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Traditional innovation typologies within the extant literature are not compatible with the innovation levels found within the Australian outdoor hospitality parks (OHP) sector, given its tourism and small business characteristics. This paper seeks to introduce an innovation typology specific to the Australian OHP sector.

A two‐phase qualitative research method was employed, whereby 30 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with OHP operators/administrators who were identified as being “innovative” by four industry executives. Based on the 30 interviews carried out in Phase 1, six industry individuals who demonstrated a wider and deeper approach to innovation than the others were further interviewed in Phase 2.

A small percentage of Australian OHP industry operators and executive officers showcase a level of innovation that is beyond incremental in character, but is not radical, revolutionary or disruptive. This group of “strategic innovators” are the first to adopt ideas from other sources and adapt them to fit within the Australian context. These new ideas are introduced in three‐ to four‐year increments, providing the individuals with sufficient time to assess the market's reaction to the changes, and to measure increased value to their situation. The three‐ to four‐year time span dovetails with the length of time taken by the majority of competitors to imitate the new concepts.

The paper introduces an innovation typology applicable to the Australian outdoor hospitality parks sector.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the state of academic research on innovation in tourism. The authors present a systematic review of the literature, different research approaches and perspectives on tourism innovation; offer a synthesis of our findings and provide a discussion and proposals for future research.

Existing studies on innovation in hospitality and tourism (included in the Web of Knowledge database) were reviewed, and their limitations were identified. A procedure used in previous studies (Crossan and Apaydin, 2010; Tranfield et al., 2003; Becheikh et al., 2006) was applied. Moreover, aiming to reveal theoretical foundations of tourism innovation research and identify their structure, a bibliometric analysis was performed.

This paper identifies 152 published papers that represent the major efforts in expanding the body of research on innovation in hospitality and tourism. The importance of innovation for business and regional competitiveness and success has been recognised by both researchers and practitioners. In the papers included in the sample of this paper, the authors identified a general consensus that much remains to be done in the development of the theory of innovation in tourism. Through bibliometric analysis, nine co-citation networks, or clusters, were retrieved by applying co-citation relations among the most cited authors. The examination of these nine clusters revealed some dominant themes that characterise the field.

The authors used three databases: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index. While these databases may not include all relevant research, the authors, nonetheless, believe that by using a rigorous procedure in reviewing the literature systematically, they were able to reduce the probability of neglecting any information that would critically change the content of the present paper.

The aim of this paper was to bring together the prior research with presently existing models that may be used in further research. For the continuation of the research, the authors propose additional studies with the aim of theory development. By introducing new theoretical ideas and theoretical models, more qualitative and inductive research would help to stimulate further work. As stated above, researchers could go further by undertaking quantitative methods to empirically verify the theoretically proposed models.

Since the last review (Hjalager, 2010) of past studies in tourism innovation, mostly focusing on studies up to 2009, tourism innovation research has grown noticeably in terms of diverse topics. In this paper’s database, the year with the most publications was 2012 with 48 papers, followed by 2014 with 42 (by 19 September), 2010 and 2011 with 41 and 2009 with 29. To the authors’ knowledge, no updated reviews focusing on innovation in tourism have been published recently. This study, consisting of a systematic review of academic literature, includes analyses of the international context, the methodology used, the points of view, the level of analysis (micro-level, macro-level and general level) and the type of innovation discussed in the paper. Moreover, the authors did not find any studies that used bibliometric analysis to identify the structure of the theoretical foundation of research in the area of innovation in tourism.

The purpose of this study is to test the usefulness of the literature-based innovation output (LBIO) approach to identify innovation types from press releases of hospitality firms and to evaluate if the typology captures the effect of innovation on firm value.

The LBIO approach was applied to three years of press releases from two publicly traded lodging firms in the USA announcing innovations. A database of lodging and innovation relevant terms was compiled. Starting with classifications found in the innovation literature, the researchers coded each announcement. Coded announcements were clustered into innovation types using pairwise similarity analysis. Event study analysis assessed the efficacy of the overall method to find types that were useful to measure the impact on firm value from the company’s adoption of an innovation.

Cluster analysis identified four lodging innovation types: property and location, marketing, strategic development and guest experiences. These types corresponded closely with the innovation classification suggested by the Oslo Manual. The event study found that the typology was useful in determining the market value effects of an innovation.

This study focused on innovation; future studies might test other organizational factors. The study uses data from two large, publicly traded hospitality firms and may not extend to smaller, privately held businesses. A key implication is that human coding is sufficient to identify innovation types that correspond closely with existing classifications and affect firm value.

This study successful learns from hospitality press releases to identify a hospitality innovation typology and tests type impact on firm value.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the study considers research on creativity and innovation in the field of general management and hospitality. Second, the paper develops a theoretical model to integrate individual- and group-level creativity particularly for service organizations.

This paper provides a comprehensive, albeit non-inclusive, review of research on creativity and innovation in organizations. The review reveals that hospitality research on creativity and innovation has not matched the new advances in management research, particularly the multilevel nature of creativity and the outcomes of creativity. Thus, to advance research in hospitality, this paper proposes a multilevel model of creativity based on a strategic contingency power theory. This model examines how individual- and group-level uncertainties hinder creativity. Moreover, the model also considers several uncertainty coping strategies and examines individual- and group-level outcomes of creativity.

The proposed theoretical model integrates individual- and group-level uncertainty determinants of creativity and yields a multilevel approach to creativity. Several testable hypotheses are proposed.

