bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative historical analysis of four UK hotel companies, 1979‐2004
Authors: Quek Mary 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine why and how M&A activity has been used by UK hotel companies over a 26‐year period and aims to provide a preliminary exploration of its relative success, given that the M&A literature suggests high failure rates or M&A transactions which do not achieve their objectives.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on a combination of a multiple‐case study and comparative historical analysis to bring out the different levels of analysis embedded in past M&A literature and to identify changes of motives for undertaking M&A activities based on companies and their external environment.FindingsThe paper finds that value maximizing motives are prevalent whilst non‐value maximizing motives are not supported. The acquisition of brand names and rights is a major motive for the UK hotel industry, particularly in the light of global competition and the brand power that enables companies to expedite growth while at the same time reducing financial risks.Practical implicationsThis longitudinal study serves to reinforce the type of target companies, particularly those that share similar resources or end products, for acquiring companies to select from in order to expect a higher M&A success rate.Originality/valueThis paper provides the first empirical study to integrate the comparative historical analysis approach with strategic management M&A theory to trace and understand how and why UK hotel companies became leading international companies. Through this interdisciplinary approach, the importance of acquiring a brand name is illustrated and identified as an essential motive, specific to the hotel industry.
Do investors reward restaurant firms that go abroad?
Authors: Hua Nan , Upneja Arun 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate, empirically, the value relevance of the degree of internationalization in publicly traded restaurant firms in the USA.Design/methodology/approachData for the study were obtained from the Compustat Industrial Annual. Pearson correlation analysis, regression analysis, and Vuong's Z‐test were employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe paper has two principal findings: the degree of internationalization is positively and significantly related to market capitalization; and the relation is strong enough to cause an 18.3 percent increase in the explanatory power, in the presence of control variables.Research limitations/implicationsThe method of expansion might have some impact on market capitalization and this is not explicitly controlled for in the study due to data and cost constraints. Moreover, there are likely other variables affecting firms' market capitalization, but due to data constraints, they are also not included in the model.Practical implicationsThe results indicate firms, which decide to diversify abroad, see their market capitalization changes positively with the degree of internationalization.Originality/valueThere are many studies that investigate the behavior of firms that diversify abroad; however, this is the first study to the authors' knowledge that examines the impact of the degree of internationalization on the stock market capitalization in the hospitality industry.
Commercial hospitality
Authors: McMillan Carolyn L. , O'Gorman Kevin D. , MacLaren Andrew C. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate how commercial hospitality has catalysed sustainable social change in Nepal through empowering women. Utilising a new framework, developed by combining existing theories, empowerment of women tea house owners/managers is assessed.Design/methodology/approachWithin a critical feminist paradigm, primary research consisting of interviews and participant observation was undertaken over a three‐month period in the central region of Nepal.FindingsInvolvement in the hospitality industry improved the livelihoods of the women tea house owners/managers, it also has the potential to facilitate sustainable empowerment for future generations, providing them with education, choice, control and opportunities.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough steps are taken to limit rhetorical issues, language barriers could have influenced the findings of the interviews. To fully investigate the potential for hospitality to act as a vehicle for the sustainable empowerment of women, it is suggested that this study be replicated again in another region or that a detailed ethnographic study be carried out.Practical implicationsThe paper demonstrates how the commercial hospitality industry can be a force for good; women working in the industry are agents of change, actively improving their levels of empowerment in their immediate environment. The commercial hospitality industry has pioneered the empowerment of women and this could lay the foundation for the further emancipation of women.Originality/valueTo date, there has been limited research into the relationship between involvement in the commercial hospitality sector and the empowerment of women; this paper begins to fill this gap by investigating a tourist region of Nepal.
