Zealand Hospitality Research Articles

Industry perspective A human resource manager’s insights into hospitality in New Zealand: Lizzy Coughlan

The last two years have been incredibly challenging for the domestic and international hospitality industry. To gain insights from New Zealand hospitality professionals who are also AUT alumni, Lizzy Coughlan, Human Resource Manager of the Hotel Britomart, Auckland, was interviewed by AUT’s Associate Professor Tracy Harkison.
 When Coughlan was asked about working in hospitality, she responded:
 I love hospitality because daily you encounter so many different types of people, it is a family feel industry. You meet people from around the world, so it gives you so much exposure to different life experiences. I am a people person, and it has been an industry I have loved ever since I started at AUT. I wanted to be in an industry where people are the main subject, and hospitality is that industry to a tee.
 When asked about the unique aspects of the New Zealand hospitality industry, she explained:
 We have a lot of history. Hotels are learning more about Māori heritage and incorporating it into their establishments. New Zealand is a unique travel destination, from the mountains and snow in Queenstown to the big city feel in Auckland. With such diversity we appeal to a wide range of travellers world-wide.
 When Coughlan was asked why someone should start a career in hospitality and what advice she would give, her view was that:
 People often don’t realise that within hospitality it’s not just the operational roles you can do, it’s everything from revenue management through to HR. There are so many different things you can be exposed to within hospitality. It’s not just waiting tables, cleaning dishes and being a chef; careers wise you can move up very quickly in hospitality into a different field that you may not have thought of before.
 Coughlan stressed the importance of starting from the entry level.
 Start in the industry at an entry position. It gives you the understanding of how a hotel operates; you can go through lots of different departments. It gives you the skills that you need in a management role, as you understand the facets of the business and you can be a very effective leader. Studying and gaining a degree will serve your career very well. My best piece of advice is to just get in the door and work your way from there. 
 When Coughlan was asked about her greatest leadership challenge, the COVID-19 situation, and what she would change about the industry, she emphasised passion and being agile:
 In hospitality you have a lot of very passionate people, and everyone has very different leadership styles. So, it is about understanding how best to lead when you have different personalities and styles to content with. So, my greatest leadership challenge has been understanding all the different leadership styles and then trying to figure out how to work with them, especially within a HR function role, because it can be challenging at times. But the more you understand them, the more you learn, and the easier it gets. 
 For COVID-19 our biggest decision was first and foremost the health and safety of our team and our guests. We took the stance that we need to take care of our people first, and then we made the business decisions from there. One thing remained throughout lockdown – taking care of our team and making sure they were supported. It was also about being really agile, as things were changing daily, and you have got to have a Plan A and a Plan B. So being agile and take it from there. 
 However, she also warned of the dangers of the industry, advising of ways to preserve one’s work-life balance.
 The industry is going through a huge transformation with a new generation of workers coming through. We are seeing a lot more people wanting, and rightfully so, more fair pay, more flexibility, more work life balance. Within traditional hospitality there is the mentality that you sometimes work long hours, so industry really needs to become more agile and open minded to different ways. We can approach work life balance by working from home, but within the parameters of an operational business, that is what I would like to see more of.

Is it enough to be market-oriented? How coopetition and industry experience affect the relationship between a market orientation and customer satisfaction performance

Although the advantages of a market orientation (the organisation-wide implementation of the marketing concept) are well-known, many smaller-sized (and under-resourced) companies struggle to satisfy their customers' wants and needs. Therefore, grounded in resource-based theory and the relational view (as well as drawing upon an outside-in marketing perspective), this current study examines whether collaborating with competitors (coopetition) enhances the market orientation – customer satisfaction performance relationship. Based on a mixed methods research approach involving the New Zealand tourism and hospitality sector, the findings showed that while a market orientation positively impacts customer satisfaction performance, surprisingly, this association was negatively moderated by coopetition. A post-hoc test (via a three-way interaction effect) revealed that industry experience can stabilise the potentially harmful consequences of coopetition by allowing decision-makers to cooperate with suitable rivals (those that are trustworthy and target complementary product-markets) to help them achieve mutually-beneficial outcomes. In short, it is sometimes not enough to be market-oriented. Instead, owner-managers are typically best-served if they can coordinate a combination of activities featuring a market orientation, coopetition, and “appropriate” industry experience to create “synergistic” results.

