Melissa Baker
Department Chair | Professor | Jaime ’76 and Cindy Pereira Faculty Fellow
Melissa Baker, Ph.D. is the chair of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Isenberg School of Management and the Jaime ’76 and Cindy Pereira Faculty Fellow. She is an award-winning professor, having received the 2023 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education Teaching Award (representing 6 worldwide federations and over 350 academic institutions), the 2021 UMass Distinguished Teaching Award (highest teaching award at UMass), the 2020 Poets & Quants Favorite Business Professor, served in the inaugural cohort of the Isenberg Teaching Fellows 2020- 2022. Her research focuses customer experience management, service failure and recovery, appearance and impression formation, and employee wellbeing. She is listed in the Elsevier/ Stanford list of the world's top 2% most cited scholars.
Education
Professional Experience
Academic Appointments
Teaching Awards
ICHRIE Teaching Excellence Award, 2023
UMass Distinguished Teaching Award, 2021
- First professor in HTM to ever win award
- First woman in business school to win award
Poets and Quants Favorite Business Professor, 2020
Isenberg Teaching Fellow, 2021 - 2023
Flexible Learning Fellowship, 2021 - 2023
Lilly Teaching Fellow, 2018 - 2019
Research Awards
Top 2% Most Cited Scientists, Elsevier, 2025
Top 2% Most Cited Scientists, Elsevier, 2024
Best Poster Winner, ICHRIE Conference, 2023
- Kim, M. S., Baker, M. A. How to correct customer misbehavior: The impact of service scripts and other customers’ positive feedback on role breadth and self-efficacy.
Best Paper Winner, TOSOK International Tourism Conference, 2022
- Kim, M. S., Baker, M. A. A holistic overview of tourism destination employees: An integration perspective.
Best Paper Finalist, Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality & Tourism, 2022
- Kim, M. S., Baker, M. A., Ma, E. The positive impact of mobile applications on employee well-being: A job demand-resource perspective.
Best Paper Winner, EUROCHRIE Conference, 2021
- Baker, M. A., Kim, K. The detrimental mindset of the customer is always right: Impacts of customer incivility and firm support on employee mental health and vulnerability.
Best Paper Award Finalist, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 2020
- Kim, K., Baker, M. A. (2020). The customer isn’t always right: The implications of illegitimate complaints. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 61(2), 113- 127.
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 2020
Best Paper Finalist, TTRA Conference, 2019
- Baker, M, A., Kim, K. K. Becoming cynical and depersonalized: The impact of customer incivility, frequency, and coworker support on employee job performance.
Research Interests
Teaching Interests
- Customer Experience Management
- Food Service Management
- Business in Italy
- Cultural Tourism
- Leadership and Organizational Behavior
- Human Resources Management
- Hospitality Management
- Service Marketing
Media, Industry, and Public Impact
Pizza Today (November 24, 2025). “How to deal with challenging or disruptive patrons” https://pizzatoday.com/news/how-to-deal-with-challenging-or-disruptive-patrons/615530/
Boston Globe (September 12, 2025), “As travelers seek escape, kitsch makes a comeback”, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/11/lifestyle/retro-travel-trends/
Chronicle of Higher Education (September 2024), “Harnessing the Expertise of Great Business Teachers”, https://sponsored.chronicle.com/harnessing-the-expertise-of-great-business-teachers/
Safety & Health Magazine (February 27, 2024), “The Customer is Always Right May be Wrong for Workers’ Mental Health”, https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/25118-the-customer-is-always-right-may-be-wrong-for-workers-mental-health
UMass (February 20, 2024), “Faculty Research: HTM Professor Studies the Business Impacts of Supporting Employees”, https://www.isenberg.umass.edu/news/faculty-research-htm-professor-studies-business-impacts-supporting-employees
MassLive (February 18, 2024), “UMass study: ‘Customer Is Always Right’ Taking Toll on Worker Mental Health”, https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2024/02/umass-study-customer-is-always-right-taking-toll-on-worker-mental-health.html
Modern Restaurant Management (February 21, 2024), “Is the Customer Always Right?”, https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/is-the-customer-always-right/
African Marketing Confederation (February, 2024), “Stronger Customer Support for Companies That Care for Their Workers” https://africanmarketingconfederation.org/stronger-customer-support-for-companies-that-care-for-their-workers/
The Mirage (February 13, 2024), “Firms Cutting CEO Pay, Not Jobs, Enjoy Higher Customer Loyalty: Study:, https://www.miragenews.com/firms-cutting-ceo-pay-not-jobs-enjoy-higher-1172346/
Houston Daily (February 12, 2024), “Hilton College Study Finds Higher Customer Loyalty to Companies that Cut CEO Pay- Not Jobs During COVID Pandemic”, https://houstondaily.com/stories/654756110-hilton-college-study-finds-higher-customer-loyalty-to-companies-that-cut-ceo-pay-not-jobs-during-covid-pandemic
Dynne, C. (February 8, 2024), “Why Vulnerable Employees Struggle with ‘The Customer is Always Right’ Policy”, Counsel & Heal, https://www.counselheal.com/articles/41313/20240208/why-vulnerable-employees-struggle-customer-always-right-policy.htm
