Strategic groups in the hospitality industry: Intergroup and intragroup performance differences in Alicante, Spain

The hotel sector is currently immersed in a very uncertain, highly competitive environment, due to which it needs information for the correct management of its establishments. This information can be obtained from the classification of hotels in strategic groups. The present empirical research presents strategic groups in the hospitality industry as a useful tool for the planning and implementation of strategies by hotels that helps to determine their competitive strategies and advantages. This research paper additionally shows how the levels of performance between the hotels belonging to each group can be evaluated from strategic groups. In this study, the tool is applied to the hotel sector of the Spanish province of Alicante, a very important geographical area in the context of international tourism. The dimensions resource commitment and tourist activity scope have been used to define the strategic groups.     

Managers' autonomy,strategic control,organizational politics and strategic planning effectiveness: An empirical investigation into missing links in the hotel sector

This article reports on the impact of managerial autonomy and strategic control on organizational politics and show how the latter influence effectiveness of strategic planning. In doing so, it outlines particular directions that a rebalanced strategic management research agenda may take. Whereas organizational politics have received sustained interest in the management literature, its conceptual and empirical examination in the tourism industry has been meagre. This study contributes to fill this gap by analyzing data from 175 four- and five-star hotels located in a less researched region, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The findings indicate that high levels of autonomy combined with low levels of control negate the effectiveness of strategic planning by increasing organizational tensions. Drawing on political and organizational perspectives, an interpretation of the results and policy implications are discussed. The study also delineates interesting research avenues for further research on organizational politics in the tourism industry.     

Environmental Strategies and Their Impact on Hotel Performance

This study examines the relevance of environmental management as a source of competitive advantage for hotels. The relationship between the environmental proactivity of hotels located in the province of Alicante (Spain) and their economic performance levels was studied, and three strategic groups, based on environmental proactivity, were identified: Proactive, Intermediate and Reactive. The findings show that the degree of proactivity achieved by these hotels does not strongly impact on their organisational performance. Nevertheless, performance levels increase as environmental proactivity grows.     

The creation and use of scorecards in tourism planning: A Spanish example

This paper proposes a preliminary model of a balanced scorecard for tourism destinations, with a specific emphasis on sustainable development. We begin with a review of the perspectives and critical performance variables for the traditional balanced scorecard. We then present empirical work based upon quantitative analysis techniques. A survey was completed by 1531 Spanish municipalities that are oriented towards tourism and have demonstrated interest in management issues. Based on the constructs emerging from this analysis, we then show how the balanced scorecard can be modified to support the strategic planning of tourism destinations. We conclude by discussing the advantages for long-term strategic planning and sustainable tourism management.     

Barriers affecting organisational adoption of higher order customer engagement in tourism service interactions

In this study, consumer engagement was examined from a service-dominant logic perspective in tourism service interactions. Extensive field interviews and focus groups in the context of three upscale hotels in Hong Kong identified numerous barriers towards successfully engaging consumers, extending from consumer, technological, and strategic cases to organisational cases. In all, a firm's overall strategy, organisational structure and culture are the most important barriers determining whether consumer engagement as depicted in the literature can be successfully deployed within hotel organisations. Implications call for a more intensive study of engaging consumers from an organisational context with a reassessment of progressive stages that include leadership interventions and the incorporation of consumer feedback at all stages of the firm's value-creating network.     

Strategic alignment leverage between hotels and companies: The buyer–supplier relationship perspective