Diversity management strategies of global hotel groups
Authors: Gröschl Stefan 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe study aims to explore major internationally operating hotel groups and their corporate diversity statements. An understanding of these statements is critical for the analysis of workforce diversity actions, as they shape the policy framework and basis for any diversity management (DM) program or initiative.Design/methodology/approachThe study applied a qualitative content analysis of corporate web sites. The analysis and evaluation of the data was not treated in statistical terms or in any quantifiable measures due to the study's rather exploratory and inductive nature. Moving away from traditional forms of validity and reliability, this study applied Denzin and Lincoln's authenticity criteria.FindingsMost of the selected hotel companies with diversity management strategies and policies need to communicate their diversity management activities and actions more extensively and clearly via their corporate web sites to help support employee recruitment efforts, attraction of talents with different educational and cultural backgrounds, development of multiple (minority) supplier relations and corporate social responsibility (CSR) image, and accessibility into new markets.Research limitations/implicationsThis study should be seen as a starting point with some of the arguments and conclusions to be reconfirmed with more case‐study based explorations of corporate DM policies and their translation into operational actions and programs.Practical implicationsCommunicating in a more effective and structured way, corporate or operational diversity strategies and activities via corporate web sites will provide hotel organizations with a key sustainable competitive advantage in talent recruitment, CSR and market accessibility.Originality/valueThis study provides a starting point for better understanding corporate diversity management in the global hotel industry.
Internationalising hospitality management degree programmes
Authors: Brookes Maureen , Becket Nina 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the extent to which hospitality management degree programmes are internationalised to develop graduates capable of working within the global hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study approach was adopted for a UK study of undergraduate international hospitality management degrees. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.FindingsThe findings reveal the importance of the development of graduates' cross‐cultural competencies within international hospitality management programmes and the methods used to develop these. The study also reveals further opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of degree programmes.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on a case study research strategy set within the context of the UK and as such, the generalisability of the findings may be limited. In addition, the study sample contained only undergraduate international hospitality management degree programmes.Practical implicationsThis paper reveals a number of opportunities to enhance the internationalisation of hospitality management programmes and the challenges currently faced by academics and students.Originality/valueThe paper provides a framework comprising internationalisation at home (IaH) and internationalisation abroad (IA) dimensions for academics to assess the internationalisation of degree programmes and the extent to which cross‐cultural competencies are developed among graduates. The framework can also be used by graduate recruiters seeking candidates with the requisite cross‐cultural understanding, attitudes and skills to work within the international hospitality industry.
Exploring the internationalisation prospects of a Chinese domestic hotel firm
Authors: Gross Michael J. , Huang Songshan (Sam) 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the internationalisation prospects of Chinese domestic hotel firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study examined the Jin Jiang Hotel Group, China's largest domestic hotel firm. The qualitative method of semi‐structured personal interviews was selected in the design of this exploratory study to address the research question: What are the factors guiding Jin Jiang's considerations for internationalisation? Personal interviews were conducted with the senior corporate headquarters' management in Shanghai.FindingsThe findings indicate that the firm is in a stage of pre‐internationalisation in its organisational development, and has adopted a cautious and passive approach on its path towards internationalisation. This paper identifies company abilities, government support, marketing and brand strategy, network and management standards, state‐owned enterprise (SOE) related problems, human resources and other external opportunities/challenges as factors that may affect the firm's internationalisation.Practical implicationsThis paper develops a better understanding of the evolution of Chinese SOEs' internal capabilities as internationally competitive providers of hospitality management services. It also explores the nature of relevant relationships that will determine the activities, pace, and progress along such firms' internationalisation paths. The paper specifically provides understanding of a firm's prospects of internationalisation, internationalisation activities that the firm has already undertaken, factors that support or inhibit internationalisation, and future intentions and plans for internationalisation.Originality/valueThis paper analyses factors underlying a Chinese SOE domestic hotel firm's approach to internationalisation. While most internationalisation studies are conducted after the firm has already internationalised, this study examines the pre‐internationalisation stage.
Generating positive word‐of‐mouth in the service experience
Authors: Ng Sandy , David Meredith E. , Dagger Tracey S. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the effects of relationship benefits on relationship quality and aspects of service quality, namely technical and functional quality, and the subsequent influence on word‐of‐mouth behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports results from a structural equation model that utilizes data from 591 consumers across a range of services.FindingsThe findings highlight the important role of relationship benefits in driving customer perceptions of technical, functional and relationship quality. While confidence, social and special treatment benefits drive technical and functional quality, it is only confidence benefits that drive relationship quality. Furthermore, it is found that functional and relationship quality drive word‐of‐mouth behavior.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study contribute to the literature by showing the differential impact that relationship benefits have on quality – technical, functional, and relationship – and subsequently the effect that functional and relationship quality have on word‐of‐mouth behavior.Practical implicationsThe paper provides firms with the knowledge needed to more effectively implement relationship‐marketing activities. As the service economy continues to grow, competition intensifies, and to ensure service excellence, firms need to establish strong relationships with their customers as the quality of the customer‐provider relationship can increase word‐of‐mouth behavior.Originality/valueThe paper empirically investigates the role of relationship benefits in enhancing perceptions of quality while also providing an analysis of the differential role of functional, technical, and relationship quality in enhancing customers' word‐of‐mouth intentions.
