Examining one of the world's most important and fastest growing economic sectors, this guide explains the complex tourism phenomenon in its various manifestations. Exploring the subject from a variety of disciplines -- such as economics, psychology, sociology, and geography -- the study also analyses new facets of tourism, including marketing and management, special-interest tourism, travel legislation, and business travel. Featured case studies also provide a global perspective of the tourism industry.

Improving service quality has finally become a top priority of management today, yet according to service quality expert Leonard Berry only a handful of companies have managed to determine exactly what to improve and how to improve it. For the past two years, Berry studied dozens of companies of all sizes renowned for their capacity to deliver what they promise and more. From his on-site observation of the strategies and practices of such companies as Mary Kay Cosmetics, Tattered Cover Book Store, Longo Toyota & Lexus, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, and Hard Rock Cafe, Berry has constructed a dynamic new framework for improving service.

This framework provides a roadmap for implementation found nowhere else in the service quality literature. In every chapter Berry draws on his twelve years of research in service quality to explain each part of the framework in detail. He provides rich insights and inspiring examples of great service -- including numerous examples unique to this book as well as the classic success stories of USAA, Taco Bell, and many more. Berry shows that a company must (1) develop service leadership skills and values -- a concept substantially different from developing general leadership; (2) build a service quality information system; and (3) create a comprehensive service strategy based on the four principles of great service: reliability, surprise, recovery, and fairness. He demonstrates how these four principles, when adopted by the leadership and infused into the systems of a service company, are the building blocks of the framework and form the anchor for implementation.

Berry shows how the "artistry" of great service can be systematically created from this foundation through a company's organizational structure, technology, and often under utilized human resources assets. He challenges service managers to set their service quality aspirations higher, and his innovative, practical ideas will help them achieve those higher standards. Linking service excellence to value creation, Berry provides solid financial reasons for the necessity of great service. Here, at last, is the book for which managers in every service industry have waited: Leonard Berry's "operating manual" for turning plans for great service into action.

Since the 1930s, the Walt Disney Company has produced characters, images, and stories that have captivated audiences around the world. How can we understand the appeal of Disney products? What is it about the Disney phenomenon that attracts so many children, as well as adults? In this updated second edition, with new examples provided throughout, Janet Wasko examines the processes by which the Disney company - one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world - continues to manufacture the fantasies that enthrall millions. She analyses the historical expansion of the Disney empire into the twenty-first century, examines the content of Disney's classic and more recent films, cartoons and TV programs and discusses how they are produced, considering how some of the same techniques have been applied to the Disney theme parks. She also discusses the reception (and sometimes, reinterpretation) of Disney products by different kinds of audiences. By looking at the Disney phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, she provides an updated and comprehensive overview of one of the most significant media and cultural institutions of our time. This important book by a leading scholar of the entertainment industries will be of great interest to students in media and cultural studies, as well as a broader readership of Disney fans.

Although there is significant research on large events that take place within athletics, small-scale events are largely ignored, in part due to the lack of press that they generate. However, these events require planning and preparation in the same way that larger sporting events do. This disparity between the effort that goes into the event and the attention the event draws allows for a gap in strategy or information available to those planning smaller scale athletic events. Principles and Practices of Small-Scale Sport Event Management is a cutting-edge reference publication that examines the successful organization and planning of small-scale sporting events. Featuring a wide range of topics such as community engagement, event planning, and sports management, this book is ideal for event planners, sports managers, marketers, academicians, practitioners, industry professionals, researchers, event organizers/coordinators, and students.

