de Lu des Calis o, Ma ia; Cos a, Te esa; Umbelino, Jo ge
A icle
Tou ism and hospi ali y i ms’ esponse o COVID-19: he
ole o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and manage s’ ma ke
eco e y pe cep ion
Cogen Business & Managemen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: de Lu des Calis o, Ma ia; Cos a, Te esa; Umbelino, Jo ge (2024) : Tou ism and
hospi ali y i ms’ esponse o COVID-19: he ole o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and manage s’
ma ke eco e y pe cep ion, Cogen Business & Managemen , ISSN 2331-1975, Taylo & F ancis,
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Tou ism and hospi ali y fi ms’ esponse o
COVID-19: he ole o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
and manage s’ ma ke eco e y pe cep ion
Ma ia de Lu des Calis o, Te esa Cos a & Jo ge Umbelino
To ci e his a icle: Ma ia de Lu des Calis o, Te esa Cos a & Jo ge Umbelino (2024) Tou ism
and hospi ali y fi ms’ esponse o COVID-19: he ole o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and
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Cogen Business & ManageMen
2024, VoL. 11, no. 1, 2311112
Tou ism and hospi ali y i ms’ esponse o COVID-19: he ole o
en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and manage s’ ma ke eco e y
pe cep ion
Ma ia de lu des calis oa , e esa cos ab and Jo ge Umbelinoc
aCen e o ou ism Resea ch, De elopmen , and inno a ion (Ci uR), Cen e o ad anced s udies in Managemen and
economics (CeFage), es o il Highe ins i u e o ou ism and Ho el s udies, es o il, Po ugal; bCen e o ou ism Resea ch,
De elopmen , and inno a ion (Ci uR), Cen e o Resea ch in Business sciences (CiCe), ins i u o Poli écnico de se úbal,
se úbal, Po ugal; cCen e o ou ism Resea ch, De elopmen , and inno a ion (Ci uR), Cen e o geog aphical s udies (Ceg),
es o il Highe ins i u e o ou ism and Ho el s udies, es o il, Po ugal
ABSTRACT
li e a u e is p oli ic on how se e al c ises ha e a ec ed ou ism and hospi ali y.
howe e , hose s udies a e p ima ily conce ned wi h he impac s a he des ina ion
le el and less wi h ou ism businesses’ esilience and eco e y. howe e , ecen ly, some
s udies ha e add essed ou ism esilience in a b oade ange, p ima ily because o how
ou ism and hospi ali y has been a ec ed by cOViD-19. he pandemic had comple ely
di e en cha ac e is ics om o he disas e s ha a ec ed ou ism businesses
p e iously—namely, i s global ange and long du a ion. When s udying business
eco e y, i is ele an o in es iga e how manage ial models and pe cep ions a ec ed
how &h i ms esponded o he consequences o he pandemic. he pu pose is o
s udy how &h i ms’ en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and manage s’ pe cep ion o he
ex e nal en i onmen , namely ma ke eco e y, ela e o he ac ions aken du ing he
pandemic. We conduc ed a clus e analysis o es ou p oposi ions conside ing wo
clus e ing a iables: eO (en ep eneu ial O ien a ion) and MRP (Ma ke Reco e y
Pe cep ion). Resul s sugges h ee ypes o &h i ms exis and ha hese op ed o
di e en eco e y ac ions du ing he cOViD-19 pandemic. Finally, ou wo k p esen s a
se o impo an heo e ical and p ac ical implica ions ha can be use ul o se e al
s akeholde s, namely academics and p o essionals.
In oduc ion
he cOViD-19 pandemic a ec ed se e al economic ac i i ies and impac ed businesses globally (su e al.,
2021). ou ism and hospi ali y ( &h) we e among he mos a ec ed ac i i ies (islam e al., 2021). as
highligh ed by cos a e al. (2021), li e a u e is p oli ic on how o he ypes o disas e s ha e a ec ed
ou ism ac i i ies in he pas . hose s udies a e mainly ocused on localised e en s in space and ime,
such as e o is a acks (e.g. ingbani e al., 2019), ea hquakes and sunamis (e.g. O chis on & higham,
2016) o yphoons, s o ms, and loods (ghade i e al., 2015). howe e , hese a e s udies mos ly con-
ce ned wi h he impac s a he des ina ion le el and less wi h ou ism businesses’ esilience and eco -
e y. Resilience e e s o an o ganisa ion’s abili y o eco e om a c isis (Duchek, 2020).
