Travel Agency Employees Research Articles

Paradoxical Leadership and Employee Proactive Work Behavior: Exploring the Mediating Role of Perceived Psychological Contract Fulfillment.

Background This study delves into the intricate interplay among paradoxical leadership (PL), employees’ proactive work behaviour (PAB), and perceived psychological contract fulfilment (PPCF). PL, characterized by its simultaneous emphasis on apparently contradictory behaviours, has garnered attention due to its potential to foster innovation, adaptability, and creativity. The study’s main objective is to thoroughly explore the complexities of PL, its influence on PAB, and whether the PPCF serves as a mediator. Methods A survey was distributed to 338 hotel and travel agency employees to gather data. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling through a SmartPLS program. Results The results reveal a positive correlation between PL and PAB. Additionally, PPCF partially mediates this relationship, indicating its vital role in exploring the positive impact of PL on boosting proactive behaviours. Conclusions This research brings forth meaningful contributions to both theoretical and practical dimensions. Theoretically, it enhances our comprehension of how PL manifests in the distinctive landscape of the hospitality and tourism domain, substantiating its potential to drive proactive behaviours among employees. The mediation of PPCF enriches our grasp of the underlying mechanisms, accentuating the significance of maintaining harmonized and consistent leadership practices. From a practical vantage point, these findings offer valuable insights for hospitality and tourism establishments aspiring to optimize their leadership strategies for cultivating proactive work behaviour among their workforces.

Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention among Travel Agency Employees in Selangor

Job satisfaction is among the most difficult issues for many business leaders to address. Researchers have widely discussed this problem, yet statistics still show an alarming increase, and various factors cause it to happen often. This study aims to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention and investigate the moderating effect of employee gender and years of experience on the relationship. The four workplace satisfaction determinants—career advancement, employee empowerment, pay level, and nature of the work—that affect employee turnover intention are covered in this study. This study involved respondents among the travel agencies’ employees within the state of Selangor, regardless of their working position. A set of questionnaires was distributed to 130 employees from 26 travel agency companies that participated in the study. The results show employee empowerment has a significant negative relationship with turnover intention. It has been also found that the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention is significantly moderated by gender and years of experience. This study recommends that further research should use a larger sample size and qualitative methods to gain comprehensive knowledge regarding the phenomenon.

Whistleblowing in the travel industry: A research in the context of idealism and affective commitment

Whistleblowing is a topic that rarely garners attention in tourism, particularly within the travel industry. This research, delves into external whistleblowing in relation to idealism and affective organizational commitment. The study aims to examine how affective commitment and idealism influence the attitudes of travel agency employees towards external whistleblowing. Employing a quantitative approach, the study investigated these variables using data from 433 travel agency employees in Turkey. The findings indicate that these employees hold unfavourable opinions regarding external whistleblowing. Affective commitment and idealism are demonstrated to significantly impact attitudes towards external whistleblowing. Moreover, the data suggests that idealism does not moderate the correlation between affective commitment and external whistleblowing. This research represents one of the initial inquiries into whistleblowing within the travel industry. Typically, the effectiveness of organisational behaviours, such as affective commitment and external whistleblowing, may depend on the structural aspects of entrepreneurship, as well as the costs and benefits of such actions, rather than solely on the ethical orientation of individuals. The perception and reporting of unethical practices are heavily influenced by community culture, and Turkish culture, in particular, tends to foster a negative mindset towards reporting unethical behaviour externally.

Investigating OTA employees’ double-edged perceptions of ChatGPT: The moderating role of organizational support

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study investigated the relationships between the online travel agency employees' perceived benefits and risks of ChatGPT, job insecurity, and turnover intention. Additionally, we also examined the mediating role of job insecurity and the moderating role of organizational support. Using data from a sample of 432 United States OTA employees, the findings demonstrated that the perceived benefits and risks of ChatGPT significantly affected perceived job insecurity. Moreover, the perceived benefits and risks of ChatGPT indirectly influenced turnover intention through the intermediary variable of perceived job insecurity. Organizational support positively moderated the impact of perceived benefits and negatively moderated perceived risks on job insecurity and turnover intentions, thus helping employees cope with challenges and reduce uncertainty. The findings underscore the need for organizations to foster supportive environments to manage the impact of ChatGPT on OTA employee retention. The theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The Moderating Role of Ethical Leadership in the Relationship between Emotional Exhaustion and Service Sabotage Behaviour: An Applied study on Employees of Travel Agencies in Egypt

The Moderating Role of Ethical Leadership in the Relationship between Emotional Exhaustion and Service Sabotage Behaviour: An Applied study on Employees of Travel Agencies in Egypt

