Search results
1 – 10 of over 8000Shem Wambugu Maingi and Hildah Mumbi Wachira
Kenyan Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) have been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the tourism workforce had to face lockdowns and travel…
Abstract
Purpose
Kenyan Small and Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) have been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the tourism workforce had to face lockdowns and travel restrictions. In order to maintain business and operational continuity, the tourism workforce had to leverage on internet technologies and digitalisation as a means of enabling business continuity and providing value addition in their supply chains. This study sought to investigate on the extent to which digital skills aid in the tourism recovery process as well as improve the employees' well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic among SMTEs in Nairobi City County.
Methodology
The study took a qualitative approach based on constructivist grounded methodological approaches that emphasised specifically on the discovery of emerging trends and patterns in behaviour as well as development of new theory. The aim was to understand the tourism workforce recovery process using digital skills. The process involved data gathering from interview participants, qualitative emic and etic coding, analytical memo writing, theoretical sampling and reconstructing theory.
Findings
The findings of the study showed that due to losses attributed to the lockdowns and travel restrictions, prospective digital business models have been formulated for tourism stakeholders during the lockdown period. The changing technological landscape globally showed that digital skills will continue to be in great demand to meet the needs of the marketplace. Further, the use of social digital tools to build a mental health response to COVID-19 was instrumental to the recovery process. Technological resilience is a key factor that will play a role in reviving the sector.
Research Implications
A structured vision, roadmap and tourism strategy for mainstreaming digital skills and developing technological resilience within the tourism and hospitality sector is important towards coping and adaptive strategies for the SMTEs in the Kenyan context.
Originality/Value
This study examines how digital skills are vital for tourism recovery especially for the SMTEs within the developing countries context.
Details
Keywords
Walid Ben-Amar, Breeda Comyns and Isabelle Martinez
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how climate change risk reporting might evolve in various world regions in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how climate change risk reporting might evolve in various world regions in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a multiple-case study approach and adopting an institutional theory lens, we assess whether the pandemic is likely to strengthen or weaken institutional pressures for climate change risk disclosures and predict how climate-related risk reporting will evolve post-pandemic.
Findings
The authors find that climate change risk reporting is likely to evolve differently according to geographical location. The authors predict that disclosure levels will increase in regions with ambitious climate policy and where economic stimulus packages support sustainable economic recovery. Where there has been a weakening of environmental commitments and economic stimulus packages support resource intensive business, climate change risk reporting will stagnate or even decline. The authors discuss the scenarios for climate change risk reporting expected to play out in different parts of the world.
Originality/value
The authors contribute to the nascent literature on climate change risk disclosure and identify future directions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
Keywords
It was estimated that 450 million people would take vacations during the Chinese Spring Festival in early 2020, yet the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in a sudden brake of…
Abstract
It was estimated that 450 million people would take vacations during the Chinese Spring Festival in early 2020, yet the outbreak of the pandemic resulted in a sudden brake of travel business. This caused an unparalleled damage to the industry for tourism cities in China. Among those cities, Hangzhou was the first to activate the First Level Public Health Emergency Response, indicating an immediate lockdown. However, within one month, the city started to reopen its public facilities, parks and gardens for residents. From then, the city has witnessed a well-controlled pandemic and steady recovery of tourism. Therefore, the author intends to explore (1) what contributes to the tourism recovery in Hangzhou; (2) how the policy was implemented efficiently and (3) the casual relations between the safe destination image and the recovery of tourism industry. From a longitudinal perspective, the research adopted qualitative methods to collect data from policy documents, interviews and auto-ethnographic reflections. Thematic analysis indicates that effective control of the pandemic, early application of tracing app, seamless linkage between administrative levels and the cooperation of local residents are important to create a positive and safe destination image; traditional values and the authority of the government are equally important for implementing measures and policies successfully; more importantly, the safe image of a destination is considered as the most important reason for Chinese to make a travel decision. The research will contribute to destination management under crisis and exemplify the possibility to build the destination resilience with those effective.practices.
Details
Keywords
Haiying Pan, Meihong Chen and Wen-Lung Shiau
The public health emergency of COVID-19 (Corona-virus disease) pandemic has greatly impacted tourism industry, especially in the rural tourism. This paper aims to study how rural…
Abstract
Purpose
The public health emergency of COVID-19 (Corona-virus disease) pandemic has greatly impacted tourism industry, especially in the rural tourism. This paper aims to study how rural tourism practitioners can get out of the mire of the pandemic. By analyzing the behaviors of various stakeholders and the logic of the impact of the pandemic, the behaviors of participants and future development were sorted out. The key elements that promote the recovery of rural tourism were discovered.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the framework of institute analysis and development (IAD), this research selected six rural tourist communities in China as subjects for the studies. Based on the seven basic principles of hermeneutics and the inductive research method, following the analysis method of “first-order coding, second-order coding, aggregated dimensions,” the texts obtained through in-depth interview and work reports were analyzed and concepts were extracted.
