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This study aims to systematically review a total of 513 papers using experimental methods in hospitality and tourism research and then proposed new recommendations to address approaches that have been confusingly adopted or ignored in the current literature.

An extensive literature review was conducted. Together with critiques on previous studies, four recommendations were proposed to help carry out future experimental studies using more rigorous and exact approaches.

Multiple experimental studies can provide stronger evidence for theoretical arguments. Demonstration of the theoretical underlying mechanism using evidence based on mediation and moderating methods is required. The adoption of complementary methods can mitigate the generic weaknesses of experimental methods. In addition, enhancement of the realism of experiments is required to obtain stronger empirical evidence with internal and external validity.

This study proposes four constructive recommendations which help researchers to conduct future experimental design studies correctly. Valid and exact research outcomes can help practitioners to carry out new useful marketing strategies.

After reviewing 513 previous papers that used experimental design in the hospitality and tourism fields, this study proposes four new recommendations to facilitate a better understanding of experimental design. The original and innovative nature of this study will help future investigations to adopt more accurate statistical approaches.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status of experimental research within hospitality and tourism. This paper further aims to develop practical ideas for enhancing the adoption of a cause and effect mindset in researchers.

A mini-review of the level of experimental designs and best-practice ideas published by the top 12 journals in hospitality and tourism over a five-year period was conducted.

Although the absolute number of experimental studies is growing, the ratio of experimental studies to overall publications remains low at 6.4%. To increase the take-up of experimental design, a broader typology of field experiments is presented. Practical steps to increase causal reality are provided under the categories of purpose; scenario development; scenario testing; and sample characteristics.

The methodological advances suggested in this paper can contribute to more robust theory development and testing. The recommendations offer guidance to a new generation of researchers seeking to add causal value to their studies, researchers collaborating with scholars from other discipline areas and hospitality managers seeking stronger evidence of cause and effect.

This paper identifies key obstacles to the take-up of experimental design and the contemporary status of experimental design. A novel typology of five experimental designs that distinguish the difference between experimental and correlational designs in terms of explanatory power is presented, together with a comprehensive list of best practice suggestions to increase causal reality in scenario design.

The research aims to identify the effectiveness of using the blended learning strategy on achievement among students of higher colleges of technology in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), through the answer to the following question: Is there a statistically significant difference at the significance level (a = 0.05) in students' achievements in general studies courses at higher education attributed to the method of teaching (blended learning, traditional).

The research applied a Quasi-experimental. The current research used two groups experimental group and controlled group across two phases: pilot study and experimental study. Phase 1 examined the difference between the pilot group and the nonpilot group at Sharjah colleges across three different courses: Fundamentals of Applied Mathematics, Professional Communication and Reporting and Basic Research Methods during the spring semester 2019 at Sharjah colleges. Phase 2 examined the difference between the experimental group (using blended learning during summer 2019) and the controlled group (learned the same courses during summer 2018) across three different courses and the same three courses.

There is no statistically significant difference at significance level (a = 0.05) in students' achievements in the Fundamentals of Applied Mathematics (LSM 1000) course between the experimental and controlled groups. There is a statistically significant difference at significance level (a = 0.05) in students' achievements in the Professional Communication and Reporting (LSC 1103) in favor of the experimental group course at higher education attributed to the method of teaching (blended learning, traditional). There is no statistically significant difference at significance level (a = 0.05) in students' achievements in the Basic Research Methods (LSS 1123) between the experimental and controlled groups.

1. The study is limited to students of Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE. 2. The study is limited to the General Studies Department at Higher Colleges of Technology. 3. The achievement test used in the study is a standardized test developed by the college.

This research considered the first research to discuss the effectiveness of using blended learning where three teaching strategies are combined together (normal face-to-face classes, flipped classroom and online face-to-face classes) in students' achievement at higher education in the UAE.

There is growing scholarly interest in the use of penalty in employment contracts which reduce employees' pay if the employee's performance does not meet a pre-specified performance threshold. Prior accounting research has focused exclusively on the effect of penalty on employee performance. In this study, the authors extend earlier research by examining how penalty affects the employers' wage offers. Prior research suggests that employers' generous wage offers in employment contracts are normally translated as trust by employees who in turn reciprocate with higher effort. The authors present a theory that predicts penalty reduces employers' wage offers. Then, the authors propose unrestricted communication between employers and employees as a potential moderator for the negative effect of penalty on trust and reciprocity.

The authors implement a controlled lab experiment with a 2 × 3 experimental design (Penalty: Present and Absent; and Communication: None, One-Way and Two-Way).

The authors develop their predictions by utilizing insights from motivational-crowding and organizational communication theories. The authors hypothesize and find evidence that employers' ability to penalize employees can reduce employers' motivation to offer generous wages. As a result, reduced trust demotivates employees to provide high effort. However, the authors find that a two-way communication moderates the negative effect of penalties by restoring trust, thereby, increasing reciprocity. Finally, the authors find evidence that relationship-oriented messages explain the moderating effect of communication.