Exploring travel agencies customers’ loyalty motives throught machine learning analysis

This article focuses on identifying the directions of changes in the decision-making process of purchasing package travels and the motives determining this purchase, as well as the impact of these motives on the affective, behavioral and global loyalty of travel agency customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the research goal, a literature review and field research were conducted. In the case of secondary sources, the content analysis method was used to examine them, while data from primary sources (N = 1,508) were collected using an indirect survey technique (CAWI). The data analysis was carried out using machine learning – the variable importance method and the random forest algorithm. The obtained results allowed us to conclude that during the period of threat of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, tourist packages had been purchased less frequently, and buyers either had limited their trips to domestic trips or had adapted their travel destinations to the changing pandemic situation. The most important motivators that determined the choice of a travel agency during the COVID-19 pandemic were an attractive offer, a wide selection of package travels, previous positive experiences and trust in the organiser. It was also confirmed that in the face of the pandemic threat, buyers of package travels had been loyal to travel agencies. The use of machine learning allowed for more in-depth analyses and identification of motives that had a key impact on the development of buyer loyalty during the pandemic. The factors identified in the study encouraging buyers of package travels to maintain long-term relationships with their suppliers are belief in the value of the travel agency’s offer, trust in the travel agency, individual approach travel agency employees, efficient service in the travel agency, and a wide selection of package travels.

The Effect of Self-Efficacy, Competence, Work Discipline, Employee Engagement on Work Performance and Work Motivation: Empirical Study on Umrah Travel Agency

The purpose of the research to be conveyed is to find the influence between the variables in this paper between independent variables and dependent variables. This study used a survey method. Testing the proposed hypothesis involves the use of statistical expressions or structural models suitable for causal analysis. Therefore, the method used in this study is a quantitative approach with correlational research, which is a type of research that aims to find out whether there is a relationship between several variables (Cooper and Schlinder, 2006). The population in this study is employees of Umrah travel agencies from several Umrah bureaus in Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok, a population of 37 employees with purposive Sampling, Data Analysis Techniques using simple regression analysis assisted by SPSS version 25

The impact of job motivation on organizational commitment: A study on travel agencies

This study examines job motivation's influence on organizational commitment among employees of Group A travel agencies operating in Istanbul. Adopting a qualitative research design, data for this study were collected through face-to-face surveys using a convenience sampling method from travel agency employees in Istanbul from January to April 2023. The analysis of the obtained data reveals a positive impact of job motivation on organizational commitment. This study provides a valuable contribution to understanding the relationship between job motivation and organizational commitment, as well as enhancing the performance of agency employees. The findings can assist businesses in developing strategies to increase employee motivation.

Measuring Organizational Culture in Hotels, Restaurants and Travel Agencies in Montenegro

Organizational culture has a strong influence on the management of the organization because cultural patterns are at the core of all human behavior and actions. The aim of this paper is to determine the character of the dominant models of organizational culture in the tourism and hospitality sector of Montenegro. In this study, a field survey questionnaire was used, among employees of hotels, restaurants and travel agencies in Montenegro. In this study, we examined specifically how the characteristics of the company affect the perception of its organizational culture. Furthermore, in this study we also examined how the characteristics of respondents affect the perception of organizational culture. Research hypotheses were tested with CHAID analysis, using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Results show that the largest number of hotel and catering companies in Montenegro have an organizational culture of the clan and the second most represented culture is the culture of hierarchy. The main finding from the conducted research is the fact that the perception of the dominant type of organizational structure is significantly influenced by the type of tourist company and geographic distribution. The obtained results show that in hotels in the southern part of Montenegro, hierarchy culture is predominant, while in restaurants and travel agencies in central and northern regions it is the clan culture that dominates. The practical contribution implication of the study is in creating knowledge that can be used by managers of tourism companies in Montenegro to create a corporate strategy, recognizing that organizational culture has become an important aspect for senior management, i.e., managing the company and its development.

Museum and tourism activities in spreading the Nanai traditional beliefs

In the Khabarovsk Region (Russia), museums and tourist activities are supposed to safeguard traditions in favour of Nanai and other Indigenous communities. However, paradoxically, the employees of museums and travel agencies diverge from the local Nanai communities both in their business interests and in their interpretation of the nature of the traditions preserved. Without worrying about introducing some bold creative innovations and overcoming the boundaries of traditions and ethnicity, they actually strive to “safeguard the Nanai traditions” not for the Nanai and without the Nanai.However, the new format of museum and tourist activities, which involves the use of participatory methods, has recently begun to form a new innovative reality that could probably suit both opposing sides. Previously, most of the Nanai population were prejudiced against museums and tourism and wary of the risks associated with storing and publicly showing some traditional praxis and objects (especially sacred ones). Currently, however, museums and touristic organisations have started to support innovative ways of continuation of Nanai spiritual practices, bringing them, on the one hand, beyond the ethnic borders and turning museums and tourist sites into places of worship whatever their ethnicity. On the other hand, these institutions contributed to the revival of Nanai spirituality within Nanai communities, giving them a new shape in the communicative space of intercultural dialogue constituted by museums.

