Relationship management, competitive advantage and performance of hotels: A resource-based view

Abstract

The competitiveness and growth of the hotel industry have propelled a lot of interest by researchers. Premised on the resource-based view, dynamic capability and competitive advantage theories, this paper investigated the effect of managing supplier and customer relationships on the competitive advantage and performance of hotels. Questionnaires were distributed to managers of one-star rated hotels in the Central and Western regions, and data was analyzed with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Analysis of the hypothesized relationships revealed that management of customer relationships had a significant and positive effect on competitive advantage; however, supplier relationship management did not. Again, both supplier relationship management and customer relationship management had no direct effect on the operational performance of hotels. Further, the study confirmed that competitive advantage influences the operational performance of hotels. A mediation test through the bootstrapping procedure revealed that competitive advantage fully mediates customer relationship management and operational performance relationship. The study contributes to the resource-based view and competitive advantage literature and draws implications for practice by hotel managers. It is recommended that the management of hotels maintain a balanced relationship with customers and suppliers.