ABSTRACT
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the core responsible leadership (RL) practices that are most relevant to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) restaurants. Furthermore, the authors adapt scales to measure these practices and conduct a pilot study to evaluate their impact on business performance in such establishments.Design/methodology/approachExploratory sequential mixed methods are used to fulfill the research aims. In the first phase, a set of definitions and practices associated with RL are derived from a systematic literature review. Second, a projective method of data collection is applied, involving a panel of 16 experts. Third, a fuzzy cognitive map is developed, which captures the responses of 40 owners or general managers of SME restaurants.FindingsTwenty-five practices are identified from the systematic literature review. The results show the five leadership practices that match the order of importance assigned by the experts: societal orientation, ethics, stakeholder involvement, power-sharing and environmental orientation. The relevance of those five practices is validated to explain SME restaurants' financial performance and innovation performance.Practical implicationsInnovation is the key to advancing business sustainability and resilience, and the results identify the specific RL practices that enable improvements to be made in innovation performance among SME restaurants.Originality/valueThis paper identifies the RL practices that are particularly relevant to the tourism field (specifically, the restaurant industry), offers measurement scales for those practices and provides empirical evidence of the relationship between these RL practices and business performance in SME restaurants.
ABSTRACT
Purpose>This study aims to examine the role of eco-label hotel engagement as a pathway to sustainable practices via scouting entrepreneurial resilience and orientation at highly ranked hotels in Oman. The authors developed and tested a novel model built on resilience theory, the theory of entrepreneurial orientation and the theory of reasoned action (TRA).Design/methodology/approach>Data from 167 human resources directors, hotel managers and other employees were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).Findings>Results indicate a strong positive relationship between entrepreneurial resilience and entrepreneurial orientation. Entrepreneurial orientation significantly increased all eco-label strategies, but not all strategies enhanced sustainable tourism practices. High adoption of sustainability practices depended on core strategies related to awareness, benefits, reputation and necessity, but the cost was also an issue. Managers adopted sustainability practices if they were not perceived as costly, or when perceived as costly if they believed they would help them reduce operating costs.Practical implications>Policymakers should assist hotel managers when the sector is hit by political events, natural disasters or health crises such as the current pandemic can bounce back and develop their resilience. Likewise, training and workshops can be organized to improve managers' entrepreneurial mindset, which was found to be a precursor to favorable attitudes toward sustainability.Originality/value>This study tests a novel model built on three theories: resilience theory, the theory of entrepreneurial orientation and the TRA by using PLS-SEM and fsQCA.