Findings
The paper extracted 44 first-order concepts and 14 second-order concepts, and obtained 7 aggregation dimensions, including policy formulation and implementation, improvement of integrated marketing capabilities, improvement of tourism product quality, restrictions on rural tourism development, protection and optimization of environmental resources, industrial integration strategies and improvement of managerial and coordinating capabilities. During the pandemic, the government, enterprises and associations, as the service providers of rural tourism, can optimize the environmental resources and industrial resources of rural tourism by formulating policies, refining products and strengthening marketing in the action arena, to promote the industrial integration of rural tourism and provide better products and services for tourists.
Originality/value
This paper uses the IAD framework to study how rural tourism communities can successfully recover from the impact of the pandemic. It is found that the rapid recovery of rural tourism is the result of collective action. The core of establishing the collective action mechanism of rural tourism is consensus mechanism, co-construction mechanism and sharing mechanism. By studying the path and possibility of collective action of rural tourism communities, this paper explores the approach of multi-center governance of rural tourism communities to promote the imminent recovery of rural tourism.
研究目的
新冠疫情(COVID-19)对旅游业,尤其是乡村旅游产生了极大影响。本文旨在探究乡村旅游从业者如何摆脱疫情危机。研究通过分析疫情带来的影响及各利益相关者的反应,梳理旅游从业者的行为,探究乡村旅游未来的发展。研究指出了促进乡村旅游复苏的关键因素。
研究设计/方法/途径
基于制度分析与发展(IAD)理论框架,本文选取中国境内6个乡村旅游目的地作为研究对象。采用解释学七大基本原则和归纳式研究方法,通过对深度访谈和政府工作报告获得的文本进行分析,提取出“一阶编码、二阶编码、聚合维度”。
研究结果
研究提取44个一阶编码和14个二阶编码,最终得到7个聚合维度,包括政策制定与实施、整合营销能力提升、旅游产品质量提升、乡村旅游发展制约因素、保护和优化环境资源、实施产业整合战略和提高管理协调能力。疫情期间,政府、企业和协会作为乡村旅游的服务提供者,可以通过制定政策、改善产品、加强营销,优化乡村旅游的环境资源和产业资源,推动乡村旅游产业融合,为游客提供更好的产品和服务。
研究原创性/价值
本文利用IAD框架研究乡村旅游在疫情中的复苏。研究发现,乡村旅游的快速复苏是集体行动的结果。建立乡村旅游集体行动机制的核心是共识机制、共建机制和共享机制。本文通过研究乡村旅游社区集体行动的路径和可能性,探索乡村旅游多中心治理的途径,促进乡村旅游复苏。
Details
Keywords
Bolanle Maryam Akintola, Anil Kumar, Hemakshi Chokshi, Ashutosh Samadhiya and Rohit Agrawal
The rise of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has enabled researchers and industry professionals to reinvent their strategies for basic economic understanding. Two…
Abstract
Purpose
The rise of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has enabled researchers and industry professionals to reinvent their strategies for basic economic understanding. Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, businesses are now trying to adapt to the impact it has brought, hoping to receive support as it did in the past. However, before this feat can be accomplished, it is imperative to understand the recovery hurdles created by the pandemic. This research aims to fill the literature gaps by examining the challenges during recovery within the creative small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) industry, as there are few relevant studies that focus on this field.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a methodical bibliometric literature review and network analysis, the paper intends to critically explore relevant recovery challenges within the field while providing answers to the appropriate research questions. A total of 43 articles were selected for an in-depth review. Using the analysis from the selected articles as a guide, a framework was developed to address the recovery challenges alongside the recommended propositions.
Findings
The findings from this paper suggest that a lack of synergy among four major categories (governmental, supply chain, organizational and stakeholders) contributes to recovery challenges within the field of research.
