Browsing by Author "Sharma, Abhinav"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 23
  • Thumbnail Image
    Airbnb vs hotel? Customer selection behaviors in upward and downward COVID-19 trends
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav; Shin, Hakseung; Kang, Juhyun (Emerald, 2023-04-04)
    Purpose: To provide a dynamic view on accommodation choice behaviors during the pandemic, this study aims to examine the impact of recent trends on prospective travelers’ preferences for hotels and Airbnb. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a mixed methods approach that incorporates three independent studies (experimental analysis, online search pattern analysis and an econometric event study) to understand customer decision-making behaviors. Findings: The findings indicate that travelers prefer Airbnb entire flats/apartments to hotels when the pandemic is trending upward. This result externally validates travelers’ preference toward Airbnb during periods of high risk. Interestingly, when the trends go downward, however, the same behavioral pattern was not identified. Research limitations/implications: This study provides important empirical insights into how the evolution of health crises influence customer decision-making for hotels and Airbnb. Future research needs to consider the role of socio-demographic factors in accommodation selection behaviors and examine how travelers react to cleanliness levels between Airbnb and hotels. Originality/value: As one of initial studies that empirically examine Airbnb customers’ decision-making behaviors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic’s trends, this study provides a dynamic view on how the evolution of the pandemic influences accommodation choice behaviors.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Disruptive innovation, innovation adoption and incumbent market value: The case of Airbnb
    Zach, Florian J.; Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2020-01-01)
    The purpose of this article is to analyze the market value impact of actions taken in response to disruptive innovation; specifically, actions that incumbent lodging firms implement to adopt the innovation of peer-to-peer trading-based accommodation rental. As incumbent firms need to device strategies to accommodate the disruption stemming from a new entrant with a disruptive business model, we analyze the differentiated efforts of four incumbent lodging firms to compete with the peer-to-peer lodging firm Airbnb. This study is the first to quantify the effects of innovation on incumbent tourism firms challenged by a disruptive entrant. It finds that adoption speeds, that is first vs. late adoption, make a difference as the former are awarded a significant increase in market value.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A generalization of the FIFA World Cup effect
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav (Elsevier, 2018-06-01)
    The objective of this article is to explore the effect of the national soccer team's victory in the FIFA World Cup on the winning country's tourism. To test the generalization of the empirical results found so far, the four editions with available data since the 90s are analyzed. The conclusion shows that no generalized significant effect is identified, with the exception of the 2010 edition.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Hotels to OTAs: "Hands off my rates!" The economic consequences of the rate parity legislative actions in Europe and the US
    Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Elsevier, 2019-12-01)
    The objective of this research is to analyze the impact of the legislative actions regarding rate parity agreements on the market value of hotels and online travel agents in Europe and the USA. Rate parity clauses (uniform hotel room pricing across channels), have been solved differently depending on the countries: while several European countries have outlawed rate parity clauses, the legal status of rate parity has been reaffirmed by courts in the United States. However, whether rate parity is good for hotel and OTA performance is not completely understood. Drawing from Rochet and Tirole's (2003) theory of two-sided markets and using a market value based measure of performance, this study examines in a 2 × 2 framework the effects of the contrasting legislative outcomes in Europe and the United States on hotels and OTAs. The results show coherent outcomes in both continents: rate parity is beneficial to OTAs but not to hotels.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Hotels' COVID-19 innovation and performance
    Sharma, Abhinav; Shin, Hakseung; Santa-María, María Jesús; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2021-02-25)
    To navigate the unchartered terrain that has resulted from the pandemic, there is a palpable need for hotels to re-assess current business practices, and quickly devise new and innovative strategies that safeguard the health and safety of guests as well as employees and, consequently, restore consumer confidence. The objective of this article is to assess the utility of these new innovations by looking at shareholders' perceptions. The empirical application shows that the innovations implemented are seen as effective, although differential effects exist among innovation types. The results could help hotels sustain and expand the innovative responses that work (among which product innovations stand out), and discontinue those that are less effective.
