THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF PRODUCT INNOVATION CAPABILITY ON ENTREPRENEURIAL PRO-ACTIVENESS AND HOTEL PERFORMANCE

This study is based on a phenomenon that occurred in Thai hotel industry. Nowadays, innovation is a critical concern in most enterprises particular in hotel businesses due to the fact that hotels have the uniqueness of product and service. For a hotel to be competitive and achieve efficient outcomes, it is important to understand the manager's perspectives of product innovation capability (PIC) and entrepreneurial pro-activeness (EPA) that lead to hotel performance (HP). The purpose of this study was to examine and explain the PIC in mediating the effect of EPA and HP in Thailand. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from 240 hotel managers in Thailand. The constructs were measured by using established scales. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine research hypotheses. The results showed that PIC has a direct and significant impact on HP and strongly mediates the relationship between EPA and HP. An important finding of this study is being able to integrate the effect of EPA towards HP through PIC as a mediating variable. This finding is also encouraging for hotel owners and managers in implementation and development of strategies appropriate to the environment, and achievement of competitive advantage. It is anticipated that these factors will lead to higher levels of product and service in the Thai hotel industry and enhance the positive travel experiences in Thailand.