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Information technology has the potential to provide easier access to penetrate new and/or existing markets, to provide cost-effectiveness, and to present goods and services more ef fectively. The objective of this study is (a) to observe changes in the competitive position of restaurant firms as measured by relative profitability and market share before and after the installation of the information technology and (b) to determine the factors affecting sus tainable competitive advantage. This study evaluates longitudinal changes in performance measures of 57 restaurant firms that have used and installed information technology. The results of this study indicate there are "sustainers" and "nonsustainers in the competitive advantage, as measured by profit margin and market share. In addition, industry factors that affect determination of sustainers and nonsustainers were tested. Results indicate that a technological base along with capital availability could be a prerequisite for restaurant firms to increase profitability and market share.

By examining the relevant studies and models in the destination brand equity, this study explored the dimensions of the tourist-based brand equity (TBBE) of a destination. In addition, this study observed and identified the tourists' perceptions and their experiences with Utah in the context of four dimensions of TBBE and their relationships. This study also applied the proposed TBBE model as a means of measuring brand equity for Utah as a long haul destination in an emerging market to the domestic and foreign tourists. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to verify whether the proposed model fit into the Utah case and results indicated the TBBE model fit the data. The results also showed that a positive relationship exists between brand awareness and brand loyalty. The findings suggest that the Utah tourism industry should measure brand equity more closely and extensively with other dimensions to provide an effective marketing strategy to the prospective visitors/tourists.

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Purpose This paper aims to address the issue of why students want to drop out from a course and suggests appropriate strategies to enhance student retention.Design/methodology/approach A sample of 260 hospitality management students were surveyed based on both Tinto's model of student–institution integration and a theory of planned behavior on student departure. The research applies data mining and decision tree using the classification and regression trees (CART) method as an analytic tool to identify a group, discover relationships between groups and predict future events for segmentation.Findings The results regarding the demographics indicate that the most critical factors of dropout included residency status, financial situation, quality of class and occupation.Research limitations/implications This is a limited US sample, based on student perceptions only and not lecturer or institution perceptions.Originality/value The paper provides empirical evidence of student perspective along with institutional and learning environment factors. It includes data from students who are currently enrolled (which previous literature has not covered) by testing student–institution integration and planned behavior on student departure.