Ángel Peiró-Signes

Does Environmental Certification Help the Economic Performance of Hotels? Evidence from the Spanish Hotel Industry

The capacity to generate value-added services in order to acquire and retain loyal clients is one of the challenges facing the hospitality sector. For this reason and because of economic realities and government policies, an ever-growing number of hotels are formally adopting certified environmental practices such as the ISO 14001. In this article, we attempt to analyze the relationship between the implementation of a proactive environmental management tool, the ISO 14001 standard, and the generation of economic revenues in the Spanish hotel industry. Also considered are the possible effects on the business results of moderating factors such as company size and the market segment where the hotel operates. Empirical economic information on 2,116 Spanish hotels was obtained from the SABI database (Iberian Balance-Sheet Analysis System) for the year 2008, during which 108 properties had ISO 14001 certification. Quantitative analysis techniques showed significant differences in the economic performance of ISO-certified hotels and those not certified, particularly for urban and beach hotels. The results showed influence of both company size and organizational factors on revenue. Only small rural hotels saw no difference in revenues due to the presence or absence of ISO certification.

The Impact of Environmental Certification on Hotel Guest Ratings

In this article, we analyze the impact on hotels of the ISO 14001 environmental certification system from the customers’ perspective. Based on a comparison of customer ratings of 6,850 hotels in Spain with and without ISO 14001 certification, overall guests rate the hotels with ISO 14001 certification higher than those without the certification. These results are stronger for hotel comfort and hotel services compared with other hotel attributes. Moreover, the most significant differences were found in the upscale four-star hotels. While the study does not reveal causes for these findings, the implication is that the highest end five-star luxury hotels do not gain distinctive differentiation by having the ISO 14001 certification, while for three-star hotels, guests’ price sensitivity overrides environmental concerns. At the four-star level, however, hotels seem to be able to gain a distinct market advantage from environmental certification. For all hotels, the management discipline provided by ISO 14001 can provide a competitive advantage.

The effect of tourism clusters on U.S. hotel performance.

A cluster is a geographical concentration of interrelated firms. Cluster theory states that the synergies created inside the cluster (by the interactions between firms that compete and those that collaborate) enhance the productivity and innovation of firms and therefore their economic performance. While manufacturing industries have been widely studied from the clustering perspective, service clusters and specifically touristic clusters have received less attention. In this paper, we identify U.S. touristic clusters using a concentration measure, the Location Quotient. Then we check whether hotels located in touristic clusters obtain higher economic results than those hotels located in areas where the level of touristic-related business concentration does not get the critical mass to consider it a cluster (instead of reducing their benefits due to the high level of competitors nearby). Our results find significant differences between the two sets of hotels. The effect is stronger for subsegments of hotels based on their star category, location, and management structure. Specifically, we demonstrate that the differences are more pronounced within luxury and upscale hotel categories and within chain-managed hotels. The differences are less important in resort and airport locations than in small-metro/town, urban, and suburban areas. These results have important location implications for managers. They also contribute to understanding that economies of agglomeration lead to benefits from being located closely and in highly concentrated industries. But there is still a lot of research needed to better understand the relations between cooperation and competition within touristic clusters and how these enhance the economic performance of hotels.

How Fast Do New Hotels Ramp Up Performance

Using an event study methodology and data from 3,494 new entrants in the U.S. lodging industry, this paper examines how quickly new hotels ramp up their performance after opening. For the years 2006 through 2009, new entrants entered with average daily rates (ADRs) above incumbents, and took seven quarters (1.75 years) to ramp up occupancies to the levels of comparable incumbent hotels. These averages include performance behavior of brand-managed, franchisee-managed, and unaffiliated independent hotel new ventures compared with incumbent hotels in similar geographic markets, locations, and price segments. Overall, new hotels reached comparable revenue per available room (RevPAR) performance by the second quarter of the second year of operation. RevPAR ramp-up was earlier for brand-managed hotels (first quarter of the second year), an outcome primarily attributable to higher occupancies and lower initial ADRs. Independent hotels took substantially longer than other new entrants to reach the RevPAR performance of existing hotels. Based on the faster ramp-up of new branded properties, the chief implication is that hotel developers should consider affiliating with a brand for quicker stabilization and short-term gain. The speed of hotels’ ramp-up also calls into question the conventional view that new hotels represent a relatively risky investment.

