Business Commons^™

Research, Planning, And Development Of A University-Based Retirement Community (Ubrc): A Strategic Lodging Opportunity, Tevfik Demirciftci, Britt Mathwich, Fred Demicco

ICHRIE Research Reports

University-Based Retirement Communities (UBRCs) are a growing trend among universities and senior living. UBRCs are an intriguing concept that benefits retirees and universities as they bring alums back to campus for their residences. This study investigates the interest level and preferences of Colorado Mesa University's alums and retired professors for an on-campus UBRC. This research is the first phase of the planning process for developing and operating a successful UBRC.

Keywords: University-Based Retirement Communities (UBRC), Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Senior Living Communities, Active Adult Communities

The Impact Of Sound Systems On Customer Experience, Jonathan Alonso

ICHRIE Research Reports

Sound systems have a profound impact on customer experiences, shaping perceptions, managing noise pollution, and enhancing a business's brand image. This document provides an in-depth exploration of the factors involved in designing, integrating, and programming commercial audio-visual (AV) systems. The process entails understanding the unique needs of a business, assessing the physical environment, and selecting the most suitable audio and visual solutions, followed by careful integration and programming for an optimal user experience. A critical aspect of AV system design is zoning, which allows for tailored auditory experiences in different areas within a venue. While the initial investment in a …

Brand Trust Equation: The Role Of Brand Trust And Its Impact On Pro-Social Behavior In Peer-To-Peer Accommodation, Md Zaker Hossin, Yeasun K. Chung

ICHRIE Research Reports

Peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodations, like Airbnb, often don’t have the same rules and oversight as traditional hotels. This can make it riskier and less predictable to stay in P2P accommodations, and the quality of the stays varies more. Thus, this study aimed to examine the following objectives: examine how different trust dimensions influence brand trust in P2P accommodations, evaluate how brand trust influences guests’ prosocial patronage behaviors, and assess how brand trust influences guests’ prosocial stewardship behaviors. The study used a scenario-based survey of U.S. travelers. Key variables included ability, benevolence, integrity, predictability, brand trust, prosocial patronage behavior, and prosocial stewardship …

Dine Green, Be Kind: Local Vs. Chain Restaurants In Sustainability, Brand Attachment, And Pro-Social Behaviors, Md Zaker Hossin, Yeasun K. Chung

ICHRIE Research Reports

The restaurant industry is characterized by excessive waste and resource consumption, and it faces a pressing need to adopt environmental sustainability practices (ESPs). This research aims to explore the sequential relationship from ESPs to brand attachment (BA) to pro-environmental behaviors while examining the enhancing role of locally-owned restaurants in strengthening these relationships. The survey used a scenario-based survey of U.S. diners and collected data about waste reduction, recycling, minimum water usage, energy conservation, brand attachment, restaurant ownership (local/chain), pro-environmental patronage behavior, and pro-environmental stewardship behavior, using a seven-point Likert Scale. This study aims to advance our understanding of the potential …

Event Technology And Attendee Experience: A Systematic Review And Research Agenda, Jijun (Jackie) Chen, Shinyong (Shawn) Jung

ICHRIE Research Reports

The events industry is experiencing growth, both as a sector of the tourism industry and in the technology that impacts the attendee experience during an event. While research into event-related technologies is robust, there is not much research on the specific roles that technology can play in facilitating attendees’ experiences at an event. This study proposes to use the PRISMA approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of technology-enabled experiences within the context of events. Results will drive future research in this area of study.

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Adoption Of Amusement Park Mobile Applications, Thomas Schrier

ICHRIE Research Reports

Many amusement parks across the US have developed mobile applications. Considering the potential business impact of mobile applications, it is important to understand amusement park visitors’ perceptions and attitudes toward mobile applications. This study proposes a conceptual model that incorporates variables from the technology acceptance model, the task-technology fit theory, and the theory of planned behavior. These variables will be used to investigate the attitudes, perceptions, and behavioral intentions of amusement park visitors. Structural Equation Modeling will be utilized to test the conceptual model. This study can provide amusement park operators with guidance for the improvement and efficiency of mobile …

The Impact Of Linguistic Styles On Message Delivery In Encouraging The Use Of Leftover Bags For Food Waste Reduction, Jae Eun Park, Chang Ma, Alei (Aileen) Fan

