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Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the lighter (entertainment and esthetic experiences) and darker sides (educational and escapist experiences) of dark tourism experiences. This study also examines the effect of lighter and darker sides of dark tourism experiences on functional and emotional value. Design/methodology/approach To investigate how and where visitors experience lighter and darker sides of dark tourism, the authors conducted in-depth interviews from visitors to the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ). To demonstrate consequences of lighter and darker sides of dark tourism experiences on functional and emotional value, the authors collected field survey data. Taken together, the authors used mixed methods with exploratory sequential design. Findings Interviewees vividly described their entertainment (crossing the suspension bridge) and esthetic experiences (seeing a family of crane birds from a short distance) in the Korean DMZ. They also described educational (understanding the background of the civil war) and escapist experiences (limiting daily entries made them feel like they were entering a special place or even a foreign country). Survey results showed that educational and esthetic experiences increased emotional value, while educational and escapist experiences enhanced functional value of a tour of the Korean DMZ. Originality/value Previous research operationalized lighter and darker sides of dark tourism based on characteristics of dark tourism sites. Specifically, darker and lighter aspects of dark tourism were determined, depending on whether such sites are directly related to human death or not. However, the current study draws on tourist experiences to operationalize lighter and darker sides of dark tourism. While previous research focused on the supply side, this study shifts focus to the demand side, thereby advancing knowledge in hybrid dark tourism experiences.

Purpose This study aims to conduct a synopsis and overview of past research that discussed halal hospitality development and the halal travel market. Design/methodology/approach An extensive systematic review of 108 articles within the hospitality and tourism domain from 2000 to 2021 that were extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases was exhaustively assessed. Findings The results are visualised to determine the most thematic domains, contexts and concepts previously discussed. It also computed the contribution of journals, authors and affiliations in fostering the mobility of halal tourism studies. The study attempted to chart new directions and insights for future scholars and academics to expand the scope of halal literature in two ways. It articulated the implications and guidance themes emphasised in previous studies and identified new paths to abreast the contemporary issues of the hospitality and tourism industry, including sustainable consumption trends, community development, technology and smart practises, as well as potential threats and challenges such as islamophobia. Originality/value In view of the fast growth of halal market studies, the direction and contribution of the previous literature produced limited discussions with certain theoretical concepts. This study advises new pathways in which halal tourism development can respond to contemporary issues in hospitality and tourism.

Purpose This paper aims to understand the impact of smart working on employees’ quality of life. The service-dominant logic indicates that key actors, including employees, are resource integrators. This empirical study contributes to the current knowledge of transformative service by expounding on smart working practices and their relationship with self-efficacy and, ultimately, quality of life of employees. Design/methodology/approach This study contends that smart working enhances employees’ self-efficacy. The current research uses conservation of resources (COR) theory as a basis in hypothesizing that self-efficacy serves as a key resource, which can stimulate workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. An onsite survey is conducted among employees who have been involved in smart working in the travel agency context. Findings Smart working has a positive effect on self-efficacy, which positively influences workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Workplace creativity enhances job satisfaction but does not influence quality of life. Job satisfaction boosts quality of life, which is important to tourism services and their employees amid various crises. Research limitations/implications Consistent with COR theory, the immediate recommendation to managers is to invest in smart working, which can lead to employees’ creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this empirical study is the first to assess the viability of smart working in the travel agency context. Smart working offers positive outcomes, such as convenience for employees to work independently, improving workplace creativity, job satisfaction and quality of life. Travel agencies are mainly categorized as small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the future, SMEs may also introduce smart working that can eventually become their competitive advantage to retain talented employees.

