IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/touman/v45y2014icp39-48.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation in tourism: Re-conceptualising and measuring the absorptive capacity of the hotel sector

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas, Rhodri
  • Wood, Emma

Abstract

Recent reviews of research on innovation in tourism have highlighted a number of weaknesses in the literature. Among these is the limited theorising and empirical investigation of innovative practices by tourism organisations. This paper responds to these concerns by examining one important dimension of innovation within commercial tourism organisations, namely their ability to acquire, assimilate and utilise external knowledge (absorptive capacity) for competitive advantage. The topic is pertinent because there is evidence to suggest that tourism organisations are particularly dependent on external sources of knowledge when compared with businesses in other sectors. Following a discussion of the conceptual antecedents of absorptive capacity and its dimensions, a validated instrument for its measurement is developed and used to measure the absorptive capacity of the British hotel sector. The results suggest that current conceptions of absorptive capacity have limitations when applied to tourism enterprises. Absorptive capacity is re-conceptualised to overcome these deficiencies. The research and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas, Rhodri & Wood, Emma, 2014. "Innovation in tourism: Re-conceptualising and measuring the absorptive capacity of the hotel sector," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 39-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:39-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517714000673
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlisle, Sheena & Kunc, Martin & Jones, Eleri & Tiffin, Scott, 2013. "Supporting innovation for tourism development through multi-stakeholder approaches: Experiences from Africa," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 59-69.
    2. Hjalager, Anne-Mette, 2010. "A review of innovation research in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-12.
    3. Pilar Tejada & Pilar Moreno, 2013. "Patterns of innovation in tourism ‘Small and Medium-size Enterprises’," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(7-8), pages 749-758, May.
    4. Gersick, Connie J. G. & Hackman, J. Richard, 1990. "Habitual routines in task-performing groups," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 65-97, October.
    5. Thomas, Rhodri, 2012. "Business elites, universities and knowledge transfer in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 553-561.
    6. Manuel Guisado-González & Manuel Guisado-Tato & Ángeles Sandoval-Pérez, 2013. "Determinants of innovation performance in Spanish hospitality companies: analysis of the coexistence of innovation strategies," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(6), pages 580-593, May.
    7. Morten T. Hansen, 2002. "Knowledge Networks: Explaining Effective Knowledge Sharing in Multiunit Companies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 232-248, June.
    8. Jansen, J.J.P. & van den Bosch, F.A.J. & Volberda, H.W., 2005. "Managing Potential and Realized Absorptive Capacity: How do Organizational Antecedents matter?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2005-025-STR, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    9. Escribano, Alvaro & Fosfuri, Andrea & Tribó, Josep A., 2009. "Managing external knowledge flows: The moderating role of absorptive capacity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 96-105, February.
    10. Flatten, Tessa C. & Engelen, Andreas & Zahra, Shaker A. & Brettel, Malte, 2011. "A measure of absorptive capacity: Scale development and validation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 98-116, April.
    11. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Valery S. Katkalo & Christos N. Pitelis & David J. Teece, 2010. "Introduction: On the nature and scope of dynamic capabilities," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(4), pages 1175-1186, August.
    13. Martha S. Feldman, 2000. "Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(6), pages 611-629, December.
    14. Ulrich Lichtenthaler & Eckhard Lichtenthaler, 2009. "A Capability‐Based Framework for Open Innovation: Complementing Absorptive Capacity," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(8), pages 1315-1338, December.
    15. Mats Alvesson & André Spicer, 2012. "A Stupidity-Based Theory of Organizations," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(7), pages 1194-1220, November.
    16. Fosfuri, Andrea & Tribø, Josep A., 2008. "Exploring the antecedents of potential absorptive capacity and its impact on innovation performance," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 173-187, April.
    17. Kostopoulos, Konstantinos & Papalexandris, Alexandros & Papachroni, Margarita & Ioannou, George, 2011. "Absorptive capacity, innovation, and financial performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1335-1343.
    18. Peter J. Lane & Michael Lubatkin, 1998. "Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning," Post-Print hal-02311860, HAL.
    19. Camisón, César & Monfort-Mir, Vicente M., 2012. "Measuring innovation in tourism from the Schumpeterian and the dynamic-capabilities perspectives," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 776-789.
    20. Gebauer, Heiko & Worch, Hagen & Truffer, Bernhard, 2012. "Absorptive capacity, learning processes and combinative capabilities as determinants of strategic innovation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 57-73.
    21. Nieves, Julia & Haller, Sabine, 2014. "Building dynamic capabilities through knowledge resources," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 224-232.