ICHRIE Research Reports

Plate leftovers are a major cause of food waste in restaurants. To reduce food waste, many restaurants encourage customers to use “doggy bags” to take away their plate leftovers. However, the efficiency of adopting such leftover bags is still questionable as some customers may feel embarrassed to use leftover bags. Hence, the current research aims to explore how to leverage different linguistic styles (figurative vs. literal language) to encourage the usage of leftover bags for food waste reduction purposes. Furthermore, this research will investigate the linguistic style efficiency in various restaurant dining contexts across two empirical studies. Study 1 will …

Addressing Labor Challenges In The Hospitality Industry: Insights From College Students, W. Clarke Griffin

ICHRIE Research Reports

The hospitality industry is facing a growing labor crisis. College students were surveyed on their perceptions of the hospitality industry and a roundtable discussion of industry experts occurred to explore the results. College students described that the starting hourly wage and a flexible work schedule were the most important factors influencing their employment decisions. The study's findings suggest that the hospitality industry can attract and retain more college students by prioritizing employee welfare and effectively communicating the benefits of a career in hospitality. This could involve offering higher wages, more flexible work schedules, and better benefits. Creating a positive work …

Toxic Leadership: Managerial Implications For Tourism And Hospitality Business, Alessandro Cavelzani

ICHRIE Research Reports

There is growing attention on research about dysfunctional management issues, specifically regarding toxic leadership, which lead to deleterious consequences in business. When a leader enacts toxic behaviors rather than providing support and realistic directions, it will cause severe stress, burnout, and passive-aggressive dynamics on their team, negatively affecting guest experiences. Therefore, this transactional paper aims at developing managers’ awareness of the toxic leadership issue, enlightening how to recognize and detect it. Also, to contribute to reducing job stress and promoting mental health at the workplace, we suggest some recommendations on how companies can handle the toxic leadership phenomenon by enhancing …

Time-Inconsistent Preference In Booking Hotels: Role Of Quasi-Hyperbolic Discounting In Booking Timing And Price Options Change Over Time, Meiying Liu

ICHRIE Research Reports

In hotel booking decision-making, consumers must incorporate booking timing and cancellation policy with different price options to deal with uncertainty in the upcoming travel and their utilities that aggregate spending and enjoying on the hotel booking. To fill the gap in the literature that omitted the consumers’ time-inconsistent booking behavior over time and the mechanisms behind booking decisions and timing decisions, this study investigates consumers’ preference between two price options related to cancellation over time and their preferred booking timing. Quasi-hyperbolic discounting model in behavioral economics is applied to explain time-inconsistent behavior by lab experiment.

Depaul Digest

DePaul Magazine

College of Education Professor Jason Goulah fosters hope, happiness and global citizenship through DePaul’s Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education. Associate Journalism Professor Jill Hopke shares how to talk about climate change. News briefs from DePaul’s 10 colleges and schools: Occupational Therapy Standardized Patient Program, Financial Planning Certificate program, Business Education in Technology and Analytics Hub, Racial Justice Initiative, Teacher Quality Partnership grant, Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury collaboration, School of Music Career Closet, Sports Photojournalism course, DePaul Migration Collaborative’s Solutions Lab, Inclusive Screenwriting courses. New appointments: School of Music Dean John Milbauer, College of Education Dean Jennifer …

For More Dementia-Friendly Facilities In Tourism And Hospitality, Paola Ossola

ICHRIE Research Reports

Some tourists – such as seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, obese people, people with allergies, etc. – might have physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities that limit their tourism experiences. These tourists may require access accommodations. Nevertheless, only a small number of hotels and other hospitality facilities have been catering to these needs beyond the legal minimum so far. To address this gap, we recommend the implementation of sustainable practices for enhancing accessibility in hotels and other hospitality facilities that specifically focus on meeting the needs of senior tourists who may be living with dementia. For doing so, the first …

Virtual Reality Images As A Tool In Hotel Promotions: Is It Effective And Worth Investment?, Lisa Slevitch, Tilanka Chandrasekera, Luis Mejia Puig

ICHRIE Research Reports

This report examines how traditional photos compare to two different types of virtual reality (VR) images (static and 360°) when used as promotional tools for hotels. An experimental study by Slevitch et al.(2022), which utilized multiple types of measures, served as the foundation for the recommendations. The results showed that static VR images performed the same way as traditional photos, however the 360° VR images had a more positive impact on participants’ emotional responses and were more engaging than other images. This suggests that 360° VR images are better for hotel promotions, especially when initial impressions, such as interest and …

Level Up Eco-Friendly Hotel Stay: Guest Power Up And Save Energy With Gamification, Aili Wu, Juhee Kang, Wei Wei, David J. Kwun

