Chung Hun Lee

Tourism research and practice remain shaped by a persistent visual-centrism (Kim & Sohn, 2020). This “hegemony of vision” is not merely an oversight but is deeply embedded in dominant marketing par...

As service robots become more prevalent in hospitality settings, understanding what shapes employees’ trust in these technologies is essential for fostering effective human–robot collaboration. Despite extensive research on customer trust and robot-related attributes, employee perspectives have received limited and fragmented attention. The aim of this study is to examine how human, robot, and organizational factors collectively influence employees’ trust in service robots, thereby offering a more comprehensive understanding of trust formation in hospitality contexts. To address this aim, this study adopts a three-dimensional trust framework (human, robot, and organizational factors) and provides the first comprehensive empirical test in the hospitality sector. Drawing on survey data from 301 frontline hospitality workers in the United States, we investigated how various human-, robot-, and organization-related factors influence employees’ trust in service robots using bootstrap multiple regression analysis. The results reveal that human factors, particularly employees’ attitudes toward and comfort with robots, emerged as dominant trust predictors. Surprisingly, organizational factors showed minimal direct impact, suggesting complex trust dynamics unique to hospitality contexts. These findings significantly expand existing human–robot interaction (HRI) theory and offer critical practical insights for hospitality managers integrating robots into frontline service.

This study explores the psychological and social impacts of the forced use of self-service technologies (SSTs) in South Korea’s hospitality and tourism sectors, focusing on perceptions of service dehumanization among different age groups. Grounded in symbolic interactionism theory, the research aims to uncover how reduced interpersonal interaction affects perceived service quality and emotional response. A quantitative approach was employed using data collected from 300 Korean adults (150 older adults and 150 young adults). The study utilized the PROCESS Macro to test mediation effects of reduced human contact, empathy, and authenticity, as well as the moderating role of employee presence in shaping dehumanization perceptions. The results indicate that the mandatory use of SSTs significantly diminishes the perceived social value of service encounters, thereby increasing feelings of dehumanization. This effect is mediated by a reduction in human contact, empathy, and authenticity. Moreover, the presence of employees moderates this relationship, particularly intensifying dehumanization perceptions among older adult participants. Gender was not a significant factor in these perceptions. These findings suggest that while SSTs may improve operational efficiency, their forced implementation can negatively impact customer experience, especially for older adults. Hospitality and tourism providers should consider hybrid service models that maintain optional human interaction to mitigate adverse psychological effects. This study contributes to the limited research on SSTs and service dehumanization by integrating symbolic interactionism theory and highlighting the moderating role of employee presence. It offers novel insights into age-related differences in SST acceptance and the socio-emotional costs of automation in service contexts.

This study investigates the impact of job demands and perceived burdensomeness on employees’ willingness to collaborate with service robots (SRs) in the workplace, with a focus on the moderating effects of organizational support, self-esteem, and self-development. Conducted among 200 employees in South Korea, the results show that higher job demands significantly increase perceived burdensomeness, which negatively affects employees’ willingness to collaborate with SRs. Organizational support moderates the negative impact of job demands, reducing their detrimental effects, although it was less effective in buffering the reduction in social interaction. Self-esteem and self-development positively moderated the relationship between burdensomeness and collaboration. This study contributes to the understanding of sustainable workforce management by highlighting the importance of fostering personal and organizational resources to ensure that SR integration enhances both operational efficiency and employee well-being. The findings align with broader sustainability goals by promoting human–robot collaboration that optimizes resource use, enhances workforce adaptability, and maintains social and psychological balance in the workplace.

