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For decades, the airline and hotel industries have regularly changed prices to keep pace with fluctuating levels of consumer demand. This demand-based approach to pricing is referred to as revenue management. Meanwhile, the sport industry has traditionally underpriced tickets using a cost-based approach in order to maximize attendance and promote fan satisfaction. However, as operating costs have grown, sport organizations are now forced to reconsider these conservative pricing practices. Subsequently, in 2009, the San Francisco Giants were the first team to utilize dynamic pricing, which is a strategy that mirrors the revenue management approach. While data supporting or refuting the reported benefits of this approach in sport remains sparse, the current paper utilizes the research on revenue management to develop an agenda of considerations regarding the use of demand-based ticket pricing strategies in sport. The paper is designed to guide researchers as they begin to explore the strategy's myriad of critical (and yet unexplored) issues. Additionally, practical implications of adopting this pricing strategy in sport are considered., Introduction Throughout much of the 20th century, the vast majority of sport managers employed one of two pricing strategies for their tickets: (1) the 'one-size-fits-all' approach where prices for every [...]

Considering the unprecedented event of COVID-19 as both global public health and economic crisis, its impacts on society including businesses are almost unimaginable. In particular, since the tourism and hospitality industries are among the hardest hit, tourism and hospitality researchers should examine how to understand its implications for these industries. This article takes a view from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) standpoint in relation to the current pandemic and attempts to provide some research implications, especially from the financial economics and strategic management perspectives. Potential research topics discussed in the article include emerging CSR initiatives throughout the pandemic, a comparison between pre- and post-pandemic financial implications of CSR, a moderating role of CSR strategy, various performance measures including risk measures, and culture and industry as boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by resource-based view, this study investigates performance stabilization of new hotels in emerging markets. Profitability measures (e.g., gross operating profit percentage [GOP%]) and standard operating metrics (i.e., average daily rate [ADR], occupancy, and revenue per available room [RevPAR]) for 105 hotels in China, Indonesia, and Thailand were collected from 2002 to 2015. Growth analysis of the data showed that, contrary to industry assumptions within mature markets, most hotels did not stabilize when standard operating metrics were used; even when they did, they took significantly longer than 3 years. Instead, GOP% was identified as the best measure to exhibit stable performance; hence, this measure was econometrically regressed against each hotel's comparative advantages. Results showed that real estate type and hotel positioning significantly affected performance stabilization, whereas location and scale did not. This study contributes to the current dearth of literature on strategic management and hotel performance, providing previously unavailable empirical evidence relating to bottom-line profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the economic influences of an increase in minimum wage on labor markets, this study examines the effects of the federal-level minimum wage increase on U.S. hotel properties employing a difference-in-differences (DID) estimation method. We compared NYC which witnessed a federal minimum wage increase in 2009 to Washington, D.C which did not receive a wage increase in the same year. Findings showed that the newly enacted federal minimum wage law did not significantly influence U.S. hotel properties' labor costs. This study, on the other hand, found that the federal minimum wage increase negatively affected hotel properties' performance, measured by EBITDA and total revenue. This study adds value to the hospitality and tourism literature by rigorously revealing a causal effect of the minimum wage increase on hotel property performance. Further, this study's findings also provide meaningful guidance for hotel industry practitioners related to navigating minimum wage increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of internationalization on firm performance has been investigated in the hospitality literature in a relatively extensive manner. However, the literature has still provided mixed findings. Furthermore, the moderating role of top management teams (TMTs) on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance has not been explored yet in the hospitality literature. Considering the increasing importance of internationalization in the hospitality industry and a significant role of TMTs in implementing this internationalization, this study performs a comprehensive examination on the effect of internationalization on firm performance using three different internationalization measures (i.e., degree, diversification, and speed) and three different performance measures (i.e., Tobin's q, return on assets, and international returns). This study also tests the moderating role of heterogeneity in TMTs' nationality based on the upper echelons theory, employing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to test the proposed hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study empirically investigates the influence of corporate governance structure on the firm's financial performance of the alcohol beverage industry in the United States. Secondary financial data were collected for the U.S.