Service co‐creation in community‐based aged healthcare
Authors: Gill Liz , White Lesley , Cameron Ian Douglas 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to identify and describe the themes underlying four concepts: client orientation, client involvement, provider empowerment, and client empowerment, which have been reported in the literature as influencing service participant interaction in the formation of a service. The meaning that service participants assign to each of those themes is also to be examined.Design/methodology/approachTriadic studies were undertaken in two separate locations with three discrete community‐based service networks, purposively recruited from the same aged healthcare organisation. Using a phenomological approach, 29 individual semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with managers, providers, and clients were conducted. Inductive and deductive analysis was used to identify the emerging themes and their meaning for each participant category.FindingsKey themes were identified for each concept, but the meaning ascribed to each theme was found to differ between the participant categories. It is suggested that these results reflect participant role differences in the service co‐creation process.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited by the small sample and its relative homogeneity.Practical implicationsThe findings offer service managers insights into how to engage clients in the service creation process, which in turn will affect the ultimate quality of the service that is created. They also provide information that will assist with service design, staff selection, training, and assessment.Originality/valueThis is the first study that investigates the four concepts, client orientation, client involvement, provider empowerment, and client empowerment, in the context of service co‐creation. It identifies associated abstract themes and the applied meaning differences of the service participants.
Consumer language preferences in service encounters: a cross‐cultural perspective
Authors: Holmqvist Jonas 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe importance of the mutual interaction between consumers and the company in service encounters is widely recognised, but researchers have usually presumed that both parties are able to interact with each other. That is not always the case. If they do not share a common language, it may have consequences for the service encounter. This paper aims to analyze consumer language preferences across four language groups.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative and qualitative studies are conducted among bilingual speakers of four languages (English/French and Finnish/Swedish) in two countries (Canada and Finland). Study 1 is a quantitative analysis of the degree of importance that respondents in the various language groups attach to the use of their first language in a variety of service encounters. Study 2 is a qualitative examination of the factors that determine the preferences expressed in Study 1.FindingsUse of first language in service encounters is preferred by consumers in all four language groups. However, the reasons for preferring first‐language use differ between countries. Language is shown to have emotional connotations for consumers that go beyond mere communication.Originality/valueThis is the first study of the role of language in service encounters among consumers from different countries.
A comparison of users and non‐users of banking self‐service technology in Portugal
Authors: Proença João F. , Antónia Rodrigues Maria 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the behaviour of Portuguese users and non‐users of self‐service technologies (SSTs) in banking services.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical study is conducted by means of a survey questionnaire. Data are collected from a sample of 300 respondents chosen to represent the Portuguese adult population in terms of age, gender, and geographical place of residence.FindingsThe results show that Portuguese users of SST banking services are likely to be young to middle‐aged individuals, with medium to high levels of education. They have a greater propensity to complain and are more price‐sensitive than non‐users of such services.Research limitations/implicationsOnly six dimensions of consumer behaviour were investigated: price sensitivity, satisfaction, word‐of‐mouth, repurchase intention, propensity to change banks, complaint behaviour. Only three forms of SST contact were examined (ATMs, telephone banking, and internet banking). Other behaviours and SSTs could be examined in future research.Practical implicationsBanks investing in SST can expect: more sales (consumers with higher intention to repurchase); more opportunities for service recovery (consumers with higher propensity to complain); and more price competitiveness (more price‐sensitive consumer behaviour).Originality/valueThis is the first study to examine consumer behaviour among Portuguese customers of SST banking services. The study shows that SST does not ensure consumer satisfaction and positive word‐of‐mouth; moreover, it is not a barrier to changing banks.
