Purpose Many researchers have attempted to outline the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the growth of economies across the world. Few researchers consider addressing the COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis that needs effective crisis management measures. In particular, there is a gap in research that maps a way forward that managers can use as a guide to recover and revive the hospitality industry after the pandemic. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through interviews with 26 hoteliers managing 4- and 5-star hotels in the city of Beirut. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings Findings show that the level of preparedness toward dealing with such a pandemic had been low. Hotels have been focused on ensuring transparency with the employees, providing adequate information and decentralizing power to the departmental levels to deal with the impacts of COVID-19. Operationally, hotel managers are shifting focus toward more safety-conscious operations across all departments; emphasizing the importance of local tourists rather than complete dependence on foreigners as a source of revenue; increasing flexibility in bookings and cancellations to incentivize customers. Shifts are expected to be made, making operations in hotels more technologically-aligned and focused. Research limitations/implications The aim of this study is to address the managerial reactions of the hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and the potential strategic approaches that hotels might adopt in the future. A focus on the Lebanese context can provide scholars with a new model and inform managers on how to approach a crisis of such nature and magnitude, especially in a country that is facing its worst political and economic crisis. The main challenge of this paper is that it examines the hotel industry only in the Lebanese context. The development of the hospitality sector cannot be studied outside the institutional context in which it operates. Originality/value This paper fulfills an identified need to study to which extent hotel managers were prepared to deal with a crisis the size of a global pandemic, what shifts in strategies were implemented and what is the future of the hospitality industry?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model that explains the most important factors affecting mobile banking adoption for Lebanese banking customers. Design/methodology/approach Based on the data collected through a survey, structural equations modeling and path analysis were utilized to test the hypotheses. In total, 320 questionnaires were collected from Lebanese customers. Findings The results show that digital literacy, resistance to change, perceived risk, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness were found to be the main variables affecting users’ attitudes toward adoption of mobile banking, whereas awareness and compatibility showed no significant impact on adoption. In addition, both subjective norms and personal innovativeness influenced users’ adoption moderated the relationships between usefulness attitude and ease of use attitude. Originality/value The study fills a gap in the literature by exploring e-readiness influence on adoption through testing the variable “digital literacy” and by examining the effect of the frequency of branch visits on the intention to adopt mobile banking. Social and individual variables, such as social influence and personal innovativeness, which were rarely examined in past studies, are employed in this research. All of our respondents were actual bank account holders.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer a clear understanding of the use of femvertising in Lebanon and its effects on consumers in general. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using an online survey questionnaire, administered to a random sample of 318 individuals. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings Lebanese people positively perceive the implication of women empowerment in advertisement. Gender, trust in ads, support of women’s rights and feminist self-identification, all have an impact on consumer behavior toward femvertising. However, the educational level and age do not affect the attitudes toward femvertising. Practical implications The practical contributions of our research derive from the importance of our findings on the uniqueness of the knowledge and information in the Middle East region. The importance of increasing knowledge of gender roles and Marketing in the Middle East is highly related to the gender dynamics embedded within broader globalization debates. Originality/value While studies have been extensive on the utilization of femvertising as a marketing strategy, the contexts under which these studies have been published, are mainly focused in the West. Hence, the Middle East in general and Lebanon, in particular, has witnessed no comprehensive and serious research on the subject. Consequently, this study is considered important and a major step toward establishing a theoretical base and underpinnings on the subject of utilization of femvertising in brands’ marketing strategies.

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PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the causes of consumers' negative attitudes toward banks.Design/methodology/approachBased on the data collected through a survey, structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analysis were utilized to test the hypotheses. In total, 420 questionnaires were collected from Lebanese customers.FindingsThe results indicate five factors affecting consumer negative attitudes to the banks, which include consumers' perception of financial distress, the behavioral variable concerning the extent to which consumers had been detrimentally affected by the crisis, consumers' knowledge of the crisis, consumers' feelings of anger and consumers' political orientation.Originality/valueThis research offers new contributions in the research of consumers' negative attitudes toward banks during a financial crisis from a theoretical perspective and in reputation and trust management from an applicative perspective.