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Article
Publication date: 31 January 2022

Alireza Ranjbaran, Mohammadjavad Shabankareh, Alireza Nazarian and Nader Seyyedamiri

In most countries, independent hotels are a major contributor to both national economy and the hospitality sector, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is a lack of…

Abstract

Purpose

In most countries, independent hotels are a major contributor to both national economy and the hospitality sector, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is a lack of any study on brand co-creation (BCC) in independent hotels. This study aims to examine the interrelationship of moral judgement (MJ), self–brand connection, customer–brand engagement (CBE), electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and how BCC occurs in independent hotels and contrasts visitors’ perspectives between two different Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness clusters in independent hotels. Furthermore, this study also examines the moderating impact of privacy concern (PC) on the relationship between eWOM and brand co-creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from two groups of tourists, Iranian (290) and European (224), who visited and stayed in independent hotels in some major cities in Iran. The structural equation modelling using AMOS 22 was adopted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The study’s findings revealed that there are significant differences between two culturally different travellers in terms of selected variables, suggesting that MJ is a main antecedent of CBE, which leads to eWOM among Iranian travellers, which consequently leads to BCC. Moreover, the study’s data indicates that European travellers show a high level of PCs while staying in independent hotels in Iran, which prevents them from sharing and getting engaged in the social media, which could delay the BCC process especially in international level.

Originality/value

This study contributes to literature by providing new insights on the differences in the concept of brand co-creation between two culturally different groups in the context of independent hotels, which require special attention of independent hotel managers.

Details

Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2752-6666

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 September 2024

Alireza Nazarian, Ehsan Zaeri, Pantea Foroudi, Amirreza Afrouzi and Peter Atkinson

This study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the impact of ethical and authentic leadership on employees' workplace perceptions, focusing on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), trust in leader, commitment, employee voice and empowerment in independent hotels across two contrasting Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) clusters: Germanic and Middle-Eastern clusters. It examines how national culture influences these relationships in the hospitality industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 1,678 employees in independent hotels in the Germanic European cluster (Germany and the Netherlands) and the Middle-Eastern cluster (Qatar and Turkey) using selective and snowball sampling techniques. Hypotheses were tested using two-stage structural equation modelling.

Findings

Ethical leadership significantly affects employee voice in Germany and the Netherlands but not in Qatar and Turkey. Authentic leadership positively influences employee voice in Qatar, Turkey and Germany but does not significantly impact trust in leader in any of the four countries. The study underscores the role of cultural dimensions, particularly power distance, in shaping these relationships.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature by investigating the effects of ethical and authentic leadership on key organisational variables in culturally diverse contexts within the hospitality industry. The findings highlight the necessity of considering national culture in leadership practices and suggest practical implications for independent hotels to adapt their leadership approaches to enhance employee outcomes. Future research should explore cultural dimensions as moderators in organisational relationships.

Details

International Hospitality Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-8142

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 July 2021

Alireza Nazarian, Peter Atkinson, Pantea Foroudi, Rezvan Velayati, Dilini Edirisinghe and Asieh Hosseini Tabaghdehi

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the…

1071

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that managers in independent hotels can influence to improve organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) by examining the relationship between leadership style and OCB through newly developed balanced organisational culture and trust variables. Unlike most studies, which have been on chain hotels, this study investigates these relationships in independent hotels in Iran. Additionally, organisational size was also included in the study.

Design/methodology/approach

Using information from Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, 160 independent hotels were identified and approached. A survey was assembled using well-known instruments. In total, 392 usable questionnaires out of 1,150 distributed were collected from employees and analysed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

Contrary to previous studies, it was found that in this context, neither transformational nor transactional leadership affects trust directly but only through balanced organisational culture, and only transactional leadership had a direct relationship with OCB. Also, organisational size had a moderating effect on the relationship between trust and OCB.

Originality/value

The authors add to the theoretical literature dealing with the different behaviour of constructs developed in a Western context in other contexts and suggests that hotel managers in a collectivist culture, like Iran, who want to build OCB can do so by creating organisational culture conditions (Balanced Organisational Culture) that foster trust between managers and their subordinates.

Details

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6182

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 October 2021

Alireza Nazarian, Rezvan Velayati, Pantea Foroudi, Dilini Edirisinghe and Peter Atkinson

Despite its significance, national culture is often underrepresented in the hospitality industry. Implementing tools such as the global leadership and organizational behaviour…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite its significance, national culture is often underrepresented in the hospitality industry. Implementing tools such as the global leadership and organizational behaviour effectiveness (GLOBE), whilst valuable to a considerable extent, might induce false assumptions about the universality of managerial practices for hotels through purposefully ignoring the in-group variations within each cultural cluster. Because employees’ perceptions are deeply rooted in context-specific value systems, this study aims to challenge the tendency to adopt a globalized approach to leadership and management through investigating potential variations in employees’ perceptions in two countries in the south Asian cluster of the GLOBE.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected by using hard-copy and online convenience-sampling techniques from a sample of hotel employees and managers in Iran (392) and India (421). Structural equation modelling using AMOS 22 was adopted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Both similarities and differences were observed between the Iranian and Indian contexts. The similarities confirm that GLOBE is correct to place them in the same regional cluster but the differences which relate to perceptions of organizational justice are also revealing. Whilst procedural justice affects organizational factors that influence employee motivation with the Iranian sample, distributive justice has no effect, whereas with the Indian sample these results were the other way around.