Recen ly, some s udies ha e add essed ou ism esilience in a b oade ange. Fo example, alebaki and
ioannides (2017) s udied he esilience o g eece’s wine ou ism sec o om mul iple s akeholde s’ pe -
spec i es. sheppa d and Williams (2016) ound ha indi idual ac o s such as well-being and cogni i e
and beha iou al compe encies a e an essen ial pa o he esilience amewo k. Wa son and Delle
© 2024 he au ho (s). Published by in o ma uK Limi ed, ading as aylo & F ancis g oup
CONTACT Ma ia de Lu des Calis o lu des[email p o ec ed] Cen e o ou ism Resea ch, De elopmen , and inno a ion (Ci uR), Cen e
o ad anced s udies in Managemen and economics (CeFage) es o il Highe ins i u e o ou ism and Ho el s udies, a . Condes de Ba celona,
808, 2769-510, es o il, Po ugal.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23311975.2024.2311112
his is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons a ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. he e ms on which his a icle has been
published allow he pos ing o he accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 9 June 2023
Re ised 14 Janua y 2024
accep ed 15 Janua y
2024
KEYWORDS
en ep eneu ial
o ien a ion; ou ism;
hospi ali y; co id-19;
eco e y; en i onmen al
pe cep ion
REVIEWING EDITOR
Pablo Ruiz, Uni e sidad
de cas illa-la Mancha,
spain
SUBJECTS
en i onmen al economics;
hospi ali y; ou ism
2 M. D. l. calis O e al.
(2022) ocus on he dependency o a egion om &h as a ac o ha esul s in lowe esilience. howe e ,
hey no e ha e en wi hin each egion, he e a e pocke s whe e he opposi e is ue, ‘whe e g ea e
dependency enhanced economic esiliency’ (p. 1210).
howe e , he cOViD-19 pandemic had comple ely di e en cha ac e is ics om o he disas e s ha
a ec ed ou ism p e iously—namely, i s global ange and long du a ion. no o he c isis ha a ec ed
&h his cen u y (e.g. e o is a acks, epidemics, na u al disas e s) had a global ange o las ed as long
as he cOViD-19 pandemic. i is, he e o e, ele an o in es iga e how manage ial models and pe cep-
ions a ec how &h i ms esponded o he consequences o he pandemic.
Manage ial models migh be en ep eneu ial o adi ional (s e enson & Ja illo, 2007). adi ional
managemen models can be sui able in ou ine and p edic able en i onmen s bu inadequa e in ad e se
en i onmen s and c ises (gibson & a an , 2010), especially in si ua ions like he cOViD-19 pandemic.
ex an li e a u e has shown ha en ep eneu ial esou ces a e c ucial o mi iga ing he cOViD-19 c isis’s
ad e se e ec s on business i ms (scheidgen e al., 2021). Fi ms wi h highe en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
(eO) may quickly adap o unp edic able en i onmen al changes (lasko aia e al., 2019) and, end o be
mo e p oac i e in seeking new oppo uni ies and a e mo e able o adap o changing ma ke condi ions
(Rauch e al., 2009). li e a u e also shows ha en ep eneu ial ac i i ies can be an e ec i e s a egy o
managing a c isis’s challenges (Boe s & henschel, 2022; lasko aia e al., 2019; Zighan e al., 2022). Fo
ins ance, lasko aia e al. (2019) ha e ound he ele an ole o en ep eneu ial managemen in eco-
nomic c isis, and Zighan e al. (2022) he ole o eO in sMs esilience. Boe s and henschel (2022) s udied
he eO o amily i ms du ing he pandemic. howe e , despi e i s po en ial o &h, eO has su p isingly
p o oked li le in e es om &h esea che s. Fu e al. (2019, p. 2) sugges ha u u e esea ch should
be ocused on sub ields o en ep eneu ship li e a u e applied o &h.
