Prof. Dr. Thorsten Merkle

Personal profile

Position at the ZHAW

www.zhaw.ch/de/lsfm/institute-zentren/ifm/

Membership of networks

• Higher Education Academy (HEA): Fellow
• International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE): Member
• Institute of Hospitality: Member
• Washington State University: Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living: Faculty Fellow

Projects

• Nudging for Sustainability / Deputy project leader / Project ongoing
• Spital Muri - Neukonzeption Hotellerie / Project leader / Project ongoing
• Hotellerie Benchmark im Gesundheitswesen / Project leader / Project ongoing
• Flexibilität der Verpflegung in Heimen / Team member / Project completed
• Erhöhung des Wohlergehens von Bewohnenden in Alters- und Pflegeheimen durch Flexibilisierung der Verpflegungsleistungen mithilfe von Technologie / Team member / Project completed
• Tourismus und junge Menschen: UNWTO Students' League Switzerland / Project leader / Project completed
• Analyse des Optimierungspotentials im Facility Management beim Fusionsprozess der beiden reformierten Kirchgemeinden Zollikon & Zumikon / Project leader / Project completed
• DIGINUT – Comprehensive Digitalisation of Patient Nutrition Uptake in Health Care / Project co-leader / Project completed
• DC4HC – Digital Competence for Healthcare / Project leader / Project completed

Publications

• Merkle, Thorsten; Knaus, Dominik Lukas; Siegrist, Chantal,

  2023.

  An exploration of the service innovation gap in Swiss tourism

  .

  In:

  Ratten, Vanessa, ed.,

  Entrepreneurship Business Debates.

  Singapore:

  Springer.

  pp. 87-96.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1071-7_6

• Hörburger, Norbert; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2023.

  The Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in alpine areas of Switzerland

  .

  In:

  Ratten, Vanessa, ed.,

  Heritage Entrepreneurship: Cultural and Creative Pursuits in Business Management.

  Singapore:

  Springer.

  pp. 119-135.

  Palgrave Studies in Global Entrepreneurship.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5149-7_6

• Golding, Philippa; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2022.

  Matching business travel with wine tourism : the case of the canton of Grisons, Switzerland

  .

  In:

  Dixit, Saurabh Kumar, ed.,

  Routledge Handbook of Wine Tourism.

  Routledge.

  pp. 395-408.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003143628-35

• Merkle, Thorsten; Tajeddini, Kayhan; Vlachos, Ilias; Keane, Jim,

  2020.

  Entrepreneurship within airside food and beverage outlet patronage : the creation of ecosystems using outlet context and passenger’s emotions

  .

  In:

  Entrepreneurship as empowerment : knowledge spillovers and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

  Bingley:

  Emerald.

  pp. 127-150.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-550-720201010

• Knaus, Dominik Lukas; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2020.

  Open innovation in sports management : the case of the FIFA museum in Zurich, Switzerland

  .

  In:

  Sport entrepreneurship : an economic, social and sustainability perspective subject.

  Bingley:

  Emerald.

  pp. 43-53.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-836-220201008

• Merkle, Thorsten; Tajeddini, Kayhan; Mostberger, Sven; Rohner, Sarah; Schmid, Kira; Shaw, Eleanor,

  2019.

  Digital application : evidence from Zurich airport

  .

  In:

  Tajeddini, Kayhan; Ratten, Vanessa; Merkle, Thorsten, eds.,

  Tourism, Hospitality and Digital Transformation.

  London:

  Routledge.

  pp. 147-164.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429054396-9

• Merkle, Thorsten; Wrase, Isabelle,

  2023.

  Digitizing healthcare patient nutrition intake in Swiss hospitals [paper].

  In:

  Annual International CHRIE Summer Conference, Phoenix, USA, 19-21 July 2023.

• Gerber, Nicole; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2023.

  Improving residents’ wellbeing in senior citizen homes with more individualized food services [paper].

  In:

  IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.

  CIB W070 Conference on Facility Management and Maintenance, Trondheim, Norway, 8-11 May 2023.

  IOP Publishing.

  pp. 012016.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1176/1/012016

• Merkle, Thorsten; Bratschi, Thomas,

  2023.

  Developing an innovative curriculum for a BSc hospitality program in Switzerland [paper].

  In:

  Annual International CHRIE Summer Conference, Phoenix, USA, 19-21 July 2023.

• Merkle, Thorsten; Knaus, Dominik; Siegrist, Chantal,

  2022.

  Addressing the service innovation gap : the case of a fast food chain [poster].

  In:

  EuroCHRIE 2022, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 24-27 October 2022.

  Winterthur:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26008

• Merkle, Thorsten; Knaus, Dominik; Siegrist, Chantal,

  2022.