Hoteliers are seeking ways to increase their revenue by working with travel agencies to costeffectively expand sales. In addition, they are simultaneously turning to hotel bookings to bolster their revenue in the face of decreasing airline commissions. The research objectives of the present study included determining how the strategic decisions of cooperating contract companies and travel agencies of the hotels are influenced by the service vision and standard service communication. Data were obtained via a mailed questionnaire survey from a sample of travel agencies and contract companies in Taiwan. Of the 300 questionnaires sent, 201 responses (67%) were received, yielding a usable response of 192 fully completed questionnaires. The use of the structural equation model to test the theoretical model of collaboration relationship could lead to a greater understanding of the nature and determinants of choice and decisions related to cooperation between firms. From the perspective of buyer–supplier relationships, hotels are seeking ways to develop long-term relationships and to increase their revenue by collaborating with travel agencies and contract companies, and through the firm's service vision and service-standard communication, hotels can develop services to align with their needs. Moreover, service trends affecting hoteliers may include adapting customer demands, increased expectations of value and quality, and an increasingly highly competitive environment. Hotels would therefore need to be able to make these changes in order to continue this alignment relationship, with substitution possibly being an option for these firms when hotels cannot do this. That is, hotels generally face fierce competition, and to be able to compete they must make continuous efforts to maintain product and service quality; they also need to be innovative to be the leading performers.     

Weekly occupancy fluctuations in Yorkshire and Humberside hotels 1982–1984: patterns and prescriptions

In this article it is argued that the formulation of planning policy for tourism in general, and the hotel industry in particular, requires detailed information on the temporal characteristics of visitor flows in relation to the capacity of the industry to accommodate them. In this light, a detailed analysis is performed on weekly fluctuations in visitor flows to hotels in Yorkshire and Humberside, as revealed by daily occupancy returns in 99 hotels over the study period.Clear temporal and spatial patterns are identified and linked with differences in market orientation, between areas, between hotels and between different seasons.Stepwise regression analyses relating occupancy performance to a range of hotel characteristics confirms the importance of market orientation and identifies other correlates of weekly occupancy pattern.Finally, the marketing and planning implications of the results are discussed, and different marketing options for improved occupancy performance are outlined.     

The impact of hotel CSR for strategic philanthropy on booking behavior and hotel performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some hotels have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to help overcome the crisis. Given that most existing research examines the impact of hotel CSR on a single stakeholder, how hotel CSR activities in a crisis are perceived by multiple stakeholders is unknown. Drawing on the concept of strategic philanthropy, this study examines the impact of hotel CSR activities during the pandemic, such as providing accommodations to healthcare workers, on hotel firms' market value and prospective hotel customers’ booking behavior. Adopting mixed-methods approach, this study finds negative impacts of hotel CSR for strategic philanthropy on firm market value and customer booking behavior. The study result indicates that the value of hotel CSR depends on the nature and environmental contexts of CSR. Specific theoretical and practical implications are provided.     

Facilitating Benchmarking with Strategic Grouping and Data Envelopment Analysis: The Case of International Tourist Hotels in Taiwan

For a performance measure to be instructional in future operations, selecting the right strategic groups of firms from which appropriate benchmark targets are to determined is important in the development of business strategies. The immediate question is how to group firms and choose the best benchmark. In this study, a revised context-dependent data envelopment analysis model is applied to identify multilevel strategic groups. Empirical data are obtained for 56 international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Five strategic groups are identified in terms of efficiency frontiers, and the hotels within the groups are ranked by attractiveness scores that reveal their competitiveness. The hotels are also assessed by progress scores that reveal the effort needed for them to advance to a higher level. By integrating both these scores, a clear benchmarking path is designed for each hotel. This path can guide inefficient hotels to identify suitable role models for excellence.     

The COVID-19 pandemic and organisational commitment of senior hotel managers

The COVID-19 pandemic will reduce the attractiveness of hospitality occupations. This particularly concerns senior management positions whose holders may substitute hospitality jobs with more secure and rewarding employment in other economic sectors. Organisational resilience of hospitality businesses, including their response to COVID-19, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices may, however, affect perceived job security of senior managers and, thus, influence their commitment to remain in their host organisations. This paper quantitatively tests the inter-linkages between the above variables on a sample of senior managers in hotels in Spain. It finds that the levels of organisational resilience and the extent of CSR practices reinforce perceived job security of managers which, in turn, determines their organisational commitment. Organisational response to COVID-19 affects perceived job security and enhances managers’ organisational commitment. To retain senior management teams in light of future disastrous events, hotels should, therefore, strengthen their organisational resilience and invest in CSR.     

