Multinational Hotel Corporations Research Articles

(Dis)connected organizational identity of multinational hotel corporations: Employee insights from a Mexican luxury hotel property

Organizational identity (OI) is a critical concept in understanding what is central, distinctive, and enduring to an organization. For headquarters of a multinational corporation that command multiple subsidiaries across nations and cultures, addressing a unified OI is challenging. Specifically, within tourism and hospitality management, scant attention has been paid to examine multinational tourism and hospitality corporations using OI frameworks. Thus, through a social constructionist lens, this paper aims to explore corporate and property OI of a multinational hotel corporation by using a single bounded case in Mexico. Data collection included interviews, focus groups, direct observations, and internal documentation. Findings indicated the connection and disconnection between corporate and property OI through localization and power dynamics. Theoretical and industry implications clarify insights to better understand the OI complexities in a multinational hotel corporation setting.

Talent designation in practice: an equation of high potential, performance and mobility

Effective identification of talent is a central element of talent management. Talk of talent often involves two distinct, yet interrelated dimensions: performance and potential. The talent management literature has however provided limited consideration both conceptually and empirically concerning the delimitation between these two dimensions. This paper looks to address this by examining how the talent construct is operationalised in practice. It considers two key research questions; what indicators of performance and potential are applied by key organisational stakeholders in discerning what talent is? What factors impact talent designation? We adopt a multilevel case study design encompassing 73 interviews with senior organisational leaders in three multinational hotel corporations. Our findings demonstrate that the dimensions of high performance and high potential were commonly spoken about when referring to talent. However, there was a substantial lack of clarity around potential with a conflation between it and performance common. Moreover, mobility emerged as a critical contextual factor in being labelled as talent or not. The paper contributes to talent management scholarship by providing a more nuanced approach in understanding how talent is enacted in practice in an underexplored empirical context.

Conceptualising talent in multinational hotel corporations

PurposeTo identify, develop and retain talent, an important first step is to ensure that key stakeholders in the talent management (TM) process have a shared view of what is meant by talent within the organisation. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how talent is defined in the context of the hospitality industry and to examine the degree of (mis)alignment among corporate and business unit leaders.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a qualitative approach consisting of 73 interviews with stakeholders at corporate and business unit levels in three multinational hotel corporations. In addition, documents were collected and analysed to support the interview data.FindingsEach organisation had a formal approach to conceptualising talent at a corporate level. Both inclusive and exclusive views on talent as well as a broad set of characteristics that make up talent were reported with the importance of organisational values being prominent. However, despite formal global policies being in place, considerable divergence in practice was found across organisational levels.Practical implicationsA lack of clarity on what talent means in an organisational setting may lead to an inconsistent talent identification process which may lead to negative perceptions of fairness among employees. This may, in turn, bring about disgruntled employees and increased turnover.Originality/valueThis paper provides empirical evidence to the limited body of knowledge on the conceptualisation of talent. The display of organisational values emerged as important to being labelled talent, a factor that has received scant consideration in the literature.

Up against the wall: ecotourism, development, and social justice in Costa Rica

Nearly one-quarter of Costa Rica's export earnings derive from an expanding tourist sector, one that is increasingly diversified in a mix of tourist niches. Ecotourism is the fastest growing niche and its promises are featured in a range of sites and practices, including the largest multinational hospitality and hotel corporations. These companies promote a vision of sustainability that relies on expanding consumption of ‘environmental' amenities through profit-driven global corporations – a vision that is, to some, antithetical to the very meaning of ecotourism. Our study explores the historical evolution of tourist development in Costa Rica, specifically large-scale coastal development, as a means for national development. Amid pressures to attract foreign direct investment in a neoliberal era, Costa Rica has struggled to maintain its developmentalism, which includes social welfare, environmental protection, and public goods, including coastal preservation and public access. We argue Costa Rica's simultaneous protection of coastlines and public access and the promotion of large-scale private investment by global real estate and hospitality industries exposes contradictory ethical paradigms of developmentalism, one rooted in the principle of inclusion and the other in exclusion. We highlight these contradictions in two events in order to raise questions about development, ethics, and inclusion.