PurposeThis empirical research conceptualises the impact of celebrity effectiveness on consumer purchase intention, with customer perception and attitude as mediators. A cross-cultural approach is adopted to analyse consumer response to celebrity branding across Britain and Pakistan containing non-explicit and explicit sex appeals.Design/methodology/approachA within-subject experimental design (2 countries × 2 ad designs) is employed to test the research model across Western and South Asian cultures. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-group analysis (MGA) are used to test proposed hypotheses.FindingsSEM results confirm the theoretical model: perception and attitude towards the advert and brand mediate the impact of celebrity effectiveness on purchase intention. Celebrity-endorsed advertising without explicit sex appeals elicited an overall favourable response across markets. British consumers respond to both adverts similarly. Yet, Pakistani consumers filter advert themes through salient cultural values and respond negatively to explicit sex appeals whilst, interestingly, accepting sexuality in associations of a celebrity endorser.Practical implicationsInternational celebrities can have cross-cultural appeal, and commonalities exist between the markets. A global or domestic marketing strategy can be utilised across the cultures based upon the environmental conditions and the themes and appeals incorporated within advert design.Originality/valueThe conceptual model is developed by consolidating existing models within celebrity endorsement and considering the mediating influence of both the advert and brand. The model is validated across theoretically different cultures. The comparative approach and selection of an underrepresented market provide novel insight into international branding strategies and global consumer culture.

Space tourism, a niche segment of the aviation industry, has radically altered the private sector. A noticeable trend in this market has been the development of commercial space with numerous start-ups and ventures underway. Adopting a concept-driven approach, we conduct a hybrid review to sketch the emerging market areas in space tourism and provided insights into tourists' behavioral responses. Our results are supplemented by an analysis of public viewpoints on space-faring to gauge their alignment with academic views on space tourism. We also develop an integrative framework to elucidate how personality interacts with scenario to influence the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of space tourists and their responses toward space tourism. We recognize critical gaps in previous literature and propose the following recommendations to guide future research: 1) Conceptualization of travel services and tourism typology in the new space market; 2) theoretical contribution on pragmatic and semantic levels; 3) need for empirical and multi-disciplinary studies; 4) investigating the role of ethical issues on bilateral arguments toward commercialized space tourism; 5) integrating stakeholders' perspectives to maximize the socioeconomic impacts of space tourism and environmental sustainability; 6) media platforms and application of new technologies; and 7) role of scientific journals in knowledge enhancement.

Customer needs in service settings are idiosyncratic. Responding to these unique needs requires frontline employees to be creative. Little research looks at the drivers of service employee creativity. We aim to fill that void by assessing two potential key creativity drivers, control mechanisms and management orientations. We collected data from frontline employees and their managers and used multilevel mediation modeling, configurational modeling and analysis of necessary conditions. Multilevel analysis revealed that the influence of process and social controls on employee creativity are fully mediated by self-control, whereas the effects of cultural control are partially mediated. The effect of the service orientation of management on employee creativity is partially mediated by self-control, whereas the effect of profit orientation is fully mediated. Causal models from employee control mechanisms and management orientation configurations provide a deeper insight of sufficient conditions leading to employee creativity. Necessary employee control mechanisms and management orientations are identified.

This empirical research contributes to the current knowledge of sustainable destination management by applying nudge and value belief norm theories. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of sustainable intelligence, destination social responsibility (DSR), biospheric value, and visit experience on pro-environmental behaviour in the eco-tourism site of Upo Wetland, South Korea. This study also compares pro-environmental behaviour across two DSR segments (high and low DSR clusters). Results reveal that sustainable intelligence, biospheric value, DSR, and visit experience at ecotourism sites significantly influence pro-environmental behaviour. Sustainable intelligence exerts the highest effect on pro-environmental behaviour among the variables. The impact of the high DSR group on pro-environmental behaviour is stronger than that on the low DSR group. Thus, managers of ecotourism sites should engage in the high DSR group that does care about sustainable intelligence and biospheric value in environmentally friendly activities.