The concepts of artification and sustainability are now both at the heart of luxury brand marketing strategies; artification as an ongoing process of transformation in the world of art and sustainability as an indispensable response to the issues of our times. The Future of Luxury Brands examines three interrelated luxury-marketing segments-the art world, fashion and fine wines including hospitality services-through the dual lenses of sustainability and artification. From safeguarding human and natural resources to upholding labor rights and protecting the environment, sustainability has taken center stage in consumer consciousness, embodying both moral authority and sound business practices. At the same time, artification-the process by which non-art is reconceived as art-applies the cachet of art to business, affording commercial products the sacred status accorded to works of art. When commercial products enter the realm of aesthetic creation, artification and consumer engagement inevitably increases. This pioneering book examining artification and sustainability as strategic pillars of marketing strategies in the luxury industry will be essential reading for practitioners working in luxury product companies, as also students of luxury brand marketing.

"You can energize your people and delight your customers by modeling the fabulous ideas that come from the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market." -- Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager In this revealing business advice book, the magic of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market proves a dynamic example of what a group of people can create when they are aligned and living a powerful vision. Here for the first time, owner John Yokoyama explains in his own words just how he transformed his business into a workplace that is renowned worldwide. When Fish Fly offers Yokoyama's cohesive strategy for achieving world famous results for owners, managers, and front-line workers alike. Once you understand the generative principles behind the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market you, too, can develop a culture that leads to excellent employee morale and legendary customer service.

This book focuses on the changing gender patterns of work in a global retail environment associated with the rise of contemporary retail and global sourcing. This has affected the working lives of hundreds of millions of workers in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The growth of contemporary retail has been driven by the commercialised production of many goods previously produced unpaid by women within the home. Sourcing is now largely undertaken through global value chains in low- or middle-income economies, using a 'cheap' feminised labour force to produce low-price goods. As women have been drawn into the labour force, households are increasingly dependent on the purchase of food and consumer goods, blurring the boundaries between paid and unpaid work. This book examines how gendered patterns of work have changed and explores the extent to which global retail opens up new channels to leverage more gender-equitable gains in sourcing countries.

Service Leadership offers students, researchers, and leaders a leadership model originating in the service economy - but which is gaining ground in all sectors and industries - explained by experts that were key actors in that origination at DHL International. Designed for undergraduates and graduates but also useful for professionals in leadership positions, Hoshmand and Chung structure the book around the 3Cs of leadership in the service economy: Competence, Character, and Care. It shows how the integration of the 3Cs when applied in combination with each other creates an environment of trust within and outside the organization. Most importantly, it allows the reader to understand how a move from the manufacturing mindset (hierarchical decision making) to a service mindset (collective, qualitative, culturally sensitive) creates an ethical habitat and ecosystem that contributes to a firm's competitiveness and adds value to its brand image. Incorporating elements of leadership literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, and political science, including cases, and supported by a teaching manual and a full set of slides, this book is ideal core reading for students of service leadership and leadership in the service economy, and valuable to those learning about leadership more broadly.

Global sports events are rarely far from the public eye. Such mega-events are about much more than the sporting competitions themselves. They entail global exposure and intense struggles by different stakeholders. This is the first book to examine sports mega-events from a mobilities perspective. It analyses the 'mobile construction' of global sports mega-events and the role this plays in managing labour, imaginaries, policies and legacies. In particular, the book focuses on the tension between the various mobilities and immobilities that are implied in the process of constructing a mega-event. It seeks to uncover the ways in which an event is a series of fluid interactions that occur sequentially and simultaneously at multiple scales in diverse spheres of interaction. Contributions explore the dynamics through which mega-events occur, revealing the textures and nuance of the complex systems that sustain them, and the ways that events ramify throughout the international system.

This book explores the experience of China's migrant labourers in Shanghai from anthropological, and gendered analyses, offering extraordinary insights into the life-world of the marginalized people. China has hundreds of millions of internal migrants coming from the countryside to the big cities in search of fame, fortune, or just a living. The author also examines the gender dynamics at work, in intimacy and leisure of this marginalized, yet huge population. With an in-depth and multidisciplinary examination of the experience of restaurant workers in Shanghai, this book sheds humanising new light on the experience of the megacity from the inside and will be of direct value to policymakers, demographers, feminist scholars, anthropologists, sociologists, and responsible citizens.

