The impact of positive and negative e-comments on business travelers’ intention to purchase a hotel room

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faranak Memarzadeh ◽  
Shane C. Blum ◽  
Charlie Adams
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Behavioral Beliefs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Travelers ◽  
Hotel Room ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intention To Purchase ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Behavioral Belief ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper aims to find out the impact of business travelers’ behavioral belief on positive and negative e-comments, which consequently lead to intention to purchase a hotel room. To explore the relationships among attitude toward positive and negative e-comments with intention to purchase, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) was used. Design/methodology/approach – Business travelers in the USA who read e-comments and made a hotel choice based on those e-comments within the past six months were targeted for this study. The TRA, as well as a wide-ranging review of literature, were used to develop the survey instrument. The survey was distributed through Qualtrics, which is an online questionnaire service platform. To measure the business travelers’ behavioral beliefs toward e-comments, a number of measures were developed for this research. The theories of Fishbein and Ajzen were used to examine business travelers’ behavioral beliefs toward positive and negative e-comments. All of the questions on this survey about the intention to purchase were extracted from Liao et al. Other questions about attitude toward positive and negative comments were adopted from Chu and Choi, Sparks and Browning, Gundersen et al. and Lee and Sparks. The last section of the survey included questions about business travelers’ sociodemographic statistics, such as ethnicity, level of income, age, gender and education. The first question separated respondents to recognize those who made a reservation at a business hotel in the past six months after reading comments about the hotel. Those who responded positively were asked to participate in the study. Participants of this research presented their degree of agreement on each item by using a seven-point Likert scale, rating from (1) “Strongly disagree” to (7) “Strongly agree”. To verify the reliability of the questionnaire and to ensure it reflected the TRA, a pilot study was conducted with a small group of business travelers who had booked a hotel room in the past six months and finalized their purchases based on reading e-comments. No major changes were made to the survey as a result of the pilot study and all factors indicated an adequate level of internal consistency. The proposed model examined the effects of both positive and negative e-comments toward business travelers’ intention to purchase. This research aimed to determine the impact of behavioral belief on positive e-comments and negative e-comments, which consequently lead to intention to purchase. Findings – The results of the proposed model revealed that behavioral belief positively affects both positive and negative e-comments. This means that business travelers want to be informed about both complaints and compliments in e-comments. However, this does not mean they intend to purchase a hotel room based on both opinions; rather business travelers would be inclined to purchase a hotel room based on positive e-comments. Using gender as a moderating effect indicated that females neither believe of the helpfulness of negative e-comments nor intend to purchase based on these e-comments. However, males tend to find both positive and negative e-comments helpful. Originality/value – The findings of this research will help hoteliers, as well as online website review operators, to obtain a clearer understanding of guests’ or users’ needs and wants in order to offer a more desirable service. Since business travelers are considered an important target market in the hotel industry, hoteliers need to put more emphasize on these factors to attract more business travelers. By recognizing business travelers’ requirements and their expectations, hoteliers should prioritize their responsibilities for meeting these guests’ expectations; therefore, they can assign their resources accordingly. In other words, once a guest’s needs are understood clearly, hoteliers will be in safe position to provide the desired service.

Not just food: Exploring the influence of food blog engagement on intention to taste and to visit

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giada Mainolfi ◽  
Vittoria Marino ◽  
Riccardo Resciniti
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Joint Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Influence Of Food ◽  
Perceived Enjoyment ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe present study investigates the impact of perceived enjoyment, blogger credibility and homophily on readers' engagement. Moreover, the study investigates the role exerted by blog engagement on intentions to follow blogger's recommendations. Despite the growing relevance of these issues, past studies have neglected the relevance of a joint analysis of such dimensions within the context of food blogs.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical research builds on an online survey with a sample of 821 blog readers (353 Italian and 468 American). The proposed model was tested through structural equation modelling.FindingsResults from a survey on Italian and American consumers show that perceived enjoyment and homophily have a significant effect on blog engagement, which, in turn, positively influences both intention to taste and visit. Moreover, blogger credibility does not show a significant influence on blog engagement for Italian and American followers.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a better understanding of the influence exerted by blog engagement on intention to follow blogger's recommendations. The study also examines perceived enjoyment, credibility and homophily as antecedents of engagement, which have not been extensively researched in the past with respect to food blogs.

