Professor Emily (Jintao) Ma
Academic and research departments
Department of Hospitality and Events, Surrey Hospitality and Tourism Management.About
Biography
Dr. Emily Ma is a Professor at the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, the University of Surrey, UK. Her research area includes organizational behaviour, customer experience management and women in leadership. Her most recent research looks at how robots can be applied in hospitality and tourism contexts to enhance employee well-being and customer experience.
Emily received her education and practiced teaching and research in four continents, including Asia, North America, Australia/Oceania, and Europe. She serves as editorial board members for multiple journals and also serves as the Associate Editor for Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SSCI, ABDC: A), official journal of the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE).
Areas of specialism
ResearchResearch interests
Organizational Behavior in Hospitality
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Motherhood and Women in Leadership
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pM9U_ZcAAAAJ&hl=en&inst=15262…
Research interests
Organizational Behavior in Hospitality
Organizational Citizenship Behavior
Motherhood and Women in Leadership
Google Scholar Profile: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pM9U_ZcAAAAJ&hl=en&inst=15262…
Teaching
Leadership
Strategic HR
Intercultural Communiction
Publications
Purpose Drawing on person–environment fit theory, this study aims to investigate how the relationships between service task types (i.e. utilitarian and hedonic service tasks) and perceived authenticity (i.e. service and brand authenticity) differ under different conditions of service providers (human employee vs service robot). This study further examines whether customers’ stereotypes toward service robots (competence vs warmth) moderate the relationship between service types and perceived authenticity. Design/methodology/approach Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, Study 1 examines a casual restaurant, whereas Study 2 assesses a theme park restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyze the data. Findings Both studies reveal that human service providers in hedonic services positively affect service and brand authenticity more than robotic employees. Additionally, the robot competence stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services, service and brand authenticity, whereas the robot warmth stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services and brand authenticity in Study 2. Practical implications Restaurant managers need to understand which functions and types of service outlets are best suited for service robots in different service contexts. Robot–environment fit should be considered when developers design and managers select robots for their restaurants. Originality/value This study blazes a new theoretical trail of service robot research to systematically propose customer experiences with different service types by drawing upon person–environment fit theory and examining the moderating role of customers’ stereotypes toward service robots.
An organization that highlights the necessity to promote ethnic diversity will not only meet the demands of the market for a diverse customer base in a global hospitality setting but will also benefit the employees of an organization, with staff more likely to present higher levels of cultural competency, work motivation, and organizational commitment. Taking a systematic literature review approach, this chapter discusses the concepts of diversity and ethnic diversity and examines the importance of diversity management and ethnic diversity. More importantly, it illustrates a detailed description of status, conceptual frameworks, related theories, measurement scales, methods, antecedents, moderators, mediators, and consequences among common variables, drawing upon a comparison with critical literature on ethnic diversity in the hospitality field. The discussion provides meaningful contexts and broadens and deepens the scope of diversity-related theories. The study contributes to an enhanced understanding of how ethnic diversity can provide more advantages than it does challenges. In addition, it brings a cultural perspective to the common identity process, contributing to the broadening and deepening of social identity theory.
Based on trial-and-error learning theory, this study proposes an OCB-C (Organizational Citizenship Behavior towardcustomers)-driven social learning mechanism for the formation of other two types of OCB (OCB-O toward organizationsand OCB-I toward coworkers). In this process, we propose that each of the employee empowerment factors play vitaltrial-and-error opportunities for employees to perform OCB-C, offering employees chances to learn from errors andgain positive affect. A total of 422 respondents were collected from employees at upscale hotels. We found that twoempowerment factors (i.e., work competency and employee impact) supported OCB-C. Engaging in OCB-C not only ledto the increase of learning from errors and positive affect, but also the increase of OCB-O and OCB-I. In addition, whilelearning from errors assisted employees to exercise OCB-O and OCB-I, positive affect helped employees to contributeOCB-O.
Hospitality management research pays much attention to how work-related factors affect employees’ extra-role behaviors, while the potential role of work-family factors seems to be neglected. Using a sample of employees and their direct supervisors from several five-star hotels in China, a three-wave survey study was conducted to explore the effects of family motivation on employees' organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and voice behaviors, as well as to clarify the underlying mechanisms. The results show that family motivation stimulates employees to see their jobs as a means to obtain financial rewards to support their families (i.e., job instrumentality) and then to be more concerned about their jobs’ security. Further, job security concern would enhance employees’ impression management motives, leading to more OCBs toward different targets while inhibiting voice behaviors. Implications for family motivation and extra-role behaviors research and practice are discussed.