Funerary Practices in Serbia is the first book to offer a concise yet highly informative study of the historical development and current state of funerary practices in Serbia. Situated in a constant dynamic struggle between traditional cultural customs and modern legislation, funerary practices in Serbia represent a particularly interesting field of research. In this study, Pavicevic combines an investigation of long-term developments and recent changes to place contemporary practices in their wider historical context, emphasizing the complicated geo-political, demographic and cultural factors that have shaped funeral traditions in Serbia over time. In particular, she demonstrates how the country's frequent changing of borders and life under the rule of two great empires - the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman - fostered the emergence of colorful funerary traditions, such as open-casket burial and vigils around the body, that persist to this day in spite of government attempts to modernize funerary practice since the end of the 19th century. The book also provides illuminating insights into the legal framework surrounding current funerary practices in Serbia, the relationship between the state and private sectors, the ownership of cemeteries and gravesites, the role of churches and religious communities, religious and ethnic variations in funerary culture and traditions, and the development of modern cremation practices in Serbia. This book provides a useful and original resource for policymakers and practitioners interested in the historic, legal, technical and professional aspects of the Serbian funerary industry, and to researchers in cultural anthropology, history, sociology and cultural management.

This book on fintechs shows an international comparison on a global level. It is the first book where 10 years of financing rounds for fintechs have been analyzed for 10 different fintech segments. It is the first book to show the Canvas business model for fintechs. Professionals and students get a global understanding of fintechs. The case examples in the book cover Europe, the U.S. and China. Reviews of the book: FinTech is not the next 'big thing.' It is the big thing now! FinTech is the new business model for the global financial sector, offering clear and enormous potential for vast economies of scale and scope, massive cost savings and efficiency gains, significant risk reduction, and opening the door to banking for literally billions of currently unbanked people. Professor Fischer has done a masterful job of expertly and informatively taking us through all aspects of the revolutionary new FinTech business models. Using state-of-the-art research techniques, he insightfully shows us how FinTech firms are financed and how they aspire to create value. His in-depth case studies unlock the keys to success in the FinTech sector. His fascinating book is a 'must read' for all financial professionals. Dr. Stephen Morrell, Professor of Economics and Finance, Andreas School of Business, Barry University, Miami, USA Matthias Fischer's latest book offers a comprehensive overview of Fintech business models around the world. With a very pedagogical approach, and in a particularly fluid style, the author takes us into the strategic logics of these new entrants to finance, who are carriers of innovation and sometimes of disruption, and whose strategies are focused on the need to always meet the emerging expectations of their customers. This precise and well-documented analysis should enable banks to reposition themselves in their ecosystem by studying these new business models, which will enable them to boost their growth. Professor Dr. Nadine Tournois, Dean of IAE Nice Graduate School of Management, Universite Cote d'Azur, France, Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur Fintech Business Models is a must-have book to understand the rapid and intense changes occurring in the financial sector. New technologies have allowed the birth of new financial species, such as Fintech, more adapted to the new digital economy. The content dedicated to the application of blockchain technology helps to understand its opportunities in the financial sector, not only in the means of payment and cryptoactives, but also in how blockchain can make multiple internal processes improve, allowing to optimize the management, efficiency and even security of operations. Without any doubt, this book offers an extraordinary vision of how the fintech sector has become a catalyst for change in banking in the context of the current Digital Society. Phd. Ricardo Palomo, Full Professor of Finance, Deputy Chancellor for Digital Transformation at Universidad CEU San Pablo, Madrid, Spain and member of the Board of Alastria Blockchain Ecosytem This book provides a detailed and original overview of the most important fintech business models in the major global markets. Through a savvy use of the well-known Business Model Canvas methodology, the author explores the unique ecosystem, business model's components, and sources of competitive advantage of successful fintech firms. The book, in particular, offers an insightful and comprehensive analysis of the winning and losing strategies and performances of fintech firms by segment of activity such as, instant digital payments, crowd-funding, robo-advisory, alternative finance, credit & factoring, social trading, personal finance management, blockchain and cryptocurrencies. It is indeed a very unique and valuable study on the fintech industry, its trends, and its emerging business models. Prof. Ivo Pezzuto, The International School of Management, Paris, France and Adjunct Professor of International Business and Strategic Management Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Department of Business Management, Milan, Italy The emergence of fintechs is one of the most relevant drivers of change in the financial services industry. The book presented here delivers an impressing overview of fintechs' activity areas, business models and funding patterns. The book reflects the state of the art of the current fintech world. Prof. Dr. Jurgen Moormann, Professor of Bank and Process Management at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Germany