This paper highlights the strategic contingency power approach between individual- and group-level uncertainties in creativity. Uncertainty coping practices that alleviate the negative effects of uncertainties on creativity will be useful to managers and service organizations.

The proposed model provides plausible guidelines that advance creativity research in hospitality management.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of the novel service encounter with reference to three research questions: first, what kind of creative acts do frontline employees undertake during a novel service encounter? Second, how does the novel service encounter correlate with service innovation? Third, how does it vary in different market environments? The novel service encounter refers to creative acts undertaken by frontline staff working at the employee-customer interface. These acts are important sources of new ideas for service innovation and demand systematic study.

Methods in this study are triangulated by combining interviews, field observations and a survey to develop an observation template for examining the creative acts undertaken by frontline employees during service encounters in an international tourist apparel retailer.

This paper provides initial empirical evidence of the process of the novel service encounter and highlights the use of participant observation as a useful methodology.

This paper contributes to the service innovation literature by examining the novel service encounter using an observation template that takes into account its process-driven nature. It is suggested that improvisation by frontline employees during the service encounter is crucial to innovation, and a standardized service does not fit every situation.

This study aims to explore the patterns and transformational dynamics of the executive–interpreter network in the innovation processes of small- and medium-sized enterprises in hospitality.

Grounded in social network theory and adopting a case-based approach, this study features a multi-case design focusing on three Chinese boutique hotels. Data were collected through Web page and document reviews, participant observations and semistructured interviews.

Results capture how executive–interpreter network dynamics contribute to innovation in small- and medium-sized hotels. Key factors in social networks (e.g. size, scope and strength) shift throughout innovation. This study presents a design-driven approach as a means of innovation. Findings also delineate the network development conditions under which innovation dynamically occurs in boutique hotels.

Practical implications center on how network dynamics help small- and medium-sized hotels innovate more effectively. These insights can assist hotel operators and prospective market entrants in improving their hotels’ performance and competitiveness.

This study blends social network theory with a design-driven approach to explore innovation mechanisms in small- and medium-sized hotels. It offers empirical evidence for practitioners regarding design-driven innovation. Findings enrich the body of knowledge on both design-driven innovation theory and hospitality innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of knowledge resources on marketing innovation and the way learning capability mediates this relationship. In addition, it evaluates the effect of marketing innovation on the financial performance of hotel firms.

Data from a survey conducted in companies that operate hotel establishments are analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The SEM technique makes it possible to evaluate the multiple and intersected relationships existing among the variables under study.

Collective knowledge has a direct influence on marketing innovation and an indirect effect through the learning capability, but the influence of the knowledge held by individuals on marketing innovation is exercised through the learning capability. In turn, both the learning capability and marketing innovation favor the financial performance of hotel firms.

The study shows that intangible resources play an important role in achieving marketing innovation and financial performance. Because the hospitality industry is composed of firms with different characteristics, it would be relevant to confirm the model in other hospitality businesses. Future studies could analyze possible links between marketing innovation and other types of performance.

Hotel firms can reach higher performance levels if they invest in developing the employees’ knowledge and, fundamentally, in fomenting a higher level of collective knowledge related to the business environment in general. Likewise, the learning capability plays a relevant role in achieving performance in hotels firms.

To date, studies on innovation in the field of hospitality have mainly focused on developing new services, while other types of innovation, such as marketing innovation, have taken a backseat. Likewise, the hospitality literature has paid little attention to knowledge assets. This study deals with both topics, analyzing knowledge resources and the learning capability as possible antecedents of marketing innovation activities. Furthermore, the effect of marketing innovation on the firm’s performance is evaluated.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and implications of knowledge advanced through service employees’ innovative behaviour and leading to initiating innovation within the hotel service subsector.

A case study research method was applied to achieve the research objectives, which investigated two hotel properties resembling two personal–interactive service systems. In total, 52 semi-structured interviews were conducted along with other qualitative research methods, including the direct observation of employees, review of management archives/literature and the assessment of “micro cases”.

The research outcome highlights the role of knowledge as supplementary to the interlinked process of idea generation and development. A novel classification of two types of knowledge is revealed as pre-encounter and encounter-dependent knowledge, implicating four patterns of service employees’ innovative behaviour.

This paper recommends practical measures to nurture service employees’ innovative behaviour, leading to innovation.

This study contributes to service innovation research by providing an in-depth assessment at the micro level, overlooked to date, of the nature of knowledge and the service employees’ role in initiating innovation within the hotel service subsector.

This paper aims to analyze the extent to which social capital (SC) spurs innovation in firms located within tourism clusters. Specifically, the study focuses on the mediating role of ambidextrous knowledge strategy (AKS) on the relationship between SC and innovation.

A structural model is used on a sample of 215 firms of the hospitality and tourism industry located in World Heritage Cities of Spain. Data analysis is carried out using partial least squares.

The combination of bonding and bridging capital yields higher innovation performance through AKS.

This analysis does not take into account the full set of confounding factors that influence innovation. The factors captured by this study significantly explain heterogeneity in the intensity of innovation among the studied firms.

The main recommendation is that firms located in cultural tourism clusters (CTCs) do not restrict the focus on either local or outside relations only but pursue a strategy based on the combination of internal and external relations. This will enable ambidextrous knowledge strategies and better innovation performance.

There are numerous studies on the relation between some dimensions of SC, some knowledge strategies and some types of innovation. The value added of the present study is the articulation of complementarities among these dimensions. In particular, this study integrates bonding and bridging dimensions of SC, exploration and exploitation of knowledge and incremental and radical innovation. In addition, the paper provides an empirical identification of World Heritage Cities of Spain as CTCs.