Can hindrance stressors change the nature of perceived employability? An empirical study in the hotel industry

This empirical study aims to design and test a research model that investigates the effect of job insecurity as a moderator of the relationships between perceived employability and employee well-being (work engagement). It also measures the impact of perceived employability on work engagement. Data were gathered from full-time frontline workers employed in five-star hotels in Northern Cyprus to test the study variables; the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was applied and supported the research hypotheses. In line with the study predictions and findings from previous literature, perceived employability was found to have a significant positive impact on work engagement. The result revealed that, as a hindrance stressor, job insecurity negatively affects the relationship between perceived employability and work engagement. The findings of this study provide some insights concerning employability’s importance as well as influencing factors on employees’ job selection and their attitudes during job performance in the organizations. The knowledge gathered in this research is a source for stressing the value of employability in developing professional skills and professional involvement, as well as for reducing the perception of job insecurity, especially in the tourism industry, which has a delicate and sensitive structure. The implications of the empirical findings are discussed and future research directions are offered.publishedVersio

Determinants of Travel Participation and Experiences of Wheelchair Users Traveling to the Bodrum Region: A Qualitative Study

Although the number of people with disabilities and types of disability increases day by day, a sufficient point has not been reached regarding accessible tourism. The participation rate of people with disabilities (PWDS) in tourism activities is low, and there is a big gap in the travel and accommodation sector in this regard. Studies of previous scholars have concluded that the accessible tourism market is a significant and profitable area, but determinants of participation to travel and process of travel, such as wheelchair user expectations, are consistently ignored by the tourism industry. The main purpose of this study is to determine the determinants of travel by examining the motivations, expectations, processes and experiences of PWDS using wheelchairs to participate in tourism. Research was performed in Turkey’s Bodrum district; 25 wheelchair users were included in the study. The keywords that emerged in the theoretical framework in light of the answers given to 39 open-ended questions online were coded in the Nvivo program. The results showed that wheelchair users intended to go on vacation but were less motivated to participate due to the lack of travel conditions. Wheelchair travelers argued that a companion was required for an enjoyable holiday that could meet their needs. In addition, the results revealed that the types of wheelchairs used by disabled passengers differ. The disabled stated that the wheelchairs they use in daily life are not suitable for use on the beach, sand or water. Despite the economic, social and technological change opportunities, basic tourism service expectations of PWDS are not met. This research project is a comprehensive study that makes determinations in terms of examining the social status of disabled people in terms of social sciences, examining the place and importance of disabled tourists in the market and eliminating the deficiencies of facilities serving in tourism.publishedVersio

Social Media as a Destination Marketing Tool for a Sustainable Heritage Festival in Nigeria: A Moderated Mediation Study

This study explored how social media is used as a destination marketing tool for the sustainability of heritage festival quality in Nigeria, drawing on the theory of planned behavior. The festival, which is an exploration of heritage, was specifically premeditated to celebrate the slave trade period by highlighting the unique connection of African American history to the diaspora ancestors who were literally taken away as slaves through “the point of no return” in Badagry, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was utilized as a research instrument to gather information aimed at examining the influence of social media (SM), website quality (WQ), and online word of mouth (eWOM) on tourists’ festival satisfaction (FS) and festival revisiting intention (FRI). Data were gathered from samples of 473 diaspora tourists at Badagry Diaspora Festival in Nigeria and analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the aid of WarpPLS (7.0). The findings of the study revealed that social media (SM), festival quality (FQ), website quality (WQ), and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) had a positive and significant relationship with tourists’ festival satisfaction. Additionally, this study found that festival quality had a positive impact on the intention of the tourists to revisit the Badagry Diaspora Festival because tourist attitude is influenced by the socio-cultural background of tourists. Moreover, the result revealed the partial mediating effect of festival satisfaction in the relationship between (a) SM, (b) FQ, (c) WQ, and (d) eWOM and tourists’ festival satisfaction. Similarly, cultural motivation was also found to mediate the relationship between tourists’ festival satisfaction and festival revisiting intension (RI). Based on the findings, the implications of the festival sustainability and future research directions were discussed.publishedVersio

