A cross-cultural study on perceived quality in upscale hotels in Italy and Croatia

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-366
Author(s):  
Maja Šerić
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Perceived Quality ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
The Cross

Purpose Most of the cross-cultural empirical research in hospitality has focused on Western and Eastern differences and has neglected cultural diversity in Europe. As cultural differences in Europe do exist and have important implications for managers operating in hotel industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine perceived quality in upscale (four- and five-star) hotels in two Mediterranean countries: Italy and Croatia. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected among 335 guests in upscale hotels in Italy and 475 hotel guests in Croatia. This work adopts a cross-cultural approach in two different ways. First, perceived quality is assessed in hotels in two different countries. Second, national culture of guests is considered in their evaluations of perceived quality in each country. Findings Surprisingly, hotels in Croatia, an emerging tourist destination, performed better than hotels in Italy, a top worldwide destination. The results show significant differences in perceived quality evaluations according to national cultures of hotel guests in each country. However, while in Croatia domestic guests perceived higher levels of quality than other guests, in Italy, perceived quality was rated lower by Italians than by their American counterparts. Research limitations/implications The results of this study contribute to better understanding of perceived quality in cross-cultural research in hospitality. Practical implications Implications are discussed for both Italian and Croatian hotel managers, two direct competitors in the Mediterranean area. Originality/value This paper covers several research gaps: lack of cross-cultural research in hospitality marketing, poor examination of perceived quality in hotels from the cross-cultural perspective, and poor consideration of cultural diversity within European countries.

Archiving the archives

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Beard
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Professional Practices ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Complete Collection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Online Searches

Purpose When advertising historians began searching for substantial collections and archives of historical advertisements and marketing ephemera in the 1970s, some reported such holdings were rare. This paper aims to report the findings of the first systematic attempt to assess the scope and research value of the world’s archives and collections devoted to advertising and marketing ephemera. Design/methodology/approach Searches conducted online of the holdings of museums, libraries and the internet led to the identification and description of 179 archives and collections of historical significance for historians of marketing and advertising, as well as researchers interested in many other topics and disciplines. Findings The lists of archives and collections resulting from the research reported in this article represent the most complete collection of such sources available. Identified are the world’s oldest and largest collections of advertising and ephemera. Also identified are quite extraordinary collections of historically unique records and artifacts. Research limitations/implications The online searches continued until a point of redundancy was reached and no new archives or collections meeting the search criteria emerged. There remains the likelihood, however, that other archives and collections exist, especially in non-Western countries. Originality/value The findings make valuable contributions to the work of historians and other scholars by encouraging more global and cross-cultural research and historical analyses of trends and themes in professional practices in marketing and advertising and their consequences over a longer period than previously studied.

Textual analysis of online reviews as a lens for cross-cultural assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Nakayama ◽  
Yun Wan
Keyword(s):  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Consumer Reviews ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Cultural Assessment ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to call researchers’ attention to cross-cultural research using online consumer reviews and multilingual textual analysis. Design/methodology/approach The authors discuss a selected literature review and the highlight of the four studies that show cross-cultural differences in online reviews on ethnic restaurants. Findings Applying multilingual textual analysis could prompt new venues to verify and expand future cross-cultural research in tourism and hospitality. Originality/value The paper introduces examples of multilingual textual analysis used for cross-cultural studies.

Rate my firm: cultural differences in service evaluations

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 815-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodoula H. Tsiotsou
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
National Level ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Proximity ◽  
Cultural Research

Purpose Cross-cultural research constitutes a pivotal topic for marketing; however, the literature indicates that there are a few studies analyzing social media reviews from a cross-cultural perspective using cultural proximity (supra-national level) as a proxy of culture. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify cross-cultural differences in service evaluations and specifically, in hotel appraisals among tourists from Central, Eastern (including Post-Soviet States), Northern and Southern Europe. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach has been taken by studying online user-generated ratings of hotels on Trip Advisor. In total, 1,055 reviews of five hotels in Greece were used for the study. Findings Multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variances results confirm cultural differences in overall service evaluations and attributes (value, location, sleeping quality, rooms, cleanliness and service) of tourists from various European regions. Specifically, Eastern Europeans uploaded more reviews than any other European group, whereas Northern Europeans were more generous in their appraisals than Eastern, Southern and Central Europeans. Practical implications The results of the study could be used for segmentation purposes of the European tourism market and for recognizing, which aspects of their services need to be improved based on the segments they serve. Moreover, managers should encourage Northern and Eastern Europeans to upload their reviews as both groups are more generous in their evaluations. Moreover, the findings are useful to marketers of other services. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that examines cross-cultural differences in hotel appraisals from a supra-national perspective including developed (Northern and Western Europe), developing (Southern Europe) and emerging tourism markets (Eastern Europe).