Research on the relation between organizational stress and organizational commitment of travel agency employees: The case of Istanbul

ÖZ: Osmanlı Devleti, I. Selim döneminde Çaldıran Muharebesi sonucu Doğu Anadolu coğrafyasını ele geçirmiştir. Osmanlı’nın, XVI. Yüzyılın sonunda Azerbaycan bölgesini ele geçirmesi ile devam eden Osmanlı-İran mücadelesi dahilinde İran tarafının kaybettiği topraklardan vazgeçmemesi sebebiyle sürekli savaşlar yaşanmıştır. Bu süreç içerisinde İran’da Safevi Hanedanı’nın iç karışıklıklar sebebiyle zayıflamış olması ile Osmanlı Devleti’nin ordu ve savaş kabiliyetinin üstünlüğü savaşlardan Osmanlı tarafını galip çıkarmıştır. Ancak XVIII. yüzyılda Osmanlı’da I. Mahmut saltanatının ilk yılları, Patrona Halil’in sebep olduğu isyanın etkileri ile geçmektedir. İran tarafında ise iç karışıklıklara son vererek Safevi hanedanını yönetimden uzaklaştırıp idareyi eline alan Nadir Şah, kaybedilen topraklara tekrar hakim olmak amacıyla harekete geçmiştir. Bu süreç içerisinde yaşanan Osmanlı Devleti’nin 1734-1735 İran Seferi’nin hazırlıklarının Rusçuk şehri özelindeki yapılan hazırlıklar R52 Rusçuk şer’iyye sicil defterindeki belgeler ışığında incelenmiştir.

The Relationship Between Sales Success and Soft Success Factors in Travel Agencies

The fact that travel agencies, one of the intermediaries of the distribution channel in the tourism sector, were seen as a business line dating to the nineteenth century. The main aim of the study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between the soft success factors (competence, reliability, empathy, communication, and responsiveness) of the type of travel agency employees and product sales success. Another aim of the study is to determine whether these two factors differ according to demographic variables. For this purpose, frequency, correlation, independent t-test, and one-way variance is used in the analysis of the data. In addition, Structural Equation analysis is used to create a model because of the correlation analysis. It is concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between the soft success factors of travel agency employees and their product sales success. It is determined that there is no significant difference between the gender of the employees and the soft success factors and product sales success. It has been observed that employees with soft success factors are more effective in sales success. No study has been found that addresses the relationship between soft success factors and sales success in travel agencies, therefore it is thought to be an original paper that will contribute to the literature in this regard.

Employee Effects on Organizational Outcomes: Korean Travel Industry

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the structural relationships among the self-efficacy, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and customer orientation of travel agency employees in Seoul, Korea.
 Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaires were distributed to 250 potential respondents between February 1 and February 20 of 2020. The 225 valid cases were employees at travel agencies in Seoul. Data from the self-ad- ministered questionnaires were used to perform frequency, factor, and regression analyses.
 Findings: The study devised six hypotheses based on a review of the previous literature. The results found that self-efficacy positively influenced organizational commitment and job satisfaction, job satisfaction positively influenced customer satisfaction and organizational commitment, and self-efficacy and organizational commitment positively influenced customer orientation. Unlike previous studies, the validity and reliability of the constructs measuring the underlying factors were tested, and new measurement items were developed. The variation found among the statistical relationships provides support for strategic implications and fundamental data for personnel policies in the travel industry.
 Research limitations/implications: This study’s respondents’ self-efficacy was positively influenced by job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and customer orientation. Future studies may extend samples across the provinces in Korea for a comparative assessment of the results. Also, because the study focused on emotional commitment and do not consider other types of commitment, future studies should include measures of more of the dimensions of commitment to analyze relationships between organizational effectiveness and organization achievements.
 Originality/value: This study provides original and important results on the relationship between organizations and their employees.

