Editorial

Citation

Okumus, F. (2014), "Editorial", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 26 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2014-0300

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Volume 26, Issue 7

The seventh issue of International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (IJCHM) in 2014 contains six research articles. In the first article, Matthew Tingchi Liu, Ipkin Anthony Wong, Rongwei Chu and Ting-Hsian Tseng investigate how perceptions associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence customers’ preference and loyalty in a controversial consumer market. The study findings indicate that customers’ brand preference can be enhanced by their perceptions on CSR. Two CSR initiatives appear to increase loyalty intention, although to varying degrees. The impact of CSR on stakeholders has the stronger influence on customers’ brand preference. Brand preference is a partial mediator of perceived CSR initiatives and customer loyalty. In the second article, Zizhen Geng, Chao Liu, Xinmei Liu and Jie Feng test and extend knowledge of the effects of emotional labor of frontline service employees. The authors tested their research hypotheses by using data collected from 416 service employee–supervisor dyads in 82 Chinese local restaurants. Study results show that deep acting is positively related to frontline employee creativity; surface acting is positively related to hindrance stress, while deep acting is positively related to challenge stress; and hindrance stress mediates the relationship between surface acting and creativity. This study extends the consequences of emotional labor to frontline employees’ creativity from a cognitive perspective.

In the third paper, Hui-Chun Huang, Ya-Ting Chang, Che-Yi Yeh and Chung-Wei Liao empirically evaluate the effect of price promotions on customer quality evaluations and repeat-purchase intentions in coffee chain stores in Taiwan. From 488 consumer responses in 12 coffee chain stores, study results suggest that price-promotion activities have a favorable effect on customer quality evaluations and positively influence repeat-purchase intentions. Existing customers may see price promotions as a reward or incentive and thus lead to an increase in favorable evaluations. In the fourth article, Mustafa Koyuncu, Ronald J. Burke, Marina Astakhova, Duygu Eren and Hayrullah Cetin examine the relationship of service employees’ perceptions of servant leadership provided by their supervisors/managers and employee’s reports of service quality provided to clients by their hotels. The authors collected data from 221 frontline employees in four- and five-star hotels in Cappadocia. According to the study findings, service employees reporting higher levels of servant leadership from their supervisors/managers generally indicate higher levels of service quality.

The next article by Hsiang-Fei Luoh, Sheng-Hshiung Tsaur and Ya-Yun Tang explores the relationship between job standardization and employee innovative behavior, as well as the mediating and moderating effects of employee psychological empowerment. The results demonstrate that job standardization has a negative effect on employee innovative behavior and that employee psychological empowerment mediates the effect of job standardization on innovative behavior. Employee psychological empowerment plays a buffering role and moderates the job standardization–innovative behavior relationship. Hotel managers should use both training and work process review to help employees innovate while still understanding the meaning of their work, enhancing self-efficacy, self-determination and the impact of decision-making. In the final article, Heesup Han and Jinsoo Hwang examine the formation of golfers’ intentions to play golf on traditional golf courses by considering the moderating impact of their outcome beliefs regarding the playing of screen golf. The authors utilized the Model of Goal-directed Behavior to make a precise prediction of golfers’ intentions. Study results reveal that desire acted as a significant mediator in the proposed conceptual framework. Compared to other study variables, both positive anticipated emotions and subjective norms had superior ability in generating golfers’ intentions to play real golf. This study offers theoretical and practical implications related to the golfers’ decision formation process.

We hope that our readers find all the articles published in this issue timely, relevant and insightful.

Fevzi Okumus