Although several studies have researched the hotel employees’ environmental behavior, none has addressed the hotel employees’ perception of their respective hotels’ sustainability practices. This study aims to investigate the sustainable practices in four and five star hotels in a Mediterranean island by employing Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) hotel criteria indicators, indicators of sustainable development for tourism destinations (WTO), and the European Union’s (EU) sustainability framework for the Mediterranean hotels− “Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels” (NEZEH), and global sustainable development goals (SDG) in the context of three dimensions: social, economic and environment. The sampled hotels claim that their operation system is conformed to sustainability principles with the aim of furthering their green agenda. In this study, we aim to investigate the validity and extent of this claim. About 290 (N = 290) employees in the specified hotels were surveyed. The measurement instruments were compiled based on sustainability indicators that encompassed addressing social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The research questions contextualized around four main themes: effective sustainability planning, maximizing social and economic benefits for the local community, enhancing cultural heritage, and reducing negative environmental impacts. For the statistical and data analysis, SEM (structural equation modeling) is used. Study revealed that employees are a legitimate and credible source of information about sustainability practices. It is also revealed that as going green is becoming a means toward branding, hotels are making efforts to implement a genuine sustainability practice. Study also indicated that the majority of employees validated the sustainability practices as genuine.

This research aims to understand how self-service technologies (SSTs) can bring about service excellence for tourists by the moderated mediating effect of satisfaction and tourist types, from the customer’s perspective. The study draws on survey data from 627 tourists from North Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, United States, and Germany who had experience using SSTs during their travel period for either leisure or business. The utility theory, Lancaster’s consumer theory, and random utility theory form the basis of this research’s theoretical framework. This study is the first attempt that examines the SSTs’ characteristics as antecedents of service excellence from the customer point of view in tourism literature. Moreover, this research enhances knowledge by integrating the concept of service excellence and SSTs’ characteristics into the abovementioned theories. The results revealed that service excellence could be provided for customers through SSTs, which this service excellence drives through the characteristics of SSTs. The result of moderated mediation tests on the relationship between SSTs’ characteristics and service excellence revealed that tourist types moderate the mediating effect of SSTs satisfaction for functionality, enjoyment, security/privacy, convenience, and customization. Meaning the mentioned constructs are more influential for business travelers than leisure travelers. Limitations, practical and theoretical implications are also discussed.

While scholarly inquiries into Service Sabotage (SS) have received ample attention in the literature of various industries, the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Emotional Dissonance (ED) in employee-customer relations in the context of Environmental Stimuli (ES) in the tourism accommodation sector has remained unexplored. The role of employee–customer interaction in tourism is paramount for a hospitality organization’s growth, sustainability, and profitability. We hypothesized hotel service employees’ EI and ED can be influential factors to SS. Adopting the Mehrabian–Russell model (M–R) and Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework as conceptual paradigms, we tested the effect of hotel ambiance on employees’ emotions, which can have significant effects on SS. The study revealed that ES links to behaviors and elicits EI and ED as human emotional responses to environments that have a parallel mediating effect on mitigating or neutralizing the negative effect of SS in an organization. The findings provide important insights into an organization’s awareness of the provision of ES as a positive factor for employees, subsequently forming their behavioral consequences of EI and ED which can mitigate the negative impacts of SS. The study yields important implications on how hospitality organizations should pay attention to the impact of rule-breaking behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

This paper aims to investigate the state of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), which is justified as a strategy for managing coastal resources with respect to increasing pressures from tourism, farming, climate change, urbanization, population growth, etc. In the case of island states, the impact of tourism and second-home development is paramount. The use of coastal areas as commons and ICZM as a governance strategy have been established for a long time; however, the implementation of ICZM has remained a challenge due to the forces of global mass tourism and unsustainable resource use in island states. This study focused on views of the coastal communities in North Cyprus, who are in constant interaction with coastal ecosystems for their livelihood. For the analytical purpose of the study, 251 survey questionnaires were administered to eight communities along the coastal areas. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistical analysis with a post hoc test. Socio-ecological systems (SES) and Ostrom’s collective action principles guided the study as the main theoretical frameworks. The study revealed that the ICZM strategy has been neglected and coastal communities are not invited to be involved in any form of ICZM. Furthermore, the study revealed the tourism development has been the major activity of the Anthropocene in coastal areas without a proactive coastal development strategy that is supposed to consider the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems. Practical and theoretical implications are also discussed.

Purpose: The aim of this empirical research is to define blended learning (BL) in the context of tourism education and discuss its effectiveness in learning and, upon completion, the employability of graduates in due cause.Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative research consists of 22 in-depth interviews with experts from the tourism industry and graduates. The sampling method was purposive (judgmental), and open-ended questions were asked in order to encourage the interviewee to be expressive and to share their views and opinions on what the impact of the BL program has been.Findings: The study found that the most significant obstacles were a lack of funding, a lack of cooperation from the local and various levels of government and a lack of knowledge about sustainable tourism product development among local residents.Originality/value: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of the tourism schools and university departments have developed a combination of mixed learning to include online, classroom and sector experience, which can be summarized as BL. This research suggests that BL has provided for a blend of skills and, as a result, employable graduates.

Professionalism is one of the necessities for service operations in order to be sustainable at the current competitive markets. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of attitudinal professionalism on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment at five-star hotels in Baku, Azerbaijan. The researchers administered questionnaires to 503 employees in the selected 30 five star hotels. Professionalism is found as a significant factor in bringing job satisfaction and commitment. The employees held strong views that their job sufficiently suits their abilities. This is a clear indication that professionalism supports their level of satisfaction with their present job. The study also revealed that the self-management dimension of professionalism has the highest effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the employees. In the tourism and hospitality industry, professionalism is needed for employees to sustain self-discipline and achieve success in their objectives. The management of the hotels should ensure professionalism among employees to be able to get the desired success. By providing their human resources with the deserved value, job satisfaction and commitment can be enhanced. Professionalism is one of the necessities for service operations in order to be sustainable at the current competitive markets. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of attitudinal professionalism on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment at five-star hotels in Baku, Azerbaijan. The researchers administered questionnaires to 503 employees in the selected 30 five star hotels. Professionalism is found as a significant factor in bringing job satisfaction and commitment. The employees held strong views that their job sufficiently suits their abilities. This is a clear indication that professionalism supports their level of satisfaction with their present job. The study also revealed that the self-management dimension of professionalism has the highest effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the employees. In the tourism and hospitality industry, professionalism is needed for employees to sustain self-discipline and achieve success in their objectives. The management of the hotels should ensure professionalism among employees to be able to get the desired success. By providing their human resources with the deserved value, job satisfaction and commitment can be enhanced. The Journal of East European Management Studies aims to promote dialogue and cooperation among scholars seeking to examine,explore and explain the behaviour and practices of management within the transforming societies of Central and Eastern Europe. The theoretical interests of the journal are organisational and management change, Central and East European societies (including those on the fringes of Europe) undergoing processes of transition or transformation, and scientific issues of business, management and organisation that arise in such contexts. The JEEMS aims to attract social scientific contributions from scholars of any nation and region, but particularly wishes to encourageauthors from those countries directly experiencing transformational change. Its potential readership is international, comprising academicsand practitioners with an involvement or interest in the management of change in transforming societies in Central and Eastern Europe.