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This paper aims to examine impediments to the adoption of sustainable water-efficient technological innovation in agriculture. Farming is the largest water consumer and food production expansion in response to global population growth, combined with increasing droughts from climate change, threatens water and food insecurity for many countries. Yet, climate smart agriculture (CSA) innovation adoption has been slow, and in this regard, governments and the agricultural sector are not fulfilling their social responsibility and sustainability obligations.

Barriers to water-efficient drip irrigation (DI) adoption in Australia were investigated via 46 depth interviews with agricultural stakeholders and a survey of 148 farmers.

While DI water efficiency is recognised, this is not the key determinant of farmers’ irrigation method selection. Complex interrelationships between internal and external barriers impede DI adoption are identified. These include costs, satisfaction with alternative irrigation methods, farmer characteristics that determine the suitability of the innovation and the extent it is incremental or radical, plus various multidimensional risks. Government support of alternative, less water-efficient irrigation methods is also a critical barrier.

A conceptual framework for understanding barriers to sustainability oriented innovation adoption is presented. Its insights should be applicable to researchers and practitioners concerned with understanding and improving the adoption of socially responsible and sustainable innovation in a wide range of contexts. Recommendations for overcoming such adoption barriers are discussed in relation to the research focus of water-efficient agriculture and encouraging uptake of DI.

The aim of this study is to identify environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused funds that can effectively uphold ethical principles while also delivering competitive financial returns by evaluating the performance of 24 well-established exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The study also compares the performance of four widely recognized ETFs representing NASDAQ (ticker: QQQ), S&P500 (SPY), Dow Jones (DIA) and Russell 2000 (IWM) with the sample of 24 ESG funds.

This paper utilizes four complementary measures, namely Sharpe, Sortino, Omega and Calmar ratios, to assess the risk-adjusted return performance of ETFs, with a particular emphasis on extreme downside risk.

The findings indicate that ESG-focused ETFs can predominantly outperform DIA and IWM in the last five years (1 November 2018–22 March 2023). However, when compared to QQQ and SPY, only ICLN, SUSA and DSI consistently delivered competitive risk-adjusted returns. The performance of DSI and SUSA is almost equivalent to QQQ and SPY even during the last ten years.

The paper conducts a risk-return analysis of alternative ESG investment funds, suggesting that not all ETFs are created equal and that careful selection is vital for achieving different investment objectives. It is imperative to recognize that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future outcomes, requiring consideration of other factors in the post-evaluation phase.

The study provides evidence to support the “doing well while doing good” hypothesis, indicating that competitive returns are achievable while also engaging in socially responsible investment.

This study fills a vital gap in the literature on ESG investment by highlighting that the choice of funds stands as the primary factor responsible for the conflicting findings by previous studies.

Managing the customer experience is critical for hospitality businesses because business viability can depend on the delivery of valued guest experiences. The industry lacks research that can assist in developing the specific measures and tools to design experiences that meet guests’ expectations. The purpose of this paper is to identify the constructs and generators of memorable experiences (ME) from the perspectives of luxury hotel hosts and guests.

Data were collected in two sequential phases. In the first phase, non-probability sampling was used to engage luxury hotel experts in a Delphi study. This was followed by in-depth, face-to-face interviews with frequently staying luxury hotel guests.

In total, 40 value generating factors emerged from the host data. These were validated with guests; however, guests also revealed a further 19 value generating factors that develop ME. These factors were clustered into five constructs and formulated into a ME framework that presents the constructs and supporting variables that can facilitate memorable luxury hotel experiences.

Guests were asked to recall previous luxury hotel experiences and it is acknowledged that recall of past experiences can be inaccurate. The sample size was also relatively small.

Critical, value generating factors were identified that hotel operators can employ to actively engage luxury hotel guests and ensure their experiences are memorable.

The study extends our understanding of the constructs and variables that contribute to the development of ME identifying the importance of sensory generators and the role of authenticity and destination specific culture in creating unique, ME. These key drivers can be used to increase guest satisfaction, loyalty and repeat visitation.

The wine industry is a multi‐billion product value category worldwide with a significant part being sales through hospitality service providers. Although wine sales add considerably to the profitability of many restaurants, hotels, bars and other hospitality establishments, few studies have been conducted into wine purchasing behaviour within hospitality settings. This study identifies the factors that influence consumers to purchase wine and attempts to demonstrate how the basic demographic characteristic of age is a useful variable for segmentation purposes. The study reveals that there are six dominant factors that influence wine purchasing behaviour and that significant differences in purchase motivation exist between three age segments, 18 to 25 years, 26 to 34 years and 34+years. The results of this research have significant implications for hospitality operators who, with a basic knowledge of the demographic characteristics of their guests, can develop marketing strategies to maximise the sale of wine and wine products.

