Hospitality Culture and Climate: A Proposed Model for Retaining Employees and Creating Competitive Advantage

In order to gain competitive advantage, companies must determine the relationship between human resource practices and firm performance. This conceptual article proposes a model that highlights the importance of selecting people who “fit” within the organizational culture and climate of the firm. The authors propose combining established scales of hospitality culture and climate in order to assess a candidate's fit to the organization. Ideally, these people would be more hospitality service oriented and could foster the “spirit of hospitality” through the organization and thus, on to the customer. Hiring the right people will also lead to increased organizational commitment, consequently, reducing turnover levels. This in turn will lead to higher service levels, increased customer satisfaction, and loyalty.     

How does social capital influence the hospitality firm's financial performance? The moderating role of entrepreneurial activities

Although previous studies have examined the relationship between social capital and firm performance under boundary conditions such as firm age, industry characteristics, and institutional conditions, the literature is silent on the types of firm activities linking social capital to financial performance. This study investigates the moderating role of firm-level entrepreneurial activities (service innovation, corporate venturing and strategic renewal) on the relationship between social capital and financial performance in a sample of Chinese hotels. The findings indicate that the interaction of external and internal social capital has a positive effect on financial performance. In addition, innovation and corporate venturing enhance the relationship between financial performance and social capital. To achieve a competitive advantage, hospitality firms should not only accumulate social capital but should also deliberately implement strategies that enhance entrepreneurial activities to fully unleash the potential of social capital.     

The impacts of complementary information technology resources on the service-profit chain and competitive performance of South African hospitality firms

The potential of information technology (IT) resources to empower employees, to shape customer service and contribute to the competitive performance of hospitality firms has received much attention. Yet empirical evidence has been lacking. This study draws on the resource-based view of the firm and the service-profit chain framework to develop and test a model of the effects of a complementary system of tangible and intangible IT resources on employee and customer service outcomes and on competitive performance. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 112 hospitality establishments operating in South Africa. Results revealed that the complementary system of IT resources has significant direct effects on competitive performance whilst its effect on customer service outcomes is fully mediated by employee outcomes. Results support the contention that hospitality service is information intensive. In addition to employees, tangible and intangible IT resources demand the attention of hospitality managers and their role in competitive strategy must be considered.     

Competitive advantages of franchising firms and the moderating role of organizational characteristics: Evidence from the restaurant industry

This study investigates the effects of a firm’s involvement in franchising on efficiency and differentiation as defined in Porter’s generic competitive strategy framework. The study further examines the moderating effects of organizational characteristics (prior experience in franchising and business type) on the relationship between franchising and efficiency and between franchising and differentiation. Results indicate that as a firm increases its involvement in franchising, differentiation increases, but efficiency does not. Furthermore, prior experience enhances the effects of franchising on efficiency and differentiation, while business type only enhances effects on differentiation. The findings suggest that as an interconnected governance structure, franchising offers benefits to franchisors by helping them develop competitive advantages and outperform their competitors in the market. By discovering the detailed channels through which hospitality firms could achieve business success, this study contributes to existing literature on franchising and hospitality management and provides guidance for industry practitioners.     

Dual-focused transformational leadership and service innovation in hospitality organisations: A multilevel investigation

Service innovation from hospitality employees can contribute to improving service quality and further facilitating hospitality organisations to gain competitive advantage and maintain prosperity. Drawing upon social exchange theory and social cognitive theory, we developed a multilevel model of the relationships between dual-focused transformational leadership (TFL) and service innovation at the team and individual levels, as well as mediating and moderating mechanisms behind the relationships. Data were collected from team leaders and their employees from hospitality organisations in Henan Province, China. Multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) was employed to validate the model. The results showed that team-focused TFL promoted team service innovation via developmental culture while individual-focused TFL promoted employee service innovative behaviour via creative self-efficacy. Group openness diversity concurrently moderated the relationship between developmental culture and team service innovation, and the relationship between individual-focused TFL and creative self-efficacy. Enlightened by the research findings, theoretical and practical implications are drawn.     

Knowledge agents as drivers of environmental sustainability and business performance in the hospitality sector

This study examines the role of knowledge agents as key enablers in the process of creating and updating the environmental knowledge base of a firm and, in doing so, having a positive effect on business performance. From the perspective of a hotel as the most important cog in the machinery of the hospitality sector, knowledge agents are those individuals who can provide information and knowledge that enables the firm to deal with environmental issues effectively. The paper describes an empirical, longitudinal study of 87 organisations in the Spanish hospitality industry. The results highlight the importance of the relationship between knowledge agents and environmental knowledge for business performance. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the role of knowledge agents is also relevant for the future management of the environmental knowledge base of a firm within the hospitality sector.     