论区域旅游发展战略的趋同与缓解

区域旅游竞合关系的演化使各旅游地纷纷进行战略规划。同时,各旅游地发展战略在战略目标、旅游功能、产业调整政策、旅游形象四个方面已经暴露出较为严重的趋同现象。原因是多方面的,主要是:战略决策层的从众心态和战略参与者的标准化知识及模式化思维,成功战略难以复制,在不确定性发展环境下决策的中庸之道,战略决策层对外界的媚俗效应等。战略趋同对区域旅游发展的影响是长远的,它将导致区域内恶性竞争,失去整体优势,并使区域旅游的成长极限快速到来。本文从研究者的角度,重新思考战略规划的基本要求,认为通过深刻解读规划对象,充分发挥点群优势,提供多情景方案三条途径可以使战略趋同问题得到缓解。     

Managing Knowledge in Tourism Planning

SUMMARY

This paper explores the theme of strategic planning in a State Tourism Organization (STO) from a knowledge management perspective. It highlights the value of knowledge in strategy making and the importance of an organisation's knowledge management agenda in facilitating a strategic planning process. In particular, it considers the capability of an STO to implement knowledge management as the key to a successful strategic planning exercise. In order to develop greater insight into the factors that impact on planning competence, the key aim of this paper is to develop a framework on which the capability of a STO to implement a knowledge-based agenda in strategic planning can be assessed. Research on knowledge management in the field of tourism is limited and there is little practical account of the application of knowledge management principles in tourism planning. Further, there is no apparent tool or instrument that allows for the assessment of an STO's capability to implement knowledge management in planning initiatives. Based on a literature review, a three-point framework of assessment is developed. The three elements of the framework are identified as:

1. Integration of knowledge management objectives with strategic imperatives;

2. A planning approach that balances top-down (outcome focused) with bottom-up (process focused) planning processes; and

3. Organisational capacity, including leadership, people and culture, process, technology, content and continuous improvement.

The framework is tested through application to a practical case study-a planning initiative undertaken by a leading tourism STO in Australia. The results demonstrate that the framework is a useful means to evaluate organisational capability in knowledge-led strategic planning exercises and would be of practical value as a point of reference for future knowledge- based strategic planning projects.     

Leadership Competencies for Hotel General Managers: The Differences in Age,Education, and Hotel Characteristics

This study was designed to explore the leadership competencies necessary for general managers (GM) in Thailand hotels. The exploratory factor analysis extracted six leadership competency components: leadership, motivational/interpersonal skills, strategic orientation, planning and implementation, team building and ethics, communication skills, flexibility, and concern for the community. The results showed that team building and ethics, leadership, and communication skills are the most important factors for the GMs. In contrast, flexibility and strategic orientation were the least important competencies for them. There were significant differences between leadership competency factors and GMs’ age, education, hotel stars, and hotel locations in diverse aspects.     

Knowledge transfer effects of clustering in dual configuration MNEs

‘Clustering’ is widely held to positively influence workgroup identity, which in turn, is widely held to positively affect knowledge sharing behaviours and outcomes for an organisation. This paper does not dispute these findings, indeed in many ways, it supports them but it also opens an anomaly, or contradiction to the mainstream perceptions in terms of the value that a strong cluster identity may produce for organisational knowledge sharing. Situated within a hospitality multinational hotel company, the research finds that where hotels are clustered, organisational identity becomes second to cluster identity. Cluster identity is therefore seen to drive an institutional deficiency whereby organisational knowledge in terms of innovative or value added knowledge is most unlikely to be shared with the organisation even where defined knowledge management strategies exist. Drawing data from 32 interviews with managers, this paper enriches understanding of organisational learning by introducing the role of ‘cluster identity’ in a dual configuration multinational hotel organisation.     

