دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی تصمیمات سرمایه گذاری در گواهینامه های کیفیت با زنجیره هتل؛ تصمیمات قبل و بعد سرمایه گذاری - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the antecedents of two variables concerning the presence of quality certifications in hotel chains: the (ex ante) decision to become a member of the quality system and the (ex post) trend to increase or decrease the number of certified properties. Six hypotheses are posed and tested. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical investigation is carried out on the Spanish Q for Quality in Tourism using a database including 295 hotel chains and 2,727 hotels. Findings – The results evidence the presence of differences in the behavior of hotel chains relative to certification depending on their size, market segment, customer origin and the geographical concentration of their establishments. Originality/value – This research deepens in how the hotel chain characteristics affect the effectiveness of a quality certification. The consideration of two stages in investment decisions allows the authors to identify differences in the ex ante and ex post decision processes. As a result, one factor (geographical concentration) has been detected as being underrated by managers in the first stage.

6. Discussion and conclusions

We have analyzed the effects of hotel chain characteristics on the decision to be part of a quality certification system, as well as on the change in the proportion of certified hotels of the chain. The use of two dependent variables, associated but different, is interesting as the first of these is primarily linked to the strategic perspective of chain managers and their initial (ex ante) interest in adopting certification as a support for their own brand. In contrast, the second variable is related to the results of certification and increasing or decreasing interest on the part of managers after observing the effects of quality certification in those properties that have been certified. In sum, the last variable is related to the ex post effectiveness of the Q brand, whereas the first can be affected more directly by managers’ prior beliefs about this certification.

We consider our result for the antecedent variable “geographical concentration” very intriguing as in the Heckman first stage (with the dependent variable Q-period), the resulting coefficient is not significant (p = 0.15), whereas in the Heckman second stage (with the dependent variable Trend), this coefficient is clearly significant (p = 0.01). Thus, it seems that the degree of geographical concentration has no influence on the decision to be part of the quality certification system. However, among certified chains, it affects their increasing or decreasing tendency to use the certification. So, this factor might play a relevant role in certification results, meaning that those chains that are concentrated in a location and that have some certified establishments (that is, those that have been able to observe certification results) tend to increase their level of certification use. Results suggest that the effect of the geographical concentration of the chain on the effectiveness of the certification is underrated by managers in their initial certification adoption decisions. Although it is not frequently taken into account by managers in their ex ante decisions, certification is especially interesting for those hotel chains characterized by their geographical concentration.