Professor Levent Altinay

Entrepreneurship is often about the individual drive for innovation and the exploitation of opportunities; however, in an increasingly connected world, entrepreneurial ecosystems have gained considerable research interest. In many developed countries, entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge from organic collaborations between businesses and investors, with little political involvement. However, in a post-communist country like Kazakhstan, different stakeholders have diverse expectations, leading to tensions among them. In this study, we took a qualitative approach and drew from discursive institutionalism theory in entrepreneurship research in order to understand the influence of politics on the governance of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our findings reveal tensions between collective aspirations and individual goals, generating multiple institutional logics. The generative institutional discourse that is brought about by politics, their influence on governance, and facilitating factors is a mechanism that helps to turn such tensions into policies and collective action. To gain a better understanding of the influence of politics on the governance of entrepreneurial ecosystems, we propose a generative institutional discourse model.

Purpose: In a dynamic and complex environment, employees’ creative performance (CP) can  be essential in developing a distinguished and competitive strategy for an organization. Using  the lens of competency management, this research examines how employees perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU) and competency formula relate to employee CP, with a focus  on the hospitality industry. 

Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected from employees in the hospitality  sector. Both symmetrical (PLS-SEM) and asymmetrical (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative  analysis [fsQCA]) tests were performed to gain in-depth knowledge of how individual,  organizational, and environmental factors can be configured to explain employees’ CP.   

Findings: The symmetrical analysis shows that competency formula mediates the negative  impacts of PEU on two dimensions of creativity—that is, novelty and utility. The fsQCA testing  generated contrasting findings and revealed that uncertainty, along with the formula elements, is a unique antecedent condition and opportunity for employees' CP. The inconsistent findings  indicate asymmetrical and complex relationships between the proposed antecedents and outcomes in the case of employee creativity. 

Originality/value: This study is the first to employ symmetrical and asymmetrical testing to  address the inadequacy of explaining employee CP in complex and uncertain environments, and highlight the crucial role of the competency formula in enhancing novelty and utility dimensions of CP. This research examines the impact of various internal and external factors  (i.e., individual, organizational, contextual) on employee creativity within the hospitality industry. 

Implications: A combination of symmetrical and asymmetrical approaches is necessary to  uncover the complex relationships among employees, organizations, and the environment. The  study shows that organizational agility, competency strategies, and comprehensive strategic  management processes can be configured to explain positive outcomes for organizations during  uncertain circumstances. The findings can be used by HR practitioners to maximize employee  creativity and enhance organizational performance.

Purpose – This study examines the role of hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by local hosts, in engendering positive social outcomes including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings, and advocacy for hosting them.

Methodology – Rooted in the Contact Theory and drawing on a hospitality social lens framework, the study employs a mixed-methods approach using a sequential quantitative-qualitative design to understand the interface between hospitableness, attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings, and advocacy for hosting them. A conceptual model is proposed and tested using 160 valid surveys collected from individuals hosting Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia. SEM-PLS is used to test the proposed model. Twenty-five in-depth interviews with Slovakian individuals hosting refugees in private dwellings were also conducted to explain and further explore the initial quantitative results.

Findings – The findings indicate that hospitableness has a positive effect on attitudes towards refugees, fosters a sense of empathy, and results in satisfaction from hosting refugees. Interestingly, while hospitableness per se does not directly affect advocacy for hosting refugees, it does so indirectly via favourable attitudes towards refugees and satisfaction from the hosting experience. While qualitative findings largely support and further explain the quantitative results, interesting insights are also obtained.

Practical implications – The study advocates that hospitableness should be addressed from a social lens beyond its traditional commercial boundaries. Several implications for policy-makers, NGOs, and other stakeholders involved in hosting refugees are proposed. Overall, policies need to be oriented toward harnessing the power of refugee hosting schemes thus increasing the role of hospitableness in addressing societal challenges such as the refugee crisis.

Originality/value – While not new, private hosting of refugees has recently gained momentum following the outbreak of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Despite some valuable research delving into hosting experiences from the refugees’ and hosts’ perspectives, this research stream is notably fragmented and largely exploratory. Specifically, there seems to be no comprehensive understanding of how hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by hosts, can engender positive social outcomes including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees, and advocacy for hosting refugees in private dwellings. Overall, hospitality research is notably biased towards commercial settings focusing on instrumental benefits rather than societal outcomes. This study focuses on the societal outcomes of hospitableness as a tool to address the refugee crisis.

This study aims to investigate the effect of unethical leadership on unethical pro-family behavior through the sequential mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and unethical pro-organizational behavior and the moderating role of moral awareness among hospitality industry employees. Data were collected from frontline employees of 5-star hotels in Iran's leading tourist destination cities. Testing hypotheses were conducted using models 6 and 8 of PROCESS Macro SPSS. The results indicated that unethical leadership contributed to unethical pro-family behavior through direct and sequential mediating effects of emotional exhaustion and unethical pro-organizational behavior. Empirical evidence also confirmed that moral awareness moderated the relationship between unethical leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior. In contrast, its moderating effect on the relationship between unethical leadership and unethical pro-family behavior was insignificant. This study offers new insights into our understanding of unethical leadership and its consequences in the hospitality industry.

Using the neotribe approach, this study investigates the mediatory effect of group activities' perceived individual and community benefits on the relationship between the experience economy and subjective well-being. Individuals who were both participants and residents of the annual event of a local cycling community known as a neotribe were examined. The data gathered through the survey were analysed using SmartPLS structural equation modelling. The study results reveal that educational and aesthetic experiences positively affect perceived community benefits. However, individual benefits are positively affected by educational and escape experiences. It was also observed that community benefits affect subjective well-being through perceived individual benefits. The study accordingly points out that community benefits would serve the subjective well-being of members in group events to the extent that they create individual benefits. From the practical perspective, it is suggested that the event policymakers should focus on developing all types of experience economy in the events to maximize both individual and community benefits.

Connectedness to nature (CTN) has been widely acknowledged as having a favourable impact on individuals participating in nature-based activities. However, existing research seems to focus on environmental outcomes overlooking the potential impact of CTN on tourist experience and well-being of individuals in general and the elderly in particular. Considering this omission and drawing on a transformative tourism perspective, the present study proposes and tests a conceptual model linking CTN with tourist experience, tourist well-being, and life satisfaction. Drawing on data collected from 211 senior individuals aged 60 and over participating in nature-based activities in the UK and Turkey, the findings confirm the positive effect of CTN on tourist experience, tourist well-being, and life satisfaction. As predicted, the findings also show that tourist well-being has a positive spill over effect on the life satisfaction of the elderly. The study makes theoretical contributions to CTN research and senior tourism scholarship and suggests important implications for both the commercial travel trade as well as local councils, NGOs, and other community associations concerned with the elderly's welfare and quality of life.

