Purpose This study aims to investigate how the interaction between service agent type (robot vs human) and language style (flattery vs praise) influences customers’ psychological comfort, alongside the dual mediating roles of affective and cognitive trust and the moderating role of emotional sensitivity. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on schema congruity theory and the affect infusion model, the study conducted three scenario-based experiments (n = 1,229) using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design that manipulated agent type and language style. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Hayes’ PROCESS macro to test the proposed effects and underlying mechanisms. Findings The study shows that flattery (vs praise) decreases psychological comfort when delivered by human service agents but increases it when delivered by service robots. This interaction effect is mediated by affective and cognitive trust, which are weakened in human-agent encounters yet strengthened in robot-agent encounters. Furthermore, the effect is more pronounced among customers with higher levels of emotional sensitivity. Research limitations/implications The findings extend theory by demonstrating that trust formation in service interactions depends on the congruity between agent type and language style. From a managerial perspective, human employees should emphasize authentic praise to foster customer comfort, whereas service robots may strategically use moderate flattery to enhance customer experiences in routine service encounters. Originality/value This research shifts focus from macro-level technology acceptance to microlevel linguistic dynamics, offering a novel framework for understanding how strategically positive language shapes trust in AI-enabled services.
Purpose Although proactive customer service performance (PCSP) is widely regarded as advantageous for both customers and organizations, its effects on observers remain unclear. Using cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to investigate how cooperative versus competitive goal interdependence influences whether observers interpret a coworker’s PCSP as a challenge or a threat, resulting in different interpersonal responses. Design/methodology/approach The study examined the proposed model across two complementary studies: a three-wave field survey of employees in China and a 2 × 3 scenario experiment involving Chinese hospitality employees. Findings Results show that coworkers’ PCSP may be evaluated differently depending on goal interdependence. In cooperative goal settings, a colleague’s PCSP usually evokes challenge appraisals, which promote social learning. In contrast, under competitive goal structures, the same PCSP often triggers threat appraisals, leading to social undermining. Research limitations/implications Managers should position PCSP as a contribution to shared service goals and foster cooperative goal interdependence. They should also avoid overly competitive practices, such as excessive individual rankings and zero-sum rewards, and instead use PCSP as a learning opportunity for coworkers. Originality/value This study advances PCSP research by shifting the focus from an actor-centered to an observer-centered perspective, highlighting how a colleague’s PCSP influences observers’ social learning and social undermining.
PurposeThis paper aims to develop and test a novel research model that examines job embeddedness as a mediator of the influence of responsible leadership (RL) on loyal boosterism and proactive customer service performance. The research model also tests perceived organizational support (POS) as a moderator between RL and job embeddedness. More importantly, this paper gauges POS as a moderator of the indirect influence of RL on loyal boosterism and proactive customer service performance via job embeddedness. Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged data and supervisor ratings of hotel frontline employee (FLE) proactive customer service performance in two different studies were used to assess said hypothesized associations. FindingsThe results from partial least squares structural equation modeling reveal that all the hypotheses are supported, and the research model proposed in this study is viable. Specifically, job embeddedness mediates the effect of RL on loyal boosterism and proactive customer service performance. POS strengthens the positive connection between RL and job embeddedness. This is also true for POS as a moderator of the indirect influence of RL on said outcomes via job embeddedness. Practical implicationsResponsible leaders should establish a work environment that would enable FLEs to display loyal boosterism by defending the hotel and being proud to work there and exhibit proactive customer service performance. Management should make sure that responsible leaders support FLEs with high job embeddedness who demonstrate loyal boosterism and are proactive in the service delivery process. Originality/valueThis research fills in the lacuna by gauging the previously mentioned linkages and offers important implications for managers and their employees for business practice.
