Foreign training in Jordan’s international hotel chains: a quantitative investigation
Keywords:
international hotel chains, out-of-country training, training abroad, middle managers, hotel management practices, Jordan.Abstract
This paper draws on the perceptions of middle managers to identify what determines upper management’s decision in International Hotel Chains (IHC) to invest in out-of-country training (OCT). A model employing the presence of relationships between ‘attitudes’, ‘benefits and usefulness’, ‘barriers’ and ‘IHC’s decision’ to invest in OCT, was proposed and examined. A total of 261 middle managers from international hotel chains in Jordan were approached using a structured survey. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the dimensions for each construct. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the relationships among the four constructs of the study. The results showed direct relationship between attitudes and benefits/usefulness to IHC’s decision to invest in OCT, and demonstrated the mediating role of attitudes in the inverse relationship between barriers and IHC’s decision to invest in OCT.
References
Akta?, A., Aksu, A. A., Ehtíyar, R. & Cengíz, A. (2001). Audit of manpower research in the hospitality sector: an example from the Antalya region of Turkey. Managerial Auditing Journal, 16(9), 530-535.
German Federal Institute for Vocational Training (2003). Study highlights benefits of foreign placements for young trainees. Journal of European Industrial Training, 27(9), 484.
Analoui, F. (1999). Eight parameters of managerial effectiveness: A study of senior managers in Ghana. Journal of Management Development, 18(4), 362-390.
Baines, A. (1998). Technology and tourism. Work Study, 47(5), 160-163.
Baron, R. & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182.
Barrows, C. W. (2000). An exploratory study of food and beverage training in private clubs. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(3), 190-197.
Baum, T., Amoah, V. & Spivack, S. (1997). Policy dimensions of human resource management in the tourism and hospitality industries. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 9(5), 221-229.
Boella, M. J. & Goss-Turner, S. (2005). Human resource management in the hospitality industry: an introductory guide. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Carbery, R., Garavan, T. N., O'Brien, F. & McDonnell, J. (2003). Predicting hotel managers’ turnover cognitions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(7), 649-679.
Central Bank of Jordan (2011). Annual Report. Amman: Ministry of Finance.
Costello, A. B. & Osborne, J. W. (2005). Best practices in Exploratory Factor Analysis: Four Recommendations for Getting the Most From Your Analysis. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 10(7), 1-9.
Costen, W. M. & Salazar, J. (2011). The Impact of Training and Development on Employee Job Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Intent to Stay in the Lodging Industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 10(3), 273-284.
Creelman, J. (1995). Pay and performance drive human resource agendas. Management Development Review, 8(3), 6-9.
Denham, N., Ackers, P. & Travers, C. (1997). Doing yourself out of a job? How middle managers cope with empowerment?. Employee Relations, 19(2), 147-159.
Farrell, D. (2005). What's the ROI of Training Programs?. Lodging Hospitality, 61(7), 46.
Ford, R. & McLaughlin, F. (1986). Nepotism: boon or bane. Personnel Administrator, 31(11), 78-89.
Galagan, P. (1983). Training the American Way. Training & Development Journal, 37(10), 4.
Garavan, T. N., Heraty, N. & Barnicle, B. (1999). Human resource development literature: current issues, priorities and dilemmas. Journal of European Industrial Training, 23(4), 169-179.
Garavan, T. N. (1997). Training, development, education and learning: different or the same?. Journal of European Industrial Training, 21(2), 39-50.
Harris, K. J. (1995). Training technology in the hospitality industry: a matter of effectiveness and efficiency. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 7(6), 24-29.
Huyton, J. R. & Ingold, A. (1999). A commentary by Chinese hotel workers on the value of vocational education. Journal of European Industrial Training, 23(1), 16-24.
Judd, C. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1981). Process analysis: Estimating mediation in treatment evaluations. Evaluation Review, 5(5), 602-619.
Kim, J., Erdem, M., Byun, J. & Jeong, H. (2011). Training soft skills via e-learning: international chain hotels. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(6-7), 739-763.