    22. Pim Den Hertog & Faïz Gallouj & Jeroen Segers, 2009. "Measuring innovation in a ‘low-tech’ service industry: the case of the Dutch hospitality industry," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(9), pages 1429-1449, November.
    23. Gallego, Jorge & Rubalcaba, Luis & Suárez, Cristina, 2013. "Knowledge for innovation in Europe: The role of external knowledge on firms' cooperation strategies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(10), pages 2034-2041.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Diana Foris & Adriana Florescu & Tiberiu Foris & Sorin Barabas, 2020. "Improving the Management of Tourist Destinations: A New Approach to Strategic Management at the DMO Level by Integrating Lean Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Hang T. T. Nguyen & Hanh Song Thi Pham & Susan Freeman, 2023. "Dynamic capabilities in tourism businesses: antecedents and outcomes," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1645-1680, July.
    3. Thomas, Rhodri & Ormerod, Neil, 2017. "The (almost) imperceptible impact of tourism research on policy and practice," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 379-389.
    4. Singh Rajesh & Sarangal Rajani Kumari, 2021. "Innovation in Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs): A Future Perspective," European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation, Sciendo, vol. 11(2), pages 210-218, December.
    5. Sara Alonso-Muñoz & Rocío González-Sánchez & Cristina Siligardi & Fernando Enrique García-Muiña, 2021. "Building Exploitation Routines in the Circular Supply Chain to Obtain Radical Innovations," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Thomas, Rhodri & Wood, Emma, 2015. "The absorptive capacity of tourism organisations," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-99.
    7. Sandro Montresor, 2018. "Innovation in tourism," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(7), pages 765-780, November.
    8. Garay, Lluís & Font, Xavier & Pereira-Moliner, Jorge, 2017. "Understanding sustainability behaviour: The relationship between information acquisition, proactivity and performance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 418-429.
    9. Liu, Chih-Hsing Sam, 2018. "Examining social capital, organizational learning and knowledge transfer in cultural and creative industries of practice," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 258-270.
    10. Williams, Allan M. & Rodriguez, Isabel & Makkonen, Teemu, 2020. "Innovation and smart destinations: Critical insights," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Nguyen Manh Thang, "undated". "Product innovation and process innovation in the hotel industry in Vietnam," Review of Socio - Economic Perspectives 202189, Reviewsep.
    12. Rangson Chirakranont & Sirijit Sunanta, 2021. "Applications of Experience Economy in Craft Beer Tourism: A Case Study in Thailand’s Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Belias Dimitrios & Rossidis Ioannis & Velissariou Efstathios & Amoiradis Christos & Tsiotas Dimitrios & Sdrolias Labros, 2018. "Successful and Efficient Knowledge Management in the Greek Hospitality Industry: Change the Perspective!," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 7, March.
    14. Booyens Irma & Rogerson Christian M., 2016. "Unpacking the geography of tourism innovation in Western Cape Province, South Africa," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 31(31), pages 19-36, March.
    15. Moreno-Izquierdo, Luis & Ramón-Rodríguez, Ana & Such-Devesa, María Jesús, 2018. "The challenge of long-term tourism competitiveness in the age of innovation: Spain as a case study," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 42, pages 13-34.
    16. Chia-Wei Liu & Jen-Son Cheng, 2018. "Exploring Driving Forces of Innovation in the MSEs: The Case of the Sustainable B&B Tourism Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Meiqi Jiao & Debin Du & Wentian Shi & Chunguang Hou & Qinchang Gui, 2021. "Dynamic Absorptive Capability and Innovation Performance: Evidence from Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    18. Asif Khan & Sughra Bibi & Jiaying Lyu & Achille Claudio Garavelli & Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo & Maria de Angeles Perez Sanchez, 2020. "Uncovering Innovativeness in Spanish Tourism Firms: The Role of Transformational Leadership, OCB, Firm Size, and Age," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-26, May.
    19. Sonia Cruz-Ros & Diana L. Guerrero-Sánchez & Maria-Jose Miquel-Romero, 2021. "Absorptive capacity and its impact on innovation and performance: findings from SEM and fsQCA," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 235-249, February.
    20. Li, Yanning & Wood, E.H. & Thomas, R., 2017. "Innovation implementation: Harmony and conflict in Chinese modern music festivals," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 87-99.
    21. Martínez-Román, Juan A. & Tamayo, Juan A. & Gamero, Javier & Romero, José E., 2015. "Innovativeness and business performances in tourism SMEs," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 118-135.