Health Star Ratings and Beverage Purchase Intentions: A Study of Australian and New Zealand Hospitality Consumers.

This study examines the effects of a health star rating system on the attitudes of consumers and their purchase intentions towards beverage products sold in hospitality venues. Previous studies linking health ratings to the food and beverages of consumers mainly focus on fast-moving consumer goods and retail purchasing. However, purchasing patterns in hospitality and foodservice environments are distinct as consumers may be less concerned about health and more interested in the dining experience. Thus, this research focuses on: (1) whether the presence of health star ratings on beverage products influences the willingness of consumers to purchase in the context of the hospitality industry, and (2) identifying the demographic and psychographic factors influencing these behavioural intentions. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression to analyse data from an e-survey of 1021 consumers in Australia and New Zealand, the study found that health star ratings do have an impact on the willingness of consumers to purchase healthy beverages. Specifically, psychographic segmentation around ‘health goals’ is far more pertinent to understanding purchase behaviour in a hospitality setting than age, gender, income, or country. The findings present new insights into the importance of health star labelling on beverages and the purchase intentions of consumers.

The Influence of Entrepreneurial Desires and Self-Efficacy on the Entrepreneurial Intentions of New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Students

ABSTRACT This study investigates the motivational effects of entrepreneurial desires and entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) as drivers of entrepreneurial intentions in tourism and hospitality (T&H) students. Additionally, the antecedents of entrepreneurial desires, such as anticipated emotions and entrepreneurial role models, are explored to understand motivational processes that lead to entrepreneurial intentions. Data from 177 surveys of T&H students in New Zealand were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling to test the study’s hypotheses. The results found that ESE and entrepreneurial desires directly influenced entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the effect of entrepreneurial desires on entrepreneurial intentions was partially mediated by ESE. Also, entrepreneurial role models significantly predicted T&H student’s ESE and entrepreneurial desires. Finally, positive anticipated emotions predicted T&H student’s entrepreneurial desires. The study provides important implications to theory and practice to promote entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality education.

Hospitality graduates career pathways: an analysis of LinkedIn profiles

Hospitality graduates career pathways: an analysis of LinkedIn profiles

An executive chef’s insights into hospitality in New Zealand: Brent Martin

An executive chef’s insights into hospitality in New Zealand: Brent Martin

Trade Mark Law’s Identity Crisis (Part 1)

The concept of ‘substantial identity’ has not been the subject of sustained critical inquiry in Australian trade mark law, notwithstanding that it plays a crucial role in relation to trade mark ownership, non-use, amendments to representations, and the criminal offences. The first part of this two-part article reveals, through novel doctrinal analysis, how over the course of the twentieth century a settled, strict interpretation of substantial identity took shape in Australian trade mark law. This orthodox interpretation was recently disrupted by the Full Court of the Federal Court in Accor Australia & New Zealand Hospitality Pty Ltd v Liv Pty Ltd and Pham Global Pty Ltd v Insight Clinical Imaging Pty Ltd. In these decisions the Court reinterpreted earlier High Court authority to set up a new, significantly more expansive test of substantial identity – one that is already starting to have a major, and concerning, impact throughout Australia’s trade marks system.

Hospitality business longevity under COVID-19: The impact of COVID-19 on New Zealand’s hospitality industry