-based alcohol beverage firms. Bivariate correlation and fixed-effects model analyses were performed to examine the proposed impacts. A two-stage least-squares (2SLS) regression analysis was subsequently performed to examine the endogeneity. The analysis outcomes support the finding that certain corporate governance attributes significantly affect the financial performance of alcohol beverage firms. Theoretically, the findings reaffirmed the financial impact of industry-specific corporate governance structures (i.e., stewardship versus agency theory, and integrated traits of hospitality, retail, and distribution of the alcohol industry). Managerial implications are suggested in terms of the alcohol industry's specific corporate governance models, such as the balance among common stock ownership, executive tenure, board-size increase, and levels of control by outside board members. As a relevant sector (e.g., festival) of the hospitality and tourism industry, corporate governance of the alcohol beverage industry has never been empirically nor theoretically studied. The governance attributes in this study are compared between stewardship and agency theory and provide a better understanding of alcohol beverage industry firms' corporate governance structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses endogeneity and causality issues in analyzing panel data and presents possible suggestions to alleviate them. Establishing causality is of paramount interest for researchers, yet the hospitality literature has tended to employ econometric techniques that rely heavily on modeling assumptions for endogeneity problems. Accordingly, this article provides practical guidance for hospitality researchers in addressing endogeneity issues when analyzing panel data. Specifically, this article (a) discusses endogeneity issues in the use of panel data, (b) suggests possible remedies to mitigate endogeneity problems, (c) reviews how the existing hospitality literature has previously dealt with such problems, and (d) suggests how hospitality researchers can effectively address endogeneity issues with reference to an example of difference-in-differences methods using restaurant panel data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the acknowledged importance of investigating the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP) within a single industry, very few studies have examined this relationship in the context of the sport industry. Using charitable giving data as a proxy of CSR, this study investigated if CSR would affect CFP of professional sport teams within the four major U.S. leagues. Although the positive CSR-CFP relationship was hypothesized based on instrumental stakeholder theory, CSR was found to have non-positive effects on CFR These results are still notable since they may highlight the importance of the connectedness between CSR and team operations and the awareness of CSR activity among stakeholders in leveraging CSR benefits. Overall, through the use of improved methodology, the current study furthers the understanding of the CSR-CFP relationship among the U.S. professional teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the implications of adopting a franchising strategy in the restaurant industry have been examined in previous literature, the role of franchising has mostly been viewed as a means of growth, without much attention paid to its role in reducing risk via alleviating earnings volatility. In this study, we examine whether, and to what extent, franchising in restaurant firms can reduce earnings volatility occurring due to fluctuating economic conditions. Our longitudinal analysis of publicly traded restaurant firms from 1994 to 2012 shows that, during changes in economic conditions, firms adopting a high degree of franchising face lower earnings volatility than firms that adopt a restricted degree of franchising. Our article contributes to the literature on restaurant franchising as a risk-management strategy while providing avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the unprecedented pandemic in recent history, COVID-19 vaccination mandates in the U.S. caused significant changes and disruption in hospitality operations and customer experiences. The primary goal of this study is to examine whether and how customer incivility induced by the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the U.S. affects employees' behavioral outcomes (i.e., stress spread between employees and turnover intention) via psychological mechanisms (i.e., stress and negative emotion) and when the relationship is moderated by personal (employee prosocial motivation) and organizational (supervisor support) characteristics. Findings show that customer incivility increases employee turnover intention as well as interpersonal conflicts at work via increased stress and negative emotions. These relationships are weakened when prosocial motivation of employees and the level of supervisor support is high. Findings expand the occupational stress model by specifically incorporating the context of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and further provide implications for restaurant managers and policy makers. • Customer incivility increases both employee stress and negative emotions. • Customer incivility indirectly increases employee turnover intention and stress spread at work. • Employee prosocial motivation attenuates the impact of customer incivility on employee emotions and behavior. • Supervisor support mitigates the impact of customer incivility