Originality/value
The review also offers clarification in understanding the current and upcoming trends within the creative industry, SMEs and COVID-19. This paper can thus help researchers, industry practitioners and managers discover and analyze the recovery challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
Keywords
Victoria Okpukpara, Benjamin Chiedozie Okpukpara, Emmanuel Ejiofor Omeje, Ikenna Charles Ukwuaba and Maryann Ogbuakanne
Providing loans, particularly to small-scale farmers, is one of the roles of formal financial institutions. Lending to small farmers is risky. An institution's health is closely…
Abstract
Purpose
Providing loans, particularly to small-scale farmers, is one of the roles of formal financial institutions. Lending to small farmers is risky. An institution's health is closely related to the institution's ability to manage credit and portfolio risk. Expanding smallholder farmers' access to finance while maintaining a sustainable financial system is essential; however, pandemics present additional challenges. Accordingly, as reported in the literature, the pandemic's high loan default rates and decreases in return on assets (ROAs) call for further credit risk management research. There have been limited studies on credit risk management during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), so this article aims to provide useful information on its influences.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers used data from formal financial institutions in 2018 (before COVID-19) and in 2021 (during COVID-19) to accomplish the study's broad objective. Descriptive and inferential statistics were the main analytical tools. The credit risk management indicators were categorized into collateral management, loan management, loan recovery management, governance and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Weights were assigned to each category based on the importance to credit risk management. A binary logit model was employed in assessing the factors influencing credit risk management as proxied to loan repayment, while Ordinary Least Square (OLS) was used to examine factors that influence ROAs.
Findings
One of the most noteworthy findings is that credit risk management is affected by different factors and magnitudes before and during the COVID-19 era. Loan recovery and ICT management indicators were most influential during the pandemic. In addition, the study noted that low agricultural productivity during the pandemic contributed to an additional challenge in loan default rates because of various COVID-19-containing measures. Additionally, there was a lack of governance and ICT management capacity to drive credit and portfolio risk management during the epidemic.
Originality/value
The paper presents new empirical findings on credit risk management during the COVID-19 era. The study used a methodology which has not been used previously in credit risk management in Nigerian financial institutions. Therefore, this research could become the cornerstone of further academic research in other developing countries using this methodology.
Details
Keywords
Yani Dong, Yan Li, Hai-Yan Hua and Wei Li
As the current Coronavirus 2019 pandemic eases, international tourism, which was greatly affected by the outbreak, is gradually recovering. The attraction of countries to overseas…
Abstract
Purpose
As the current Coronavirus 2019 pandemic eases, international tourism, which was greatly affected by the outbreak, is gradually recovering. The attraction of countries to overseas tourists is related to their overall performance in the pandemic. This research integrates the data of vaccination of different countries, border control policy and holidays to explore their differential impacts on the overseas tourists’ intention during the pandemic. This is crucial for destinations to built their tourism resilience. It will also help countries and industry organizations to promote their own destinations to foreign tourism enterprises.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes an analysis based on panel data for ten countries over 1,388 days. The coefficient of variation is used to measure monthly differences of Chinese tourists’ intention to visit overseas country destinations.
Findings
Results show that, for tourist intention of going abroad: border control of the destination country has a significant negative impact; daily new cases in the destination country have a significant negative impact; domestic daily new cases have a significant positive impact; holidays have significant negative impact; daily vaccination of the destination countries has significant positive impact; and domestic daily vaccination have negative significant impact.
Research limitations/implications
First, there is a large uncertainty in studying consumers’ willingness to travel abroad in this particular period because of unnecessary travel abroad caused by the control of the epidemic. Second, there are limitations in studying only Chinese tourists, and future research should be geared toward a broader range of research pairs.
Practical implications
First, from the government perspective, a humane response can earn the respect and trust of tourists. Second, for tourism industry, to encourage the public take vaccine would be beneficial for both the tourism destination and foreign tourism companies. The same effect can be achieved by helping tourists who are troubled by border control.
Social implications
First, this research provides suggestions for the government and the tourism industry to deal with such a crisis in the future. Second, this study found that vaccination has a direct impact on tourism. This provides a basis for improving people’s willingness to vaccinate. Thirdly, this study proves suggestion for the destinations to build tourism resilience.
Originality/value
This study analyzes the unique control measures and vaccination in different countries during the pandemic, then provides suggestions for the tourism industry to prepare for the upcoming postpandemic tourism recovery. This study is valuable for improving the economic resilience of tourism destinations. Additionally, it helps to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different restrain policies around the world.
