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Dr. Kurt A. Stahura
Dr. Kurt A. Stahura

Social media study by NU dean earns Paper of the Year Award from major international journal

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Thu, Jul 28th 2016 12:25 pm

A scholarly article co-published by the dean of Niagara University's College of Hospitality and Tourism Management has been chosen as the 2015 Paper of the Year by one of the world's foremost academic journals.

The Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research presented Dr. Kurt A. Stahura (and co-authors Drs. Billy Bai and Xi Y. Leung) with the award July 21 during the summer conference of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.

The piece, "The Marketing Effectiveness of Social Media in the Hotel Industry: A Comparison of Facebook and Twitter," examined the marketing effectiveness of Facebook and Twitter on the hotel industry. Its results revealed hotel customers' social media experiences influence their attitudes toward social media sites, which influences their attitudes toward hotel brands. Further, hotel customers' attitudes toward hotel brands affect their hotel booking intentions and, in turn, intentions to spread electronic word of mouth.

Somewhat fittingly, the study had the most downloads and citations of all of the papers published by the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research in 2015, according to Dr. Chris Roberts, editor-in-chief.

"Your work is clearly making an impact upon our field," Roberts said.

Faculty members from NU's College of Hospitality and Tourism Management were also excited about Stahura's recognition.

"The Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research is widely regarded as the most academically significant journal in our field," noted Dr. Youngsoo Choi, associate professor.

"This is an impressive award and a big deal," added Dr. William Frye, associate professor. "Just getting published in the journal is a significant challenge, let alone winning the award for best paper of the year. This is great for our program, our college and our university."

The Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research is an international scholarly research journal that publishes high-quality, refereed articles that advance the knowledge base of the hospitality and tourism field. Established in 1976 as the Hospitality Research Journal, it focuses on original research, both conceptual and empirical, that clearly contributes to the theoretical development of the field. The journal is published by Sage Publications on behalf of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.

Niagara University's College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, which offered the world's first bachelor's degree in tourism, offers undergraduate degrees in hotel and restaurant management, sport and recreation management, and tourism and event management. In addition, an M.S. in sport management is also offered to better prepare graduates for careers in the increasingly competitive sport and recreation industry.

To learn more, call 716-286-8270 or visit www.niagara.edu/hospitality.

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