IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Author "Liu-Lastres, Bingjie"

Browsing by Author "Liu-Lastres, Bingjie"

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A reflection on the Great Resignation in the hospitality and tourism industry
(Emerald Publishing, 2022-08-12) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Wen, Han; Huang, Wei-Jue; Tourism, Event & Sport Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
Purpose This paper aims to provide a critical reflection on the Great Resignation in the hospitality and tourism industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this paper reviews the causes and effects of the Great Resignation, addresses the labor shortage in this industry and proposes strategies that can help manage the challenges. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a critical analysis of emerging phenomena, related literature and researchers’ experiences and insights. Findings The Great Resignation has presented unprecedented challenges for the hospitality and tourism industry. A closer examination reveals that the pandemic has served as a catalyst rather than a leading cause of this trend. Workforce issues are becoming increasingly complex under contemporary influences, including internal elements such as new explications at work and external factors like the gig economy and technology implementation. Practical implications This study provides practical implications on how Hospitality and Tourism practitioners can respond to the Great Resignation on micro, meso and macro levels. The practical implications revolve around employees’ changing needs and preferences in the wave of Great Resignation, as well as the necessity for employers’ reflection and improvement. Originality/value This study marks an initial attempt to provide a critical assessment of a contemporary issue involving the Great Resignation. This paper extends its discussion through an advanced analysis of the issue, offers suggestions to manage current obstacles related to labor issues in hospitality and tourism, and illuminates future research directions.
Are female business travelers willing to travel during COVID-19? An exploratory study
(SAGE, 2021-01-20) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Mirehie, Mona; Cecil, Amanda
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the tourism industry. A successful recovery from the pandemic requires a clear understanding of the ‘new normal’, including tourists’ perceived risks, safety perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to travel. Guided by the Risk Perception Attitude (RPA) Framework, this study investigated female business travelers’ risk perception attitude and willingness to travel in the COVID-19 climate. This study segmented the sample into four distinct RPA groups, including the Avoidance, Proactive, Responsive, and Indifference groups. These groups differ in some demographic characteristics and the strength of willingness to travel. Findings also showed that anxiety, perceived safety, and consumer confidence mediate the relationships between the sample’s RPA and willingness to travel, but the exact relationship varies by groups. Finally, this paper discussed the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study.
Are we missing the boat? Examining managers’ perspectives on employee wellbeing in the foodservice industry
(Edward Elgar, 2021-05-01) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Wen, Han
The purpose of this research note was to examine managers’ perspectives on employee wellbeing in the foodservice industry. Particularly, this study conducted 14 semi-structured individual interviews with upper-level managers of various organizations within the foodservice industry. Thematic analyses were employed to analyze the data. The overall findings addressed the essence of considering employee wellbeing in the industry. Particularly, this study revealed managers’ interpretation of employee wellbeing, identified major influences on employee wellbeing, reported the current measures, and presented the major challenges facing most organizations regarding improving employee wellbeing. From a theoretical point of view, this study used a qualitative approach and reflected managers’ perspectives on the concept of employee wellbeing. Building on those findings, this study provides practical implications, which mainly involves using a forward-thinking, top-down approach to enhance employee wellbeing, and highlights the roles of organizational support and organizational culture. Based on the findings, this study also discusses future research directions and limitations.
Building A Resilient Event Industry: Lessons Learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic
(TTRA, 2021-06) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Cahyanto, Ignatius; Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
Guided by the theoretical framework of organizational resilience, this study interviewed twenty-six event planners regarding their risk and crisis management related practices and their experiences with the COVID-19 global pandemic. This study conducted thematic analyses to analyze the data. The results showed that organizational resilience was approached through planned and adaptive resilience. Their crisis management practices are influenced by event planners’ personal knowledge, experiences, and expertise as well as their organization’s policy and leadership. When it comes to the case of COVID-19, the concept of organizational residence is mainly reflected through adaptive resilience. It also seems that most resilient organizations have been excellent in communicating and managing customer relationships and creating innovative strategies to generate revenue. Further theoretical and practical implications were provided based on the findings.
Business travel, risk, and safety of female university faculty and staff
(Taylor and Francis, 2020-09-29) Mirehie, Mona; Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Cecil, A.; Jain, N.
Women constitute a significant portion of the total business travel market in the U.S. This study aimed to explore travel risk and safety issues among women in higher education who regularly travel for work. Three focus groups were conducted with female faculty and staff at a major public university in the U.S. Results of an inductive-deductive analysis indicated three major themes, namely, risk perception, risk treatment, and risk adoption. Findings provide insights into how female higher education employees perceive risk and safety during business trips, and their travel behaviour that include actions taken to mitigate the potential risks or time-to-time risky decisions about travel arrangements. Further, recommendations are made for enhancement of travel policies at the institutional level to ensure safety of female employees.
Can post-disaster tourism development improve destination livelihoods? A case study of Aceh, Indonesia
(Elsevier, 2020-10-21) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Mariska, Dini; Tan, Xiaoyuan; Ying, Tianyu; Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
