A Comprehensive Review of the North American Hotel Industry: An Application of the Value Chain Model

Abstract

This study provides an update on the North American hotel industry. It adopts content analysis by analyzing retrieved articles according to the adjusted Porter's value chain model. Major findings showed that most of the previous studies merely investigated one or two topics within the value chain model, and the connections between different types of activities have been largely ignored. Findings on the methodology revealed that nearly 80% of the retrieved articles used primary sources, and more than 85% of these articles applied quantitative data analysis. Future studies should analyze the value chain in its entirety and investigate the relationships among different topics (i.e., interdisciplinary research). Hotel managers may consider the value chain in its entirety and not merely its separate components to facilitate overall strategic decision making.