Back to basics: Academic research in tourism and hospitality management – The case of Hong Kong

Abstract

<jats:p> As universities compete for resources, research output has become more important and the key determinant in academic success. While much work has been done, it is limited to studying specific dimensions of research performance, with inherent methodological limitations such as the choice of journals to be included for examination, methods of counting, and research performance measures. This study takes a different route. Based on a constructivist grounded theory methodology, it explores the question of how to conduct good research across the entire spectrum of tenure positions, by interviewing 36 academics from six academic institutions in Hong Kong. This yielded a theory-based emerging framework, which suggests good habits and routine behaviors are essential in conducting good research. Consistent with the “grit” concept in positive psychology, in addition to “consistency of interest”, “perseverance of efforts” is important. Five habits of good research are identified, namely being curious, observant, tenacious, mindful, and practical. Using Hong Kong as the context, this study confirms the importance of conducting good academic research and making a contribution to education, industry, and society. Although the results break no new ground, the findings would be beneficial to academics, particularly young and aspiring academics as well as doctoral students. This is also reinforced by the importance of hard work and perseverance in order to achieve success. </jats:p>

Exploring Sustainable Measurements of Academic Research: How Do Faculty Members in Teaching-Oriented Universities of China Evaluate Good Research in Tourism and Hospitality?

“…In the domain of tourism and hospitality, studies examining the meanings and characteristics of good research are scarce. Good research was illustrated by Chin such that research starts with an important inquiry and pushes the boundary further, on the basis of his investigation in six tourism universities of Hong Kong [33]. A few scholars started to explore the perspectives of important persons in evaluating research performance.…”

How to enhance scholarly impact: recommendations for university administrators, researchers and educators

“…For example, using a knowledge management framework, Mody et al (2018) identified institutional factors that serve as antecedents of a supportive culture and effective infrastructure for nurturing impactful researchers. Also, Chin and Law (2020) adopted a constructivist approach to identify research habits for impactful scholarship by interviewing a sample of 36 researchers in Hong Kong. In addition, Phillips et al (2018) conducted a study to understand the impact of business issues on society from the perspective of practitioners, society and researchers.…”