Juan Luis Nicolau

This study analyzes the connection between destination popularity and traveler expectations of accommodation prices at hotels and vacation rentals. Guided by prospect theory, its primary goal is to assess whether the principles of loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity explain the influence of accommodation prices on destination popularity. The study extends prospect theory by proposing a competitive framework to identify cross-effects between hotels and vacation rentals in influencing destination popularity. An empirical analysis of 3,142 U.S. destinations shows that hotels display reverse loss aversion, whereas vacation rentals follow a pattern predicted by prospect theory. Reverse cross-loss aversion emerges in the effect of vacation rental prices on hotel-induced destination popularity, whereas prospect theory explains the effects of hotel prices on vacation rental-induced destination popularity. The finding that cross-loss aversion and cross-diminishing sensitivity influence the relationship between hotel prices and vacation rental-induced destination popularity extends prospect theory to a competitive framework.

Competition within the lodging industry is increasingly shaped by rapid, visible moves from both traditional hotel chains and platform‑based entrants such as short-term leases. Competitive‑dynamics...

Purpose: This study tests the theory of entry deterrence in the context of an innovation shock. Specifically, this article investigates the extent to which within-niche product proliferation implemented by incumbents (firms already established in a submarket), their organizational identity (generalist vs. specialist) and their willingness to cannibalize their own products can deter rivals from entering their submarkets following an innovation shock. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the purpose, this study used a longitudinal database containing monthly information on all electric vehicles marketed in Spain between 2003 and 2017. We estimated models with random parameters (to capture unobserved heterogeneity) in panel data. Findings: Our findings reveal that the opportunities provided by the innovation shock to entrants are too strong for them to refrain from launching products in submarkets where the incumbents implement a within-niche proliferation strategy. Only specialist companies that proliferate products in a submarket can protect their market share from competitive erosion. Our findings also show that incumbents' willingness to cannibalize the products they market allows them to deter entry. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by providing, for the first time, empirical evidence on how entry deterrence theory operates in the context of an innovation shock, from the perspective of incumbents. In particular, we offer a novel approach by integrating credible commitment with product proliferation strategies and by proposing a new way of operationalizing credible commitment. Finally, this work is the first to combine within-niche product proliferation, organizational identity and intentional cannibalization to analyze incumbents' ability to prevent rival entry.

Extant research has identified positive and negative consequences of greenwashing, creating a paradox because the phenomenon is inherently deceptive and detrimental to environmental and societal well-being. This study examines these paradoxical consequences across micro-, meso-, and macro-level stakeholders in the travel industry, as perceived by employees. Using a three-stage qualitative design with employees ( N = 68), the study demonstrates that greenwashing is a self-sustaining, multilevel phenomenon driven by paradoxical cognition among employees, organizational stakeholders, and regulators. Together with structural entrapment and paradoxical actions, these dynamics create a paradoxical engine that sustains greenwashing, while deception remains hidden from external stakeholders, who process green claims peripherally. Participants further indicate that deterrence requires stakeholder engagement with these paradoxes and mechanisms promoting central processing of environmental claims. The study proposes a multilevel framework for deterring greenwashing in the travel industry and advances paradox theory by explaining its persistence across interconnected stakeholder groups.

This study examines how inter-Korean political and economic events affect financial markets and tourism behavior by integrating investor and traveler perspectives. Using 167 events (1991–2024), Study 1 applies an event-study to 20 publicly listed South Korean tourism and hospitality firms, separating positive and negative announcements. Study 2, an experiment with 240 Korean participants, tests whether perceived geopolitical risk mediates effects on domestic and international travel intentions. Results show immediate market reactions: positive events yield larger, more persistent gains than negative ones, while higher perceived risk significantly reduces travel intentions. Findings challenge prospect theory’s loss aversion and instead support desensitization, whereby repeated tensions dampen investor sensitivity to adverse news.

This study analyzes the role of place attachment in influencing workcationers’ future intentions to revisit a destination, either for future workcations or leisure travel. Building on self-determination theory, transformative tourism, and reference dependence theory, this study argues that transformative experiences in coastal workcations foster place attachment, which subsequently drives behavioral intentions. Importantly, place attachment is conceptualized as reference-dependent, meaning travelers evaluate their emotional connection to a destination relative to psychographic or demographic peer groups. The results demonstrate that place attachment fully mediates the relationship between transformation and intentions under psychographic segmentation and partially mediates it under demographic segmentation. Findings reveal a loss aversion effect, where below-average attachment (attachment loss) has a stronger negative impact than above-average attachment (attachment gain). This study highlights place attachment’s pivotal role in understanding how travelers’ psychological bonds with coastal destinations form and influence their future choices.