, and enhance festival operation, marketing, and personnel management. Data will be collected at the10th Annual Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival in 2011. A survey questionnaire will be distributed to hospitality student volunteers over a full four-day event period. This study will contribute to the availability of the volunteerism literature and help to attract and increase festival organizers’ and hospitality educators’ interest in hospitality students’ festival volunteering practice. Keywords: festival, hospitality student volunteers, motivation, satisfaction INTRODUCTION Volunteers are an important human resource in festival and event operations every year. Rolfe, Ryan, and Bates estimated 76% of the festivals in the UK used volunteers (as cited in Elstad, 2003, p. 99). The majority of events were at least somewhat dependent on volunteer labor; and without the commitment from the volunteers, many events could not have been arranged (Elstad, 2003). The volunteer team works as a crucial component in the overall success of many major festivals and events. With a significant reliance upon volunteer workforces in festivals and events, studying volunteers’ motivation and satisfaction becomes a practical need. It is vital that festival- and event-organizers understand volunteers’ motivation and their satisfaction in order to respond effectively to management needs in the areas of recruitment, operation, and retention. How well organizers understand the motivation and satisfaction of the volunteers is likely to be important in their management and, consequently, the overall efficiency of the festival operations (Farrell, Johnson, & Twynam, 1998). There has been some valuable research on festival and event volunteers, but available literature specifically on hospitality student volunteers is scarce. The purpose of this study is to explore and examine the motivation and satisfaction of hospitality student volunteers in food and wine festivals. It aims to investigate and identify the factors that festival managers need to use to motivate, satisfy, and retain hospitality student volunteers in order to organize a successful event, and enhance festival operation, marketing, and personnel management. This study will contribute to the availability of the volunteerism literature and help to attract and increase festival organizers’ and hospitality educators’ interest in hospitality students’ festival volunteering practice. LITERATURE REVIEW Festival and event volunteers’ motivation Researchers have investigated festival- and event-volunteers’ motivation and satisfaction. People are motivated to volunteer for various reasons. Knowing why an individual is volunteering can have a major impact on the success of the event or program (Dunn, 1989). Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen (1991) indicated the importance of understanding motivation to volunteer because agencies would be able to use this knowledge to appeal more persuasively to potential volunteers. Berger (1991) also noted that understanding the motivation for volunteering has critical importance for the recruitment and retention of volunteers because organizations base their recruitment and retention efforts on their assumptions about volunteers’ motives. The primary conceptualization in the literature about volunteer motivation is altruism. Based on the findings of the literature review and combined with the researcher’s personal festival volunteering experience and observations, a conceptualization framework was conducted for this study: four elements contributing to the motivation of hospitality student volunteer include (1) altruistic motivation (Dunn, 1989; Fitch,1987; Govekar & Govekar, 2002; Love, 2010; Schrock, 1998; Smith,1981; Winniford, 1991; Ziemek, 2006); (2) material reward motivation (Elstad, 2003; Strigas, 2001); (3) self- and career-development motivation (Chapman,1985; Ellis, 1994; Tsai, 2000; Zakour, 1994); and (4) social and leisure motivation (Arrington, 2006; Henderson,1984; Jensen,1977; Tedrick, 1989; Tsai,2000). Each of the elements was hypothesized to significantly motivate hospitality student volunteers at the festival. Festival and event volunteers’ satisfaction Understanding volunteers’ satisfaction is important for the stability, retention and success of the festival and event. A review of the literature revealed that while there is extensive research on job satisfaction for paid workers and