Building on Agency Theory and Job Characteristics Theory, this study examines how the autonomy of work interacts with individual proactivity and jointly enhances hotel frontline employees’ self-affirmation and performance. Using a longitudinal research design of three-wave data collection, the findings of this study suggested that the autonomy of work enhances employees’ perceived self-efficacy and sense of personal control. Although the perceived sense of control did not lead to employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), self-efficacy can facilitate employees’ OCBs directed toward both internal and external customers. In addition, the autonomy of work’s influence on employees’ perceived self-efficacy and sense of control was stronger among employees with relatively proactive personalities. The study adds empirical evidence to Agency Theory and Job Characteristics Theory and supports the importance of autonomy at the workplace as a necessary factor to encourage employees’ OCBs. •This study examines how autonomy of work and individual proactivity jointly enhances hotel frontline employees’ self-affirmation and performance.•We found autonomy of work enhances individual employees perceived self-efficacy and sense of personal control.•Self-efficacy can facilitate employees’ OCBs directed toward both internal and external customers.•The autonomy of work’s moderation effects was stronger among employees with relatively proactive personalities.
(2023) critically reflect on diversity and inclusion research in the hospitality and tourism literature by integrating two separate perspectives: human resources and customer behavior. The second study recruits 116 hospitality employees to complete a two-wave time-lagged survey on abusive supervision and gender-leadership bias, followed by questions on external attribution and insubordination two weeks later. The findings reveal three main themes and 10 subthemes related to women’s professional identity, highlighting the importance of work environment, social evaluation, perception of work and demonstrating professional competence. The authors argue that to truly promote diversity, the events industry must acknowledge the role of racial power dynamics and implement interventions to address these issues.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to critically reflect on visually impaired customers' technology assistance needs and the perceptions of existing technologies' performance in the contexts of hospitality and tourism. Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative approach, this study used in-depth semistructured interviews with 19 participants with visual impairments. FindingsPositive and negative sides of technology-assisted experiences in the hotel, restaurant, and travel domains were summarized, and room for improvement was discussed to enhance the quality of life and travel experience of visually impaired customers. Practical implicationsFindings from this study offer actionable implications and future directions to technicians and managers to make hospitality and travel experiences more inclusive. Originality/valueThis timely reflection addresses a critical situation by offering original ideas and calling for more discussion of under-represented groups with visual impairments. Shi (Tracy) Xu can be contacted at: s.xu@surrey.ac.uk.
This paper aims to provide a critical reflection on diversity and inclusion research from the hospitality and tourism literature. Design/methodology/approach Through conducting a critical reflection, this paper used a thematic analysis focused on integrating the scholarly literature that has developed separately: one focusing on the human resources perspective and another concentrating on customer behavior. This critical reflection bridges the gap between these two perspectives. Findings The authors develop and offer a research agenda for future research drawing from three areas ripe for future research: human resources management, diversity resistance and marketing. They focus on theory-driven research that has practical applications to make hospitality and tourism more inclusive for both the workforce and consumers. Practical implications Meaningful research must be translated into practice, and by addressing these research gaps, organizations can gain insights into diverse worker and customer experiences and create more effective diversity initiatives. Originality/value The current literature often lacks an integrated approach that bridges the gap between the two reviewed perspectives: the human resources management and marketing perspectives. A holistic understanding of diversity and inclusion is vital, as it recognizes the interconnectedness between employees and customers within the context of the hospitality and tourism sector is important for several reasons.
The growing popularity of robot-related research contexts in hospitality and tourism calls for in-depth analysis of how different product/service designs strategies integrating robots may influence customers' experiences. Employing a scenario-based 2 × 2 × 2 experimental research design, this study assesses service robots applied at three different product/service levels (i.e., core, facilitating, and augmented). From surveying 378 customers of mid-priced casual restaurants and 312 tourists of a mid-priced theme park restaurant, findings of the study suggest that using robots at all three product/service levels lead to a more positive educational experience but not entertainment experience. The study further extends the literature by positioning dining at a robotic restaurant as an important occasion to showcase the latest technologies to customers. By providing memorable entertainment and educational experiences, customers’ technology readiness could be enhanced, making them more willing to try new technologies. Such a focus brings in unique contributions both in literature and practice.