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This paper examines the influence of empowerment on job satisfaction in five-star hotels in Jordan. The influence of empowerment on job satisfaction remains a relatively unexplored area. A 52-item questionnaire, measuring empowerment and job satisfaction, was distributed to 332 employees in 12 five-star hotels in Jordan with a 56% response rate. Principal components analysis determined the factor structure and regression analysis determined the influence of empowerment on job satisfaction. The results revealed both structural and psychological empowerment have significant individual influences on job satisfaction, but more significant when structural and psychological empowerment are combined. Most of previous studies were conducted in western economies and little in the Middle East generally and Jordan in particular. This research contributes to the literature by including both dimensions of empowerment where previous scholars used only one.

In spite of decenniums of advancement, a numerous foodborne outbreaks continue to occur each year; these were mostly happening due to malpractices of employees working in foodservices. This study aims to investigate the role of food safety training in improving food handlers' practices through the application of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) model. Primary data were collected using a self-completed questionnaires that were collected from 100 Food and Beverage (F&B) employees working in hotels at the north of Jordan. Findings confirmed the role of food safety training in increasing F&B employees’ knowledge which positively correlates with their food handling practices. Furthermore, this study explored work environment elements affecting the transformation of learned knowledge into proper food handling practices; these include management motivation, availability of necessary resources and facilities and reinforcement programs. The study contributed to knowledge by employing the aforementioned variables to produce an adapted version of the KAP model.

Previous research shows many significant links between employees" perceptions of their overall satisfaction experience in hotels, and other variables. However, the role of job satisfaction that plays on employees" innovation performance in the Jordanian hotels remains relatively unexplored. This research explores the link between employees" job satisfaction and employees" innovation performance. Previous research has used scales developed in a western contexts and this research aims to be one of the first researches to measure these scales in a non-western context and relevant directly to the Jordanian hotels context. The current research was carried out by measuring the data gathered through a five-point Likert scale and a quantitative approach based on a self-administered questionnaire was used. Therefore, a 45-item questionnaire, measuring job satisfaction and innovation performance, was distributed to 300 employees working in 12 five-star hotels in Jordan with a 62% response rate. The results of exploratory factor analysis presented two-dimension for job satisfaction and one-dimension for innovation performance to be both valid and reliable in the Jordanian hotel context. The results showed that the job satisfaction at five star hotels in Jordan has a positive influence on employees" innovation performance. At the dimensional level, the results indicated that operational working system has also a positive influence on employees" innovation performance but in contrary to rewarding system which has no influence on employees" innovation performance. In general, the relationships of job satisfaction as a whole and at the dimensional level on employees" innovation performance have clear implications for both theory and Jordanian hotel management. The results also raised a number of interesting and potentially new areas for future research.

The purpose of this study is to identify the reasons for the lack of focus groups in Jordan by conducting a focus group with twenty four Academics from Jordanian Universities. Focus groups are commonly used for academic purposes and taught at colleges and universities. The outcome of focus groups for marketing, especially in the tourism industry, is a beneficial learning tool. Focus groups, however, are rarely used for a number of reasons. This research tool is foreign to university students, and unless they study abroad, they are not exposed to a wide range of research and education tools. There are barriers that exist with focus groups. These barriers include: government and educational funding, cultural limitations, personal expectations, teaching materials and resources. Following this research, the recommendations are to have focus groups implemented in Jordanian school systems and to conduct focus group training sessions, encourage students to use them as a research tool and explain the link between focus groups and the hospitality industry. By limiting curriculums in Jordanian education systems, students will not have the proper knowledge or skills once they graduate to compete with markets outside of Jordan. Recommendations are discussed based on the author’s research findings.

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Research in service recovery and service innovation has attracted significant attention in recent years but few studies have focused on achieving service recovery through service innovation. The current study aims to bridge this gap in research -to investigate the effect of service innovation on service recovery. Additional emphasis is also given to

This paper investigates the gender imbalance in enrolment for university level hotel education in the Middle East. The research findings presented are drawn from interviews with Jordanian female workers in the tourism sector. This research aims to provide a better understanding of current labour conditions for women in the industry by identifying barriers to female entry into hotel education as well as offering meaningful insights into those barriers. This research involved monitored discussions with women based on focused questions about the hotel and tourism industry, education, religion and their local economies. As documented and analyzed in this paper, respondents offered a wide range of differing and conflicting opinions-from strong opposition to female participation in this type of workforce to full support of equal employment opportunities for women as a basic right. In many cases, participants dissented dramatically from the cultural and social expectations of their families and communities. In this context, the paper sheds light not only on the labour market within the local tourism industry, but also on the social and economic challenges as well as various social contradictions faced by Jordanian women.