Culture and performance of non-equity alliances in the Tunisian hotel industry

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the relationship between cultural differences and the performance of non-equity alliances in the hotel sector with reference to a developing country. The paper employs an empirical investigation based on quantitative analysis. Data were gathered through questionnaires obtained from Tunisian hotels involved in 78 non-equity alliances with foreign partners. The partial least squares (PLS) technique was used to estimate the model. Results reveal that national and organizational cultural differences have a negative impact on alliance performance in this sector. The likelihood of alliance decay is then strengthened. However, national cultural differences do not moderate the relationship between organizational cultural differences and alliance performance. The corporate culture of these hotels could somehow be impervious to local culture. This paper helps fill the void of empirical evidence of the impact of both levels of culture on the performance of non-equity alliances in the hotel industry, which warrants more attention, especially in developing countries.