Tag Archives: Hospitality

April 11, 2025 · 12:34 pm

Restaurants communicating about sustainable practices: Guidelines for ESG reporting of food and beverage operations

The following content was drawn from one of my academic articles published through the International Journal of Hospitality Management. It has been adapted for a blog post.

Stakeholders including the regulatory authorities, among others, are increasingly encouraging hospitality businesses to publish information about their environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities. In many cases, they are already preparing ESG disclosures that shed light on their sustainable production and consumption policies and practices.

The environmental dimension

Generally, many hospitality chains are already monitoring the usage of their energy, water, raw materials and other resources, to minimize their running costs. For example, their restaurants could turn off certain appliances when not in use, invest in efficient lighting, appliances, cooking methods, as well as in water conservation practices (Madanaguli et al., 2022). In addition, they could generate their energy from renewable sources. Other aspects that are related to ESG’s ‘E’ dimension include environmental protection measures, sustainable sourcing of food items and their components (as the responsible procurement of items from local suppliers would reduce their environmental impact), as well as waste minimization efforts before, during and after food consumption, among others laudable practices (Elkhwesky, 2022). Hospitality businesses may avail themselves of food waste tracking systems to optimize their production and consumption activities, and to identify areas for improvement (Okumus et al., 2020). Such systems could help them reduce food scraps that will probably end up in landfills, if they recycle them into compost, that may be used for local farming or landscaping.

Very often, they gather and hold records about their recycling efforts as well as on their generated waste and emissions that can ultimately affect biodiversity and eco-systems including climate change, water and marine resources (Klaura et al., 2023). If this is the case, their captured data can be utilized to identify inefficiencies in their restaurants and to better understand how sustainable practices (like the ones mentioned in the above text) could reduce their costs as well as their overall financial performance. Moreover, it enables them to be in a good position to disclose information about their sustainability credentials.

Restauranteurs should prioritize purchasing from local sources to support the domestic economy and reduce transportation emissions. Food and beverage preparers could utilize seasonal menus to ensure that the dishes they serve and/or their ingredients are fresh and in-season. This reasoning is congruent with the farm-to-fork or farm-to-table initiatives adopted by various hotels and restaurants (Bux and Amicarelli, 2023). Frequently, hospitality businesses are opting for organic certified products and food components, to reduce the environmental impact associated with conventional agricultural practices. In a similar vein, many practitioners are investing in ant-based and insect-based items as more consumers are recognizing their nutrition benefits (Motoki et al., 2022). A number of colleagues are recognizing that such protein foods would result in lower externalities on the environment.

In this day and age, it is imperative that food and beverage service providers utilize sustainable food items in their menus. They are pressured by stakeholders to use eco-friendly packaging made from recycled, biodegradable, compostable, and/or reusable materials for food delivery and takeaway services as opposed to single-use plastic waste that pollute the natural environment. In sum, the hospitality businesses’ environmental responsibilities comprise sustainable sourcing of food items, sound inventory management, innovative food preparation practices, responsible consumption of food, and the use of eco-friendly packaging, to minimize their environmental footprint, and contribute to broader sustainability goals.

The social dimension

Most practitioners are taking into account non-financial information about hospitality businesses’ labor practices related to their own employees as well as to other workers employed by organizations in the value chain (including distributors, suppliers, subcontractors, et cetera) (Bullock et al., 2024). Report preparers may usually gather information about the conditions of employment of human resources, training and development records, health and safety measures, work life balance initiatives, living wage policies as well as on issues related to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion in their workplace environment. A number of contributions reported that there is scope for hospitality owner-managers to delegate responsibilities to employees to enhance their morale and job satisfaction (Camilleri, 2022, Gewinner, 2020). Frequently, they indicated that it is in their businesses’ interest to provide regular training and development opportunities on sustainable practices like food hygiene and safety, meal portion control as well as on food waste management, among others (Okumus, 2020). Notwithstanding, they are expected to communicate about their active engagement with suppliers. It is within their responsibility to ensure that they treat their marketplace stakeholders in a fair manner. They are expected to forge long lasting, mutual relationships with trustworthy suppliers and partners, who are recognized as responsible employers by stakeholders in society.

Hospitality businesses ought to be encouraged to source food items from local suppliers to promote community well-being. They should prioritize suppliers that are renowned for their dependability, responsible human resources management and environmental sustainability practices. Working closely with reliable suppliers could help improve the efficient sourcing of products and may result in timely delivery of fresh items (Vaughan, 2024). The practitioners’ engagement with suppliers would increase their chances of receiving food products and ingredients in an optimal condition, to reduce the likelihood of spoilage and of overstocking their inventories.

In addition, the social dimension may usually involve aspects related to the businesses’ engagement with customers as well as with societal stakeholders. Hospitality practitioners can promote their sustainable procurement and food production practices with customers. The food and beverage businesses’ communications and corporate disclosures about their sustainable credentials can influence their consumers’ behaviors. They could even induce their patrons to reduce food loss and waste in their households.

Report preparers could make reference to responsible marketing practices. They can raise awareness about their transparent pricing and on how they avoid deceptive or misleading tactics (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2023). They might communicate about their commitment to protect their consumers’ personal data. It this case, practitioners may reveal that they are using secure systems to prevent data breaches and unauthorized access to information. In addition, they could publicize the provision of accessible facilities for disabled patrons. Furthermore, they may shed light on their cultural sensitivity, as well as on their engagement with local communities through food donation programs to philanthropic and charitable institutions, among other socially responsible behaviors. Their proactive collaboration with local communities, NGOs, and other stakeholders can help them achieve the sustainable development goal related to the responsible production and consumption (of food) to reduce the accumulation of waste originating from their operations (UNEP, n.d.). Conversely, they may decide to monetize their waste resources by utilize sharing economy platforms and functional mobile apps to sell surplus/excessive food to consumers, at reduced prices.

In a nutshell, the hospitality practitioners’ social responsibility aspects cover aspects related to their engagement with responsible suppliers, employees, customers and with the community at large. Restauranteurs are expected to communicate about their organizations’ responsible food production and consumption practices with a wide array of stakeholders. Their corporate reporting can add value to their business in terms of increased profits, as they benefit from an improved brand image and corporate reputation, among other positive outcomes.

The governance dimension

Listed hotel chains are frequently disseminating content about their corporate governance efforts, as they publish rules, regulations, collective agreements with trade unions and codes of conduct through offline and online channels (Yu et al., 2025). Such information would usually serve as formal guidelines for their organizations’ modus operandi. They also shed light on how the businesses are directed and controlled among internal and external stakeholders. Ultimately, it is in the organizations’ interest to build stakeholder relationships and to maintain open lines of communication with different parties, including with creditors, investors, shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, regulatory institutions and with local communities, among others.

There is scope for hospitality businesses to report about governance aspects including details about their organizations’ standards of integrity, accountability, board structure, executive compensation, and shareholder rights among other matters in their ESG reports. Such disclosures would probably make also reference to their businesses’ ethical dispositions as well as to risk management practices (e.g. compliance with health and safety, security issues, financial and operational aspects, reputation management, etc.) as these issues can help them build brand equity, instill trust in their activities and enhance their corporate reputation.

Specific disclosures about governance matters related to responsible food production and responsible consumption may include reference to accountable and transparent leadership that prioritizes the prevention of food loss and waste. The higher echelons of the organization ought to implement clear policies and procedures that ensure sustainable supply chain management. They are expected to monitor responsible food and beverage operations, at all times, from the procurement stage, through food preparation and consumption, in order to reduce food loss and waste. Food and beverage service providers ought to comply with relevant national legislation (where they operate their business) as well as with food safety and hygiene standards to protect their consumers’ health and wellbeing. They should handle, prepare and store their food and its components, in clean environments, to minimize spoilage, contamination and waste. This argumentation is congruent with substantive legislative instruments that are present in different jurisdictions, which require restaurants, among other entities, to implement sustainable measures that improve resource efficiency and prevent the generation of waste (EU, 2023a, GovUK, 2024, NEA, 2024).

A number of regulatory standards encourage practitioners to utilize food labeling that feature expiration dates (as well as nutrition information), to reduce food loss (Clodoveo et al., 2022). They may establish dedicated committees or sustainability champions to lead responsible food and beverage operations and initiatives that are intended to achieve continuous improvements in preventative and mitigative measures that reduce waste generated from hospitality businesses. Such practices may require ongoing training and development of employees on food and beverage practices like offering reduced portions and implementing efficient inventory management, to minimize food waste as much as possible.

Hospitality businesses may refer to the industry standards (that are duly mentioned in this paper), and they can even obtain certifications from some of them, including Green Key Certification, International Standards Organization’s ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems (EMS), among others, to improve their sustainability credentials for their food and beverage operations. These regulatory instruments can play a critical role in fostering ESG accounting, reporting, auditing and assurance. Fig. 1 clearly illustrates key elements that can be disclosed in ESG reports.

Fig. 1. The environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions (Camilleri & Carroll, 2024).

Regulatory instruments including standards and metrics for ESG reporting

Currently, several governments and intergovernmental institutions are encouraging big businesses to report information about their environmental, social and governance performance, in addition to their financial statements. Many of them are developing rules, regulations and guiding principles for corporations and listed enterprises. With regards to the materiality of their disclosures, report preparers need to take into account pertinent information (in terms of the reliability and completeness of the content they feature in their ESG reports) including on aspects related to critical issues related to sourcing of food and its ingredients, inventory management, preparation of meals (such as hygiene standards, use of local and organic ingredients), as well as other relevant details about measures that were undertaken to reduce food loss and waste. Hospitality businesses are expected to be transparent in their disclosures, to track progress vis-a-vis their efforts to reduce waste (year after year), and to identify areas that should be improved. Their ESG disclosures could also link food loss reduction initiatives with broader sustainability and financial performance metrics. This could enable them to evaluate their social, economic and environmental impacts of responsible food and beverage operations, and to develop comprehensive strategies and courses of action, for the future, to address their deficits.

Large entities, including hospitality chains as well as international food and beverage franchises, are usually expected by their stakeholders to prepare non-financial reports about their ESG performance in accordance with certifiable standards and/or eco-labels. They are bound to comply with relevant legislation about sustainability accounting, disclosures, audit and assurance practices applicable in specific jurisdictions where they operate their business,

For example, the European Union’s (EU’s) Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) Directive 2014/95/EU was one of the regulatory instruments that encouraged large undertakings to disclose non-financial information relating to ESG matters in their annual reports. Subsequently, the European Union built on the foundations of NFRD when it launched its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Arguably, the latter directive has improved the harmonization and standardization of ESG disclosures (across the EU), in terms of their transparency, consistency, comparability and reliability aspects. While the NFRD was primarily focused on large public-interest entities (PIEs), the CSRD has extended reporting obligations to more companies, including large private companies and subsidiaries of non-EU parent companies operating within the EU member states (EU, 2023b). Business practitioners, including hospitality firms are encouraged to utilize renowned international standards to prepare their ESG disclosures. They may refer to Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI’s) and/or to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB’s) standards, among others. Whilst the former was not specifically designed to disclose information about food and beverage operations, GRI’s principles can still be applied in the hospitality industry sector.

