Understanding the challenges of implementing best practices in hospitality and tourism SMEs

Purpose – To provide insight into the barriers to the application of best practices in hospitality and tourism small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews were conducted with owners, managers and staff in 89 award‐winning business in the hospitality and tourism industry. Eight areas of best practice that arose from an initial pilot study were investigated in the sample population of SME's. With a holistic and multiple‐cases analysis approach, the case studies are assembled to form a portrait of hospitality and tourism in the UK.Findings – Results suggest a model identifying seven key capabilities that underlie the adoption of best practices and six barriers to their implementation. The seven key capabilities for hospitality and tourism SMEs are customer focused goals, planning and control, partnering and networking, internal and external communication, achieving consistent standards, strategic workforce management, cash flow and performance manage...

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