Product scarcity can influence purchase decisions, but this relationship is multifaceted due to the influence of various cues. This study aims to integrate knowledge on this subject through a meta-analysis. The findings suggest that the likelihood of purchasing a scarce product is greater under (i) scarcity conditions of excessive demand (rather than restricted supply) and variety (rather than category), but not urgency (limited quantity and limited time) scarcity, and (ii) product conditions of enduring luxuries (as opposed to transitory luxuries) and the presence (rather than absence) of social signaling and seasonality. From a theoretical standpoint, this study offers a typology of product and scarcity cues and employs meta-analysis to enhance our understanding of the relationships between product scarcity, product and scarcity cues, and purchase decisions. From a managerial standpoint, the study suggests that product scarcity can affect purchase decisions and can be ethically utilized as a marketing strategy.

Despite a growing stream of research addressing hospitableness in destinations and hospitality settings, very little is known about the role of hospitableness in fostering favorable social outcomes for vulnerable individuals such as refugees. This omission is intriguing given the heated debate on how local communities in refugee hosting countries can contribute to tackling the refugee crisis. Drawing on data collected from Ukrainian refugees hosted by locals in Slovakia, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model linking hospitableness, social inclusion, self-esteem, loneliness, psychological distress, psychological resilience, and subjective well-being. Using SEM-PLS, the findings confirm that hospitableness can positively enhance social inclusion while mitigating loneliness. Contrary to our predication, however, our results fail to confirm the positive effect of hospitableness on subjective well-being both directly and indirectly mediated by self-esteem and social inclusion. Psychological resilience significantly moderates the relationship between hospitableness and social inclusion. The study makes significant theoretical contributions to the corpus of literature on the social outcomes of hospitableness and provides timely implications for policy makers to utilise “refugee hosting by locals” schemes and “private sponsorship of refugees” programmes as a viable solution to enhance refugees’ social inclusion and foster their overall well-being.

While environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increased attention in sustainable tourism research, little is known about its impacts on customers in the context of the airlines. This study investigates the impact of environmental CSR on two critical customer outcomes, namely, purchase intention (PI) and switching behavior (SB). In light of the stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) framework, this study further examines the joint mediating impact of customer equity drivers (CEDs) in the previously mentioned relationships. With a sample of Iranian air travelers, the results of the structural equation model revealed that environmental CSR significantly affects CEDs. While CEDs predict PI, they failed to reduce SB. Hence, CEDs jointly mediate the impact of environmental CSR on PI only. The results of the current study reveal nuances in the service marketing research by extending the impact of environmental CSR on travelers’ PI and SB via CEDs. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

This study aims to examine the effect of institutions on entrepreneurial intentions, the mediation of individual motives in this relationship, and the moderating effect of the country. We tested a sample of 678 questionnaires using quantitative research methods. We used confirmatory factor, correlation, multiple regression, mediation, and moderated mediation analyses to analyze the data. Findings show that normative institutions affect entrepreneurial intentions in Turkey and Kosovo. They also reveal that the personal attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and need for achievement have a full mediation relationship between regulatory institutions and entrepreneurial intentions and a partial mediation relationship between normative and cultural-cognitive institutions and entrepreneurial intentions. Finally, we found no moderating effect of the country in the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurial intentions. The study contributes to the literature and provides policy and managerial implications on the macro and micro factors that affect entrepreneurial intentions in developing and transition economies.

The role of hospitableness in hedonic service settings has been subject to considerable theoretical and empirical investigation; however, its role in utilitarian service settings (e.g., hospitals) has received notably scant attention. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model linking hospitableness, patient experience, positive emotions, overall satisfaction, subjective well-being, and recommendation intention. Drawing on quantitative data (n = 204) collected from inpatients in hospitals, the findings largely support the proposed theoretical model and confirm that hospitableness can positively influence patient experience and positive emotions, but not overall satisfaction. Interestingly, while hospitableness does not seem to directly influence overall satisfaction, this effect is indirectly achieved via patient experience. The findings also reveal that patients’ subjective well-being may be enhanced by positive emotions but not overall satisfaction. Both positive emotions and overall satisfaction have a positive effect on recommendation intention. The study makes several theoretical implications and proposes significant practical implications both for the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

While a plethora of research examines the antecedents and outcomes of favourable employee-to-customer interaction in the hospitality industry, little empirical investigation has been conducted so far to understand the effect of employee-to-customer interaction on customers’ social well-being. This omission is particularly intriguing in the context of elderly care homes whereby employee-to-customer interaction is both intense and crucial. Building on a transformative service research perspective, the present study draws on a mixed-methods approach using a sequential quantitative-qualitative design to understand the interface between favourable employee-to-customer interaction, social connectedness, and social well-being. Using data from 267 elderly individuals in care homes combined with data from three focus groups in China, the study confirms the role of favourable employee-to-customer interaction in enhancing the social connectedness of elderly customers. Both employee-to-customer interaction and social connectedness are also found to positively influence elderly customers’ social well-being. Findings from the qualitative study lend support to the proposed theoretical model and further demonstrate how elderly consumers’ social well-being is impacted in a transformative way by favourable interactions with employees. Qualitative findings show how both employees and elderly customers deploy different resources to pursue transformative outcomes of value exchange and value co-creation. The study advances transformative service research and suggests implications for policy and managers in elderly care homes and the wider hospitality industry.

A winning business model is the key to business success in today’s fragmented market environment. However, businesses need to develop their business models overtime to meet the requirements of environmental uncertainties and shifts surrounding the business. Drawing on complexity theory and its related concept of hierarchy, this study advances a systematic approach to theoretically investigate the factors that favourably or adversely affect business model development (BMD), in a hierarchical order. In particular, multiple fuzzy multi-criteria decision making techniques were applied to develop the list of enablers of and barriers to BMD, to determine the priorities among enablers, and to determine the significance of barriers with respect to the main enablers of BMD. The results reveal that organizational form is the most salient enablers of BMD, while type II barriers are the most significant barriers, challenging the development of business models. Implications and future research directions are also provided.

Purpose.
This paper aims to examine the relationships among work–family conflict (WFC), cognitive regulation, psychological resilience (PR), psychological distress (PD), emotional exhaustion (EE) and subjective well-being (SWB) in a very complex model based on job demands–resources. Also, mediator roles of PD, PR and EE are analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach.
Data for the study were collected from 158 full-time nurses working in two hospitals in North Cyprus. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the model.

