Thesis supervisor: Edit Kővári
co-supervisor: Alan Clarke
Location of studies (in Hungarian): University of Pannonia Abbreviation of location of studies: PE
Description of the research topic:
The relevance of the research topic comes from the fact that tourism is a key component of the service economy. In Hungary it makes a of 6.5 per cent direct contribution to the national economy of GDP and a 12.1 per cent indirect contribution (Hungarian Tourism Board 2015). Hospitality is a leading industry within the tourism sector. In the EU alone nearly 2 per cent of the total working population are employed in the tourist accommodation industry, about four out of every five people are employed on a fulltime basis. According to István Németh, the Head of the Hungarian Spa Association, guests are increasingly sophisticated, and besides quality they expect customised service. Therefore, hiring highly qualified, loyal, self-motivated employees is essential. Furthermore, having assertive employees who deal well with conflicts, have a high empathy level, are adaptable, loyal and perform well in stressful situations and in a given organisational culture is vital. Hospitality is a twenty-four hours, seven-days a week labour-intensive sector that makes interpersonal relationships challenging for employees: the working conditions are not ideal, and the levels of education and the cultural backgrounds of the workforce are diverse. The research will focuses on emotional intelligence traits, task- and contextual performance along with value addition in providing high-quality service experience. The attempt of the study is to identify emotional intelligence traits that enable high performance. Furthermore value addition as a trigger for high performance in relation to employees’ emotional intelligence level is aimed to be identified and examined. An intended outcome is to make recommendations for selection process and facilitate customized training to help hotel employees become emotionally aware of certain traits that influence individual performance.
Research questions:
1. What are the emotional intelligence facets that enable hotel employees’ high performance?
2. Can emotional intelligence be the source of value in achieving high-quality service experiences within the hotel industry?
The aim of the research is to identify the key emotional intelligence facets that triggers value addition in hospitality in order to design service experience.
In terms of research methodology, both quantitative and qualitative research techniques will be applied. On the one hand, it is aimed to analyse Hungarian hotel stakeholders’ emotional intelligence, with a previously applied internationally reliable and valid trait emotional intelligence measurement, focusing on attitudes. On the other hand value addition facets are aimed to be identified by applying previous studies and in-depth interviews. In order to analyse service experience a customer service experience questionnaire will be developed and applied.
This research is based on previous studies and theses which studied the relationship between hotel front-line employees’ emotional intelligence and their individual job performance. The outcomes showed strong medium correlational relationship between employees’ emotional intelligence and individual job performance. Furthermore there was a PhD thesis examining the relationship between hotel functional managers’ emotional intelligence and its relation to task and individual performance within organisational culture. In the following there are the most relevant previous articles and books:
1. Karatepe, O.M. (2014), Hope, Work Engagement, and Organizationally Valued Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Study in the Hotel Industry, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 23, pp.678–698.
2. Bourne, H. and Jenkins, M. (2013), Organizational values: A dynamic perspective, Organizational Studies, 34(4), pp.495-514.
3. Blank, I. (2008), Selecting employees based on emotional intelligence competencies: Reap the rewards and minimize the risk. Employee Relations Law Journal, 34(3), pp.77-85.
4. Cha, J., Cichy, R. F., and Kim, S. H. (2008), The contribution of emotional intelligence to social skills and stress management skills among automated foodservice industry executives, Journal of Human Resource in Hospitality and Tourism, 8, pp.15-31.
5. Furnham, A. (2008), Personality and Intelligence at Work, Routledge, Hove
6. Kővári, E, (2016), Don’t worry, be emotionally intelligent: Hotel functional managers’ trait emotional intelligence and its relation to task and contextual performance within organisational culture in Hungary, PhD thesis
7. Komlósi, E., Jones, C.M., Clarke, A. (2014) what traits within emotional intelligence are the key for high performance in the 21st century?: An empirical study with students, citizens and managers, Critical Perspective on Business Management, Derby
8. Komlósi, E. and Kovács, Z. (2013), Az értelem az érzelemmel értéket teremt: Az érzelmi intelligencia és az egyéni teljesítmény kapcsolata egy nemzetközi vállalat egy részlegének dolgozói körében, (When IQ and EQ make value: The relationship between emotional intelligence and individual performance within employees of an international telecommunication company) Vezetéstudomány, XLIV (6), pp.44-52. Budapest
Required language skills: English Number of students who can be accepted: 2
Deadline for application: 2018-06-01
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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