Search results

Green practices have been of increasing interest to both practitioners and researchers in the hospitality context. To understand how green practices have been adopted in the industry, a systematic review of recent hospitality literature is essential. The purpose of this paper is to identify research domains and formulate a definition of green practices that accurately reflects the current hospitality context.

The authors reviewed 146 articles on green practices published between 2000 and 2014 in eight hospitality journals. Using content analysis, multiple researchers coded the articles using a standardized coding scheme.

The number of articles on green practices in the hospitality context has been growing. Most studies focus on managers and the lodging sector. The authors identify three research domains for green practices in the hospitality literature: organizational, operational and strategic. They define a green practice as a value-added business strategy that benefits hospitality operations that engage in environmental protection initiatives.

This framework may help practitioners develop green practice strategies and governments develop effective green policies and reinforce activities aimed at environmental protection. It provides theoretical foundation for future research related to green practices in the hospitality industry. Overall, hospitality stakeholders can use this framework to understand the implementation and effects of green practices.

The authors create an organizational framework for a fragmented body of literature by identifying three research domains for green practices based on a systematic review of recently published hospitality articles (2000-2014). They challenge existing definitions of green practices and propose an accurate definition tailored to the hospitality context.

As the markets of Eastern Europe continue to liberalize, they are becoming increasingly important to Western retailers who seek international market opportunities. The current research compares consumer perceptions of price as a marketplace cue in Polish and US cultures. A hierarchical structural equation model (SEM) is used to assess the metric equivalence of price cue measures across a matched sample of Polish (N = 335) and US (N = 342) consumers. Results indicate a great deal of similarity between the two groups’ perceptions of price. Findings from the study suggest practical directions for strategy formulation as well as guidance in measuring perceptions of price cross‐culturally.

Examines met expectations of retail trainees within a job context framework that consists of five job characteristics. The job characteristics of autonomy, skill variety, task significance, task identity, and feedback from others have been linked to job outcomes such as job satisfaction. Results indicated that for each job characteristic, expectations were higher initially than actually experienced one year later. Three of the five characteristics (feedback, autonomy, and skill variety) were important in predicting job satisfaction. Demographic variables of gender and work experience yielded significant differences of met expectations for two job characteristics.

In light of several successful US mall repositionings, industry experts have encouraged other less productive properties to follow their lead. This study investigates the relationship between selected mall attributes and productivity. A mail survey was sent to a random sample of mall marketing managers. Chi‐square and correlation analysis was used to identify the attributes that were significantly related to productivity. Super‐regional malls located in large, densely populated cities with high income residents were the most successful properties. The results suggest that the attributes of successful malls cannot be transferred or adapted by lower performing malls. Market strategy variables that could be duplicated were not significantly related to high productivity.

Considers benchmarking to be an important decision making tool for marketing executives. Describes the value of benchmarking to marketers in improving decision making with respect to the “Four Ps”. Outlines steps for implementing such a program.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of personal cultural orientation variables as antecedents of ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers. The impact of ethnocentric tendencies on attitudes toward both foreign and domestic products and services is also investigated.

Data were collected by means of a pen-and-paper survey from 800 Indian consumers using a geographical cluster sampling method. A structural equation modeling approach was employed to analyze the data.

The findings suggest that Indian consumers with high ethnocentric tendencies prefer domestic product/service while those with low ethnocentric tendencies prefer foreign product/service. Ethnocentrism is influenced by personal cultural orientations of Indian consumers (i.e. collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance).

The results reveal that both domestic and foreign marketers need to pay attention to personal cultural orientation in order to understand their customer's ethnocentricity. This could lead to development of better strategies as ethnocentrism has a direct impact on attitudes toward their products/services.

This study contributes to the limited literature on the ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers.

Intense competition and short product life cycles in fashion retailing present a number of marketing challenges for retail firms in both the USA and abroad. In order to survive in this industry, it is vital for participants to develop and leverage core marketing capabilities. The current study examines the effectiveness of different marketing capability factors in a cross‐section of the US specialty apparel and footwear retailing sector (n = 60 retail firms). Data were collected from marketing executives in a national mail survey. Specifically, marketing capabilities in image differentiation, promotions, external‐market knowledge and customer service are examined for their impact on firm level performance. A two‐stage structural equation model is used to test the study’s hypotheses. Results suggest that the most effective marketing capabilities, in terms of performance, are image differentiation and promotional capability.

The purpose of this study is to examine ways in which service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks influences consumers' retail patronage intentions.

The model was tested in two self‐service kiosk settings: self‐checkout and information kiosk. Survey participants were members of a consumer panel from an online survey agent. A total of 1,230 e‐mails were distributed. Of these, 600 usable surveys were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The study demonstrates that service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks is a direct and an indirect determinant of consumers' retail patronage intentions; service quality delivered by self‐service kiosks directly influences consumers' retail patronage intentions and also indirectly influences consumers' retail patronage intentions through three dimensions of retail service quality (i.e. reliability, personal interaction, and problem solving).

Compared with previous studies that were heavily focused on consumer acceptance or trial of self‐service technologies, the study attempts to address formerly unexplored aspects of self‐service kiosks' contribution to retail patronage. A second contribution of the study which makes it different from prior studies that were mostly conducted in the context of self‐checkouts is that it tests a conceptual model related to two types of self‐service kiosks (i.e. self‐checkout and information kiosk) to examine whether the proposed relationships are similar or dissimilar across the two types.

While numerous classifications have been proposed to differentiate goods from services, equivalent research on classification systems that could be used both for goods and services has not been explored. Today, in many instances, consumers can select either a physical good or a service to fulfill their needs. Consequently, marketers of services may gain strategic insights by investigating the similarities between goods and services as well as differences. Presents a unified taxonomy that classifies services into convenience, preference, shopping and specialty categories according to customer perceptions of perceived risk, purchase effort and involvement. For this study, 168 subjects evaluated eight services that represented the four categories. Results indicate that this classification system may be as useful in categorizing services as it has been for categorizing goods. Findings suggest that examining services from a consumer point of view offers alternative strategies for the service provider. The level of risk, purchase effort and involvement varies among types of services, not just between services and goods. Therefore, service managers are advised to examine their service from a consumer perspective to identify potential competitors and design effective marketing strategy.

The study regarding retail grocery considers the mediating effect of store atmospheric responsiveness (SAR) on the relationship of purchase intentions (PI) and extent of purchase (EP) for locally produced foods as well as potential moderators of trust and price consciousness (PC). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study used survey methodology of 755 grocery store shoppers for locally produced foods and structural equations modelling to test proposed relationships.

A significant positive relationship between PI and EP for locally produced foods exists and that SAR mediated the relationship. Trust was found to moderate the relationship of PI and EP, while PC moderated the SAR to EP.

The use of a survey methodology which may lack generalizability. Customers may report desired vs actual intentions or behaviours, and the sample included a large majority of female and Caucasian shoppers. The framework can serve as a guide for future research on store atmospherics in retail grocery.

In-store atmospheric factors are important to customer PI and their EP behaviours for locally produced foods. Trust of store and PC are also important. Results may aid managers in determining appropriate in-store “atmospheric” variables to help support customer decision making as they grocery shop.

This paper adds value to the literature by considering the role of the store environment on behavioural outcomes like EP of locally produced foods and adds a unique perspective by creating a combined assessment of store atmospherics and individual consumer traits in the grocery shopping domain.