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The vulnerability of the tourism industry to an array of risks, encompassing family-related, small- and medium-sized enterprise-specific, strategic, tourism-specific and external factors, highlights the landscape within which small and medium family enterprises (SMFEs) operate. Although SMFEs are an important stakeholder in the dynamic tourism sector, they are not one homogenous group of firms, but have different strategic orientations. This study aims to investigate the interplay between strategic orientation and risk perception to better understand SMFEs risk perception as it is impacting their decision-making processes, resilience and long-term survival. The authors investigate how different strategic orientations contribute to different perspectives on risk among owner-managers.

Based on a qualitative data corpus of 119 face-to-face interviews, the authors apply various coding rounds to better understand the relationship between strategic orientations and the perceptions of risks. Firstly, the authors analysed the owner–manager interviews and identified three groups of different strategic orientations: proactive and sustainability-oriented SMFE, destination-affirmative and resilience-oriented SMFE and passive SMFE. Secondly, the authors coded the interviews for different risks identified. The authors identified that the three groups show differences in the risk perceptions.

The data unveil that the three groups of SMFEs have several differences in how they perceive risks. Proactive and sustainability-oriented SMFEs prioritize business risks, demonstrating a penchant for innovation and sustainability. Destination-affirmative and resilience-oriented SMFEs perceive a broader range of risks, tying their investments to destination development, emphasizing family and health risks and navigating competitive pressures. Passive SMFEs, primarily concerned with external risks, exhibit limited awareness of internal and strategic risks, resist change and often defer decision-making to successors. The findings underscore how different strategic orientations influence risk perceptions and decision-making processes within SMFEs in the tourism industry.

The authors contribute to existing knowledge include offering a comprehensive status quo of perceived risks for different strategic orientations, a notably underexplored area. In addition, the differences with respect to risk perception shown in the paper suggest that simplified models ignoring risk perception may be insufficient for policy recommendations and for understanding the dynamics of the tourism sector. For future research, the authors propose to focus on exploring the possible directions in which strategic orientation and risk perception influence one another, which might be a limitation of this study due to its qualitative nature.

Varying strategic orientations and risk perceptions highlight the diversity within the stakeholder group of SMFE. Recognizing differences allows for more targeted interventions that address the unique concerns and opportunities of each group and can thus improve the firm’s resilience (Memili et al., 2023) and therefore leading to sustainability destinations development. The authors suggest practical support for destination management organizations and regional policymakers, aimed especially at enhancing the risk management of passive SMFEs. Proactive SMFE could be encouraged to perceive more family risks.

Viewing tourism destinations as a complex stakeholder network, unveiling distinct risk landscapes for various strategic orientations of one stakeholder has the potential to benefit the overall destination development. The proactive and sustainability-oriented SMFEs are highly pertinent as they might lead destinations to further development and create competitive advantage through innovative business models. Passive SMFEs might hinder the further development of the destination, e.g. through missing innovation efforts or succession.

Although different studies explore business risks (Forgacs and Dimanche, 2016), risks from climate change (Demiroglu et al., 2019), natural disasters (Zhang et al., 2023) or shocks such as COVID-19 (Teeroovengadum et al., 2021), this study shows that it does not imply that SMFE as active stakeholder perceive such risk. Rather, different strategic orientations are in relation to perceiving risks differently. The authors therefore open up an interesting new field for further studies, as risk perception influences the decision-making of tourism actors, and therefore resilience.

This paper aims to examine the informational value of credit rating changes for investors. The article analyses whether credit rating changes indicate the future financial performance of a firm.

The study employs pooled time-series cross-section regression technique and two-sample t-test for analysis. The paper utilizes a firm's operating profit as a proxy of its future financial performance to understand what inference can be drawn about future financial performance from a change in a firm's credit rating.

The paper finds that a firm operating profit declines in the year after a credit rating downgrade. However, no such significant relationship is evident in the case of a rating upgrade. The results are consistent across rating categories and individual years of the sample period.

The study uses non-financial corporate rating data; hence, the findings may not apply to credit rating changes in financial corporates and structured finance.

Investors and analysts can incorporate credit rating downgrade by CRAs as a key input in a firm's future financial forecast. Analysts and investment managers can also look at credit rating changes of firms in the same industry and draw a definite conclusion about which firm is likely to see a higher deterioration in performance.

The author has not come across any literature that directly investigates credit rating changes from the perspective of information content about future financial performance.

In this study, the authors develop a path model and investigate the effect of pandemic-oriented customer mistreatment on service sabotage through the lens of self-presentation theory. Moreover, the authors question the role of service climate as a moderator of the relationship between service sabotage and service performance.

Data were collected via a survey of 165 F&B frontline employees in restaurants in Iran. The hypotheses are examined using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and ordinary least squares regression.