Performance measurement and resource sharing among business sub-units in the presence of non-discretionary factors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Shakouri ◽  
Maziar Salahi
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Level ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Decision Making Unit ◽  
Efficiency Estimation ◽  
Overall Efficiency ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to apply a new approach for resource sharing and efficiency estimation of subunits in the presence of non-discretionary factors and partial impacts among inputs and outputs in the data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework. Design/methodology/approach First, inspired by the Imanirad et al.’s model (2013), the authors consider that each decision-making unit (DMU) may consist of several subunits, that each of which can be affected by non-discretionary inputs. After that, the Banker and Morey’s model (1996) is used for modeling non-discretionary factors. For measuring performance of several subunits, which can be considered as DMUs, the aggregate efficiency is suggested. At last, the overall efficiency is computed and compared with each other. Findings One of the important features of proposed model is that each output in this model applies discretionary input according to its need; therefore, the result of this study will make it easier for the managers to make better decisions. Also, it indicates that significant predictions of the development of the overall efficiency of DMUs can be based on observing the development level of subunits because of the influence of non-discretionary input. Therefore, the proposed model provides a more reasonable and encompassing measure of performance in participating non-discretionary and discretionary inputs to better efficiency. An application of the proposed model for gaining efficiency of 17 road patrols is provided. Research limitations/implications More non-discretionary and discretionary inputs can be taken into consideration for a better analysis. This study provides us with a framework for performance measures along with useful managerial insights. Focusing upon the right scope of operations may help out the management in improving their overall efficiency and performance. In the recent highway maintenance management systems, the environmental differences exist among patrols and other geotechnical services under the climate diverse. Further, in some cases, there might exist more than one non-discretionary factor that can have different effects on the subunits’ performance. Practical implications The purpose of this paper was to measure the performance of a set of the roadway maintenance crews and to analyze the impact of non-discretionary inputs on the efficiency of the roadway maintenance. The application of the proposed model, on the one hand, showed that each output in this model uses discretionary input according to its requirement, and on the other hand, the result showed that meaningful predictions of the development of the overall efficiency of DMUs can be based on observing the development level of subunits because of the impact of non-discretionary input. Originality/value Providing information on resource sharing by taking into account non-discretionary factors for each subunit can help managers to make better decisions to increase the efficiency.

COVID-19 may hit less resilient EU eastern areas more

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The Past ◽  
Standards Of Living ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
Economic Slowdown ◽  
Clear Cases ◽  
The Impact

Significance At least in the EU’s eleven eastern member states (EU-11), there has been significant if slow progress in lifting standards of living across the board in the past decade. However, progress is uneven and the impact of the economic slowdown due to lockdowns in the past year may well have affected disproportionately already poorer regions. Impacts Some governments, notably Hungary’s, will put political loyalty above need in directing recovery funds to the localities. People in ‘left-behind’ regions may seek a better life in relatively prosperous capital cities or abroad. There is scope for countries and regions to learn from each other given clear cases of significant development in the past decade.

The use of open government data to citizen empowerment: an empirical validation of a proposed model

foresight ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 665-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Nahin Hossain ◽  
Md Shamim Talukder ◽  
Md Rakibul Hoque ◽  
Yukun Bao
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Open Government Data ◽  
Citizen Empowerment ◽  
Government Data ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of open government data (OGD) on citizen empowerment. Design/methodology/approach This study advances the body of knowledge on OGD by proposing an integrated research model based on transparency, accountability, participation and collaboration dimensions. The research model was empirically tested using 275 responses using the on-paper survey from the university students and professionals in Bangladesh. Data were analyzed using the structured equation modeling technique. Findings Findings revealed that transparency and participation have a positive and significant direct and indirect influence on citizen empowerment through accountability and collaboration. Overall, the four basic pillars of OGD such as transparency, participation, accountability and collaboration interrelated with each other and have the impact on citizen empowerment. Research limitations/implications This study has proposed an instrument that sums the dimensions of open government, which avoids tautology and redundancy among OGD dimensions. More research should be done to validate the proposed model and the instruments used in this study. Practical implications For the researchers, this study provides a basis for further refinement of individual models of empowerment. For practitioners, understanding the key constructs is crucial to design, refine and implement OGD systems and applications that empower citizens, create public values and strengthen the democratic process. Originality/value This research is the first step that empirically investigates the impact of OGD on citizen empowerment which is the ultimate goals of any democratic government.