Purpose This study aims to propose guidelines for the joint use of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to combine symmetric and asymmetric perspectives in model evaluation, in the hospitality and tourism field. Design/methodology/approach This study discusses PLS-SEM as a symmetric approach and fsQCA as an asymmetric approach to analyze structural and configurational models. It presents guidelines to conduct an fsQCA based on latent construct scores drawn from PLS-SEM, to assess how configurations of exogenous constructs produce a specific outcome in an endogenous construct. Findings This research highlights the advantages of combining PLS-SEM and fsQCA to analyze the causal effects of antecedents (i.e., exogenous constructs) on outcomes (i.e., endogenous constructs). The construct scores extracted from the PLS-SEM analysis of a nomological network of constructs provide accurate input for performing fsQCA to identify the sufficient configurations required to predict the outcome(s). Complementing the assessment of the model’s explanatory and predictive power, the fsQCA generates more fine-grained insights into variable relationships, thereby offering the means to reach better managerial conclusions. Originality/value The application of PLS-SEM and fsQCA as separate prediction-oriented methods has increased notably in recent years. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, studies applied the methods inconsistently, giving researchers little direction on how to best apply PLS-SEM and fsQCA in tandem. To address this concern, this study provides guidelines for the joint use of PLS-SEM and fsQCA.

Using the theories of complexity and the spiral of silence, this paper aims to understand how combinations of perceived news, brand gender, and participation explain conditions leading to brand love and customers’ attitudinal loyalty within online contexts. Drawing from a two-stage, mixed-method approach, results indicate that passive participation and brand masculinity are necessary to increase love and attitudinal loyalty to a brand, while perceived news informativeness and entertainment, brand femininity, and active participation are sufficient but not necessary. The study offers theoretical and practical insights that may guide further research and strengthen marketing attempts to improve customer engagement with online fan pages.

This study extends current understanding of how gender shapes value co-creation, perceived service quality and turnover intention within health and fitness clubs. Survey responses were collected from 485 fitness club customers in Iran. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was deployed to demonstrate the effects of predictor variables while fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to identify combinations of value co-creation behaviours capable of predicting model outcomes. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) was also employed to identify the value co-creation factors required to achieve low turnover intentions and high service quality perceptions. Results reveal the moderating role of gender in shaping the complex combinations of value co-creation factors leading to low turnover and high perceived quality; fsQCA findings demonstrate how this differs between male and female consumers. NCA findings suggest that fitness club managers should foster an interactive environment through advocacy programmes, promoting responsible behaviours and boosting tolerance, to encourage both male and female customers to participate in co-creation processes. This is the first empirical study to apply complexity theory to explore whether service quality perceptions and turnover intentions vary across gender via structural and configurational modelling.

Drawing on the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), and a gender perspective, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model postulating relationships between sexual harassment, burnout, perce...

Purpose - Based on complexity theory, this study develops a configurational model to predict the profitability of Halal cosmetics firms in the Indonesian and Malaysian markets. The proposed research model involves two level configurations-industry context and selling strategies-to predict high and low scores of a firm's profitability. The industry context configuration model comprises industry stability, product homogeneity, price sensitivity, and switching cost. Selling strategies include customer-focused, competitor-focused, and margin-focused approaches. Design/methodology - This is the first empirical study that calculates causal models using a combination of industry context and selling strategy factors to predict profitability. Data obtained from the marketing managers of cosmetics firms are used to test the proposed configurational model using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). It contributes to the current knowledge of business marketing by identifying the factors necessary to achieve profitability using analysis of condition (ANC). Findings - The results revealed that unique and distinct models explain the conditions for high and low profitability in the Indonesian and Malaysian halal cosmetic markets. While customer-focused selling strategy is necessary to attain a higher profit in both the markets, margin-focused selling strategy appears to be an essential factor only in Malaysia. Complexity of the interactions of selling strategies with industry factors and differences between across two study markets confirmed that complexity theory can support the research configurational model. The theoretical and practical implications are also illustrated. Originality/value - Despite the rapid growth of the global halal industry, there is little knowledge about the halal cosmetic market. This study contributes to the current literature of the halal market by performing a set of asymmetric analytical approaches using a complex theoretical model. It also deepens our understating of how the Korean firms can approach the Muslim consumer's needs to generate more beneficial turnover/revenue.

This study argues that method should work hand-in-hand with theory to be able to generate impactful outcomes. This study provides three methodological, theoretical and practical contributions to th...

