Purpose The study adopted a conceptualized technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) model to empirically investigate the factors affecting hotel managers’ attitudes toward intelligent agent technology (IAT) adoption in the hotel food supply chain management (HFSCM) and their intentions for future adoption. Design/methodology/approach In-person survey was carried out in luxury hotels in Florida. Findings The findings indicated that merely 5.7 per cent of hotels are fully implementing IAT. Perceived benefits, reliability, quality of human resources, information intensity and market capabilities had a statistically significant positive impact on hotel managers’ attitudes. However, complexity and cost had a negative influence on hotel managers’ attitudes toward IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Managers’ attitude further positively influences their intention to adopt. Practical implications The validated model helps guide hotel decision makers who are considering IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Hotels that are seeking sources for competitive advantages would better consider the TOE factors in IAT adoption prior to making a decision. Originality/value This is the first study that examined IAT adoption in the hotel industry from a theoretical and empirical perspective. The validated model proposed for the adoption of IAT in HFSCM enriched the TOE model and the diffusion of innovations theory.

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced customers to shift their food habits to more locally grown products. Therefore, restaurants have begun to provide local food, which is reflected in “farm to fork” or “locally-sourced” or “farm to table” restaurants. Thus, purchasing sustainable food, specifically local food products, has become one of the most salient sustainability practices in restaurants. Therefore, this study seeks to further explore the influences of the Sustainable Local Food Supply Chain (SLFSC) of green fine-dining restaurants on tourist food experiences and destination branding in the USA. Data were analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) technique of a sample of 232 respondents. The findings of this study showed positive impacts of all sustainability dimensions on most consumption values of tourists (i.e., emotional, epistemic, health, taste/quality, etc.). The findings indicated that each sustainability dimension and overall sustainability of the local food supply chain had strong positive effects on destination branding. Finally, tourist food experiences in totality mediated the relationship between the overall Sustainable Local Food Supply Chain and destination branding. This study contributes to the existing literature by developing and validating a scale to measure the sustainability practices of local food supply chains in restaurants to fill this gap in the literature. Additionally, the findings have intimate important theoretical and practical implications.

Purpose This paper aims to empirically investigate the influence of the intelligent agent technology (IAT) on hotels’ food procurement practices (FPPRs) and food procurement performance (FPP). The study also explores the influence of FPPR on FPP in hotels. Design/methodology/approach Data from a survey of managers at luxury hotels in Florida, which yielded an effective sample of 78, were subjected to partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis. Findings IAT usage has statistically significant positive effect on both FPPR and FPP. Additionally, the results indicated that PPR has a positive influence on FPP. Research limitations/implications The study provided academia with a comprehensive review of the prior research on IAT benefits in food supply chain management (FSCM) and a comprehensive explanation of how the hotel FPPR are being performed by IAT. It also offers industry and technology specific insights. Practical implications Hotel managers should pay more attention to IAT application regarding the FPPR, specifically gathering information, supplier contract, contacting, requisitioning and intelligence and analysis. Moreover, hotel managers should enhance their employees’ abilities to be technology-oriented to maximize IAT benefits in FPP. Originality/value The results represent an extension to the technological innovation literature of the hospitality industry to bridge the gap of IAT in hotel FP. The framework used in the study serves as a foundation for future research studies in the hospitality industry, in FSCM in particular.

Compared to centralized and decentralized models, distributed models have the potential to dramatically expand the scalability of existing IoT and Industry 4.0 solutions while maintaining participant organizations’ security and privacy. This is partly because participating firms are not required to rely on or trust other services or third parties to manage the data they gather and transfer, out of concern that these parties could misuse the data or, in the worst-case scenario, share it with mass surveillance programs. However, until blockchain technology (BCT) demonstrates its viability as a means of developing security solutions in decentralized, collaborative, and trustless environments, the vast majority of these use cases will struggle to meet the requirements for integrity, immutability, traceability, and notarization. By utilizing BCT, it is possible to eliminate intermediaries, enabling individuals and devices to manage their data independently of third parties and most significantly to achieve a high level of traceability with information flow harmony. This technology enables transaction, transparency, and traceability by enabling for the interchange of historical data. The fundamentals of blockchain are examined in this research paper, along with an investigation of its operation and a discussion of some of its most fundamental aspects and concepts. A concise overview of smart contracts enables us to completely reimagine how network members create and automate transactions. Finally, several IoT and Industry 4.0 application possibilities that leverage blockchain are investigated, as is the blockchain’s future trajectory.

The relationship between the humble behavior of leaders and the voluntary workplace green behaviors (VWGB) of their employees is critical to affecting the overall green performance of an organization, particularly in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally, most studies focus more on the importance of leadership effectiveness, but few research studies investigate the leadership approach and its psychological mechanisms that motivate voluntary positive behavior and the efficiency of the overall performance. Thus, the authors conceptualize a research model of humble leadership that investigates the impact of humble leadership on voluntary green behavior and green performance via job autonomy and the green supporting climate. To verify the research hypotheses, 692 online and in-person questionnaires were analyzed using Smartpls-SEM. The results showed a positive association between humble leadership and green performance, and VWGB mediates this relationship. In addition, job autonomy and green supporting climate were confirmed to mediate the association of humble leadership and VWGB; and moderate the relationship of VWGB and green performance, respectively. Notably, this study is one of the few studies in the hotel sector that look at green performance through the lens of humble leadership and VWGB.