Tourism entrepreneurs adapted to regulations during COVID-19 by introducing creative solutions. The crisis was said to be a unique opportunity for innovating sustainable businesses. This study investigates crisis as a driver for innovation and its relevance to service design. Interviews with entrepreneurs are the empirical base that highlights that finetuning existing services is an established approach instead of innovative service design. Few expressed lessons were learned from the creative solutions made during the pandemic, suggesting that strategies for innovation need to be developed.

Purpose

This study aims to gain insights into the drivers and inhibitors of proenvironmental behaviors (PEB) among Gen Z tourists through the lens of the goal-framing theory (GFT) and the motivation–opportunity–ability (MOA) framework. It also aims to propose interventions for promoting proenvironmental tourist behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach was adopted, building on 20 in-depth interviews with Swedish teenagers. The thematic data analysis was guided by a conceptual model integrating MOA and GFT.

FindingsThe findings indicate that teenagers primarily lack motivation for eco-friendly travel. Their ability is hindered by limited knowledge, while low involvement in travel decisions and unsupportive destination norms restrict their opportunities. Overcoming these challenges requires interventions that boost engagement in PEB through informational and structural strategies, making eco-friendly options more affordable, efficient, enjoyable and desirable.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to combine MOA and GFT, providing an in-depth exploration of the drivers and inhibitors of proenvironmental travel among Gen Z tourists.

This paper investigates employer attributes and perceptions of industry reputation and industry attractiveness, and their impact on employees’ intention to stay in tourism and hospitality. Results show that desired reputation, training, and development value, and prosocial value significantly influence perceptions of industry reputation. Desired diversity and prosocial value have a positive relation to industry attractiveness, while training and development value is negatively related. Perceptions of the industry attractiveness are a major contributor to the intention to remain within the sector. This paper seeks to further the discourse concerning employer branding by introducing an employment value proposition perspective applicable across industries.

This article offers a systematic concept analysis of place identity, a concept central to place branding, suffering from conceptual confusion. The study provides an overview of related terminology, theoretical foundations, conceptualizations, and associated operationalizations of place-related identity concepts. Building on identity theory and a thematic analysis of measurement items gathered, a framework conceptualizing place-related identity elements is proposed, distinguishing between different dimensions of identification. Results show a range of cognitive, affective, and conative and evaluative elements of place identity/identification and applicable testable sub-dimensions. Findings show how different labels have been applied to identify what appear to be conceptually equivalent constructs. Potential links between elements, outcomes, and related concepts are discussed and recommendations for measurement approaches, construction of measurement scales, and future research are presented. Results highlight the need for research in the area to exert stringency when applying the terms in their research and to carefully define and delineate concepts when gathering data and reporting results.

This study explores the role of employees as both a target group and co-creators of employer brand equity in tourism and hospitality. Extant research has largely focused on the effects of external employer brands; however, studies on internal employer branding have been lacking. The research problem is addressed through the conceptual lens of employer brand equity. To provide empirical insights into employee experiences, exploratory in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 employees in hotels, restaurants, and retail stores in Northern Sweden. While employees constitute a target market for internal employer branding, they also co-create the employer value proposition. Employees act as brand members, representatives, advocates and influencers, increasing knowledge about the organization internally and externally. However, in practice, companies in the service sector seem to place more focus on the customer experience than on reminding the employees of the brand promise towards them. This study identifies and describes the role of employees in the employer branding process by developing a new conceptual framework. Thereby, it adds to the understanding of co-creation in employer branding, an under-researched area which has been suggested to become a new paradigm in the employer branding literature.