Research
Research
Les Roches Research & Innovation Strategy
Research Mission
Research at Les Roches is both at the core of the different educational programs the institution offers and an essential tool for fostering its mission, enhancing its academic reputation, and attracting students worldwide. Research, critical thinking, analytical skills, developing new information and presenting it to relevant stakeholders are essential learning outcomes for our students. To foster these skills as well as to share with the students the most up-to-date knowledge about the hospitality industry, Les Roches faculty and students are actively engaged in research. All scholarly activities focus on four key areas responding to the mission and values of the institution:
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Globalization
• Sustainability
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
These activities, whether they are research driven by faculty or applied research projects developed by students under faculty supervision, foster a close collaboration and exchange of knowledge within and beyond the hospitality industry. Through applied research, Les Roches aims at enhancing creativity in the field of hospitality among faculty, students, alumni, industrial partners, and authorities, as well as revealing to all these stakeholders new business opportunities and opportunities to collaborate or contribute.
Areas of Research
The areas of research Les Roches is engaged on are closely linked to its institutional mission and are widely represented as subjects across the programs offered by the institution.
| • Innovation and Entrepreneurship: o Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship o Future Trends and Disruptions o Change and Innovation Management o Experience Design and Design Thinking |
• Sustainability: o Sustainable Business Practices o Corporate Social Responsibility o Sustainable Management o Ethical Leadership and Values |
| • Globalization: o Global Outlook and Fluency o Multiculturalism o Soft Skills, Competencies, Capabilities o Global Leadership |
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): o Higher Education in a Global, Multicultural Context o Higher Education Practice o Hospitality Management Education |
Governance of Research and Innovation Activities
All research activities are coordinated by Les Roches Research Committee (LRRC) which is composed of the Head of Research, Faculty members leading each research area and a representative of Spark.
The committee ensures that the research strategy and objectives are achieved, manages the research budget, validation of proposals, ethical approval of projects and any other matter related to research and innovation at Les Roches.
The development of each research area is driven by faculty members and overseen by the LRRC. Faculty members may be engaged in one or more research areas. The aim is to foster research among faculty and students and encourage a wider participation across the institution.
Some of our innovation activities are:
- Shiftin'. This event is about shifting innovations in hospitality to create a more sustainable industry, with last year’s focus on how nature is shaping the future. Leaders from around the world shared their knowledge and thoughts on this important topic. Access Shiftin’ website here
- Space and Underwater Tourism Universal Summit (SUTUS): We were delighted to host the fourth edition of the Space and Underwater Tourism Universal Summit (SUTUS) at our Marbella campus in September 2023. More than 500 professionals from 45 countries revealed the most ambitious challenges in this exciting tourism sector, while also sharing knowledge and business opportunities. Access SUTUS website here
Academic research
A selection of our most recent Academic Research & Publications is below.
For a full overview of research activity, please see our individual Faculty bios
Publications
Albrahimi, A., (2021). How Fintechs are Supporting the Hospitality Industry. The Fintech Times (UK)
Tajeddini, K., Gamage, T.C., Hameed, W., Qumsieh-Mussalam, G., Chaijani, M., Rasoolimanesh, S., Kallmuenzer, A. (2022) How self-gratification and social values shape revisit intention and customer loyalty of Airbnb customers, International Journal of Hospitality Management.
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More publications by Qumsieh-Mussalam, G.
Landrum, N. (2022). Strong sustainability in practice. Pathways to Research in Sustainability. EBSCO
More publications by Landrum, N.
Palabiyik, J.U., Cronin, B., Markham Bagnera, S.D. and Legg, M.P. (2022), “Endings, freezing, and new beginnings: the return of customer comfort to Massachusetts restaurants following the pandemic”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print
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More publications by Cronin, B.
Marechal, L. (2021) Do economic variables forecast commodity futures volatility?, Journal of Futures Markets 41(11), 1735– 1774.
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Demonstration web-portal for tourism enterprises. Chib, S. & Cheong, F. (2011). In: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 2 Iss: 3, pp.176 – 187
More publications by Chib, S.
Puhr, R., & Germanier, R. (2023). Flourishing or languishing? Exploring the lived experiences of faculty negotiating the challenges of synchronous and asynchronous delivery. In P. Kumar, & J. Eisenberg (Eds.). Synchro-nous and Asynchronous Approaches to Teaching: Higher Education Lessons in Post-Pandemic Times. Springer International Publishing.
More publications by Germanier R.
Diamantis, D., & Puhr, R. (2022). Corporate social responsibility and work–life balance provisions for employee quality of life in hospitality and tourism settings. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 14(3), 207–209.
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Diamantis, D., & Puhr, R.(2022). Macro- and micro-level connections between work–life balance, quality of life and circular economic thinking as drivers of sustainability. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 312–315.
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Puhr, R. (2021). The skills debate in the context of a pandemic: Are students prepared for the workplace? Journal for Higher Education Development (ZFHE), 16(3), 99–118.
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More publications by Puhr, R.
Darioly, A., & Gueuning, F. (2018). What type of disruptive leaders will the hotel industry need? Insight, eHotelier
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Darioly, A., & Riggio, R. E. (2014). Nepotism in hiring leaders: Is there stigmatization of relatives? Swiss Journal of Psychology, 73(4), 243–248.