Organizations could utilize the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI’s) guidelines to prepare non-financial reports that shed light on their ESG initiatives (Koseoglu et al., 2021, Li et al., 2025). They could refer to GRI’s Standards that are intended to support organizations in various aspects of their operations. Several GRI standards and guidelines can be used to address and reduce food loss and food waste in hotels and restaurants. While GRI does not have a specific standard solely focused on food waste, various standards cover aspects related to sustainability, waste management, and social responsibility that can be applied in this context. GRI has formulated topic standards related to the management approach (GRI 103 2016), procurement practices (GRI 204 2016), waste (GRI 306 2020), supplier environmental assessment (GRI 308 2016), labor/management relations (GRI 402 2016), occupational health and safety (GRI 403 2018), training and education (GRI 404 2016), marketing and labeling (GRI 417 2016): among others, that could be used to assess the businesses’ credentials, with regards to their responsible production and sustainable consumption of food.

Key takeaways

The underlying rationale behind this contribution is to promote responsible food and beverage operations within the hospitality industry. The sustainable sourcing of food products and their ingredients, their sound inventory management and control, the responsible preparation, production and consumption of food, can ultimately lead to a reduction in food loss and waste in hospitality settings including from hotels, restaurants and cafes, among others. The good practices that were mentioned in this article clearly address the environmental impact as well as social and economic dimensions, thereby promoting a holistic approach for the sustainability of food and beverage service providers.

This research raises awareness on the significance of non-financial accountability standards in the hospitality industry context. It makes reference to some of the most popular regulatory instruments and standards, including those set by the GRI, SASB and FLW among others, to promote ESG disclosures in corporate sustainability reports. Indeed, practitioners can utilize the standards mentioned in this paper, to account, measure and disclose their ESG performance. Arguably, such standards are instrumental to provide stakeholders with the necessary information to trace, evaluate and compare the sustainability efforts of hospitality firms.

This contribution builds on previous research that identified laudable food and beverage operations in the hospitality industry’s value chain; from the procurement of resources required for food production, leading to the point when surplus food and leftover items are reused, recycled or upcycled. It clarifies that excessive, edible and unspoilt food could be donated to food banks and/or to those in need, or even sold at discounted pricing through sharing economy platforms. Moreover, it also indicates that inedible foods can be converted into sustainable resources like garden compost or could be transformed into biogases, including methane (through anaerobic digester systems), that may be utilized for different purposes.

This research identifies and explains several ESG dimensions associated with food and beverage operations. It sheds light on several regulatory instruments comprising principles and standards, that may be adopted by practitioners to guide them in their ESG disclosures of their sustainable initiatives. Notwithstanding, this article puts forward a novel theoretical model that illustrates various responsible practices related to each of three (3) ESG dimensions. It clearly indicates that the hospitality businesses’ kitchen behaviors can be measured and accounted for in ESG reports, to provide stakeholders with a true and fair view of their sustainability credentials.

Future research directions

There is scope for further research focused on the main themes of this contribution. Academic colleagues may conduct primary research activities to explore the hospitality practitioners’ good practices, or lack thereof. They may reveal how they are planning, organizing, implementing and measuring the effectiveness of their responsible value chain activities. Prospective researchers may avail themselves of various methodologies and sampling frames, to explore this topic in depth and breadth. They could identify specific organizations including sustainability champions, that have a proven track record in: (i) reducing materials and resources, as well as in reusing and recycling surplus or leftover foods; (ii) utilizing sharing economy platforms and mobile apps to sell surplus foods at discounted prices; (iii) donating food to community projects; and/or iv) recycling inedible foods for compost purposes, among other options.

New submissions to journals could promote the positive multiplier effects of engaging in responsible food and beverage operations in terms of operational efficiencies and cost savings, improved corporate image and reputation, and the like. They could raise awareness on the business case for responsible food production and consumption behaviors. Alternatively, future researchers could prepare theoretical and/or discursive papers that clearly explain how, where, when and why hospitality firms are accounting their sustainable ESG activities. They may refer to specific standards and metrics presented in this article.

In addition, they may prepare comparative analyses of different ESG reporting frameworks (e.g., GRI and SASB among others). Their research might reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each framework and could possibly evaluate their standards and metrics in detail. Scholars could explore the enablers and barriers associated with ESG accounting, reporting, auditing, and assurance. They may focus on organizational aspects, financial and technological issues, regulatory interventions, and/or on cultural influences that could either support or hinder the widespread adoption of sustainable food and beverage initiatives in the hospitality sector.

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M. A. (2025). Sustainability accounting and disclosures of responsible restaurant practices in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.104051

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Filed under ESG Reporting, food loss, food waste, Hospitality, hotels, Integrated Reporting, restaurants, Sustainable Consumption, sustainable production, sustainable supply chains

Tagged as environment, ESG, ESG dimensions, ESG Reporting, food, food loss, food waste, GRI, Hospitality, Hospitality Operations, restaurants, SASB, Sustainability

August 31, 2023 · 10:37 am

Customer satisfaction and loyalty with online consumer reviews

This text is drawn from excerpts of an article published through Elsevier’s International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A. & Filieri, R. (2023). Customer satisfaction and loyalty with online consumer reviews: Factors affecting revisit intentions, International Journal of Hospitality Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103575

Abstract

While previous research investigated the effects of online consumer reviews on purchase behaviors, currently, there is still a lack of knowledge on the impact of the reviews’ credibility, content quality and information usefulness on the customers’ satisfaction levels with them. Data were gathered from a sample of 512 participants. A partial least squares approach was utilized to evaluate the reliability and validity of the constructs and to identify the causal effects in this contribution’s structured model. The findings reveal that information usefulness is a very strong predictor of satisfaction. They also confirm highly significant indirect effects, between information quality and customer satisfaction, when information usefulness meditates this link. This study suggests that prospective customers appreciate quality reviews of consumers who have already experienced the hospitality services. It raises awareness about the usefulness of review sites as online users refer to their content before committing themselves to purchasing products and services.

Keywords: customer satisfaction; customer loyalty; information usefulness; information quality; source credibility; information adoption model.

Introduction

The advances of the Internet are presenting online users and prospective customers of hospitality businesses with a great opportunity for interactive engagement through blogs, microblogs, discussion fora, social networking sites and online communities. Many consumers are sharing their insights about their service experiences through review platforms like AirBnB, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and the like. Very often, they praise or complain about different aspects of their service encounters (Akdim et al., 2022; Filieri and McLeay, 2014; Rita et al., 2022). Such testimonials are intended to support potential consumers to reduce their uncertainty before committing themselves to make purchase decisions.

The electronic content featured in review sites as well as in social media can be read by online users hailing from different regions across the globe. Interactive platforms enable their users to feature positive and negative publicity (Moro et al., 2020; Sun and Liu, 2021; Shin et al., 2023) via qualitative service evaluations and/or via quantitative scores, also known as ratings. Online users can subscribe to review networks to voice their testimonials on their satisfaction and/or on their dissatisfaction levels with the services they experienced (Kim et al., 2023; Zheng et al., 2023). In the latter case, they will intentionally engage in negative word-of-mouth (WOM) publicity to tarnish the reputation and image of the business (Qiao et al., 2022).

This topic has been attracting the interest of a number of scholars in marketing, information systems, as well as in travel, tourism and service industries (Donthu et al., 2021). Various researchers sought to investigate the consumers’ acceptance of online reviews. Frequently, they explored the internalization processes whereby individuals take heed, or take into consideration user generated content, like electronic WOM (eWOM) publicity, that is usually cocreated by consumers who have already experienced products and services, in order to enhance their extant knowledge about the service quality provided by hospitality businesses (Song et al., 2022; Zhang et al., 2021).

This argumentation is consistent with the information adoption model (IAM). Sussman and Siegal (2003) suggest that individuals tend to rely on quality information if they believe that it is useful to them. The authors argued that persons are influenced by knowledge transfer if they understand and comprehend the flows of information they receive. Hence, individuals would be in a position to determine the best courses of action that better serve their needs, particularly if they perceive that other individuals are providing reliable and trustworthy advice to them (Erkan and Evans 2016).

Information adoption factors, including details relating to the quality of the content and the credibility of the informational sources, may significantly affect the individuals’ perceptions about the usefulness of online reviews (Cheung et al., 2008; Filieri, 2015). Hence, the argument quality of consumer testimonials, as well as the credibility of the sources, are two major determinants that can influence online users’ satisfaction levels (Filieri et al., 2015; Zhao et al., 2019), with the sites hosting online reviews, and may even determine their revisit intentions to them (Kaya et al., 2019; Ladhari and Michaud, 2015; Rodríguez et al., 2020).

This empirical research investigates perceptions toward consumer review sites. It focuses on online users’ beliefs about the quality of their information, as well as on the credibility and usefulness of their content. It examines these constructs exogenous effects on their satisfaction levels and on their loyalty with consumer review platforms, as shown in Figure 1.

Hence, this study validates key factors, namely, information quality (Cheung et al., 2008; Kumar and Ayodeji, 2021; McClure and Seock, 2020; Talwar et al., 2021), source credibility (Argyris et al., 2021; Filieri, 2015), and information usefulness (Camilleri et al., 2023; Filieri, 2015). These measures are drawn from valid information and/or technology adoption models (Sussman and Siegal, 2003), and are combined with consumer satisfaction (Maxham and Netemeyer, 2002) and consumer loyalty (Tran and Strutton, 2020; Zeithaml, et al., 1996). The latter two constructs are associated with the service-dominant logic (Zeithaml et al., 2002; Parasuraman et al., 2005).

Arguably, regular users of review platforms are likely to take heed of the consumers’ recommendations as they perceive the usefulness of their advice (on their service encounters) (D’ Acunto et al., 2020; Xu, 2020; Ye et al., 2009). The researchers presume that the individuals who utilize these websites will usually trust past customers’ experiences. Hence, this study hypothesizes that the respondents who habitually rely on consumer reviews, are satisfied with the quality of their content, and that they perceive that their sources are credible and useful. As a result, the research participants may be intrigued to revisit them again in the future. Hence, the research questions of this contribution are:

RQ1: How and to what extent are information quality and source credibility affecting the usefulness of consumer reviews?

RQ2: How and to what extent are informative and helpful reviews influencing online users’ satisfaction levels and loyalty behaviors, in terms of their revisit intentions to these platforms?

RQ3: How and to what degree is information usefulness mediating the information quality – customer satisfaction/customer loyalty and/or source credibility – customer satisfaction/customer loyalty causal paths?

Previous research examined the perceptions about eWOM and focused on online review websites by using IAM (Cheung et al., 2008; Filieri, 2015). However, for the time being, no other studies sought to explore the effects of IAM’s key constructs on electronic service quality’s (eSERVQUAL’s) endogenous factors of satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, this study raises awareness on the usefulness of review sites as prospective customers are referring to their content before committing themselves to purchasing products or prior to experiencing the businesses’ services. In this case, the researchers theorized that they would probably revisit the review platforms, if they were satisfied with their quality information and source credibility.

