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We examined the state of “enchantment” as a consumer motivator, especially in the context of social and travel restrictions during COVID-19. An online purposive sample ( n = 104) provided narrative data and ratings of past experiences versus future expectations of enchantment. Linguistic cluster analysis revealed five categories of these experiences termed Escapade, Nostalgia, Catharsis, Communion, and Attachment. These categories strongly align to hospitality-tourism offerings, but businesses must help consumers to overcome certain stated barriers (COVID and economic concerns) to future experiences of enchantment. Moreover, people often intend to relive their past experiences of enchantment but will opt for “escapades” when novelty is desired or repeats are unworkable.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the validity of the Managerial Practices Survey (MPS). Despite voluminous work on leadership styles, few studies have examined the specific behaviors of effective leaders in the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from two different samples through surveys to assess the construct validity of the MPS in the hospitality industry. Findings The proposed four meta-category and 18 component behavior MPS framework fit the data well and both the meta-categories and component behaviors were predictive of leadership effectiveness. Practical implications While meta-categories may be conceptually and theoretically relevant, component leadership behaviors are more useful for applied uses, such as leadership development. When behaviors are assessed at the component level, leaders can be provided with feedback and coaching on the specific actions they can take to improve their decision-making and problem-solving capabilities and ultimately become more effective leaders. Originality/value This research provides a validation of the MPS and useful insights for which behaviors are most useful for managers in hospitality contexts.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of the training and development field and present our projections for future inquiry in this important domain. Design/methodology/approach This submission is intended for possible publication as a perspective article as per the editor’s call regarding the Platinum Jubilee; thus, it is a brief review of the focal topic and projection of the future. Findings Employee training and development will continue to be a priority for the hospitality and tourism industry. The systems framework has been clearly established, but it is evident that additional inquiry is needed to explain how the various framework elements are related. In the decades to come, this framework will be expanded to account for the complexities that emerge from the prolific growth in information and resources for supporting training and development. Research limitations/implications While based on decades of previous research, it is always difficult to predict the future, especially 75 years out. Originality/value This paper offers a research primer on the focal topic and prescription for future efforts.

The disruptions to the global hospitality industry have been accelerated, particularly after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it is even more important for scholars to focus on future research that addresses the most relevant and important industry-specific challenges. In this paper, we analyze the recent hospitality research and industry trends to identify the topics that have received the most attention, and then compare these trends to the survey results from two key industry stakeholders - academics (N = 67) and practitioners (N = 235) - regarding the most important short- and longer-terms research priorities. Overall, the findings suggest that both stakeholder groups have placed supply and demand characteristics, as well as technology, as the industry's most pressing priorities in both the short- and longer-term future. The relative importance of safety and cleanliness is expected to decline over time while environmental sustainability will gain increasing attention in the future.

Given the importance of well-designed and well-executed training programs, it is important to learn more about the content and design of effective training programs for new employees, particularly those that have been implemented in the hospitality industry. Through a field study assessment of pre-opening training programs that have been implemented by fifteen hotel firms and sixteen restaurant companies, we found that hotels and restaurants spend approximately the same time on pre-opening training for new staff, with the exception of restaurant managers, who receive significantly more days of training than do their hotel counterparts. In addition, there were substantive differences in the amount of pre-opening training based on firm size and whether the company was publicly traded or privately held. We also found that the majority of pre-opening training is designed and delivered by corporate staff, and a balance of active and passive training methods are used for facilitation. Finally, although our survey methodology did not allow us to determine the costs associated with pre-opening training (and therefore the return on these efforts), we noted that the firms used guest satisfaction measures and measured the employees’ content mastery, among other metrics.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to present a review of the human resources (HR) research that has been published over the past ten years in discipline-based and hospitality-specific journals and identify key trends and opportunities for advancing future research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a critical review of the extant literature in the general HR management and hospitality HR management fields. Findings – A comparison of the findings shows a substantial degree of overlap in the themes and results that have been generated to date. However, several hospitality studies have identified a number of variables that appear to be particularly relevant for labor-intensive, service-focused settings. As such, context-specific factors should be considered in efforts to advance our understanding about the ways in which hospitality HR systems may impact a wide array of individual and organizational outcomes. Originality/value – The results offer a foundation for advancing future hospitality HR research.

Wright and Snell (1998) contend that HR flexibility is an important construct that may enable managers and management scholars to gain a greater understanding of the role of human resource management in enhancing firm performance. However, there is limited evidence regarding the psychometric properties of the measures that have been used to assess the HR flexibility construct and examine its effects. A primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a psychometrically sound measure of the HR flexibility construct. In this article, we present evidence of content validity/adequacy, internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity that provides support for the use of this study’s multidimensional HR flexibility measure in subsequent empirical inquiries and theory testing efforts. Implications and limitations of this current research as well as avenues for future research are discussed.

While scholars know a great deal about the operational challenges faced by customer-contact employees in the hospitality industry, there is much to be learned about the factors associated with the work context that influences employee motivation, performance, and retention. In this study, the authors examined the nature and impact of perceptions about an organization’s customer service climate on ratings of self-efficacy, customer service job performance, and intentions to leave among employees in customer-contact positions. Results demonstrated that employees’ perceptions about the climate for service quality were significantly related to motivation, supervisor ratings of service job performance, and self-rated intentions to leave. The results offer insights regarding the role of service climate perceptions and the means for effectively managing customer-contact staff and generating higher levels of retention.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a more refined and comprehensive explanation of the HR‐firm performance relationship. Based on the recent conceptual and empirical research that is grounded in attribution theory, the model posits that flexibility regarding firm's HR system is a key mediator in the focal relationship, and that environmental dynamism determines the extent to which flexibility may be required. Specifically, the model specifies that a firm's high commitment work system will have a direct influence on the flexibility of the HR system, as well as climate perceptions about commitment and performance. HR flexibility and climate will in turn influence employees' evaluative attributions regarding the effectiveness of the firm's HR system, which will in turn affect employee commitment and performance and ultimately, firm‐level performance outcomes. And finally, the model specifies that environmental dynamism will have a direct influence on HR flexibility and the resulting employee‐ and firm‐level outcomes. This explanation is designed to have broad utility in light of the adaptive requirements for firms that operate in rapidly changing and highly competitive conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper.FindingsThe proposed model provides a more comprehensive explanation of the mechanisms by which a firm's high commitment work practices may influence firm performance, and as such, offers both a diagnostic and prescriptive basis for improving and enhancing the firm's competitive position.Originality/valueThe analysis and discussion presented in this paper demonstrates the need for a broader perspective on the internal and external contingencies that influence the HR‐firm performance relationship. The proposed model addresses this need and offers a more detailed, flexibility‐based explanation of how HCWS affect individual and organizational performance outcomes. It is hoped that this expanded framework offers new insights that will help scholars and practitioners to consider the ways in which HR practices can be leveraged to promote committed, high‐performing employees that help organizations achieve sustained levels of superior performance.