Antecedents,mediation effects and outcomes of hotel eco-innovation practice

Eco-innovation is essential if we are to improve the environmental impacts of tourism firms. Building on the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm, we hypothesize that eco-innovation is the mediating factor between four firm-level antecedents (opportunity-recognizing and opportunity-capitalizing capabilities, top managers’ attitudes and stakeholder pressures) and three outcomes (cost and differentiation, with respect to a firm’s competitive advantage, and its resulting organizational performance). Partial least squares structural equation modelling is applied to the data from a survey with hotel managers in China, and confirms all of the hypotheses, except two, namely: i) that cost competitive advantage is positively related to hotel performance, and ii) that eco-innovation fully mediates the relationships between opportunity-recognizing capability and both dimensions of competitive advantage. Our contribution to the NRBV theory with a novel, integrated model to predict the mediating role that eco-innovation plays between firm-level resources and capabilities, and competitive advantages.     

The relationship between board diversity and firm performance in the lodging industry: The moderating role of internationalization

Following the emphasis on board diversity and its roles on firm performance, an examination on the relationship between board diversity and firm performance in the lodging industry is conducted. Further, this study employs internationalization, a moderator, to more comprehensively investigate the board diversity-firm performance relationship. This study found that gender diversity shows a positive and significant effect on firm performance while age diversity has an insignificant effect on firm performance. Regarding the moderating effect of internationalization, the degree of internationalization significantly magnifies the effect of gender diversity on firm performance but insignificantly moderates the effect of age diversity on firm performance. This study attempts to contribute to the hospitality and tourism literature by examining the topic that has been rarely dealt with and provide practical guidelines for stakeholders of a lodging firm especially when selecting board members.     

The moderating role of brand diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and firm performance in the US lodging industry

In spite of the prevalence and strategic importance of diversification for US lodging firms, research on the effects of diversification has been insufficient in the hospitality literature. Especially, an examination of the moderating effect of brand diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and performance of US lodging firms has been lacking in the literature in various disciplines, including hospitality field thus far. This study aims to first investigate the individual effect from each of brand and geographic diversification strategy on firm performance in the US lodging industry. Further, to investigate effects of diversification comprehensively, this study examines the moderating effect of brand diversification on the relationship between geographic diversification and performance of US lodging firms. The study's results indicate a positive and significant effect of geographic diversification on firm performance, an insignificant effect of brand diversification, and a positive and significant moderating effect of brand diversification in the US lodging industry.     

Does size matter? Corporate social responsibility and firm performance in the restaurant industry

Despite an increasing number of hospitality studies on the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate financial performance (CFP), the literature has predominantly focused on the CSR–CFP relation without considering moderating factors. Consequently, the current study introduces firm size as a potential moderator on the CSR–CFP relationship. Performing a two-way fixed-effects model by firm and year with Newey-West standard errors, this study finds that firm size moderates the effect of positive CSR on CFP while it does not moderate the effect of negative CSR on CFP in the U.S. restaurant context.     

Hospitality innovation strategies: An analysis of success factors and challenges

Innovation in hospitality has attracted considerable interest, partly because its processes and activities are so diverse, and partly because its impact on performance is still a puzzle. This study proposes a comprehensive theoretical model that reviews combinations of technological and non-technological innovation and the interrelation between different innovation strategies that contribute to generating competitive advantages. Using data from 2010 and 2012 CIS, it empirically examines different innovation strategies, analyzes their role in organizational performance, and thoroughly researches sectoral variation in innovation strategies between hospitality and other service subsectors. Comparative analysis suggests that hospitality is the least innovative service activity. The findings also show that in hotels sales turnover is positively related only to complex innovation strategies that emphasize both technological and non-technological innovation. The study concludes that the level of innovation varies from sector to sector and that innovation strategies can have different effects on performance depending on the sector.     

Change or perish: Examining the role of human capital and dynamic marketing capabilities in the hospitality sector

Many researchers have endeavored to explain which factors contribute to sustainable competitive advantage. Toward this end, this study contributes to the marketing and hospitality management literature by providing empirical evidence on how human capital, dynamic marketing capabilities, and market dynamism influence competitive advantage in the hotel sector. We collected cross-sectional survey data from marketing and sales managers in 165 hotels, along with in-depth interviews in three hotels, based in four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The findings reveal that human capital directly, and indirectly through dynamic marketing capabilities, plays a critical role on developing competitive advantage. To contextualize this role, our research reveals that market dynamism moderates the mediated relationship between human capital and competitive advantage via market sensing capabilities. We discuss how the findings offer theoretical and managerial implications for the development of competitive advantage in the hotel sector.     

This hotel is family-run! Enabling positive consumer response via perceived hospitableness

Family-run businesses are key players in the hotel industry and provide accommodations in many tourism regions such as the Austrian Alps. To date, research has failed to see the family firm status as a source of competitive advantage for the hospitality industry, despite often being used in practice to attract customers. Through the theoretical lens of signaling theory, this study therefore conducted experiments using fictitious hotel websites with participants from a German online panel (Austria’s largest incoming market) to investigate the effectiveness of family firm brand signals. The results confirm positive effects of communicating the family firm image on consumer response such as word-of-mouth, willingness to pay a price premium, and booking intention. We highlight that this effect is explained by perceived hospitableness. As such, we demonstrate that hotels can capitalize on their unique status by communicating their family firm image.     