A survey questionnaire was employed to collect data from subscribers of popular social media networks. A structured equations modelling partial least squares SEM-PLS methodology was utilized to examine the proposed research model in order to confirm the reliability and validity of the constructs used in this study. This composite based SEM approach enabled the researchers to shed light on the significant effects that are predicting the respondents’ likelihood to rely on user generated content and to determine whether they influenced their satisfaction levels and revisit intentions.

The following section features an original conceptual framework and formulates the hypotheses of this empirical investigation. Afterwards, the methodology provides details on the data collection process for this quantitative study. Subsequently, the results illustrate the findings from SmartPLS’s analytical approach to reveal the causal effects in this study’s research model. In conclusion, this article identifies theoretical and managerial implications. The researchers discuss about the limitations of this study and outline future research avenues.

Table 1. A definition of the key factors used in this study

Term	Definition
Information Quality:	This factor measures perceptions on the quality of information (in terms of the consumer reviews’ reliability and appropriateness).
Source Credibility:	This factor measures perceptions on the credibility of the sources (in terms of the consumer reviewers’ trustworthiness and proficiency in sharing service their experiences with others).
Information Usefulness:	This factor measures perceptions on the utilitarian value of information (featured in consumer reviews).
Customer Satisfaction:	This factor refers to positive or negative feelings about products or services (in this case, it is focused on electronic services provided by review websites).
Customer Loyalty:	This factor refers to the willingness to repeatedly engage with specific businesses (in this case, it is focused on review websites).

(Source: Camilleri and Filieri, 2023)

Theoretical implications

This contribution puts forward a research model that integrated IAM’s key factors including information quality (Cheung et al., 2008; Filieri, 2015; McClure and Seock, 2020; Talwar et al., 2021)), source credibility (Filieri et al., 2021; Ismagilova et al., 2020) and information usefulness (of consumer reviews) (Camilleri and Kozak, 2023; Moro et al., 2020) with eSERVQUAL’s satisfaction (Kaya et al., 2019; Kumar and Ayodeji, 2021) and loyalty outcomes (Kumar and Ayodeji, 2021; Tran and Strutton, 2020).

The results from SmartPLS 3 confirm the reliability and validity of all measures that were used in this study. The findings indicate highly significant direct as well as indirect effects that are predicting the online users’ satisfaction levels and loyalty with review sites. This research suggests that the quality of the user generated content as well as the sources’ credibility (in terms of the trustworthiness and expertise of the online reviewers) are positive and significant antecedents of the individuals’ perceptions about the usefulness of information. These findings reveal that both information quality and source credibility are significant precursors of information usefulness, thereby validating mainstream IAM theoretical underpinnings (Cheung et al., 2008; Chong et al., 2018; Erkan and Evans, 2016; Filieri, 2015; Sussman and Siegal, 2003).

This study differentiated itself from IAM as it examined the effects of information quality, source credibility and information usefulness on the consumers’ satisfaction levels and loyalty with review websites. It reported that information usefulness – customer satisfaction was the strongest link in this empirical investigation and that customer satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between information usefulness and customer loyalty. Moreover, the results showed that there were highly significant indirect effects between information quality and customer satisfaction, between information quality and customer loyalty, between source credibility and customer satisfaction, and between source credibility and customer loyalty.

In this case, this research indicated that the respondents (i.e. online users) were satisfied with the review platforms that featured the consumers’ testimonials about their “moments of truth” with hospitality businesses. It suggested that they were likely to re-visit them again in the future. To the best of the authors’ knowledge there are no studies in the academic literature that have integrated theoretical underpinnings related to the service dominant logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2008), or to SERVQUAL- and/or eSERVQUAL-related factors (Kaya et al., 2019; Maxham and Netemeyer, 2002; Parasuraman et al., 2005; Rodríguez et al., 2020; Zeithaml et al., 1996; Zeithaml et al., 2002) with IAM constructs (Camilleri & Kozak, 2023; Chatterjee et al., 2023; Cheung et al., 2008; D’Acunto et al., 2020; Erkan and Evans 2016; Filieri, 2015; Huiyue et al., 2022; Kang and Namkung, 2019; Li et al., 2020; Sussman and Siegal, 2003; Ye et al., 2009) to explore the satisfaction levels and revisit intentions to review websites focused on consumer experiences of hospitality services. This original research addresses this knowledge gap. In conclusion, it implies that IAM’s exogenous factors can be used to investigate the online users’ perceptions about the usefulness and satisfaction with past consumers’ service evaluations, and to shed light on their intentions to habitually check out the qualitative content of review platforms/apps, prior to visiting service businesses (including hotels, Airbnbs and restaurants, among others) and/or before committing themselves to a purchase decision.

This contribution’s novel conceptual model raises awareness on the importance of evaluating the consumers’ satisfaction levels as well as their revisit intentions of review sites rather than merely determining how information usefulness and other IAM antecedents affect their information adoption.

Managerial implications

This research postulates that online users are perceiving the usefulness of consumer reviews. It clearly indicates that the respondents feel that they feature quality content and that they consider them to be informative, credible and trustworthy. The results suggest that they are satisfied with the user generated content (that sheds light on the reviewers’ opinions on their personal service encounters). In fact, their responses imply that they are likely to revisit review websites and/or to engage with their apps again.

The review platforms are helping prospective consumers in their purchase decisions. They enable them to quickly access consumer experiences with a wide array of service providers and to compare their different shades of opinions. This study shows that they are evaluating the consumer reviews to determine whether the hospitality firms are/are not delivering on their promises?

The consumers’ reviews can make or break a business. The restaurant patrons’ and/or the hotel guests’ words of praise as well as their genuine expressions of respect and gratitude can elevate the business and enhance its corporate reputation. Alternatively, the customers’ critical evaluations may tarnish the image of hospitality business (in this case). Whilst the consumers’ positive experiences with a company increases the likelihood of their loyal behaviors and of word-of-mouth publicity (that attracts new customers), poor reviews and ratings could signal that the customers are dissatisfied with certain aspects of the service delivery and may even result in their conversion to the hospitality firms’ competitors.

Hence, it is in the businesses’ self-interest: (i) to consistently deliver service quality, (ii) to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations, (iii) to continuously monitor their consumers’ reviews, (iv) to address contentious issues in a timely manner, and (v) to minimize consumer complaints (and turn them into opportunities for consumer satisfaction and loyalty).

Limitations and future research avenues

This research comprised reliable measures that are tried and tested in academia. Information quality, source credibility and information usefulness factors were utilized to explore the customers’ satisfaction and loyalty with review sites. These five constructs were never integrated together within the same empirical investigation. Future researchers are invited to validate this study in other contexts. For example, this theoretical model could explore the online users’ satisfaction and intentions to use social media networks (SNSs) and/or e-commerce websites and online marketplaces.

Alternatively, researchers can include other constructs related to IAM to assess perceptions about information understandability, information reliability, information relevance, information accuracy, and information timeliness, among others. Most of these constructs represent information quality. In addition, they may examine the individuals’ insights about source trustworthiness and/or source expertise rather than integrating them into a source credibility construct. They may also consider various constructs from eSERVQUAL like website appeal, attractiveness, design, functionality, security and consumer fulfilment aspects.

Perhaps, there is scope for future studies to consider other measures that are drawn from psychology research like the Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986), the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), or the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), among others, or from technology adoption models including the Technology Acceptance Model’s TAM (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989), TAM2 (Wang et al., 2021), TAM3 (Al-Gahtani, 2016), the Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) (Moore and Benbasat, 1991; Rogers, 1995), the Motivational Model (MM) (Davis et al., 1992), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology’ UTAUT (Venkatesh et al., 2003) and UTAUT2 (Venkatesh et al., 2012), among others.

These theories may be used to better understand the acceptance and utilization of information technologies (like review platforms). Notwithstanding, other studies are required to shed more light on the moderating effects of demographic variables, on the usability and satisfaction levels with disruptive innovations like voice assistance, chatbots, ChatGPT, Metaverse, and the like.

Other researchers may utilize other research designs and sampling approaches to gather and analyze primary data. They could capture interpretative data through inductive research, to delve deeper in the informants’ opinions about eWOM publicity in consumer review sites. Qualitative research methodologies and interpretative designs could shed more light on important insights on how, where, when and why the customers’ user-generated content (on their service experiences) could influence the intentional behaviors of prospective consumers in today’s digital age.

All the references are featured in the article. An open access version is available here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372891266_Customer_satisfaction_and_loyalty_with_online_consumer_reviews_Factors_affecting_revisit_intentions

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Tagged as Consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, Hospitality, online consumer reviews, service business, service quality, Tourism

February 16, 2022 · 8:33 pm

Family businesses in tourism and hospitality

This is an excerpt from one of my latest papers that was published in the Journal of Family Business Management. A free downloadable version is available here. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356603434_Thriving_family_businesses_in_tourism_and_hospitality_A_systematic_review_and_a_synthesis_of_the_relevant_literature

Small and medium sized businesses including family enterprises prevail in their contribution to economic growth and competitiveness of tourist destinations (Getz and Carlsen, 2005; Kallmuenzer and Peters, 2018). Very often, they are resilient entities and proactive forces in terms of innovation, employment and productivity. The family business is the oldest and the most common model of a for-profit organization. Essentially, it is a commercial entity that is usually owned, managed and led by multiple generations of a family members who are related by blood, marriage or adoption. The owners of family firms have the ability to influence the vision of their business and to formulate long term goals. They are usually involved in the organization, leadership and management of their company. However, family firms may also be co-owned by individuals who are not part of the family.

The Global Family Business Index defines a family firm as an entity that is controlled by family as its members hold more than 50% of the voting rights. For a publicly listed firm, a firm is classified as a family business if family members own at least 32% of the voting rights (OECD, 2021). Thus, the vast majority of businesses throughout the world, ranging from small shops to multinational publicly listed organizations who have hundreds of thousands of employees — can be considered family businesses.

In hospitality and tourism, a large number of small enterprises are run by family members (Peters and Kallmuenzer, 2018; Getz and Carlsen, 2005; Getz and Carlsen, 2000) that are operating in various sectors, ranging from hospitality, leisure, recreation and entertainment, among others. Such enterprises are often described as “economic engines” of tourist destinations (Getz, Carlsen and Morrison, 2004; Veloso et al., 2021) and play a critical role in the interface between communities and tourists (Shaw and Williams, 2013).

While there is a wide plethora of literature that explores different businesses including family firms and enterprises, we argue that there is still a gap in the extant academic knowledge about family businesses in tourism and hospitality settings (Arcese et al., 2021; Baggio and Valeri, 2020; Esparza Aguilar, 2019; Kallmuenzer, Tajeddini, Gamage, T.C., (…), Rojas, A. and Schallner, 2021; Rachmawati and Suroso, 2020). Globally, the vast majority of tourism and hospitality businesses comprise small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) (Baggio and Valeri, 2020). These entities are the ‘life blood’ of tourist destinations as many hotels, bed and breakfasts, AirBnBs, restaurants, and small transportation service providers, etc., are usually run by family members in various contexts.