Purpose Online employee reviews increasingly influence employer reputation and recruitment. Although equity theory suggests that employees evaluate their employment relationship through perceptions of fairness, existing research has largely examined distributive, procedural and interactional fairness as independent predictors of employee outcomes. Consequently, little is known about how these fairness dimensions jointly shape employee satisfaction and recommendation in online review contexts. Drawing on equity theory and the evolutionary SOR framework, this study aims to examine how different configurations of fairness perceptions generate employee satisfaction and recommendation and whether the two outcomes emerge through similar or distinct pathways. Design/methodology/approach Using 14,475 Glassdoor employee reviews from the hotel sector, latent Dirichlet allocation identifies job-related experience themes and maps them to distributive, procedural and interactional fairness. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis identifies configurations leading to satisfaction and recommendation. Findings Employee satisfaction arises from multiple fairness configurations rather than any single job attribute. Four orientations emerge. Pragmatism and utilitarianism emphasize tangible returns, idealism reflects institutional expectations and perfectionism requires comprehensive fairness across dimensions. Recommendation does not directly follow satisfaction. Although satisfaction functions as a core condition, employees recommend their organization only when certain fairness dimensions compensate for others. This indicates a configurational evaluation process rather than a simple linear response. Originality/value This study shows that online employee reviews represent public evaluative decisions rather than simple reflections of internal attitudes. It refines equity theory by revealing complementary and substitutive relationships among fairness dimensions and identifies a boundary condition of the SOR framework in which behavioral endorsement is not solely mediated by satisfaction. Practically, improving a single job attribute is insufficient because balanced fairness perceptions are necessary to encourage employee advocacy.
Purpose While existing research acknowledges the broad impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on hotel operations, its competitive advantages remain underexplored. This study aims to examine Greek hotel entrepreneurs’ perceptions of AI’s impact on competitiveness and their intention to adopt AI in their operations. Design/methodology/approach Combining the theories of Complexity and Rational Choice, and drawing from a nationwide sample of 400 Greek hotel entrepreneurs, this study examines the achievement of competitiveness through the AI-oriented antecedents of trust, perceived benefits, perceived risks, business performance and innovation. The examination of the complex perceptions was conducted through the use of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, and the identification of the necessary conditions was examined through Necessary Condition Analysis. The selection for examining the chaordic perceptions of the entrepreneurs was made after confirming that the research is characterised by general asymmetry. Findings The results have generated four sufficient complex configurations able to lead to competitiveness, while the research identified two simple conditions (trust; perceived benefits) as necessary. As a result, three out of the four AI-oriented pathways were considered acceptable (beneficial aspects of AI; risk-induced trust; and benefit–risk nexus) and able to achieve enhanced competitiveness, while the fourth pathway was excluded from further analysis. Originality/value The findings provide practical contributions by presenting alternative AI solutions that enable companies to transform and strengthen their competitiveness, while simultaneously advancing our understanding of how AI influences entrepreneurial decision-making. Furthermore, several managerial implications are identified and examined.
Purpose This study aims to critically review how hospitality research has conceptualized employee artificial intelligence (AI) awareness and offer a reconceptualization that moves beyond a narrow, job-displacement focus to a multidimensional view encompassing both adverse and beneficial implications of AI integration for employees’ jobs, careers and well-being. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a narrative synthesis of recent hospitality and related organizational research on employee AI awareness, integrating conceptual and empirical work across disciplines and drawing on multiple theoretical perspectives, including the Job Demands–Resources model, uncertainty management theory, self-determination theory and dynamic capability and task-level replacement frameworks. Findings Existing hospitality studies predominantly frame employee AI awareness as a threat linked to job insecurity, burnout and turnover intentions, often conflating distinct constructs and focusing on replacement-centric outcomes. This study reconceptualizes employee AI awareness as a multidimensional construct, encompassing awareness of AI tools, task-substitution awareness and role-ambiguity awareness, with both dark and bright pathways that can produce negative outcomes (e.g. strain, withdrawal, occupational health and mental health symptoms) or positive outcomes (e.g. creativity, job crafting, engagement, thriving and human–AI collaboration), contingent on available resources, appraisals and contextual factors. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual review grounded primarily in recent hospitality literature, the proposed framework requires empirical validation and refined measurement of the distinct facets of employee AI awareness. The article outlines a future research agenda spanning measurement boundaries, causal micro-mechanisms, technology design features, cross-level implementation and temporal career dynamics to build cumulative evidence on how employee AI awareness shapes behavior and well-being over time. Practical implications The multidimensional reconceptualization enables hospitality managers to differentiate between displacement-related strain and AI usage or role-ambiguity stress, informing targeted interventions such as reskilling, AI literacy training, supportive leadership and fair communication about AI-enabled job redesign. Managers can use the framework as a diagnostic tool to monitor how AI integration affects employees’ well-being, attitudes and behaviors and to design organizational resources that convert AI-related demands into opportunities for growth and engagement. Social implications This study highlights pathways for more sustainable and humane AI adoption in hospitality workplaces. This broader lens enables organizations and policymakers to anticipate the distributional effects on career trajectories and mental health and to support more inclusive strategies for preparing employees for AI-intensive service environments. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides one of the first hospitality-focused, theory-driven reconceptualizations of employee AI awareness, clarifying terminological ambiguities and separating key dimensions and outcomes. It integrates underutilized organizational theories into a comprehensive, multi-perspective framework and offers an agenda that repositions employees as active agents who learn, adapt and co-create value with AI, rather than as passive victims of technological disruption.
Purpose This study aims to introduce NanoMindfulness as a seconds-long, intentional act of present-moment awareness enacted within ongoing service tasks. This study examines how this demand-triggered attentional recalibration is associated with frontline employees’ stress, well-being, emotion regulation, resilience and service performance. Design/methodology/approach Using the Job Demands-Resources model and attention, micro-recovery and self-regulation perspectives, this study analyzes survey data from 500 frontline employees and supervisor-rated performance assessments from luxury hotels in Vietnam. The NanoMindfulness scale was developed through interviews, expert review, pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modeling tested construct validity and direct, indirect and serial associations. Findings The results of this study show that NanoMindfulness is distinct from formal mindfulness, informal mindfulness, state mindfulness, micro-break recovery and emotion regulation. Job demands are positively associated with NanoMindfulness, consistent with demand-triggered coping activation. NanoMindfulness is associated with lower stress and higher well-being, emotion regulation, resilience and supervisor-rated service performance. Indirect results support a serial resource-cascade interpretation, while the cross-sectional design precludes causal claims. Practical implications The findings of this study show that service organizations can protect employee functioning by legitimizing brief, non-disruptive attentional resets during service delivery. Managers should treat NanoMindfulness as a naturally occurring self-regulatory resource, not as a mandated program or substitute for reducing excessive job demands. Originality/value This study conceptualizes and validates NanoMindfulness as an ultra-brief, task-embedded personal resource that can be activated under pressure without role disengagement. This study extends mindfulness and Job Demands-Resources research by specifying how attentional resources may operate within seconds during service work.
Purpose The adoption of service robots in the workforce is reshaping organisational behaviour and employee dynamics. This study aims to examine how different employee–robot relationships influence employee retention. Design/methodology/approach Operationalising employee–robot relationships into four types, the study used a scenario-based experiment with a sample of 347 service-industry employees. Various statistical techniques were used to test the proposed relationships. Findings Employee–robot relationships are associated with employee satisfaction and retention. Positive relationships enhance retention primarily through job satisfaction, while engagement plays a selective role. Engagement emerges in collaborative and complementary relationships. Collaborative relationships reduce job insecurity, whereas competitive relationships undermine retention by increasing job insecurity and lowering satisfaction and engagement. Multiple relationship perceptions can coexist, positive relationship breadth shows cumulative associations with favourable outcomes, while competitive perceptions remain an independent source of risk. Practical implications Organisations should design and foster positive employee–robot relationships, with a strong focus on enhancing job satisfaction. Managers can structure roles to encourage multiple forms of positive interaction, while minimising competitive dynamics. Human resource practitioners should also actively monitor employee–robot interactions for sustainable workforce outcomes. Originality/value This study introduces a relational perspective by conceptualising employee–robot relationships as a multidimensional construct linked to employee retention through psychological mechanisms. It moves beyond binary views by showing that relationship perceptions can coexist; positive breadth is cumulatively associated with favourable outcomes, while competitive perceptions remain an independent source of risk.