Details
Keywords
Tawanda Nyikadzino and Natasha Mataire
One of the critical challenges confronting the Government of Zimbabwe in disaster management is the dearth of public trust. Public trust is an indispensable governance component…
Abstract
One of the critical challenges confronting the Government of Zimbabwe in disaster management is the dearth of public trust. Public trust is an indispensable governance component as it promotes public participation and support. It is even more important in times of crises where cooperative, collaborative and comprehensive approaches are required. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 January 2020, is a classic example of a wicked problem that requires public trust in containing it. In Zimbabwe, the government declared the pandemic a national disaster on 17 March 2020; thereafter, it adopted and administered different policy instruments ranging from sermons to sticks to contain the pandemic. Using desktop and secondary data, this chapter argues that the lack of public trust significantly hampered the Government of Zimbabwe's response to the pandemic. Rather than building back the lost public trust, factors such as lack of transparency and accountability, incapacitation, unethical conduct, a heavy-handed approach and lack of meaningful government support further broke the already fragile social contract and public trust. The chapter recommends the need for the strengthening of transparency, accountability, public engagement and effective communication as important strategies for rebuilding public trust.
Details
Keywords
Florina Guadalupe Arredondo-Trapero, Eva María Guerra-Leal, Joohee Kim and José Carlos Vázquez-Parra
This article aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between education for the labor market in the post-pandemic stage and the educational quality of universities…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between education for the labor market in the post-pandemic stage and the educational quality of universities, taking as a sample a group of Latin American countries and their main trading partners. Reference is made to the Global Competitiveness Report 2020 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) index, which evaluates the quality of universities.
Design/methodology/approach
Correlations, clusters and T-tests were generated to test for significant differences, resulting in two blocks of countries being identified with statistically significant differences in educational efforts to prepare their citizens for the labor market and the quality of their universities.
Findings
It is concluded that there are examples of Latin American countries that, although they are emerging economies, are updating their educational systems at an accelerated pace to meet the needs demanded by the labor market, such as Chile and Argentina. In addition, there are some particular cases of Latin American QS universities that although they are not at a high level in their overall educational quality as a university, compared to North American and Asian universities, their graduates do show a high employability index. This means that in the graduate profile, these universities are also accelerating efforts to position them at a high level of preparedness to respond to the jobs and markets of tomorrow, just as the universities in developed economies do.
Research limitations/implications
Although the sample size is a limitation of this work, since it is based on secondary information reported by the WEF (2020) and the QS World University Rankings (2021), it contributes value by analyzing specific cases. Despite its limitations, the study yields meaningful results that put the challenges of post-pandemic employment and the role that universities play in a comprehensible framework.
Originality/value
These results put special attention on the work of universities as a crucial entity to prepare citizens to develop the competencies needed for the post-pandemic labor market, especially in terms of critical thinking and digital skills. Human capital formation will drive the post-pandemic recovery process of leading countries and universities.
Details
Keywords
Yixing Zhang, Xiaomeng Lu, Haitao Yin and Rui Zhao
Scholars have not agreed with each other on how people would behave after experiencing a catastrophic event. They could save more as a precautionary action for future difficulties…
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars have not agreed with each other on how people would behave after experiencing a catastrophic event. They could save more as a precautionary action for future difficulties or save less with a carpe diem attitude. This study aims to attempt to shed light on this debate with empirical observations on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected household saving decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The two waves of the survey data allowed us to investigate both instantaneous and ongoing effects of Covid-19 on household saving decisions. The instantaneous effect refers to the immediate impact of the crisis, while the ongoing effect refers to the lasting impact of the pandemic when economic recovery had started. The variation in the number of confirmed cases across cities during the two waves provides the source of power for identification. The authors extend their analyses of the impact of Covid-19 on the household saving decision by using ordinary least squares models. Due to the ordered nature of survey responses, the authors also rerun all baseline models using the ordered probit regression method.
Findings
This paper studied the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on household saving decisions in China. This study found that households in the most affected cities would save more during the Covid-19 but tend to save less when the disaster started fading away. Combining findings in Kun et al. (2013) and Filipski et al. (2015), people do become more pessimistic during and after the Covid-19, possibly driving their observed precautionary and cape diem behaviors during the two points of time. Heterogeneity analysis shows that specific households would dramatically change their saving behavior. These observations might be useful for policymakers who concern the economic recovery after this pandemic disaster.
Originality/value
Understanding how the Covid-19 pandemic would affect household consumption vs saving decisions is important for the economic recovery after this disaster comes to an end. The analyses presented in this research could be useful for policymakers who concern appropriate policies aiming to boost consumption and economic activities after Covid.
Details