The paper identifies the critical competencies affecting Egyptian travel agents' performance while assessing the negative influence of nepotism on such competencies. To address this aim, the study ...uses a holistic dual approach employing a multivariate technique using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and a configuration method through a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Based on a sample of 500 travel agents' employees, the results show that: (1) none of the competencies is sufficient to drive travel agents’ performance, (2) two distinct configurations of employee competencies are likely to result in high performance, and (3) nepotism has a direct negative influence on some of these competencies. The study holds important implications for both theory and practice.
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•The interaction of nepotism, employees' competencies and performance is examined.•A sample of 500 travel agents operating in the Egyptian tourism sector is surveyed.•A dual approach including a regression based and configuration approach is used.•Two distinct combinations of employees' competencies can increase performance.•Nepotism inhibits employees' competencies.
This article presents an analysis by using an electronic commerce model. The model was tested in 31 small and medium-sized travel agencies in West Java, Indonesia. In the second year, we conducted a ...qualitative approach by establishing a focus group discussion (FGD). The content analysis was applied to obtain a clear result of various information and resources of the FGD. The results were analyzed using NVivo 10 with a process of data reduction and showing that, in terms of technological and organizational preparation, most travel agencies have managed the electronic business from customer relationship management to the system of operations.
•Convenience, compatibility, and PEOU are positively associated with MHB loyalty.•Compatibility significantly influences PEOU and perceived convenience.•PEOU has a significant impact on perceived ...convenience.
With the advancements in mobile technologies, mobile hotel booking (MHB) has become an important distribution channel for hotels and online travel agencies (OTAs). Understanding MHB users’ loyalty intentions toward this technology has become equally important for MHB service providers, as it is essential for them to retain their customers. However, existing literature in the context of mobile booking has mainly focused on the adoption and acceptance of this technology. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model that incorporates antecedents of mobile shopping loyalty in a hotel booking context. The proposed model was tested through structural equation modeling (SEM) by using empirical data collected from 396 MHB users. Study results revealed that convenience, compatibility, and perceived ease of use (PEOU) had a significant impact on the users’ loyalty intentions toward MHB technology. In addition, compatibility significantly influenced PEOU and convenience and PEOU had a significant impact on loyalty and convenience. Study results provide valuable theoretical and practical implications for various players in the hotel and travel industry including hoteliers, OTAs, mobile app developers and hospitality technology vendors.
•Dynamic pricing is a by-product of revenue management activities. It is thought to be a pervasive feature of hotels’ online pricing behavior.•There are also, however, theoretical reasons for ...implementing uniform, time-invariant prices.•We track the prices of Mediterranean hotels on an Online Travel Agent, and find a strong propensity to use uniform pricing.•Such a propensity falls sharply in 4 and 5 star hotels, which represent, however, a small proportion in all markets.•The use of revenue management techniques appears to be correlated with the company’s culture and its organizational design.
Understanding how tourist firms set their online prices is important given their growing reliance on Online Travel Agencies (OTA). The article investigates whether the narrative of a pervasive presence of dynamic pricing provides a realistic description of hotels’ online pricing behavior and thus challenges the view that dynamic pricing should be considered the prevailing norm for the industry. The evidence suggests a heterogeneous attitude across hotels, with uniform pricing being more widespread in most hotels of our sample, namely, the 3-star or less, while dynamic pricing is more likely applied in higher quality hotels.
The paper aims to explore the intervening role of wisdom leadership in the link between leadership styles and employees' team performance, in the context of travel agents. Drawing on the leadership ...theory and the strategic leadership model, we develop an integrative model exploring the relationships between four distinct leadership styles and their influence on employees' satisfaction and team performance, through the mediating role of wise leadership. Using data collected from 505 travel agents operating in Egypt, we show that not all leadership styles have a positive influence on employees’ satisfaction. We also show that a positive influence takes place through the development of wisdom leadership. Our findings hold important implications for both the research community and travel agents.
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•The paper examines the role of wisdom leadership in the link between leadership styles and job satisfaction.•A sample of 505 travel agents operating in the Egyptian tourism sector was surveyed.•Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.•The paper finds that not all leadership styles have a positive influence on employees' satisfaction.•The paper shows that wisdom leadership mediates the influence of leadership styles on job satisfaction.
•Exploring customer’s brand attitude using qualitative aspects of online reviews.•Qualitative aspects can help in separating reviews reflecting low brand-attitude.•Total sentiment content and content ...polarity have a positive effect on brand attitude.•Negative high arousal and low arousal emotions have a negative effect on attitude.•Parts-of-speech aspects have no significant effect on predicting brand attitude.
This paper aims to explore the important qualitative aspects of online user-generated-content that reflects customers’ brand-attitudes. Additionally, the qualitative aspects can help service-providers understand customers’ brand-attitudes by focusing on the important aspects rather than reading the entire review, which will save both their time and effort. We have utilised a total of 10,000 reviews from TripAdvisor (an online-travel-agency provider). This study has analysed the data using statistical-technique (logistic regression), predictive-model (artificial-neural-networks) and structural-modelling technique to understand the most important aspects (i.e. sentiment, emotion or parts-of-speech) that can help to predict customers’ brand-attitudes. Results show that sentiment is the most important aspect in predicting brand-attitudes. While total sentiment content and content polarity have significant positive association, negative high-arousal emotions and low-arousal emotions have significant negative association with customers’ brand attitudes. However, parts-of-speech aspects have no significant impact on brand attitude. The paper concludes with implications, limitations and future research directions.
This paper investigates how perceived leader behavioral integrity and empowering leader behaviors stimulate employee voice at SMEs travel agents in Egypt. Data were collected from 500 frontline ...employees. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) was employed to test the hypotheses. The findings confirmed that perceived leader behavioral integrity significantly impacted empowering leader behaviors and employee voice. Empowering leader behaviors positively influenced employee voice. Moreover, the results showed that empowering leader behaviors mediated the relationship between perceived leader behavioral integrity and employee voice. Finally, there were no differences between family and non-family businesses in most of the relationships studied.
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•The paper aims to explore how perceived leader behavioral integrity is related to employee voice behavior.•The sample of the study is SMEs travel agents.•Perceived leader behavioral integrity promotes voice behavior of travel agents frontline employees.•Empowering leader behaviors mediates the relationship between perceived leader behavioral integrity and employee voice behavior.•Further analysis differentiates between family and non-family businesses.
The importance of authentic leadership has increased in various organizations as one of the positive leadership styles that affect the survival and continuity of organizations in a dynamic work ...environment. This is due to the influence of authentic leadership on many organizational outcomes such as performance, satisfaction, productivity, incivility, and counterproductive work behaviors. The objectives of this study are to assess the impact of authentic leadership on workplace incivility and counterproductive work behaviors, identify the impact of workplace incivility on counterproductive work behaviors, and explore the mediating role of workplace incivility in the relationship between authentic leadership and counterproductive work behaviors in Egyptian and Turkish travel agents. Data were obtained from 647 employees working in Egyptian and Turkish travel agents. Results indicated that authentic leadership is negatively affected both workplace incivility and counterproductive work behaviors, while workplace incivility is positively affected counterproductive work behaviors. The results also highlighted that workplace incivility plays a partial mediating role in the link between authentic leadership and counterproductive work behaviors in Egyptian and Turkish travel agents.
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