IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/toueco/v22y2016i3p572-592.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internationalization and hotel performance

Author

Listed:
  • A. George Assaf

    (University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA)

  • Alexander Josiassen

    (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark)

  • Haemoon Oh

    (University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA)

Abstract

Few industries are as inherently international as the hotel industry. This article sets out to investigate the impact of internationalization on performance in the hotel industry. Building on the theory of organizational learning the authors test several hypotheses regarding the shape of the internationalization–performance relationship as well as the impact of four moderating variables. In line with the research aim and the underlying dynamism of organizational learning theory, these hypotheses are tested using a dynamic Bayesian model. The results indicate that internationalization has a U-shaped impact on hotel performance, moderated by cultural distance, regulations and restrictions and the level of development congruence. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for practice and provide directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • A. George Assaf & Alexander Josiassen & Haemoon Oh, 2016. "Internationalization and hotel performance," Tourism Economics, , vol. 22(3), pages 572-592, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:22:y:2016:i:3:p:572-592
    DOI: 10.5367/te.2015.0460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5367/te.2015.0460
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.5367/te.2015.0460?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Kogut & Harbir Singh, 1988. "The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(3), pages 411-432, September.
    2. Finn Wiedersheim-Paul & Hans C Olson & Lawrence S Welch, 1978. "Pre-Export Activity: The First step in Internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 9(1), pages 47-58, March.
    3. Crouch, Geoffrey I. & Ritchie, J. R. Brent, 1999. "Tourism, Competitiveness, and Societal Prosperity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 137-152, March.
    4. Efthymios G. Tsionas, 2006. "Inference in dynamic stochastic frontier models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(5), pages 669-676, July.
    5. Lenn Gomes & Kannan Ramaswamy, 1999. "An Empirical Examination of the Form of the Relationship Between Multinationality and Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(1), pages 173-187, March.
    6. Paul Almeida & Bruce Kogut, 1999. "Localization of Knowledge and the Mobility of Engineers in Regional Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 45(7), pages 905-917, July.
    7. J. Michael Geringer & Paul W. Beamish & Richard C. Dacosta, 1989. "Diversification strategy and internationalization: Implications for mne performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 109-119, March.
    8. Farok J Contractor & Sumit K Kundu & Chin-Chun Hsu, 2003. "A three-stage theory of international expansion: the link between multinationality and performance in the service sector," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(1), pages 5-18, January.
    9. Andrew Delios & Paul W. Beamish, 1999. "Geographic scope, product diversification, and the corporate performance of Japanese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(8), pages 711-727, August.
    10. Lin, Wen-Ting & Liu, Yunshi & Cheng, Kuei-Yang, 2011. "The internationalization and performance of a firm: Moderating effect of a firm's behavior," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 83-95, March.
    11. A. George Assaf & Carlos Pestana Barros, 2013. "A Global Benchmarking of the Hotel Industry," Tourism Economics, , vol. 19(4), pages 811-821, August.
    12. Wilbur Chung & Arturs Kalnins, 2001. "Agglomeration effects and performance: a test of the Texas lodging industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(10), pages 969-988, October.
    13. Huang, Chin-wei & Ho, Foo Nin & Chiu, Yung-ho, 2014. "Measurement of tourist hotels׳ productive efficiency, occupancy, and catering service effectiveness using a modified two-stage DEA model in Taiwan," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 49-59.
    14. Xiao, Simon Shufeng & Jeong, Insik & Moon, Jon Jungbien & Chung, Chris Changwha & Chung, Jaiho, 2013. "Internationalization and Performance of Firms in China: Moderating Effects of Governance Structure and the Degree of Centralized Control," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 118-137.
    15. Lianxi Zhou & Wei-ping Wu & Xueming Luo, 2007. "Internationalization and the performance of born-global SMEs: the mediating role of social networks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(4), pages 673-690, July.
    16. Michael D Lord & Annette L Ranft, 2000. "Organizational Learning About New International Markets: Exploring the Internal Transfer of Local Market Knowledge," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(4), pages 573-589, December.
    17. Farok J Contractor, 1990. "Ownership Patterns of U.S. Joint Ventures Abroad and the Liberalization of Foreign Government Regulations in the 1980s: Evidence from the Benchmark Surveys," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 21(1), pages 55-73, March.
