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The purpose of this paper is to identify the state of academic research on ethical issues connected to innovation in hospitality. Through a systematic review of the literature on this topic, the authors aim to offer a synthesis of research approaches and to provide proposals for future research.

The authors conducted searches in four different databases, to select articles based on the inclusion criteria: the articles should combine the topics of innovation and hospitality/tourism and have been published between 2011 and 2021. Through an iterative screening process, the authors selected 71 research articles.

This paper distinguishes two categories of approaches to the topic: a first and predominant approach in which innovations are derived from evolving ethical insights and a more dispersed second category that explores the ethical implications of innovations. In the first category, articles about ethical leadership represent the greatest number, followed by those about corporate social responsibility (CSR). Almost half of the papers studied followed qualitative methods.

The authors argue that the prevalent perspective represents a specific interpretation of the social role of private companies, but that the ethical effects of commercial or technological innovations deserve more attention. Despite a rigorous procedure in reviewing the literature systematically, they also discuss that there are multiple relevant debates that do not refer explicitly to ethical aspects, but that should be included in the topic.

Addressing the research gaps in ethics and innovation in hospitality must provide practitioners with an understanding of the ramifications of their innovations and with criteria for ethical decision-making.

The current orientation of the debate underscores ethical innovations in hospitality and tourism, whilst ethical risks of other developments in these industries may remain understudied.

This review updates earlier reviews of ethical issues in hospitality and tourism, whilst the link to innovation and the distinction of two categories, based on the causal direction between ethical considerations and innovation, identify an imbalance in the study of the topic.

This paper discusses plausible future scenarios for small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in the “sun, sea and sand” destination of the Canary Islands (Spain) and assesses to what extent they are prepared to adjust to market changes and technological developments in the light of both sudden disruptions and long-term shocks.

A scenario analysis was made based upon expert interviews, leading to a 2 × 2 scenario matrix.

Although regional, national and European strategies advocate digital transformation as a step towards building resilience and towards a more sustainable future, this study identifies two major uncertainties that can put that transformation at risk: a change of the traditional “sun, sand and sea” visitor to a more conscious, individual and inquisitive traveller or “Promad”, and the business culture of SMTEs.

Resilience for sudden and for slow-paced disruptions poses different challenges for SMTEs. Their next step in the digital transformation must take them form marketing and sales-oriented e-business to growing interconnectivity and innovation across supply chains.

A market change towards the “Promad” type of traveller causes at least a temporary mismatch of demand and supply. As many SMTEs miss either the knowledge or the resources to invest in digital transformation, the process will depend on support and coordination at destination level.

The study identifies, with the example of the Canary Islands, the difficulties for destinations and individual businesses in making the envisioned transition of mass tourism to more competitive forms of tourism with a smaller ecological footprint.