| Author: | Goopio, Joselyn Sison |
| Title: | Understanding genuine hospitality through the lens of cultural values and christianity in the Philippines |
| Advisors: | Cheung, Catherine (SHTM) |
| Degree: | DHTM |
| Year: | 2022 |
| Subject: | Tourism -- Philippines -- Christianity Tourism -- Religious aspects Culture and tourism -- Philippines Philippines -- Social life and customs Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | xi, 294 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Hospitality is an essential part of human life because it deals with providing basic human needs of food, drink, shelter, and security. It is surmised that being hospitable is inherent in human nature which entails cultural and religious obligations. With the advent of travel, tourism, and commercialization of hospitality services, a long-standing debate has arisen regarding the existence of genuine hospitality in the commercial setting and whether hospitality continues to occupy a central position in the value system of modern societies with the same cultural and religious obligations it once had. Whereas hospitality is a product of culture much as it is culture itself, the culture of hospitality is more evident in some societies than in others. Critically, religion plays a significant role in the formation of cultural values in a country where it has predominance. It is in this context that a framework of a culture of hospitality is framed within the Philippine culture, which is predominantly Christian. The overarching aim of the research is to reach a deeper understanding of genuine hospitality within the context of the domestic, social-cultural, and commercial settings through the lens of cultural values and Christianity in the Philippines. Genuine hospitality is concerned with its behavioral dimension that focuses on the underlying motives in providing hospitality and the human processes involved in its delivery. Within the critical realism paradigm, a qualitative research approach is employed to explore an under-researched topic and address the research gaps. The grounded theory methodological approach is adopted in answering the research question in three phases, deemed appropriate because no existing theory is available to explain the practice of genuine hospitality in a commercial setting viewed through the lens of cultural values and religion, particularly Christianity. Study 1 employs the meta-interpretation method in the systematic literature review resulting in a typology of the Filipino value system and its underlying dimensions and value structure. Study 2 adopts the netnography method by examining empirical online data from the blogs of Filipinos. The results demonstrate that cultural values are still espoused by modern-day Filipinos that support the hospitality value manifested in domestic and social-cultural settings. Study 3 employs the grounded theory approach that leads to theory-building. Theoretical and purposive sampling was employed in conducting in-depth interviews of hotel managers and focus groups with frontline staff in Cebu Philippines. The findings provide empirical support that genuine hospitality manifests itself in commercial hospitality primarily influenced by cultural values and Christianity, lived and nurtured within the family. Integrating the results from the three studies, a conceptual model is developed that presents the proposed substantive theory for a deeper understanding of genuine hospitality within a culture. The essence of the study is summarized thus as "A culture of hospitality: genuineness rooted in interiority and transcendence." Theoretical and practical implications, as well as limitations of the study, are presented that lead to future research directions. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6796.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.31 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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