    18. Laszlo Tihanyi & David A Griffith & Craig J Russell, 2005. "The effect of cultural distance on entry mode choice, international diversification, and MNE performance: a meta-analysis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 270-283, May.
    19. Assaf, A. George & Josiassen, Alexander & Ratchford, Brian T. & Barros, Carlos Pestana, 2012. "Internationalization and Performance of Retail Firms: A Bayesian Dynamic Model," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 191-205.
    20. Yadong Luo & Mike W Peng, 1999. "Learning to Compete in a Transition Economy: Experience, Environment, and Performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(2), pages 269-295, June.
    21. Shawna O'Grady & Henry W Lane, 1996. "The Psychic Distance Paradox," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(2), pages 309-333, June.
    22. M Krishna Erramilli, 1991. "The Experience Factor in Foreign Market Entry Behavior of Service Firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(3), pages 479-501, September.
    23. Pennings, J.M. & Barkema, H.G. & Douma, S.W., 1994. "Organizational learning and diversification," Other publications TiSEM 2cabb122-340f-4729-afb3-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    24. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Mary M Maloney & Shalini Manrakhan, 2007. "Causes of the difficulties in internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(5), pages 709-725, September.
    25. George Assaf, A., 2012. "Benchmarking the Asia Pacific tourism industry: A Bayesian combination of DEA and stochastic frontier," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 1122-1127.
    26. Jan Johanson & Jan-Erik Vahlne, 1977. "The Internationalization Process of the Firm—A Model of Knowledge Development and Increasing Foreign Market Commitments," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 8(1), pages 23-32, March.
    27. N Capar & M Kotabe, 2003. "The relationship between international diversification and performance in service firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 34(4), pages 345-355, July.
    28. Barros, Carlos Pestana & Managi, Shunsuke & Matousek, Roman, 2012. "The technical efficiency of the Japanese banks: Non-radial directional performance measurement with undesirable output," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 1-8, January.
    29. Hsu, Chin-Chun & Pereira, Arun, 2008. "Internationalization and performance: The moderating effects of organizational learning," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 188-205, April.
    30. Quer, Diego & Claver, Enrique & Andreu, Rosario, 2007. "Foreign market entry mode in the hotel industry: The impact of country- and firm-specific factors," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 362-376, June.
    31. Laurent Botti & Walter Briec & Nicolas Peypoch & Bernardin Solonandrasana, 2010. "Productivity Growth and Sources of Technological Change in Travel Agencies," Tourism Economics, , vol. 16(2), pages 273-285, June.
    32. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    33. Forsgren, M., 2002. "The concept of learning in the Uppsala internationalization process model: a critical review," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 257-277, June.
    34. Yu-Ching Chiao & Kuo-Pin Yang & Chwo-Ming Yu, 2006. "Performance, Internationalization, and Firm-specific Advantages of SMEs in a Newly-Industrialized Economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 475-492, June.
    35. Varman, Rohit & Costa, Janeen Arnold, 2009. "Competitive and Cooperative Behavior in Embedded Markets: Developing an Institutional Perspective on Bazaars," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 85(4), pages 453-467.
    36. Masaaki Kotabe & Srini S Srinivasan & Preet S Aulakh, 2002. "Multinationality and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of R&D and Marketing Capabilities," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 79-97, March.
    37. Jody Evans & Felix T Mavondo, 2002. "Psychic Distance and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Examination of International Retailing Operations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(3), pages 515-532, September.
    38. Christine M. Chan & Takehiko Isobe & Shige Makino, 2008. "Which country matters? Institutional development and foreign affiliate performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(11), pages 1179-1205, November.
    39. C. K. Prahalad & Gary Hamel, 1994. "Strategy as a field of study: Why search for a new paradigm?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S2), pages 5-16, June.
    40. Stephanie A Fernhaber & Brett Anitra Gilbert & Patricia P McDougall, 2008. "International entrepreneurship and geographic location: an empirical examination of new venture internationalization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(2), pages 267-290, March.
    41. Andreas Bausch & Mario Krist, 2007. "The effect of context-related moderators on the internationalization-performance relationship: Evidence from meta-analysis," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 319-347, June.
    42. Assaf, A. George & Josiassen, Alexander & Agbola, Frank W., 2015. "Attracting international hotels: Locational factors that matter most," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 329-340.
    43. Ricardo Oliveira & Maria Isabel Pedro & Rui Cunha Marques, 2014. "Cost Efficiency of Portuguese Hotels in the Algarve: A Comparative Analysis Using Mathematical and Econometric Approaches," Tourism Economics, , vol. 20(4), pages 797-812, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bo Zhou & Yanping Xu & Seul Ki Lee, 2019. "Tourism development and regional production efficiency: Evidence from southwestern China," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(5), pages 800-818, August.