Findings.
The authors’ findings reveal that cognitive emotion regulation reduces employees' WFC. WFC also has a negative effect on employees' SWB directly and through the mediating role of EE. However, the role of PR in the relationship between cognitive emotion regulation and PD was not significant.

Originality/value.
The study adds the original views for hospitals and service providers to recognize the factors which exert detrimental effects on employees' mental health and also the factors which help them to tackle the harsh situation specifically in the time of crisis. Theoretical and practical implications are provided in the study.

Purpose: Entrepreneurial intentions have traditionally been linked to an entrepreneur’s personal ability to take advantage of opportunities. Yet, entrepreneurs’ perceptions of contextual factors, which extend beyond one’s control, deserve equal attention. We look at the role played by cultural intelligence and the institutional environment in shaping entrepreneurial intentions.

Methodology. The role played by cultural intelligence in entrepreneurial intentions and the mediating role played by the institutional environment were studied quantitatively by analyzing 224 young potential entrepreneurs who had participated in a business plan competition. We used cross-sectional data, developing an original full collinearity assessment approach to check for any common method bias.

Findings. This study reveals a positive relationship between cultural intelligence and entrepreneurial intentions. Likewise, any favorable perceptions of the institutional environment tend to increase the probability of engaging in entrepreneurship and further strengthen the positive effect of cultural intelligence on entrepreneurial intentions.

Originality. Our study provide a holistic view of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the context in which ventures are created, explaining the role played by cultural intelligence in entrepreneurship based on evidence drawn from a developing country. This contributes to a critical reflection on personal and environmental factors and the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions.

Purpose – A burgeoning stream of tourism and hospitality research highlights the role of entrepreneurship in bringing about positive social and economic outcomes for both refugees themselves and their host countries. Yet little has been done so far both in mainstream entrepreneurship research and tourism scholarship to explore how motivations influence perceived entrepreneurial success of refugees and how this eventually affects their subjective well-being. To address this gap, the present study proposes and empirically tests a conceptual model postulating relationships between contextual and individual entrepreneurial motives, perceptions of entrepreneurial success, and life satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on quantitative data collected through 172 surveys of refugee entrepreneurs venturing in different sub-sectors within tourism and hospitality in Turkey and the UK. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed theoretical model.

Findings – The results reveal that contextual and individual entrepreneurial motives have a significant positive impact on perceived entrepreneurial success. As predicted, perceived entrepreneurial success is found to have a significant positive impact on life satisfaction. A multi-group analysis involving host country (Turkey vs the UK) and mode of entry (founder vs takeover) indicates no significant difference based on host country whereas the strength of relationships for takeovers is relatively greater as compared to founders.

Practical implications – The study advocates that the reductionist approach viewing refugees as temporary “outsiders” who are in consistent need of public provision and welfare services should not prevail against their ability to achieve self-efficiency through entrepreneurship. Hence, policies need to be oriented toward supporting refugee entrepreneurial activities over various business stages and modes of entry. More importantly, ensuring high success rates among refugee entrepreneurs should be viewed as a pivotal tool to address the well-being of refugees, their families, and their fellows.

Originality/value – While previous research identifies drivers of entrepreneurship success and the potential favorable outcomes, none of these studies empirically models refugee entrepreneurship motives, self-reported entrepreneurial success, and life satisfaction as a distinct and growing cohort of entrepreneurs. The study makes significant theoretical contributions to the corpus of literature on the social outcomes of entrepreneurship and provides timely implications for policy makers to utilize entrepreneurship as a market-based solution to address refugees’ subjective well-being.

This study examined customers’ green reviews on TripAdvisor and identified environmentally friendly themes and concepts. The differences among the 10 countries in terms of the volume of green reviews and customers’ green satisfaction ratings were also analyzed. Using Leximancer analysis and multivariate analysis of a big dataset, we adopted a mixed research method to analyze 121,780 reviews posted on TripAdvisor for 87 green hotels from the top 10 tourism countries. The Leximancer analysis found that the most important themes mentioned in customers’ green reviews are room, daily, hotel, staff, front, food, coffee, amazing, experience, and trip. The results also showed that highest satisfaction ratings were ranked in Italy, the USA, and Turkey, respectively, while the lowest ratings were from Germany and France. The results provide critical recommendations for hoteliers to truly comprehend what green practices are noticed and appreciated by their customers.

Informed by the social exchange, environmental identity, and value-belief-norm theories, this study is the first to examine the mediating and interaction mechanisms of green human resource management (HRM) practices, connectedness to nature, and conscientiousness on employees’ pro-environmental performance (P-EP) in the context of hospitality in Kazakhstan (Almaty), Central Asia. The data were collected from 220 employees of four- and five-star hotels. Reliability, construct validity, and the proposed hypotheses were tested using AMOS 26.0. The results reveal that green HRM positively affects two types of employees’ P-EP: task-related and proactive. The findings also confirm the mediating role of connectedness to nature in the relationship between green HRM and employees’ task and proactive P-EP. Furthermore, interaction analyses show that conscientiousness strengthens the impact of green HRM on employees’ proactive P-EP. The managerial takeaways of this study will help to embed and implement green philosophy and environmentally friendly practices in the hospitality industry.

This paper proposes and empirically assesses a social cognition conceptual model linking creativity (both artistic and scholarly), entrepreneurial personality traits, and entrepreneurial intention. Specifically, the study draws on social cognition perspectives to investigate the potential role of creativity as a mechanism underlying the relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits and entrepreneurial intention. Using a sample of 194 creative nascent entrepreneurs, the study tests the proposed model using Partial Last Squares Structural Equations Modeling (PLS-SEM). The study reveals that, among entrepreneurial personality traits, only risk-taking propensity is positively related to entrepreneurial intention. Interestingly, while artistic creativity seems to enhance entrepreneurial intention, scholarly creativity is found to stimulate a more cautious approach toward venturing. The findings also reveal that scholarly creativity fully mediates the relationship between tolerance for ambiguity and entrepreneurial intention. The study makes an original contribution by showcasing how both artistic and scholarly creativity developed in the same socially situated cognitive environment can influence decision making and the relationship between entrepreneurial personality traits and entrepreneurial intention, thus contributing to social cognition perspectives and research in entrepreneurship.