The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the New Zealand hospitality industry, within the context of business longevity theory using an on-line qualitative survey of 11 senior industry executives representing 105 restaurant, café and take-away outlets. The findings reveal that despite financial loss, COVID-19 provided an opportunity to engage in strategic innovation through two basic approaches; one mediated by technology, the other by direct personal contact. This internal innovation, flexibility and responsiveness is consistent with the RBV theory of the firm and the inertia and change perspective of organizational Population Ecology theory. The practical implications relate to business longevity and the financial impact across the industry, however, COVID-19 also provided an opportunity for strategic innovation through technology and direct personal customer contact. Innovations were mediated by two government COVID-19 related initiatives - the wage subsidy scheme, and government business loans. The social implications are significant and include a renewed sense of ‘self’ reflecting the need for business survival. Renewal has invigorated participants to differentiate the hospitality industry and its contribution to the national economy from that of tourism. That renewal and vibrancy provides the perfect scenario for the wider sociocultural embrace of a return to normal life and regular business in Aotearoa New Zealand. The limitations of this study include the focus on restaurants, cafes and take-aways - a wider hospitality industry study would provide a more industry representative perspective. The study is also focused on New Zealand as a unique case study; this would not necessarily be representative of the global industry. The qualitative approach and small sample is a strength in terms of depth of analysis, but could be supplemented through a wider quantitative study.

A GM’s insights of hospitality in New Zealand

This year has been one of the most challenging to date for the New Zealand and global hospitality industry. To gain an insight into this year and the challenges people working in it face, a series of interviews were conducted in November 2020. In this first interview xxxxxxxxx interviews Eliesa Fifita, GM of the IBIS Budget Auckland Central - Eliesa Fifita studied at the Queenstown Resort College (QRC) and has worked in New Zealand for 10 years in a variety of management position for ACCOR. Questions were asked to understand his passion for working in hospitality, about his COVID 19 decision making, advice he would give for starting out in the industry and finally his hopes for the future for hospitality in New Zealand.

Editorial

To our valued hospitality community, welcome to this thought-provoking second issue of 2020. It has been a challenging, tumultuous and difficult year, especially for hospitality artisans, business owners and employees. At times, it seemed that offering hospitality to tourists, local guests and even close family members became instantaneously inaccessible, rather than being a fundamental right. Yet, with creativity and resilience, throughout 2020, hospitality professionals surmounted the challenges and adapted to new times with new ways.
 This issue takes a hopeful view of a post-pandemic future beginning with an inspiring opinion piece, 2021 dreams of a hospitable society, from Paul Lynch (AUT Adjunct Professor) writing from Scotland. It is followed by an original philosophical reflection that views COVID-19 as an “intruder”. Other topics include the importance of communicating effectively online about accessibility in hotel restaurants, how to extend hospitality to customers with epilepsy, an industry interview with a hotel General Manager in Auckland on what makes New Zealand hospitality unique and finally, the far reaching effects of the Covid-19 crisis on women working in the hospitality industry.
 The journal provides free, open access to the key implications of hospitality research for a wider readership along with opinion pieces of topical interest. We thus welcome your contributions to future editions of Hospitality Insights on the impact of COVID-19, as well as other issues currently testing the sustainable future of the hospitality industry and communities.
 He waka eke noa. We are all in this together.

Hospitality artisan entrepreneurs’ perspectives of sustainability

Artisan entrepreneurs are argued to be creative disruptors of business norms influencing societal, political and economic change. Yet, studies of small- and medium-sized hospitality artisan enterprises are few, especially studies of their sustainability practice. This interpretive study used qualitative in-depth interviews with eight New Zealand hospitality operators who are deemed artisan entrepreneurs to glean exploratory insights into their perspectives of sustainability in their enterprises. Thematic analysis revealed four overarching conceptual themes that captured the artisans’ journeys against the tide of conventional business mores towards sustainable practice. The themes were the backstory, a road less travelled, tribe of journey-makers and rewards of the journey. The findings highlight that the sustainable hospitality business model demands much more than the conventional equivalent. As such, the findings reveal a sustainability consciousness as the driving motive and important starting point. The study also provides some evidence to confirm hospitality artisan entrepreneurs as creative disruptors in the global sustainable business agenda.