The family business legacy

Several researchers classified different types of family businesses. Very often, they strived in their endeavors to clarify what constitutes a family business. Yet, currently, there is no agreed-upon definition of what a family business is. Experts in the field tend to describe the characteristics of family businesses and discuss about their organizational culture, ownership, leadership, management involvement, strategic control, governance, et cetera (Valeri, 2021; Valeri and Katsoni, 2021). All of these criteria can be considered as very important elements of family firms, depending on where they are, in terms of their lifecycle. Astrachan and Shanker (2003) provided a broad definition on this concept. They argued that family businesses are controlled by members of the family, who have to make decisions regarding their strategic direction.

They were aware that this definition covered a “gamut of possibilities”, ranging from large public companies that are run by descendants of founding family members, to shareholders, board members and low-level employees. In many cases, previous authors contended that firms with the same extent of family involvement were or were not always considering themselves as family businesses, and that their views may change over time. Therefore, there are different definitions for family firms in the academic literature.

Family businesses are business entities that are administered by owner-managers and their relatives. They are different from other companies. Their form of ownership may facilitate their ability to take critical actions quickly and to respond to a changing marketing environment (Mtapuri, Camilleri and Dłużewska, 2021; Peña‐Miranda, Guevara‐Plaza, Fraiz‐Brea & Camilleri, 2021). Family members may usually have closer ties that enable them to come together and do whatever it takes towards a common purpose, to safeguard their family’s health and prosperity. While nonfamily businesses may typically focus on maximizing their financial performance and shareholder value (Camilleri, 2020), family owners are more likely to focus on values like family legacy and reputation.

Many authors argued that a family business involves family members who are exerting their influence or control over the strategic direction of a company. Others discussed about family firm behaviors and shed light on their unique, inseparable, synergistic resources and capabilities arising from family involvement and interactions (Chrisman, Chua and Sharma, 2005; Habbershon, Williams and MacMillan, 2003). For example, Seaman et al. (2017) consider the interactions between family, business and friendship networks. Other authors also advance relevant knowledge on this topic (Valeri, 2016; Baggio and Valeri, 2020; Valeri and Baggio, 2020a; 2020b; 2020c; 2021).

Unlike the corporations’ executives, family members are usually personally as well as professionally involved in their entrepreneurial activities. In this case, there are no boundaries for them. Their relationships with employees are usually characterized by their values of trust, commitment, empathy and transparency as opposed to those held by larger companies. Hence, family firms may not always necessitate formal structures and bureaucratic systems that are prevalent in non-family entities. Family businesses tend to utilize looser control systems, may not rely on procedural hurdles, formal documentation or transactions. Thus, the informal style of family businesses can offer motivating working environments.

Previous research reported that family owner-managers would typically engage in two-way communications with their employees and may usually forge closer relationships with them. This type of enterprise is conspicuous in small organizations where employees are non-unionized, even though they may be expected to engage in varied roles and could be assigned different duties and responsibilities. Such workplaces will usually have low turn-over rates, and still experience fewer industrial disputes and strikes than other businesses.

Conversely, family firms can be dictatorially run by a coercive owner-manager. As a result, employees and family members may have little or no involvement in the running of their business. A typical tension field that may occur in family businesses happens when there is a conflict of interest between the personal needs of the owner–managers and their business. Hence, the business owners’ personal characteristics and attributes may play a key role in the performance of their family firm. Relevant studies on this topic often reported mixed findings on the working environment and organizational culture of family businesses. Some authors noted that while employees of nonfamily businesses seem to enjoy superior employment packages, rewards, employment terms and physical working conditions, the quality of the job environment in small businesses is poorer than what you find in their larger counterparts (Russo and Tencati, 2009).

Chrisman et al. (2005) maintained that two firms with the same extent of family involvement may not necessarily be considered as family businesses; if they lack the intention, vision, familiness, and/or behaviors that truly represent the essence of a family business. They went on to suggest that family firms exist because of the reciprocal economic and non-economic value that is cocreated through the combination of family and business systems. On the other hand, there may be problems arising from close kinship, ownership and management transfers, that may ultimately result in inefficiencies, conflicting intentions and behaviors that could limit the ability of family businesses to create or maintain distinctive familiness (Miller, Steier and Le Breton-Miller, 2003; Steier, 2001, 2003; Stewart, 2003).

For instance, certain family members may want to exert control over their firm in ways that would nullify the value of existing competences and capabilities. Their behaviors could slow down or prevent the development of their organization. The extent to which a firm may be considered as a family business could be determined by the family members’ involvement in influencing the leadership decision in their business (Chrisman et al., 2005; Astrachan, Klein and Smyrnios, 2002). It is important to clearly distinguish the differences between family and nonfamily businesses and to subdivide them into various categories. For example, family businesses can be categorized by their size.

Like other SMEs, small family firms may have limited access to resources including financial capital and human capabilities. The very size of their businesses may create a special condition, which is often referred to as `resource poverty’ (O’Cass and Weerawardena, 2009). SMEs and family businesses tend to find themselves in an equity gap, where it is very difficult to acquire finance to operate efficiently (Camilleri, 2018). Although banks are key providers of finance through the provision of loans, the availability of unsecured bank finance to these businesses is usually very limited.

The growth of small family enterprises remains severely restricted, particularly if they cannot provide additional securities or collaterals for their investments. Even small businesses with high growth potential may experience difficulties in raising relatively modest amounts of risk capital. Moreover, external forces and potential threats from the marketing environment could have more devastating effects on family businesses than on other companies. For instance, changes in government regulations, tax laws, labor legislation and interest rates may usually affect a greater percentage of expenses in smaller family businesses than they do for other organizations (Brune, Thomsen and Watrin, 2019).

Family-owned businesses may evolve over time as their ownership may be transferred from founder-members to their relatives (Peters, Raich, Märk and Pichler, 2012). Various forms of succession may result in different ownership structures, revised duties and responsibilities of employees of family businesses. The descendants of unrelated founders can find themselves owning and managing their company and may even sit in the same board. In this case, there will be two or more families who have a stake in the business. However, just one of them will be in control (i.e. the largest shareholder) (Astrachan et al., 2002).

For instance, Hoshi Ryokan, Komatsu is one of the oldest hotels in the world. This property has been owned and managed by the Hoshi family in the past centuries. Other popular family businesses in the hospitality sector include Gmachl in Salzburg and Hotel Sacher in Vienna (Austria); Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong (China); Bristol Hotel in Paris (France); Villa D’Este in Como, Italy; Baur-au-Lac in Zurich, Switzerland; Goring Hotel in London, West Lodge Park in Hadley Wood, Hertfordshire (UK) and Seaside hotel Kennebunk in Maine (USA), among others.

The development of family firms in tourism and hospitality

Tourism and hospitality family businesses are characterized by their specific ownership, leadership and organization as well as by their stakeholder relationships, that differentiate them from nonfamily companies (Engeset, 2020; Martínez, Stöhr and Quiroga, 2007; Rosalin et al., 2016; Kumar et al., 2021). Notwithstanding, there are various variables that could enable or disable family firms of different types and sizes, to generate and sustain new business development in the long term (Peters and Kallmuenzer, 2018).

The owners of tourism family firms may try to balance their business objectives with those of their family’s interests (Getz and Carlsen, 2005). Other research indicated that the objectives of such family businesses are different than nonfamily-run companies. The former businesses are usually influenced by family issues and lifestyle objectives. While Getz and Carlsen (2000) found that the majority of businesses considered family goals as more important than their business goals; Andersson, Carlsen and Getz (2002) argued that tourism family businesses ought to operate in a profitable manner, if they want to support their family members, and to maintain a decent quality of life. Their thriving businesses could enable them to create a family legacy and to pass on their company to the next generation (Andersson et al., 2002). Again, this cannot be achieved unless it is financially successful (Erdogan, Rondi, De Massis, 2020; Williams, Pieper, Kellermanns & Astrachan, 2018).

Small family-run businesses may be expected to provide employment opportunities to family members. Hence, they are not always recruiting the most qualified employees for the job. This may result in conflicts among employees (Miller et al., 2003; Peters and Buhalis, 2004). Conversely, multinational corporations are capable of attracting the best candidates for the job. They are usually in a better position to lure investors as well as venture capitalists’ funds. On the other hand, family business owners may be reluctant to accept financial injections from external investors, for fear of losing control over their business. The personal qualities, traits and attributes of the business owners can have significant effects on the long-term prospects of the companies they lead and manage (Hallak, Assaker and Connor, 2014).

Family firms are not always in a position to raise their margins and to allocate financial resources for research and development and toward market research, product development, skills or creativity enhancement (Pikkemaat and Zehrer 2016). Very often, they are not benefiting from economies of scale that are afforded by bigger businesses. Moreover, they may be reluctant to cooperate and forge alliances with other businesses, including with competitors to gain economies of scope, that could enable them to improve their services. Many academic researchers argued that family firms ought to value long-term cooperation and social networking within the communities where they operate their business (Pikkemaat and Zehrer 2016; Camisón et al., 2016). Their networking (Baggio and Valeri, 2020) and innovation management processes (Kallmuenzer, 2018; Vrontis et al., 2016) are often driven by local community needs and by their orientations towards sustainable tourism development (Baggio and Valeri, 2020; Camilleri, 2014; Ismail et al., 2019; Kallmuenzer et al., 2018).

Family members may not possess the networking skills to develop fruitful relationships with corporate stakeholders (Arcese et al., 2020; Camilleri, 2016; Troise & Camilleri, 2021) and/or may lack adequate knowledge to formulate appropriate business strategies for their company (Pikkemaat and Zehrer, 2016). Their businesses are expected to continuously innovate to guarantee their survival and to improve their performance in the long term (Elmo et al., 2020). In a similar vein, Rachmawati et al., (2020) pointed out that family entrepreneurs need to be more innovative and take risks so that they can compete in the global scenario. They suggested that their internationalization prospects may help their business to improve their reputation in order to enhance their bottom lines, whilst satisfying their families’ interests. Other authors contended that they have to identify innovation opportunities (Arcese et al., 2020; Giacosa et al., 2017; López-Chávez et al., 2021; Valeri et al., 2020) whilst defending their values and traditions in order to guarantee that their family business legacy transcends from one generation to the next (Obermayer et al., 2021; Santos et al., 2021c).

Succession issues may affect the form of ownership structures of tourism family enterprises as well as their governance, leadership, management and strategies. Elmo et al. (2020) maintained that the innovation process is likely to occur after succession periods when there are changes in the ownership of family businesses. They went on to suggest that successors (i.e. incoming owner-managers) of family firms may represent new opportunities, resources, and sources of knowledge and information for them. Other authors delved into family succession matters (Kallmuenzer et al., 2021; Ollenburg and Buckley, 2011; Prevolsek et al., 2017; Steier, 2001). In the main, these commentators recognized that succession remains a contentious issue that may either result in positive outcomes or in negative repercussions that can ultimately hinder the growth and development of family businesses (Miller, 2003; Peters et al., 2012).

