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Hyunghwa (Rick) Oh

Dr. Hyunghwa (Rick) Oh

Associate Professor
DepartmentHospitality and Tourism Management
EducationB.A., M.S., Ph.D.
OfficeTRS 3-052
Phone416 979-5000, ext. 556692

Hyunghwa (Rick) Oh is an Associate Professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Hospitality Management from Kansas State University, M.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management from University of Houston, and B.A. in Tourism Management from Tongmyong University. He has over 10 years experience in the hospitality industry, which includes being a hotel sales manager in Busan, South Korea and a management analyst for a sushi franchise company in Houston, Texas. His current research focuses on organizational behavior in the hospitality industry.

linkedin.com/in/rickoh1 (external link, opens in new window) 

Google Scholar Profile  (external link, opens in new window) 

Research interests

  • Service improvisation, team effectiveness, leadership, empowerment, motivation, employee turnover, and job performance

Peer reviewed publications
Oh, H., Jo, W., Kim, J. S., & Park, J. (2024). Unraveling the customer orientation paradox (external link, opens in new window) . International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Oh, H., Linda, I., & Jo, W. (2024). Customer-oriented behavior in full-service restaurants: A moderated-mediation model of emotional intelligence, work engagement, and customer-oriented attitude (external link, opens in new window) . Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism.
Oh, H., & Chan, E. Y. (2024). Compensating service failures: The moderating role of customers’ political ideology (external link, opens in new window) . Australasian Marketing Journal. 
Griffin, T., Kellershohn, J., Oh, H., & Francis N. (2024). Visiting friends and relatives travel: unveiling hidden drivers behind festival attendance and experience (external link, opens in new window) . Event Management.
Kim, J. S., Jo, W., Oh, H., & Feng, Y. (2024). The effect of job stress on the quality of life of commercial pilots: Testing the mediating effects of mindfulness and job satisfaction (external link, opens in new window) . International Journal of Tourism Research, 26(1), e2638.
Oh, H., Jeon, H., Choi, J., Kellershohn, J. (2023). Will event volunteers' role ambiguity affect performance? Role of social exchange qualities and gender (external link) . Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism. doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2023.2178593
Oh, H., & Jang, J. (2023). Service improvisation as a double-edged sword (external link) . International Journal of Hospitality Management, 108, 103367. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103367
Oh, H., & Jang, J. (2020). The role of team-member exchange: Restaurant servers’ emotional intelligence, job performance, and tip size (external link) . Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 19(1), 43-61. doi.org/10.1080/15332845.2020.1672248
Oh, H. (2018). The impact of team-member exchange on work outcomes: The mediating role of customer-oriented attitude in the full-service restaurant context. Journal of Tourism and Industry Research, 38(1), 21-32.
Book contributions

Jang, J., Kim, M., & Oh, H. (2020). Hotel market analysis: The case of Beijing in China. In M. A. Gardini, M. C. Ottenbacher, & M. Schuckert (Eds.), The routledge companion to international hospitality management (pp. 392-400). Taylor & Francis.
Refereed conference proceedings and presentations
Linda, I. & Oh, H. (2024, January 4-6). The effect of workplace ostracism on restaurant frontline employees’ service recovery performance: The parallel mediation role of perceived outsider status and emotional irritation. The 29th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism, Miami, Florida, January. 4-6. Nominated as one of the ten best papers.
Linda, I. & Oh, H. (2023, June 3-6). Impact of workplace ostracism on frontline employees’ service recovery [Work-in-progress paper presentation]. The Administrative Sciences Association of Canada (ASAC) 2023, Toronto, Canada.
Oh, H. & Linda, I. (2022, July 13-15). Does emotional intelligence boost frontline employees’ work outcomes? Role of customer-oriented attitude in a full-service restaurant setting [Paper presentation]. The 92nd Tourism Sciences Society of Korea (TOSOK) International Tourism Conference 2022, Busan, South Korea.
Linda, I. & Oh, H. (2022, July 6-9). Effect of ostracism on restaurant employees’ work outcomes: Role of job tension and emotional intelligence [Paper presentation]. 26th Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA) Annual Conference, Jeju Island, South Korea.
Li, J., Lu, Z., & Oh, H. (2021). How Chinese lodging industry handled crisis in post-Covid-19 crisis: An explorative study on crisis management practices and the mediating effects of the organizational factors. Proceeding at Asia Pacific CHRIE, Singapore, June. 2-4.
Oh, H., Jeon, H., Choi, J., & Griffin, T. (2021). Effect of role ambiguity on event volunteers' job satisfaction and performance: Role of social exchange qualities. Proceeding at West Federation CHRIE, February. 18-20.
Oh, H., & Jang, J. (2018). Service improvisation as a double-edged sword. BEST PAPER AWARD by Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing (JTTM). Proceeding at the 23rd Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism, Fort Worth, TX, January. 3-5.
Jang, J., Kang, J., Oh, H., & Goh, G. (2017). Does LEED certification help the financial performance of hotels in the United States? It depends on hotel types. Proceeding at the Academy of Global Hospitality and Tourism Conference, Cheongju, South Korea, May 26-28.
Oh, H., & Jang, J. (2017). From full-service restaurant servers’ emotional intelligence to tip sizes: Mediating role of team-member exchange. Proceeding at the 2nd Central Federation CHRIE Regional Conference, Stillwater, OK, March. 3-4.
Oh, H., & Jang, J. (2017). Team-member exchange and its impacts on customer-oriented attitude and work outcomes. Proceeding at the 22nd Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism, Houston, TX, January. 5-7.
Jones, T., Oh. H., & Fallin, J. (2017). Enhancing GTAs’ teaching effectiveness through teaching training programs: A case study of GTAs at Kansas State University. Proceeding at the 1st International Symposium on Innovative Teaching and Learning Conference, Manhattan, KS, September 26-27.
Jones, T., & Oh. H. (2017). Teaching training for GTAs: A follow-up on the effectiveness of GTA training programs. Accepted at the 4th Annual Big 12 Teaching & Learning Conference, Lubbock, TX, June 8-9.
Fallin, J., Jones, T., Oh. H., & Cardenas., M. (2017). Campus focus on the 1st Gen Experience. Accepted at the 4th Annual Big 12 Teaching & Learning Conference, Lubbock, TX, June 8-9.
Oh, H., & Kwon, J. (2016). Explore food safety of sushi restaurants in California: Regular sushi restaurants vs. full-service Sushi Kiosks in Grocery Stores. Proceeding at the 21st Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism, Philadelphia, PA, January. 7-9.

Undergraduate

Undergraduate courses
  • HTA 402 - Management Accounting for Hospitality and Tourism Management
  • HTA 602 - Financial Management for Hospitality and Tourism
  • HTA 708 - Revenue Management for Hospitality and Tourism
  • HTF 506 - Food and Beverage Operations
External
  • HM 205 - Food Safety and Protection in Hospitality Operations
  • HMD 342 - Food Production Management

Honours & awards
2022 Best Reviewer Award. West Federation Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE).

2018

Overall Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Hospitality Management, Kansas State University

2018

Outstanding Graduate Student for Leadership Award, Hospitality Management, Kansas State University

2018

Best Paper Award at the 23rd Annual Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism

2017

The Finalist Team at Smith Travel Research (STR) Graduate Student Market Study Competitions