The Effects of Localization on Economic Performance: Analysis of Spanish Tourism Clusters

The sun, sea and sand model that has characterized the Spanish tourism sector and has caused Spains tourist sector to become a world-class industry is actually undergoing drastic changes. This model is based on the existence of major tourism destinations characterized by high levels of industry specialisation, which makes them a target of analysis as tourism clusters in which the geographic concentration of synergies reinforces the competitive position. In this study, Spanish tourism clusters are identified using quantitative methods and the current validity of the economies of location that have made them possible are also analysed. Although all the identified clusters can be defined as mature and became less significant during the last decade in Spanish tourism, according to the results the creation of externalities measured in terms of higher generation of profit is higher in companies belonging to the tourism clusters than in those outside of them.

Service vs. manufacturing: how to address more effectively eco-innovation public policies by disentangling the different characteristics of industries

Eco-innovation is actually a fashionable topic, and several researchers are working on understanding the defining characteristics of firms that consider the environment as a priority when innovating. To date most of these studies have been carried out on manufacturing industries. This article investigates the similarities and differences among service and manufacturing firms. An empirical analysis of a sample of 5509 Spanish companies shows that the variables affecting the eco-innovative orientation of firms are quite similar. Results reveal that manufacturing firms have higher orientation toward the environment than service firms. Furthermore, highly polarized positions in environmental aspects can be found. Despite the limitations of the study, conclusions may help public policy to encourage environmental proactivity in service industry and innovation.

Trends in ESG Practices: Differences and Similarities Across Major Developed Markets

Over the past decade, there has been a significant growth in corporate reporting of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) factors. Stakeholders strategy can be affected by ESG factors, but also by their relationship with economic performance. Companies and government should have a deeper knowledge of the ESG information to be able to manage long-term value creation and to mitigate risk, so opportunities and threats can be identified properly. ESG exposure can be important at a company and at an industry level, but also at a country or area level. In this study we try to identify differences in EGS factors across countries, continents, and industries, using country-level, area-level, and industry-level data. We determine the trends in Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance factors to conclude which are key to improving these ratings.

A Framework to Move Forward on the Path to Eco-innovation in the Construction Industry: Implications to Improve Firms' Sustainable Orientation

Abstract This paper examines key aspects in the innovative behavior of the construction firms that determine their environmental orientation while innovating. Structural equation modeling was used and data of 222 firms retrieved from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for 2010 to analyse the drivers of environmental orientation of the construction firms during the innovation process. The results show that the environmental orientation is positively affected by the product and process orientation of construction firms during the innovation process. Furthermore, the positive relation between the importance of market information sources and environmental orientation, mediated by process and product orientation, is discussed. Finally, a model that explains these relations is proposed and validated. Results have important managerial implications for those companies worried about their eco-innovative focus as the types of actions and relations within firms most suitable for improving their eco-innovative orientation are highlighted.

Heterogeneous Behavioral Patterns Influencing the Proactive Environmental Orientation of Firms: How Does Your Company Look?

Components related to sustainable development – such as environmental attitude, eco-innovation or environmental management – are considered key variables at the competitive level, which is why it has become urgent to study which factors motivate companies to move towards a more proactive environmental attitude. The identification of different groups in connection with estimates in the inner path model constitutes a critical issue when applying the path modelling methodology. In this paper, we identify groups of firms with similar behaviour (that is, firm segments) using the FIMIX-PLS algorithm, allowing companies to identify their environmental behaviour and therefore to make proper decisions when enhancing their environmental approach. We surveyed and interviewed 135 industrial companies located in the Valencia region of Spain. The results indicate that companies belong to three different groups that are defined by their motivation towards environmental proactivity, namely “environmental opponents”, “environmental driven” and “environmental trainers”.

Analysing the Determinants of Better Performance Through Eco Management Tools at the Food Industry: An Empirical Study

This chapter exploits a data set of 6118 Spanish firms from 2008 SABI Database (Economic Register) to analyse if there is any relation between economic indicators and the use of the ISO 14001 eco-management tool. Using quantitative analysis techniques applied to the Spanish food industry we try to make a contribution, on one side, in understanding the role of proactive environmental management tools and incremental organizational eco-innovation in creating value in the Spanish food sector by means of an analysis of the effects of the ISO 14001, and on the other side, identifying the aspects that determine whether a food company minimises its environmental impact as a result of its innovative activity, and evolves from being innovative to eco-innovative. Results show significant differences in most of the analysed variables among studied groups.