The purpose of this paper is to examine travellers' experiences with public houses in Colonial Victoria, to determine how the hospitality industry in the colony was transformed from primitive hospitality provision to sophisticated, well managed hotels in a relatively short time.

The article reviews public records, newspapers of the period, eye‐witness accounts and key texts to chart the development of the hospitality industry in Colonial Victoria and to demonstrate how primitive inns became modern hotels within the space of three decades.

This paper highlights how the discovery of gold in 1851 prompted an unprecedented influx of travellers whose expectations of hospitality provision led to the transformation of existing hostelries from crude and primitive inns to modern, sophisticated hotels.

The research is confined to Colonial Victoria and therefore, not necessarily a reflection of the colonies in general or general trends in hospitality provision at that time.

Tracing the roots of hospitality provision and the traditions of hospitality management can provide a greater understanding of modern hospitality practice. As O'Gorman argues “[…] with historical literature contributing to informing industry practices today and tomorrow: awareness of the past always helps to guide the future”.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge in relation to the roots and evolution of commercial hospitality.

Hospitality management higher education’s historic origins have resulted in a strong vocational ethos permeating the curriculum. Knowledge about hospitality has been drawn from the industry and the world of work rather than from the many disciplines or other fields of enquiry, which can help to explain it. By the late 1990s there was a strengthening international movement, driven by higher education hospitality academics towards the liberation of hospitality management higher education from its vocational base and to explore the inclusion in the curriculum of a broader and more reflective orientation. This paper investigates the historical evolution of hospitality management education, concepts associated with liberal education, and provides an illustrative case study that evaluates how a more liberal base was introduced into the curriculum at two universities located in Australia and Scotland respectively.

In Australia, male sports attendees outnumber female sports attendees by 25%, yet little research has been conducted into the attendance motives of women. This study undertakes an analysis of 460 respondents using descriptive and multivariate statistics to distinguish the attendance motivations of women and compare them directly to those of male attendees. The findings suggest that female attendance can be influenced through management and promotional strategies.

Wine consumption in Australia has increased rapidly over the past decade with a subsequent increase in wine sales within restaurants. From a marketing perspective, however, few studies have been conducted into the links between wine consumption and the occasions on which wine is consumed. This paper investigates the nexus between the perceived importance of the consumption occasion and the choice of wine. The study employs “Means‐End Chain” methodology to gather information on the attributes, consequences and values associated with wine choice and attempts to identify how the relative weighting of these factors varies across consumption occasions. The research found that personal values can have a significant influence on the selection of wine on different dining occasions.

Achieving quality standards in postgraduate education, particularly among Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students, can be challenging. In addition to the diverse educational and cultural backgrounds of these students, thesis writing frequently involves the development of new skills associated with the comprehension of a large volume of information, critical analysis and the development of an academic writing style. Many students need support in one or all of these key areas. Universities currently provide a number of different writing support activities to address students' needs. The purpose of this study is to report on a writing support intervention that employed a specialist in academic writing to support HDR students in the business faculty.

Following a two‐year period, the intervention was evaluated to assess the appropriateness and effectiveness of this support using qualitative methods. The results of this study are presented and discussed from different angles. First, a lecturer in academic writing support outlines her observations and reflection on the value of individual consultations and students' progress. Second, the attitudes and experience of students and their supervisors to this service are discussed. This is followed by the faculty senior management view with regard to the effectiveness and efficiency of this service.

This research found that both students and their supervisors expressed satisfaction with the service offered. Also it was found that the writing quality of submitted theses is improving; the costs of thesis editing have reduced; HDR students appear to be more satisfied with and confident of their academic writing; the attractiveness of the PhD program has been enhanced, as judged by the increase in PhD enquiries and the quality of potential applicants.

The results reported here indicate that the intervention was successful. However, the sample size was relatively small and the HDR candidates and supervisors were drawn from only one faculty in one university.

The study provides some recommendations that could be taken into account by senior management and academic staff in order to set up and deliver a faculty‐based writing support service for HDR students, which would bring benefits to students, their supervisors, faculties and universities.

The value of this research is that the writing program was proven to be beneficial for universities to support research students in the development of their writing skills, which in turn, could improve the quality of thesis and ensure on time completion.