The findings reveal that POCM has a substantial and positive effect on service sabotage, and service climate mitigates the effect of service sabotage on service performance.

The study introduces and conceptually defines the term POCM. Furthermore, the authors apply the self-presentation theory as the overarching theory to explain underlying conditions in customer mistreatment and service sabotage. Moreover, although prior literature has described the saboteur–customer relationship as a one-line interaction, this study contributes to employee sabotage as a multi-linear transaction.

In this study, the authors identify new perspectives on the dark side of hospitality services in crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors argue that pandemic-induced changes are essential not simply because they change customers’ moods and lower their patience threshold, but they further provoke ostentatious behaviors in saboteur–customer relations. These findings shed new light on the literature and provide managerial implications for enhancing hospitality performance.

A major source of external funding for US airports comes from issuing municipal bonds. Credit rating agencies evaluate the bonds using multiple factors, but the judgments behind the ratings are not well understood. This paper examines if airport rate-setting methods affect the bond ratings of US airports.

Using a set of unbalanced panel data for 58 hub airports from 2010 to 2019, we examine the effect of the rate-setting methods and other airport characteristics on Fitch’s airport bond rating.

We find that compensatory airports consistently receive a very high bond rating from Fitch. The probability of getting a very high Fitch rating increases by ∼28 percentage points for a compensatory airport. Additionally, the probability of getting a very high rating is about 33 percentage points higher for a legacy hub.

The study uses Fitch bond ratings. Future studies could examine if S&P’s and Moody’s ratings are also influenced by airport rate-setting methods and legacy hub status.

The results uncover the linkage between bond ratings and their determinants for US airports. This information is important for investors when assessing airport creditworthiness and for airport operators as they manage capital project financing.

This is the first study to evaluate the effects of rate-setting methods on airport bond rating and also the first to document a statistically significant relationship between airports’ legacy hub status and bond ratings.

This article asks how gender, ethnicity and other identities intersect and shape the employment experiences of social workers. During recent decades, governments have contracted social care to for-profit and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) globally as a part of the adaption of the neoliberal approach. Most employees in these organizations are women. However, there is a lack of knowledge about women working in social service NPOs and their unique working environments.

This article explores the experiences of women employed as social workers in social care NPOs in Israel regarding intersectionality. 27 in-depth interviews were conducted with women social workers working in social service NPOs. Participants reflected diversity in ethnicity, religion and full-time and part-time jobs. Thematic analysis was used.

The findings shed light on: (1) the contradiction social workers experienced between the stated values of the social care NPO and those values’ conduct, (2) intersectional discrimination among social workers from vulnerable populations and (3) the lack of gender-aware policies.

The need to raise awareness of the social care sector and governments to those contradictions and to promote diversity through gender-aware policies and practices.

The article suggests a conceptualization describing gender employment contradictions in social care NPOs, discusses how the angle of intersectionality expands the understanding of the complexities and pressures exerted on social workers from minority groups and emphasizes the need for social care NPOs to acknowledge and deal with these contradictions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic interdependence structure and risk spillover effect between the Chinese stock market and the US stock market.

This paper mainly uses the multivariate R-vine copula-complex network analysis and the multivariate R-vine copula-CoVaR model and selects stock price indices and their subsector indices as samples.

The empirical results indicate that the Energy, Materials and Financials sectors have leading roles in the interdependent structure of the Chinese and US stock markets, while the Utilities and Real Estate sectors have the least important positions. The comprehensive influence of the Chinese stock market is similar to that of the US stock market but with smaller differences in the influence of different sectors of the US stock market on the overall interdependent structure system. Over time, the interdependent structure of both stock markets changed; the sector status gradually equalized; the contribution of the same sector in different countries to the interdependent structure converged; and the degree of interaction between the two stock markets was positively correlated with the degree of market volatility.

This paper employs the methods of nonlinear cointegration and the R-vine copula function to explore the interactive relationship and risk spillover effect between the Chinese stock market and the US stock market. This paper proposes the R-vine copula-complex network analysis method to creatively construct the interdependent network structure of the two stock markets. This paper combines the generalized CoVaR method with the R-vine copula function, introduces the stock market decline and rise risk and further discusses the risk spillover effect between the two stock markets.

This study aims to empirically explore and compare the dynamic dependency between health-care sector and Islamic industries before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Time-varying student-t copula is used for before, during and after COVID-19 periods. The data used are the daily frequency price series of the selected markets from February 2017 to October 2023.

Empirical results found strong evidence of significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dependence structure of the studied indexes: Co-movements between various sectors are certain. The authors assist also in the birth of new dependence structure with the health-care industry in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This reflects the contagion occurrence from the health-care sector to other sectors.