employees, volunteer satisfaction has not been given much attention to date by researchers. Gidron (1983) discussed in his study that one reason little is known about job satisfaction in volunteering is that volunteer work was popularly perceived as a purely altruistic act—an act which provides a person an opportunity to give, but not to receive. Gidon’s study found that overall satisfaction of volunteers was related to two facts of job content (work itself and achievement) and two facts of job context (convenience and absence of job stress factors). Yet research related to factors influencing volunteer satisfaction still has limitations. There is a need for more research to enrich the body of literature related to volunteer satisfaction. Elements affecting volunteer satisfaction surfaced in the literature review and formed a foundation for identifying the factors affecting volunteer satisfaction in this study. This foundation was strengthened by the researcher’s personal festival volunteering experience and observations, and developed into a conceptualization framework consisting of four elements affecting the volunteer satisfaction: work itself (Arrington, 2006; Galindo-Kuhn & Guzley, 2002; Silverberg, Marshall, & Ellis, 2001); achievement and reward (Clary et al., 1998; Galindo-Kuhn & Guzley, 2002; Silverberg, Marshall, & Ellis, 2001); support service (Gidron,1983), and relationships (Galindo-Kuhn & Guzley, 2002; Gidron,1983). Each of the elements was hypothesized to relate to and affect volunteer satisfaction. Considering these findings in the literature review regarding festival- and event- volunteers’ motivation and satisfaction, five research questions are advanced below: RQ1: To what extent do the following factors motivate individual hospitality student volunteering in the Festival: altruism, social and leisure, material rewards, and self and career development? RQ2: To what extent do the following factors affect the satisfaction of hospitality student volunteers: work itself, achievement and reward, support services, and relationships? RQ3: What other factor(s) is (are) not included but has (have) significant importance in motivating hospitality student volunteers working for the Festival? RQ4: What other factor(s) is (are) not included but is (are) significantly important in affecting hospitality student volunteers’ satisfaction? RQ5: Is there a significant positive relationship between hospitality student volunteer satisfaction and retention? METHODOLOGY A survey instrument will be developed and administered for this study which will identify and analyze the reasons for hospitality student volunteers’ motivation, the factors affecting their satisfaction, and the relationship between their satisfaction and retention in the Festival. The survey will be conducted at the 10th Annual Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival, which will be hosted by Southern Wine and Spirits of Florida, and Florida International University (FIU). The South Beach Wine and Food Festival is one of the largest and most well-known festivals of its kind in the United States and a major local event in Miami. Hospitality majors and minors who will participate in the 10th Annual Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival in 2011 will be chosen as the research population. The survey questionnaire will be designed based on the literature of Farrell, Johnson, and Twynam (1998); Tsai (2000); Siverberg, Marshall, and Ellis (2001); Chun (2003); and Arrington (2006) and specifically modified for use in this study. A pilot study will be administered to 20 hospitality students who have previously attended the 2010 Festival. The survey questionnaire will also be sent to the Festival professionals and experts at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management of FIU for pretest review to further ensure validity and reliability. This study targets a sample size of at least 300 respondents. The researchers will distribute and administer the survey at the 2011 Festival. Respondents will be selected by a convenience sample method of data collection. Respondents will be asked to complete the survey on a voluntary basis. The data collection will be over a full four-day event period. Frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations will be utilized to describe the data. The data analysis will be conducted with SPSS 17.0. A structural equation model (SEM) will be applied in the study.