This study is subject to limitations inherent in all experimental studies. The decisions in the study experiment are less complex than those found in practice. Moreover, there are significantly higher costs and potential benefits to shirk on effort in practice. The authors encourage future research on other organizational features that would influence the generalizability of their theory and results. Nonetheless, this study makes an important contribution to the literature on trust, reciprocity, gift-exchange contracts, managerial controls and communication.

This paper has several important implications for theory and practice. The authors show that the presence of penalty may not automatically result in increasing employees' effort level, contrary to traditional economic theory predictions. This effect is driven mainly by the crowding out effect of a penalty on employers' desire to signal trust. Therefore, the presence of an open communication channel may become an important tool to reverse the psychological effect of reduced trust when penalty is present. Therefore, the study's findings contribute to the trust–reciprocity literature on how management control system influences employers' and employees' behavior. These findings are especially germane given the trend in the workplace toward establishing open communication at different levels within the firm hierarchy. The study also contributes to the literature on trust–reciprocity as critical informal controls and social norms in accounting practices (Bicchieri, 2006; Stevens, 2019), shedding light on how firms may influence employees' reciprocity in management control practices and induce them to act in line with the firm's objectives by opening communication channels.

Prior accounting research document that penalty in employment contracts increases employee performance due to loss aversion. The study, however, demonstrates that the positive effect of penalty is not sustained in a gift-exchange contract. Specifically, the study's experimental results provide evidence that the availability of penalties can psychologically change the way employers perceive their decisions on offering generous wages (i.e. trust) and consequently reduce employees' reciprocation of high effort levels. Yet, the authors propose a two-way communication as a restorative mechanism for the lost trust. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

This paper aims to report the study of a fluid buoy system that includes wave effects, with particular emphasis on validating the numerical results with experimental data.

A fluid–solid coupled algorithm is proposed to describe the motion of a rigid buoy under the effects of waves. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved with the open-source finite volume package Code Saturne, in which a free-surface capture technique and equations of motion for the solid are implemented. An ad hoc experiment on a laboratory scale is built. A buoy is placed into a tank partially filled with water; the tank is mounted into a shake table and subjected to controlled motion that promotes waves. The experiment allows for recording the evolution of the free surface at the control points using the ultrasonic sensors and the movement of the buoy by tracking the markers by postprocessing the recorded videos. The numerical results are validated by comparison with the experimental data.

The implemented free-surface technique, developed within the framework of the finite-volume method, is validated. The best-obtained agreement is for small amplitudes compatible with the waves evolving under deep-water conditions. Second, the algorithm proposed to describe rigid-body motion, including wave analysis, is validated. The numerical body motion and wave pattern satisfactorily matched the experimental data. The complete 3D proposed model can realistically describe buoy motions under the effects of stationary waves.

The novel aspects of this study encompass the implementation of a fluid–structure interaction strategy to describe rigid-body motion, including wave effects in a finite-volume context, and the reported free-surface and buoy position measurements from experiments. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the numerical strategy, the validation of the computed results and the experimental data are all original contributions of this work.

This paper aims to present nonlinear numerical simulations using the versatile finite element (FE) analysis tool ANSYS and theoretical analysis based on code provisions to assess the load-carrying capacity of reinforced concrete (RC) beams under two-point monotonic static loadings.

Four quarter-size FE models with load and geometry symmetry conditions were constructed, the load-bearing capacity and associated mid-span deflections at critical points are verified against the full-scale experimental RC beams available in the literature. These developed FE models incorporated the tension stiffening effects and bond–slip behaviour. Theoretical analyses based on Indian standard code IS: 456–2000 and ACI 318–19 were also carried to verify the experimental and numerical predicted moments at critical loading points.

The load-deflection curves predicted through FE models exhibit closer corroboration with the experimental curves throughout the loading history. The contour plots for deflections, concrete principal stresses, reinforcement yield stresses are satisfactorily predicted by the FE models, which reveal the complete information of nonlinear behaviour of RC beams. The developed model well captured the initial and progressive crack patterns at each load increments.

The FE modelling is an efficient, valid and economical tool that is an alternative to the expensive experimental program and can be used to explore, analyse and fully understand the nonlinear response of RC beams under static loadings.

The ultimate moment capacity evaluated based on ACI 318–19 code provision show a better correlation with the experimental data as compared to the IS: 456–2000 code provision. The ultimate loads and associated centre-span deflections predicted by RN-2, RN-3, RB-12 and RB-16 FE model show a discrepancy of 1.66 and –0.49%, –4.68 and –0.60%, –9.38 and –14.53% and –4.37 and 4.21%, respectively, against the experimental results, which reveals that the developed ANSYS FE models predict consistent results and achieved a reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

This study aimed to identify the level of students' academic integration in the physical environment of the classroom.