  • Thumbnail Image
    If the wind blows, adjust your sail: Political ideology, social responsibility, and performance
    Campayo-Sanchez, Fernando; Sharma, Abhinav; Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Elsevier, 2024-09-01)
    Drawing on the upper echelons theory and the attention theory, this study investigates the influence of a chief executive officer's political beliefs on the market value generated by corporate social responsibility investments. The empirical analysis on U.S. hotel companies over a 25-year period (1998–2022) reveals that greater misalignment between a chief executive officer's ideology and the national political climate leads to a weaker impact of corporate social responsibility-related activities on the market value. This result is significant because it suggests that chief executive officers' actions are not solely determined by their ideological stance—as the upper echelons theory predicts—but rather by the conflict they experience when the external environment contradicts their ideological beliefs, which is a theoretical extension.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Passport on Air Travelers' Booking Decision and Companies' Financial Value
    Shin, Hakseung; Kang, Juhyun; Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis (SAGE, 2021-11-15)
    The ongoing debate about vaccine passport policies for dealing with COVID-19 has necessitated analyzing its effectiveness in the airline and tourism industry. This study was purposed to analyze how vaccine passports are evaluated by multiple stakeholders, such as airline investors and passengers for leisure/vacation purposes. The findings of the first study show that the implementation of vaccine passports is positively evaluated by airline investors. The results of the second study highlight the role of vaccine passports in reducing perceived health risks, which is integral to leisure travelers’ decision making. This study offers a theoretical lens to understand the value of vaccine passports and provides guidance for airline companies and tourism marketers in deciding whether to implement a vaccine passport policy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The impact of hotel CSR for strategic philanthropy on booking behavior and hotel performance during the COVID-19 pandemic
    Shin, Hakseung; Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis; Kang, Juhyun (Elsevier, 2021-08-01)
    During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some hotels have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to help overcome the crisis. Given that most existing research examines the impact of hotel CSR on a single stakeholder, how hotel CSR activities in a crisis are perceived by multiple stakeholders is unknown. Drawing on the concept of strategic philanthropy, this study examines the impact of hotel CSR activities during the pandemic, such as providing accommodations to healthcare workers, on hotel firms' market value and prospective hotel customers’ booking behavior. Adopting mixed-methods approach, this study finds negative impacts of hotel CSR for strategic philanthropy on firm market value and customer booking behavior. The study result indicates that the value of hotel CSR depends on the nature and environmental contexts of CSR. Specific theoretical and practical implications are provided.
  • Thumbnail Image
    An open market valuation of the effects of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry
    Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2020-07-04)
  • Thumbnail Image
    Performance effects of innovation in two-sided markets: The paradigmatic case of OTAs
    Raad, James; Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Elsevier, 2023-02-01)
    Online Travel Agents (OTAs) play an important intermediary role in the two-sided travel distribution market. A critical factor that enhances a firm's competitive advantage is innovation. Yet, the analysis of innovation in the OTA context is scarce. The main objective of this article is to fill this gap and examine the effect of OTA innovations on firm performance. We analyze the effect of two-sided market specific innovations (same-side and cross-side) on performance and contribute to the literature by expanding the theoretical understanding of innovations. We find that producer-to-consumer innovations have a greater effect on OTA performance than producer-to-producer and consumer-to-consumer innovations. A fundamental managerial implication is that exchange management is an area to be enhanced when innovating in travel market distribution.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A review of research into drivers of firm value through event studies in tourism and hospitality: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research curated collection on drivers of firm value through event studies in tourism and hospitality
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2022-07-01)
    Management decision assessment is fundamental for the future development of the market value of tourism and hospitality businesses. This article conducts a review of the literature on the event study methodology applied to tourism and hospitality—wherein we identify trends and categorize the main topics analyzed; and seeks to stimulate the use of this methodology to examine the drivers of firm value by outlining its key advantages and providing a step-by-step practical guidance. The article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on drivers of firm value through event studies in tourism and hospitality. The Collection contains all past articles published in Annals of Tourism Research on the topic, and continues to grow as new articles are added.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A runner-up on the field yet a winner on the floor
    Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2019-09-01)
  • Thumbnail Image
    Setting the Course: CEO Beliefs as the North Star in the Hotel-OTA Relationship
    Campayo-Sanchez, Fernando; Sharma, Abhinav; Mas-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Elsevier, 2025-02-01)
    The upper echelons theory posits that a CEO's cognitive and perceptual processes, as well as their values and experiences, influence their decision-making and, consequently, their strategic choices. In the complex love-hate relationship between hotels and online travel agencies, the topic of rate parity agreements is controversial and heated, wherein a CEO's values, beliefs, and convictions potentially playing a critical role in guiding actions. This study tests this hypothesis by investigating how CEO political ideologies affect changes in hotel market value resulting from the dismissal of the U.S. rate parity lawsuit. The results reveal that the reduction in hotel companies’ market value due to the lawsuit's dismissal is accentuated by CEO liberalism. Conservative CEOs seem to prioritize shareholder interests, aligning with investor expectations for value preservation amid online travel agencies’ consolidation of market power. This study holds theoretical and managerial implications for the upper echelons theory, corporate governance, and market competition studies.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Testing loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity in review sentiment
    Sharma, Abhinav; Park, Sangwon; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Elsevier, 2019-11-01)