The second decade of this century has been characterized by a particular emphasis on the significance of safety and security in human life in general and in tourist decision-making in particular. This study is therefore a timely overview of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various parts of the travel and tourism industry across the globe. Specifically, this study revisits the subject of destination competitiveness by introducing possible new actors and paradigms through the concepts of chaos theory and the butterfly effect. The study proposes a model, called the butterfly competitiveness model, to capture the edge of chaos of the tourism industry, the butterfly effects of COVID-19, cosmology, bifurcation events and behaviors, and health and safety-driven self-organization for destination competitiveness. It also clarifies the role of governments and health authorities as strange attractors in self-organization.

Purpose – Drawing on chaos theory as an overarching approach, as well as guidelines from effectuation and transformative learning theories, this study evaluates the changing marketing channels in the hospitality industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to develop a conceptual framework that demonstrates the transformation of the marketing structure; in particular, the transformation of hospitality organizations, employees, and customers. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes the hermeneutic method and conceptually evaluates the existing actors of the services marketing structure. It also discusses how to transform this structure into the new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings – The findings of the study demonstrated that COVID-19 has resulted in changing marketing channels in the hospitality industry. These include external, internal, interactive, and substitutional marketing channels. In response to these changes, the hospitality industry needs to adopt a more transformative marketing structure that requires the transformation of hospitality companies, employees, and customers. Originality – This study utilizes chaos, effectuation, and transformative learning theories in order to reconceptualize the hospitality services marketing structure. The contribution of this paper lies in the conceptual pathways it suggests for transforming hospitality firms, employees, and customers and for demonstrating their transformed roles and positions in the wake of the pandemic. Research limitations/implications – The conceptualized transformation of the services marketing structure could help hospitality practitioners, employees, and customers to understand the new normal and acquire new abilities, meanings, awareness, and learning accordingly. 

Given the numerous environmental issues facing the hotel industry, there is growing pressure to respond to them by implementing sustainable strategies such as green human resource management (HRM) practices. Thus, there is a need to examine how green HRM enhances environmental performance. Accordingly, this study explores the causal relationship between green HRM, employees’ pro-environmental performance (P-EP), environmental awareness, and servant leadership. The data were collected from employees working in hotels in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Smart PLS was utilized to conduct validity and reliability tests and to design structural equation modeling. The findings show that environmental awareness mediates the impacts of green HRM on proactive P-EP, but does not support task-related P-EP. Also, servant leadership does not moderate the relationship between green HRM and task-related. Drawing on social exchange, social cognitive, and social learning theory, this study provides theoretical contributions, practical implications, and useful recommendations for managers and scholars in the hospitality industry.

Previous hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship research has emphasized the economic and financial outcomes of entrepreneurship whilst paying less attention to social outcomes. Specifically, minimal academic attention, both in mainstream entrepreneurship research and hospitality and tourism scholarship, has been paid to entrepreneurship as a means to facilitate the integration of refugees and enhance their well-being. To address this gap, this study aims to showcase how entrepreneurial activities in the hospitality and tourism industry contribute to the integration and subjective well-being of entrepreneurs. Drawing on data collected through 38 semi-structured interviews with Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Turkey and the UK, the findings reveal that several factors influence the contribution of entrepreneurial activities to the integration of entrepreneurs and their families within the host society. Entrepreneurial activities also appear to have positive spillover effects on subjective well-being. This paper offers new insights into the social outcomes of hospitality and tourism entrepreneurship by conceptualizing and empirically supporting the relationship between hospitality entrepreneurship, integration and well-being.

Drawing on the conservation of resources and job-demands resource theories, this study proposes and tests psychological distress as an underlying mechanism mediating the relationships between workplace ostracism, work engagement, and turnover intentions. Furthermore, it investigates how resilience and perceived external employability condition the aforementioned relationships. Four- and five-star full-time hotel employees provided the data for this study. The findings suggest that psychological distress mediated the relationship between workplace ostracism and turnover intention, but did not mediate the workplace ostracism-work engagement linkage. Also, workplace ostracism plummeted the work engagement of less resilient employees, and surprisingly aroused that of more resilient employees. Finally, the result did not support the argument that employees with perceived high external employability would have stronger turnover intentions compared to those with lower external employability. This study offered new insights into the interface between workplace ostracism, engagement, and turnover intention, and relevant theoretical implications and address to managers are further discussed.

The study explores the impact of promotion focus/prevention focus on the work engagement/job burnout of international tourist hotel employees, and in the meantime compare the influence of promotion focus and prevention focus. Moreover, the study explores as well whether supervisors’ organizational embodiment and psychological ownership serves as moderators in the relationship between promotion focus/prevention focus and work engagement/job burnout of international tourist hotel employees. Based on an analysis of 716 employees of international tourist hotel, this study found promotion focus and prevention focus were positively related to work engagement and job burnout; promotion focus and prevention focus were negatively related to work engagement and job burnout. Moreover, prevention focus accounted for more variance in work engagement and job burnout than did that of promotion focus. Psychological ownership moderates the relationship between regulatory foci and work engagement. Psychological ownership also moderates the relationship between regulatory foci and job burnout.

This study investigates the effect of mental aspects of cultural intelligence through emotionality on creative behaviour in entrepreneurship. Using a sample of nascent entrepreneurs in a developing country (Kazakhstan), this study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by providing a fine-grained explanation about how emotionality serves as a mediating mechanism between cognitive and metacognitive cultural intelligence, and self-creativity. The findings of this study demonstrate that individuals who display higher levels of cognitive and metacognitive cultural intelligence tend to possess higher emotionality, which in turns has a positive influence on self-creativity. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of the role of cultural intelligence in spurring emotionality and self-creativity.

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.

Purpose. This paper examines the relationship between the attributes of market knowledge (depth/breadth) and particular types of (process/product) innovation. The mediating mechanism of ambidextrous (exploratory/exploitative) capabilities is also investigated.

Design/methodology/approach. Data from 153 travel agencies from two phases of data collection in Taiwan were analyzed using the structural equation modeling method. 

Findings. Market knowledge depth directly and positively impacts on product and process innovation. Market knowledge breadth indirectly and positively impacts on product and process innovation. Ambidextrous capabilities affect process and product innovation and mediate the effect of market knowledge breadth on the two innovations. 

Research limitations/implications. This study provides different theoretical views, such as dynamic capability and organizational learning to supplement the explanation of knowledge-based theory in the relationship between market knowledge and innovation. 

Practical implications. This study encourages firms to accumulate market knowledge depth and breadth and facilitate ambidextrous capabilities for innovation.

