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The role of women as homeowners and heads of households are changing the dynamics in which women engage in do-it-yourself (DIY) behavior. Because there is limited extant theory associated with female involvement in DIY behavior, a qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted. Through grounded theory analysis several themes emerged during the coding process, and the themes of empowerment were especially relevant to the informants in this study. Five dimensions of empowerment were identified: empowerment through project initiation, production mastery, adding economic value to goods and services, unleashing creative potential, and empowerment through ownership. The findings show women’s involvement in DIY behavior and the consumption of DIY-related goods is closely tied to the concept of female empowerment.

Tipping is unique in that the customer provides a major portion of the employee's wage. Because tipping is voluntary and because it usually occurs retrospectively of the service rendered, tipping practices have stimulated historic interest from both economic and psychological perspectives. This research extends the body of knowledge on tipping by integrating recent advances in motivational research which support the existence of a universal, multifaceted model of intrinsic motivation. Inasmuch, the present research investigated the underlying motives for tipping under various conditions of service. Findings supported the existence of six underlying behavioral dimensions associated with tipping: (a) Heuristic Model, (b) Impress Others, (c), Reciprocal Reward, (d) Social Obligation, (e) Generosity, and (f) Control Service. Each of these six corresponded closely with the basic motivators proposed by the multifaceted model. Results from a hierarchical linear regression confirmed the overriding influence of heuristics on tip amounts under various service conditions.

In March of 2009, the US President announced a plan for the development of a rapid transit rail system that would eventually connect the continental US with a system of high-speed trains similar to those in the developed European countries. This paper explores the impact such a system could bring to tourism development through a focus on the rapid transit rail system proposed for the US Gulf Coast corridor. Historical insights gleaned from an extensive literature review are applied to anticipate the potential for key stakeholder groups in the Gulf Coast region to offer resistance or support for the project. The paper also summarizes results from a study which examined consumers’ perceptions about, and anticipated uses of, the proposed rail system. Findings were overwhelmingly tourism-centric as participation in touristic activities was the primary reason identified for supporting the future use of a rapid rail transit system. Respondents were also positive about the potential for such a system to...

This research takes a pluralistic approach by combining quantitative and qualitative research methods to identify three distinct prototypes for funding and maintaining museum operations. A threestage process is introduced to segment nonprofit aviation museums by geographic region, funding sources, and population and visitor statistics. Analysis of the outcome leads to the identification of three operational strategies pursued by museums: the community partnership, the philanthropic proprietorship, and the controlling sponsorship. Propositions are presented to guide future research.

In this research students completing hospitality internships evaluated 16 behaviours seen in the workplace on a regular basis as to whether they perceived the behaviours as ethical or not. Overall results suggest ethics is a multidimensional construct that can be tied to established theoretical foundations. Findings support the impact of cultural background and gender in the assessment of ethical behaviour. No evidence was found to support differences in the assessment of ethical behaviour based upon whether students were identified with generation X or generation Y. Study results offer implications for education, training, communication, and future research.

This study provides a comparative evaluation of the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the restaurant industry in southern Mississippi through an examination of revenues generated in the fiscal years immediately preceding and following the storm. Results suggest that restaurant revenues lost in the areas of the greatest catastrophic damage were redistributed to other areas of the southern Mississippi region and less damaged areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Considered in aggregate, the storm slowed the growth rate of the regional restaurant industry but did not result in an aggregate loss.

Current cross-cultural comparisons in hospitality and tourism research are largely based on differences in simple average scores. This method assumes equal weights for the items and hence fails to address cross-cultural differences in the relative importance of each attribute in comprising the overall evaluation. In this study, a comparison between United States customers and Hong Kong customers in restaurant service expectations is used to demonstrate that latent variable scores are more appropriate than simple average scores for cross-cultural comparisons. The two samples demonstrate differences in relative importance for some items measuring restaurant service expectations. By calculating the latent variable score both with and without factorial invariance, researchers can decompose cross-cultural differences into a component due to item responses, and a second component due to unequal item-construct relationships. It is demonstrated that meaningful cross-cultural comparisons are possible only when noninvariant items are carefully examined.

Relationship marketing and economies of scope are predicted to become the next major shift in organizational practice. The service recovery concept is a major element in effective implementation of both. This article integrates current knowledge in the area of service recovery with existing knowledge pertaining to the effect of culture on consumer behavior. With the increasing globalization of our customer base, the exploration of service recovery within the context of culture is both timely and important.

The present study explored the relationship between cultural norms and customers’ expectations for service by means of a pancultural factor model of restaurant service expectations. A survey instrument was developed in a three-stage process using input generated from focus groups in both the United States and Hong Kong. The service encounter was the level of measure and the instrument emphasized the behavioral components of service. Data were collected from comparable samples in the United States and Hong Kong. A six-dimensional model of service expectations was generated. Subsequent analyses indicated that the two groups differed significantly in their assessments of importance for each of the six dimensions. The results provide meaningful implications for managing service quality and training customer contact employees.

Sociological studies indicate that individuals’ orientations toward time are grounded in cultural tradition. This study employs samples from the USA and Hong Kong to identify if and how these differences impact service delivery expectations for casual restaurant dining. Results provide useful information for the modification of service practices to more closely align with the preferences of diverse consumer segments in the global market place.