Kline, P. (1994). An Easy Guide to Factor Analysis. New York, NY: Routledge.
Kline, S. & Kimberly, H. (2008). ROI is MIA: why are hoteliers failing to demand the ROI of training?. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(1), 45-59.
Kuruüzüm, A., Anafarta N. & Irmak, S. (2008). Predictors of burnout among middle managers in the Turkish hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(2), 186-198.
Ladkin, A. & Juwaheer, T. D. (2000). The career paths of hotel general managers in Mauritius. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12(2), 119-125.
Littrell, R. F. (2002). Desirable leadership behaviours of multi-cultural managers in China. The Journal of Management Development, 21(1), 5-74.
Lockyer, C. & Scholarios, D. (2004). Selecting hotel staff: why best practice does not always work. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(2), 125-135.
Magnini, V. P. & Ford, J. B. (2004). Service failure recovery in China. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(5), 279-286.
Marsh, H. W., Balla, J. R. & Hau, K. (1996). An evaluation of incremental fit indices: A clarification of mathematical and empirical properties. In: G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Ed.), Advanced Structural Equation Modeling: Issues and Techniques (pp. 315-353). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Marsh, H.W., Balla, J. R. & McDonald, R. P. (1982). Goodness-of-fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis: The effect of sample size. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 103, 391-410.
Nebel, E. C., Braunlich, C. G. & Zhang, Y. (1994). Career Paths in American Luxury Hotels: Hotel Food and Beverage Directors. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 6(6), 3-9.
Okumus, F. & Hemmington, N. (1998). Barriers and resistance to change in hotel firms: an investigation at unit level. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 10(7), 283-288.
Olsen, M., Tse, E. & West, J. (1992). Strategic Management in the Hospitality Industry. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Papalexandris, N. & Nikandrou, I. (2000). Benchmarking employee skills: results from best practice firms in Greece. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24(7), 391-402.
Pine, R. & Qi, P. (2004). Barriers to hotel chain development in China. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(1), 37-44.
Ramos, V., Rey-Maquieira, J. & Tugores, M. (2004). The role of training in changing an economy specialising in tourism. International Journal of Manpower, 25(1), 55-72.
Read, C. W. & Kleiner, B. H. (1996). Which training methods are effective?. Management Development Review, 9(2), 24-29.
Rouleau, L. & Balogun, J. (2011). Middle Managers, Strategic Sensemaking, and Discursive Competence. Journal of Management Studies, 48(5), 953-983.
Rowley, G. & Purcell, K. (2001). As cooks go, she went: is labor churn inevitable?. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 20(2), 163–185.
Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics, 5th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Taylor, M. S. & Berger, F. (2000). Hotel Managers' Executive Education in Japan. The Cornel Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(4), 84-93.
Taylor, R & Davies, D. (2004). Aspects of training and remuneration in the accommodation industry: A comparison between Australian and Singaporean providers. Journal of European Industrial Training, 28(6), 466-473.
The Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (2011). Tourism Statistical Newsletter 2008, 7(4). Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www.mota.gov.jo/en/Default.aspx?tabid=121
Timo, N. & Davidson, M. (2005). A survey of employee relations practices and demographics of MNC chain and domestic luxury hotels in Australia. Employee Relations, 27(2), 175-192.
Tsang, E. W. K. (1994). Human Resource Management Problems in Sino-foreign Joint Ventures. International Journal of Manpower, 15(9-10), 4-21.
Wang, Y. (2011). An Evaluation Tool for Strategic training and Development: Application in Chinese High Star-Rated Hotels. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 11(3), 304-319.
Zhang, H. Q. & Lam, T. (2004). Human resources issues in the development of tourism in China: evidence from Heilongjiang Province. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(1), 45-51.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Tourism & Management Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The journal retains published articles’ copyrights, but they are simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND), which allows individuals’ to share the relevant papers as long as authorship and publication in this journal are duly acknowledged.
