Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.46672/aet.11.2.3
THE INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION OF CROATIAN HOTELS
Davor Perkov
orcid.org/0000-0001-5426-443X
; Libertas International University
Valentina Pantović
; Libertas međunarodno sveučilište
Dalija Kuvačić
; Zagreb University of Applied Science
Abstract
Innovations in tourism, encompassing new products, services, processes, and business models, have increasingly become the subject of both scholarly and practical research. The aim of this paper is to explain the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organizational innovativeness in the Croatian hotel industry. Entrepreneurial orientation, as a dimension of business activity, reflects the inclination of existing companies toward strengthening competitiveness, acting proactively, and taking risks. Organizational innovativeness, as another dimension, refers to changes within hotel management systems aimed at improving the efficiency of marketing investments, responding more quickly to market needs,
and ensuring sustainable development. To measure entrepreneurial orientation, four variables were used: proactiveness,
risk-taking, autonomy, and competitiveness. For organizational innovativeness, three variables were applied:
marketing, product, and process innovation. Given that no research has previously examined the relationship between
these two business dimensions in Croatian hospitality, the added value of this study lies in the findings of an empirical
investigation. A survey of 101 respondents from 101 hotels was conducted to collect primary data. The results confirmed the main hypothesis (H1), which posits a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organizational innovativeness in Croatian hotels. Among the variables, proactiveness and autonomy were found to be most strongly associated with organizational innovativeness. In order to maintain their competitive advantage, hotels primarily rely on less risky innovations that can be implemented quickly. The contribution of this paper lies in providing practitioners and researchers with insights into ways of enhancing hotel products, maintaining competitiveness, and meeting the needs of modern guests. However, the small sample size, the absence of demographic data about respondents, and the lack of details about certain key features of the selected hotels represent limitations to this paper, preventing the formulation of generalized conclusions based on the results.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
340167
URI
Publication date:
4.12.2025.
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