    This article analyzes the relationship between ratings and review sentiment by introducing, for the first time, the tenets of prospect theory. Specifically, we test loss aversion and diminishing sensitivity on a sample of 132,486 reviews and find that: first, negative deviations in ratings (receiving a service with worse performance than expected) bring about a higher impact on review sentiment than positive deviations of equal magnitude (receiving a service with better performance than expected), thus, confirming loss aversion; and second, regardless of whether the service received is better or worse than expected, variations in ratings closer to the reference point result in higher marginal impacts on sentiment than equivalent variations further away from the reference point, thus, proving diminishing sensitivity. These results have relevant theoretical implications related to the use of relative vs absolute measures and the cognitive bias involved, and managerial implications linked to meeting expectations and service recovery.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Effect of Lodging Taxes on the Performance of US Hotels
    Sharma, Abhinav; Perdue, Richard R.; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Sage, 2020-11-16)
    The objective of this article is to analyze the impact of lodging taxes on the performance of US hotels by looking at the two key market segments involved. The empirical application conducted on a sample of more than 7,000 observations corresponding to more than 100 urban submarkets from 2013 to 2018 finds that lodging taxes have a more negative effect on hotel performance (RevPar) for group bookings than for transient bookings. As groups usually have greater flexibility regarding the location of events, they can more easily choose a different destination if a tax increase is observed. To prevent this possibility hotels may be more inclined to offer discounts to groups, thereby absorbing some of the tax increase. The results obtained have relevant managerial implications, which are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The effect of movie and television placements
    Sharma, Abhinav; Nicolau, Juan Luis; Mas, Francisco J. (Elsevier, 2022-08-01)
    Brand integration has become an increasingly common marketing strategy employed by companies today. By incorporating branded content into various media formats, companies use placements as an advertising device intended to promote their products and services. However, although much of the extant literature has used behavioral methods to assess the effectiveness of brand promotions, there is only a modest body of academic work that has sought to quantify the impact of these placements on the financial performance of companies. This is especially true with regards to the travel and hospitality literature, despite the popularity of brands placements as a form of advertising across these industries. Using the event study methodology, this paper assesses the performance impacts resulting from travel and hospitality industry product placements in film and television.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The Effect of Tangible Promotions on an Intangible Environment
    Sharma, Abhinav; Santa-Maria, Maria Jesus; Nicolau, Juan Luis (Sage, 2023-12-29)
    Promotions are frequently deployed by firms in service intensive industries like tourism as a way to boost numbers like visitation and occupancy in times when excess capacity may be anticipated. While promotions may indeed augment revenues and other accounting measures commonly used by tourism firms to assess the success of marketing interventions, the impact of these sales tools on long-run finance-based indicators remains largely unexplored. Exploiting a rich dataset consisting of over 300 corporate level hotel promotions spanning nearly three decades, this study shows that promotions can be detrimental to long run performance of tourism firms. This erosion of the market value is particularly acute for promotions that involve tangible monetary components, such as price discounts. While this result supports the tenets of the hierarchy-of-effects theory and prospect theory, the observed effects of the tangible component of sales promotion entail an extension of these theoretical approaches to an intangible environment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The role of information and choice under uncertainty
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022-10-26)
    This chapter presents a panoramic overview of the evolution of the paradigms that have informed travelers’ choice under uncertainty and the approaches the literature has followed to analyze decision in tourism economics. With this purpose, the chapter first outlines the foundational conceptual frameworks with their assumptions and expectations—stemming from the expected utility theory to prospect theory—to go on with the different main topics that the literature has tackled. From traditional issues such as pricing to modern topics such as online reviews, the versatility is remarkable. Future research lines are highlighted.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The tourism effect of President Trump's participation on Twitter
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav; Shin, Seunghun (Elsevier, 2020-12-01)
    This research analyzes the effect of President Donald J. Trump's participation on Twitter on the performance of the United States as a tourism destination as reflected in the market value of tourism the country's tourism industry. Based on the effects that brand associations have on brand image and brand knowledge, this research proposes a conceptual model whereby a destination's association with a public figure might lead this personality's participation in social media to have an effect—derived from the resulting social media sentiment—on consumers' destination's brand knowledge and, consequently, on the incoming flow of travelers to the destination and on the tourism market value. The empirical application carried out on the tweets that the President of the United States posted over more than 150,000 trading minutes shows that the participation of public personalities in social media can have repercussions on the market value of their country's tourism industry.
  • Thumbnail Image
    To ban or not to ban rate parity, that is the question… or not?
    Nicolau, Juan Luis; Sharma, Abhinav (Elsevier, 2018-08-29)
    Considering the heated debate in the hotel industry about the rate parity clause and the appropriateness of its ban to give rise to rate disparity, this article analyzes the hotel performance that has resulted from the rate parity prohibition established in some European countries, by looking into the market value of the hotels involved. The empirical analysis conducted on a sample of hotel companies trading on the stock exchange in Germany and France shows that the approval of the rate parity ban generates positive abnormal returns. However, an increase in risk is detected. It seems that, while the prospects of greater autonomy to set prices in the hotel industry and stronger competition in the online distribution industry are looked at positively, the hotels will have to deal with a customer’s potential higher perception of price unfairness, less control over its own brand and a greater likelihood of price wars.