Interpreting the mind of multinational hotel investors: Future trends and implications in China

This study provides an updated outlook on the future of the investments proposed by multinational hotel corporations in China. Data were collected from secondary sources using keyword research to identify proposed new hotel developments and future trends in China. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that the decisions of multinational hotel groups with respect to business formats, the direction trends of investments, and the attractiveness of Chinese market are affected by the happening of mega-events, Chinese government policies, the presence of local entrepreneurs, and market potential.

The role of middle management in the execution of expansion strategies: The case of developers’ selection of hotel projects

This research is based on the strategy premise that managerial action matters and integrates middle management's decisions in examining successful execution of expansion strategies. The study complements existing strategy models by including middle management's decisions (as opposed to top executives’) and examines how managers rely on control-related tactics to meet strategic objectives. A theoretical integration around the construct of control guides the research design. A comparative case study approach is employed to examine how developers in multinational hotel corporations select hotel projects when implementing expansion strategies. Findings suggest that a trade-off between control costs and control benefits determines the success of project selection for expansion.

Learning orientation and the hotel expatriate manager experience

US-based multinational hotel corporations experience a high level of failure among expatriate managers. Research suggests that expatriate success is highly correlated with both technical competence and adaptability. While there are numerous ways to measure an expatriate candidate's technical competence, evaluating a nominee's ability to adapt is more problematic. One indicator of adaptability that can be identified in the expatriate selection process is a candidate's level of learning orientation. Learning orientation can also be developed through a three-stage cross-cultural training program that is explicated in this article.

The challenges and opportunities of franchising in China’s hotel industry

Franchising develops quickly in the hotel industry with the expansion and globalization of hotel chains, as it brings about advantages and sets up a very good leverage between two parties – franchisor and franchisee. Major multinational hotel corporations have entered China, but franchising is seldom used as a tool of expansion there. The continuous increase in tourism and the structural change in the hotel industry in China afford more opportunities for the growth of franchising operations and also of indigenous hotel chains. When franchising in this specific market, quality control, ownership, connection, business tradition and franchisor‐franchisee relationships should be examined carefully in order to ensure success. A full understanding of China’s peculiar social, cultural, economic and political context is essential for foreign companies, whilst existing and new indigenous companies require greater technical and operating expertise along with the necessary business acumen to operate hotel chains.

Perceptions of management difficulty factors by expatriate hotel professionals in China

Successful overseas hotel operations depend on technically competent and culturally adaptable expatriate managers. This study reveals that expatriate hotel professionals from many different countries are now working in China. It examines and analyses the perceptions of six management difficulty factors by the expatriate hotel professionals. Staff attitude and lack of competence of the local managers are identified as the most difficult management factors, followed by language barriers, cultural differences and lack of local management support. Government policy change is perceived as the least difficult factor. The empirical findings of this study can be used by the Chinese tourism authority to improve the business environment for foreign investment and management; and by multinational hotel corporations to strengthen training programs in preparing expatriate managers for management assignments in China.

US Multinational Involvement in the International Hotel Sector An Analysis

This paper seeks to explain the structure of the international hotel industry and the involvement of US multinational hotel corporations in it. This involvement has taken the non-traditional form of management contracts and franchising agreements, with little, if any, direct investment. From the point of view of the multinational corporation this form of involvement can be explained by the desire to expand rapidly to gain a major share of the world market, while minimising capital outlay and the risk of operation in an uncertain environment. Obviously, however, such involvement by multinational corporations would not have been possible, had not host countries looked on it with favour. Interestingly, such involvement has not only been merely acceptable, but indeed desirable to host countries, for it maximises skills transfer and access to a global marketing system, while reducing the control of the multinational corporation on domestic industry.

Appropriate policies towards multinational hotel corporations in developing countries

Despite the prevalence of international hotel chains in the tourism sector of developing countries, little research has been carried out on the structure of the industry, the sources of the competitive advantages of the hotel chains over indigenous hotels, reasons for the alternative forms of involvement of the hotel chains and deriving from this, their potential and actual impact on host countries. This article applies theories developed for the multinational enterprise in the manufacturing sector, to original data and observations on the international hotel industry. Given the state of the art and the limited information on the impact of MNE hotels, the paper is principally concerned with generating potentially useful hypotheses for consideration by host governments and to provide a framework for further research. Certain policy conclusions however, are drawn from the analysis, especially regarding the appropriate from of involvement by the international hotels.