Environmental CSR, Customer Equity Drivers, and Travelers’ Critical Outcomes: A Stimulus–Organism–Response Framework

While environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increased attention in sustainable tourism research, little is known about its impacts on customers in the context of the airlines. This study investigates the impact of environmental CSR on two critical customer outcomes, namely, purchase intention (PI) and switching behavior (SB). In light of the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) framework, this study further examines the joint mediating impact of customer equity drivers (CEDs) in the previously mentioned relationships. With a sample of Iranian air travelers, the results of the structural equation model revealed that environmental CSR significantly affects CEDs. While CEDs predict PI, they failed to reduce SB. Hence, CEDs jointly mediate the impact of environmental CSR on PI only. The results of the current study reveal nuances in the service marketing research by extending the impact of environmental CSR on travelers’ PI and SB via CEDs. Theoretical and practical implications are provided

Understanding business model development through the lens of complexity theory: Enablers and barriers

A winning business model is the key to business success in today’s fragmented market environment. However, businesses need to develop their business models overtime to meet the requirements of environmental uncertainties and shifts surrounding the business. Drawing on complexity theory and its related concept of hierarchy, this study advances a systematic approach to theoretically investigate the factors that favourably or adversely affect business model development (BMD), in a hierarchical order. In particular, multiple fuzzy multi-criteria decision making techniques were applied to develop the list of enablers of and barriers to BMD, to determine the priorities among enablers, and to determine the significance of barriers with respect to the main enablers of BMD. The results reveal that organizational form is the most salient enablers of BMD, while type II barriers are the most significant barriers, challenging the development of business models. Implications and future research directions are also provided

Assessing the application of multi-criteria decision making techniques in hospitality and tourism research: a bibliometric study

This is an accepted manuscript of an article due to be published by Emerald. The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Purpose: Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are decision support systems that provide systematic approaches to solve hospitality and tourism (H&T) problems while minimizing the risk of failure. However, less is known about the application of MCDM techniques in H&T research. This study aims to systematically assess the use of MCDM techniques in H&T research to classify its current application and determine its application potential for H&T research. Design/methodology/approach: This study used bibliometric analysis to examine all published MCDM studies focused on H&T industries, since 1997. In addition, topic modelling was used to discover key concepts. Finally, top cited studies in terms of total citations per year and total citations were qualitatively reviewed for more insights. Findings: The findings revealed an ongoing interest in applying MCDM techniques in H&T research. Specifically, the extension of fuzzy theory in MCDM techniques is burgeoning among H&T researchers. However, a certain number of MCDM techniques seem to be ignored in this field with a repetitive application of MCDM techniques in particular areas. Research limitations/implications: The data for the current research was solely retrieved from Scopus and other databases were not included. Therefore, future research is called for to re-examine the study by considering data from various databases. Originality/value: This study contributes to extant H&T literature by a) identifying the most prolific and influential countries, journals, publications, and trends by applying MCDM techniques in H&T research, and b) elucidating the implications and characteristics of MCDM techniques in H&T research