Practical implications

For scholars and practitioners, the authors show that organizational theories and concepts cannot necessarily be transferred from a Western context to other parts of the world without making adjustments for national culture and generalizations cannot even be made within regions of similar culture. For example, this study shows that in Iran organizational justice is perceived differently from how it is perceived in India.

Originality/value

This study extends the literature about the effect of national culture on the hotel employees’ cognitions and behaviours by shedding light on the divergence between countries within the same regional cluster in the GLOBE classification.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 33 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2019

Alireza Nazarian, Peter Atkinson, Pantea Foroudi and Karen Dennis

This study aims to identify factors that managers can influence to improve effectiveness by examining the relationship between leadership and effectiveness in small and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify factors that managers can influence to improve effectiveness by examining the relationship between leadership and effectiveness in small and medium-sized independent hotels.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 272 valid questionnaires were collected from managers of 83 small and medium-sized independent hotels in the Netherlands by using selective and snowball sampling techniques. A two-stage structural equation modelling approach was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Surprisingly, in contradiction to previous studies, neither transactional nor transformational leadership had a direct effect on organisational effectiveness. Instead, the effect was through the intervening variables of ability to acquire resources and reward mechanisms.

Research limitations/implications

The contradiction between this and previous studies may be due to the fact that constructs used in this study do not have the universal applicability that is customarily assumed and further investigation is needed.

Practical implications

This study suggests that managers in this type of hotel, first, should be adaptable in their leadership style and not rely on transactional leadership alone; second, managers must pay attention to resource acquisition; and third, managers must retain staff by using the right reward mechanism.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature of leadership and effectiveness in small and medium-sized independent hotels by being the first to focus on the impact of ability to acquire resources and reward mechanism. It also makes an important contribution to the growing body of hospitality literature that probes the supposed universal validity of organisational studies’ constructs.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2023

Mohammadjavad Shabankareh, Alireza Nazarian, Mohammad Hassan Golestaneh and Fereshteh Dalouchi

Health tourism is a relatively new branch of international tourism that has developed more rapidly than other tourism sectors in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the…

Abstract

Purpose

Health tourism is a relatively new branch of international tourism that has developed more rapidly than other tourism sectors in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the effect of government supports on health tourism development by considering the mediating role of internal and external infrastructures.

Design/methodology/approach

The study population consisted of all experts of two hospitals in Iran, which are frequently visited by foreign tourists (N = 151). A questionnaire, developed by combining standard and researcher-made questionnaires, was used to collect the data. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model was developed in SmartPLS 3 to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The main hypothesis test results indicated that government supports positively affect the development of health tourism. Internal and external infrastructures were also found to mediate the relationship between government supports and health tourism development. In addition, the sub-hypothesis test results showed that internal and external infrastructures are positively affected by government supports, which puts forth the development of health tourism. As the results explained, the most important aspects of internal infrastructures affected by government support were health service quality, cost of health services and applying advanced medical technologies, respectively. Also, different aspects of external infrastructures affected by government supports are as follows: economic, infrastructures and cultural factors.

Originality/value

This study is the first of its kind to examine the impact of both medical and non-medical factors on health tourism and signifies the crucial role of governments in the development of health tourism.

Details

International Journal of Emerging Markets, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-8809

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2020

Alireza Nazarian, Peter Atkinson, Pantea Foroudi and Dilini Edirisinghe

Managers of independent hotels need to maximise organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among employees to gain sufficient competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive…

Abstract

Purpose

Managers of independent hotels need to maximise organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among employees to gain sufficient competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive environment, so it is important to understand what affects it. To achieve this, the purpose of this paper is to test if servant leadership, OCB and other related constructs have the same relationships between them in two contrasting parts of the world.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were gathered from managers of independent hotels in Spain (451) and Iran (429). Spain was selected because it is a developed country that is a leading destination for tourists. Iran was chosen as a contrast, as it is a developing country with a growing tourist industry.

Findings

The findings show that Spain and Iran demonstrate different patterns of relationships in the selected variables, suggesting that Iranians trust their leaders more than the organisational systems, whereas the Spanish trust organisational systems more than their leaders. These results are consistent with Spanish culture having higher individualism than Iranian culture. They are also consistent with Iranian culture prioritising traditional values, such as personal loyalty to managers, and Spanish culture prioritising modern values, such as impersonal rules and objective processes.