Accommodation is a fundamental part of tourism, and it plays an important role in the tourist experience. The emerging economy and especially the peer-to-peer accommodations (P2P) have shaken up the conventional accommodations sector. While most P2P accommodation studies have focused on the monetary platform, which includes Airbnb, there is little knowledge about the linkages of involvement and behavioral intentions on the non-profit accommodation users. This empirical study applied a multiple-methods approach to investigate the positive impacts of involvement on couchsurfing, such as P2P accommodations on the destination image, familiarity, and the behavioral intentions. The data was collected from 609 travelers who have used couchsurfing while traveling to Turkey from 2016 to 2017. The results revealed that involvement in couchsurfing improved the destination image, familiarity, the E-WoM, and the revisit intention of couchsurfers. This study also discusses the practical implications.

This study investigates the effects of hotel’s sustainability practices in three areas of sustainability and familiarity with those practices on hotel guest satisfaction and loyalty in the Kazakhstan hotel industry. Using a structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), findings reveal that social and environmental dimensions play positive roles on guests’ satisfaction and loyalty while the economic dimension and familiarity are not significantly related to guest loyalty, although they are likely to improve guest satisfaction. Furthermore, results of the analysis of the necessary conditions to achieve the expected model outcomes indicate that all three sustainability dimensions are necessary for sustainability efforts to have the most positive effect on guest satisfaction and loyalty. Results also indicate that although familiarity alone is insufficient, its combination with the social dimension increases guest satisfaction and loyalty. Findings provide theoretical and practical insights into sustainability practices in the hotel industry.

This empirical study applies complexity theory to understand complex interactions of demographics and medical tourism index (MTI) dimensions in predicting causal models leading to high and low levels of satisfaction and behavioral intentions among medical travelers. A questionnaire-based survey is applied to investigate causal models (i.e., a combination of predictors) to predict satisfaction and the behavioral intentions of international patients who traveled to Cyprus. This study also conducted an in-depth interview to identify motives, complications, and conditions stimulating the behaviors of medical travelers. According to the necessary condition analysis (NCA) results, three dimensions of MTI, excluding cost, are necessary to achieve satisfaction and desired behavioral intention. Findings from interviews reveal that medical complications and legal conditions in the origin country influence medical traveler’s behaviors. The model testing results support key tenets of complexity theory and extend our knowledge of how to regulate conditions to discharge a dis/satisfied and dis/loyal patient.

This research advances the current knowledge of tourism expenditure by adapting a new analytical approach to understand expenditure differentials along their conditional distributions, based on multiple segmentation criteria. Using data from survey and secondary sources, we approximate tourists’ required utilities via prosperity at their countries of residence, a macro-level criterion, and individual-travel aspirations, a micro-level criterion. Subsequently, expenditure differentials between more and less prosperous/aspired tourists are decomposed into two components. First, group differences in expenditure covariates that represent tourists’ relative consumption behaviors and, second, differences in the estimated returns to those covariates, measuring potential third-degree price discrimination. Our results guide policy makers in the tourism industry to develop pricing strategies capable of generating mark-ups within all viable segmentations.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of the Fortune top-100 companies during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Specifically, the authors examine the messages of international companies' CSR communication to customers during the pandemic, focusing particularly on the companies' posts on Twitter. In addition to identifying what international companies communicate, the authors determine the motives of companies' COVID-19-related CSR communication as well as how companies strategically approach CSR communication.Design/methodology/approachUsing Nvivo, the authors carried out content analysis of the COVID-19-related tweets of the Fortune top-100 companies using Twitter's ‘advanced search’ tool. The analysis included tweets posted between 1 February 2020 and September 2021, a period that represents the peak of the pandemic.FindingsStudy findings indicate that COVID-19-related CSR responses of international companies are driven by commitment to organizational values, attainment of recognition for timely response to COVID-19, altruistic motives to combat COVID-19 and congruence with social movements that create expectations from customers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most companies adopt a response strategy to CSR communication, by informing customers of their COVID-19 responses in relation to several issues such as alterations in companies' processes and the impacts of the pandemic on health.Practical implicationsThe study suggests that the CSR practices of companies should be strategically embedded in organizations' international marketing plans and not remain just on-off responses to crises should marketing-related benefits be obtained. Several recommendations are made to strengthen companies' adoption of a proactive, engagement-oriented approach to CSR communication.Originality/valueThe CSR communication of international companies during external crises has not been sufficiently studied in relation to international marketing, as most studies considered internal corporate crises. Focusing on an external crisis (COVID-19 pandemic) with global impacts, this study advances existing knowledge on international companies' CSR communication to their customers. Additionally, this study offers new insights on the role of integrated, coordinated and consistent CSR messages and strategies, which are targeted to the needs and expectations of domestic and international customers in response to COVID-19 pandemic.