Conclusions

There are a number of internal and external factors that can affect tourism and hospitality family businesses long-term prospects (Camilleri, 2017; Camilleri, 2021a; Giousmpasoglou, 2019; Zapalska and Brozik, 2013; Santos et al., 2021a; 2021b), their business development, sustainable development and innovation capabilities (Mtapuri et al., 2021, Peña‐Miranda et al., 2021). This contribution suggests that family firms differentiate themselves from nonfamily businesses as they consider other important values in addition to profit, including family legacy, trust, commitment and reputation. It explained that it is in their interest to engage with different stakeholders (including competitors) (Camilleri, 2019) to benefit from synergistic resources and capabilities, to increase their economies of scale and scope, to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.

Currently, many businesses are still feeling the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (Albattat et al., 2020; Camilleri, 2021b; Chemli et al., 2020; Toanoglou et al., 2021). During this crisis, family enterprises and other companies, faced serious liquidity shortages and became cash strapped after they experienced a considerable decline in their business activities. In many cases, they were resilient as they reinforced their purpose and values to ensure that their business remains intact. Generally, they strived in their endeavors to safeguard their financial and emotional investments, to preserve their legacy. Those family owner managers that have better adapted to the pandemic and who are still operating their tourism or hospitality business are better prepared for economic growth and development in the post-pandemic context.

Limitations

Although this systematic review has carefully considered rigorous articles and reviews that are focused on the development of family businesses in tourism and hospitality, there is scope to investigate different forms of family hotels and family restaurants in more depth and breadth, in terms of their sizes, types of ownership, succession issues, organizational cultures, access to financial resources, et cetera. Future studies can explore the differences between family enterprises and SMEs within the tourism and hospitality industries, in various contexts.

Suggested Citation: Camilleri, M.A. & Valeri, M. (2021). Thriving family businesses in tourism and hospitality: A systematic review and a synthesis of the relevant literature. Journal of Family Business Management, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFBM-10-2021-0133

A full paper can be downloaded here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356603434_Thriving_family_businesses_in_tourism_and_hospitality_A_systematic_review_and_a_synthesis_of_the_relevant_literature

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Tagged as family business, family enterprise, family firm, Hospitality, Tourism

October 27, 2021 · 10:46 am

How to reduce food loss (and waste) from the hospitality industry?

_{This is an excerpt from one of my lates}_{t academic contributions.}

Hospitality businesses can implement a number of responsible practices. The very first step for them is to develop ‘sustainable’ menus. The restaurants’ menus can offer a choice of different portion sizes to satisfy the requirements of different customers. They may feature fewer items in their menus to operate their business with a reduced inventory of food products to decrease storage costs, minimize waste and spoilage. It is in the interest of restaurant owner-managers to procure fresh ingredients from local businesses including farmers, bakers, butchers, et cetera, to ensure that they are preparing good food for their valued customers. Local products including organic items like fruit and vegetables, will have a longer shelf life than imported ones.

The hospitality businesses ought to forge close relationships with dependable, local suppliers to implement just-in-time purchasing systems (Camilleri, 2015a; Camilleri, 2017a). There is scope for them to purchase regularly and in smaller quantities to reduce the probabilities of food spoilage and dehydration. They are expected to continuously monitor the expiration dates of their food items and ingredients to minimize waste and to respect relevant hygienic standards. Owner-managers may apply the first expired first out (FEFO) principles in their kitchens, to avoid any stock-outs. Moreover, they can use food tracking devices to identify the types of food waste they are generating.

Their monitoring and control of food waste should be carried out on a day-to-day basis, as it can lead to significant operational efficiencies and cost savings. Practitioners may keep a track record of their waste in a spreadsheet. They can measure the quantity of organic waste that is generated from their premises. They may include details like the dates (and times of events), which ingredients or recipes were wasted, the name of the employee(s) who was (or were) responsible for the waste, et cetera. Furthermore, practitioners can estimate the composition of their organic waste and identify whether it is derived from vegetables, bread/pasta, specific meats, etc. This will allow them to make adjustments in their food menus (if possible).

Such food trackers may also help the hospitality business to detect irresponsible behaviors in their kitchens and to minimize food waste from their properties. It may indicate that certain employees are not engaging in responsible food preparation behaviors. There is scope for hospitality businesses to train their human resources, at all levels, particularly new employees, on circular economy approaches [Camilleri, 2014). This way, they will be in a better position to improve their efficiencies in terms of reducing, reusing and recycling resources, and responsible waste disposal practices (Camilleri, 2019a; Camilleri, 2020). They have to be supported and educated on the best practices to ensure that they are improving the (economic) sustainability of their businesses’ food and beverage operations whilst minimizing their impact on the natural environment (Camilleri, 2015b; Camilleri, 2016a; Camilleri, 2017). Table 1 illustrates the responsible behaviors that can be implemented by hospitality businesses to reduce food loss and the generation of waste from their premises:

This research shed light on a number of laudable circular economy initiatives that were drawn from the hospitality industry. It also made reference to a sustainable enterprise that utilizes a sharing economy platform that links consumers with hospitality service providers. Mobile users can purchase surplus food from hotels, restaurants and cafes at a discount. At the same time, the app enables the businesses to make revenue out of their perishable food and to minimize their environmental footprint by reducing their waste. Moreover, it reported that businesses can benefit from tax deductions and credit systems, in different contexts, if they donate surplus (edible) food to charities and food banks. Alternatively, if the food is contaminated or decayed it may be accumulated and turned it into animal feed, compost or transformed into energy through methanation processes. The case studies indicated that the re-utilization of non-edible leftovers may be monetized if they are used for such secondary purposes.

Key Takeaways

The implementation and execution of the circular economy’s closed loop systems ought to be promoted through different marketing channels. Hotels and restaurants can use marketing communications through different media to raise awareness on how they are capable of generating less waste (Camilleri, 2016b). They should promote sustainable production and consumption behaviors through different media outlets, including traditional and digital channels (Camilleri & Costa, 2018; Camilleri, 2018a; 2018b; 2018c).

The hospitality businesses responsible initiatives can raise their profile among different stakeholders, including customers and suppliers, among others (Camilleri, 2015; 2018d). The customers will probably appreciate the hospitality businesses’ efforts to reduce their impact to the natural environment. Some of their sustainability measures are dependent on the active commitment of hotel clients and restaurant patrons. Therefore, it is very important for them to raise awareness about their waste prevention campaigns and on their environmental achievements so that they may feel part of the responsible initiatives. This way, they become key participants in the reduction of generated waste. Hence, businesses can educate customers about responsible consumption behaviors to help them in their endeavors to curb food loss and the generation of unnecessary waste [Camilleri & Ratten, 2020; Camilleri, 2019b). The food and beverage servers could engage in conversations with their clients to better understand their food requirements.

In a similar vein, this research suggests that the hospitality businesses ought to forge closer relationships with their suppliers including farmers and other retailers, to implement responsible inventory management systems and just-in-time purchasing. Suppliers must continuously be informed and updated on their procurement policies. Their ongoing communications may facilitate collaborative practices that may translate to positive outcomes, including the sourcing of better-quality products with extended lifecycles and longer expiry dates.

This contribution reported various preventative measures and recycling practices that may be taken on board by hospitality practitioners and their stakeholders, to reduce food waste and its detrimental effect on our natural environment and biospheres. There is scope for trade unions and industry associations in tourism and hospitality, to promote the responsible behaviors, among their members.

Notwithstanding, regulatory authorities and their policy makers can encourage hospitality practitioners to invest in environmentally friendly systems to minimize their food loss and waste. They can offer them financial incentives like tax deductions or exemptions when they donate surplus food. Alternatively, governments can support them by providing adequate infrastructures and resources including on-site composting facilities and/or methanization processes that are aimed to minimize the accumulation of food waste that finishes in landfills. Such responsible investments will ultimately result in a sustainable value chain in tourism cities, as they add value to the hospitality businesses, to the environment and to society, at large (Salonen & Camilleri, 2020; Camilleri, 2017b).

Suggested citation: Camilleri, M.A. (2021). Sustainable Production and Consumption of Food. Mise-en-Place Circular Economy Policies and Waste Management Practices in Tourism Cities. Sustainability, 13, 9986. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179986 (OPEN ACCESS)

References

Camilleri, M.A. (2014). The business case for corporate social responsibility. In Marketing & Public Policy as a Force for Social Change Conference. Proceedings pp. 8-14 (Washington D.C., 4th June), American Marketing Association (AMA), Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273131156_The_Business_Case_for_Corporate_Social_Responsibility.

Camilleri, M.A. (2015a). Re-conceiving CSR programmes for education. In Corporate Social Responsibility: Academic Insights and Impacts, Vertigans, S. & Idowu, S.O. (Eds), Springer: Cham, Swtizerland, http://www.springer.com/gb/book/9783319350820

Camilleri, M.A. (2015b). Environmental, social and governance disclosures in Europe. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 6, 2, 224-242. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/SAMPJ-10-2014-0065

Camilleri M.A. (2016a). Corporate sustainability and responsibility toward education, Journal of Global Responsibility 7, 1, 56-71, http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/JGR-08-2015-0015

Camilleri M.A. (2016b). Reconceiving corporate social responsibility for business and educational outcomes. Cogent Business and Management, 3, 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2016.1142044

Camilleri, M.A. (2017a) Corporate citizenship and social responsibility policies in the United States of America. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 8, 1, 77-93. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/SAMPJ-05-2016-0023

Camilleri, M.A. (2017b). Corporate sustainability and responsibility: Creating value for business, society and the environment. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, 2, 1, 59-74. https://ajssr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41180-017-0016-5

Camilleri, M.A. (2018a). The promotion of responsible tourism management through digital media. Tourism Planning & Development, 15, 6, 653-671. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21568316.2017.1393772

Camilleri, M.A. (2018b). Unlocking corporate social responsibility through digital media. In Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Era. Lindgreen, A., Vanhamme, J., Maon, F. and Watkins, R. (Eds), Routledge: Oxford, United Kingdom, https://www.routledge.com/Communicating-Corporate-Social-Responsibility-in-the-Digital-Era/Lindgreen-Vanhamme-Watkins/p/book/9781472484161

Camilleri, M.A. (2018c) Unleashing corporate social responsibility communication for small businesses in the digital era. In Academy of Management Annual Conference Proceedings: Improving Lives, Chicago, 11 August 2018, Academy of Management. Available online: https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.10467abstract

Camilleri, M.A. (2018d). Theoretical insights on integrated reporting: The inclusion of non-financial capitals in corporate disclosures. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 23, 4, 567-581. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-01-2018-0016:

Camilleri, M.A. & Costa, R. A. (2018). The small businesses’ responsible entrepreneurship and their stakeholder engagement through digital media. 13th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE) (11 September). University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal. Available online: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3233528 (accessed on 24 August 2021).

Camilleri, M. A. (2019a). The circular economy’s closed loop and product service systems for sustainable development: A review and appraisal. Sustainable Development, 27(3), 530-536. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1909

Camilleri, M.A. (2019b). Measuring the corporate managers’ attitudes towards ISO’s social responsibility standard. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 30, 13-14, 1549-1561. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14783363.2017.1413344

Camilleri, M. A. (2020). European environment policy for the circular economy: Implications for business and industry stakeholders. Sustainable Development, 28(6), 1804-1812.https://doi.org/10.1002/SD.2113

Camilleri, M.A. & Ratten, V. (2020). The sustainable development of smart cities through digital innovation. Sustainability, Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Smart_Cities_Digital_Innovation (accessed on 24 August 2021).

