The dynamic capabilities of AccorHotels in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose AccorHotels commenced operations in Brazil in the 1970s. Since then, the company has experienced several economic crises in that country and almost gone bankrupt. Using the dynamic capabilities (DCs) framework, the purpose of this paper is to understand how the company managed to maintain its competitive advantage in such a turbulent and competitive environment over the years. The study sought to identify the main DCs developed in the company between 1974 and 2018 and understand how they were developed based on the analysis of their key microfoundations. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a qualitative approach. The data were collected in 22 interviews, including with top management and the founder of the hotel chain in Brazil. The interviews took place in three different years, 2005, 2016 and 2018. The investigation is supported by content analysis of the data. Findings The four main DCs identified at AccorHotels were capability to innovate; qualification capability; renewal capability; and capability to manage threats and mitigate risks. In addition to shedding light on the origins of the DCs, the importance of microfoundations is discussed. Research limitations/implications The model presented in the theoretical framework and results should not be generalized, since this limitation is inherent to qualitative research. On the other hand, there are academic implications relevant to the development of the DCs in the service sector by revealing four capabilities that can enable sustainable competitive advantage. Practical implications The results provide business practitioners in the hotel sector with information about DCs and microfoundations to face the external and competitive environment throughout its trajectory. Specifically, it shows the way to develop the capabilities that can collaborate in the exploration of opportunities. Social implications Executives have the responsibility to make appropriate strategic decisions to stay in the market, meeting the expectations of stakeholders. However, the demand is not only financial, employees of tourism businesses are part of family units. Given this context, society gains when studies of this type are developed, because from the socialization of the results obtained from Accor Hotels, leaders can make organizations thrive and foster the professional development of workers, and tourism industry in general. Originality/value This is the first study of DCs undertaken with an international hotel chain. In addition, studies on DCs in the tourism industry are still scarce, and Brazil is an environment where hotels have shown steady growth.

Innovativeness and coopetition in tourism SMEs: comparing two coopetitive networks in Brazil

“…Additionally, concerning innovation outputs, Campos Gerais SMEs also introduced significant more product and organizational innovations (mean prod = 22.4; mean org = 4.8) than Honey Island's SMEs (mean prod = 22.4; mean org = 2.2) ( U prod = 108; p < 0.01; U org = 91; p < 0.001). These results corroborate the importance of capabilities and innovation to the development of tourism companies and destinations (Costa and Pereira, 2019; Hjalager, 2010, 2015; Omerzel, 2016).…”

“…Regarding the tourism industry, it is considered a traditional sector with a moderate innovation level, especially characterized by some difficulties and resistance to innovate (Camison and Monfort-Mir, 2012; Najda-Janoszka and Kopera, 2014; Omerzel, 2016; Sanchez et al , 2020). The study of innovation in tourism is still a recent topic of interest (Hjalager, 2010; Jin et al , 2016; Marques and Biscaia, 2019; Sipe, 2018) and suggests that innovation is beneficial to tourism firms performance (Costa and Pereira, 2019). Besides, tourism firms may enhance innovation by cooperative arrangements, as shown by Tejada and Moreno (2013) in Spain and by Divisekera and Nguyen (2018b) in Australia.…”

“…Among these, Brazil is the largest country in South America and has great prominence in the number of international arrivals and tourism receipts (Pimentel and de Lima Pereira, 2020; Porto et al , 2018; WTO, 2019). Thus, further investigations in Brazil regarding innovation (Costa and Pereira, 2019) and networks (Andrade and Smith, 2020), especially coopetition networks (Chim-Miki and Batista-Canino, 2017b; Resende et al , 2018), are necessary to enhance the competitiveness tourism firms and destinations.…”

Strategic changes and dynamic capacities in hotels marked by uncertainty

“…However, it is worth mentioning that Hotel D was the only one to present the microfoundation of decentralized decision-making. This aspect is able to assist the development of dynamic capabilities and provides sustainable competitive advantage (Teece, 2007;Costa & Pereira, 2020). This modification is based on the ability to manage threats and mitigate risks, and the renewal capability.…”

“…In addition to contributing to qualify the strategies adopted by companies in the sector and to understand the creation of competitive advantage (Costa & Pereira, 2020 Díaz-Pichardo, 2019), since in complex and dynamic environments like these, competitive advantage tends to be temporal (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000).…”