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1 – 10 of 22
Article
Publication date: 1 February 2019

Arghavan Hadinejad, Brent D. Moyle, Noel Scott, Anna Kralj and Robin Nunkoo

The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the theories and methods applied to studies on residents’ attitudes.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the theories and methods applied to studies on residents’ attitudes.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the objective of this research, this paper provides a review of 90 journal articles on residents’ attitudes towards tourism published between 2011 and 2017. The relevant articles were then analysed using content analysis.

Findings

Key findings revealed that although social exchange theory is still dominant in exploring residents’ attitudes towards tourism, new frameworks are beginning to emerge such as institutional theory and bottom-up spillover theory. Nonetheless, alternative theoretical perspective has only been applied once or twice and requires further engagement. Quantitative methods still dominate the field, with the geographic dispersal of studies spanning 33 countries.

Research limitations/implications

A potential limitation of this review is that articles published only in four leading tourism journals, namely, ATR, JTR, TM and JOST, were analysed.

Originality/value

This review contributes to the literature in tourism by assessing the shift in the application of theory and methodological approaches in residents’ attitudes studies from previous systematic reviews. This study adds to the body of knowledge by providing an overview of the existing status of research on residents’ attitudes towards tourism, providing direction for future scholarly inquiry. A further contribution of this review is an indication of not only the data collection methods but also data analysis techniques which have not been done in previous review articles on residents’ attitudes towards tourism. As opposed to other systematic reviews, this paper assessed the geographical setting of studies on residents’ attitudes towards tourism.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 74 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2019

Robin Nunkoo, Boopen Seetanah and Shambhavi Agrawal

Abstract

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 74 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Article
Publication date: 20 June 2016

Tom Griffin and Robin Nunkoo

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of paid accommodation by international visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of paid accommodation by international visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper conducts analysis of secondary data to look at the proportion of person nights in paid accommodation attributable to visitors who also stay with a friend or relative in another destination, and comparison of different visitor groups and their likelihood to use paid accommodation.

Findings

Results show that 14.5 per cent of all person nights spent by international visitors to Canada in paid accommodations were attributable to people who also stayed with a friend or relative in another destination. This proportion is higher for destinations outside of the largest cities and varies by source market.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited the structure of the secondary data set, which does not separate visiting friends from visiting relatives, and does not capture host behaviour.

Practical implications

This paper has implications for destination marketers and tourism businesses as a source for reflection on drivers of their local and international business.

Social implications

This paper helps position residents in a more central role regarding tourism in their regions and should encourage marketers and service providers to appreciate and engage residents as hosts.

Originality/value

This paper offers an original position by combining concepts from visiting friends and relatives and multi-destination travel that provides a foundation for further research in this area.

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 71 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 December 2017

Robin Nunkoo, Viraiyan Teeroovengadum, Peta Thomas and Llewellyn Leonard

The study conceptualizes service quality as a second-order factor and analyzes its influence on customer satisfaction, perceived value, image, consumption emotions and customer…

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Abstract

Purpose

The study conceptualizes service quality as a second-order factor and analyzes its influence on customer satisfaction, perceived value, image, consumption emotions and customer loyalty by testing a structural equation model.

Design/methodology/approach

The model is tested using data collected from 672 guests staying in accommodation establishments located in South Africa. The study follows a hierarchical approach using confirmatory factor analysis to test the second-order factor model and structural equation modeling to test the overall model.

Findings

The results indicate that the second-order factor model is acceptable both empirically as well as conceptually and performs better than other competing models of service quality. The findings provide support for all hypotheses and evidence of a structural model with a high explanatory power.

Research limitations/implications

The second-order factor model is less useful when fine-grained analyses are needed, such as when a detailed assessment of the level of quality of service offered by a hospitality organization is required.

Practical implications

The second-order factor model allows for an analysis of service quality at different levels of abstraction. Accommodation managers interested in customers’ evaluation of service on a cumulative basis can make use of the global measure to determine service quality evaluations. Practitioners can also use the findings to manage the different dimensions of service quality.