Salonen A.O. & Camilleri M.A. (2020). Creating Shared Value. In Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management, Idowu S., Schmidpeter R., Capaldi N., Zu L., Del Baldo M. and Abreu R. (eds), Springer, Cham, Switzerland. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3683975

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Filed under Circular Economy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Hospitality, Marketing, tourism

Tagged as Circular Economy, food consumption, food loss, food production, food waste, Hospitality, hotels, restaurants, Sustainability, Sustainable Consumption, sustainable production

May 14, 2020 · 10:20 am

Call for Chapters: Consumer Engagement in Tourism and Hospitality (pre, during and post covid-19)

This academic book will be published by Goodfellow Publishers (Oxford, UK)

Editors
Prof. Dr. Mark Anthony Camilleri
University of Malta, Malta.
Email: mark.a.camilleri@um.edu.mt

Dr. Rather Raouf
University of Jammu, India.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Buhalis
Bournemouth University, UK.

Important Dates
Abstract submission: 31st July 2020
Full chapters due: 31st January 2021
Final submission date: 15th March 2021

Introduction
The customer engagement concept has received lots of attention in different academic disciplines including: organisational behaviour (and employee engagement), psychology (and task engagement), sociology (and civic engagement) as well as in marketing (and branding) (Brodie, Hollebeek, Jurić, & Ilić, 2011; Chu & Kim, 2011; Taheri, Jafari, & O’Gorman, 2014; Buhalis & Foerste, 2015). In a similar vein, the tourism industry practitioners are also recognising the importance of customer engagement as they are increasingly delivering enjoyable, transformative activities that improve the customers’ experiences (Walls, Okumus, Wang, & Kwun, 2011; So, King & Sparks, 2014; Ali, Ryu & Hussain, 2016; Harrigan, Evers, Miles & Daly, 2017; Camilleri, 2019a, 2019b). The latest trends comprise the adaptation of new technologies, interactive service delivery and offerings, and service personalisation (e.g. Hollebeek, Shrivastava, & Chen, 2019; Rather & Camilleri, 2019; Rather, Hollebeek, Islam, 2019; Hollebeek & Rather, 2019).

In tourism research, there are different drivers, antecedents, and/or determinants of customer engagement (So et al., 2014). These may comprise: the customers’ perceptions of authenticity, prior knowledge, mood regulation, brand sincerity, cultural capital, perceived intimacy, and desire for social interaction, among others (Taheri et al., 2014; Ram, Björk & Weidenfeld, 2016; Camilleri, 2018; Liang, Choi & Joppe, 2018; Rather et al., 2019; Fan, Buhalis & Lin, 2019). Existing research has also indicated that there are positive consequences if tourism service providers or destination management organisations engage with their customers, including; loyalty, satisfaction, self-brand connection, co-creation, commitment, positive word-of-mouth and online reviews, as well as purchase intentions (Litvin, Goldsmith & Pan, 2008; Bilgihan, Okumus & Cobanoglu, 2013; Harrigan et al., 2017; Rasoolimanesh, Noor, Schuberth & Jaafar, 2019; Buhalis & Sinarta, 2019; Buhalis, Andreu & Gnoth, 2020). In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the topics of customer engagement and customer experience, as academics started to investigate how customer interact with the businesses through different marketing channels and touch-points (Walls et al., 2011; Lemon & Verhoef, 2016). These stimuli can have an effect on the customers’ purchase decision (Fang, Ye, Kucukusta & Law, 2016). Similarly, the tourism practitioners are using the digital media and mobile technologies to engage with customers to improve their experience (Sigala, Christou & Gretzel, 2012; Camilleri, 2018; Buhalis, 2020). For example, tourism service providers are increasingly using high-fidelity, interactive channels (e.g. virtual reality, social media, online and mobile booking systems) in an attempt to enhance their customers’ experience (Sigala et al., 2012).

However, despite the concepts of customer engagement and customer experience have received significant attention from the industry practitioners, there are gaps in academic knowledge, as there are still limited theoretical and empirical studies that have explored these topics in the tourism context, including; tourist destinations, airlines, cruises, tour operators, travel agencies, accommodation service providers, like hotels, Airbnb operators, timeshare, etc. Moreover, there are even fewer contributions that have explored the effect of the 2019-2020 corona virus pandemic (COVID19) on these sectors. The closure of the international borders as well as the latest travel ban and lock down conditions have inevitably led to grounded air planes, docked cruise ships, idle tour buses, shuttered tourism businesses and tourist attractions. This dramatic situation has resulted in a sudden downward spiral in international tourism arrivals and receipts. In this light, this timely publication will feature high impact research on consumer engagement within the tourism and hospitality: pre, during and post COVID-19.

Detailed Synopsis
This prospective title shall offer a thorough understanding about why there is scope for the tourism service providers and destination management organisations to successfully create, manage, and market tourism experiences. It will also provide theoretical and practical evidence of how, where and when they can seize the opportunities and address the challenges for effective consumer engagement in the tourism arena. Therefore, this book will include conceptual and empirical chapters covering the themes of Tourism Customer Engagement: Dimensions, Theories, and Frameworks; Tourism Customer Engagement: Key Antecedents and Consequences; Tourism Customer Experience: Theories, Structure and Frameworks; Customer Engagement in Evolving Technological Environments; Open innovation Technologies, Co-creation Experiences and Customer Engagement Approaches; and Emerging Issues. It is very likely that the tourism and hospitality businesses will be operating in the context of a “new normal” in a post COVID19 era. The editors are committed to enrich the existing body of academic literature on “Customer
Engagement and Experience in Tourism: pre, during and post COVID-19” by consolidating the marketing topics in the form of a comprehensive volume. Hence, this book will be accepting contributions that are related to the following themes:

• Customer Engagement in Tourism: Dimensionality, Theories and Frameworks
• Tourism engagement conceptualisations
• Dynamic framework of consumer engagement
• Dimensionality (cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and social dimensions) of consumer engagement)
• Typology of consumer engagement
• Employee engagement (emotional, cognitive and behavioural)
• Customer Engagement: Key Antecedents and Consequence
• Key antecedents and/or drivers of consumer engagement
• Customer engagement behaviours in tourism, travel and hospitality
• Key consequences of consumer engagement in tourism
• Tourist engagement and its impact on their satisfaction and behaviours
• Tourism Customer Experience: Theories and Conceptual Frameworks
• Conceptualisations of tourism experience
• Evolution of tourism experience research
• Dynamic framework of the tourist experience
• Key drivers of tourism experience
• Key consequences of tourism experience
• Cognitive, emotional, sensory, social and spiritual dimensions of customer experiences
• Role and measurement of emotions in tourism experiences
• Typology of tourism experience
• The essence of memorable experience
• Service employees and customer experience
• Tourism experiences in the light of global trends
• Issues and opportunities in customer journey mapping in tourism & hospitality experiences
• Open Innovation Technologies, Co-creation Experiences and Customer Engagement
• The role of technology in engagement and service experience
• Virtual reality, augmented reality in tourism engagement and experience
• Games and gamification in tourism, travel and hospitality
• Social media, online brand communities, and mobile applications in tourism engagement and experience
• Co-construction of the tourist engagement and experience in social networking sites
• Role of themes and stories about tourist engagement and experiences
• Role of customer touch points in smart tourism destinations and experiences.
• Open innovation and co-creation approaches
• Co-creation of tourism experience
• Key drivers of co-creation
• Key consequences of co-creation
• Co-creation through service dominant logic (SDL)
• Role of tourists and visitors in service experience for innovation
• Service innovation and value co-creation processes
Emerging Issues
• The socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on tourism and/or hospitality services
• Diversification of tourism and/or hospitality services during/after COVID-19
• The use of digital media during/after COVID-19
• The consumer engagement in a post COVID-19 era

Aims and Objectives
This academic book differentiates itself as it covers consumer engagement and experience in the realms of tourism, Moreover, it will include both theory and practical cases from around the globe.
• This academic book aims to explore and critically investigate the current debates, questions and controversies in the rapidly growing disciplines of Consumer Engagement and Experience in Tourism.
• It brings together leading specialists, including experienced academic researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds and geographical regions, to offer state-of-the-art theoretical reflection and empirical research on contemporary issues and debates in these timely topics.
• It also encourages constructive dialogue among academia across marketing-related fields of study.
• It will be international in its focus, as it transcends national boundaries.

Target Audience
• The book shall be a comprehensive reference point and source for academics who are interested on contemporary concepts, ideas and debates relating to consumer engagement and experience in tourism.
• The target audience of the book will be composed of experienced academic researchers, Ph.D. candidates, post-graduate researchers and advanced under-graduates in the field of consumer engagement, consumer experience and relationship marketing in various disciplines including tourism, hospitality, leisure, festivals and events.
• Furthermore, the book will offer good insights to prospective tourism industry practitioners including managers, executives and other employees who are willing to broaden their knowledge to better engage with consumers.

Submission Details
Academics and researchers are invited to submit a 300-word abstract before the 31st July 2020. Submissions should be sent to Mark.A.Camilleri@um.edu.mt. Authors will be notified about the editorial decision in August 2020. The accepted chapters should be submitted before the 31st January 2021. Their length should be around 7,000 words (excluding references, figures and tables). The manuscripts have to be typed double spaced in Times New Roman, font size 12, in an A4 paper. The contributions should feature the text, in the following sequence: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, literature review, methods, data analysis or interpretation of the findings, conclusions and implications, recommendations for future research, acknowledgements, references and a figure/table captions list in the same Word document. The references should be presented in APA style (Version 6). All submitted chapters will be
critically reviewed on a double-blind review basis. All authors will be requested to serve as reviewers for this book. They will receive a notification of acceptance, rejection or suggested modifications –before the 15th March 2021.

References
Ali, F., Ryu, K., & Hussain, K. (2016). Influence of experiences on memories, satisfaction and behavioral intentions: A study of creative tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(1), 85-100.

Bilgihan, A., Okumus, F., & Cobanoglu, C. (2013). Generation Y travelers’ commitment to online social network websites. Tourism Management, 35, 13-22.

Brodie, R. J., Hollebeek, L. D., Jurić, B., & Ilić, A. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252-271.

Buhalis, D. & Foerste, M. (2015). SoCoMo marketing for travel and tourism: Empowering co-creation of value. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 4(3), 151-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2015.04.001

Buhalis, D. & Sinarta, Y. (2019). Real-time co-creation and nowness service: lessons from tourism and hospitality. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(5), 563-582. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2019.1592059

Fan, D., Buhalis, D. & Lin, B. (2019). A tourist typology of online and face-to-face social contact: Destination immersion and tourism encapsulation/decapsulation, Annals of Tourism Research, 78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.102757

Buhalis, D. (2020), Technology in tourism-from information communication technologies to eTourism and smart tourism towards ambient intelligence tourism: a perspective article, Tourism Review 75(1), 267-272.