Herd immunity through vaccination has been a major technique for long-term COVID-19 infection management, with significant consequences for travel willingness and the recovery of the hospitality and tourism industries. However, indications that vaccine-induced immunity declines over time imply the need for booster vaccines. This could minimize the perceived health hazards of travel while enhancing travel propensity. This study integrated the theory of basic human values, the norm activation model, and the theory of planned behavior to investigate the role of cognitive aspects of individuals’ booster vaccine intention on domestic and international travel intention. More importantly, the study examined the role of value in activating moral responsibility and individuals’ beliefs to take the booster vaccine before traveling. A total of 315 Korean samples were collected to test the proposed conceptual model using structural equation modeling. In general, the results supported the proposed hypotheses. Notably, the intention to take the booster vaccine has a substantial impact on the intention to travel internationally. Furthermore, the communal values accept benevolence have an influence on personal morals and beliefs about receiving booster vaccines before international traveling.

본 연구에서는 최근 개인의 체험과 경험을 중시하는 경향과 환경적 영향으로 중요성이 대두되고 있는 호텔 레스토랑을 중심으로 감각마케팅의 조화요인이 고객의 감정반응과 구전의도에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 조사하고자 하며, 더불어 감정반응의 매개효과 여부를 확인하고자 한다. 설문조사는 호텔 레스토랑을 방문한 고객을 대상으로 실시하였으며, 총 350부를 배포하여 총 회수표본은 340부였으나 불성실한 응답지 8부를 제외한 332부를 유효 표본으로 선정하여 최종분석에 활용하였다. 분석 결과 감각마케팅요인(시각·미각조화, 청각·후각조화, 촉각조화)은 호텔 레스토랑을 방문한 고객의 환기 감정반응에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되었으며, 청각ㆍ후각조화, 촉각조화 요인은 고객의 즐거움 감정반응에도 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되었다. 감각마케팅요인(시각·미각조화, 촉각조화)과 고객의 감정반응(환기, 즐거움)은 호텔 레스토랑을 방문한 고객의 구전의도에 긍정적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되었다. 감각마케팅요인이 구전의도에 미치는 영향관계에서 감정반응(환기, 즐거움)의 매개효과 검정결과를 살펴보면, 환기는 시각·미각조화와 촉각조화에서 매개효과가 있는 것으로 검증되었으며, 즐거움은 촉각조화에서는 매개효과가 있는 것으로 검증되었다. 본 연구 결과를 기반으로 외식분야 중 호텔 레스토랑의 감각마케팅 활용 연구에 이론적으로 이바지하고자 하며, 실무적으로는 호텔 레스토랑 운영자에게 타 호텔 브랜드와의 차별화를 통한 경쟁력 강화 방안에 활용할 수 있는 마케팅 전략을 제안하고자 한다.

User-generated hotel ratings have been found to be an important element in customers’ decision making. Nevertheless, most hotel ratings online show average ratings that are extremely positive. Thus, the question is raised of whether online ratings reflect objective evaluation of the reviewers. This study examines the distribution of online ratings and compares it the distribution of offline ratings. Online hotel score ratings reported on Booking.com were extracted and compared with offline rating scores from a field survey. Online and offline hotel ratings of eight hotels located in Seoul were collected. The ratings were compared using Welch’s t-test. Overall, both online and offline ratings for all eight hotels show generally positive distribution curves. The distribution curves exhibit shapes analogous to those considered to contain self-selection bias. The randomized offline ratings did not produce more moderate ratings as predicted. Thus, no indication of non-response bias was found. Practically, this study supports the notion that hotels listed on online travel agencies such as Booking.com may already have passed certain quality criteria, thereby providing competitive marketplaces for customers searching for hotels online.

Prior cross-cultural research on customer complaint behavior has shown that Asian customers–collectivists (vs. Western customers–individualists) are less likely to engage in voice complaint but more inclined to choose nonconfrontational responses such as switching and negative word-of-mouth. Yet, we suggest that this relationship may not hold true when taking into account customer loyalty, price level, and power distance as cultural value. To that end, we conducted an experiment to examine the joint effects of culture, customer loyalty, and restaurant price level on customer complaint behaviors. Our results indicate that Asian customers might indeed be vocal public complainers when there is no deep commitment to a restaurant and when paying a high price for the service. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.