Decent work in tourism and hospitality – a systematic literature review, classification, and research recommendations

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to present the evolution of decent work studies. Findings point to several directions for future research efforts, including conceptualizing decent work and the pandemic’s associated impact. Results will help to guide government authorities to promote decent work by delivering fair income, increasing the stability and security of employment and monitoring employees’ work-life balance. Design/methodology/approach This review consists of knowledge mapping based on keywords from multidisciplinary studies on decent work and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) model on tourism and hospitality studies. First, keyword knowledge mapping was conducted in VOSviewer, resulting in 667 papers. Then, a PRISMA model generated a systematic review of the literature in tourism and hospitality based on 41 papers. Findings Knowledge mapping revealed six thematic clusters, namely, Labor Rights and Gender Equality, Sustainability and Health, Psychology of Working Theory, Conceptualization of Decent Work, Marginalized Groups and Unemployment and Job Quality. According to the PRISMA model, the conceptual evolution of decent work in tourism and hospitality can be divided into three stages: initial (1999–2008), emerging (2009–2018) and development (2019–present). Research limitations/implications Based on the findings, further interdisciplinary research into decent work is recommended. Scholars in the tourism and hospitality sector can incorporate other fields of decent work, such as psychology, to broaden the lens of studies to discover the role of meaning and purpose in the workplace and to promote the concept to its fullest extent. Furthermore, employees’ assessments of decent work might help businesses improve human resources management via corporate social responsibility measures. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first systematic review of decent work in tourism and hospitality. It shows that this notion is in its infancy, as most studies on the topic thus far have been empirical and descriptive. Nonetheless, most findings contribute to knowledge and practice by clarifying industry employment conditions.

Consumers’ willingness to pay in socially sustainable restaurants: an application of the decent work scale

“…This is an important contribution to the social sustainability literature in that subjective norms, or influential others in people's lives, highly impacted how consumers in this study felt about decent work as it related to their willingness to pay in a restaurant, more so than their own attitudes and perceived behavioral control. This result provides an impetus for closer examination of subjective norm constructs and the intersection of worker and consumer-based studies as urged by prior researchers (Mies and Gold, 2021;Rasoolimanesh et al, 2020;Schroeder et al, 2019;Wang and Cheung, 2023).…”

“…Moreover, the call to focus on social sustainability at the individual level in hospitality and tourism research (Wang and Cheung, 2023), and at the nexus of the consumer and worker (Mies and Gold, 2021) was established in this study. The findings of this study link hospitality and tourism employment to the UNTWO 2030 Agenda by including decent work in the sustainable behavioral model (Baum and Hai, 2019; Wang and Cheung, 2023; Winchenback et al. , 2019).…”

“…Given the calls to promote social sustainability at the nexus of workers' experiences and consumers' perceptions of decent work (Mies and Gold, 2021), and the recommendation to view decent work at the individual level in hospitality and tourism research (Wang and Cheung, 2023), the following hypotheses are proposed (see Figure 1): H1. Consumer perceptions of decent work have a positive effect on socially sustainable restaurant attitude.…”

“…The salience of this finding cannot be underestimated, as the movement for increased sustainability research with a focus on the social imperatives (versus the environmental aspects) (Schroeder et al, 2019) was borne out in this study's findings. Moreover, the call to focus on social sustainability at the individual level in hospitality and tourism research (Wang and Cheung, 2023), and at the nexus of the consumer and worker (Mies and Gold, 2021) was established in this study. The findings of this study link hospitality and tourism employment to the UNTWO 2030 Agenda by including decent work in the sustainable behavioral model (Baum and Hai, 2019;Wang and Cheung, 2023;Winchenback et al, 2019).…”