Efficient and accurate numerical treatment of Huxley equation
Authors: El Danaf Talaat S. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how numerical solutions of the nonlinear Huxley equation are obtained by collocation‐based method using cubic B‐spline over finite elements.Design/methodology/approachFor the numerical procedure, time derivative is discretized using usual finite difference scheme. Solution and its principal derivatives over the subintervals are approximated by the combination of the cubic B‐spline and unknown element parameters.FindingsThe numerical results are found to be in good agreement with the exact solution. Also the method is very accurate and conditionally stable; the results are very accurate at a small h (discretization) of x so this method can be applied for any nonlinear partial differential equations.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates how numerical solutions of the nonlinear Huxley equation are obtained by collocation‐based method using cubic B‐spline over finite elements.
Heat transfer in composite materials using a new truly local meshless method
Authors: Ahmadi Isa , Aghdam M.M. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a micromechanical model based on a new truly local meshless method for analysis of heat transfer in composite materials.Design/methodology/approachThe presented meshless method is based on the integral form of energy equation in the sub‐particles in the material. In the presented meshless method due to elimination of domain integration the computational efforts are decreased substantially.FindingsNumerical results are presented for temperature distribution, heat flux and thermal conductivity. Numerical results show that the presented meshless method is simple, effective, accurate and less costly method in micromechanical modeling of heat conduction in heterogeneous materials.Research limitations/implicationsA small area of the composite system called representative volume element is considered as the solution domain. The fully bonded fiber‐matrix interface is considered and contact thermal resistant is neglected from the fiber matrix interface and so the continuity of temperature and reciprocity of heat flux is satisfied in the fiber‐matrix interface.Originality/valueFor the first time a new truly local meshless method based on the integral form of energy equation for the sub‐particles in the materials is presented for analysis of heat transfer in composite materials.
A numerical simulation of modified Boussinesq and seven‐order Sawada‐Kotara equations
Authors: Soliman A.A. 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply the variational iterations method to solve two difference types such as the modified Boussinesq (MB) and seven‐order Sawada‐Kotara (sSK) equations and to compare this method with that obtained previously by Adomian decomposition.Design/methodology/approachThe variational iteration method is used for finding the solution of the MB and sSK equations. The solution obtained is an infinite power series for appropriate initial condition. The numerical results obtain fornth approximation and compare with the known analytical solutions; the results show that an excellent approximation to the actual solution of the equations was achieved by using only three iterations.FindingsThe comparison demonstrates that the two obtained solutions are an excellent agreement. The numerical results calculated show that this method, variational iteration method, can be readily implemented to this type of nonlinear equation and excellent accuracy can be achieved. The results of variation iteration method confirm the correctness of those obtained by means of Adomian decomposition method.Originality/valueThe results presented in this paper show that the variational iteration method is a powerful mathematical tool for solving the MB and the sSK equations; it is also a promising method for solving other nonlinear equations.
A pressure‐correction procedure with high‐order schemes implemented on unstructured meshes
Authors: Lai Huanxin , Xing Gailan , Tu Shantong , Zhao Ling 
Published: March 2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a pressure‐correction procedure for incompressible flows using unstructured meshes. A method of implementing high‐order spatial schemes on unstructured grids was introduced.Design/methodology/approachThe procedure used a collocated cell‐centered unstructured grid arrangement. In order to improve the accuracy of calculation, the widely used high‐order schemes for convection, developed for structured grids and in the form of either the normalized variable and space formulation (NVSF) or the total variation diminishing (TVD) flux limiters (FL), were introduced and implemented onto the unstructured grids. This implementation was carried out by constructing a local coordinate and introducing a virtual upstream node.FindingsThe procedure was validated by calculating the lid‐driven cavity flows which had benchmark numerical solutions. For comparison, these flows were also computed by a commercial package, the FLUENT. The results obtained by the present procedure agreed well with the benchmark solution although very coarse grids were used. For the FLUENT, however, worse agreements with the benchmark solutions were obtained although the grids used for computation were the same. These demonstrated the robustness of the presented numerical procedure.Originality/valueWith the present method, high‐order schemes in either NVSF or TVD FL forms for structured grids can be easily implemented onto unstructured grids. This provides more choices of high‐order schemes for calculating complex flows.