on employee emotions and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPromoting customers’ pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is crucial for greening the hotel industry. However, customers often hesitate to adopt resource-saving PEBs in public places like hotels due to a "dual positive externality/spillover" problem – extra positive economic spillovers and increased positive environmental spillovers, compared to conducting such behaviors in private households. This study explores habitual PEBs at home and two distinct environmental cognitions associated with key spillover beneficiaries (nature and hotels) to address this challenge and accelerate customers’ PEBs in hotel settings. The rationale is that customers’ habitual PEBs at home can automatically extend to hotels with insensitivity or low sensitivity to positive spillovers; the two beneficiary-linked environmental cognitions (general environmental awareness associated with nature and occasional corporate environmental responsibility attribution [CERA] linked to hotels) can make customers psychologically internalize the positive spillovers of their PEBs at home and hotels to different degrees by changing psychological boundaries between actors and beneficiaries, and/or enable them to realize the intrinsic psychological rewards or incentives (such as a sense of pride or identification) that serve as compensation for the spillovers. Furthermore, this study proposes that habitual PEBs at home mediate between general environmental awareness and PEBs at hotels by bridging the cognition-behavior gap. Moreover, there is a sequential decrease in the effects of habitual PEBs at home, altruistic CERA, and environmental awareness on PEBs at hotels. Empirical evidence from a survey of Chinese hotel guests supports most hypotheses, offering valuable insights for promoting PEBs in the hotel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand equity plays a significant role in the restaurant industry due to the competitive advantage gained by differentiation. It has been identified as a main component of intangible assets that decides the market value of a firm in the industry. Although the importance of brand equity has been well recognized in the restaurant literature, there has been little investigation regarding how to objectively quantify brand equity, especially by using secondary market data. Further, there is no publicly available brand equity data of restaurant firms thus far. For these reasons, this study aims to develop an approach on how to estimate a restaurant's brand equity not only by utilizing the secondary market data but also by incorporating the unique characteristics of restaurant firms. By proposing a restaurant-specific model to estimate brand equity, this study contributes to the restaurant literature and to the industry as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops three hypotheses regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the hotel industry. First, the study examines a ranking of consumers’ perceived importance of the four CSR dimensions proposed by Carroll’s hierarchy of CSR in 1991, expecting the following orders: philanthropic, ethical, legal, and economic dimensions, from most to least important. Second, the study investigates the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of and their overall support for CSR. Third, the study introduces the type of hotel (for example, economy, mid-scale, and upscale) as a moderator to provide a better explanation of the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of the CSR dimensions and support for CSR. Contributions to the CSR literature in general, and also specifically relating to the hotel context, and managerial implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of debt is prevalent in the restaurant industry. While there have been numerous studies on restaurant capital structure, this study examines the relationship between firm performance and effective interest rate on debt used by restaurant firms. This study uses a sample of 56 publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms for the years 2012–2014. We examine the relationship between effective interest rates and firm performance as measured by approximate Tobin’s Q, return on assets, and return on equity. We find a significant and positive relationship between effective interest rates and return on equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to determine whether vaccination rates and the use of franchising have an impact on the volatility of stock returns in the restaurant industry. Based on the agency and resource scarcity theories, this study first examines the effect of vaccinations against COVID-19 on a restaurant firm's stock return volatilities caused by uncertainty during a crisis. The study further investigates whether firm-specific vaccination rates more greatly reduce stock return volatilities as the degree of franchising increases. With a two-way fixed-effects model, the study finds that the firm-specific vaccination rate reduces volatilities of the firm's stock returns. However, the study also finds an opposite direction to the moderating effect of franchising in that the more a restaurant firm franchises, the further the risk-reduction effect of its vaccination rate diminishes. Theoretical and practical implications along with limitations are discussed. • Firm-specific vaccination rates reduce volatilities of the firm's stock returns. • As a restaurant firm franchises more, the risk-reduction effect of its vaccination rate diminishes. • High vaccination rates across the nation will help businesses reduce risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]