Search results
1 – 8 of 8Lizhu Yu Davis, Li Zhao, Dean Davis and Yuhui Liu
Using resource-based theory and social cognitive theory, this study aimed to investigate crucial resources that new US fashion ventures need to survive the initial stage of…
Abstract
Purpose
Using resource-based theory and social cognitive theory, this study aimed to investigate crucial resources that new US fashion ventures need to survive the initial stage of business development. It also intended to discover the role and characteristics of founders that contribute to the success of a fashion business, as well as challenges and struggles that fashion entrepreneurs face.
Design/methodology/approach
For the study, a qualitative research method with in-depth personal interviews was conducted. Participants were recruited through purposeful sampling methods. Using a grounded theory approach, we analyzed the approximately 308 pages of primary source data, transcribed from the records of the interviews.
Findings
Findings were categorized into three major themes. First, financial resources and literacy, marketing, merchandising, as well as legal resources were identified as critical resources at the firm level. Second, at the individual level, four important human agency factors, including intentionality, forethought, reactiveness and reflectiveness were revealed as essential for the success of fashion entrepreneurs. Lastly, relationships and networks were highlighted at both firm and individual levels.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of fashion entrepreneurship, an understudied area. The study identified critical resources for the success of fashion startups, especially during the initial business development process. The findings also emphasized the importance of human agency factors and networks at both firm and individual levels.
Details
Keywords
Saima Kazmi, Mark Heisten and Burton St John III
This study is concerned with the dynamics of the internal communications at Netflix following the release of The Closer and the public debate that followed, testing Netflix's…
Abstract
Purpose
This study is concerned with the dynamics of the internal communications at Netflix following the release of The Closer and the public debate that followed, testing Netflix's long-standing reputation for promoting diverse content and supporting a progressive organizational culture.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the circuit of culture (CoC) as a theoretical framework, this study applies a case study approach to analyze internal communication and strategic public relations in addressing this crisis.
Findings
This study's findings illustrate that by failing to interpret two of the five moments of the CoC, production and identity, Netflix negated the very values that constitute its brand. These findings have implications for how public relations' long-standing focus on two-way symmetrical communication is problematic, especially in the workplace.
Originality/value
The findings situate how the exertion of power within an organization, particularly in moments of identity and production, problematize the role of two-way symmetrical communication within an organization in crisis.
Details
Keywords
Tahani Hassan, Mauricio Carvache-Franco, Wilmer Carvache-Franco and Orly Carvache-Franco
Religious tourism is one of the oldest and fastest-growing segments. This study analyzes religious tourism through the pilgrimage of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca and has the…
Abstract
Purpose
Religious tourism is one of the oldest and fastest-growing segments. This study analyzes religious tourism through the pilgrimage of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca and has the following objectives: (1) establish the motivational dimensions of religious tourism; (2) identify the motivational dimensions that predict the satisfaction of religious tourism and (3) determine the motivational dimensions that predict return, recommend and say positive things about religious tourism applied to the pilgrimage to a sacred city.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of Muslim pilgrims who had visited Mecca. The sample was collected in Bahrain, a country located on the Persian Gulf, where most of its population is Muslim. A total of 380 valid questionnaires were obtained online. For the data analysis, factorial analysis and the multiple regression method enter were performed.
Findings
The results show that religious motivations are more important when visiting a sacred city than secular ones. Three motivational dimensions were found: religious, social and cultural and shopping. The three dimensions found have a significant relationship with satisfaction and loyalty. Likewise, it was found that the religious motivational dimension is the factor that most predicts satisfaction and loyalty in the behavior of religious visits to a sacred city.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the present study was the temporality in which the sample was taken because the demand may vary at another time of the year and therefore vary its results.
Practical implications
The authors of the study recommend that holy cities increase the religious motivations of these travelers by periodically researching their needs and organizing services to suit their desired spiritual experience. Also, to improve the social and cultural part, travel agencies and tourist companies to Mecca should promote social and cultural motivation among travelers in an appropriate way by providing service packages that involve visits to cultural and social sites such as museums and cultural centers.
Social implications
This research will serve as a management guide for public institutions and private companies to develop more efficient planning in religious destinations and sacred cities.
Originality/value
This study is the first to analyze the construct of motivations in the pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, to then establish what the main motivations are that predict satisfaction and loyalty in a religious city. Thus, its results provide important information for tourist destination managers and tourism service providers.
Details
Keywords
Godwin Olasehinde-Williams, Ifedolapo Olanipekun and Ojonugwa Usman
This paper aims to examine the reaction of energy inflation to geopolitical risks in the European Economic Area between 1990 and 2015.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the reaction of energy inflation to geopolitical risks in the European Economic Area between 1990 and 2015.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies the nonparametric time-varying coefficient panel data model with fixed effects. In addition, to further reveal potential tail effects that may not have been captured by conditional mean-based regressions, the method of moments quantile regression was also used.