RENTQUAL: a new measurement scale for car rental services

Service quality perception is one of the key determinants of customer satisfaction and repeat purchase. As such, it has received considerable attention in the marketing literature. Quality issues in the car rental industry, however, have received less attention. Furthermore, there is lack of a scale developed to measure service quality in car rental services. This paper aims to develop a measurement scale in accordance with the procedure recommended by Churchill (1979) and Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988). Empirical studies were conducted in two waves. First, qualitative research was undertaken in the form of 23 in-depth interviews that produced 61 items describing tourists’ perceptions. Then, a quantitative study was used to purify the scale items and to examine dimensionality, reliability, factor structure and validity. Finally, an 18-item RENTQUAL scale with the following six factors emerged: comfort, delivery, safety, handing over, ergonomics and accessibility. Results show that safety is the most important factor in car rental services. Paper also presents scale development procedure, discussion, implications and limitations

Constructive Leadership and Employee Innovative Behaviors: A Serial Mediation Model

This study aims to examine the influence of constructive leadership practices on the service innovative behaviors of hotel employees by a serial mediation system that treats employee psychological safety and employee creativity as mediators. Empirical data were collected from full-time frontline hotel employees in Antalya, Turkey. By using both convenience and judgmental sampling methods, this study included 357 hotel employees. The results provide empirical evidence for all suggested hypothesized associations. In particular, the findings display that psychological safety and engagement in creative work tasks play intervening roles (in the form of a chain) in the indirect influence of constructive leadership on employee perceptions regarding their service innovative culture. The current work provides practical contributions for hotel industry professionals who are in the treatment of implementing psychological safety and employee creativity, in order to establish innovative service culture in the hotel setting. The paper is among the first studies to investigate a serial mediation model to analyze which constructive leadership practices influence their innovative service culture.publishedVersio

The Role of Ethical Leadership in Psychological Capital and Job Satisfaction of Immigrant Workers: Evidence From the Hotel Industry of Cyprus

The goal of this research is to figure out the moderating act of ethical leadership on the effects of job satisfaction and psychological capital of employees. The Hotel industry in Northern Cyprus has been preferred with this respect. The study was conducted within the appropriate literature. Research-oriented data collection tools designed and used in accordance with the purposes of the research, research questions and hypotheses are surveyed. The findings of the study revealed the moderating role of ethical leadership (EL) on psychological capital (PsyCap) and job satisfaction (JS). It was also found that the participants were on the idea of working under equal conditions adopted via ethical leadership factors. The current study is a new era for the developmental issues of hospitality in terms of management and it is hoped that it will yield basic basements for further studies.publishedVersio

The Moderating Role of Employability in the Hospitality Industry: Undesired Job Outcomes

The topic of “Employability” has gained significant attention in recent years. Its impact on organizational behavior could be seen through the research literature on job loss and job search. Employability is all about gaining and maintaining employment, it involves the ability to move autonomously and to deal effectively with the career-related changes occurring in the current uncertain labor market. This empirical study aims to design and test a research model that investigates the moderating effect of employability on the relationships between job insecurity (JI) and service sabotage (SS). It also measures the impact of (JI) on the (SS) behavior. Frontline employees who were working in three and four-star hotels in Cameroon were the sample of this specific study. To test the study variables, a hierarchical regression analysis was applied and supported the research hypotheses. In line with the study predictions and earlier literature findings (JI) had a significant and positive impact on (S.S). The result interestingly revealed that employability increases the relationship between (JI) and (S.S). The findings of this study offer some insights about employability’s importance and influencing factors on employee’s job choice and their attitudes during job performance in the organizations. Theoretical contribution, practical implications of the empirical findings, and future research directions are provided.publishedVersio

Feeling the Service Product Closer: Triggering Visit Intention via Virtual Reality

This study examines the essential characteristics of Virtual Reality (VR) that influence individual visit intention towards a touristic product. Despite the extensive research about VR, however, only little has examined the impact of factors that alter customers’ attitudes and trigger purchasing intention. This study applied Information Systems Success Model and conducted a survey using the convenience sampling method with international tourists who visited North Cyprus. The data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique, and findings demonstrated that VR has great potential to influence visitors’ final destination by promoting tourism products and services. This paper revealed that VR—as a marketing medium—creates positive impacts and stimulates individuals’ intentions to visit a destination. The study provides implications for tourism sector actors such as tourism planners, policymakers, travel agencies, and hotel managers as well as prosocial guest experience to improve their marketing strategies.publishedVersio

The interface between organizational learning capability, entrepreneurial orientation, and SME growth

This paper investigates the interface between organizational learning capability, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), and small business performance. It reports on the findings from 350 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Cyprus operating in the services and retailing sectors. The findings indicate a positive relationship between EO and sales and market share growth, but not between EO and employment growth. There is also a positive relationship between organizational learning capability and EO. This paper contributes to the small business management literature by providing a holistic analysis of the interface between organizational learning capability, EO, and growth