Intercultural Communication Competency Practices in the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to develop an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity in China’s hotels by examining hotel employees’ Intercultural Communication Competency (ICC) practices. Following qualitative data collection and content analysis of 403 valid questionnaires collected from 16 multinational hotel companies in China, the study uses Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis for scale development. Furthermore, Importance-Performance Analysis is conducted to identify employees’ perceptions and performance with regard to ICC practices. The proposed measurement scale for ICC is shown to be both reliable and valid for hotel employees, and the results suggest that the identification of competency gaps can help hotels to improve service quality through enhanced resource allocation. Overall, the findings may help increase the competitiveness of China’s hotel industry by informing the development of effective training programmes.

摘要

本研究之目的旨在通过研究酒店员工如何运用跨文化沟通能力, 深入了解中国酒店的文化多元化情况。研究者从中国16家跨国酒店公司收集了总共403份有效问卷, 使用了定性数据收集与内容分析, 然后使用探索性因素分析与确认性因素分析制定出衡量标准。此外, 研究者还进行了重要性绩效分析, 了解员工对跨文化沟通能力实践之看法与绩效。研究结果表明:所提出的跨文化沟通能力衡量标准, 对于酒店员工既可靠又有效, 而且能力差距的识别可以帮助酒店通过改善服务质量来分配资源。此外, 本研究还有助于制定有效的培训计划以及增强中国酒店业之竞争力。

KEYWORDS:

• Intercultural communication competency
• hotel employees’ perceptions
• cultural diversity

关键词:

• 跨文化沟通能力
• 酒店员工的看法
• 文化多元化

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Huijun Yang

Huijun Yang is Assistant Professor at Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, Colina de Mong-Há, Macao SAR, China. Her research interests include hospitality and tourism education, human resource management, and hotel management (E-mail: [email protected]).

Catherine Cheung

Catherine Cheung is Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China. Her research interests include service quality management, human resources management, organizational behavior, hotel branding, and hospitality and tourism education (E-mail: [email protected]).

Wenjie Li

Wenjie Li is Lecturer at Guilin Tourism University, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Her research interests include ethnic cultures and cross-cultural communication (E-mail: [email protected]).