Findings
The findings of this study are as follows: first, as European countries get exposed to geopolitical tensions, it is expected that energy prices will surge. Second, the ability of geopolitical risk to trigger energy inflation in recent times is not as powerful as it used to be. Third, countries with a lower inflation rate, when exposed to geopolitical risks, experience smaller increases in energy inflation compared to countries with a higher inflation rate.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this study lead us to the conclusion that transitioning from nonrenewable to renewable energy use is one channel through which the sampled countries can battle the energy inflation, which geopolitical risks trigger. A sound macroeconomic policy for inflation control is a complementary channel through which the same goal can be achieved.
Originality/value
Given the increasing level of energy inflation and geopolitical risks in the world today, this study is an attempt to reveal the time-varying characteristics of the relationship between these variables in European countries using a nonparametric time-varying coefficient panel data model and method of moments quantile regression with fixed effects.
Details
Keywords
Sonia Bharwani and David Mathews
In the context of heightened awareness and understanding of responsible tourism, it has become increasingly imperative for luxury hotels to introspect on the impact of their…
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of heightened awareness and understanding of responsible tourism, it has become increasingly imperative for luxury hotels to introspect on the impact of their operations on environmental and social sustainability. This study aims at examining the prevalence and growth of sustainability practices in the Indian luxury hotel segment as it increasingly competes on a global platform.
Design/methodology/approach
The research approach adopted in this paper is qualitative and emic. Primary data is gathered for the study through semi-structured interviews with select luxury hotel general managers from four hotel chains of Indian origin – ITC Luxury Hotels, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Taj Hotels and Palaces and The Leela – to gain an insight into sustainability initiatives adopted in the Indian hospitality industry. Secondary research data regarding the eco-friendly, green measures implemented in these hotels is collected primarily from the websites of the respective hotel chains and supplemented by review of academic literature, media articles, industry reports and company press releases.
Findings
The findings of the study reveal that Indian luxury hotel brands are increasingly adopting green products and integrating innovative sustainability practices in their day-to-day operations. However, several of these initiatives are in the non-customer-facing domains such as the engineering and back-of-the-house operations. Very few Indian hotel chains are building these sustainability initiatives into their core philosophy and embedding it in the front-line customer service experience at their properties to reinforce the green image of the hotels.
Originality/value
The paper also proposes the 6Cs Framework of Sustainability that can be utilised to categorise the green sustainable practices adopted in responsible hotels in a simplistic manner under six broad verticals. Practitioners, researchers and educationists in the hospitality industry would find the implications of this study useful in the context of a post-pandemic world where sustainability is influencing consumer choices across industries in today’s eco-conscious and enlightened business and marketing environment.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to investigate the knowledge domain and development trends that appear in the scholarly corpus on religious tourism.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the knowledge domain and development trends that appear in the scholarly corpus on religious tourism.
Design/methodology/approach
The most common themes evolving in the religious tourism research field are figured out by conducting keyword and trend analyses using the bibliographic data collected from 988 research articles published in Social Science Citation-indexed journals listed in the Web of Science database between 1992 and 2022.
Findings
It has been found that the number of publications has increased exponentially. European countries are the major contributors to religious tourism research. Research has mainly clustered around the areas of spiritual experience, identity, cultural heritage, pilgrimage, tourist attitude, behavior and satisfaction. Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism are religions that have received relatively little research attention.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should focus on the sustainability of religious tourism sites, mitigating the adverse impact of the commercialization of religious tourism products and recovering religious tourism activities from the COVID-19 impact.
Practical implications
The findings are useful for corporate practitioners, site managers and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the valuable opportunities this segment offers. These findings are useful for scholars and policymakers in acquiring the latest knowledge of developments in this field.
Social implications
The insights obtained by using a holistic approach are valuable for religious tourists who want to understand the importance of visiting religious sites.
Originality/value
This study identifies key themes that have evolved in religious tourism. In so doing, it presents an agenda for pushing this research corpus forward.
Details
Keywords
Rongduo Liu and Klaus G. Grunert
This study aimed to investigate changes in food consumption during the COVID-19 lockdown period in a sample of female college students in China. The study employed a dual…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to investigate changes in food consumption during the COVID-19 lockdown period in a sample of female college students in China. The study employed a dual processing approach that simultaneously investigates the effects of students' beliefs about the importance of healthy eating and the effect of emotional eating due to anxiety induced by the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 645 female college students in China using a self-administered questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used for the data analysis.
Findings
Beliefs about the importance of healthy eating have a greater impact on changes in food consumption than anxiety. Emotional eating was positively associated with changes in vegetable consumption. The findings reveal that a shift from “food as health” to “food as well-being” in the role of food in the food-related life of Chinese consumers is underway. “Food as health” remains important in food-related decision-making in China during the pandemic. Concurrently, a well-being centered or a more holistic perspective, including the psychological and emotional aspects of food, should be included in food-related research and health promotion in China.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic by simultaneously investigating both the cognitive impact of beliefs regarding the importance of healthy eating and the affective impact of anxiety on changes in food consumption due to COVID-19.
Details