Search results

The paper aims to develop a theory‐based model of relationship commitment in an online travel domain. The model seeks to explain in detail the antecedents and outcomes of commitment.

An extensive review of relationship marketing and commitment literature helps to develop a model of commitment.

A model is developed based on existing literature. Quality of alternatives, investment size, satisfaction and trust are antecedents of both calculative and affective commitment. Two dimensions of commitment have different impact on word‐of‐mouth communications.

Given the intense competition among online travel agents, the proposed model can be used by e‐vendors to develop and maintain long‐term relationships with customers.

Commitment has been studied as a unidimensional construct in existing marketing relationship literature. Few research studies relating to this topic have been conducted in online travel context. This paper incorporates two dimensions of commitment in a business‐to‐customer travel setting.

This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework that illustrates how information technology (IT) applications may lead to competitive advantage in hotel companies.

The paper is written based on a synthesis of previous literature in this area.

Multiple areas need to be carefully evaluated in developing and implementing IT projects so that they can lead to competitive advantage in hotel companies. There are four closely related areas when analyzing IT decisions in hotels, which include coherence between the business strategy and IT decision, types of IT applications, intended benefits of IT decisions, and decision‐making style. Technology sophistication, management skills, and integration of resources are key issues when implementing IT decisions. Investments into IT applications in hotel companies can lead to superior IT competencies and IT capabilities, which can subsequently result in lower cost, agility, innovation, added value for customers, and better customer service. However, not all IT investments may result in positive outcomes or their sustainability may be short lived. In addition, there can be a lag time between making IT investment decisions and seeing their intended outcomes.

There are multiple areas and issues that need to be considered in making and implementing IT investment decisions if they are to contribute to the company's competitive advantage. Hotel companies need to be selective in their IT investment decisions and look at each IT investment from the strategic management perspective.

This is one of the first articles in the hospitality field that offers a theoretical framework on how IT applications can lead to competitive advantage in hotels. It also offers numerous theoretical and practical implications. Therefore, this paper should help hotel executives and researchers in evaluating IT projects in hotel companies.

The paper aims to provide empirical evidence that certain financial characteristics are critical for lodging firms to earn a higher profit. Further, it proposes, perhaps more importantly, a robust empirical framework for identifying outperformance in profitability, which has been barely studied in the lodging industry.

The paper employed logit models, under the framework of comparative advantage theory, to explore the relationships between firm financial characteristics and outperformance from a financial perspective.

This study, for the first time, provides systematic empirical evidence on how to identify lodging firms that outperform their competitors over time. From a practical standpoint, owners and managers should use industry medians to benchmark financial performance, focusing on factors such as leverage, book to market, asset turnover, and firm size to ensure financial performance leadership among lodging firms. Moreover, echoing previous research, a franchise appears to help differentiate an outperforming firm from its competitors in a positive way.

Because of the chosen research framework, the study results need to be interpreted with caution. Specific suggestions appear in the section of limitations and future research.

The paper includes implications of general guidelines to identify financial characteristics that differentiate outperforming firms from their competitors as well as some specific action plans for investors, practitioners, and researchers to consider.

This paper is the first one that provides systematic empirical evidence on how to identify lodging firms that outperform their competitors over time, thus shedding lights on what financial characteristics lodging firms should keep a close eye on for a better future.

The aim of this study is to explore effective communication strategies for Spanish‐speaking and Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees in hotel companies.

A case study approach was employed. Three employee, focus group interviews and semi‐structured interviews with 12 managers were conducted in a resort hotel in Orlando to elicit critical factors related to effective communication strategies with Spanish‐speaking and Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees.

It was found that the case study company mainly communicated with its employees through daily meetings, daily written information (e.g. hot sheets), wall postings, e‐mails, and periodic monthly/quarterly meetings. It was found that bilingual employees often worked as unpaid translators and assisted their colleagues. Spanish and Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees felt that not being proficient in English hindered their promotion opportunities. Differences were observed among English, Spanish, and Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees in terms of style of communication. Some native‐speaking employees seemed to refrain from communicating with non‐English‐speaking employees unless they communicated in English. Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees spoke to other employees about only work‐related issues.

This is one of the first studies looking into communication strategies and challenges for Spanish and Haitian‐Creole‐speaking employees in hotel companies.

The purpose of this study is: to examine the travel web sites quality dimensions that ultimately influence customers' satisfaction; and to conduct content analyses on the five prominent travel web sites.

A content analysis was conducted on the six prominent travel web sites as ranked by J.D. Power Consumer Report. A list of 53 attributes were selected, named, and categorized around the six web quality dimensions explored in this study.

The findings of the content analysis provide evidence to suggest that online travel companies are underperforming in terms of providing web service quality attributes that enhance customer satisfaction.

The focus of this study was only on the six prominent travel sites. However, the results cannot be generalized to all travel services. Additionally, only 53 attributes were extracted from the six web quality dimensions. There is a possibility that this study did not cover all the attributes that are part of the six dimensions.

Online travel companies can use the quality measurement tool developed in this study to detect service quality weaknesses and strengths. Moreover, travel businesses need to consider integrating features that make shopping experiences more enjoyable.

This study finding contributes to the present body of knowledge and also highlights web site quality dimensions that customers utilize in their assessment of overall online satisfaction.