ICHRIE Research Reports

Executive Summary

Hotel businesses endeavor to achieve successful green practices for long-lasting business success. The key issue is to promote consumers’ willingness to participate in such practices. Despite increased environmental awareness among today’s consumers, a relatively large percentage of consumers hesitate to actively engage with green practices because they are unwilling to sacrifice their comforts and convenience for their paid experience. This report introduces a gamification approach to hotels’ green practices through an investigation of how game components motivate guests’ energy-saving participation. This report finds that the energy-saving game can improve hotel guests’ willingness to save energy and even revisit …

Moderating Effects Of Relationship Length And Contact Frequency On Customer Citizenship Behaviors, Laee Choi, Mi Ran Kim

ICHRIE Research Reports

Studies show that contact frequency and relationship length impact co-creative and in-role behaviors with service providers. However, their influence on extra-role or customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs) remains unexplored. This study delves into the moderating role of relationship length and contact frequency within the CCB model. Utilizing an online survey (n = 665), the study unveils that perceived justice’s impact on affective commitment is not moderated by contact frequency, whereas the impact is stronger in short-term than in longer-term relationships. The perceived support-affective commitment-CCBs relationship is stronger in high contact than in low contact group. Similarly, the relationship is stronger for …

Professional Partners

DePaul Magazine

DePaul students draw on specialized skills to serve business and industrial clients.

2021 Depaul University Library And Art Museum Climate Survey Report, Wendall Sullivan, Subcommittee For The Survey And Report, Idea Committee, Depaul University Library, April Hummons, Dorian Rodriguez-Spicer, Christine Mcclure, Matthew Krause

Climate Surveys and Reports

In the fall of 2021, the DePaul University Library and Art Museum’s IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) Committee decided to conduct a survey of the library’s climate to establish a baseline for its work. The survey was sent to all full and part-time library staff and ran for six weeks. One of the goals of the IDEA committee is to bring awareness of implicit biases, micro-aggressions, exclusionary practices, and structural racism and discrimination within Library and Art Museum operations, environment, and culture; to review, audit and propose internal polices and processes for the Library and Art Museum to implement IDEA …

Tourist Behaviors When Dining – Part Two, Joel Reynolds, Mary Jo Dolasinski, Chris Roberts

ICHRIE Research Reports

This series of three reports was developed to discuss tourist behaviors in three key areas of the hospitality industry: lodging, dining, and activities and events. A primary purpose was to provide insights from the user’s perspective, as the majority of content comes from the provider’s point of view. One paper focused on tourist’s behaviors in lodging and another focused on tourist’s behaviors in activities and events. This paper focused on tourist’s dining behaviors. The goal was to provide valuable insights to assist practitioners in better understanding tourist’s behaviors and to develop strategies to provide the best experience possible.

Tourist Behaviors In Lodging – Part One, Mary Jo Dolasinski, Joel Reynolds, Chris Roberts

ICHRIE Research Reports

This series of three reports was developed to discuss tourist behaviors in three key areas of the hospitality industry: lodging, dining, and activities and events. A primary purpose was to provide insights from the user’s perspective, as the majority of content comes from the provider’s point of view. One paper focused on tourist’s behaviors while dining and another focused on tourist’s behaviors in activities and events. This paper focused on tourist’s lodging behaviors. The goal was to provide valuable insights to assist practitioners in better understanding tourist’s behaviors and to develop strategies to provide the best experience possible.

Tourist Behaviors During Tourism Activities – Part Three, Chris Roberts, Mary Jo Dolasinski, Joel Reynolds

ICHRIE Research Reports

This series of three reports was developed to discuss tourist behaviors in three key areas of the hospitality industry: lodging, dining, and activities and events. A primary purpose was to provide insights from the user’s perspective, as the majority of content comes from the provider’s point of view. One paper focused on tourist’s behaviors in lodging and another focused on tourist’s behaviors while dining. This paper focused on tourist’s behaviors in activities and events. The goal was to provide valuable insights to assist practitioners in better understanding tourist’s behaviors and to develop strategies to provide the best experience possible.