in he case o o he c ises, p e ious s udies ha e shown ha i ms espond h ough o ganisa-
ional ac ions o adap o shi ing en i onmen al p essu es (cha opadhyay e al., 2001). howe e ,
manage s ac on pe cep ions (collie e al., 2004, p. 76), and ‘…e en i hei pe cep ions a e o ally
inconsis en wi h eali y, hey a e likely o ac as i hey we e ue’. he e o e, manage s’ pe cep ions
o he ex e nal en i onmen , including hei ma ke eco e y pe cep ion (MRP) a e a c isis, can
in luence hei decision-making and s a egic planning. howe e , Mo ish and Jones (2020) claim
ha he e is a ele an gap in he li e a u e conce ning eco e y s a egies hose smalle i ms
employ. Kusa e al. (2022) concu ha he e a e s ill many ques ions ela ed o how manage s cope
wi h he challenges caused by c ises, namely changes in ma ke condi ions ha equi e u he
esea ch and analysis.
al hough ecen pape s ha e add essed cOViD-19 om a business eco e y s andpoin (e.g.
caballe o-Mo ales, 2021; Fabeil e al., 2020; Ka a e e al., 2021), including he case o &h i ms (e.g.
sobaih e al., 2021; Yeh, 2021), ew s udies explo e how &h i ms’ eO and MRP ela e o he eco e y
ac ions aken du ing he pandemic. as Dias e al. (2022), who ound en ep eneu ship- ela ed indica o s
ele an o selec ing eco e y s a egies, poin ed ou , u u e esea ch should ocus on unde s anding
how en ep eneu s may pu sue speci ic s a egies.
hese gaps a e especially ele an due o he la ge scale o his c isis, making i dissimila o o he
global shocks in e ms o i s impac on he mac o and mic o en i onmen s o &h i ms. o answe
hem, we s i e o ad ance knowledge on en ep eneu ship in &h by answe ing he ollowing esea ch
ques ions: ‘how do &h i ms di e in e ms o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion and manage s’ ma ke eco -
e y pe cep ion in he cOViD-19 pandemic con ex ?’ ‘how di e en we e hose ypes o i ms’ esponses
o he pandemic?’
Ou s udy makes se e al con ibu ions. Fi s , we con ibu e o en ep eneu ship s udies in &h by
showing ha hese i ms may be ca ego ised in o h ee ypes acco ding o he in e ac ion be ween eO
and MRP. One ype o i m p esen s high le els o bo h eO and MRP; ano he ype is cha ac e ised by
low eO and mode a e MRP, and he hi d ype shows high eO and low MRP. second, we spo ligh how
ha in e ac ion is ela ed o he ac ions aken by i ms o espond o he consequences o he pandemic.
hi d, conce ning p ac ical implica ions, ou wo k lis s i ms’ main ac ions o espond o he cOViD-19
pandemic, which may se e as a benchma k o &h manage s. Finally, we call on &h manage s and
en ep eneu s o assess he le el o eO in he ace o po en ial u u e c ises and be conscious o he ole
o hei own pe cep ion on manage ial decisions.
cOgen BUsiness & ManageMen 3
Ou pape is o ganised as ollows. he nex wo sec ions add ess how cOViD-19 a ec ed &h and
how eO and MRP ha e been s udied in he li e a u e. he me hod, indings, and discussion sec ions
ollow. he pape concludes by p esen ing heo e ical and p ac ical implica ions, limi a ions, and sugges-
ions o u u e esea ch.
The consequences o COVID-19 o ou ism and hospi ali y
ou ism is one o he mos ele an social and economic ac i i ies and ce ainly one o he mos p om-
ising o he u u e (Fle che e al., 2017). Be o e he cOViD-19 pandemic, &h con ibu ed o mo e han
10% o he wo ld’s gDP and p o ided mo e han h ee hund ed million jobs wo ldwide (UnW O, 2022).
Wi h i s mul i ace ed consequences, ou ism is i al o s imula e many o he economic ac i i ies (Oka o
& Yan, 2022). Du ing he cOViD-19 pandemic, he e was an en i e s oppage in he ou is sys em; ho els,
es au an s, en e ainmen es ablishmen s, and se e al ou is a ac ions we e le wi hou ac i i y
(gössling e al., 2020; niewiadomski, 2020). he pandemic caused a se e e collapse in ou ism (sigala &
U ka sh, 2021), om which some coun ies ha e no ye o ally eco e ed. Many &h i ms closed, and
many o he s signi ican ly educed hei ac i i ies, wi h consequences on p o i s (Oka o & Yan, 2022).
