Exploratory and co-exploratory innovation. The mediating role of digitalization on competitiveness in the hotel industry

Tourism plays a fundamental role in the economy of many countries and its growth is driven by the capacity of the tourism industry to offer new products and experiences. To compete efficiently, tourism firms need to be innovative, either through increasing their efficiency or by offering new high-quality products capable of satisfying customer demands. The complexity of the tourism environment highlights the need to understand innovation patterns that contribute to improving competitiveness in tourism firms, especially in the hotel industry. Therefore, the objective of this study is twofold. First, analyze the relationship between innovation processes and competitiveness in the hotel industry. Second, study whether digitalization in the hotel industry influences the innovation-competitiveness relationship. Following an exhaustive literature review, we develop a research model with four hypotheses, which are tested through PLS on a population of 322 Spanish hotels with at least 3 stars. The results show that innovation activities alone do not increase hotel competitiveness and that hotels should digitalize their activities in order to capitalize on innovation efforts towards efficient processes and differentiated services.