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to position hospitality as an ethical and philosophical process rather than managerial, operational or technological service outcomes. It traces how hospitality’s ethical and philosophical foundations have been progressively reconfigured, addresses the rise of machine-mediated contexts and proposes socio-hospitality as a conceptual response to the ethical and philosophical challenges of artificial intelligence (AI)- and robotics-driven service environments. Design/methodology/approach This study synthesizes ethical and philosophical perspectives drawn from religious traditions, Western and Eastern philosophy and contemporary socio-technical studies, reflecting on how ethical responsibility and philosophical viewpoints in hospitality have moved from situational human judgment to socio-technical systems as a result of AI-embedded and embodied robotics that organize service encounters through algorithms, interfaces and human–machine hybrid roles. Findings This study identifies three conceptual ages of hospitality, and demonstrates that the machine age does not eliminate hospitality’s ethical and philosophical dimension but relocates ethical responsibility within socio-technical design. The study suggests five distinct forms of hospitality – functional, operational, social, personal and self-reflective – through which AI-mediated systems sustain, narrow or transform hospitality’s ethical and philosophical breadth and depth. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual reflection, this study does not provide empirical validation of the proposed typology of hospitality or the socio-hospitality measurements. Future research could apply these concepts, examine their cultural variability and explore how different technologies relocate ethical responsibility within hospitality systems. Originality/value This reflection contributes to the literature by classifying three ages of hospitality, reconceptualizing hospitality and addressing the emergence of AI-embedded and embodied robotics as a socio-technical ethical process rather than an intelligent and automated service output. By introducing socio-hospitality and multiple ethical forms of hospitality, this study offers a new understanding of how ethical responsibility and philosophical need to embrace human nature when dealing with AI-empowered technological actors.
Purpose This study aims to investigate how anthropomorphic design (appearance and behavior) and interactivity (viewer–streamer and viewer–viewer) among artificial intelligence (AI)-driven virtual streamers influence consumer purchase intention in tourism and hospitality e-commerce live streaming (THCLS), which is mediated by social presence, telepresence and continuous watching intention, while accounting for demographic and behavioral heterogeneities. Design/methodology/approach An integrated model was developed and tested using survey data from 747 consumers experienced in watching virtual streamers in the THCLS context. A hybrid approach was used, combining partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for linear relationships, multigroup analysis (MGA) for subgroup differences and artificial neural networks (ANNs) for nonlinear effects. Findings Anthropomorphic cues and interactivity significantly enhance social presence and telepresence, which in turn positively influence continuous watching intention and purchase intention. MGA reveals meaningful moderating effects of gender, age and viewing frequency, indicating heterogeneous responses to anthropomorphism and interactivity. ANN analysis further reveals nonlinear relationships, identifying social presence as the most influential predictor of purchase intention beyond linear rankings. Practical implications Practitioners should prioritize anthropomorphic appearance and behavior alongside real-time interaction to strengthen social presence, the primary driver of purchase intention. The development of community-oriented features that foster viewer–viewer engagement and the tailoring of strategies based on age and viewing frequency can enhance effectiveness. Continuous updates to content and interaction design are essential to mitigate novelty decay and sustain conversion performance. Originality/value This research extends presence-based theories and the stimulus–organism–response framework to AI-powered THCLS, uncovering dynamic linear, heterogeneous and nonlinear mechanisms in consumer decision-making, thereby addressing gaps in the virtual streamer literature and offering a novel hybrid analytical lens for THCLS.
