Contingency plans and crisis management strategies have been implemented by the short-term rental industry to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the strategies adopted by three key ...groups of stakeholders: short-term rental platforms (e.g. Airbnb, Booking.com), service providers (represented by property management companies and short-term rental associations) and policymakers/tourism experts. The professional service providers, in particular, constitute a significant share of the short-term rental industry, but have not received much scholarly attention. In this respect, our study fills this gap by bringing attention to unexplored segments of the short-term rental industry. By examining and comparing the responses from these key groups, the paper contributes to the ongoing research about the workings of the short-term rental industry and its responses to the COVID-19 crisis.
•The study examines short-term rental industry response to COVID-19 pandemic.•The short-term rental industry lacked preparedness for a long-term global crisis.•Short-term rental platforms adopted high level of communication with stakeholders.•Ambivalent reactions from stakeholders to short-term rental platform responses.•Temporary short -term rental switch to long-term rental market in some countries.
Purpose
Adopting Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour theoretical framework, this paper aims to explore repurchase intentions among short-term rental users and changes in determinants of repurchase ...intention in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the research was collected via a cross-country quantitative survey (N = 1,433) in five European countries: Croatia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the UK during 2020. Trust, perceived value, authenticity and perceived risk were incorporated into the structural equation model as part of an integrated analysis of antecedents of repurchase intention.
Findings
Perceived value and authenticity are the key drivers of a positive attitude to repurchase of short-term rentals even after the pandemic. The pandemic modified the role of perceived risk in determining attitude towards short-term rentals as perceived risks could negatively affect attitude and repurchase intention after COVID-19. Trust in the platform and the host became a significant determinant of repurchase intentions after the spread of COVID-19.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis has shown the link between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and repurchase intention, and has thus demonstrated a successful application of the theory of planned behaviour to short-term rental users.
Originality/value
The results of this study suggest a possible reconceptualisation of repurchase determinants due to the pandemic. The study offers a timely contribution to the research on the impact of the pandemic on the determinants of tourists’ repurchase intentions.
Modern technology has changed the traditional education system as we know it. This has been especially evident during the pandemic, when, as an emergency response to COVID-19 lockdown, the wave of ...intense digitalization of education and teaching methods spread around the world. However, e-learning tools have been developing intensively ever since 1990s and many teachers used them before, and continued to use them after the lockdown. This paper tests whether educators’ motivational factors are in any way related to the use of new digital tools in classrooms. Empirical research was conducted among 140 elementary school teachers in Croatia.
This study aims to investigate the occurrence of conflicts in family businesses, particularly focusing on their impact on founder behavior and organizational culture. Conducted in Bosnia and ...Herzegovina, the research employs a qualitative methodology to gain an in-depth understanding of conflicts within family businesses. The study utilizes semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection tool, engaging with 5 founders and 12 successors across various family owned businesses. The sample, comprising 17 participants, offers diverse perspectives on conflict dynamics between founders and successors. The interviews, designed to explore recurring key themes, delve into the nature and characteristics of task and process-based disagreements within these family enterprises. Key findings from this study include the observation that task or process-based disagreements, commonly arising between family members, can act as catalysts for founders to re-evaluate their behavior, potentially influencing the shaping of the organizational culture. The research highlights the importance of fostering a culture of open communication, critical thinking, and respect within family firms. Such a culture can play a significant role in reducing relationship conflicts and aid in reaching constructive resolutions. Additionally, the study reveals that the features of organizational culture within family businesses can be instrumental in managing conflicts effectively. This research underscores the complexity of family relationships in business settings and emphasizes the necessity of examining these dynamics from multiple angles. Given the prevalence of family members in key positions within family firms, the study sheds light on the importance of addressing diversity and conflict among family members, considering their long-term implications on the culture and future of these firms.
Variable pay can have numerous benefits for the employee and the employer, however, the overall effect of variable pay will depend upon employee attitudes and
preferences towards such form of ...compensation. Considering that reward systems
in Croatia traditionally used the equality principle, the objective of this
paper is to examine the role of variable pay from both employee and employer
perspectives. Research results are based on a Delphi research of employee attitudes
about variable pay and empirical investigation of actual employers’ variable
pay practices. The Delphi study results indicate a lack of consensus about
employees’ preferences for variable pay in Croatia. However, practice shows
that some form of individual variable pay has been adopted by most examined
companies. There is some gap between preferences for variable pay and actual compensation practices so this paper identifies conditions under which acceptance of
variable pay can be improved.