Modelling the significance of social support and entrepreneurial skills for determining entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shoaib Farooq
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Behaviour ◽  
Entrepreneurial Skills ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Although entrepreneurial behaviour is considered a key element for economic development, yet very less is known about the determinants of factors leading towards entrepreneurial intention and behaviour. In order to bridge this gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social support and entrepreneurial skills in determining entrepreneurial behaviour of individuals. Developing on the base of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study investigates the relationship between social support, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial behaviour along with existing constructs of the TPB (i.e. attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and entrepreneurial intention). Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 281 respondents using a simple random sampling method, and the variance-based partial least-squares, structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used for testing the proposed conceptual model. Findings Findings of this study have validated the proposed model, which have an explanatory power of 68.3 per cent. Moreover, findings reveal that social support and entrepreneurial skills have a significant impact on entrepreneurial intention of individuals. However, an unanticipated and non-significant relation between subjective norms and entrepreneurial intention is also found. Research limitations/implications Due to the limited scope of this study, a multi-group analysis is not possible, which is considered as a limitation of this study. Moreover, due to time constraints, this study is conducted within a specified time-frame; however, a longitudinal study over a period of three to six years can overcome this limitation. Practical implications Findings of this study are expected to have substantial implications for policy makers, future researchers and academicians. Outcomes of this study can help to better understand the cognitive phenomenon of nascent entrepreneurs. Moreover, it is expected that this study can serve as a torch-bearer for policy makers to develop better entrepreneurial development programmes, policies and initiatives for promoting self-employment behaviour. Originality/value Findings of this study are a unique step forward and offer new insights towards a better understanding of the determinants of entrepreneurial behaviour. Moreover, this study extends Ajzen’s (1991) TPB in the context of entrepreneurial behaviour. By introducing and investigating the impact of two new variables, i.e. social support and entrepreneurial skills in the TPB and by validating the proposed model with PLS-SEM approach, this study makes a sizeable theoretical, methodological and contextual contribution in the overall body of knowledge.

A quality system’s impact on the service experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 1817-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery Smith ◽  
Sidney Anderson ◽  
Gavin Fox
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Integrated Service

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between technical and social systems within an organization that potentially affect the service experience, as perceived by end customers. Design/methodology/approach The paper explores the potential impact of an integrated service quality system on the service experience. A conceptual model is presented, accompanied by a detailed development of the hypotheses. Two samples (Study 1: n=474, Study 2: n=225) of consumers are used to empirically test the proposed model. Findings The analysis reveals the impact a technical system has on employees’ inherent abilities (i.e. the social system), which, in turn, affect the overall assessment by customers. Additionally, the situation in which an employee works (i.e. operating environmental conditions) results in differences in the model. Research limitations/implications This paper’s main implication is this paper employs established theory to develop a model that is empirically tested to show that implementing and maintaining a quality-oriented service system can positively influence the overall customer experience. The limitations are based primarily on the methodology in which individual employees assessed all aspects of both the social and technical systems. Practical implications Managers should be diligent in their design and implementation of the quality components as these affect the work setting in which employees operate. Originality/value Prior research has neither explored an integrated service quality system’s impact on the service experience nor employed an established theoretical framework. This work accomplishes both with the results providing contributions to both theory and practice.

HR talent and the new HR competencies

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Ulrich ◽  
Jon Younger ◽  
Wayne Brockbank ◽  
Mike Ulrich
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Competency Domains ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hr Competencies

PurposeThis article aims to describe partial results of the 2012 Global Human Resources Competency Study (HRCS), led by the RBL Group and the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.Design/methodology/approachOver the past 25 years, this ongoing research project has provided the most global, comprehensive, and empirical identification of the competencies expected of HR professionals, and the impact of these competencies on both individual HR professional effectiveness and business performance.FindingsThis article points out a number of the key findings of the research – including the six fundamental competency domains that HR professionals must demonstrate to impact business performance – and identifies implications of the study findings for HR talent planning, assessment and development.Originality/valueHRCS findings have influenced thousands of HR departments, from global giants to smaller organizations in every continent.