By i s e y de ini ion, ou ism is abou mo emen . acco ding o he Uni ed na ions Wo ld ou ism
O ganiza ion, ‘ ou ism is a social, cul u al and economic phenomenon in ol ing he mo emen o people
o coun ies o places ou side hei usual en i onmen o pe sonal o business/p o essional pu poses’
(UnW O, 2022). some a elle s conside he ou ism mo emen pleasu able, which is some imes he main
eason o a elling. Fo o he s, ou ism mo emen is he p ice you pay o each you desi ed des ina ion.
howe e , o bo h g oups, i means an accep ed isk o con agion, conside ing he lessons lea ned om
o he episodes o heal h c isis and mo e so om cOViD-19 (nazneen e al., 2022), as well as o he isks.
especially a e he ‘episode o 9/11’, a elle s had o amilia ise hemsel es wi h secu i y h ea s; secu-
i y checkpoin s a ai po s— he same a some po s and ailway s a ions—ha e become ou ine and
e en expec ed (spalding, 2016). howe e , he magni ude o cOViD-19 aised ano he p ima y conce n:
heal h secu i y, bo h a he e minals and in he a ious means o anspo a ion. a elling became a
decision ha in ol ed some e lec ion and p i a e in e nal nego ia ion abou he le el o isk he a el-
le accep ed (Valencia & c ouch, 2008).
now, in mos des ina ions, li e has e u ned o i s p e-cOViD-19 con ex . indeed, mos people we e
eage o ‘ge hei li es back’, which o en implied hei igh o a el and be a ou is (Zhang e al.,
2021). in some cases, i mean he so-called e enge ou ism. howe e , o some people who a oid all
kinds o isks—usually olde adul s, bu no jus hese— he managemen o heal h- ela ed isks is, in
many cases, s ill a c i ical ac o in hei a elling decisions (Fo iadis e al., 2021)— isi ing one place and
no ano he , accep ing o a oiding high season, among o he s.
he e o e, ou ism a e cOViD-19 is s ill a mys e y o be sol ed (Deep e al., 2021). Despi e he sec-
o ’s appa en eco e y, some ques ions emain open. Will bo h sides o he ou ism sys em, demand and
supply, e u n o he old me hods and p ac ices o he p oduc s and des ina ions al eady known ( ol-
lowing he idea ha a success ul model mus no be changed)? al e na i ely, will hey end o ake his
oppo uni y o ein o ce some new solu ions, o example, ela ed o sus ainabili y and sound en i on-
men al p ac ices, o accessibili y o all (Wee e al., 2021), o o an inc eased use o echnology o acil-
i a e con ac less in e ac ions and a ocus on heal h and sa e y measu es (Rahimizhian & i ani, 2020)?
in his s udy, we ocus on he side o supply and how manage ial models and pe cep ions may be
ele an o s udying how &h i ms esponded o cOViD-19, hope ully shedding some ligh on p epa ing
o u u e c ises.
The ex e nal en i onmen and en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
eO e e s o a endency o engage in inno a ion, p oac i eness, and isk- aking (Wang e al., 2020). i
ela es o p ocesses, p ac ices, and decision-making ac i i ies ha lead o new p oduc s, se ices, ech-
nological inno a ions, ma ke s, o business model inno a ions (co in & Wales, 2019). eO is essen ial o
i ms whe e inno a ion is an impo an sou ce o di e en ia ion and a de e minan o compe i i eness.
4 M. D. l. calis O e al.
De eloping p oduc s, p ocesses, and o ganisa ional inno a ions suppo ed by new echnologies equi es
an en ep eneu ial o ien a ion. he e o e, hese de elopmen s a e essen ial indica o s o eO (Jiang
e al., 2018).
he s udy o eO eme ged wi hin he esea ch on s a egic o ien a ion. acco ding o Ma suno e al.