  An exploration of the service innovation gap in Swiss tourism [poster].

  In:

  2022 Annual International CHRIE Summer Conference, Washington, D.C., USA, 3-6 August 2022.

• Gerber, Nicole; Merkle, Thorsten; Jeanfavre, Elsa,

  2023.

  Erhöhung des Wohlergehens von Bewohnenden in Alters- und Pflegeheimen durch Flexibilisierung der Verpflegungsleistungen mithilfe von Technologie : Schlussbericht der Vorstudie als Basis für weitere Forschungstätigkeiten.

  Wädenswil:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26854

• Merkle, Thorsten,

  2022.

  Tourism innovation in Spain and Portugal

  [review of Joao Leitao, Vanessa Ratten, Vitor Braga (eds.). 2021. Tourism Innovation in Spain and Portugal : New Trends and Developments. Springer, xii, 187 pages. ISBN 978-3-030-80732-0].

  Thunderbird International Business Review.

  64(6), pp. 709-710.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.22310

• Klauser, Viola; Pfenninger, Mirjam; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2022.

  DIGINUT : Digitalisierung und Nutzen von Patientenernährungsdaten.

  Wädenswil:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-25314

• Gerber, Nicole; Merkle, Thorsten,

  2023.

  Individualisierte Verpflegung – ein Megatrend.

  In:

  8. Fachkonferenz – Das Pflegeheim der Zukunft, Blezinger Healthcare, Luzern, Schweiz, 22.-23. Juni 2023.

• Merkle, Thorsten; Kaeuper, Peter,

  2021.

  DIGINUT : Digitalisierung im Verpflegungsbereich.

  In:

  FM Perspektiven: FM Innovationen in HC digital, Wädenswil, 26. November 2021.

• Merkle, Thorsten,

  2021.

  Foodflow – und plötzlich ist alles digital.

  In:

  FM Perspektiven: FM Innovationen in HC digital, Wädenswil, 26. November 2021.

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

Akademische Journals (peer reviewed)

Merkle, T., Tajeddini, K., Wittmer, A. (2021). Can the Netflix business model actually work in commercial aviation in central Europe? It is complicated!. Teaching case study. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases, 9(2).

Grechi, D., Ossola, P., & Merkle, T. (2017). eWOM and docility: the restaurant decision-making process. The International Journal of Business & Management, 5(9), 247-257.

Merkle, T. & Lewis, R. (2016). RB Leipzig: A Novel Approach to Sport Stadium Hospitality. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases, 5(1)

Merkle, T. & Lewis, R. (2016). LSG Sky Chefs Sao Paulo: Managing Food Safety in Airline Catering in an Emerging Market. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Cases, 5(2)

Edited books

Tajeddini, K., Ratten, V., Merkle, T. (Ed.) (2019). Tourism, Hospitality and Digital Transformation: Strategic Management Aspects. London, Routledge.


Book Chapters

Merkle, T. & Golding, P. (2020). Sports Stadium Hospitality and Catering: A Global Perspective. Routledge Companion to International Hospitality Management. M.A. Gardini, M. Ottenbacher and M. Schuckert, M. London, Routledge.

Merkle, T., Tajeddini, K., Vlachos, I., Keane, J. (2020). Entrepreneurship within airside food and beverage outlet patronage: The creation of ecosystems using outlet context and passenger’s emotions. Entrepreneurship As Empowerment: Knowledge Spillovers And Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. V. Ratten. Bingley, Emerald

Knaus, D. & Merkle, T. (2020). Open Innovation in Sports Management – The Case of the FIFA Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. Sport Entrepreneurship: An Economic, Social and Sustainability Perspective. V. Ratten. Bingley, Emerald.

Ratten, V., Tajeddini, K., Merkle, T. (2019). Tourism, Hospitality and Digital Transformation: The Relevance for Society. Tourism, Hospitality and Digital Transformation: Strategic Management Aspects. K. Tajeddini, V. Ratten and T. Merkle. London, Routledge.

Merkle, T., et al. (2019). Digital Application: Evidence from Zurich Airport. Tourism, Hospitality and Digital Transformation: Strategic Management Aspects. K. Tajeddini, V. Ratten and T. Merkle. London, Routledge.

Teaching Case studies

Anderegg, R., Merkle, T. (2021). ‚Herbert-Bike’ – Developing an innovative platform for Mountain Bike Tourism in Switzerland. Teaching case study. The case centre, 520-0049-1

Merkle, T. & Lewis, R. (2014). Modern Asia: Bringing Asian cuisine to Stuttgart Airport. Teaching case study. The case centre, 614-012-1

Lewis, R., Merkle, T. (2014), “Work-life balance: perceptions from one luxury hotel in Monaco”, case study, ISBN: 978-2-9700952-2-4

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