Varijabilno nagrađivanje omogućava brojne prednosti za zaposlenike i poslodavce, međutim, krajnji učinak ovog sustava nagrađivanja ovisi o stavovima i preferencijama zaposlenika prema takvom načinu nagrađivanja.
Uzimajući u obzir činjenicu da su se sustavi nagrađivanja u Hrvatskoj tradicionalno temeljili na principu jednakosti plaća, cilj ovog rada je istražiti ulogu varijabilnog nagrađivanja iz perspektive zaposlenika i poslodavaca. Provedeno je Delphi istraživanje o stavovima zaposlenika prema varijabilnom nagrađivanju te kvantitativno istraživanje praksi varijabilnog nagrađivanja. Nalazi Delphi istraživanja ukazuju na izostanak konsenzusa o preferencija zaposlenika u pogledu varijabilnog nagrađivanja u Hrvatskoj. Istraživanje praksi nagrađivanja u hrvatskim poduzećima pokazalo je da je neki oblik individualnog varijabilnog nagrađivanja primijenjen kod većine istraživanih poduzeća. Utvrđen je mogući jaz između preferencija zaposlenika prema varijabilnom nagrađivanju i stvarnih praksi nagrađivanja te se stoga u radu identificiraju preduvjeti za uspješnu primjenu varijabilnog nagrađivanja.
This paper explores how the increasing professionalization of the short-term rental market (previously dominated by individual hosts) fosters the implementation of formal quality standards in the ...sector. It is based on 36 in-depth interviews conducted with different stakeholders of the short-term rental industry in six European countries, namely, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, and at EU level. The article maps different initiatives that outline some quality standards for short-term rentals. We found first, that to implement quality standardisation, it is important to distinguish between private and professional hosts; and, second, that consensus must be reached on: (1) whether quality would be standardised at national or EU level; (2) which governing body should be responsible for quality certifications (e.g., governments or private institutions as in the case of ISO standards); and (3) identification of practices that should be certified (e.g., property facilities/amenities, size, health & safety protection, etc.).
•Initiatives to provide quality standards for short-term rentals emerged in Europe.•Transition from self-regulation towards quality accreditations of short-term rentals.•The professionalisation of the short-term rental market fosters quality standards.•Distinction between private and professional hosts needed to assure quality.
This paper explores employee attitudes on pay communication and pay transparency and compares perceptions from private and public sector employees. Primary research was conducted among 353 employees ...working in the public and private sector in Croatia. Research results indicate that employees from the public sector, when compared to employees from the private sector, showed a more positive attitude towards pay transparency, higher preference for pay transparency and willingness to communicate one’s pay. Employees from the public sector perceive greater beneficial effect of pay transparency than employees from the private sector. The pay communication policy and level of pay transparency can act as additional factors that attract employees to the public or private sector and thus cause employee sorting between the two sectors.
With increasing worldwide use of individual variable pay (IVP) and thereby some theoretical suggestions to drop it in collectivistic societies it is worth examining the role of variable pay in such ...cultural surroundings. This paper aims at answering the following research questions: what kind of IVP systems are offered in collectivistic societies, is the implementation of IVP systems related to some specific company characteristic and what results can companies achieve by using IVP systems. A primary research of compensation practices was conducted among 58 Croatian medium and large companies. The research carried out shows that in Croatia, which is a highly collectivistic society, companies offer IVP such as pay for performance, sales commissions and occasional bonuses to its employees. Non-parametric testing has shown that the use of individual-based pay for performance is dependent upon the size and ownership structure of the company. However, contrary to some previous findings and expectations, our analysis reveals only minor differences in organisational outcomes between companies that apply or do not apply individual incentives. Research results support the thesis of global convergence of compensation practices and show that collectivistic heritage does not inhibit the implementation of IVP.
Uncivil behavior at work can have numerous consequences for individuals and the organization. This paper examines the interplay of personality traits and organizational culture as antecedents of ...workplace incivility. Empirical research on a sample of 251 employees has shown that the perceptions and occurrence of workplace incivility can be significantly related to personality traits and features of organizational culture. When looking at the combined effect of personality and organizational culture, culture determines one’s perception and experience of incivility stronger than personality traits alone. The research showed that personality trait agreeableness and emphasizing values related to clan, market or adhocracy culture could reduce the odds of workplace incivility.
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