“How’d you sleep?” measuring business travelers’ sleep quality and satisfaction in hotels

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 188-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiangting Shatina Chen ◽  
Kimberly Severt ◽  
Yeon Ho Shin ◽  
Adam Knowlden ◽  
Tyra W. Hilliard
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
Fundamental Function ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Travelers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Quality Scale ◽  
Business Trip

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore business travelers’ sleep experience in hotels by measuring sleep quality and determining the extent to which hotel attributes, demographic characteristics, and hotel quality level influence their sleep quality while staying in hotels. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized a self-reported survey to obtain data from business travelers who have stayed in a hotel at least two nights for a business trip in the past 30 days. A total of 304 business travelers were surveyed in this study. Findings The results indicated that there was a difference in the factors that influenced business travelers’ overall satisfaction with sleep in mid-scale (2.5-3.5 stars) vs upscale hotels (4+stars). The findings showed that business travelers generally had lower sleep quality at hotels and they were more likely affected by noise both outside and inside the guestroom, as well as material elements inside the room. Originality/value This study represents a pioneering attempt at exploring business travelers’ sleep quality and satisfaction with sleep in hotels. Furthermore, this study contributes to the limited research addressing sleep quality as a fundamental function of hotel services. Also, this is the first study to measure business travelers’ sleep quality in hotels by using the sleep quality scale.

The impact of personality trait and social experience on youngsters’ intention to purchase impulsively from social commerce platforms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kusworo Anindito ◽  
Yonathan Dri Handarkho
Keyword(s):  
Personality Trait ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Social Commerce ◽  
Behavior Control ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Intention To Purchase ◽  
Perceived Behavior Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Perceived Behavior

Purpose This study aims to determine the impact of personality traits and social experience on Indonesian youngsters’ intention to purchase impulsively from social commerce (SC) platforms. Furthermore, latent state-trait, personal traits and social impact were used to determine the factors influencing this impulsive behavior. Design/methodology/approach This is a theoretical research model with data obtained from 658 Indonesian youngsters between the ages of 18 and 24. The data were prepared using exploratory and confirmatory factors with the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach used to analyze the direct, indirect and moderating effects. Findings The result showed that hedonic motivation is the most influential personality trait construct that directly determines youngsters’ purchasing intention, followed by perceived behavior control. Furthermore, their constructs from social experience, namely, subjective norms and peer communication, significantly have an indirect effect on the dependent variable through mediator hedonic motivation and perceived behavior control. Originality/value Preliminary studies neglected the social interaction process used by youngsters’ in the impulsive purchase of the SC context. Therefore, this research postulated the associated factors by involving their interplay between personal traits and social experience.

Exploration of COVID-19 impact on the dimensions of food safety and security: a perspective of societal issues with relief measures

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janpriy Sharma ◽  
Mohit Tyagi ◽  
Arvind Bhardwaj
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Industries ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

PurposeOutbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has created the catastrophic situation, it has crippled all the economic activities and seized off the operations of food supply chain (FSC). Disrupted FSC escalated the societal concerns related to food safety and security. The purpose of this study is to consolidate various issues, exploring the perspectives associated with the agricultural practices, food industries and society concerns related with the FSC performance system dynamics amid of COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTo structure this work, a detailed research literature insight focussing on the key findings associated with the past disease outbreaks like influenza, avian flu, Ebola, bird flu, SARS, foot and mouth disease and ongoing phase of COVID-19, encompassing the perspective related with various agricultural and concerned supply chain practices is clustered. Furthermore, issues having relevancy with the notion of this work, sourced from platforms of print and electronic media have been incorporated to ground the reality associated with the impacts, for better visualisation of the perspectives.FindingsThis study outlays the key findings which are relevant with the past pandemic outbreaks from the core of the research literature. It details the impact of the current COVID-19 scenario on the various FSC operations, focussing on dimensions allied with the industry, economic and society concerns. For the same, to mitigate the effects, relief measures focussing on the short- and long-term perspectives have been incorporated. Steps ramped up by the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard masses from the threat of food security, accelerate pace of the FSC operations and upscale operating capacities of the industries and agriculture practices have incorporated.Research limitations/implicationsPresented work is persuaded amid of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions hence it outlays the theoretical perspectives only. But, these perspectives portray the ongoing scenario's impacts, extending its implication to the people coming from the industry and academia background. This study can felicitate the government bodies to make them familiar with the various impacts which indented the FSCs, food industries and added woes to the society concerns.Originality/valueIndia is the second largest populated nation of the world, and outspread of the COVID-19 has capsized the FSCs and raised the various instances, making population vulnerable to the threats of food insecurity. This study encompasses effect of the FSC disruption by incorporating its effect on the food industries practices, societal issues and extending possible relief measures to restructure the FSC dynamics. As of now, study focussing on the Indian FSC concerns, detailing of impacts due to pandemic outbreak, relief measures to sail out of the hard times are not available.

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