Filling a gap in existing literature on revenue management systems, this book explores the use of business strategies which are specifically designed to have a positive impact on economic and financial efficiency. Focussing on services within the tourism industry, the author takes a new approach and identifies dynamic pricing and service differentiation as key components of strategic management. Providing fresh insights into an ever-expanding sector, this book will be a useful tool for those studying business strategy and management, as well as value creation theory, as it ultimately presents an integrated business management model which will ensure sustainability.

This book offers the first comprehensive study of Czech funerary practices to be published in English. It provides an in-depth account of the historical development of funeral traditions and customs in the Czech Lands from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day. Czech funerary practice is today characterised by a very high cremation rate, the predominance of secular funerals and the increasing popularity of cremation with no funeral ceremony. Combining investigation of both long-term developments and recent changes, this book places these contemporary practices in their wider historical context, highlighting the complicated religious, political and cultural factors that have influenced funeral traditions over time. Nesporova draws attention to the extent to which the turbulent political background of the 20th century shaped funerary culture, focusing particularly on the cremation movement and the increase in popularity of civil funerals during the Communist era. The book explores the contemporary legal framework of Czech funerary practices, the typical funeral, burial sites and commemorative practices and recent developments in Czech funerary practice. The book will appeal to a multi-disciplinary audience, including those working in the fields of cultural anthropology, history, sociology and architecture.

Smart Technologies are revolutionizing tourism, as they promise to change the way tourists behave and how companies interact with them and generate profits. The increasing availability of real-time data in combination with advanced machine learning techniques, artificial intelligence, and business analytics, to name but a few, will transform the tourism industry forever and in unthinkable ways. The degree of sophistication achieved by Smart Technologies and the speed with which transformations are taking place means that those people lacking a relevant digital background may lag behind, therefore being unable to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the data economy and fully benefit from its applications. This practical book explains the key ideas that tourism practitioners and decision-makers must know to understand Smart Technologies, and the management principles supporting them. The contents: Include real-life cases to illustrate to the reader the true dimension of the "smart" phenomenon and the new frontiers that are yet to open in the coming years Bring together the knowledge and experience of leading experts from academia, the tourism sector, and technology companies, who reveal in a unified way the fundamental points your organization must consider in the path towards being smarter Create a practical knowledge tool that allows getting the most out of Smart Technologies, its products, and future trends, while learning how to make them a competitive tool, and avoid being left behind Features full color figures and photographs The book will be a vital resource for Tourism practitioners, strategic planners, and policy makers as well as students of tourism marketing, management, and technology.

Planning and Managing Smaller Events: Downsizing the Urban Spectacle explores the role of smaller scale events in contributing to the renewal and development of urban societies. This book adopts a case study approach to examine a diverse range of events taking place in towns and cities in Europe, Asia and North America. This volume begins by defining and classifying these kinds of events and then verifying if and how they can provide opportunities for cities and towns without the disadvantages of world-famous large events. It concludes by discussing the growing regional scale of urban phenomena and their transition in post-metropolitan spaces. Planning and Managing Smaller Events: Downsizing the Urban Spectacle will be of interest to government officials and policy makers involved in economic development, urban planning, parks, arts/culture as well as students and researchers interested in urbanism, event management, tourism and recreation.