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap: Creating 'hospitable wages' through the Living Wage Movement

Abstract This conceptual article calls for a greater recognition of wages in academic and media discussions of hospitality and tourism employment. The article draws on the New Zealand hospitality and tourism context, but places the discussion in an international perspective as well. The article approaches the topic of low wages in a new way, arguing that rather than being an inevitable outcome of structural factors, improving wages can be an 'engine' for reducing turnover and becoming employers of choice, and significantly improving employees lives. The article conceptualizes a 'hospitable wage', defined as a wage that incorporates genuine care and consideration of well-being for a level of care that hospitality employers would expect their staff to apply to guests. The concept of a hospitable wage is differentiated from the constructs of minimum wage, fair wage and the living wage. The article concludes by proposing that the Living Wage Movement is a practical and pragmatic way to operationalize a hospitable wage and thereby potentially improve conditions for employers and employees alike.

Family supportive supervisor behaviours and turnover intentions: testing a multiple mediation model in the New Zealand hospitality industry

ABSTRACT Within New Zealand, the turnover rate within the hospitality sector is high, which can be expensive in terms of performance, recruitment and training costs. However, while research asserts an employee’s immediate managers can have a strong influence on retention, less is known within the hospitality sector of New Zealand. The present study investigates how family supportive supervision behaviours (FSSB) influence employees’ turnover intentions and includes organisational trust and job satisfaction as potential mediators. Using a sample of 149 hospitality workers and the PROCESS macro, our analysis shows that FSSB is negatively related to turnover intentions and positively related to organisational trust and job satisfaction. However, both these job attitudes fully mediate the influence of FSSB and indicate that good leadership builds positive work attitudes and it is these that ultimately shape turnover intentions. Consequently, FSSB should be encouraged so leaders through positively supporting workers work and family commitments can enhance employee attitudes and in turn help retain their hospitality workforce.

An Examination of University Student Workers’ Motivations: A New Zealand Hospitality Industry Case Study

ABSTRACT A review of the extant hospitality literature reveals a paucity of research on student workers’ motivations at work. Cognizant of the importance of international students to New Zealand hospitality organizations, this study, informed by Herzberg’s motivation theory and using the IPA (Importance-Performance Analysis) model, examines international students’ motivational factors in hospitality workplaces and investigates the relationships between their perceptions of motivational factors and their turnover intentions. A survey was conducted with 161 international students in Auckland, New Zealand. In contrast to Herzberg’s theory, the findings reveal that good pay, work-life balance, and a comfortable working environment are the most important motivations for international students to work in hospitality. Besides, and consistent with Herzberg’s theory, results also indicate that hygiene factors appear more effective than motivators in predicting turnover intentions. The discussion provides practitioners with insights into motivating and retaining student workers.

The value of indigeneity in the tourism and hospitality industry in Aotearoa – manaakitanga

