Common method bias in hospitality research: A critical review of literature and an empirical study

Abstract

Common method variance has received much attention in the behavioral sciences. Nonetheless, scant scholarly effort has been invested in handling common method variance in hospitality research. This study investigates the current status of controlling for common method variance in hospitality research and assists researchers in taking appropriate actions. Study 1 shows hospitality researchers’ endeavors to control for common method bias through a critical review of literature published in four leading hospitality journals in the ten years from 2006 to 2015: International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. In Study 2, empirical investigations examine the effectiveness of a procedural remedy (temporal separation) and a statistical control (an unmeasured method factor approach) with two independent samples. The results of Study 1 reveal that most survey-related publications in the four journals fail to address or acknowledge common method variance. Moreover, only a limited number of techniques is found to be used to control for method variance. The findings of Study 2 suggest that temporal separation with a time lag of one day leads to a weak control for method variance; however, the use of an unmeasured method factor significantly helps control for method variance in the model.