REFERENCES

Arrington, W. (2006). Involvement, satisfaction, and organizational commitment among current and former Extension 4-H volunteers in Mississippi. Ph.D. dissertation, Mississippi State University, United States -- Mississippi. Berger, G. (1991). Factors explaining volunteering for organizations in general, and for social welfare organizations in particular. Ph.D. dissertation, Brandeis University, The Florence Heller Graduate School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare, United States -- Massachusetts. Chapman, T. (1985) Motivation in university student volunteers. In L. Moore (Ed.). Motivating volunteers. Vancouver, B.C.: Vancouver Volunteer. Chun, H. (2003). A study of volunteers' motivation and satisfaction in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea Japan. M.S.S. dissertation, United States Sports Academy, United States -- Alabama. Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., & et al. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530. Cnaan, R. A., & Goldberg-Glen, R. S. (1991). Measuring motivation to volunteer in human services. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(3), 269-284. Dunn, T. H. (1989). Volunteers and predictable motivations. Ph.D. dissertation, Colorado State University, United States -- Colorado. Ellis, S. J. (1994). The volunteer recruitment book. Philadelphia, PA: ENERGIZE, Inc. Elstad, B. (2003). Continuance commitment and reasons to quit: A study of volunteers at a jazz festival. Event Management, 8(2), 99-108. Farrell, J. M., Johnston, M. E., & Twynam, G. D. (1998). Volunteer motivation, satisfaction, and management at an elite sporting competition. Journal of Sport Management, 12(4), 288-300. Fitch, R.T. (1987). Characteristics and motivations of college students volunteering for community service, Journal of College Student Personnel, 28(5), 424-430 Galindo-Kuhn, R. & Guzley, R.M.(2002). The volunteer satisfaction index. Journal of Social Service Research, 28(1), 45 — 68. Gidron, B. (1983). Sources of job satisfaction among service volunteers. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 12(20), 20-35 . Govekar, P. L., & Govekar, M. A. (2002). Using economic theory and research to better understand volunteer behavior. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 13(1), 33-48. Henderson, K.A. (1984). Volunteerism as leisure. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 13, 55-64 Jensen, C. R. (1977). Leisure and recreation: Introduction and overview. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger. Love, G.(2010). Relationship among volunteer motivations, festival context factors, and retention of festival volunteers in the Southwest. D.B.A. dissertation, University of Phoenix, United States -- Arizona. Schrock, D. S. (1998). A functional approach to understanding and assessing the motivation and retention of university extension Master Gardener volunteers. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, United States -- Minnesota. Silverberg, K.E., Marshall, E. K., & Ellis, G.D. (2001) Measuring job satisfaction of volunteers in public and recreation. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 19(1), 79-92. Smith, D. H. (1981). Altruism, volunteers and volunteering. Journal of Voluntary Action Research, 10(1), 21-36. Strigas, A. (2001). The assessment of motives and the development of a typology of motivational factors for volunteers in marathon running events. Ph.D. dissertation, The Florida State University, United States -- Florida. Tedrick, T., & Henderson, K. A. (1989). Volunteers in leisure: A management perspective. Reston, Va: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Tsai, C.-F. (2000). An exploration of volunteers' motivation and job satisfaction in Arkansas Literacy Councils. Ed.D. dissertation, University of Arkansas, United States -- Arkansas. Winniford, J. C. (1991). An analysis of the motivations and traits of college students involved in service organizations. Ph.D. dissertation, Texas A&M University, United States -- Texas. Zakour, M. J. (1994). Measuring career-development volunteerism: Guttman scale analysis using Red Cross volunteers. Emmitsburg, MD: National Emergency Training Center. Ziemek, S. (2006). Economic analysis of volunteers' motivation: A cross-country study. The Journal of Socio-Economics, 35, 532-555.

Are Franchising Systems Beneficial for Lodging Industry in terms of Profitability and Intangible Value?