Buhalis D, Andreu L. & Gnoth J. (2020). The dark side of the sharing economy: Balancing value co‐creation and value co‐destruction. Psychology and Marketing. Vol. 37(5), pp.689–704..https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21344 or https://www.academia.edu/42133651

Camilleri, M.A. (2018). Travel marketing, tourism economics and the airline product. Cham: Springer.

Camilleri, M.A. (Ed.) (2019a). Tourism planning and destination marketing. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

Camilleri, M. A. (Ed.). (2019b). The Branding of Tourist Destinations: Theoretical and Empirical Insights. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

Chu, S. C., & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites. International journal of Advertising, 30(1), 47-75.

Fang, B., Ye, Q., Kucukusta, D., & Law, R. (2016). Analysis of the perceived value of online tourism reviews: Influence of readability and reviewer characteristics. Tourism Management, 52, 498-506.

Harrigan, P., Evers, U., Miles, M., & Daly, T. (2017). Customer engagement with tourism social media brands. Tourism Management, 59, 597-609.

Hollebeek, L. D., Srivastava, R. K., & Chen, T. (2019). SD logic–informed customer engagement: integrative framework, revised fundamental propositions, and application to CRM. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), 161-185.

Lemon, K. N., & Verhoef, P. C. (2016). Understanding customer experience throughout the customer journey. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 69-96.

Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458-468.

Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Md Noor, S., Schuberth, F., & Jaafar, M. (2019). Investigating the effects of tourist engagement on satisfaction and loyalty. The Service Industries Journal, 39(7-8), 559- 574.

Ram, Y., Björk, P., & Weidenfeld, A. (2016). Authenticity and place attachment of major visitor attractions. Tourism Management, 52, 110-122.

Rather, R. A., & Camilleri, M. A. (2019a). The effects of service quality and consumer-brand value congruity on hospitality brand loyalty. Anatolia, 30(4), 547-559.

Rather, R. A., & Hollebeek, L. D. (2019). Exploring and validating social identification and social exchange-based drivers of hospitality customer loyalty. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. 31(3), 1432-1451.

Rather, R. A., Hollebeek, L. D., & Islam, J. U. (2019). Tourism-based customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and consequences. The Service Industries Journal, 39(7-8), 519-540.

Sigala, M., Christou, E., & Gretzel, U. (Eds.). (2012). Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality: Theory, practice and cases. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing.

So, K. K. F., King, C., & Sparks, B. (2014). Customer engagement with tourism brands: Scale development and validation. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 38(3), 304-329.

Taheri, B., Jafari, A., & O’Gorman, K. (2014). Keeping your audience: Presenting a visitor engagement scale. Tourism Management, 42, 321-329.

Walls, A. R., Okumus, F., Wang, Y. R., & Kwun, D. J. W. (2011). An epistemological view of consumer experiences. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(1), 10-21.

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Filed under consumer brand identification, destination marketing, Hospitality, Marketing

Tagged as consumer behavior, consumer brand identification, consumer engagement, consumer experience, consumer-brand engagement, consumer-brand value congruity, customer engagement, Hospitality, interactive engagement, Mark Camilleri, marketing, service quality, Tourism

April 13, 2020 · 6:31 pm

Post-COVID19: The hoteliers’ shifts in beliefs, behaviours and their outlook for the future

The 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic (COVID19) is currently having a devastating effect on the global economy at large. At the time, its impact is even more conspicuous in certain service industries including the travel and tourism sectors.

The closure of the international borders as well as the latest travel ban and lock down conditions have inevitably led to grounded air planes, docked cruise ships, idle tour buses, shuttered tourism businesses and tourist attractions. This dramatic situation has resulted in a sudden downward spiral in international arrivals and receipts in many tourist destinations.

The hospitality enterprises including hotels, bed and breakfasts, pubs, cafes, restaurants and the like, that are usually run by family businesses, are experiencing an unprecedented crisis unlike other entities in the private sector.

Currently, there is no demand for their services. COVID19 has changed some of the practitioners’ attitudes, policies and behaviours as they have adapted themselves to: enhance digital collaborations; engage with remote working technologies; increase their workplace hygiene; and to find alternative sources of income by diversifying their services, among other issues. Hopefully, there will be better prospects for them when the current crisis ends. It is very likely that they will be operating in the context of a “new normal” in a post COVID19 era.

(This is an excerpt from my latest research project)

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Tagged as bars, cafes, Coronavirus, COVID19, Hospitality, hotels, POST-COVID19, pubs, restaurants, Tourism

July 28, 2019 · 11:13 am

Delivering service quality to increase brand loyalty

(C) M.A. Camilleri

This is an excerpt from my latest academic article.

How to Cite: Rather, R. A. & Camilleri, M.A. (2019). The effects of service quality and consumer-brand value congruity on hospitality brand loyalty, Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2019.1650289

This study has proved that the combined effects of value congruity and service quality can have an impact on consumer-brand identification and engagement. The results from this study indicated that the consumer-brand identification as well as consumer-brand engagement were predicting the consumers’ loyalty toward the brand. The findings also reported that consumer-brand identification, perceived service quality as well as value congruity were significant antecedents of consumer-brand engagement. In addition, the service quality and value congruity had moderate, direct effects on consumer brand identification. Furthermore, the empirical results revealed that consumer brand identification has mediated the relationships between value congruity and brand loyalty, and between service quality and brand loyalty.

In a similar vein, a critical analysis of the relevant literature revealed that consumer-brand relationships are dependent on the customers’ identification with their favorite brands (Çifci et al., 2016; Rather & Camilleri, 2019; Rather, 2018; Tuskej & Podnar, 2018; So et al., 2013; 2014). Specifically, the consumer-brand identification is related with the consumer-brand value congruity (Rather, 2018). As a matter of fact, past research also reported that consumer-brand identification has a positive effect on customer behaviors and attitudes (in terms of loyalty and commitment) (Rather & Camilleri, 2019). However, in this case, the findings of this study suggest that both the consumer-brand value congruity and perceived service quality are the significant antecedents of consumer-brand identification and engagement.

The consumer-brand identification will inevitably trigger supporting behaviors like increased purchase / repurchase intentions (e.g., Kuenzel & Halliday, 2008) or positive word-of-mouth recommendations (Tuskej et al., 2013), among other positive outcomes. Therefore, hospitality practitioners ought to nurture physical and virtual relationships with their stakeholders via a multitude of approaches, if they want them to remain loyal to their business (Dedeoğlu & Demirer, 2015). Public activities such as sponsorship, charity events, social campaigns and so on can be used to enhance the brands’ image among interested parties, including customers (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003). For this reason, several hospitality brands are increasingly engaging in interactive communications either individually or in groups, via digital technologies, including social media, blogs, v-blogs, video clips, review sites, etc. (Camilleri, 2018a; So et al., 2017; Su, Mariadoss, & Reynolds, 2015). Very often, individuals are intrigued to share their travel experiences, including their hotel accommodation (Camilleri, 2018b).

In a nutshell, this contribution posited that the hotel guests will probably engage and remain loyal to particular hospitality brands if they feel and perceive that their values reflect their own values. This study reported that the consumer-brand value congruity had a very significant effect on the consumers’ identification and engagement with the upscale hospitality brands. It indicated that the hotel guests who have experienced excellent service quality are more likely to share their experience with other individuals. Hence, hospitality managers need to ensure that their brand consistently delivers high levels of tangible and intangible service quality (at all times) to their valued guests in order to create long-lasting relationships with them.

The hotels’ provision of the service quality and brand experience ought to meet and exceed their guests’ expectations to satisfy their self-enhancement needs and their sense of well-being.

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Tagged as brand, brand value, branding, Hospitality, hospitality marketing, hotel, hotel marketing, hotels, leading hotels, luxury hotels, service, service quality, value, value congruity

February 6, 2018 · 11:54 am

The political environment of marketing

This is excerpt from: Camilleri, M.A. (2018). Travel Marketing, Tourism Economics and the Airline Product, Springer, Milan, Italy. ISBN 978-3-319-49849-2

To be successful, companies must adapt to ongoing trends and developments in their macro and micro environments. Therefore, it is in the interest of organisations to scan their marketing environment to deal with any possible threats from the market and to capitalise on any available opportunities. This chapter explains the external environmental factors, including; political, economic, social and technological influences. It also considers the internal environmental factors, including; capital structures, resources, capabilities and marketing intermediaries; as it identifies competitive forces from differentiated or low-cost service providers.

A sound knowledge of the customer requirements is an essential ingredient for a successful business. For this reason, companies should consistently monitor their marketing environment. The marketing environment is continuously changing, as it consists of a number of unpredictable forces which surround the company.

The regulatory and competitive conditions as well as other market forces, including; political, economic, social and technological forces, could affect the organisational performance of the tourism businesses. Hence, this chapter will look into some of these issues. The tourism industry is highly influenced by economic factors, including; strong exchange rate fluctuations, the price of oil and other commodities, among other matters. Moreover, social factors including global concerns about safety and security could influence tourist behaviours. Notwithstanding, the regulatory environments will also have an impact on tourism and airline businesses. For instance, the airline industry’s deregulation and liberalisation has created numerous opportunities for many airlines, including low-cost carriers. At the same time, it has threatened inefficient airlines who have been protected by regulation.

Competition is a vitally important element in the marketing environment and it should not be under-estimated. The businesses competitors comprise suppliers of substitute products. They may be new entrants in the marketplace. Alternatively, they may include customers and suppliers who were stakeholders of the business. In this light, tourism marketers should be knowledgeable of different business models as competition can take different forms, like for example, differentiated, full-service companies or low-cost service providers. For these reasons, organisations should have effective mechanisms to monitor the latest developments in the marketing environment.

Environmental Scanning

Environmental scanning entails the collection of information relating to the various forces within the marketing environment. This involves the observation and examination of primary and secondary sources of information, including online content from business, trade, media and the government, among others. The environmental analysis is the process of assessing and interpreting the information gathered. An ongoing analysis of the gathered data may be carried out by marketing managers or by researchers who have been commissioned to conduct market research (as explained in the previous chapter). Through analysis, marketing managers can attempt to identify extant environmental patterns and could even predict future trends. By evaluating trends and tendencies, the marketing managers should be able to determine possible threats and opportunities that are associated with environmental fluctuations. When discussing the ‘marketing environment’ we must consider both the external environment (i.e. the macro-environment) as well as the internal environment (i.e. the micro-environment) (Kotler, Armstrong, Frank & Bunn, 1990).