Hospitality within the Indigenous paradigm of manaakitanga (translated as ‘warm hospitality’) is founded on an ‘ethic of care’. This ethic of care creates the space for a multi-dimensional wealth, encompassing “spiritual, cultural, social, environmental and economic well-being” [1]. This is similar to the UNWTO’s sustainable development goals, which are underpinned by the three dimensions of economic, socio-cultural and environmental sustainable development [2]. Manaakitanga in Māori contexts such as marae and many iwi (tribal) organisations demands a values-centred approach that is based on the principle of reciprocity. This form of exchange extends beyond the economic focus of traditional business models and, when applied to non-Māori contexts, demands a degree of culturalising commerce rather than commercialising culture.
 In the global tourism and hospitality industries, Indigenous cultures have become more significant to countries as a means to differentiate themselves from others [3]. Indigenous cultures are appealing to emerging tourism markets and the resultant economic benefits have led industry stakeholders, throughout the global-local nexus, to include Indigenous cultures in national tourism and hospitality offerings. In the context of the New Zealand tourism and hospitality industry, Māori culture is presented in several key ways. For example, the use of manaakitanga in New Zealand tourism marketing [4] highlights and promotes the significance of the culture to the nation. Tourism and hospitality can both support economic development as well as promote the uniqueness, authenticity and beauty of Indigenous cultures that encourages visitation, differentiates nations and showcases national pride. The tourism and hospitality industry is not always beneficial, however, to the actual Indigenous communities from which the intellectual property is derived. There is evidence that shows the use of deep and meaningful cultural values are sometimes misunderstood, exploited and not reflected in actual practice within the industry.
 Indeed, analysis of the engagement of Māori women in the hospitality industry, for example, shows that there are distinct inequities in employment [5]. While these inequities are not unique to tourism and hospitality, the evidence shows that Māori women in service-sector employment, such as hospitality, are disproportionately represented in low paid, lower skilled, precarious work [6]. It is a paradox that Māori women’s contribution as the face of the industry is not associated with decent work and career progression. This paper follows a presentation delivered at the Critical Hospitality Symposium in 2018, where the concept of manaakitanga was critically applied to a range of ‘hospitality’ contexts as a point of social analysis. The importance of sustainable development in the industry lends well to engaging in further research on how Māori cultural frameworks can be used to address inequalities in hospitality as a starting point for a broader research agenda in creating high impact future value and growth for New Zealand’s hospitality industry. This research agenda challenges current business models that tag on Māori cultural concepts as promotional tools for organisational profit-driven praxis. Indigenous frameworks of knowledge, such as manaakitanga, can create the space to bring together the key dimensions necessary for a more equitable, richer, ethical and sustainable global tourism and hospitality industry.
 Corresponding author
 Keri-Anne Wikitera can be contacted at: keri-anne.wikitera@aut.ac.nz
 References
 (1) Spiller, C.; Erakovic, L.; Henare, M.; Pio, E. Relational Well-Being and Wealth: Māori Businesses and an Ethic of Care. Journal of Business Ethics 2010, 98 (1), 153–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0540-z
 (2) United Nations Environment Programme; United Nations World Tourism Organisation. Making Tourism More Sustainable – A Guide for Policy Makers; UNEP: Paris, 2005. http://sdt.unwto.org/content/about-us-5 (accessed Jun 10, 2019).
 (3) Butler, R.; Hinch, T. Tourism and Indigenous Peoples; Elsevier: Oxford, 2007.
 (4) Tourism New Zealand 100% Pure Campaign: Manaakitanga – Unique New Zealand Hospitality. https://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/manaakitanga-%E2%80%93-unique-new-zealand-hospitality/ (accessed May 2, 2019).
 (5) Baum, T.; Cheung, C.; Kong, H.; Kralj, A.; Mooney, S.; Nguyen Thi Thanh, H.; Ramachandran, S.; Dropulic Ruzic, M.; Siow, M. L. Sustainability and the Tourism and Hospitality Workforce: A Thematic Analysis. Sustainability 2016, 8 (8), 809–831. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080809
 (6) Parker, J.; Arrowsmith, J. Are We Being Served? Women in New Zealand's Service Sector. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 2012, 31 (7), 663–680. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610151211263504

Talent management and unions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the Hotel Workers Union and its impact on talent management in the New Zealand hospitality sector using the corporatist framework drawing primarily on the works of Schmitter (1979) to construct a critical, historical employment relations approach.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this paper were gathered as part of a history of employment relations in the New Zealand hotel sector from 1955 to 2000. The main methods were, namely, semi-structured interviews and archival research.FindingsThis study found a historical employment environment of multiple actors in the employment relationship, with hotel unions playing a more complex and nuanced role to influence talent management in the New Zealand hotel sector. The paper suggests that neither the hotel union nor employers effectively addressed talent management challenges in this sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe study contributes detailed empirical knowledge about historical relationships between hotel unions and talent management issues in New Zealand.Originality/valueThe paper argues that applying a corporatist perspective to the history of the Hotel Workers Union and the issues of talent management that result from that history provides a unique and insightful contribution to the field