Originality/value. Seldom has research explored the relationships between the attributes of market knowledge and types of innovation simultaneously to extend the input-process-output context. This study has done so and forwards the possibility that ambidextrous capability is critical mechanism. =

市场知识对产品与流程创新之影响：以旅行业为例目的
本研究探讨市场知识属性（深度/广度）与特定类型创新（流程/产品）两者间的关系, 并以双元性（探索/开发）能力作为中介变数。

研究设计/方法
本研究采用结构方程模型, 以台湾153家旅行社作为样本, 进行两阶段的资料搜集。

研究结果
市场知识深度对产品和流程创新具有直接且正向的影响。市场知识的广度对产品和流程创新具有间接且正向的影响。双元能力会影响产品和流程创新, 并中介市场知识广度对这两项创新的影响。

研究意义
本研究结合动态能力与组织学习两种理论观点, 为知识基础理论对市场知识与创新的探讨提供更完整的解释。

实践意义
本研究鼓励业者积累市场知识的深度和广度, 并提升能促进创新的双元能力。

原创性/价值
过去的研究鲜少探讨市场知识属性与创新类型间的关系。而本研究对其进行讨论, 并提出双元能力可能为市场知识属性对创新影响的关键机制。

Purpose. This study aims to provide a theoretical account of the nexus of religion and entrepreneurship in
hospitality and tourism (H&T) by considering the influences of religion on entrepreneurial motivation,
acquisition of resources for entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach. The authors synthesise research and theory on religion and
entrepreneurship and apply it within H&T, taking into account the specificities of the industry. Specifically, they
pooled together relevant theory and empirical research findings which they summarised to identify points of
convergence and divergence, before refining the data to allow for further theoretical insights to be gained.
Findings. The authors suggest that religion may positively or negatively influence entrepreneurship; in
particular, they identify various modes of religion influences, which offer insights into how religion may
encourage, sustain and amplify entrepreneurship or alternatively inhibit entrepreneurship.
Originality/value. Religion offers an important yet underused lens for understanding the activities and
mechanisms influencing entrepreneurship in the rapidly evolving H&T industry. This study identifies
different aspects of the two multidimensional and interdisciplinary concepts of religion and entrepreneurship
and offers new insights into the relationship between the two within the context of H&T.

Firm size, collaboration, foreign ownership and the level of formal training for employees are just some of the key inputs considered to be important in the amount of Service innovation in Tourism firms. However work has called for a greater empirical understanding on service innovation in Tourism and deeper consideration of employment focused practices as front line employees are crucial to innovation. The relationship customers have with service providers is a key determinate of satisfaction and as such the aim of this research is to unpick further the human-related factors associated with this area of study. Data for this research paper were gathered from 201 tourism service firms located throughout Japan. Whilst the results indicate that committed front-line employees and leadership are found to be the primary antecedents of service innovation, knowledge management and instilling creativity through the firm are also key. Our results suggestion that organizations can leverage the benefits associated with human-related factors to enhance service innovation behaviours and increase business performance.

This study aimed to investigate travel motivation and demotivation within a politically unstable setting. Using a mixed method approach, namely interviews and social network analysis, the study yields important insights on the nature of travel motivation and demotivation in contexts of political instability as well as on the role of the socio-political environment in determining and reinforcing respective travel behaviour. The paper highlights the need to consider the wider structural factors shaping societies if understanding on travel behaviour in politically unstable environments is to be gained and calls for further research on the dimensions influencing travel-related decision-making.

This study investigates the impacts of economic, social and environmental sustainability practices of companies in the hospitality supply chain on consumers’ satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay higher prices. Utilizing data collected from 288 tourists visiting south Sardinia, the study indicates that while economic sustainability practices have positive impacts on consumers’ satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium, sustainability practices related to environmental and social dimensions have a direct positive impact on satisfaction and an indirect positive impact on consumer loyalty and willingness to pay a premium. Additionally, findings reveal that satisfaction is likely to mediate the impact of environmental and social sustainability practices on the loyalty of consumers. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are provided.

This study highlights the valuable role the hospitality industry can play in addressing a societal problem by studying how social interactions between elderly consumers and other customers influence the satisfaction and social well-being of the former. The data were collected from 268 elderly consumers in local coffee shops in the United Kingdom using a self-administrated questionnaire. The findings reveal that elderly customers’ interactions with other customers have a direct effect both on customer satisfaction and social well-being. They also show that social interactions with other customers have both direct and indirect effects on the social well-being of elderly customers. The study provides good evidence for how commercial hospitality settings can serve as a space for social exchange that helps to alleviate social isolation.

Purpose. This study aims to use the theory of third places to understand how different kinds of social interactions in small hospitality businesses, such as restaurants and cafes, can enhance senior customers’ experiences and alleviate their loneliness. Design/methodology/approach. The target population of this study were Hong Kong residents of age 60 or older. The sampling frame comprised respondents who visited a Cha Chaan Teng (i.e. a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant) more than once a year. The authors distributed 500 questionnaires and collected 411 valid responses in 2016. They used structural equation modeling for data analysis. Findings – The results show that social interactions (service manner and need identification) with employees and other customers have a positive effect on senior customers’ experiences, while the service manner of employees reduces senior customers’ loneliness. Originality/value. This study demonstrates the respective contributions of social interactions with employees and those with other customers to enhancing senior customers’ experiences and alleviating their loneliness. This study’s findings may provide a foundation for future research into the relationships between social interactions, customer experience and loneliness in third places (that are, informal public places that offer individuals opportunities to escape from home and the workplace and to enjoy voluntary conversation, entertainment and gatherings). Further, this study also demonstrates the specific role and importance of the hospitality industry in addressing a contemporary social problem in the form of seniors’ loneliness.