The Macro Environment

The tourism businesses must constantly assess the marketing environment. It is crucial for their survival and achievement of their long-term economic goals. Therefore, marketing managers must engage in environmental scanning and analysis. Most firms are comfortable assessing the political climates in their home countries. However, the evaluation of political climates in foreign territories is far more problematic for them. Experienced international businesses engage in political risk assessment, as they need to carry out ongoing systematic analyses of the political risks they face in foreign countries. Political risks are any changes in the political environment that may adversely affect the value of any firm’s business activities. Most political risks may result from governmental actions, such as; the passage of laws that expropriate private property, an increase in operating costs, the devaluation of the currency or constraints in the repatriation of funds, among others. Political risks may also arise from non-governmental actions when there is criminality (for example: kidnappings, extortion and acts of terrorism, et cetera). Political risks may equally affect all firms or may have an impact on particular sectors, as featured hereunder. Non-governmental political risks should also be considered. For example, Disneyland Paris and McDonalds have been the target of numerous symbolic protests who view them as a convenient target for venting their unhappiness with US international agricultural policies. In some instances, protests could turn violent, and may even force firms to shut down their operations, in particular contexts.

Typical Examples of Political Risks

Type	Impact on Firms
Expropriation	Loss of future profits.
Confiscation	Loss of assets, loss of profits.
Campaigns against businesses	Loss of sales; increased costs of public relation; efforts to improve public image.
Mandatory labour benefits legislation	Increased operating costs.
Kidnappings, terrorist threats and other forms of violence	Increased security costs; increased managerial costs; lower productivity.
Civil wars	Destruction of property; lost sales; increased security costs.
Inflation	Higher operating costs.
Repatriation	Inability to transfer funds freely.
Currency devaluations	Reduced value of repatriated earnings.
Increased taxation	Lower after-tax profits.

References:

Camilleri, M. A. (2018). The Marketing Environment. In Travel Marketing, Tourism Economics and the Airline Product (pp. 51-68). Springer, Cham, Switzerland.

Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Franke, G., & Bunn, M.D. (1990). Marketing: An Introduction, Vol. 1. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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Tagged as Business, environmental scanning, Hospitality, hospitality marketing, macro environment, marketing, marketing environment, political risks, Tourism, tourism marketing, Travel Marketing

June 21, 2017 · 6:04 pm

Call for Chapters: Strategic Perspectives in Destination Marketing

Submit your Chapter here.

This edited book will be published by IGI Global (USA)
Proposals Submission Deadline: August 31, 2017
Full Chapters Due: November 30, 2017

Introduction

This book provides a broad knowledge and understanding of destination marketing and branding. It presents conceptual discussions that cover the operational and strategic perspectives of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry sectors. At the same time, the readers are equipped with a strong pedagogical application of the socio-economic, environmental and technological impacts of tourism and its related sectors. The course content of this publication prepares undergraduate students and aspiring managers with a thorough exposure of the latest industry and research developments. Covering both key theory and practice, it introduces its readers to tourism issues in a concise yet accessible way. This will allow prospective tourism practitioners to critically analyze future situations and make appropriate decisions in work place environments.

Objective

This book is a concise and authoritative guide on tourism and its related paradigms. It provides a thorough understanding on destination branding and marketing. Therefore, the readers of this publication will better comprehend the marketing processes, strategies and tactics within the travel, tourism and hospitality contexts. It also highlights the latest trends, including; etourism, destination marketing and tourism planning for the future. The style of this book and extensive use of case studies, illustrations and links maintain the reader’s interest through visual aids to learning.

This publication is written in an engaging style that entices the curiosity of prospective readers. It explains all the theory in a simple and straightforward manner. It often makes use of short case studies that are carefully drawn from selected tourism businesses. Descriptive cases set the theory in context as they have been chosen to represent the diversity of the industry – ranging from small travel agents to large legacy airlines or multi-national hotel chains. This book reports on the global tourism marketing environments that comprise economic, socio-cultural and environmental issues. It explains how technological advances have brought significant changes to the tourism industry and its marketing mix. Moreover, it features interesting illustrations, including diagrams and color images. Notwithstanding, this book will also provide direct links to further readings on the web to aid both teaching and learning.

Target Audience

This book introduces the students and aspiring practitioners to the subject of destination marketing in a structured manner. It is primarily intended to undergraduate and / or post-graduate students in tourism (including tourism management, hospitality management, airline management and travel agency operations). It is also relevant to destination management organisations, tourism offices, hoteliers, inbound / outbound tour operators, travel agents and all those individuals who are willing to work within the dynamic tourism industry.

Academics in higher education institutions including universities and vocational colleges, small tourism business owners, tourism and hospitality consultants, non-profit tourism organizations, policy makers and legislators.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before August 31, 2017, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of their proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by September 15, 2017 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by November 30, 2017, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Trust in Knowledge Management and Systems in Organizations. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.

All proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery®TM online submission manager.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit http://www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2018.

Important Dates

Proposal Submission Deadline: August 31, 2017
Notification of Acceptance: September 15, 2017
Full chapter Submission: November 30, 2017
Review Results to Chapter Authors: January 31, 2018
Revised Chapter Submission from Chapter Authors: February 28, 2018
Final Acceptance Notifications to Chapter Authors: March 15, 2018

Inquiries

Mark Anthony Camilleri, Ph.D.
Email: Mark.A.Camilleri@um.edu.mt

Propose a chapter for this bookhttps://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/2835

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Tagged as Airlines, Airports, Business, Conferences, Culinary Tourism, destination management, destination marketing, Destinations, Digital Tourism, DMOs, Eco Tourism, etourism, Events, Gastronomy, Hospitality, Incentives, Meetings, responsible tourism, Revenue Management, Strategy, sustainable tourism, Tour Operators, Tourism, tourism management, Tourist Offices, Travel, Travel Agencies, Yield Management

February 6, 2017 · 6:59 pm

Call for Chapters on Tourism Marketing

This book will be published by Routledge

(subject to the publisher’s peer review)

Abstract Submission Deadline: April 30, 2017

Full Chapters Due: October 31, 2017

Submit your Chapter here.

Introduction

This academic book will be presenting a critical analysis of the key theoretical underpinnings in the tourism literature. The contributors are expected to engage in conceptual discussions that cover the operational and strategic perspectives of the travel, tourism, hospitality and leisure industries. The rationale behind this student-centered textbook is to instill a strong pedagogical application of the socio-economic, environmental and technological impacts of tourism and its related sectors. This textbook’s content is intended to prepare undergraduate students and aspiring managers with a thorough exposure on the latest industry practices and research developments. It will allow both prospective as well as experienced tourism practitioners to make appropriate decisions in their workplace environments.

It is envisaged that the themes of this textbook could be covered in a university semester. At the start of each chapter, the readers will be presented with relevant learning outcomes that will help them focus and organize their thoughts. The important terms should be defined and clearly explained. This will provide the readers with a convenient source for learning and reviewing the tourism and hospitality vocabulary. Experiential exercises and descriptive case studies shall be illustrating real situations that are meant to help aspiring managers in their future employment prospects. All chapters should contain a succinct summary at the end. This way the readers could review and retain vital information. Finally, all chapters ought to provide relevant suggestions for further insights by featuring web resources that are rich in information.

This comprehensive book will allow its readers to acquire relevant knowledge and skills in tourism management topics, including; Airline Management; Airline Marketing; Destination Marketing; Eco-Tourism; eTourism / Digital Tourism; Events Management; Hospitality; Hospitality Management; Hospitality Marketing; Hospitality Operations; Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events; Responsible / Sustainable Tourism; Revenue Management; Sharing Economy; Sports Tourism; Tourism; Tourism Administration; Tourism Economics; Tourism Education; Tourism Geographies; Tourism Management; Tourism Marketing; Tourism Operations; Tourism Planning; Tourism Policy; Tourism Product; Tourism Strategy; Travel; Travel Management; Travel Marketing; among others.

Objective

This book shall be a generic, authoritative guide on the business of tourism. The underlying objective of this book is to explain, in plain words; the tourism processes, strategies and tactics within the travel, leisure and hospitality industries. This publication will highlight some of the opportunities and challenges facing the tourism industry, including; eTourism and digital media, the sharing economy, destination marketing, and tourism planning for the future. It is hoped that the style of this book and its extensive use of case studies, illustrations and links will maintain the reader’s interest through visual aids to learning.

This publication ought to be written in an engaging style that entices the curiosity of prospective readers. It will be clarifying the main concepts in a simple and straightforward manner. Descriptive cases should set the theory in context as they will be chosen to represent the diversity of the industry; the cases may range from small travel agents to large legacy airlines or from multi-national hotel chains to accommodation establishments – that are increasingly advertising on websites like Airbnb. This book shall possibly report on the global tourism marketing environments that are increasingly affected by economic, socio-cultural, political and environmental issues. It could explain how technological advances have brought significant changes in the tourism industry sectors and its marketing mix. Moreover, it is advisable that the authors feature interesting illustrations, including diagrams and color images. Notwithstanding, the contributors are encouraged to provide direct links to further readings on the web to aid both teaching and learning.

Target Audience

This book introduces the students and aspiring practitioners to the subject of tourism studies in a structured manner. It is primarily intended to undergraduate and / or post-graduate students in tourism (including tourism management, hospitality management, airline management and travel agency operations). It is also relevant to airline employees, hoteliers, inbound / outbound tour operators, travel agents and all those individuals who are willing to work within the tourism industry.

Submission Procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a 300-word abstract on or before the 30^th April, 2017. The authors will be notified by the 31^st May, 2017 about the status of their abstract. Their full (8,000 word) chapters could be submitted by the 31^st October, 2017. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind peer-review editorial process. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers of other chapters.

Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees to submit manuscripts for this book.

Publisher

Taylor & Francis Group (an Informa Business) publishes Social Science and Humanities books under the Routledge, Psychology Press and Focal Press imprints.

Important Dates

April 30, 2017: Proposals Submission Deadline

May 31, 2017: Notification of Acceptance

October 31, 2017: Full Chapter Submission

December 31, 2017: Review Results Returned

January 31, 2018: Final Acceptance Notification

February 28, 2018: Final Chapter Submission

For Further Inquiries

Mark Anthony Camilleri, M.B.A., Ph.D. (Edinburgh), I.A.T.A.

Email: Mark.A.Camilleri@um.edu.mt

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Tag Archives: Hospitality

Restaurants communicating about sustainable practices: Guidelines for ESG reporting of food and beverage operations

The environmental dimension

The social dimension

The governance dimension

Regulatory instruments including standards and metrics for ESG reporting

Key takeaways

Future research directions

Customer satisfaction and loyalty with online consumer reviews

Family businesses in tourism and hospitality

Call for Chapters: Consumer Engagement in Tourism and Hospitality (pre, during and post covid-19)

Post-COVID19: The hoteliers’ shifts in beliefs, behaviours and their outlook for the future

Delivering service quality to increase brand loyalty

(C) M.A. Camilleri

The political environment of marketing

Call for Chapters: Strategic Perspectives in Destination Marketing

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Introduction

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Corporate Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Environmental Management: An Introduction to Theory and Practice with Case Studies

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The environmental dimension

The social dimension

The governance dimension

Regulatory instruments including standards and metrics for ESG reporting

Key takeaways

Future research directions

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(C) M.A. Camilleri

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Introduction

Objective

Target Audience

Recommended Topics

Submission Procedure

Publisher

Important Dates

Inquiries

Rate this:

Share this:

Rate this:

Share this:

Archives

Categories

Follow Blog via Email

Corporate Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Environmental Management: An Introduction to Theory and Practice with Case Studies