Hospitality Culture and Climate: A Proposed Model for Retaining Employees and Creating Competitive Advantage

Abstract

In order to gain competitive advantage, companies must determine the relationship between human resource practices and firm performance. This conceptual article proposes a model that highlights the importance of selecting people who "fit" within the organizational culture and climate of the firm. The authors propose combining established scales of hospitality culture and climate in order to assess a candidate's fit to the organization. Ideally, these people would be more hospitality service oriented and could foster the "spirit of hospitality" through the organization and thus, on to the customer. Hiring the right people will also lead to increased organizational commitment, consequently, reducing turnover levels. This in turn will lead to higher service levels, increased customer satisfaction, and loyalty.