Financial consequences of competitive set choice

This study examines the financial consequences of competitive set choice using a sample of 312 hotels in a major metropolitan area in the United States. We document existence of asymmetric competitor monitoring, finding just 55% of monitoring is reciprocal; that is, about half of managers “agree,” by virtue of monitoring one another, on being direct competitors. Monitoring reciprocity is positively associated with performance through average daily rates. With total revenue unchanged, profits are higher through lower occupancy and lower total costs. We examine alternative competitive sets formed using strategic groups- and customer-based approaches, comparing these to actual compsets. We found that performance declines when managers deviate from these alternative sets. Post-hoc analyses provide insight on how overlapping compsets impact rates, occupancy and revenue. Our study is of value to academics and practitioners, providing evidence on the financial impact of competitive monitoring, and insights for managers who choose competitive sets.     

Strategic Issues in the Australian Tourism Industry: A 10-year Analysis of National Strategies and Plans

Predicting future events, trends and issues that may affect the tourism industry is not an exact science. Already the 21st century has seen a number of significant, radical and unexpected events, including September 11, SARS and, more recently, the worldwide economic downturn and natural disasters, such as earthquakes and cyclonic activity. Within this increasingly volatile global landscape, more than ever there is a need for the tourism industry to embrace a disciplined, structured and continuous approach to identifying and monitoring future trends and issues to inform policymaking and strategic planning. Yet in Australia it has been claimed that a preoccupation with marketing and short-term tactical planning, at the expense of long-term, strategic thinking, has led to limited planning perspectives for tourism. To explore these claims, this paper reports on a content analysis of 28 Australian national-level tourism strategic planning documents across a 10-year period (2000–2009 inclusive).     

EDITORIAL

Abstract

This study examines the use of environmental forecasting during the strategic planning process in private city clubs. Key internal and external environmental factors were identified that impact city clubs and the club industry. Strategic planning practices and influencing factors were studied in four city clubs, in North Carolina and South Carolina, utilizing the qualitative research method of structured personal interviews, and the survey method of quantitative research. Numerous factors influenced the strategic planning process of three clubs, including consultants, employees, board members, trade associations and trade reports. One club, which did not conduct strategic planning, is struggling to survive. Environmental issues influencing these clubs were: technological, social, and economic. Each club's business was significantly affected by the business climate of the city in which it resides.     

Strategic planning and business performance in the quoted UK hotel sector: results of an exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to conduct an exploratory investigation of the relationship between strategic planning and business performance. A multidimensional model of 11 variables was formulated after a review of the strategic planning-performance literature. Data were obtained from 63 hotel units representing eight quoted hotel companies, and various planning-performance relationships were examined. The results indicated that the key planning characteristics of throughness, sophistication, participation, and formality were positive, and in most cases significantly related, to seven indicators of business performance.     

Who benefits more from trade shows: Independent,franchised or chain-owned/managed hotels?

Large-scale events are opportunities for hotels to generate revenue. The literature has attested positive effects of events on hotel performance. However, while large-demand events are associated with room rate increases, hotel operation types may play a critical role in this “event-hotel performance” relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view theory, the chain value model and the theory of strategic groups, we hypothesize that independent and franchised hotels outperform chain-owned/managed hotels when events are held. The empirical application on over 950,000 observations between 2014 and 2019 shows that while chain-owned/managed hotels generally outperform independent and franchised hotels, this situation reverses in the presence of events. This result extends the resource-based view theory and the value chain model by including the short/long-term and corporate/property paradigm in the hotel industry.     

A Causal Relationship Between the Balanced Scorecard Perspectives

Abstract

An increasing number of hotel organizations endeavor to achieve long-term competitive advantages in the marketplace through the implementation of strategic performance measurement systems. These systems are designed to integrate and monitor strategic objectives throughout the business processes. This paper investigates the causal relationships between the strategic performance measures of hotel organizations, using The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework. This comparative study illustrates how hotel organizations plan, improve and monitor their strategic performance targets through the use of comprehensive performance measurement systems. The paper also recommends specific approaches for the implementation of the BSC for hotel organizations.