This paper focuses on the impact of Market Orientations (MO), Organizational Learning (OL) and Market Conditions (MCs) on Firm Growth (FG), within the context of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Entrepreneurs/managers were sampled using cluster-sampling technique and surveyed using a 5-point Likert type scale instrument. The questionnaire’s validity was determined by 1) expert opinions, and 2) pilot testing the instrument on a small group of target respondents. A total of 254 completed questionnaires were analyzed to test the research model using Structural Equation Modeling approach (SEM) via the Partial Least Squares (PLS) software. The findings reveal that MO has a strong influence on FG and that OL partially mediates the MO-FG relationship. However, MCs have no moderating influence on the OL-FG relationship. The paper then discusses the findings’ implications on theory and practice. = 本文着重研究了马来西亚中小企业的市场定位、组织学习（OL）和市场条件（MCS）对企业成长的影响。企业家/管理者采用整群抽样方法，调查采用李克特仪器采样。问卷的有效性由1个专家意见决定，2）在一小群受试者身上进行测试。用偏最小二乘（PLS）软件对254份完成的问卷进行分析，用结构方程模型（SEM）对研究模型进行检验。研究结果发现，市场导向对企业成长有显著影响，组织学习部分中介市场导向-企业成长关系。然而，市场条件对组织学习,企业成长关系的影响不显著。然后讨论了这些发现对理论和实践的启示。

This paper aims to investigate the influence of organizational structure on service innovativeness by testing the moderating roles of learning orientation and inter-functional coordination. This helps to understand how organic structure influences service innovativeness when it is effectively leveraged with favorable organizational factors. Data were collected from 178 hotel managers and executives in Japan and moderated regression analysis was performed to analyze the data. Findings of the study suggest that higher levels of service innovativeness are positively related to higher levels of hotel business performance. In addition, organic structure makes a positive influence on service innovativeness and an increase in the levels of learning orientation boost the effectiveness of organic structure on service innovativeness. Moreover, the positive association between organic structure and service innovativeness become stronger when all firm’s functions make an attempt to cooperate and contribute to disseminating customers and competitors’ information in the hotels. These findings contribute to understanding how hotel service innovation is affected by service innovativeness, organizational structure, learning orientation and inter-functional coordination.

Purpose - This study explores the hospitality franchise purchase decision-making process undertaken by franchisees in Macau as an emerging tourism destination, and the role of national culture on purchasing a franchise brand and selecting a potential franchisor.

Design/methodology/approach - Semi-structured in-depth interviews with 18  franchisees  in Macau, who purchased international and domestic hospitality franchise brands, were conducted to understand the feelings, attitudes and motivation of franchisees towards purchasing a hospitality franchise.

Findings – The study reveals that national culture can play an important role in franchisees’ decision-making process. Personal networks of friends and family (guanxi) are very influential in introducing and steering aspiring entrepreneurs towards franchising as an option to realize their ambitions, although there may be some limitations to franchisees with this approach. Guanxi, was also found to be particularly relevant during negotiations and franchisees’ postpurchase reviews.

Practical implications – International franchisors should understand the importance of guanxi at different stages of franchisees’ decision-making process. Franchisees should realize how a reliance on guanxi might negatively impact on their efforts to undertake sufficient research to thoroughly evaluate the franchisor offer prior to contract signature.

Originality/value - A comprehensive hospitality franchisee decision-making purchase framework is developed which includes the cultural context and cultural values. Guanxi in particular, impacts upon the franchisee decision-making process. 

Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines franchisees’ business start-ups from an entrepreneurial

perspective, adopting a process representative of entrepreneurship to examine opportunity

identification and evaluation by franchisees and to analyse factors that influence this process.

Design/Methodology: A qualitative study was employed and data collected using semistructured

interviews with a sample of service industry franchisees in Macau.

Findings: The study identifies that social networks play a key role in opportunity

identification and that franchisees’ goals influence the criteria used and information search

activities undertaken while evaluating franchise opportunities.

Research implications: The study makes two contributions to franchise literature. It

identifies that social networks can serve as substitutes for lack of prior knowledge in

franchise opportunity identification. It also identifies the interrelated nature of franchisees’

goals based on the activities and criteria used to evaluate franchise opportunities, and the

importance of relational criteria when franchisees lack prior industry knowledge. It therefore

also contributes to franchise/entrepreneurship literature by identifying the interrelated nature

of the factors contributing to the dynamics of franchise chain growth.

Practical implications: Franchisors should explore how to better use franchisees’ social

networks and identify the longer-term goals of prospective franchisees to support market

penetration and franchise chain growth. Franchisees are advised to use independent

information sources to evaluate franchise opportunities using goal-informed objectives and

demand and relational criteria.

Originality: The study presents a more comprehensive understanding of franchisees’

decision-making process when joining franchise chains by identifying the activities

undertaken and criteria used to identify and evaluate franchise opportunities.

Keywords: Franchisees, entrepreneurs, opportunity identification and evaluation, business

start-up, social networks, guanxi

This study investigates empirically an extended version of the Environmental Kuznets Curve model that controls for tourism development. We find that international tourist arrivals into Turkey alongside income, squared income and energy consumption, cointegrate with CO2 emissions. Tourist arrivals, growth, and energy consumption exert a positive and significant impact on CO2emissions in the long-run. Our results provide empirical support to EKC hypothesis showing that at exponential levels of growth, CO2 emissions decline. The findings suggest that despite the environmental degradation stemming from tourism development, policies aimed at environmental protection should not be pursued at the expense of tourism-led growth.

This paper combines agency theory and social exchange theoretical perspectives to examine opportunistic behaviour in hospitality franchise agreements.  It identifies and analyses the opportunistic behaviour of both franchisors and franchisees through a qualitative study of Turkish hospitality franchisees.  A model of opportunistic behaviour and social exchange is developed from the study for further empirical testing. The model depicts different categories of franchisee behaviour, how franchisee behaviour is influenced by the behaviour of franchisors, the relevant characteristics of social exchange between franchisors and franchisees and the outcomes of those exchanges.  As such, the study provides a complementary perspective of franchisee opporutunism and exchange relationships. 

Cyprus' volatile political environment lends an interesting case for enhancing knowledge on the politics of tourism. The importance of tourism for the island's economy makes the study of the political influences on the new-found goal of sustainable tourism development imperative. This paper investigates the political factors influencing sustainable tourism implementation in Cyprus. Analysis is informed by Lukes' conceptualisation of power relations. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the findings suggest that sustainable tourism implementation continues to be problematic, given Cyprus' complex political context, which is highly susceptible to external axes of power. The strong influence of the socio-cultural environment on the politics driving sustainable tourism inhibits its effective implementation. This paper proposes a theoretical framework and a methodology for studying the politics of sustainable tourism development.

The paper aims to evaluae the antecedents of franchise relationship development from the perspective of a sample of Chinese and Turkish franchisees. This paper advances franchsiing literature by offerin a combined and complementary theoretical persepctive to our understanding of the influence of power and social investments in relationship development between franchisees and franchisors. In particular, the study identifies role performance of franchsor and communication with franchisees as the key antecedents of relationship development.

This paper aims to establsh the relationship between the antecedents of trust, trust itself, and franchisee satisfaction. Taking its cue from power-dependence, international business, and social exchange theories, the paper contributes to the franchise literature by offering a more comprehensive theoretical persepctive to aid understanding of trust development in, and satisfaction with franchise partnerships. The study provides empirical evidence of the impactof the franchisor's role performance and cultural sensitivity on franchisees' trust and satisfaction with franchise partnerships. Furthermore, this research demonstrates the central role of communication in the development of franchisees' trust.

