Young minds fueling growth potential of Columbia

Under the guidance of Dr. Hudson, five graduate students from the college of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management just completed a feasibility study for the Columbia Convention Center looking at the pros and cons of a convention center expansion. The feasibility study was part of their Field Project – HRSM 795. The team spent three and a half months researching the viability of expanding the convention center beyond its present size, concluding that indeed, an expansion is feasible and economically viable, and will address the shortage of convention space in the region. The student team presented their findings to executives at Experience Columbia on 4 December. Dr. Hudson uses this tourism consultancy class as a vehicle to assist tourism and hospitality businesses in the state. Consultancy is based on the needs of the company, but can range from the development of business plans or feasibility studies, to the design of marketing materials or social media campaigns for start-ups.

Students from left to right and top to bottom:

Mandy Lin, Andrew Lucas, Anna Westbury, VeShannah Lovelace, Tunazzena M. Alam

Can research centers make a difference?

People often suggest that despite the proliferation of research in universities, the exchange of knowledge from academic research to practical application is poor. The argument made is that academic research seldom influences the real world of practice, and that for knowledge transfer to assist industry, a paradigm shift is required. In a new book chapter on knowledge transfer, published by Emerald, the SmartState team here in the College of Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management, have taken a look at the challenges of knowledge transfer in the tourism field. In particular, the team have focused on the achievements of their research center, where private and public sectors have joined together in an effort to support applied and commercially relevant research. The goal? To improve the competitiveness of South Carolina as a tourism destination. The full book chapter can be found at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S2042-144320170000008003

Why consumers love the sharing economy

There’s only one other country that comes close to matching the U.S. in terms of ride-sharing market volume. Gross bookings in China are expected to amount to roughly $10 billion this year, and as the graphic shows above, well ahead of the U.K. and Japan which are ranked third and fourth. The Chinese market is dominated by local player Didi Chuxing, which acquired Uber’s China business last year in exchange for a sizeable stake in the newly merged company. But why is it that the Chinese are so willing to adopt ride-sharing apps? According to new research, it is not just about cost.

In a new paper just published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, HRSM professors Kevin So and Simon Hudson – along with Ge Zhu from Beijing Information Science and Technology University - explored what motivates consumers in China to adopt ridesharing apps. Using social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework, the team developed a value adoption model to illustrate important factors that influence adoption of ridesharing applications. What they found was that it wasn’t just functional values such as convenience and cost-effectiveness that motivated consumers. They were also attracted to ride-sharing because of the emotional and social benefits. This tends to support research that has been done with users of Airbnb where consumers say that the sharing economy provides more fun, is better for the environment, and builds a stronger community. What this suggests is that traditional companies trying to compete with the sharing economy could compete by making more of an emotional/social connection with customers. Dr. Hudson is exploring this further within the context of accommodations, and has just written a paper with PhD student Jing Li for Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Cases illustrating how hotels can compete with the sharing economy by ‘getting social’.