Joonho Moon — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

Franchising plays a significant role in the rapid growth of its retail sales. Franchising is a system in which the franchisor grants a license, trademark,and service mark, as well as advice, and assistance in organizing, merchandising, and managing the business as a long-term business relationship.This system is a major expansion strategy for the hotel industry because of its advantages. Actually, the annual retail sales of business-format franchising were about $246 billion in 1992 (Huber, 1993).In the lodging industry, franchising has contributed so significantly to the growth of major hotelchains since the 1960s that it has made lodging one of the ten most franchised industries in the United States Naturally, franchising systems have gained the interest of researchersand scholars thanks to this rapid growth speed and large scale business. Although there has been considerable interest in franchising, the present research considers whether this system is beneficial for the lodging industry in terms of profitability and intangible value. Based upon prior research, the resource scarcity theory is the most appropriate theory to explain the motivation of franchising companies. The resource scarcity theory suggests that the franchising system can grow more quickly because others' funds are used to finance the construction of the franchised units and other people manage those facilities. However, there is some debate as to whether franchising is more beneficial for the hospitality firms’ financial performance than owning in terms of business operation. Some research compares the financial performance of franchisedrestaurants with the financial performance of non-franchised restaurants. The results reveal that franchised restaurant performance is better. However, it is rare to find a study which compares the franchised lodging industry’s financial performance with that of non-franchised lodging firms. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to compare the financial performance of franchised-lodging industry firms with the financial performance of those which are non-franchised. Moreover, this study is conducted from the franchisors’ perspective. To identify whetherfranchising can influence lodging firms' financial performance, this study investigates the profitability and intangible values of both franchised and non-franchised restaurant firms. The collected data is the lodging companies’ annual reports from 2001 to 2009.The sample used in this study is composed of publicly held lodging firms. Financial data, which is derived from each company’s annual report, were collected from the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) website (http://www.nasdaq.com) and each lodging firm’s website. Some non-franchised lodging firms’ financial data were collected from Korean non-franchising lodging firms. The financial statement came from the Korean Financial Statement Publication Websites (http://dart.fss.or.kr). Since this study is conducted from the hotel franchisor’s perspective, hotel management companies and referral groups plus some companies which include a bigger proportion of casino and resorts than lodging are excluded. As a result, the number of hotel franchisors and non-franchisors is 16. The study period is 2001-2009. Even though the study period is 9 years, each company has a different policy and status to publicize their own financial information. Consequently, collected data are derived from a total number of 92 hotel firms which consist of 54 franchised firms and 38 non-franchised firms. The variables include ROA (Return on Assets), ROE (Return on Equity), intangible value, firm size, leverage, and franchising dummy. The results of the hierarchical regression model, independent t-test, and descriptive statistics support the positive association between ROA, intangible value and franchising. The results of this study show that franchised lodging firms have higher profitability and intangible value than non-franchised firms, and indiscriminate expansion and low financial leverage can lead to poor financial performance. The literature review of this study mentioned that franchisors adopt the franchising system for rapid expansion. Since the franchisee’s funds are available under this system, franchisors can overcome the resource constraint. Also, the economies of scale theory support the efficiency of the franchising system’s resource distribution. Unfortunately, even though there are multiple advantages in a franchising system, the research which treats the relationship between a franchising firm and the firm’s performance is rare. Therefore, this study examines the influence of franchising in lodging firms’ profitability and intangible value. Generally, the results of this study reveal that lodging firms adopting franchise system showed a higher profitability and intangible value than non-franchised lodging firms. Specifically, this study proves that franchised lodging firms record a higher profitability and intangible value, while controlling other variables, including firm size and financial leverage. In addition, this study indicates that a bigger firm size negatively influences in the financial performance of lodging firms. This means that indiscriminate expansion of franchising systems contains the possibility of poor performance in terms of profitability and intangible value. Moreover, this study shows the positive relationship between ROE and debt to owner’s equity ratio. This is the evidence that the lower owner’s equity proportion or the higher liabilities’ proportion can lead to better financial performance of the lodging firms. Finally, this study has some limitations. First, the hotel industry’s profitability can be influenced by economic circumstances. Since each company’s financial data have different periods, this study did not faithfully cover the economic situation. Secondly, the model that is used in this study can be applied only to lodging firms. Other industries may have different models because other industries have different competitive environment and business conditions that affect the financial performance. Thirdly, the size of the sample is not big because lodging firms’ franchisors are rare. This fact led to the restriction of available financial data. Lastly, since this study’s financial data were collected from a global franchisor’s financial data, different currency rates and accounting standards, such as GAAP and IFRS can be a restriction to the analysis financial data. If there is a future study which is related with this concept, the future study can consider these factors in models to further examine the lodging industry's financial performance and intangible value.

Choosing a Compensation Strategy in the Hotel Industry: An Exploratory Study

Edwin N. Torres et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

One of the key human resource decisions made by any organization is the design of its compensation strategy. When choosing a compensation strategy, hospitality executives must make a variety of complex decisions that will ultimately impact a company’s recruitment and retention efforts, as well as the attainment of organizational goals. This exploratory study looks at the decision making patterns of hospitality executives as it comes to compensation.