    2. A. George Assaf & Alexander Josiassen & Jin Sun Ahn & Anna S. Mattila, 2017. "Advertising spending, firm performance, and the moderating impact of CSR," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(7), pages 1484-1495, November.
    3. Assaf, A. George & Tsionas, Mike G., 2019. "Forecasting occupancy rate with Bayesian compression methods," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 439-449.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Assaf, A. George & Josiassen, Alexander & Ratchford, Brian T. & Barros, Carlos Pestana, 2012. "Internationalization and Performance of Retail Firms: A Bayesian Dynamic Model," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 191-205.
    2. Garbe, Jan-Nicolas & Richter, Nicole Franziska, 2009. "Causal analysis of the internationalization and performance relationship based on neural networks -- advocating the transnational structure," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 413-431, December.
    3. Arte, Pratik & Larimo, Jorma, 2022. "Moderating influence of product diversification on the international diversification-performance relationship: A meta-analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1408-1423.
    4. de Jong, Gjalt & van Houten, Jerry, 2014. "The impact of MNE cultural diversity on the internationalization-performance relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 313-326.
    5. Christian Schwens & Florian B. Zapkau & Michael Bierwerth & Rodrigo Isidor & Gary Knight & Rüdiger Kabst, 2018. "International Entrepreneurship: A Meta–Analysis on the Internationalization and Performance Relationship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(5), pages 734-768, September.
    6. Johanson, Martin & Martín Martín, Oscar, 2015. "The incremental expansion of Born Internationals: A comparison of new and old Born Internationals," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 476-496.
    7. Xiao, Simon Shufeng & Jeong, Insik & Moon, Jon Jungbien & Chung, Chris Changwha & Chung, Jaiho, 2013. "Internationalization and Performance of Firms in China: Moderating Effects of Governance Structure and the Degree of Centralized Control," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 118-137.
    8. Miller, Stewart R. & Lavie, Dovev & Delios, Andrew, 2016. "International intensity, diversity, and distance: Unpacking the internationalization–performance relationship," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 907-920.
    9. Hitt, Michael A. & Li, Dan & Xu, Kai, 2016. "International strategy: From local to global and beyond," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-73.
    10. Goudarz Azar & Rian Drogendijk, 2014. "Psychic Distance, Innovation, and Firm Performance," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 54(5), pages 581-613, October.
    11. Mara Madaleno & Celeste Amorim Varum & Isabel Horta, 2018. "SMEs Performance and Internationalization: A Traditional Industry Approach," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 19(2), pages 605-624, November.
    12. Heyder, Matthias & Makus, Christian & Theuvsen, Ludwig, 2011. "Internationalization and Firm Performance in Agribusiness: Empirical Evidence from European Cooperatives," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Joonho Shin & Xavier Mendoza & Changbum Choi, 2022. "Do internationalizing business group affiliates perform better after promarket reforms? Evidence from Korean SMEs," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 805-841, June.
    14. Yong Yang & Nigel Driffield, 2012. "Multinationality-Performance Relationship," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 23-47, February.
    15. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Harhoff, Philippa-Luisa, 2021. "The accelerating effect of institutional environment unfamiliarity on subsidiary portfolio expansion in a new host country," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    16. Afrifa, Godfred Adjapong & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Yamoah, Fred & Acquaye, Adolf & Syllias, Johnny & Quaye, Enoch Nii Boi, 2022. "Regional development, innovation systems and service companies’ performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    17. Phuong V. Nguyen & Hien Thi Ngoc Huynh & Hoa Doan Xuan Trieu & Khoa T. Tran, 2019. "Internationalization, Strategic Slack Resources, and Firm Performance: The Case Study of Vietnamese Enterprises," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, September.
    18. Quyen T. K. Nguyen, 2017. "Multinationality and Performance Literature: A Critical Review and Future Research Agenda," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 311-347, June.
    19. Jaeyoung Cho & Jangwoo Lee, 2018. "Internationalization and performance of Korean SMEs: the moderating role of competitive strategy," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(2), pages 140-166, April.
    20. Benito-Osorio, Diana & Colino, Alberto & Guerras-Martín, Luis Ángel & Zúñiga-Vicente, José Ángel, 2016. "The international diversification-performance link in Spain: Does firm size really matter?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 548-558.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:22:y:2016:i:3:p:572-592. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.