Exploring the Effects of Service Innovation Ambidexterity on Service Design in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

Balancing Innovation: How Entrepreneurial Strategy Powers Success in Tourism and Hospitality Firms

Key finding of the study

Entrepreneurial strategy fosters innovation exploration and exploitation, with exploitation enhancing unique services that secure lasting competitive advantage and performance in tourism and hospitality firms.

Authors

K. Tajeddini, Sheffield Hallam University (UK) and Tokyo International University, Japan

T.C. Gamage, Department of Marketing Management, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka

J. Tajidini, Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus Mersin 10, Turkey

W.U. Hameed, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

O. Tajeddini, Tokyo International University, Tokyo, Japan

Summary

Although the entrepreneurship strategy is demonstrated by evidence as a path to enhance the performance of service firms, the question of how it happens has yet to be adequately studied in the tourism and hospitality (T&H) realm. More specifically, how an entrepreneurial strategy enables a T&H firm to enhance its performance through service innovation exploration-exploitation ambidexterity has created a strategic dilemma in extant T&H literature. Constructed on the dynamic capabilities view and organizational ambidexterity theory, this paper addresses this dilemma using data from a drop-and-collect survey of 303 T&H firms in Japan. The findings reveal that entrepreneurial strategy fosters service innovation exploitation and service innovation exploration within T&H firms. In contrast, service innovation exploitation helps T&H firms design unique service offerings, yielding a sustained competitive advantage and superior corporate performance in the long run. Further, the availability of slack resources within T&H firms fosters service innovation exploration and service innovation exploitation.

Published in

International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Link to the article  

To read the full article, please click here