Identifying Online Professional Poker Players: A Revealed and Stated Analysis Approach

Kahlil Philander et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

This two-part paper is intended to explore the task of differentiating a professional gambler from a leisure gambler, specifically, among online poker players. The first part of the study consists of a statistical analysis to identify the requisite number of hands of online poker required to identify winning players, that is, players who should expect to show a profit during a given year. The second part of the study involves administering a survey that assesses players’ perceptions of whether they consider their own play to be that of a winning player.

Once both parts have concluded, we will investigate whether players that should have identified themselves as professionals (according to the secondary data analysis) did identify themselves and claim their winnings as taxable income. If there is a large divergence in normative and positive behavior between these two approaches, then this may indicate that the current tax policy institutions are failing and need revisions for this, relatively new, sub-group of professional gamblers.

Quality Practices Implementation in Malaysian Hotels: The Management Perspective

Norzuwana Sumarjan et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

The purpose of this study is to explore Malaysian hotel general managers or quality executives’ experiences in implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. Specifically, this study tries to understand the benefits of applying TQM practices, the challenges or barriers faced during the implementation process, and to identify strategies or success factors in implementing TQM. Individual interviews will be conducted with general managers or quality executives who are currently or were previously responsible for quality programs at three-, four- and five star rated hotels. Hotels must have been operating for one year with a minimum occupancy rate of 60% and located in the nation’s central region. This study will provide useful findings for the betterment of quality practices in the Malaysian hotel industry. The information on benefits, challenges or barriers, and strategies or critical success factors will provide quality management best practices for use as benchmarks by other hoteliers. Additionally, findings will help hotels’ management teams better organize, strategize and exploit their resources in ensuring the success of quality management programs.

The Potential Impact of United States Tourists on the Cuban Market if Travel Sanctions are Lifted; as well as the Identification of their Push-Pull Travel Motivational Factors

Lehi M. Dowell Mr. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

This investigative study will focus on the potential impact on Cuba’s tourism industry by United States citizens if travel sanctions are lifted. The research will also aid in understanding the push and pull (push-pull) travel motivational factors that United States (US) citizens exhibit towards booking a vacation to Cuba.

Through this study, collected data will assist in future marketing endeavors so that when the travel sanction is lifted, US travel agencies will be able to prioritize the push-pull travel motivational factors and translate them into captivating promotional packages for this new market segment.

Although current travel is prohibited by US citizens to Cuba unless they have a government issued visa, debating the topic of lifting the travel sanction is a high priority for the current administration.

Restaurant Service Employees Motivation and Organizational Commitment: Shared Gratuity versus Independent Gratuity Environments

Susan Roe — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

This study attempts to identify if there are statistical differences in motivational and organizational commitment levels between restaurant service employees that work in different type of gratuity distribution environments, particularly those that pool (or share) gratuities and those that retain their own gratuities. Identifying any differences in motivation levels between restaurant service employees working in unlike gratuity distribution environments may assist managers in choosing which gratuity environment, shared or individual, to establish for their restaurant operations. A survey assessing motivation and organizational commitment levels of gratuity earning employees is planned. Four hypotheses are posed with an analysis of variance being conducted on twelve employee motivation factors and on nine organizational commitment measures to determine statistical differences between pooled gratuity employees and independent gratuity employees.

Forecasting RevPAR in a Declining Market: An Application of Time Series Forecasting Techniques to U.S. Weekly RevPAR Data

Barry A.N. Bloom et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

This study utilizes common time series forecasting methods to determine which of several simple, popular time series forecasting techniques was the best predictor of the decline in United States weekly RevPAR as the lodging industry entered its severe downturn in 2009. This study identifies the strong seasonality and trend components contained in historic U.S. weekly RevPAR data and utilized that data to test various moving average, exponential, and seasonal forecasting methods. The study clearly identified that seasonal forecasting methods such as Holt-Winters are far superior for use with this dataset than other methods and that among the various seasonal forecasting methods that multiplicative forecasting methods are somewhat superior to additive forecasting methods in working with this dataset.