Purpose This study aims to present a systematic review of the literature on influencer marketing (IM) in hospitality and tourism to uncover what we know and what we do not know about this emerging topic in these sectors. Design/methodology/approach Through applying a PRISMA-guided systematic literature search, 163 full-length journal articles were retrieved and analyzed. The mixed-methods approach, with both quantitative and qualitative analyses, was used to examine the research settings, topical foci and methodological approaches in research on IM in hospitality and tourism from 2015 to 2024. Findings IM research in hospitality and tourism has advanced significantly in volume and scope, covering diverse topics. However, long-standing and emerging knowledge gaps persist, indicating a need for further scholarly and practical exploration. Originality/value This study extends prior systematic literature reviews by introducing a mechanism-based diagnostic framework centered on suppliers, influencers and targets, synthesizing a broad range of research, systematically identifying evidence-based gaps and proposing future research directions.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between green human resource management practices (GHRMPs) and employee green advocacy in hospitality settings, mediated by three components of environmental love (i.e. environmental intimacy, passion, and commitment).Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Sternberg's triangular theory of love and cognitive consistency theory, this study surveyed 292 hotel employees in China. Data analysis was conducted applying partial least squares structural equation modeling.Findings This study reveals that GHRMPs fail to directly influence employee green advocacy but rather indirectly operate through the development of environmental love. GHRMPs are found to positively evoke employees' environmental intimacy, passion, and commitment, which subsequently promotes their green advocacy. Our study reveals the mediating roles of environmental love components in the relationship between GHRMPs and green advocacy, with environmental passion showing the strongest effect on this linkage.Practical implications Hotel managers should focus on developing employees' psychological connections with environmental practices rather than expecting immediate behavioral changes from green human resource initiatives. The findings suggest that organizations should prioritize fostering the environmental love-based relationship through environmental recognition and engaging activities.Originality/value This research represents one of the pioneering empirical attempts that integrates Sternberg's triangular theory of love with environmental practices, introducing a novel theoretical framework of environmental love for understanding the employee-environment relationship in the hospitality context.
Purpose This study aims to examine how Asian hospitality organizations can strategically enhance employee well-being, particularly among Gen Z, by leveraging both contextual and individual resources through the lens of job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. It highlights the culturally and regionally distinctive, people-centered nature of the industry as a critical basis for sustaining competitive advantage and preserving the essence of Asian hospitality. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a multi-stage, evidence-informed approach that integrates published research, industry reports, field observations and theory-driven synthesis. The four stages guiding the analysis include evidence scoping, screening and quality evaluation, experiential field engagement and thematic synthesis through JD-R mapping. Findings The analysis shows that persistent job demands, including low pay and seasonality, undermine Gen Z well-being unless offset by strong, culturally relevant resources. Three interconnected domains shaping these demands are identified as socio-cultural work design, resilient revenue architecture and technology-enabled flexicurity. For each domain within this framework, two strategic resource-based resolutions are proposed to strengthen employee well-being in practice. Practical implications The findings provide actionable guidance for designing strategic responses that enhance the well-being of a new generation of employees and support retention in an increasingly digital work environment. Originality/value This study extends the JD-R framework beyond its usual focus on immediate job-level conditions by showing how broader organizational, cultural and technological arrangements shape employee well-being in people-centered service work. It also demonstrates that JD-R can be used not only to explain strain and motivation, but also to inform strategic workforce design in collectivist, technology-intensive service settings.
Purpose Hospitality and tourism brands face the challenge of effectively building customer engagement (CE) on social media. Drawing on social psychology theories of influence, this study aims to examine how reciprocity and social proof affect hotels’ Facebook CE performance and tests the moderating effect of gender on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 360 participants in an online experimental survey (Study 1) and from 110 participants in a subsequent eye-tracking study (Study 2). Findings Results reveal that the impact of influence tactics on online CE performance varies by gender and across measures, including behavioral intention, attention and trust. Overall, the eye-tracking study’s findings align more closely with the research hypotheses regarding attention. Research limitations/implications Results suggest that the effectiveness of engagement tactics depends on specific business goals, offering valuable insights for designing targeted social media strategies and future research. Originality/value This study advances understanding of firm-led CE strategies in hotel brands’ social media by exploring the interplay of reciprocity, social proof and gender. The findings advocate for methodological designs that incorporate objective data in future CE research.