This study applies tax planning theory to develop a seasonal tax strategy as an alternative to a fixed tax rate for shared lodging platforms such as Airbnb, to increase hosts’ revenue and to address seasonality in tourism. The annual revenue of the various types of accommodation is used to calculate a seasonality index by the moving average method, which is incorporated as a corrected coefficient in a seasonal tax formula. The sample includes data from 1258 active Airbnb listings in Boston, Massachusetts. Using a mean comparison test, this study reveals that the application of a seasonal tax strategy significantly increases the revenue of Airbnb hosts compared to a fixed tax rate system. Drawing on the flexibility tenet of tax planning theory, policymakers can use the proposed seasonal tax strategy as an instrument to revisit the taxation system for sharing economy businesses based on changes to the socio-economic, environmental and political conditions. Implications for all stakeholders are discussed.

The use of less vulnerable species to climate change such as medicinal plants can be considered as a coping strategy for adapting to climate change. This paper aims to evaluate the suitability of the arable lands located in the Daryache-Namak basin, Iran, for cultivation of several medicinal plants. An approach based on the fuzzy logic was developed that considers potential changes in suitability caused by both climate anomalies and new policies regarding the conflicting water demand. This approach uses different factors, including climate, water availability, soil texture, and salinity to classify the suitability. Monthly outputs of regional climate simulations conducted under the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) program were applied to project the future climate. The results showed that climate anomalies and new policies have led to shifts in the spatial distribution of medicinal plants. For instance, the area of highly suitable lands for cultivating medicinal plants was decreased by 10%. Furthermore, the suitability score of the proposed approach had the largest determination coefficient for yield estimations, mainly due to accounting explicitly for various environmental factors. Based on the field survey, it is revealed that the potentially suitable cultivation regions are highly coincident with the existing cultivated locations. Comparing the different polygons indicated that for marginally and not suitable classes, the contribution of maximum and minimum temperature was increased and decreased, respectively. Similarly, in these two classes, the contribution of water availability would increase.

Nature‐based solutions (NBS) are becoming increasingly crucial as NBS brings diverse health‐related benefits to travelers and workers in the tourism business sector. This research explored the influence of green atmospherics as NBS on airport occupants' mental health value, image, and loyalty generation processes. A quantitative approach with a field survey method was employed. A structural equation modeling and metric invariance test were used as data analysis technique. Our empirical result revealed that green atmospherics as NBS significantly improve the occupants' mental health value and image of the airport, and these variables contribute to their loyalty enhancement for the airport. The effect of green spaces and natural surroundings on loyalty was maximized through mental health value and image. In addition, the linkages from natural surroundings to mental health value and image were stronger in the visitor group whereas the mental health value—loyalty relation was stronger in the worker group.

