ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS: centralisation , chain hotels ,
competitive value , organisational performance
This paper makes an exploratory study of the
centralisation of operations in hotels that belong
to a chain and are located in a tourist destination.
Although hotels are increasingly using a strategy
of operations centralisation, little research has
addressed the impact of that centralisation on the
strategic business units (hotels). First, this study
analyses the degree of centralisation of the hotel
operations across the hotel chains examined.
These operations constitute the activities or business
processes that are necessary to provide the
hotel service. Secondly, this work examines the
perceived influence that operations centralisation
has on the operation ’ s competitive value for the
strategic business unit from the resource-based
view of the firm. Thirdly, it analyses the influence
of operations centralisation on the operational
performance of the hotel. A survey instrument
was developed and data were collected from a field
study of 32 hotels belonging to 16 different hotel
chains operating in a European tourist destination.
The results of this study indicate that the
most centralised operations are those that require
specific skills and knowledge, as well as those that
are less valuable for the hotels. They also show
that the degree of centralisation has an influence
on some aspects of operational performance related
to human resources. This work shows the influence
that each operation has on operational
performance, depending on its degree of centralisation.
Tourism and Hospitality Research (2006) 6, 251 – 266.
doi: 10.1057/palgrave.thr.6050022