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The integration of a Swedish minority in the hotel business culture: the case of Riva del Sole

Marco Valeri (Based in the Department of Business Management, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy)
Silvia Baiocco (Based in the Department of Business Management, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy)

Tourism Review

ISSN: 1660-5373

Article publication date: 6 April 2012

545

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the integration of minorities into the hotel industry stimulates innovation by promoting competitiveness in the tourism industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis uses the co‐evolutionary perspective of firms and the environment: firms co‐evolve with the environment in the search for competitive advantage. This paper follows the qualitative methodology of case study research.

Findings

Empirical evidence demonstrates that the Riva del Sole company has been able to grasp the tangible and intangible factors that distinguish the multifaceted Tuscan territory, and enhance them through its own business strategy, transforming them into a competitive advantage.

Research limitations/implications

The interpretation of the survey is limited by being the observation of a single unit of analysis. Further improvements could result from the use of statistical models of analysis results, the use of analysis of information which emerged from the interviews on the strategic behavior of local actors and clients.

Practical implications

The innovative offering of Swedish minority entrepreneurship (Riva del Sole) was the offering of a hotel service articulated on various inhabitable units that comprised the hotel and which were nourished by the typical resources of the territory, offering a hospitality service strong in experiential content and rich in local flavor.

Originality/value

The paper offers a novel approach (co‐evolutionary perspective between firms and the environment) to see and understand newly‐emerging dynamics in the tourism business sector.

Keywords

Citation

Valeri, M. and Baiocco, S. (2012), "The integration of a Swedish minority in the hotel business culture: the case of Riva del Sole", Tourism Review, Vol. 67 No. 1, pp. 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/16605371211216378

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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