Originality/value

The study demonstrates that service quality is best represented as a second-order factor, and in doing so, it provides an improved measurement of the construct. More so, by integrating the variable in a nomological network, the research develops a more parsimonious model than the existing ones.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 29 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 January 2021

Shari-Estelle Gassmann, Robin Nunkoo, Victor Tiberius and Sascha Kraus

This paper aims to formulate the most probable future scenario for the accommodation sharing sector within the next five to ten years. It addresses the following six thematic…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to formulate the most probable future scenario for the accommodation sharing sector within the next five to ten years. It addresses the following six thematic aspects: relevance, different forms of accommodation sharing, users, hosts, platforms, and finally, industry regulation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study identifies the most likely holistic future scenario by conducting a two-stage Delphi study involving 59 expert panelists. It addresses 33 projections for six thematic sections of the accommodation sharing industry: relevance, different forms of accommodation sharing, users, hosts, platforms, and finally, industry regulation.

Findings

The results indicate that the number of shared accommodations and users of home-sharing will increase. Moreover, the cost advantage is the predominant driver for users to engage in the accommodation sharing segment, and for the hosts, the generation of an extra income is the primary incentive. Finally, the regulation within this industry is expected to be more effective in the foreseeable future.

Practical implications

The results are critical, not only to advance our theoretical understanding and stimulate critical discussions on the long-term development of accommodation sharing but also to assist governments and policymakers who have an interest in developing and regulating this sector and developers seeking business opportunities.

Originality/value

While there is ample knowledge about the past and current development of accommodation sharing in tourism, little is understood about its potential future development and implications for consumers, the economy, and society. To date, no scientific research is available that develops scenarios about the future of accommodation sharing.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Tourism Review, vol. 78 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1660-5373

Article
Publication date: 21 April 2022

Mana Khoshkam, Azizan Marzuki, Robin Nunkoo, Amin Pirmohammadzadeh and Shaian Kiumarsi

The revival of local foods in the tourism context plays a significant role in attracting visitors. Unexpectedly, empirical evidence on food festivals aimed at reviving local…

1069

Abstract

Purpose

The revival of local foods in the tourism context plays a significant role in attracting visitors. Unexpectedly, empirical evidence on food festivals aimed at reviving local cuisine in non-Western countries is scarce. This study aimed to examine and clarify the concept of food culture attributes on visitors' satisfaction and patronage intention in a food festival setting to revive local foods.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative approach was used. Convenience sampling and questionnaires were administered to 172 attendees as the final response to a food festival. The conceptual framework identifies the assumptions of structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings

Food culture attributes significantly impacted visitor satisfaction based on the results. Cooking methods had an insignificant influence on satisfaction and indirect effects on patronage intention. Additionally, the authors persuaded satisfaction to act as a mediator, and food culture was a significant contributor to the hypothesised framework.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies to employ food culture attributes (flavour, presentation, cooking method and gastronomic identification) and patronage intention in the mediating role of satisfaction with Iranian cultural heritage as a revival of a visitor’s attraction towards local cuisine. The results revealed that the resurrection of local dishes serves as an alternative truth that aids in preserving Iranian cultural heritage.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 January 2021

Robin Nunkoo, Meetali Bhadain and Shabanaz Baboo

Food waste at the household level represents a major component of all food waste. Therefore minimizing food waste at the household level remains an important component of the food…

4411

Abstract

Purpose

Food waste at the household level represents a major component of all food waste. Therefore minimizing food waste at the household level remains an important component of the food chain responsibility. This study explores the problem of food waste in Mauritius through an understanding of households' attitudes toward food waste and their motivations and barriers to food waste recycling.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a grounded theory approach to identify thematic categories that represent participants' attitudes toward food waste and the barriers they face to food waste reduction. We used a purposive sampling technique to guide the selection of participants. Interviews were conducted with 14 participants: three experts in food waste and 11 households. The data were analyzed using the tools of grounded theory.

