Training plans, manager's characteristics and innovation in the accommodation industry

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis paper explores the effect of training plans and managerial characteristics on innovation activity in the hospitality sector. This sector is featured by being labor-intensive so the examination of employment and managers skills deserves attention in order to determine the level of quality and competitive advantage in the provision of services. The data in the paper comes from a questionnaire administered to hotel managers in a representative sample of hotels in the Balearic Islands, a leading tourist destination. Results suggest that training plans positively affect innovation-related decisions and the extent of their implementation; however, managers should have more than experience to manage the innovation change, specifically skills and capabilities.

Innovativeness and business performances in tourism SMEs

“…Various aspects related to the firm's Human Factor, such as educational level of managers and employees, creativity and risk taking, appear in numerous studies because of their notable influence on innovativeness (Table 1). Specifically, training has been proven to exert a positive influence on innovative activity in tourism firms Martínez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012). Lastly, studies also abound on the importance of organizational factors such as level of decentralization, work groups, hierarchy, strategic orientation, or quality standards on firms' innovativeness (Table 1).…”

“…Although the novelty introduced should be evident to producers, consumers, suppliers and competitors (Hjalager, 2002), in practice, two perspectives exist for innovation measurement in tourism. In the first perspective, the level of innovation may be established internally in relation to the market of reference (Camisón & Montfort-Mir, 2012;OECD, 2005), using a binaryradical vs. incremental-scale (Hjalager, 2002;Martínez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012), or a continuing …”

“…In our case, we have opted for economic profitability because it is an indicator of financial performance. Earlier firm level research has used this variable as a measurement of tourism firms' economic performance (Jacob et al, 2003;Lin, 2013;Volo, 2006), demonstrating on occasions a strong relationship between innovation and profitability in these organizations (Martínez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012).…”

“…However, despite the growing interest in empirical research on innovation, no model has been developed for the innovative behavior of firms in tourism. Given the noteworthy differences in innovations in services (Drejer, 2004;Martínez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012) and specifically in tourism (Hjalager, 2010;Križaj, Brodnik, & Bukovec, 2014;Volo, 2006), the literature pinpoints the need for a specific study on innovative behavior (Camisón & Montfort-Mir, 2012) and its economic outcomes in tourism firms (Lin, 2013). Understanding of innovation patterns in these firms is fundamental to developing an innovation policy that contributes in greater measure to increasing productivity (Blake, Sinclair, & Campos-Soria, 2006), profitability (Martínez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012) and competitiveness in firms and tourist destinations (Camisón & Montfort-Mir, 2012).…”

The behaviour of tourism firms in the area of innovativeness

“…We agree that the relation between innovation and performance is a multifaceted issue and requires further research. Authors from our second group (Bellou & Andronikidis, 2009;Chang, Gong, & Shum, 2011;Martinez-Ros & Orfila-Sintes, 2012;Orfila-Sintes et al, 2005;Sundbo et al, 2007) focused more on the key antecedents of innovativeness (human resource management practices, the importance of employees and training, organisational culture, organisational climate, leadership characteristics, business strategy, R&D departments, market strategy, environment, and so on). Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (1998) emphasised that firms invest in research not only to improve innovation activities but also, and especially, because of the contribution of such efforts to firm productivity and, consequently, to firm performance.…”