Abstract
Attracting and retaining high-quality employees is becoming an unrelenting challenge for many employers. Therefore, employer branding is a key developmental area for companies, as it aims to attract potential employees and to engage the current staff. This paper investigates how current employees in tourism and hospitality perceive their employers regarding the level of creativity and innovation in the workplace. The study adopts the Employer Attractiveness scale, with a specific focus on the component capturing aspects of creativity and innovation. An online survey and in-depth interviews were conducted with employees working in different areas of the tourism and hospitality sector in Sweden. The results suggest that many employees perceive their jobs as creative, and further indicate that the possibility of being creative and innovative at work is an important driver for employees to stay with their current employer. This factor also influences their intention to recommend employment at the company to others. Moreover, the results of this study suggest that the economic value in terms of total compensation is important for employees in the tourism and hospitality sector, as it affects intention to stay as well as likelihood to recommend.
Highlights
Today, creativity and innovation are critical sources of sustained competitive advantage for firms
This is relevant in the tourism and hospitality sector, in which the satisfaction of guests is highly dependent on the quality of the service encounters (Mattila & Enz, 2002) and on em ployees’ skills, capabilities, and creativity
To bridge the aforementioned research gap, this study aims to contribute to the existing literature on employer branding by assessing how current employees in the tourism and hospitality sector perceive their employers with regard to creativity and innovation, in relation to other dimensions of employer attractiveness
Summary
Creativity and innovation are critical sources of sustained competitive advantage for firms. Employer branding in services firms is crucial because contact personnel in service settings play an essential role; for value creation and for customer satisfaction during service in teractions and encounters (Bitner, 1990; Smith, Bolton, & Wagner, 1999). This is relevant in the tourism and hospitality sector, in which the satisfaction of guests is highly dependent on the quality of the service encounters (Mattila & Enz, 2002) and on em ployees’ skills, capabilities, and creativity. As Wang, Tsai, and Tsai (2014) point out, a more creative workforce is needed to provide highquality services in the intensely competitive tourism and hospitality industries
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
