Technology-driven online marketing performance measurement: lessons from affiliate marketing

Although the measurement of offline and online marketing is extensively researched, the literature on online performance measurement still has a number of limitations such as slow theory advancement and predominance of technology- and practitioner-driven measurement approaches. By focusing on the widely employed but under-researched affiliate marketing channel, this study addresses these limitations and evaluates the effectiveness of practitioner-led online performance assessment. The paper offers a comprehensive review of extant performance measurement research across traditional, online and affiliate marketing and, employing grounded theory, presents a qualitative in-depth analysis of 72 online forum discussions and 37 semi-structured interviews with the major affiliate marketing stakeholders. As a result, the research identifies a growing need for change in the technology-pushed measurement approaches in affiliate marketing, and proposes actionable improvement recommendations for affiliate and online marketing managers

Nodes, guardians and signs: Raising barriers to human trafficking in the tourism industry

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a growing criminal activity involving the movement of victims by force or coercion for sexual or labour exploitation. THB is often facilitated unwittingly by tourism businesses. This study sought ways to disrupt the opportunities for THB in the hotel sector through the application of criminology theories. A qualitative study was conducted in three European countries (UK, Finland and Romania), employing semi-structured key stakeholder interviews, a survey of hotel managers and focus groups. Using concepts primarily from crime pattern theory, hotels were confirmed as THB activity spaces and 'crime journeys' were mapped with the nodes where offenders and their victims converge with different 'guardians' (hotel employees and managers). Warning signs and critical intervention points where THB opportunities can be disrupted were also identified. The resulting framework of the trafficked victim's journey can be used by any tourism business wishing to help prevent this crime

Factors that shape a hotel company's risk appetite

Despite a growing scholarly interest in risk management within the field of hospitality, risk appetite, which plays a key role in effective risk management, has not yet received wider attention. This paper contributes to our understanding of risk appetite by exploring the factors that influence risk appetite in a hotel company context. Through in-depth interviewing with risk appetite experts and corporate-level hotel executives, we identified two sets of factors (‘primary’ and ‘secondary’) that influence a hotel company’s risk appetite. Although, at corporate level, these factors do not differ from other industry contexts, they can be used by managers in the hotel sector as a starting point to understand drivers and inhibitors of their companies’ risk appetite while researchers can use them as a basis to develop descriptive or predictive models of a hotel company’s risk appetite

Cybersecurity in travel and tourism: a risk-based approach

As the travel and tourism sector is embracing emerging technologies to redefine products, services, and consumer experiences, their cyber ecosystems become increasingly vulnerable to security risks related with these technologies, the huge amount of financial transactions they carry out and the valuable customer data they store. Over the last few years, several high-profile organizations in the sector made negative headlines because they did not pay appropriate attention to these risks and took an approach to cybersecurity that was fragmented, technology-focused and compliance-oriented. It is evident that a step change is needed, and this chapter presents a more comprehensive, business-driven and risk-based approach to building cybersecurity capability in an organization. The chapter starts with the business case for a cybersecurity strategy and then unfolds the components of a risk-based approach to cybersecurity

Human trafficking and modern slavery in Europe’s hotels

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery, which involves moving victims from one place to another to supply slave labour or for purposes of sexual or other exploitation. Hotel operators may individually claim to work to ethical business practices and openly condemn human trafficking but may be caught up in these activities non-the-less. The chapter explores the nature of human trafficking and outlines the macro-, meso- and micro-level vulnerabilities that hotels face. It also explores examples and actions that can and are being taken by individual hotels and campaigns from within the hotel sector aimed at actively opposing all forms of human trafficking and modern slaver

Manufacturing SMEs Competitiveness against the Crisis: Management Characteristics and New Perspectives

The purpose of this paper is to study the drivers of competitiveness in sectors of the Greek manufacturing industry, both in the pro and post economic crisis era, based on firm level financial and qualitative data cover this gap, providing evidence about factors impact competitive dynamic of Greek manufacturing SMEs taking into account aspects of IT, knowledge management, training, innovation and financial ratios. The study is structured as follows: the next section presents a literature review on this subject, while section 3 highlight the methodology as well as the model approach of the study. In section 4, the empirical results of the study are presented and section 5 the main findings are discussed. Section 6 summarizes the empirical findings and draws the policy implications of the study

Human trafficking in hotels: an "invisible" threat for a vulnerable industry

Purpose: To identify and analyse the hotel sector’s vulnerabilities that human traffickers exploit in order to use hotels as conduits for trafficking in human beings (THB). Design/methodology/approach: Using the MAVUS framework of sector vulnerability analysis, the study adopted a qualitative approach employing environmental scanning and semi-structured key stakeholder interviews in three European countries: UK, Finland and Romania. Findings: The study identifies the types of THB occurring within the industry and the specific macro-, meso- and micro-level factors that increase hotel vulnerability to trafficking for sexual exploitation, labour exploitation or both. Research limitations/implications: Given the sensitivity of the topic the number of interviewees is limited as is the generalisability of the findings. Practical implications: The framework developed serves as a practical tool for independent or chain-affiliated hotels to use to assess their vulnerability to human trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation. Social implications: The framework will assist hotel professionals to assess their vulnerability to human trafficking and identify specific and proactive measures to combat this crime within their business. Originality/value: This is the first study to empirically explore human trafficking in the hotel sector and to apply an integrated theoretical lens to examine macro-, meso- and microlevel sector vulnerabilities to a crime. It contributes to our understanding of why hotels are vulnerable to human trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation

Breaking the Invisible Chains with Policy: How Insurance Companies Can Help End Human Trafficking in the Hotel Industry

Human trafficking in the hotel industry represents a hidden threat that demands decisive action. Despite public commitments, the sector's initiatives remain inconsistent, and a wave of lawsuits imposes both financial and reputational risks. Through analysis of relevant legislation and case law, the article demonstrates hotels’ potential liability as venues enabling trafficking. However, inconsistent self-regulation and lawsuits reveal limited progress. The authors advocate for insurance companies to play a pivotal role in combatting human trafficking in the hotel industry by strategically adjusting coverage provisions. They trace the historical influence of insurers on the trajectory of slavery when 18th century British insurers’ actions contributed to the rise of abolitionism and argues that similar private regulation today can incentivize hotels’ proactive measures against trafficking. The article proposes that insurers possess diverse tools, including exclusions, premium adjustments, auditing, and loss prevention, to compel action rather than complacency. Mandated self-insured retentions can also hold hotels financially accountable for their negligence. However, relying solely on pricing alterations faces challenges due to market competition and inconsistent judicial rulings on liability exclusions. Ultimately, addressing this complex issue requires a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach. Government fines and prosecutions can further incentivize self-disclosure and cooperation, while publicized settlements can promote transparency and empower consumers to make informed choices for hotel venues. This combined framework can transition hotels from passive enablers to active contributors in the fight against human trafficking, fulfilling their duty of care and catalyzing meaningful progress against human exploitation