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to introduce the articles of this issue.
Design/methodology/approach – A critical content analysis of the papers selected for the issue was undertaken.
Findings – The final articles for this issue examine a range of responsible business practices within hospitality and tourism businesses in diverse country settings. In addition, each article is followed by a commentary from an industry representative who reflects on the key message and/or value of the article for industry practice.
Research limitations/implications – Although only one article examined the role of education specifically, collectively the articles in this special theme edition point to the critical role of education in implementing responsible business practices in the near future, as well as for ensuring the sustainability of these practices in the years to come. Additionally, these articles highlight the need for greater cooperation between different hospitality and tourism stakeholders in the development and implementation of responsible business practices.
Originality/value – The current theme issue explores emerging issues in the implementation of responsible business practice in the context of hospitality and tourism industries in different country contexts.

This paper reviews the theoretical underpinnings of co-production and co-creation and discusses these service production approaches in a hotel context. Based on a synthesis of the literature, we present a co-production to co-creation matrix and offer several propositions: (1) the co-production versus co-creation concepts create a continuum rather than a dichotomy; (2) service innovation and the customisation of service production are conceived as lying somewhere between co-production and cocreation on this continuum; and (3) the key factors that define a typology of service production types (co-production, service innovation, customisation, and co-creation) include the primary value-creation driver and customer involvement/dialogue type. We further discuss the benefits for hotels of moving from co-production to co-creation on this continuum. As one of the first papers to discuss co-creation in hospitality, it contributes to the field by providing specific theoretical and practical implications for how hotel companies can move from co-production to co-creation.

This paper identifies and evaluates the partner selection approaches, processes and criteria use by tourism franchisees to select their franchisor partners. A qualitative study of a sample of Turkish franchisees identifies the partner selection criteria and two distinct approaches used to select franchisor partners. The study contributes to our understanding of franchisee partner selection by demonstrating how the selection criteria, approaches and processes impact on franchisee satisfaction post contract signature. In addition, a framework that depicts the relationship between the criteria, approaches and processes is developed from the study. The study yields a number of implications particularly for prospective franchisees interested in joining a franchise network.

Purpose: This paper aims to identify and evaluate the factors which influence relationship development between franchisors and franchisees in international service franchise partnerships.

 Design/methodology/approach: Case studies of two international hotel firms were the focus of the enquiry. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.  

Findings: Findings demonstrate that role performance, asset specificity and cultural sensitivity influence relationship development in franchise partnerships. The influence of these factors, however, varies in different forms of franchise partnerships, namely individual and master franchises.

Research limitations/implications: The findings are based on case studies in the international hotel industry and therefore may not be generalizable to other industry sectors.

Practical implications: Service firms should adopt a systematic organization‐wide approach to, and management of, relationship development in franchise partnerships. In particular, in the case of cross‐country partnerships, both franchisors and franchisees need to develop and exploit their inter‐cultural skills and adapt their business practices to the cultures of host and home countries where appropriate.

Originality/value: The paper exploits three main streams of research which could inform the antecedents of business‐to‐business relationships, namely power‐dependence, transaction cost theories and international business. It thus advances services marketing and more specifically international franchising literatures by offering a holistic theoretical perspective to our understanding of business‐to‐business relationship development.

Purpose: This paper aims to identify and evaluate the factors which influence relationship development between franchisors and franchisees in international service franchise partnerships.

 Design/methodology/approach: Case studies of two international hotel firms were the focus of the enquiry. Interviews and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.  

Findings: Findings demonstrate that role performance, asset specificity and cultural sensitivity influence relationship development in franchise partnerships. The influence of these factors, however, varies in different forms of franchise partnerships, namely individual and master franchises.

Research limitations/implications: The findings are based on case studies in the international hotel industry and therefore may not be generalizable to other industry sectors.

Practical implications: Service firms should adopt a systematic organization‐wide approach to, and management of, relationship development in franchise partnerships. In particular, in the case of cross‐country partnerships, both franchisors and franchisees need to develop and exploit their inter‐cultural skills and adapt their business practices to the cultures of host and home countries where appropriate.

Originality/value: The paper exploits three main streams of research which could inform the antecedents of business‐to‐business relationships, namely power‐dependence, transaction cost theories and international business. It thus advances services marketing and more specifically international franchising literatures by offering a holistic theoretical perspective to our understanding of business‐to‐business relationship development.

This paper seeks to evaluate the influence of the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations on the marketing practices of Turkish ethnic minority businesses. The paper reports and analyses the findings of 227 face-to-face structured interviews with Turkish small business owners. The findings of the study indicate that Turkish ethnic minority businesses operating in different sectors use both transactional and relational approaches to marketing. Their choices of pursuing different marketing strategies are influenced by the entrepreneurs' educational backgrounds, the firm's target market, and the sector of operations.

This paper investigates ways in which political obstacles inhibit the formulation and implementation of sustainable tourism development in small-island developing states through the example of North Cyprus. The methodology draws on in-depth interviews and participant observation of significant actors in the tourism sector. The research findings suggest that understanding the intricate political system and power structure in a society is the key to understanding sustainable tourism policy development, planning and implementation. In the case of North Cyprus, policy development was found to be a product of political influence (referred to as ego-driven politics in the text), specifically the use of public resources as an instrument for political power, retention and that the politicisation of the public sector is the underlying cause of the weakened progress in sustainable tourism development. It is therefore essential to have a clear understanding of political issues, key political actors" interests and how to mitigate personal interests to facilitate and maintain sustainable tourism development in such small states.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of ethnic minority small businesses (EMSBs) and its antecedents and consequences are under-researched. Grounded in ethnic entrepreneurship theory and the social embeddedness approach, this article examines the relationships of EMSBs" access to various networks, their EO and firm growth. Drawing on quantitative data collected through 258 face-toface structured interviews with Chinese- and Turkish-owned EMSBs in London, UK our findings reveal that family and co-ethnic advice and labour do not have a significant impact on firms" EO. Instead, both access to co-ethnic products and access to co-ethnic suppliers of utilities and facilities have a significant impact on firms" EO, which in turn has a significant positive effect on employment growth. Moreover, Chinese-owned EMSBs demonstrate a higher level of EO and pursue different paths to growth (that is, they are more likely to grow through acquiring more business premises) compared with Turkish-owned EMSBs. The findings have important implications for the understanding of growth patterns of EMSBs, particularly the role of EO in the EMSBs" break-out strategies and growth.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the cultural challenges of gaining and maintaining qualitative research access into ethnic small firms. In particular, it evaluates the influence of cultural affinity - between researchers and business owners - on gaining and maintaining access into ethnic minority owned firms. Design/methodology/approach - This paper reflects on the experiences of facilitating and maintaining research access into a sample of 258 small Turkish and Chinese ethnic minority businesses in London. Findings - This paper study illustrates that researchers need to demonstrate cultural awareness to ethnic business owners and understand the socio-cultural environment in which their firms operate in order to be able to gain and maintain research access. Research limitations/implications - Data collection is limited to Turkish and Chinese ethnic minority owned businesses in London, and other ethnic entrepreneurs are excluded. Therefore, care should be taken in making generalisations from the sample. Practical implications - This paper identifies a number of important skills which can be exploited in negotiating and gaining research access. These are communication, interpersonal and cultural awareness skills. Originality/value - This paper addresses a neglected area in the research process, namely research access, which has important implications for the type of data collected, sampling and data collection techniques. The paper thus identifies -œresearch access- as an important element of research design.