PurposeDeveloping a sustainable managerial pipeline for black hospitality employees is crucial to establishing a more inclusive, equitable environment. This study aims to identify and assess barriers and facilitators that influence leadership self-efficacy, retention and intent to apply for leadership roles. Design/methodology/approachThis study used an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design with black hourly hospitality employees. Study 1 (n = 20) conducted online structured interviews to identify barriers and facilitators to leadership. Partial least squares - structural equation modeling was used in Study 2 (n = 145) to test the effects of identified facilitators, and in Study 3 (n = 167) to test the effects of identified barriers on pipeline outcomes. FindingsSeven themes emerged from the interviews. Quantitative results showed mentorship (theme 1), Employee resource groups (theme 2a), inclusive culture (theme 2 b), development (theme 3), help-seeking (theme 4a) and self-leadership (theme 4 b) improved leadership intent, retention and leadership self-efficacy. Customer-oriented racism (theme 5a), organizational-oriented racism (theme 5 b), evaluation bias (theme 6), generational conflict (theme 7a), ignorance excuse (theme 7 b) and stereotyping (theme 7c) negatively impacted all three outcomes. Research limitations/implicationsBy identifying barriers and facilitators to leadership, the study illustrates why black employees remain underrepresented. Systemic issues, not employee aspirations, are the primary issue for the chronic underrepresentation. Originality/valueThis study takes an unconventional, bottom-up approach to examining the underrepresentation of black employees in leadership. Attribution theory is extended to include organizational attributes that lead to perceptions of success and failure.
Purpose This study aims to compare key restaurant service attributes before and after robot implementation to examine how customer expectations shift in response to technological integration. Design/methodology/approach A total of 38,736 Yelp reviews for 76 outlets of a restaurant chain across the US were collected as of June 2025. After conducting sentiment analysis and semantic clustering of reviews, this study applied the Kano model and importance-performance analysis (IPA) to illustrate the transition in key service attributes following the restaurant’s implementation of service robots. Findings Kano classification shows that robots, along with location and service system, emerge as excitement attributes. Service quality transforms from a basic attribute to a performance attribute after the robot is implemented. Meanwhile, wait time and perceived value transform from excitement attributes to performance and basic attributes, respectively. The IPA results identify food and service quality as top priorities for service improvement, both before and after robot implementation. Robots become a high-priority service attribute after implementation, while the importance of value and service system declines. Practical implications By classifying key service attributes into various distinct categories, this study reveals what customers value in their dining experiences following the implementation of new technologies. The findings provide practical insights for restaurant operators by clarifying how customer expectations have shifted and identifying which service attributes deserve greater managerial attention when integrating robots into restaurant operations. Originality/value Building on multi-attribute utility theory, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first to examine the evolution of key service attributes that shape the customer dining experience in robot-integrated restaurants.
Purpose This study aims to investigate how first-generation American restaurateurs construct entrepreneurial meaning and resilience under structural, psychological and existential constraints. It aims to advance a dynamic, process-oriented understanding of immigrant entrepreneurship beyond traditional models of opportunity recognition or capital accumulation. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, the authors conducted 19 in-depth interviews with immigrant restaurateurs in the USA. Data were analyzed inductively to develop a conceptual framework comprising four iterative phases: entrepreneurial grounding, enactment and improvisation, identity solidification and legacy construction. Findings The findings show that resilience among first-generation American restaurateurs emerges not as a fixed personal trait but as a socially embedded, adaptive process. Informants responded to constraints such as limited capital, marginalization and industry precarity through improvisational learning, strategic experimentation and deeply rooted identity work. The resulting framework highlights how these entrepreneurs navigate uncertainty while constructing long-term visions rooted in personal and cultural meaning. Originality/value This study offers a novel framework for understanding immigrant entrepreneurship as a resilience-driven journey shaped by constraint, identity and improvisation. Rather than viewing resilience as an outcome, the authors present it as an ongoing, meaning-making process. The findings contribute to entrepreneurship literature by highlighting the hybrid logics that underlie immigrant business adaptation and the psychosocial dimensions that have been overlooked. Practical implications are outlined for designing culturally responsive support systems, mental health initiatives and opportunity structures that recognize the complex realities of immigrant-owned ventures.