Research limitations/implications

This study suggests that leadership and justice affect OCB in different ways where modern values prevail compared to where traditional values prevail. It suggests that managers of independent hotels in Iran should follow the example of Spanish hotel managers by adopting more objective and fair procedures while showing that inward investors and expatriate managers in Iran should be aware of the importance of personal leadership style. Further research is needed in different countries and regions to improve the generalisability of our findings.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on the application of the servant leadership construct, which was developed in the West, to other regional contexts. It also adds to the literature of independent hotels, which is an important yet under-researched part of the hospitality industry.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2021

Alireza Nazarian, Ehsan Zaeri, Pantea Foroudi, Amir Reza Afrouzi and Peter Atkinson

Studies have shown that due to the high direct and indirect costs of staff turnover, there is a need for managers to use approaches that engender a feeling that the organisation…

1102

Abstract

Purpose

Studies have shown that due to the high direct and indirect costs of staff turnover, there is a need for managers to use approaches that engender a feeling that the organisation is fair to its employees and consequently reduce the intention to leave. However, to understand how to apply the research findings and theories from different parts of the world, we need to understand how employees’ perceptions of such factors as ethical leadership and organisational justice are affected by the national culture. Therefore, this study aims to compare the impact of ethical leadership on the intention to leave through justice, loyalty and satisfaction among employees of independent hotels from two Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) cultural clusters.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,561 questionnaires were received from independent hotel employees, which were analysed using structural equation modelling. Data were collected in the USA, the UK, Italy and Spain whose national cultures fall into two different GLOBE regional clusters.

Findings

The results show similarities and differences between countries and within and between clusters. No relationship was found between procedural justice and intention to leave in any of the four countries. Ethical leadership had no significant impact on job satisfaction and organisational justice in the UK, which contrasts with results in the other three countries. The study findings also show that distributive justice has a significant relationship with the intention to leave in the USA and the UK (Anglo cluster), whereas no specific relationship was found between these two variables in Italy and Spain (Latin European cluster).

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature of ethical leadership and its application to the hotel industry in two culturally different GLOBE clusters. This study shows how the relationships between organisational variables are affected by national culture and emphasises the importance for hotel managers of being aware of the specific characteristics of the culture of the country in which they are operating.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Pantea Foroudi, Suraksha Gupta, Alireza Nazarian and Marta Duda

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities to gain more insight into the factors…

12644

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities to gain more insight into the factors related to small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) growth in the UK. Based on the resource-advantage theory, this research addresses the question “to what extent does digital technology influence marketing capability which leads to companies’ growth?”

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered through 21 in-depth interviews with managers from different multinational organizations and six focus groups with employees.

Findings

The study identifies the two key components of digital technology as information quality and service convenience. In addition, the relationships between digital technology, tangible/intangible assets and marketing capabilities perform the significant role of facilitator of a company’s growth.

Research limitations/implications

The focus on UK SMEs limits the generalizability of the results. Further studies should be conducted in other sectors and country settings to examine the associations identified in the current study.

Originality/value

This study identifies the main impacts of digital technology on intellectual/physical assets. While managers and employees have specified that marketing capability is significant for organizations, there are a few other areas of concern with regard to consequences related to a company’s growth, competence and core competence, particularly in an SME’s setting.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Javad Izadi Zadeh Darjezi, Homagni Choudhury and Alireza Nazarian

This paper aims to investigate the specification and power of tests based on the DD and modified DD model through the UK data between years 2000 and 2013, and make comparisons…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the specification and power of tests based on the DD and modified DD model through the UK data between years 2000 and 2013, and make comparisons with tests using working capital accruals creating a measure of accruals quality as the standard deviation of the residuals value from firm-specific regressions base on working capital accruals on last, current and one-year-ahead cash flows from operations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study focuses both on the DD model and modified DD model to find out which of them can more accurately capture total working capital accrual estimation error and accrual quality. According to the DD model, the past, current and future net cash from operating activities as the three years’ operating cash inflows or outflows become omitted and correlated variables. In this study, the authors continue to document residuals from the DD and MDD models to demonstrate properties that are more consistent with behaviours of accruals estimation errors. Therefore, in this study, the authors are looking to compare the results from both the MDD and DD models and find which one of them is more effective in explaining the working capital accruals in the UK.

Findings

The authors find that adding additional explanatory variables may add additional explanatory power of variables to the DD model and extent to which accruals map into cash flow insights based on the UK data. This study is empirically well fitting with the internal workings of cash flows. As investors fixate only on the accounting earnings, they may fail to reflect fully on information contained within cash flow components and working capital accruals of current and future earnings.

Originality/value

The authors compare different equation to cover more items of working capital accruals. In addition, after examining earnings and accrual quality, the findings show that the average UK company behaviour was quite similar to the behaviour that was founded earlier for both models in the USA. Furthermore, this study results show that more volatility of sales, cash flow, accruals and earnings make a lower accrual quality. The results demonstrate that both models can capture the power to predict working capital accruals. Moreover, we find that adding additional explanatory variable of employee growth rate adds additional explanatory variables to DD model.

Details

International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1834-7649

Keywords

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