Methodological Issues in Cross-Cultural Large-Survey Research on Violence

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Gartner
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Large Survey ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Existing Data

Researchers concur on the importance of a cross-cultural perspective for understanding and preventing violence, but not on the particular analytic strategy that should inform such a perspective. This paper examines the actual and potential contributions of one of the dominant analytic strategies in cross-cultural research on violence: research based on large-survey data. I review the major sources of large-survey data, and evaluate these data and the research based on them. I then suggest directions for future work that could compensate for limitations of existing data and research. In particular, I argue for two innovations: (1) development of new sources of cross-cultural survey data on violence based on sub-national sampling units, and (2) multilevel strategies that would balance within-society and between-society analyses and examine intervening mechanisms linking macro-social factors with violent outcomes.

Cross-cultural research and positive organizational scholarship

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Distance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Organizational Scholarship ◽  
Negative Factors

Purpose In view of the emphasis in cross-cultural research on negative factors such as cultural misfit, cultural distance, and the liability of foreignness, the purpose of this paper is to offer one explanation for why this is the case and highlight the advantages of giving at least equal emphasis to research on positive factors. Three propositions are offered to guide future cross-cultural research. Design/methodology/approach Summaries of empirical studies on the inherent inclinations of human systems toward the negative, as well as inclinations toward the positive, produce explanations for each of these biases and their implications for cross-cultural scholarship. Findings By prioritizing positive factors instead of negative factors, individuals and organizations perform at much higher levels than when the reverse is the case. Virtuous practices, in particular, are associated with positively deviant performance. Inasmuch as virtuousness is universally valued, its emphasis can address some of the liabilities of difference inherent in cross-cultural contexts. Originality/value The three propositions offered in the paper explain why negative biases exist, how positive biases provide an advantage to individuals and organizations, and highlight future directions for cross-cultural research. Social scientists have been challenged to help enable 51 percent of the world’s population to flourish by mid-century, and prioritizing positive cross-cultural phenomena is one prescription for achieving that objective.

Shame and self-conscious emotions in Japan and Australia: Evidence for a third shame logic

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 622-638
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Thomas ◽  
Russell Deighton ◽  
Masashi Mizuno ◽  
Sosei Yamaguchi and Chiyo Fujii
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Cross Cultural Research

Few studies have examined the more nuanced experiential facets of self-conscious emotion from a cross-cultural perspective. The present study’s aim was to investigate shame and embarrassment experiences in relation to shame logics (or appraisals), shame antecedents and intensity across cultures in Australia and Japan, drawing on Fessler’s Dual Logics Model of Shame ( Fessler, 2004 ), and applying a new instrument (The Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire). There were 157 participants from two cultures, Japan (75) and Australia (82) who completed both paper-based and web-based questionnaires. Previous findings showing a higher experienced shame intensity found in Japan were corroborated across all shame and embarrassment logics. While the logic of ‘norm non-conformity’ was the strongest logic in both cultures, the logic of ‘status lowness’ was prominent in Japan but not Australia, and the novel logic of ‘broken positive assumptions about the self’ was prominent in both cultures. Shame in Japan appeared to be stronger with an introspective ‘eyes of self’ but explicitly described trigger, whereas in Australia, it was more publicly ‘eyes of other’ and implicitly induced counter to some expectations. Findings support the Self-Conscious Emotion Questionnaire as an instrument for exploring nuanced aspects of self-conscious emotion in cross-cultural research and lend support to a novel third logic of ‘broken positive assumptions about the self’ in both Australian and Japanese samples.

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