Gale Health and Medicine (February 7, 2024), “The Customer is Always Right Policy Challenged by Customer Hostility, Worker Mental Health”, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA781772784&sid=sitemap&v=2.1&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ecd6e2b3f&aty=open-web-entry
Kupec, A. (February 7, 2024), “The Customer is Always Right Policy Challenged by Customer Hospitality, Worker Mental Health”, https://www.umass.edu/news/article/customer-always-right-policy-challenged-customer-hostility-worker-mental-health
Luhn, B. (February 12, 2024), “Hilton College Study Finds Higher Customer Loyalty to Companies That Cut CEO Pay- Not Jobs- During COVID Pandemic” https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2024/february/02122024-covid-customer-loyalty.php
Becker’s Hospital Review (February 13, 2024), “Cut CEO pay, not jobs, to boost customer loyalty”, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/cut-ceo-pay-not-jobs-to-boost-customer-loyalty-study.html
Press Release Point (February 2, 2024), “UMass Amherst Researcher Finds Higher Customer Support for Companies that Cut CEO Pay Not Jobs, During COVID” https://www.pressreleasepoint.com/umass-amherst-researcher-finds-higher-customer-support-companies-cut-ceo-pay-not-jobs-during-covid
PhysOrg (February 2, 2024), “Research Finds Higher Customer Support for Companies that Cut CEO Pay, Not Jobs, During COVID”, https://phys.org/news/2024-02-higher-customer-companies-ceo-pay.html
Strategic Leadership Highlights
Strategic Advancement and Program Elevation
- Increased program ranking to #5 in US and #10 Globally (up from #10 in US and #20 Globally)
Enrollment and Student Engagement
- Increased student enrollment 58% in 2 years
- Increased double major enrollment to highest in department history by 177%
- Possess one of the highest yield % of accepted students matriculating to any department in university of 38% (campus average 18%)
Innovation in Teaching and Learning
- Created first new programming in HTM department in 8 years
- Assisted in creation of dynamic, new courses (Wellness & Wellbeing in Business, Hospitality Real Estate, Generative AI, and CSR in Hospitality)
- Led Isenberg Teaching Fellows to improve teaching innovation across business school
- Created Isenberg Teaching Fellow website
- Led 30+ seminars on teaching excellence
- Mentored faculty and Ph.D. students
- Created video, written, and online content to share best pedagogical practices
- Assisted in creation of technology sandbox and digital recording student to advance technology innovation in teaching
Alumni Relations and Engagement
- Led fundraising campaign generating $2.3 million dollars for HTM Department
Created New High School Partnerships
- Created new programming and partnerships to increase pipeline of talent for HTM industry
- HTM Pre College Leadership Academy (2-week residential program)
- Ranked highest in program satisfaction and experience
- HTM Early College Program
- Partnership with rural schools to make college more accessible
- Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership
- Partnership to offer college credit to minority and underrepresented students to make college more accessible and attainable
- HTM Pre College Leadership Academy (2-week residential program)
Professional Links
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=IYWKfi0AAAAJ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-baker-5659ba26/
ORCID: 0000-0002-2805-871X
Selected Publications
Kang, A., Baker, M. A., Legendre, T. (2026). An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: The effects of customer incivility and employee support messages. International Journal of Hospitality Management.
Cain, L., Wu, L., Legendre, T., Baker, M., King, C. (2025). Beyond human resources management: Why employment is the perennial hospitality issue. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Kim, M., Baker, M. A. (2024). Sustainable tourism employment: A comprehensive overview of tourist employees’ experience from a tourist-employee interaction perspective. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Baker, M. A., Kim, K. (2024). The impacts of organizational support and customer incivility on employee vulnerability and job performance. The moderating role of employee mental health. International Journal of Hospitality Management.
Kim, M., Baker, M. A., Ma, E. (2023). From customer’s fingertips to employee’s well-being: The impact of mobile application ordering from a job demand-resource perspective. Tourism Management.
Wei, W., Baker, M. A., Onder, I. (2022). All without leaving home: Building a conceptual model of virtual tourism experiences. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Baker, M. A., Kim, K. (2021). Becoming cynical and depersonalized: The impact of customer incivility, frequency, and coworker support on employee job performance. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Kim, K., Baker, M. A. (2021). Luxury branding in the hospitality industry: The impact of employee’s luxury appearance and elitism attitude. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.
Kim, K., Baker, M. A. (2020). Paying it forward: The influence of other customer recovery on future co-creation. Journal of Business Research.
Baker, M. A., Kim, K. (2020). Dealing with customer incivility: The effects of managerial support on employee psychological well-being and quality-of-life. International Journal of Hospitality Management.
Baker, M. A., Shin, J. T., Kim, Y. W. (2016). An exploration and investigation of edible insect consumption: The impacts of image and description on risk perceptions and purchase intent. Psychology & Marketing.