Purpose This study aims to present a unique perspective on the application of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in the context of the green lodging industry via configurational modelling of three TPB dimensions in formulating hotel visitors’ behavioural responses. Attitude towards behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control are the three indicators of TPB used to predict guests’ continued intention to use and recommend green hotels on Cyprus, a Mediterranean island with a fragile ecological system. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey is used to evaluate the study’s objectives. A total of 320 guests of green hotels were approached between June and July 2017 and invited to participate. Among them, 260 valid cases were obtained and used for data analysis. The structural model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM), the configurational model was assessed using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and the necessary predictor was evaluated using the necessary condition analysis (NCA). Findings The SEM results revealed that attitudes regarding behaviour increased the continued intention to visit and recommend green hotels. Similarly, subjective norms enhanced the guests’ desired behavioural responses. Perceived behavioural control boosted their continued intention to visit, but this was insufficient for predicting green hotel guests’ intention to recommend. The fsQCA results indicated that two causal models explained the conditions of both high and low levels of behavioural responses. The NCA results showed that attitude towards behaviour was the only necessary condition of the two expected behavioural responses. Originality/value Several previous studies have tried to modify, decompose or merge the TPB to provide theoretical support for proposed conceptual models indicating visitors’ behaviours. Beyond such attempts, pragmatic analytical approaches (e.g. set-theoretic method) should be applied to present a comprehensive perspective on the association of TPB indicators in decoding the complexity of customers’ behaviours. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first in hospitality research to use three TPB indicators and three analytical approaches to extend the knowledge of guests’ behaviours related to green hotels.

This study is designed to explore halal-friendly destination attributes in South Korea and identify the particular role of the attribute factors in forming destination image and behavioral intentions. In order to achieve this objective, a psychometric process was used. A qualitative approach (i.e., interview) was initially employed to identify possible halal-friendly attributes at a non-Muslim destination. Next, Churchill’s (1979) procedures (exploratory factor analytic approach) and Gerbing and Anderson’s (1988) guidelines (confirmatory factor analytic approach) were used. A structural equation model was proposed to test the impact of identified attributes on its subsequent outcomes. Additional asymmetrical methods were applied to investigate the combination of halal-friendly attributes and necessary conditions leading to the desired outcomes. The outcomes determined five major halal-friendly attributes which can be useful for destination marketers in South Korea to formulate a favorable destination image, elicit repeat visitation, and promote word-of-mouth behaviors.

Based on complexity theory, this study examines a configurational model that uses motivation antecedents and demographic configurations to explore the causal recipes that lead to high and low levels of Asian visitor satisfaction and loyalty. Data were collected from 183 Chinese and Japanese visitors to the Hanok heritage site in Seoul, South Korea. Asymmetrical modeling using a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was applied and a combination of desired behavioral outcomes identified. Hanok experience from the motivation configuration and gender from the demographic configuration appeared as necessary conditions to make visitors satisfied and loyal. Key tenets of complexity theory are supported by the study's findings.

The innovative application of smart devices in healthcare promotes real-time sensing, enables intelligent services, and accelerates medical progress, which ultimately boosts clinical trial efficiency, timely diagnostics, and effective patient-centred care. Despite its proven capabilities, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) can flourish only if users in the medical sector willingly use these devices in their daily routine work. Drawing on behavioural reasoning theory and its implication in explaining user behaviour, this study aims to shed light on hospital practitioners’ reasons for and against resistance to IoMT. We proposed an integrative theoretical framework that combines system, information, and individual positive and negative factors to understand and explain clinical users’ scepticism and resistance toward IoMT. We benefit from a multi-analytical approach including symmetrical (net effect) and configurational analysis to test this theoretical framework. Our study contributes to the literature by proposing new insights into IoMT users’ decision-making, considering a dual approach that simultaneously explains positive and negative pathways toward scepticism and resistance. Empirically, this study advances our knowledge of users’ resistance rationality that could lead to improved managerial policies for introducing and successfully implementing IoMT technologies in hospitals.

Using a resource-based view and dynamic capabilities approach, this study investigates both the internal and external factors influencing competitive advantage in the hotel industry. For this purpose, we examine how organizational capabilities may lead to customer relationship building and in turn to competitive advantage. We further test the moderation role of market dynamism on the relationship between organizational capabilities and customer relationship building, and also investigate the mediation effect of customer relationship building on the association between organizational capabilities and competitive advantage. A questionnaire-based study was conducted among hotel employees in Northern Cyprus to test the conceptual model. A set of approaches was applied to detect common method bias and test the validity and reliability of the questionnaire. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationships between the variables, and bootstrapping analysis was applied to assess the mediation and moderation effects. The results revealed that organizational capabilities enhance customer relationship building and competitive advantage. Market dynamism as an external factor moderates the relationship between organizational capabilities and customer relationship building. There is also an indirect association between organizational capabilities and competitive advantage through the mediation of customer relationship building. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

