The effect of hotel chain affiliation on economic performance: The moderating role of tourist districts

Abstract This paper offers a pioneering analysis of the impact that integration in different types of hotel chains has on firm performance, and the moderating effect of the tourist destination in this relationship. Studies in the literature examine both size and location independently, without reconciling the apparently contradictory trends of globalization and conservation of the local base. The aim of the research is to analyze the comparative effects on tourism firms’ performance of belonging to different types of hotel chains while maintaining the advantages of location in a tourist destination. Based on a study of 292 Spanish hotels, the authors test the proposed hypotheses using hiera…

Managerial Capabilities in the Family Tourist Business: Is Professionalization the Key to Their Development?

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the elements of the particular governance structure of the family business and the involvement of the family in the business in order to verify its effects on managerial capabilities. Likewise, professionalization in this type of company will be studied as a moderating variable. To address this analysis, the Resource and Capabilities Based-View and the Agency Theory will be taken as a basis. The empirical study is carried out on a base of 591 Spanish tourism companies using a multiple linear regression analysis. The results show that many of the peculiar characteristics of the family business have a negative effect on their managerial skills, p…

Ambidexterity in micro and small firms: Can competitive intelligence compensate for size constraints?

Ambidexterity has been linked to firm structures that are typical of organizations with a larger size. However, further research is needed to analyze whether the effect of firm size on ambidexterity is contingent on other aspects. We argue that micro and small firms that have developed some competitive intelligence routines (CIRs) may foster ambidextrous behavior and compensate for the limitations arising from a smaller size and lack of resources. We test our proposal on a sample of 200 firms in the furniture sector. Our results show that CIRs compensate for size constraints in that size is no longer a relevant variable to increase ambidextrous behavior in firms that achieve higher levels i…

Exploration and Exploitation Capabilities

Las capacidades directivas en la empresa familiar turística: ¿Es la profesionalización la clave para su desarrollo?

Este trabajo tiene como principal objetivo analizar los elementos de la particular estructura de gobierno de la empresa familiar y la implicación de la familia en el negocio con tal de comprobar sus efectos sobre las capacidades directivas. Asimismo, se estudiará la profesionalización en este tipo de empresas como variable moderadora. Para abordar este análisis, se tomarán como base el Enfoque Basado en Recursos y Capacidades y la Teoría de la Agencia. El estudio empírico se lleva a cabo sobre una base de 591 empresas turísticas españolas mediante un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple. Los resultados demuestran que muchas de las características peculiares de la empresa familiar ejercen u…

Cluster and firm-specific antecedents of organizational innovation

Based on the idea of the tourist destination as a cluster, this paper proposes a model to explain the relationships between exploration and exploitation capabilities – whether originating in the cluster or firm-specific – and a firm’s organizational innovation. This study turns to the resource-based view to provide a theory-based concept of shared capabilities accumulated in a tourist destination or cluster, together with valid measurement instruments to capture them. Our conceptual model highlights the theoretical and practical benefits for firms of being embedded in a cluster to develop both exploration and exploitation capabilities. The study also analyses the interaction between cluster…