"This paper evaluates the effectiveness of post merger management of cultural integration in the hotel industry. Using a mixed method design incorporating a structured card sort of possible feelings and subsequent in-depth interview,data were collected from Head Office employees. Findings highlight the importance of human dynamics of a merger, emphasising the importance of strong leadership, open and honest communication as pre-cursors to mutual learning and suggesting the need for a pre merger cultural audit. Merging two organisations involves the dedication of a remarkable level of resources and activities both before and after the M&As and yet, a successful outcome is uncertain and it is subject to effective management of cultural integration."

The Cyprus tourism industry has had to be sensitive to the political problems between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Federation is considered to be a partial solution to the problems. This paper evaluates the influence of politics and nationalism on the tourism planning and development under a possible federal constitution. The views of Turkish and Greek Cypriot participants from private and public organizations are studied through semistructured interviews. The findings suggest that any future planning and development is likely to be a complex undertaking, as the two societies tend to have different sets of objectives and expectations.

To investigate the role of prior knowledge in the international franchise partner recruitment process and to evaluate how cultural distance influences the role of prior knowledge in this process.

A single embedded case study of an international hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews, observations and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.

Findings reveal that prior knowledge of the franchisor enables the franchisor to coordinate more efficiently with prospective partners. However, the case study firm experienced a great deal of cultural distance in different country markets. The greater the cultural distance, the more challenges the firm has to face in terms of upgrading and adapting its prior knowledge to local needs.

The findings are based on a hotel franchise chain, and may not be generalisable to other firms or industry sectors, although the literature on international management does not indicate any substantial differences between hotel firms and other types of organisations. Despite this limitation, the findings shed light on the importance of critically evaluating a firm's prior knowledge in a complex, multinational context.

This paper illuminates the challenges international franchisors face, and highlights the need to adapt their prior knowledge base to the local needs. The findings also reinforce the message that selecting prospective franchisees that are familiar to the franchise business format and willing to adopt the franchise system is crucial to the long‐term success of the franchise system.

This paper cross‐fertilises literature of organisational learning and franchising and evaluates the interplay of prior knowledge, cultural distance and international franchise recruitment. The findings provide further evidence on the mixed influences of prior knowledge on international franchise partner recruitment, and caution firms to critically evaluate their prior knowledge in international expansion. The findings also contribute to the understanding of franchise partner selection and recruitment, and bring in new addition to the body of existing franchising literature which largely examines the operations of the franchise system.

To investigate the role of prior knowledge in the international franchise partner recruitment process and to evaluate how cultural distance influences the role of prior knowledge in this process.

A single embedded case study of an international hotel firm was the focus of the enquiry. Interviews, observations and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques.

Findings reveal that prior knowledge of the franchisor enables the franchisor to coordinate more efficiently with prospective partners. However, the case study firm experienced a great deal of cultural distance in different country markets. The greater the cultural distance, the more challenges the firm has to face in terms of upgrading and adapting its prior knowledge to local needs.

The findings are based on a hotel franchise chain, and may not be generalisable to other firms or industry sectors, although the literature on international management does not indicate any substantial differences between hotel firms and other types of organisations. Despite this limitation, the findings shed light on the importance of critically evaluating a firm's prior knowledge in a complex, multinational context.

This paper illuminates the challenges international franchisors face, and highlights the need to adapt their prior knowledge base to the local needs. The findings also reinforce the message that selecting prospective franchisees that are familiar to the franchise business format and willing to adopt the franchise system is crucial to the long‐term success of the franchise system.

This paper cross‐fertilises literature of organisational learning and franchising and evaluates the interplay of prior knowledge, cultural distance and international franchise recruitment. The findings provide further evidence on the mixed influences of prior knowledge on international franchise partner recruitment, and caution firms to critically evaluate their prior knowledge in international expansion. The findings also contribute to the understanding of franchise partner selection and recruitment, and bring in new addition to the body of existing franchising literature which largely examines the operations of the franchise system.

This paper fills a gap in the research undertaken into the role of intrapreneurs in the international franchise process of an organisation. The intrapreneurial role of organisational members in implementing franchising decisions in an international hotel group was investigated. Semi‐structured interviews, observations and document analysis were used as the data collection techniques. Findings suggest that human factors play an important role in the expansion process and, in a culturally diverse context, franchising is very much the concern of the development directors who provide the attributes of intrapreneurs externally in the market.

Entrepreneurial activity is a phenomenon that increases the economic growth of countries and improves social welfare of countries. The economic development levels of countries have significant effects on these entrepreneurial activities. This research examines which institutional and macroeconomic variables explain early-stage entrepreneurship activities in developed and developing economies. We conducted panel data analysis on the data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and International Monetary Fund surveys covering the years 2009-2018. Firstly our results reveal that cognitive, normative, and regulatory institutions and macroeconomic factors affect early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developed and developing countries differently. Secondly, our findings indicate that cognitive, normative, and regulatory institutions affect early-stage entrepreneurship more positively in developed than developing countries. Finally, our results report that macroeconomic factors are more effective in early-stage entrepreneurial activity in developing countries than in developed countries. This study provides a better understanding of the components that help explain the differences in entrepreneurship between developed and developing countries regarding institutions and macroeconomic factors. In this way, it contributes to developing entrepreneurship literature with the theoretical achievements of combining institutional theory and macroeconomic indicators with entrepreneurship literature.