Purpose As medicinal cuisine gains global attention for its health-promoting benefits, this study aims to examine how different messaging strategies (nutrition-focused vs medicine-focused) influence consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions, with a focus on the interplay among message framing, individual traits and cultural orientation. Design/methodology/approach Three scenario-based restaurant experiments were conducted. Studies 1 and 2 tested the interaction between message framing and naturalness preference on attitude among Chinese and US consumers, respectively. Study 3 further examined food neophobia as a moderator and health enhancement expectancy and perceived taste as parallel mediators. Findings The effectiveness of message framing depends on the alignment between the construal level implied by message framing (nutrition- vs medicine-focused) and the dominant construal level stemming from either personal traits or cultural orientation. Moreover, when construal levels derived from individual traits and cultural background conflict, cultural orientation may override individual traits in determining which construal level is activated and used for message interpretation. Practical implications The findings offer implications for food marketing, public health messaging and cultural food literacy. Originality/value This research extends construal level theory by showing that cultural background may exert a stronger, little or weaker influence than personal traits in activating construal levels for interpreting information, depending on situations where cultural orientation has a strong or weak influence in fostering the personal trait of interest (e.g. naturalness preference). It also links construal levels with naturalness preference and food neophobia in food perception.
Purpose This paper aims to critically examine how accessibility and inclusion are conceptualised in hospitality management and argues that inclusive hospitality cannot be achieved through facility-based or organisation-centric approaches alone. It advances the view that accessibility in hospitality emerges through coordinated service systems that shape guests’ ability to access, experience and evaluate hospitality services in a dignified and autonomous manner. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a Critical Reflection Paper (CRP) approach, the study synthesises insights from hospitality accessibility research, Service-Dominant Logic and Transformative Service Research to reconceptualise accessibility as a systemic and relational phenomenon. Rather than presenting empirical findings, the paper develops a conceptual framework that explains how inclusion in hospitality is co-created across interconnected actors, technologies and institutional arrangements. Findings The analysis highlights that accessibility failures in hospitality often stem from fragmentation across service encounters, organisational coordination and institutional environments, rather than from the absence of individual accessibility features. To address this, the paper introduces the Inclusive Hospitality Ecosystem (IHE) model, which conceptualises accessibility as an emergent outcome of alignment across micro-level service interactions, meso-level organisational and inter-organisational coordination and macro-level policy and cultural conditions. Practical implications The model helps managers identify and address accessibility breakdowns across service interactions, organisational coordination and institutional environments. Originality/value This paper contributes to hospitality scholarship by extending existing accessibility frameworks through a service ecosystem perspective that remains firmly anchored in hospitality management. The IHE model offers a novel lens for understanding disability inclusion as a shared and dynamic responsibility within hospitality systems, providing conceptual clarity and strategic insight for scholars and practitioners seeking to advance inclusive and socially sustainable hospitality.
Purpose The proliferation of picture and video-based visual electronic word-of-mouth (VeWOM) is gaining popularity. However, few studies have compared the effects of traditional text-based eWOM against next-generation VeWOM. Drawing on the cognitive theory of multimedia processing and dual coding, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of positive and negative VeWOM on travel intentions via mental imagery processing, attitudes toward the information, and perceived message credibility. The authors further examine the moderating role played by destination image.Design/methodology/approach Collecting data from Zambian frequent travellers and using a 2 & times;2 between-subjects factorial design, partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to test research hypotheses.Findings The results show that when compared to text-based eWOM, both positive and negative VeWOM significantly influence tourists' travel intentions.Research limitations/implications These findings advance understanding of VeWOM effects on tourist behaviours. Destination marketers should leverage user-generated visual content to build trust and manage negative VeWOM to reduce reputational risks.Originality/value Unlike previous papers that solely focused on traditional text-based eWOM, they study new-generation VeWOM and make several contributions towards eWOM, tourism, hospitality and mental imagery processing literature.