(2002), ‘ he li e a u e e eals se e al di e en e ms, such as en ep eneu ial p ocli i y (e.g. Pellissie &
Van Bue , 2011), en ep eneu ial o ien a ion (e.g. lumpkin & Dess, 1996), and en ep eneu ial manage-
men (e.g. s e enson & Ja illo, 2007), ha a e used in e changeably o desc ibe he equi alen gene -
alised concep ’ (p. 19). eO concep ualisa ion has been e ol ing, and i s s udy has inc eased ecen ly
(F eixane e al., 2021; Wales e al., 2021). Despi e all his in e es , he e is s ill no consensus in he li e -
a u e abou he eO cons uc . seminal s udies measu ed eO using h ee dimensions: inno a i eness, p o-
ac i eness, and isk- aking (Mille , 1983). la e , wo mo e dimensions we e in oduced: au onomy and
compe i i e agg essi eness (lumpkin & Dess, 1996). li e a u e e iews show ha some au ho s use only
h ee dimensions (e.g. amin, 2015; chenuos & Ma u, 2015), while o he s use i e (e.g. Zehi e al., 2015).
no wi hs anding, se e al s udies ha e examined he ela ionship be ween en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
(eO) and pe o mance. al hough some con adic o y empi ical esul s exis , Rauch e al. (2009), in hei
me a-analysis, ound ha eO was posi i ely ela ed o pe o mance. O he s udies show ha in e nal and
ex e nal mode a o s a ec he eO-pe o mance ela ionship (F eixane e al., 2021). some o hese mod-
e a o s a e he en i onmen (esc ibá-es e e e al., 2008), na ional cul u e (B e el e al., 2015), ne wo king
(su e al., 2015), and open inno a ion (F eixane e al., 2021), o name a ew.
P e ious esea ch has shown ha i ms wi h highe en ep eneu ial o ien a ion ha e been mo e inno-
a i e and e ec i e when dealing wi h c ises and eme gencies (soininen e al., 2012). Mo e p oac i e
and inno a i e i ms ha e g ea e chances o su i e economic c ises. in he &h li e a u e, he ole o
en ep eneu ial o ien a ion in dealing wi h he unce ain y o he ou ism sec o has been highligh ed in
p e ious esea ch ( ang e al., 2020). Despi e he di e en pe spec i es on he con ibu ion o he a ious
dimensions o eO o pe o mance, some au ho s (e.g. hjalage , 2010; ajeddini, 2011) conclude ha inno-
a i e ac i i ies signi ican ly and posi i ely a ec pe o mance in he ho el indus y. Mo e ecen ly,
ajeddini e al. (2020) con i med eO as a p edic o o pe o mance in &h.
he ex e nal en i onmen is also an essen ial ac o in luencing i ms’ pe o mance. Du ing he las
decade, esea che s ha e main ained hei in e es in explo ing ela ionships be ween he en i onmen
and eO o be ween eO and pe o mance as a ec ed by he ex e nal en i onmen (Ma ins & Rialp, 2013;
ajeddini e al., 2020). Fo hese au ho s, eO eme ges as a esou ce o a i al ca alys o en ep eneu s
o ope a e success ully in compe i i e, unce ain, and dynamic en i onmen s. en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
has been shown o imp o e i m pe o mance in shi ing and changing en i onmen s (Rosenbusch e al.,
2013). Mo e ecen ly, Zighan e al. (2022) showed how sMes’ eO helped in unde s anding and de elop-
ing mi iga ion ac ions agains he ha dships o he pandemic.
in &h li e a u e, some s udies ha e iden i ied speci ic ac o s in he ex e nal en i onmen ha may
impac eO. Fo example, ajeddini e al. (2020) ound he ole o en i onmen al dynamism. simila ly,
ahe i e al. (2019) s udied eO in ma ke u bulence, and Fadda and sø ensen (2017) s udied how des i-
na ion a ac i eness and eO in luence i m pe o mance. also, in hei s udies o sMes, Ma ins and Rialp
(2013) conclude ha eO’s impac on p o i abili y is highe when he e is an eO-ex e nal en i onmen i .
Manage s’ pe cep ion o ma ke eco e y and en ep eneu ial o ien a ion
Ma ke eco e y has been a conce n o academics in many p e ious disas e s ha a ec ed ou ism (e.g.