Hearing employee voice and handling grievance: Views from frontline hotel and travel agency employees

This study aims to explore the association between employees’ voice and grievance handling, and how this relationship influences job satisfaction as a condition for decreasing leave intention. A representative sample of frontline hotel and travel agency employees in Egypt is surveyed and, in total, 662 observations were analysed by structural equation modeling. It is determined that employee voice influences the grievance handling styles adopted. In turn, it is also found that job satisfaction boosts and mediates the relationship between grievance handling and leave intention. Importantly, obliging and compromising are key grievance handling styles for enhancing job satisfaction. In contrast, a dominating approach and avoidance were found to reduce job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results show significant disparities between travel agencies and hotels in the correlations examined. Overall, the findings cohere with extant views that the higher the job satisfaction the lower employees’ leave intention.

Development of employee silence scale in travel agencies

The travel industry relies heavily on human resources; thus, employee silence may have serious consequences for individuals and organizations. There have been limited studies on employee silence in the tourism industry. Previous studies primarily focused on the effects of employee silence on organizations as opposed to investigating the specific dimensions underlying the motives of silence. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the dimensions of silence among travel agency employees using a multidimensional structure, including the underlying motives. The employee silence scale developed for travel agencies is novel and contributes significant results to the field of silence research in the tourism and hospitality industries.

Leadership dimension: increasing employee satisfaction and engagement in travel industry

Employee engagement becomes one of the most important driving factors in the success of business processes because it can provide high motivation for the employees' positive behavior and support the achievement of the travel company goals. Positive behavior includes striving to provide the best service and ensure consumer satisfaction. Various studies explain the relationship of employee engagement with leadership and employee satisfaction factors. This study aims to analyze the effect of leadership and employee satisfaction on fostering employee engagement. The research instrument used questionnaires as a data-gathering tool. About 77 travel agency employees participated as respondents based on accidental sampling techniques. Data analysis used SEM-PLS with Smart PLS software. The results showed that leadership affects employee satisfaction and engagement. Leadership having fair behavior and being accommodative to the employees’ needs and interests will foster employee satisfaction, which ultimately affects employees engagement. Therefore, it is important for the company to improve the leadership factor

A New Concept of Work Engagement Theory in Cognitive Engagement, Emotional Engagement, and Physical Engagement.

The concept of work engagement (WE) has aroused the interest of many scholars. However, there has been limited academic research in examining how authentic leadership (AL) can influence WE, which consequently influences organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance (TP). In particular, this study divides WE into cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement to fully reflect the engagement theory. This study introduces three dimensions of WE and tests the theoretical model to validate cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement. Empirical testing using a survey of 151 employees of retail travel agencies in Taiwan revealed that the AL can influence cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement, and also OCB and TP. These analysis results can assist vendors to implement OCB and TP through WE and AL.

The influence of travel agency employees’ characteristics on the factor of performance (Konya example)

The influence of travel agency employees’ characteristics on the factor of performance (Konya example)

Breaking the psychological contract of travel agency employees during the COVID-19 pandemic: The moderating role of mindfulness

This study investigates the influence of psychological contract breach (PCB) on work-related attitudes and behaviors (i.e., organizational cynicism, workplace incivility and work alienation) and employees’ emotional exhaustion. It also examines the direct association between these attitudes and behaviors and emotional exhaustion as well as investigating how mindfulness moderates these associations. Based on a quantitative approach, data were collected from 437 employees of Egyptian travel agencies. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed that PCB positively affects employees’ emotional exhaustion and job-related attitudes as well as behaviors, which consequently impact their emotional exhaustion. The findings indicated that the effect of organizational cynicism, workplace incivility, and work alienation on emotional exhaustion is weaker with higher levels of mindfulness and greater with lower levels of mindfulness. Besides its theoretical contributions, this paper presents substantial practical insights and managerial implications for managers of travel agencies regarding the outcomes of PCB. Limitations and future research are also given.

The impact of Strategic Leadership Styles on Financial Business Performance and Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Travel Agencies and Hotels: Corporate Social Responsibility as a Mediator

The present study focuses on one of the recent concerns in management which is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). As there is a relation between strategic leadership styles and CSR perceptions, this research analyzes attitudes differences of CSR dimensions by concentrating on two leadership styles, transformational and transactional, and consequently its effect on financial business performance and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. A total of 381 employees of Egyptian hotels and travel agencies were surveyed by a structured questionnaire. Accordingly, the main purpose of this paper is investigating the impact of strategic leadership styles on CSR. Moreover, investigation of the effects of CSR on financial business performance and sustainable competitive advantage in Egyptian hotels and travel agencies. In this study, a model which engaged structural equation modeling was assessed. As a study result, it is seen that transactional strategic leadership effects significantly on the CSR more than transformational strategic. On the other hand, they, through CRS, also have a significant effect on financial business performance and sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, travel agencies and hotels managers should implement CSR in order not to be left behind and miss considerable opportunities to have sustainable competitive advantage and financial performance progress.