The Tourist Hotel Corporation: It is time the story was told in full

i te kore nga putake e mākukungia e kore te rakau e tupu ('If the roots of the tree are not watered the tree will never grow')
 New Zealand is in the middle of the most dramatic and sustained boom in tourism and hospitality in its history. The hotel sector that underpins our tourism growth stands utterly transformed from its humble beginnings. Yet the history of the Tourist Hotel Corporation (THC) and its role as the ‘roots’ of the modern hotel industry still tends to be told only as a minor part of our wider tourism story. Recent PhD research [1], based on extensive archive sources and interviews with senior practitioners, argues that the time has come for the THC story to be told in full.
 While there have been histories of the tourism and hospitality sector that cover the THC [2–7], they have not included in-depth discussion of the origins, structure and legacies of the organisation. Established in 1955 and sold in 1991, the THC dominated the New Zealand tourist hotel sector for 35 years, running around 10 resort-style properties and setting the standard for service. However, the current dominance of neo-liberal ideology has resulted in the achievements of the Government-owned THC being somewhat dismissed and the role of massive Government investment in the development of our hotel sector often being ‘conveniently’ forgotten. It is common for the THC to be depicted as rather archaic. Burdened with political interference and gross underfunding, the THC is sometimes depicted as a prime example of what happens when the state tries to run a business.
 However, this research argues there is a more heroic telling of the THC story, one that celebrates the THC as the fundamental ‘roots’ of the modern hotel sector. The THC was a key player in transforming post-war New Zealand hospitality, raising the bar for service, food and beverage and accommodation significantly. The THC invested heavily in improving buildings, vehicles, equipment and machinery, developing the skills and careers of its staff, and innovating menus. Staff from the THC were seen as ‘A grade’ and many of today’s most successful General Managers learnt their trade in THC properties. Many THC staff also went on to set up influential restaurants outside of hotels during this period.
 The THC managed significant tourism development even while showing a profit from 1974 till the late 1980s, posting a 2.7 million dollar surplus in 1986. However, a combination of perceived indebtedness, the 1987 recession and free-market Government ideology resulted in the sale of the THC to the Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation in 1991. The story of the THC involves drama, intrigue, politics, high finance, rapid growth and equally rapid collapse. But most importantly, this is the story of the origins of our hotel industry, showing the huge contribution this state funded group made to the modern industry. Surely it is time this story was told in full, on its own terms and in glorious technicolour.
 If you would like to read the PhD thesis this research is based on you can access it here: https://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/10412
 Corresponding author
 David is Senior Lecturer at the School of Hospitality and Tourism, Auckland University of Technology. He spent 18 years working in the hospitality industry as a hotel manager and restaurateur. His research includes work, employment and labour market issues in hospitality and tourism. David completed his PhD in 2017 – a history of employment relations in the New Zealand hotel sector, 1955–2000.
 David Williamson can be contacted at: david.williamson@aut.ac.nz
 References
 (1) Williamson, D. In Search of Consensus: A History of Employment Relations in the New Zealand Hotel Sector – 1955 to 2000; Ph.D. Thesis, Auckland University of Technology, 2017.
 (2) Brien, A. 100 Years of Hospitality in New Zealand: The People, the Politics, the Passion; Wellington Museums Trust in association with the Hospitality Association of NZ: Wellington, New Zealand, 2003.
 (3) McClure, M. The Wonder Country: Making New Zealand Tourism; Auckland University Press: Auckland, New Zealand, 2004.
 (4) Medlik, S. The Business of Hotels, 4th ed.; Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford, U.K., 2000.
 (5) Slattery, P. The Economic Ascent of the Hotel Business; Goodfellow Publishers: Oxford, U.K., 2009.
 (6) Watkins, L. Billion Dollar Miracle: The Authentic Story of the Birth and Amazing Growth of the Tourism Industry in New Zealand; Travel Agents Association of New Zealand: Auckland, New Zealand, 1987.
 (7) Yu, L. The International Hospitality Business: Management and Operations; Haworth Press: New York, 1999.

