The Domestic Development Experience of a Hotel Firm with Chinese Characteristics

Abstract

China’s hotel industry has been at the forefront of the country’s reform and open-door endeavors since 1978. The process of reform blends free-market concepts with historical Chinese approaches, as demonstrated by the case of Jin Jiang Hotel Group, a state-owned enterprise (SOE), which is China’s largest hotel firm. Through a landmark series of interviews with Jin Jiang executives, this case study identifies and analyzes the domestic expansion processes that have influenced the firm’s development. The themes informing this domestic development process include developing core competencies (brand building, networks, and core standards), corporate restructuring, human resources development, and regional domestic market penetration. Of the many legacy issues that Jin Jiang must address, human resources is perhaps foremost, given its responsibility for existing employees, even as it upgrades its workforce with both local residents and expatriates. The firm’s brand building efforts likewise move forward as it integrates two other brands from a government-encouraged merger.