Conducting responsible research in hospitality management with greater societal impact

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to highlight the importance of developing academic research in tourism and hospitality management into a more responsible approach, applying a multistakeholder model. This multistakeholder approach forces the tourist community to be considered when identifying the gaps and impacts of academic research. Design/methodology/approach This study suggests action research as one of the appropriate methodological approaches for conducting responsible research, as action research allows challenges to be overcome through the interaction of researchers and stakeholders. Principles of responsible research are indicated and exemplar studies that use action research are described. Findings Proposals and recommendations for responsible research are identified, such as demand-driven research, action research as a methodological approach and a way to address societal challenges, and the importance of considering the research ecosystem. In addition, some advantages (funding, reputation and legitimacy) and barriers (resources and publication) of responsible research are explained. Practical implications Practical implications are described. Conducting responsible research is oriented toward identifying real practical implications proposed and validated by the tourist community instead of being proposed solely by the researchers. Social implications This paper emphasizes the need to work together with the tourist community and their stakeholders to enhance the real societal impact of academic research in tourism and hospitality management. Originality/value The authors would like to raise a self-critical debate for the future enrichment of research in the tourism industry. Research in this industry can contribute to solving significant societal problems. Responsible research can help scholars to be part of the solution to these challenges, working together with different tourism stakeholders.

Conceptualizing destination-community hospitality: an illustrated framework leveraging Persianate culture

“…Despite its potential, hospitality of the locals has been under-treated in the literature and under-tapped in practice (Pereira-Moliner and Molina-Azorín, 2023). Yet, this form of cultural asset organically exists, especially at the more traditional destinations that may otherwise face a multitude of destination management challenges, including being negatively stereotyped in the media.…”

“…Much of the literature on hospitality has embraced a relatively narrow focus. Research has been largely directed to studying commercial hospitality operations in relative disregard of the broader notions of hospitableness (Pereira-Moliner and Molina-Azorín, 2023). Of note is that many advanced societies have experienced reduced levels of obligation to fulfill the individual and community requirements of hospitableness (Blain and Lashley, 2014), which has further helped limit the practice of hospitality to commercial settings.…”

What makes experimental research publishable in leading hospitality and tourism journals? Perspectives of editorial board members

“…In other words, the implications drawn from the laboratory experiment are possibly irrelevant to real-world practice (Torres, 2023). Hence, recent advocacy emphasized the importance of “causal realism” in experimental studies (Butcher and Yodsuwan, 2023) and real societal impact in initiating research (Pereira-Moliner and Molina-Azorín, 2023). To address this problem, some experimenters conduct field experiment which is high in external validity but at the expense of internal validity (Viglia et al , 2021).…”

Rethinking the role of hospitality in society: the HOST model

“…The third pathway proposed in the HOST model is transformation, which speaks to the ways in which hospitality can be used to transform society in a positive way (cf. Pereira-Moliner and Molina-Azorín, 2023). First, hospitality can be used as a catalyst to affect social change (Cockburn-Wootten and McIntosh, 2020).…”