Konstantinos Stephanou puolustaa väitöskirjaansa aiheesta "The Dark and the Bright Side of Empowering Leadership: the Role of Empathy in Times of Uncertainty“

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Väitöstilaisuuden suora lähetys on katsottavissa Youtubessa 22. jouluukuta 2021, kello 12:00

Konstantinos Stephanou summaa tohtorityön väitöskirjansa abstraktissaan seuraavasti:

 

The  assumption  that  total  quality  management  (TQM)  leads  to  improved business  performance  has  driven  substantial  growth  in  quality  certifications across  different  sectors,  most  recently  in  tourism.  Tourism  businesses implementing  quality  certification  based  on  the  TQM  approach  are  expected to  provide  quality  services  to  meet  and  exceed  the  expectations  of  more demanding  customers,  which  is  anticipated  to  result  in  improved  financial results.  At  the  same  time,  extensive  use  of  the  internet  has  influenced  the habits  of  customers  as  they  have  started  to  share  their  experiences  via online  platforms,  and  to  rely  upon  those  online  reviews  and  ratings  as  their main  source  of  information  when  deciding  upon  the  next  accommodation, museum,  attraction  or  restaurant.  However,  it  is  unknown  if  quality  certified tourism businesses also receive better online customer reviews  and ratings; in  other  words,  have  higher  customer  satisfaction,  which  in  turn  contributes to increased financial performance. The  aim  of  this  study  is  to  investigate  the  relationship  between  the implementation  of  TQM  and  business  performance  in  the  tourism  sector. The  following  research  question  is  central  in  this  doctoral  research:  what  is the  relationship  between  the  implementation  of TQM,  online  reputation and financial performance? The  key  outcome  of  this  thesis  is  emphasizing  the  mediating  role  of  online reputation  in  the  relationship  between  TQM  implementation  and  financial performance.  The  results  reveal  that  TQM  implementation  on  its  own  does not  result  in  better  financial  performance,  high  online  ratings  are  a  prerequisite for financial benefits to occur for a business operating in the tourism sector. The  main  novelty  of  this  dissertation  is  the  use  of  online  reputation  to  explore the  relationship  of  TQM  and  business  performance  in  the  tourism  sector. In  addition  to  enhancing  the  theory  of  TQM,  the  results  of  this  research support  tourism  managers  to  design  existing  quality  certification  schemes in  accordance  with  the  context  of  the  sector.  Several  guidelines  are  offered to  support,  both  theoretically  and  practically,  the  future  development  of quality management in tourism. Keywords: total quality management, customer satisfaction, online reputation, financial performance, small and medium enterprises, tourism, Estonia

 

Voit lukea Konstantinos Stephanoun tohtorityön väitöskirjan kokonaisuudessaan tästä.

 

Valvojat: 

Assistant Professor Mario Martínez-Córcoles, Ph.D. Research Institute of Personnel Psychology, Organizational Development, and Quality of Working Life (IDOCAL) Department of Psychology University of Valencia, Spain

Professor Ruth Alas, Ph.D. Estonian Business School, Estonia

 

Opponentit:

Professor Levente Littvay, Ph.D. Professor in Political Science Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

Associate Professor, Kurmet Kivipõld, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Management University of Tartu, Estonia

 

Väitöstilaisuuden suora lähetys on katsottavissa Youtubessa 22. jouluukuta 2021, kello 12:00 TÄÄLTÄ