Employees' evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs

摘要

PurposeThis paper aims to examine employees evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs and segments them based on a set of job attribute preferences. Understanding the socialcultural underpinnings of employees job preferences is vital if employers are to overcome the challenging task of finding and retaining talented employees in the tourism and hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachA discrete-choice experiment with waiters, barkeepers, cooks and front-desk employees working in the Tyrolean tourism industry was conducted. Employees were categorized into distinct segments using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and a cluster analysis.FindingsResults show that flexible working hours and the ability to balance professional and private aspirations are the most important job attributes for employees. Overall, the evaluative repertoires of the green and domestic (family) conventions are most prevalent.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to literature on talent management by providing insights into employees evaluations of jobs and their evaluative repertoires embedded in the broader socialcultural context.Practical implicationsIndustry representatives and employers can adapt their recruiting and retention strategies based on employees job preferences.Social implicationsAdapting job attributes according to employees evaluative repertoires helps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry workforce.Originality/valueApplying the Economics of Convention (EC) perspective, combining organizational job attributes and socially embedded evaluative repertoires provides a new approach to analysing and understanding employees job preferences.