Dynamics of internationalisation of the hotel industry: the case of Spain

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims provides an empirical analysis of the development of the internationalisation process in the Spanish hotel industry, which has experienced major changes during the past decade. The degree of internationalisation between 2000 and 2010 is used as a proxy variable with the aim of mapping the development of international strategies. Design/methodology/approach -A longitudinal dataset measuring the internationalisation of Spanish hotel chains is used. Cluster analysis identifies the different behaviour of groups of firms during the analysed period. Findings -Two different clusters are detected, which can be attributed to different internationalisation strategies over time. Small and medium (SME) hotel companies seem to follow a different path of development than more established multinational companies. Over time, the entire group tends to be more compact, whereas the distance between the clusters is shown to diverge in final years. The groups' composition suggests that business-networking relationships can be a strategy of particular importance for SMEs pursuing international expansion. Practical implications -This paper develops a better understanding of the changes of the internationalisation patterns of Spanish hotel chains. Findings could address managers in strategic This research was supported by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano project "Le attrazioni culturali e naturali come motore dello sviluppo turistico. Un'analisi del loro impatto economico, sociale e culturale"decisions about how to improve competitive position. In particular, they recommend accounting for size, international experience and business network relationships when expanded abroad. Originality/value -This paper introduces a new approach based on studying clusters of Spanish hotels according to their internationalisation strategies over the time. Further analysis revealed the role of business network on internationalisation patterns.

Internationalization Strategies for Tourism in Portugal

“…Previously applied by several studies in international hospitality (Barber et al, 2011;Rendón et al, 2014;Brida et al, 2015), the statistical technique of logistic regression estimates the probabilities between a binary dependent variable and a set of independent variables. The statistical software RStudio was used.…”

Family involvement and Spanish hotel chains’ entry modes abroad

“…Firm size. Firms may adopt different patterns of internationalization based on their financial and managerial resource limitations (Brida et al, 2015). Several studies found a positive relationship between firm size and equity-based entry modes, since large companies have more resources to carry out FDI (Brouthers, 2002;Driha & Ramón, 2011;Pla et al, 2010).…”

“…The Spanish hotel industry has a high percentage of FBs (Andreu, Claver, Quer & Rienda, 2018). Besides, in recent decades, this sector has experienced an explosive growth and has reached a high level of internationalization (Andreu, Claver & Quer, 2017a;Brida, Driha, Ramón & Scuderi, 2015). However, to our knowledge, no studies have discussed the extent to which the family character influences the international strategies of Spanish hotel firms.…”

The Role of Family Firms Heterogeneity on the Internationalisation and Performance Relationship

“…The Spanish hotel sector enjoys great recognition on the international scene (Martorell et al, 2016). In last decades, this sector has reached a high level of internationalisation by growing the number of hotels abroad (Andreu et al, 2020;Brida et al, 2015). In relation to the internationalisation strategy, one of the most researched topics has been the choice of entry mode, since this sector has certain peculiarities, such as the use of management contracts, franchising or leasing agreements (Contractor & Kundu, 1998).…”