This paper aims to provide a systematic review of the academic literature on the sharing economy (SE) phenomenon within hospitality and tourism and identify knowledge gaps that may present opportunities for further research. Using Scopus and WOS, 486 articles published from 2010 to 2019 were identified, out of which three themes emerge as predominant: 1) drivers to participate in the sharing economy, 2) the sharing economy as a disruptive business model and 3) sharing economy impacts and corresponding regulatory issues. This review paper also reveals that the area of foci of extant literature is hospitality and, in particular the accommodation sector, with most studies drawing insights from the Airbnb context. Contrary to previous review papers on the sharing economy, the systematic review undertaken in this paper presents a holistic attempt to understand the SE phenomenon by exploring a wide range of dimensions related to the topic from multiple sources. Overall, the paper makes a theoretical contribution by providing directions for further research. In addition, it summarizes the key suggestions offered by pertinent studies; thus, offering significant practical insights to practitioners and policymakers.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the combinations of religiosity, cosmopolitanism and perceived destination image leading to satisfaction and loyalty amongst Muslim consumers within the Maldivian tourism and hospitality context. Design/methodology/approach Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study reveals that diverse combinations of religiosity, cosmopolitanism and destination image dimensions stimulate satisfaction and loyalty in Muslim consumers. Findings Multiple recipes can be used to design compelling destinations that balance the desire for religiosity and cosmopolitanism characteristic of contemporary Muslim consumers. The results confirm the applicability of complexity theory in explaining Muslim consumer behaviour within the Islamic destination context. Practical implications Several implications for the hospitality and tourism industry are drawn from the results, with suggestions for future research provided. Each fsQCA recipe identifies distinct suggestions to shape the design of destination attributes and hospitality offerings to stimulate consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value Complexity theory was applied to assess the complex causal relationships among Muslim consumers’ religiosity, perceived destination image, cosmopolitanism, satisfaction and loyalty.

Underpinned by complexity theory, this study investigates whether the influence of social and physical servicescape on international travelers’ dissatisfaction and misbehavior differs between two characteristically different international airports in Iran. Partial least squares (PLS) and multi-group analysis (MGA) were employed to test the conceptual model. The results revealed significant differences between the effects of physical servicescape on travelers’ dissatisfaction and misbehavior across both airports. However, the results did not support any differences between the effects of social servicescape on travelers’ dissatisfaction and misbehavior between both airports. Additionally, using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study identified multiple configurations of physical and social servicescape dimensions leading to traveler dissatisfaction and misbehavior. In doing so, the results highlighted the conditions leading to low traveler dissatisfaction and misbehavior scores, confirming the applicability of complexity theory in explaining international traveler behavior in airports, providing implications and directions for future research in the process.

Background: Medical and healthcare tourism is an important area influencing destination development. Considering the geographical location of Kermanshah City, Iran and presence of the associated experts, the medical and healthcare tourism and entrepreneurship development are among the key resources for the sustainable development of Kermanshah. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the barriers against the entrepreneurship development of medical and healthcare tourism in Kermanshah. Methods: This explorative study was conducted with a mined design using the mixed-methods approach, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. The sample population consisted of experts, tourists, skilled individuals in the areas of health, medicine, and tourism. Results: The main barriers against entrepreneurship development in medical and healthcare tourism in Kermanshah included infrastructural barriers, marketing and promotion barriers, human resource barriers, management barriers, governmental barriers, barriers related to rules and regulations, cultural barriers against tourism development, and issues in the cooperation of private and governmental sectors. Conclusions: According to the results, the severity of the impact of the barriers against entrepreneurship and tourism development was classified into three levels, and the implications were also discussed.

This paper investigates the intentions of tourists to purchase climate insurance as part of their holiday packages. A research model, based on Bagozzi’s reformulation of attitude theory designed to examine the relationships between climate expectation-disconfirmation and the behavioral intentions of tourists in purchasing tourism climate insurance, with destination loyalty as an outcome. The model hypothesizes and tests whether expectation-disconfirmation can be resolved by insuring the product-climate. A structural equation modeling is utilized. The results reveal that the expectation-disconfirmation of tourists in relation to climate is positively associated with their intentions to purchase insurance and negatively affects loyalty.