All Together Now

DePaul Magazine

New initiatives across campus, such as the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, Social Impact Incubator program and College of Law curricular changes, amplify DePaul’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Empirical Assessment Of Big Data Technology Adoption Factors For Organizations With Data Storage Systems, Ahmad B. Alnafoosi

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Many organizations have on-premises data storage systems. Data storage systems are evolving in multiple ways. One way is the adoption of Big Data. Big Data is a data storage system with the ability to analyze large volumes, velocity, and a variety of data. Per the Economist, data is now the most valuable resource (Parkins, 2017). Big Data holds the promise of unlocking a substantial value of data stored. Yet many organizations are not implementing Big Data. There is a need to identify key factors affecting adoption for such organizations. The literature review revealed multiple gaps in studied adoption factors (un-studied …

An Empirical Study On Email Use, Stress, And Employee Job Satisfaction In A Covid-19 Environment, David J. Bouvier

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

April 2020, COVID-19 (COVID) changed the world and how society functions, transforming the means in which we communicate. Face-to-face interactions were abruptly and immediately replaced with technology mediums. The increase in technology use changed our interpersonal communication habits, placing greater reliance on new and existing electronic methods. Although new forms continue to evolve, the predominate electronic communication method utilized is email. This research uses grounded theory on stress and technology acceptance, and further assesses perceived email volume changes to analyze the relationship of these constructs to job satisfaction during COVID. The data was collected from 147 employees of a mid-sized …

Impact Of Hospital Inventory Management Of Ppe On State-Level Healthcare Worker Infections During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nidhal Bouazizi

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain and its inability to keep up with the fluctuating demands of a global pandemic. Limited research examines the resilience of the PPE supply chain in times of stress, and very few studies rely on quantitative retrospective analysis. This dissertation studies the impact of hospital inventory management, a portion of PPE supply chain preparedness, on infections in healthcare workers (HCWs). Our research shows that there exists a statistically significant negative relationship between PPE preparedness and infections for HCWs, but this relationship is only significant for N95 …

Stakeholder Capitalism: An Investigation Of The Linkage Between Corporate Social Responsibility And Financial Performance, Cynthia Walsh

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing a large sample of firms over a 13-year period, we examine the impact of ESG Score on profitability. While we fail to find a significant effect for the continuous ESG Score variable, we find conditions where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plays an important role in financial performance. Specifically, after controlling for relevant firm characteristics and fixed effects, we find that the highest quartile of ESG Scores experience an average increase in return on assets of 4%. This effect is amplified for the CSR-sensitive energy industry. Additionally, CSR can play an important role in mitigating loss during times of economic …

The Effect Of Management’S Focus On Sasb Measures On Financial Performance: A Study Of The Health Care Supply Chain Sector, James C. Morell

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

Publicly traded companies are coming under increasing pressure from investors and the media to demonstrate their commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainability, and there are many ESG models competing for the attention of the board and senior management team (Burke, 2020, Fatemi, 2017, and Jebe, 2019). In response to this pressure the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has prepared a “Directors’ Guide to the SASB Standards” for eleven industries (Value Reporting Foundation, 2021). The objective of this study was to provide evidence to support the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s claim that organizational adoption and strategic focus on its …

Spring/Summer 2022

Business Exchange

Business Education Reimagined; Scholarship Honors Legacy of Professor Sandra Shelton; Revised Bachelor’s in Business Degree Curriculum Debuts This Fall; School of Accountancy & MIS Names New Director; Sulin Ba Appointed Driehaus College of Business Dean; Real-World Consulting Projects Prepare Students for Careers; Alumnus Brian Ruben: “Paying It Forward Is the DePaul Way”

Veteran Entrepreneurs – Founder Social Identities, Edward Papabathini

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, entrepreneurs assume a pivotal role in creating jobs, driving innovation and productivity growth, and contributing to the success of the national economy. An often-overlooked segment of this population, Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces create nearly $1 trillion in cash receipts, employ nearly six million Americans, and lead one of every six entrepreneurial initiatives. This study was an investigation of the founder social identities of the 10% of veterans who become entrepreneurs: Darwinism, communitarian, and missionary. Additionally, this study was a means to assess the relationship between specific identities, innovation, financing pattern, and entrepreneurial commitment among …

Does A New Product Development Project’S Name Influence Internal Stakeholder Commitment?, Dianna Akin

College of Business Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore whether a new product development project’s name and or charter effects commitment of senior management sponsors, product development team members and project leaders to the project. Leveraging signaling, internal marketing and imprinting theory to influence internal stakeholder project commitment, I executed three studies to 1) evaluate the validity of my research, 2) identify strong and weak project names, and strong and weak project charters, and 3) a 2x2 between-subjects experiment to test the main effect of project name, the main effect of project charter, and the interaction effect of project charter strength …

Parsing The Pandemic: A Special Report

DePaul Magazine

This special report takes a look at four sectors—transportation, hospitality, entertainment and education—and examines how the pandemic affected their operations, what lessons they learned and how they are changing to ensure a bright future.