This study used an experimental approach. The study sample consisted of 60 students, who were divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30) in two classrooms (classes 9 and 13). To verify the equivalence of the two groups, an ANOVA test was performed to determine the level of academic integration, and identify any statistically significant differences between the two groups before separating them and controlling all the other variables, except for the classroom environment variable.

The results revealed no statistically significant differences in the mean of pre-application academic integration. Ten days later, the lecturer explained the topic within the academic course and redistributed the scale of academic integration. The results of the second application revealed differences in the average mean of academic integration in favour of the experimental group (class 13). To identify statistically significant differences, a t-test was used for independent samples. The results showed statistically significant differences in the level of academic integration of the experimental group attributed to the variable of physical environment in favour of class 13.

This study recommend to proposing future physical learning environments in classrooms by improving physical aspects. These new learning environments can enhance the cooperation between teachers and students, allow for easier conveyance of ideas and promote students' ability to solve problems more effectively. The use of Metaverse technology in education may create an appropriate virtual physical environment that solves the problem of the physical environment and raises the level of academic integration of students.

We applied a true-experimental randomized control posttest design to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to compare the effects of the AR and traditional board games on students’ SDG learning achievements.

We applied a true-experimental randomized control posttest design to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to compare the effects of AR and traditional board games on students' SDG learning achievements.

Our analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data revealed that the effects of AR and traditional board games on the students' cognitive outcomes differed significantly, indicating the importance of providing a situated learning environment in SDG education. Moreover, the students perceived that the incorporation of the AR game into SDG learning improved their learning effectiveness – including both cognitive and affective dimensions – thus confirming its educational value and potential in SDG learning.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the effectiveness of different learning tools (AR and traditional board games) and to evaluate the importance of providing a situated learning environment through a true-experimental randomized control posttest design.

Restaurant operators often use auspicious connotations embedded in the names and shapes of dishes to increase consumers’ purchase intentions. However, the interaction effect of multiple auspicious cues (i.e. food name and shape) on purchase intentions has rarely been examined in the restaurant context. Thus, grounded in processing fluency theory, this study investigates the direct influence of the two-way interaction effect of food name (auspicious vs nonauspicious) and shape (auspicious vs. nonauspicious) on purchase intentions and its indirect influence via perceived auspiciousness and positive emotions.

Utilizing a 2 (food name: auspicious name vs. nonauspicious name) × 2 (food shape: auspicious shape vs. nonauspicious shape) between-subjects design, the authors conducted two experimental studies with 356 Chinese customers. In Study 1, which focused on a main dish, we investigated the two-way interaction effect food name × food shape on purchase intentions. In Study 2, we replicated this experimental study by focusing on a different food type (i.e. dessert) to test the direct and indirect influences of the two-way interaction of food name × food shape on purchase intentions through perceived auspiciousness and positive emotions.

The results reveal that the congruity condition of auspicious names and shapes significantly influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Congruity with auspicious food cues also indirectly affects purchase intentions through consumers’ perceived auspiciousness and positive emotions. These effects were consistently observed in two experimental studies analyzing different dish types (main dish and dessert).

Restaurateurs should consider utilizing auspicious food cues to attract customers. Specifically, they should combine both food name and shape to increase their perceived auspiciousness and sales.

This study tested processing fluency theory using auspicious food cues. This study contributes to the hospitality literature by improving our understanding of the congruence effect by exemplifying the conceptual alignment between food name and food shape.

In this study, experimental studies were carried out using different process parameters of the soft pneumatic gripper (SPG) fabricated by the fused deposition modeling method. In the experimental studies, the surface quality of the gripper was examined by determining four different levels and factors. The experiment was designed to estimate the surface roughness of the SPG.

The methodology consists of an experimental phase in which the SPG is fabricated and the surface roughness is measured. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) flex filament material was used in the fabrication of SPG. The control factors used in the Taguchi L16 vertical array experimental design and their level values were determined. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to observe the effect of printing parameters on the surface quality. Finally, regression analysis was applied to mathematically model the surface roughness values obtained from the experimental measurements.

Based on the Taguchi signal-to-noise ratio and ANOVA, layer height is the most influential parameter for surface roughness. The best surface quality value was obtained with a surface roughness value of 18.752 µm using the combination of 100 µm layer height, 2 mm wall thickness, 200 °C nozzle temperature and 120 mm/s printing speed. The developed model predicted the surface roughness of SPG with 95% confidence intervals.

It is essential to examine the surface quality of parts fabricated in additive manufacturing using different variables. In the literature, surface roughness has been examined using different factors and levels. However, the surface roughness of a soft gripper fabricated with TPU material has not been examined previously. The surface quality of parts fabricated using flexible materials is very important.