The principal purpose of this study has been to investigate the impact of an asset disposal strategy, often coupled with share repurchase programs, by international hotel companies on financial performance, earnings stability and share values. Utilising ratio analysis, stock returns and risk-adjusted measures, the study analyses the differences in performance, stability and market valuations between asset light and more capital intensive hotel companies. The findings of the study indicate negligible differences in most accounting measures of earnings growth and stability between asset light hotel companies and traditional hotel companies with significant holdings of owned or leased property. Drawing on game theory, we conclude that international hotel companies dispose of their assets in an effort to manipulate financial markets and make their stocks more attractive to investors and traders. Notwithstanding the absence of significant differentiation in accounting measures of performance fundamentals, market based measures show that hotel groups failed in the aim of manipulating financial markets. This study recommends avoiding playing this game as dual asset light/share repurchase strategy generated superior risk-weighted returns to that of more capital intensive traditional hotel companies across the period of the study.

This study extends the current knowledge of behavioral intention of space travelers based on motivation and risk antecedents of undertaking a space trip. Using cumulative prospect theory, we develop and test research models to investigate sufficient motivation and risk antecedents on behavioral intention, to explore complex combinations of above antecedents (i.e., causal recipes) leading to both high and low scores of behavioral intention, and to identify necessary motivation and risk antecedents to achieve desired behavioral outcome. The results revealed that although motivations appeared as sufficient and necessary antecedents, risk antecedents play a dominant role such that risks can diminish the effects of motivations in shaping desired behavioral intention of space travelers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Space travel involves complicated processes, and the potential tourists may avoid these trips at any stage due to various risks and costs. The avoidance intention has serious implications for both the tourists and the services. Applying a push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, we modelled space tourist’s avoidance intention. We developed a model that investigates the direct effect of the push, pull, and mooring factors on avoidance intention. We evaluated the moderation role of the mooring factor with the associations of the push and pull factors with the avoidance intention. We also assessed the necessity of the push, pull, and mooring factors with avoiding space tourism. Using configurational modelling, we explored algorithms that explain the conditions where tourists avoid space tourism. Space tourism avoidance intention is increased by the push factor and decreased by the push and mooring factors. The mooring factor moderates the impact of the pull factor on the avoidance intention.

This empirical study investigates the causal factors affecting support for sustainable tourism development (SSTD) at a world heritage site in Bisotun, a city in Kermanshah Province, Iran. It uses social exchange theory to assess the effects of community attachment, community involvement, perceived benefits, and perceived costs on SSTD. Using social identity theory, it identifies whether these associations significantly vary across four different community groups: farmers, businesses, handicraft sellers, and local government employees. A questionnaire was administered to 489 respondents from these four community groups in the Bisotun area. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling and invariance metric tests. The results revealed that community attachment, community involvement, and perceived benefits had a significant and positive impact on SSTD. The results of the metric invariance tests show that the effects of community attachment and community involvement on SSTD varied across the community groups at this world heritage site located in a developing country. The study discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.

This study aims to identify how the paradigm of outbound tourism expenditure (OTE) research transforms from economic to social concern. It also explicates the evolution of OTE from an advoc...

Using data from 104 countries over a six-year period (2009-2014), this study proposes a value-added predictor in service industries based on the eight indicators of the prosperity index, namely economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.,The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and complexity theory, a relatively novel approach for developing and testing the conceptual model, are used for asymmetric modelling of value added in service industries, and the predictive validity of proposed configural model is tested.,Apart from advancing method and theory, this study simulates causal conditions (i.e. recipes) leading to both high and low scores of the value added of services. The configural conditions indicating a high/low level of value added in service industries can be used as a guiding strategy for marketers, investors and policy makers.,An analysis of worldwide data provides complex models demonstrating both how to regulate country conditions to achieve a high value-added score and select a foreign country for investment that offers a high level of value-added service.