•Engaging in CSR activities can increase stock returns of hospitality firms during the COVID-19 pandemic.•The positive effect of CSR on stock returns takes place in five days.•Community-related CSR ...has a stronger and quicker effect on stock returns than CSR toward customers and employees.•Publicly traded hospitality firms can invest in CSR during a pandemic to protect their firm value.•Hospitality firms’ historical CSR performance influences the effectiveness of CSR investment during the pandemic.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a significant decline in the stock market worldwide, and hospitality companies are experiencing serious financial problems. Protecting and preserving firm value is a critical way of helping hospitality companies survive the crisis. The influence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm value has been widely investigated. However, little is known about the stock price movement following CSR activity adoption during an industrial crisis. Using event study and difference-in-difference method, this study reveals that engaging in CSR activities can increase the stock returns and stakeholder attention of hospitality firms during the pandemic. Community-related CSR has a stronger and more immediate effect on stock returns than customer- and employee-related CSR. Results also indicate that hospitality firms that pursue improved stock market performance during a pandemic can invest in CSR to protect communities, customers, and employees for attracting further stakeholder attention.
This study investigates the impact of economy and tourism growth on the corporate performance of tourist hotels in Taiwan. The indicators of corporate performance under consideration are occupancy ...rate (
OPR), return on assets (
ROA), return on equity (
ROE), stock return, and the overall financial performance measured by a comprehensive score (a combined measure of asset management, profitability, short-term solvency or liquidity and long-term solvency based on factor analysis). The effects of changes in the state of economy (real
GDP growth rate,
Δ
GDP
) and tourism growth (growth rate of total foreign tourist arrivals,
Δ
TA
) on the corporate performance of tourist hotels are then examined via panel regression tests. Test results show that both
Δ
GDP
and
Δ
TA
are significant explanatory factors of
OPR, but only
Δ
TA
can strongly explain
ROA and
ROE. However, neither
Δ
GDP
nor
Δ
TA
have a significant influence on hotel stock performance. Further, the economic factor
(
Δ
GDP
)
is slightly more crucial than the industry factor
(
Δ
TA
)
in describing the overall financial performance in the Taiwanese hotel industry. Empirical findings offer valuable information for government tourism policymakers and tourist hotel owners and managers.
This study uses panel regression tests to examine the response of hotel performance to international tourism development and crisis events in Taiwan. Hotel performance measures are revenue (revenue ...per available room and occupancy rate), profitability (return on assets and return on equity) and stock performance. The crises were the earthquake on September 21, 1999 (the 9/21 earthquake), the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US (the 9/11 terrorist attacks) and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome on April 22, 2003 (the SARS outbreak). This study makes four major contributions. First, test results confirm that international tourism development (ITD), proxied by the growth of total inbound tourist arrivals, has a more direct influence on hotel sales and profitability than it does on hotel stock performance. Second, this study identifies that the absence of a strong tie between ITD and hotel stock returns that was found in previous studies is due to the time-varying discount rate caused by investors’ changing expectations for the prospect of future cash flows from holding hotel stocks. Third, this study finds new evidence that while the poor performance of hotel stocks caused by the 9/21 earthquake and the 9/11 terrorist attacks was attributed to the loss of hotel sales revenue, the adverse effect of the SARS outbreak on hotel stock returns is attributed not only to decreased hotel sales revenue but also to the increased discount rate. Lastly, this study is the first to investigate whether the response of hotel stock returns to ITD depends on the state of economy and concludes that the response of hotel stock performance to ITD in business cycle contraction is statistically different from that in business cycle expansion. Further, although the influence of ITD on hotel stock performance is still irrelevant during expansion periods, ITD can significantly enhance hotel stock returns during contraction periods.
Electrochromic devices (ECDs) play an important role in smart window applications for blocking heat from sunlight. Tungsten trioxide (WO3) is one of the best candidates for making electrochromic ...films. Current manufacturing processes are, however, costly, have long processing time, and often use non-eco-friendly precursors. Here an alternative facile method integrating electro-exploding wire and spray coating techniques is demonstrated for applications in large size ECDs. The electro-exploding wire technique is used to synthesize WO3 nanomaterials (NMs) in deionized water. The varied size distribution of WO3 NMs is achieved by changing the exploding voltage. The NMs are characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The exploding voltage of 36 V is selected to generate WO3 NMs in a wide size distribution for making porous WO3 films. Subsequently, spray coating is used to disperse WO3 NM suspension on the ITO/glass substrate to form an electrochromic film. The films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by cycle voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and chronocoulometry measurements in dilute sulfuric acid. The WO3 NM films prepared at a high exploding voltage and a high substrate temperature present a higher electrochemical stability. Considering porosity and electrochemical stability, WO3 NMs exploded at 36 V are used to prepare WO3 films on substrates heated at 300 °C. The electrochromic WO3 film can be operated for over 1000 cycles. We demonstrate an ECD with an area of 15 × 15 cm2 and propose a way to make large size ECDs with low cost and eco-friendly processes.