Customer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Service Firms: Impact on Customer Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

Priyanko Guchait et al. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:30:00 PST

Using an experimental research design, this study investigates the influence of customer perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer attitudes (loyalty, trust and commitment) and behavioral intentions (patronage intentions, switching intentions and word of mouth). Focusing in the hospitality industry, this study examines whether customer attitudes and behavioral intentions are affected only by the services provided to them by the service companies (service quality), or are also affected by the services provided by the service companies to its own employees, suppliers or to the society (CSR). The present study is based on the understanding that customers have already developed attitudes (favorable/unfavorable) towards service organizations based on past experiences of service quality. First, this study investigates, if customer perceptions of favorable/unfavorable CSR activities alters/affects the existing service quality-driven customer attitudes. Second, the study reconfirms that service quality influences customer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Third, the study investigates the critical relationship between perceptions of CSR and customer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Finally, the moderating effect of CSR on the relationship between perceptions of service quality and customer attitudes and behavioral intentions is investigated. Results provide substantial support of the influence of customer perceptions of CSR on customer attitudes and behavioral intentions.

Chinese Hotel General Managers' Perspectives on Energy Saving Practices

Yidan Zhu et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

The increasing rise in energy prices is a major reason that hotels have begun energy conservation programs. They are viewed as a means of reducing energy costs. This study focuses on issues related to energy saving practices in Chinese hotels from the perspective of hotel general managers. This research will examine the importance of energy-saving practice for hotels in China. Through the use of survey data, this study investigated methods which Chinese hotels adopt to conserve energy. Since the Chinese hotel industry is a relatively new and fast growing industry, most of the hotels are non-branded or non-chain. The research findings are expected to provide researchers and Chinese hotels’ general managers a perspective to understand present issues and practices relate to energy-saving practices in the lodging industry in China.

A Pilot Study of Personal Financial Literacy Among Hospitality Students

Barry A.N. Bloom — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

This study will utilize the personal financial literacy survey instrument developed by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy to measure the personal financial literacy of hospitality students at a Midwestern University as compared to a recently conducted national survey of all college students. It is hypothesized that hotel students in a business program will score higher on this survey than the overall college population. Descriptive analysis will be performed on all survey items. In order to compare the results of the single University sample to the overall college sample, both t-test and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) calculations will be performed as the researcher is primarily testing for between-group variance.

What Up-scale and Luxury Hotel Executives Expect for Their Brand’s Talent Management: An Insight for Hospitality Education

Joe Nelson et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

At a time when the industry is shrinking and the future is filled with uncertainty, it may be more critical than ever for hospitality education to meet the needs of the industry. Hospitality education continues to speculate where to focus and what to emphasize in the development of effective curriculum relevant to needs of the lodging industry. This research is designed to answer the question of what information should be considered when planning future curriculum. The purpose of this study is to determine what the expectations are of lodging industry executives concerning their talent management. A web-based survey will be used. A statistical analysis of the responses will include performance of frequencies for all skills and competencies with the mean rating and standard deviation used to rank their importance. Results are expected to provide additional insight to hospitality education which will be beneficial in the curriculum planning process.

Executive Compensation and Firm Performance in the U.S. Restaurant Industry: An Agency Theory Approach

Ilhan Demirer et al. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 09:45:00 PST

Executive compensation is increasingly becoming a target by media, shareholders, and government regulators. Excessive or poorly structured compensation arrangements have been blamed for the U.S. financial crisis of 2008 and it has been questioned why executives were being paid out the bonuses and other benefits even though their companies were losing shareholder value. Agency theory explains part of the problem is due to the separation of management from ownership. This study investigated the relationship between executive compensation and firm performance in the restaurant industry.