Aiosi, V. (2018). This is the secret attraction of Swiss wine, Forbes
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More publications by Aiosi, V.
Marshall, T., Mottier, E.M., Lewis, R.A. (2019) Motivational factors and the hospitality industry. (harveymaria.com) Cambridge University Press, IELTS Academic 14
More publications by Mottier, E.M.
Vlad, E. (2015). The application of Six Sigma in the hospitality industry. In J. Feng, S. Stocklin & W. Wang (Eds.) Educational strategies for next generation leaders in hotel management (pp. 73-113)
Vlad, M. (2015). Educational Strategies for Next Generation Leaders in Hotel Management, IGI Global, Hershey, PA, USA(Ch. 8 Exceeding Guest Expectations: An Overview of the Best Practices in the Hospitality Industry)
Conferences
Chib, S. & Cheong, F. (2010). An Investigation of ICT Adoption Intent in Swiss Small and Medium Sized Tourist Enterprises. Chib, S. & Cheong, F. (2010). In: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Information Technology and Travel & Tourism (ENTER 2010), Lugano, Switzerland.
More conferences by Chib, S.
Agogue, M., Fiset, J.E., Geller, K.D., Germanier R., Lewis Grant, K., Mailhot, C., Mukherji, S., Phillips, J.C., Puhr, R., Robinson, M.A. & Srinivasan, V. (2022). Synchronous and Asynchronous Teaching: Realigning Teaching Approaches to a VUCA World [Symposium abstract]. Academy of Management (AOM) 82nd Annual Meeting, Seattle, CA, United States.
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More conferences by Germanier R.
Puhr, R. (2022). Shared paths to faculty flourishing: The opportunities hidden among the challenges of HyFlex [Symposium paper]. What’s it even called: Hybrid/hyflex teaching and meetings: reflections, experiences and possible futures. University College London, 6 June 2022.
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More conferences by Puhr, R.
Darioly, A & Riggio, R. E. (2022, September). The relationship between social and emotional skills and transformational leadership of future hospitality leaders. Paper presented at the symposium Psychology’s contribution to Hospitality (chair) of the 17th Congress of the Swiss Psychological Society (SPS), Zurich, Switzerland.
More conferences by Darioly, A.
Mottier, E., Marshall, T. (2018) An Investigation into the Importance of Analytical Competencies: a Hospitality Industry Perspective. In: Proceedings of The 11th EuroMed Conference, ISBN: 978-9963-711-67-3
More conferences by Mottier, E.
Qumsieh-Mussalam, G. (2011) Conference Moderator `Social Media in Hospitality & Tourism` 20-22 October, Verona, Italy
Other
Puhr, R. , Management Education Division (MED) Global Forum Best Symposium Award. Academy of Management (AOM) 82nd Annual Meeting, Seattle, United States.
More by Puhr, R.
Haasan, B. Integrating the best of both, health and hospitality, to improve the impact of lifestyle interventions in clinical settings (working title for doctoral thesis)
Chib, S. Reviewer of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology
Faculty news
Find below a selection of our latest news from Faculty
Ruth Puhr, Head of Teaching & Learning Development, has been elected President of the Swiss Faculty Development Network (SFDN). It is the first time that a private institution has held this position since the founding of the organization in 2000. The Swiss Faculty Development Network is a professional association of faculty developers interested in building up the teaching and learning capacity in higher education institutions in Switzerland.
Dr. Brendan Cronin, D.B.A, Visiting Lecturer, Les Roches Crans-Montana, together with research colleagues at Framingham State University, MA, USA, Indian River State College, FL, USA, and Penn State Berks University PA, USA had their research paper on consumer behaviour during COVID-19 published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
August 2022, Visiting Lecturer Dr. Brendan Cronin, DBA, was awarded a certificate of completion from the Online Learning Institute at Framingham State University, MA, USA.
September 2022, Dr Annick Darioly presented a poster linked to Les Roches Students at the 17th Conference of the Swiss Psychological Society on : The Relationship between Social and Emotional Skills and Transformational Leadership of Future Hospitality Leaders.
October 2022, Dr Rachel Germanier presented at the 5th Culinary and Wine Tourism Conference a joint piece of work about Perceiving and adapting to climate change: Perspectives of Tuscan wine-producing agritourism owners, based on the work of Alumnus Niccolo Moricciani.
August 2022, Ruth Puhr, PFHEA & Dr Rachel Germanier presented a paper entitled Exploring the Lived Experiences of Faculty Negotiating the Challenges of Remote and HyFlex Delivery at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM). It was presented in a symposium entitled Synchronous and Asynchronous Teaching: Realigning Teaching Approaches to a VUCA World, which was awarded the Management Education Division (MED) Global Forum Best Symposium Award.
HAMA Europe Student Prize 2021-2022 : Participation with 3 teams of BBA 7 & MBA 2 classes, Led by Dr Albian Albrahimi, PhD, Lecturer
Fellowship Award: Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academic (PFHEA) awarded to Ruth Puhr, Head of Teaching and Learning Development
Senior Fellowship Award of the Advance HE (HEA), awarded to Dr Rachel Germanier, Assistant Professor