Staff shortages and turnover: Causes and solutions

The New Zealand hospitality workforce is young; most are between 18 and 24 years old and attracted by the ease with which they can get work in a bar or restaurant. The work suits them; it is dynamic and easy to find, but many have no intention of staying in the industry. Hence, staff shortages and turnover are a constant problem for employers. However, the solution is not as difficult as one might imagine.
 This study identified why there are so few older workers in the New Zealand hotel industry after interviewing 44 managers and older workers in New Zealand hotels and looking at Human Resources (HR) policies, recruitment methods, and selection criteria. The hotel industry was found to be discriminatory towards older job seekers in both principle and practice, even though some companies’ policies appeared to address age discrimination. Interview data from the HR managers suggested older workers had the characteristics they were looking for, yet they were not specifically recruiting them.
 Recommendations arising from the study focus around changing attitudes at senior level so older workers are perceived as potential employees. Recruitment processes need to be checked to make sure they do not disadvantage older job seekers, and senior managers need to be objective and consider the skills, abilities, and attitudes of older job seekers. Either of these simple changes could be made through training or well-supported policy and would positively affect the age profile and turnover of the industry’s workforce.
 Practical suggestions also include using older workers to mentor younger workers to promote communication across an age diverse workforce and allowing older workers to demonstrate and share their knowledge and experience. Combining older and younger workers in work teams may also help remove barriers by allowing older workers to impart some of their values through frequent interactions and working towards a common work goal. In-house training programmes may also help educate staff at all levels about the benefits of diverse workgroups.
 Data from this and prior studies show that older people are ideal employees where good work attitudes [1] and well-developed soft skills [2] are important. Interestingly, prior research also shows that policy does not prevent discrimination, as it is too easily ignored. Recruitment methods such as ‘Seek’, Twitter, MyJobSpace.co.nz and word-of-mouth recruitment are discriminatory because they favour young people and act as barriers against the employment of older workers.
 Older recruits have much to offer, but in practice, their potential for employment is being restricted by recruiters’ attitudes, as managers’ views are more influential than policy. The challenge, therefore, is not so much in what needs to change, but how to make changes to reduce or eliminate discrimination in hotels against older job seekers.
 More information about this study is in the original article [3], which can be obtained from the authors.
 Corresponding author
 Jill is an Associate Professor at the Auckland University of Technology, where she studies a wide range of ethical issues in hospitality, such as sexual harassment, discrimination, and ethical food consumption. Prior to this, she worked in hospitality management, which included two roles as a General Manager. She currently teaches leadership to postgraduate students, and supervises student research projects.
 Jill Poulston can be contacted at: jill.poulston@aut.ac.nz
 References
 (1) Ng, T. W. H.; Feldman, D. C. The Relationships of Age with Job Attitudes: A Meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology 2010, 63(3), 677–718. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01184.x
 (2) Sissons, P.; Jones, K. Lost in Transition?; The Work Foundation: Lancaster, U.K., 2012.
 (3) Poulston, J.; Jenkins, A. Barriers to the Employment of Older Hotel Workers in New Zealand. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism 2016, 15(1), 45–68.

Too close to servility? Why is hospitality in New Zealand still a ‘Cinderella’ industry?

Abstract Something strange is going on in New Zealand’s hospitality industry. While the sector is booming (with tourism bringing in 34.7 billion dollars in 2016 and driving record growth in hospitality jobs and hotel building), New Zealanders seem to remain unconvinced about the legitimacy of hospitality as industry and as a career choice. At a time when there are thousands of new jobs being created in hospitality, why does it remain a ‘dummy subject’ in schools? Why do so many parents ‘get the hint’ and hope their kids do anything other than hospitality work? In the 1950s the New Zealand tourism sector was known as the ‘Cinderella of industries’, underfunded, of ‘doubtful value’ and home to poor quality jobs. This paper argues that the New Zealand hospitality is the modern Cinderella industry and is burdened by three historical legacies, which are affecting our ability to maximize the current opportunities in hospitality, and threaten a sustainable future for the sector: distrust, disdain and the legacy of neo-liberal reform.

Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) and Its Work Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Gender

ABSTRACTThis study examines the effect of leader–member exchange (LMX) on frontline employees’ turnover intentions and their levels of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mediated by organizational justice in the New Zealand hospitality industry. Adopting cognitive learning theory, the study investigates whether gender moderates the relationships between LMX and its consequences among frontline workers. A self-administered survey that investigated the work relationship between hospitality workers and their immediate supervisor/manager, as well as its impact on various work outcomes, was completed by 118 frontline employees in hospitality businesses in New Zealand. The findings of the study indicate that organizational justice fully mediates between LMX and OCB, and that there is a significant moderating impact of gender on the relationships of LMX with organizational justice and OCB, and the organizational justice and OCB relationship. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.