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•The preparation of WO3 nanomaterials is simply done in water. It's a completely green technology. The following spray coating is also carried out by the suspension of WO3 nanomaterials in water.•The size “distribution” of the nanomaterials can be tuned using the exploding voltage thus the optimal size distribution for preparing a better porous film structure can be selected.•The porosity of the electrochromic film can be adjusted by using different size distribution of electro-exploded nanomaterials.•The large-size electrochromic device of 15 cm by 15 cm is prepared with 125-μm thick, PMMA-based LiClO4 electrolyte.•The ECD shows a large transmittance different of 55.4% between the colored and the bleached states for light of 633 nm in wavelength.
mRNA-based drugs have tremendous potential as clinical treatments, however, a major challenge in realizing this drug class will promise to develop methods for safely delivering the bioactive agents ...with high efficiency and without activating the immune system. With regard to mRNA vaccines, researchers have modified the mRNA structure to enhance its stability and promote systemic tolerance of antigenic presentation in non-inflammatory contexts. Still, delivery of naked modified mRNAs is inefficient and results in low levels of antigen protein production. As such, lipid nanoparticles have been utilized to improve delivery and protect the mRNA cargo from extracellular degradation. This advance was a major milestone in the development of mRNA vaccines and dispelled skepticism about the potential of this technology to yield clinically approved medicines. Following the resounding success of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, many other mRNA-based drugs have been proposed for the treatment of a variety of diseases. This review begins with a discussion of mRNA modifications and delivery vehicles, as well as the factors that influence administration routes. Then, we summarize the potential applications of mRNA-based drugs and discuss further key points pertaining to preclinical and clinical development of mRNA drugs targeting a wide range of diseases. Finally, we discuss the latest market trends and future applications of mRNA-based drugs.
Rural revitalization is not only a strategy to promote sustainable rural development in developing countries, but also an inevitable trend towards global urbanization. This study used multi-source ...data, such as remote sensing images, building data, official websites and field survey, to investigate the morphological and social evolution of rural communities from the perspective of touristification and to analyze their drivers. The results showed that from 1988 to 2016, the selected sample case (Jinshitan scenic area, a tourist location situated in the Liaodong Peninsula in China) experienced continuous increases in the average weighted building height, building volume and floor area ratio; the proportion of non-agricultural employment increased by 99.57%; and tourism has become the leading industry in the research site, with a tenfold value of agricultural output value during touristification. These data lend support to that rural revitalization strategy is beneficial to non-urban communities in terms of their economic development and growth in China. Findings provided managerial implications suggesting the local government should implement tourism-related development projects to enhance rural tourism activities to develop the local economy and increase employment.
Purpose
This study aims to examine the psychological distress experienced by unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers during the COVID-19 crisis and further investigate how this distress affects ...their career change intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Derived from a sample of 607 unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the data for this research are analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
This study reveals that unemployed and furloughed hospitality workers are financially strained, depressed, socially isolated and panic-stricken due to the pandemic’s effects. These effects lead to impaired well-being and an increased intention to leave the hospitality industry. Female and younger employees are impacted to a greater extent, while furloughed workers received fewer impacts compared to their laid-off compatriots.
Research limitations/implications
This study suggests that lockdown restrictions need to be implemented more deliberately, and the psychological well-being of the hospitality workforce deserves more immediate and continuing attention. It advises that hospitality businesses consider furloughs over layoffs when workforce reduction measures are necessary to combat the financial crisis.
Originality/value
This study adds to the current literature by examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the employee perspective. New insights are offered on the psychological toll of workforce reduction strategies during the financial fallout and how these distressing experiences affect career change intention.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has posed grave threats to the financial and physical health of hospitality employees, this research unveils details of the dilemma experienced by hospitality employees ...during the pandemic, namely, their fear of becoming infected and fired. The research data were derived from a sample of 622 hospitality employees in the U.S. and analyzed using PLS-SEM as a new model of COVID-19 stressors are proposed and tested. The findings show that hospitality employees perceive the pandemic as a traumatic event that elevates their perceived job insecurity and infectious risk. It was also found that both job insecurity and infectious risk lead to increased job stress and turnover intentions, while job insecurity alone is a stronger predictor of turnover intentions. This study is among the first to examine the antecedents and consequences of the dual stressors encountered by public-facing occupations, including hospitality, during the pandemic.
•This research examines the dual stressors for hospitality employees during the pandemic.•Job insecurity and infection risk are identified as dual stressors.•The pandemic-induced panic exacerbates the dual stressors.•Both dual stressors lead to increased job stress and turnover intention.•The pandemic is threatening the life and livelihood of the hospitality workforce.
•A theoretical model is proposed to explain the hospitality philanthropy-performance link.•The theoretical model is based on the productivity effect.•An empirical test is performed to see if the link ...is through the demand effect, the productivity effect or both.•The productivity effect alone explains the positive link in Taiwan.
According to value enhancement theory, corporate philanthropy could have a beneficial impact on hospitality firm performance through the demand and productivity effects. This study makes two significant contributions to the hospitality philanthropy-performance literature in two ways. First, the paper proposes a theoretical model of the hospitality philanthropy-performance relationship based on the productivity effect, not the demand effect. The theoretical innovation in this study can inspire future research and enhance the theoretical development in the literature. The second contribution is that the study performs an empirical analysis to test whether the positive link between hospitality philanthropy and performance is through the demand effect and/or the productivity effect. The results of both panel regression and causality tests using data of Taiwan’s hospitality firms show that the productivity effect alone explains the positive link between hospitality philanthropy and performance.
This study examines the causal relationship between tourism expansion and economic development in Taiwan. A Granger causality test is performed following the cointegration approach to reveal the ...direction of causality between economic growth and tourism expansion. Test results indicate a long-run equilibrium relationship and further a bi-directional causality between the two factors. In other words, in Taiwan, tourism and economic development reinforce each other. A discussion follows and managerial implications are identified based on the empirical findings.
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