Destinations are vulnerable to natural disasters, which can result in damage to infrastructure and built facilities, negative destination images, and a difficult time of recovery. Recently, a growing number of destinations have incorporated tourism development in their disaster relief efforts and used post-disaster tourism as a strategy to enhance local livelihoods and build community resilience. Guided by the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for Tourism (SLFT), this study analyzed the case of Aceh, Indonesia, a destination that had been struck by a severe natural disaster and developed tsunami tourism as a strategy to recover. The data were collected through focus group interviews among local stakeholders. Based on the SLFT, this study employed a deductive approach to analyze the data and identified six themes. The findings not only validated the applicability of the SLFT to a post-disaster tourism development context, but also revealed how tourism could contribute to various community assets and a resilient destination in the aftermath of a crisis. The study also underscored the importance of local culture and religion during the recovery process. Based on the findings, further discussions are provided regarding the dynamics involving sustainable development, post-disaster tourism, and resilient destinations.
Consumers' dining behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: An Application of the Protection Motivation Theory and the Safety Signal Framework
(Elsevier, 2022) Wen, Han; Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
With the long-lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critically important that restaurateurs understand predictors of consumers' dining behaviors to better foster strategies to recover their revenue during the re-opening stage. Based on the Safety Signal Framework and the Protection Motivation Theory, this study developed and tested a model investigating the combined effects of restaurateurs' measures and consumers' protective motivations on their dine-out frequencies and dine-in likelihoods. Consistent with propositions of the Protection Motivation Theory, the results confirmed that both the threat and coping appraisals influenced consumers’ dining behaviors. The coping appraisal process is affected by “access to servicescape,” “servicescape,” and “communication.” Additionally, the results of the gap analysis revealed four safety signaling strategies perceived as effective by consumers but with a low implementation rate in the restaurant industry. Theoretical and practical implications were provided to restaurateurs.
Cruise Line Customers’ Responses to Risk and Crisis Communication Messages: An Application of the Risk Perception Attitude Framework
(Sage, 2018) Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Schroeder, Ashley; Pennington-Gray, Lori; Tourism, Conventions, and Event Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
The main purpose of this study was to test cruise line customers’ responses to risk and crisis communication messages addressing health-related incidents on cruise ships. This study used norovirus infections as the context and the Risk Perception Attitude framework as the conceptual foundation. An experiment was conducted to test how communication messages affected cruise line customers’ information search behavior, safety perceptions, and cruise travel intentions. A total of 240 responses were included and analyzed. The results revealed group differences on the three outcome variables. The results also showed that safety perceptions mediated the relationship between participants’ RPAs and cruise travel intentions. Based on the findings, this study provided practical implications on how to develop effective risk and crisis communication messages. This study also highlighted the need for more empirical and theory-driven research in the area of tourism crisis communication.
Developing a resilience-based adaptive co-management framework: public sectors’ insights on the role of tourism
(Taylor and Francis, 2020) Cahyanto, Ignatius P.; Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Edwards, Chase
Public-private partnerships are essential to effective disaster response and recovery. Given their scare resources, it is neither efficient nor practical for governing bodies to bear the sole responsibility for maintaining an ever-ready disaster response infrastructure and workforce. While it is necessary and admirable for governments to improve their internal disaster response mechanisms, a community's resilience can also be enhanced by leveraging private entities and their assets. This study utilized the Adaptive co-management (ACM) framework to examine existing partnerships between emergency operations centers and the tourism industry in co-managing hurricane-related disasters. By utilizing group discussion and individual interviews, this study reveals the public sectors’ expectations of the tourism industry when partnering to co-manage disasters. The findings highlight theoretical and practical implications for current public-private partnerships and the need to improve these efforts in disaster management. Several critical deficiencies are identified and discussed, including interagency trust, financial support, and communication.
Diaspora engagement in tourism crisis recovery: The case of Indonesia
(Emerald Publishing, 2023-02-09) Cahyanto, Ignatius; Liu-Lastres, Bingjie; Gallagher, William; Tourism, Event & Sport Management, School of Health and Human Sciences
Purpose Diasporas represent a unique yet often overlooked stakeholder in tourism crisis management. Their strong bonds with their homeland often result in continued engagement with an extended community, which is valuable to their homeland during unsettling times. This study aims to examine the engagement of the Indonesian diaspora in the USA to revive tourism in Indonesia during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and their motivation behind such efforts. Design/methodology/approach This study is rooted in a social constructivism paradigm and uses a qualitative approach. Four focus groups (n = 25) and ten individual interviews with the Indonesian diaspora in the USA were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to identify major themes. Findings The findings indicate that diaspora engagement stemmed from two broad categories: social activism, such as information liaison, skills and knowledge transfer, and economic activism, including philanthropic activities, investment and remittance and return-home travel. Both altruistic and social exchange motives drive their continuous engagement. The findings exemplify “diaspora diplomacy” that can be harnessed as social capital for homeland tourism recovery post-crisis. Originality/value This study provides an in-depth analysis of diaspora engagement in destination recovery. This study highlights the importance of diasporas as social capital for destinations and offers insights into tourism crisis management by incorporating this overlooked stakeholder group.

Browsing by Author "Liu-Lastres, Bingjie"

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