By specifically examining the Islamic industry, this study sheds light on the resilience, challenges and opportunities within this sector, contributing novel perspectives to the broader discourse on pandemic-related impacts on economies and industries. Also, this paper conducts a comprehensive temporal analysis, examining the dynamics before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. Such approach enables an understanding of how the relationship between the health-care sector and the Islamic industry evolves over time, accounting for both short-term disruptions and long-term effects. By considering the pre-pandemic context, the paper adopts a longitudinal perspective, enabling a deeper understanding of how historical trends, structural factors and institutional frameworks shape the interplay between the health-care sector and the Islamic industry.

This paper delves into cross-border E-business, unraveling its intricate dynamics and forecasting its future trajectory.

This paper projects the prospective market size of cross-border E-business in China for the year 2023 using the GM (1,1) gray forecasting model. Furthermore, to enhance the analysis, the paper attempts to simulate and forecast the size of China’s cross-border E-business sector using the GM (1,3) gray model. This extended model considers not only the historical trends of cross-border E-business but also the growth patterns of GDP and the digital economy.

The forecast indicates a market size of 18,760 to 18,934 billion RMB in 2023, aligning with the consistent growth observed in previous years. This suggests a sustained positive trajectory for cross-border E-business.

Cross-border e-commerce critically shapes China’s global integration and traditional industry development. The research in this paper provides insights beyond statistical trends, contributing to a nuanced understanding of the pivotal role played by cross-border e-commerce in shaping China’s economic future.

To the best of the author's knowledge, this study, among the first of its kind, aims to offer a preliminary exploration of the “city walk” travel model in the context of China.

By conducting phenomenological research, it endeavors to comprehend the motivations driving individuals to engage in “city walk” activities through the lens of social psychology, specifically focusing on labeling theory.

The immersive “city walk” establishes a deeper connection with the urban environment. Participants attach greater significance to their travel experiences, seeking a profound understanding of the city and its way of life, thus pursuing the essence of tourism and leisure.

This study outlines potential opportunities and future prospects for the “city walk” concept within the cultural tourism industry.

本研究是在中国背景下首次对“城市漫步”旅游模式进行初步探讨的研究之一。

通过现象学研究, 试图从社会心理学的视角, 尤其是关注“标签理论”, 来理解驱使个体参与“城市漫步”活动的动机。

沉浸式的“城市漫步”建立了与城市环境更深层次的联系。参与者赋予他们的旅行经历更大的重要性, 寻求对城市及其生活方式的深刻理解, 从而追求旅游与休闲的本质。

本研究概述了在文化旅游行业应用“城市漫步”概念的潜在机会和未来前景。

Este estudio es uno de los primeros en ofrecer una exploración preliminar del modelo de viaje de “paseo urbano” en el contexto de China.

Mediante la realización de una investigación fenomenológica, se esfuerza por comprender las motivaciones que impulsan a las personas a participar en actividades de “paseo urbano” a través de la lente de la psicología social, centrándose específicamente en la teoría de etiquetado.

El “paseo urbano” inmersivo establece una conexión más profunda con el entorno urbano. Los participantes atribuyen una mayor importancia a sus experiencias de viaje, buscando una comprensión profunda de la ciudad y su estilo de vida, persiguiendo así la esencia del turismo y el ocio.

Este estudio esboza oportunidades potenciales y perspectivas futuras para el concepto de “paseo urbano” dentro de la industria del turismo cultural.

This study examines potential ways to break the inequality reproduction circle faced by ethnic minority health workers and sustained by key performance indicators (KPIs)-centred management in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. It does so through the lens of signalling theory.

Three years panel data for 2018–2020 covering 207 hospitals was compiled from the annual NHS staff survey and matched with relevant administrative records. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses at the organisational level.

The moderated mediating model reveals that persistent racial discrimination by managers and coworkers can disadvantage the career progression of ethnic minority health workers, which in turn reinforces and reproduces economic and health inequalities among them. More importantly, we show how the collective agreement that the senior management team acts (SMTA) on staff feedback can break this vicious circle.

While our research focuses on the not-for-profit health care sector, it opens important opportunities to extend the proposed model to understand organisational inequality and how to address it.

Perceived SMTA can send strong signals to reduce deep-rooted discrimination (race, gender, age, etc.) through resource allocations and instrumental functions. This is also a way to address the current staff burnout and shortage issues in the healthcare sector.

This article reveals why the purpose of organisations that provide public service to reduce social inequality was comprised during their business-like operations and more importantly, how to reflect their foundational purpose through management practice.

This study offers a way forward to resolve one of the unintended consequences of KPI-centred management in the not-for-profit sector through unpacking the process of inequality reproduction and, more importantly, how it is possible to break this vicious circle.