A meta-analytic review of antecedents of hospitality and tourism firms’ performance: A cross-cultural comparison

Despite the magnitude of scholarly understanding of firm performance, there has been no robust statistical meta-analytic review of antecedents of firm performance in hospitality and tourism journals. Therefore, this study conducted Hunter-Schmidt random-effects meta-analyses on the relationships between firm performance and its predictors based on Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard framework. This study identified fourteen antecedents of firm performance, and all proposed relationships were significant. This study also examined the moderating role of culture on the relationships at continental- and national-approaches by adopting sample z-tests and meta-regression. This study found the moderating role of culture on seven relationships at the continental-level comparison and identified corresponding cultural dimensions responsible for the degree of the relationships. This study expanded the literature on firm performance and contributed to strategic and financial management literature. Based on findings, the authors presented several important practical implications.     

The asset-light business model and firm performance in complex and dynamic environments: The dynamic capabilities view

Although academic research examining the effects of the asset-light business model continues to grow in the tourism and hospitality literature, the extant studies lack comprehensive theoretical foundations to develop and establish clear quantitative models of analysis. Inconsistent findings from these studies call into question the issue of their exploratory nature. Using the dynamic capabilities view, this study provides a solid conceptual framework that recognizes the asset-light business model as an industry-specific dynamic capability for lodging firms. Furthermore, this study extends recent theoretical accounts on the moderating role of environments in the dynamic capabilities-performance relationship by focusing on the service-oriented and cyclical nature of the tourism and hospitality industry. Incorporating industry-specific performance measures, the current study suggests an alternative approach to the analysis of performance of a lodging firm. The findings also provide important implications to help lodging owners, managers, and investors to strategically cope with complex and dynamic environments.     

The effects of product diversification on firm performance and complementarities between products: A study of US casinos

In spite of the growing importance of product diversification strategy and the existence of varying degrees of product diversity in the US casino industry, research of the effect of product diversification on firm performance has been sparse. By examining the impact of the degree of product diversification on both financial market- and accounting-based firm performance of sampled US casinos and complementarities between products, this study attempts to fill the gap in the hospitality literature. Results of this study show an inverse U-shaped relationship between the degree of product diversification and firm performance and complementarities between gaming business and food and beverage (F&B) business. These findings suggest that US casinos take into account both costs and benefits associated with product diversification, and consider F&B operations more preferentially as a supplementary business when implementing product diversification strategy.     

Deal characteristics and M&A performance: How do hospitality firms fare?

The global hospitality industry has experienced significant consolidation in the past several decades. While evidence in the general business literature suggests that the target firm shareholders gain instead of the acquiring firm shareholders, some studies in the hospitality industry have suggested that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are also beneficial to acquiring firms. Using a comparative study design and a comprehensive sample over 41 years, we empirically examine whether M&As create more value in the hospitality industry than in other industries and whether certain deal characteristics may explain the potential performance differential. Overall, we find that M&As in the hospitality industry outperform M&As in non-hospitality sectors. When examining deal attributes, we find that relative size of target, cash method of payment, and an unlisted target are characteristics positively related to merger performance and help explain some of the performance differential. We contribute theoretically and empirically to the literature by demonstrating that industry and deal effects play an important role in M&A performance.     

EPU and financial performance in the hospitality and tourism industry: Moderating effect of CSR,institutional ownership and cash holding

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of policy-related economic uncertainty (EPU) on the financial performance of hospitality and tourism companies. More precisely, the study aims at revealing how the performance of hospitality and tourism companies is affected at times of increasing EPU, and the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement, institutional ownership and cash holding to moderate this proposed relationship. The study’s sample includes a total of 113 companies from the hotel, restaurant and airline industries for the period 2001-2018. Hypotheses are tested via two-way fixed-effect regression. The study finds that increasing EPU is detrimental to firm performance presented in declining Tobin’s Q. However, the magnitude of this negative effect on firm performance becomes less pronounced as firms engage more in CSR, have larger fraction of institutional ownership and hold larger cash and cash equivalents     

New employee orientation,role-related stressors and conflict at work: Consequences for work attitudes and performance of hospitality employees

Combining role theory with theories on hindrance stressors and intragroup conflict, we develop a model of the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of new employee orientation in hospitality organizations. We test hypotheses about main and mediated effects in this model, using data from a sample of 156 recently hired hospitality interns and applying a longitudinal approach, with data collection shortly after organizational entry and several months later. Results suggest that employee orientation is negatively related to two hindrance stressors: role ambiguity and role conflict. Role ambiguity predicts a range of attitudinal outcomes and the relationship is partially mediated by relationship conflict. In addition, role ambiguity is negatively related to task performance. Role conflict predicts hospitality employees’ job attitudes and this relationship is fully mediated by relationship conflict. We discuss important theoretical and practical implications of these findings for human resource management in hospitality firms.     

Positioning analysis for hospitality firms

The positioning of hospitality firms in the market-place is an essential component of effective marketing in today's highly competitive environment. Essential to optimal positioning is a knowledge of the importance and perceived deliverability of benefits to the consumer for both the firm and its competition. This paper describes a methodology for the determination and analysis of those benefits that can be utilized most effectively by a hospitality firm and that has practical implications for firms of any size.