Findings

Participants' expressed views on food waste included (1) guilt toward wasting food; (2) (lack of) environmental awareness; (3) financial considerations and (4) exemption from responsibility. The findings also led to the development of four themes that defined the barriers participants face to recycling food waste: (1) lack of awareness; (2) space limitations on recycling methods; (3) inadequate policy and (4) lack of time/priority.

Practical implications

Addressing the problem of food waste requires a holistic approach that takes into account households' attitudes to food waste, their motivation and barriers to food waste recycling as well as the regulatory and institutional framework governing food waste management in Mauritius. Policymakers should try to improve households' knowledge about food waste through educational campaigns. The authorities can provide different types of bins to households freely to facilitate the sorting out of waste and impose a fee for food waste generated beyond a certain limit or provide subsidies to them for handling food waste properly.

Originality/value

The management of food waste is particularly challenging for small islands developing states because of their unique characteristics of smallness, limited resources and environmental vulnerability. Appropriate interventions to reduce household food waste require place-based and geographically sensitive analyses that take into account the specificities of local food and waste management systems and cultural norms with respect to food. However, there is not only a paucity of research on household food waste, but most studies have been carried out in nonisland economies. The study contributes to the limited research on household food waste in small islands.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 123 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Viraiyan Teeroovengadum, Robin Nunkoo, Christian Gronroos, T.J. Kamalanabhan and Ashley Keshwar Seebaluck

The purpose of this study is to validate the higher education service quality (HESQUAL) scale using a confirmatory approach and test an improved structural model that predicts…

4073

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to validate the higher education service quality (HESQUAL) scale using a confirmatory approach and test an improved structural model that predicts student loyalty from image, perceived value, satisfaction and service quality. In addition to validating the HESQUAL scale using a confirmatory approach, two other main limitations in the extant literature are addressed.

Design/methodology/approach

The model is tested using data collected from 501 students enrolled in different higher education institutions in Mauritius. A two-stage approach to structural equation modeling is used whereby the measurement model is first tested using confirmatory factor analysis and followed by the assessment of the structural model.

Findings

Importantly, results indicate that student satisfaction is influenced by technical service quality, image and perceived value, but not by functional service quality. Both dimensions of service quality however are significant predictors of image and perceived value. The study uses a comprehensive measure of service quality and demonstrates that it is worthwhile to consider functional service quality as higher-order model and clearly distinguish between functional and technical quality, as both the technical and functional aspects play an important role in shaping students’ perceptions and behaviors.

Originality/value

First, in the existing literature, service quality has not been considered as a second-order factor model in structural models of student satisfaction and loyalty, thus lacking either precision or parsimony. Second, the transformative quality aspect of higher education has been largely neglected in previous research testing such predictive models. The model delineates service quality into the functional and transformative (technical) aspects and treats functional service quality as a second-order factor comprising nine sub-dimensions.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 May 2019

Viraiyan Teeroovengadum, Robin Nunkoo and Humaira Dulloo

This study analyses the determinants of an effective performance management system (PMS) in the public sector of Mauritius. It develops a theoretical model that has its roots in…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study analyses the determinants of an effective performance management system (PMS) in the public sector of Mauritius. It develops a theoretical model that has its roots in the resource-based theory and the institutional theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a quantitative approach, making use of a structured questionnaire to collect data from 158 public sector organisations. Both email and postal methods were used for data collection. A hierarchical regression analysis is used to assess the effect of the organisational factors on PMS effectiveness, while controlling for a number of organisational profile variables.

Findings

Results indicate that PMS is only moderately effective. Managers’ involvement, senior management involvement and performance feedback are significant predictors of PMSs effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

Findings of the study may have limited applicability to developed and industrialised countries and even developing countries that have a different public sector culture to that of Mauritius.

Practical implications

The findings demonstrate that the effectiveness of PMSs is strongly reliant on the involvement of senior management. Accordingly, public sector managers should ensure that they are fully committed and engaged in performance management tasks.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the limited research on the effectiveness of PMSs in developing countries that have a different bureaucratic and performance culture to that of developed nations.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

1 – 10 of 22