    22. Rafael Sancho-Zamora & Isidro Peña-García & Santiago Gutiérrez-Broncano & Felipe Hernández-Perlines, 2021. "Moderating Effect of Proactivity on Firm Absorptive Capacity and Performance: Empirical Evidence from Spanish Firms," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(17), pages 1-15, August.
    23. Eugenia Panfiluk, 2021. "Innovativeness of Tourism Enterprises: Example of Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Thomas, Rhodri & Wood, Emma, 2015. "The absorptive capacity of tourism organisations," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 84-99.
    2. Sonia Cruz-Ros & Diana L. Guerrero-Sánchez & Maria-Jose Miquel-Romero, 2021. "Absorptive capacity and its impact on innovation and performance: findings from SEM and fsQCA," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 235-249, February.
    3. Limaj, Everist & Bernroider, Edward W.N., 2019. "The roles of absorptive capacity and cultural balance for exploratory and exploitative innovation in SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 137-153.
    4. Silvia Vicente-Oliva & Ángel Martínez-Sánchez & Luis Berges-Muro, 2016. "Enhancing The Outcomes In R&D Collaborative Projects: An Empirical Analysis Of The Middle Ebro Valley In Spain," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(07), pages 1-34, October.
    5. Mennens, Kars & van Gils, Anita & Odekerken - Schröder, Gaby & Letterie, Wilko, 2016. "Exploring Antecedents of Service Innovation Excellence in Manufacturing SMEs," Research Memorandum 025, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    6. Zhou, Abby Jingzi & Fey, Carl & Yildiz, H. Emre, 2020. "Fostering integration through HRM practices: An empirical examination of absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer in cross-border M&As," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    7. Encarnacion García-Sánchez & Víctor Jesús García-Morales & Rodrigo Martín-Rojas, 2018. "Analysis of the influence of the environment, stakeholder integration capability, absorptive capacity, and technological skills on organizational performance through corporate entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 345-377, June.
    8. Zheng, Lu & Ulrich, Klaus & Sendra-García, Javier, 2021. "Qualitative comparative analysis: Configurational paths to innovation performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 83-93.
    9. Philipp Nitzsche & Bernd W. Wirtz & Vincent Göttel, 2016. "Innovation Success In The Context Of Inbound Open Innovation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 20(02), pages 1-38, February.
    10. Rachel Bocquet & Sandra Dubouloz, 2020. "Firm Openness and Managerial Innovation: Rebalancing Deliberate Actions and Institutional Pressures," Journal of Innovation Economics, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 43-74.
    11. Lau, Antonio K.W. & Lo, William, 2015. "Regional innovation system, absorptive capacity and innovation performance: An empirical study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 99-114.
    12. Mariano, Stefania & Al-Arrayed, Suad, 2018. "Combinations of absorptive capacity metaroutines: The role of organizational disruptions and time constraints," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 171-182.
    13. HanGyeol Seo & Yanghon Chung & Chungwon Woo & Dongphil Chun & Soojeen Sarah Jang, 2016. "SME’s Appropriability Regime for Sustainable Development-the Role of Absorptive Capacity and Inventive Capacity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Giannoccaro, Ilaria & Carbone, Giuseppe, 2017. "An Ising-based dynamic model to study the effect of social interactions on firm absorptive capacity," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 214-227.
    15. Garay, Lluís & Font, Xavier & Pereira-Moliner, Jorge, 2017. "Understanding sustainability behaviour: The relationship between information acquisition, proactivity and performance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 418-429.
    16. Tsai-Ju Liao & Chwo-Ming Yu, 2013. "The impact of local linkages, international linkages, and absorptive capacity on innovation for foreign firms operating in an emerging economy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 38(6), pages 809-827, December.
    17. Mauricio Bedoya-Villa & Elkin Pérez-Sánchez & Hugo Baier-Fuentes & Cesar Zapata-Molina & Edith Román-Castaño, 2023. "The Effects of Dynamic Absorptive Capacity on Innovation Strategy: Evidence from SMEs in a Technological Context," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    18. Emre Yildiz, H. & Murtic, Adis & Klofsten, Magnus & Zander, Udo & Richtnér, Anders, 2021. "Individual and contextual determinants of innovation performance: A micro-foundations perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    19. FeCheng Ma & Farhan Khan & Kashif Ullah Khan & Si XiangYun, 2021. "Investigating the Impact of Information Technology, Absorptive Capacity, and Dynamic Capabilities on Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    20. Latukha, M. & Veselova, A. & Selivanovskikh, L. & Artukh, E. & Mitskevich, E., 2016. "Re-thinking the role of talent management in a firm’s performance: Talent management practices and absorptive capacity," Working Papers 6442, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:39-48. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/tourism-management .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.