Bujosa e al., 2015; ca lsen & hughes, 2008; ca lsen & libu d, 2008; Mai e al., 2016; Wal e s & Mai ,
2012). Despi e he la ge body o esea ch on ou ism ma ke ing eco e y s a egies a e c ises o disas-
e s, mainly conce ning disas e s such as ea hquakes, sunamis, and in luenza, ma ke eco e y in ou -
ism has become a op p io i y du ing he pandemic when how o de elop e ec i e eco e y s a egies
has become an u gen issue (luo e al., 2021).
he s a egic managemen li e a u e s esses he ole o manage ial pe cep ion in decision-making
and s a egy o mula ion (Özleblebici & Çe in, 2015). On he o he hand, he manage ial cogni ion li e -
a u e sugges s ha because o bounded a ionali y, op manage s de elop subjec i e ep esen a ions o
he en i onmen ha guide hei s a egic decisions and i m ac ion (Fiol & O’conno , 2003). Mo e
cOgen BUsiness & ManageMen 5
speci ically, i is accep ed by many schola s ha he way manage s pe cei e he en i onmen is mo e
impo an han he ac ual en i onmen (F eel, 2005).
his happened wi h cOViD-19 since, o some ex en , &h manage s could no objec i ely p edic how
he ex e nal en i onmen would e ol e in many o i s componen s (e.g. he numbe o cOViD-19 cases,
egula o y decisions on a el es ic ions, and consume beha iou ). he e o e, manage s de elop indi-
idual pe cep ions o unce ain y, including hose ela ed o ma ke eco e y (MRP).
On he o he hand, some i ms engage in mo e en ep eneu ial ac i i ies han o he s. One o he
easons o his may be in manage ial pe cep ions o he compe i i e en i onmen , based on he iew
ha hese pe cep ions in luence how manage s ame he issues acing hei i m and i s ac ions (simsek
e al., 2007). Fi ms wi h highe eO a e mo e p oac i e in seeking new oppo uni ies and can be e adap
o changing ma ke condi ions (Rauch e al., 2009). he e is also e idence o sugges ha i ms wi h high
le els o eO may be mo e esilien du ing imes o ma ke down u n. Fo ins ance, co in and sle in
(1991) p opose ha eO is posi i ely ela ed o a i m’s e o o p edic ma ke ends and is mo e posi-
i ely associa ed wi h i m pe o mance among i ms ha emphasise p edic ing ends. Due o hei
inno a i e and p oac i e app oach o business, hese i ms may be e wea he he s o m and eme ge
s onge on he o he side. in &h li e a u e, he e a e also s udies on how manage s’ pe cep ions o he
en i onmen in luence hei s a egic decisions (Joga a nam & Wong, 2009), including en ep eneu ial
ac i i ies (Joga a nam, 2002) and i s in luence on i m pe o mance (Köseoglu e al., 2013). Finally, o
lópez-game o e al. (2010), p oac i e en i onmen al managemen in luences inancial pe o mance, and
inancial pe o mance impac s p oac i e en i onmen al managemen .
O e all, he gene al li e a u e sugges s ha eO can posi i ely impac i ms’ pe o mance du ing en i-
onmen al unce ain y and ha manage ial pe cep ions can in luence hei engagemen in eO beha iou s.
in &h li e a u e, esul s poin in he same di ec ion. &h i ms ha e had o ake eco e y ac ions o
adap o he changing ma ke condi ions and mi iga e he pandemic’s ad e se e ec s. One expec s
hose ac ions o a y acco ding o each i m’s in e ac ion be ween i s eO and MRP. he e o e, based on
he e iew o he li e a u e, we de eloped he ollowing p oposi ions o be es ed:
P1— &h i ms may be o ganised in o di e en ypes acco ding o he combina ion o he le el o eO wi h
he le el o MRP.
P2—Reco e y ac ions di e ac oss he esul ing ypes o &h i ms, as he combina ion o each company’s
le el o eO and MRP will ansla e, in p ac ice, in o speci ic choices o eco e y ac ions.
he i s p oposi ion will be es ed using clus e analysis, and he second by compa ing he compa-
nies’ ac ions in each o he esul ing clus e s.
Me hods
he s udy ollows a deduc i e esea ch app oach. a quan i a i e esea ch s a egy and a desc ip i e
esea ch design we e used. Da a was collec ed h ough a su ey o &h manage s.
Resea ch ins umen and a iables
he ques ionnai e measu ed en ep eneu ial o ien a ion (eO) and ma ke eco e y pe cep ion (MRP). he
ques ionnai e included a lis o po en ial eco e y ac ions. h ee cha ac e isa ion a iables we e included:
sec o , i m size, and i m age.
En ep eneu ial o ien a ion/p ocli i y
his s udy used Ma suno e al. (2002) 3-dimensional scale. al hough he au ho s p e e he e m ‘en e-
p eneu ial p ocli i y,’ hey de ine i as ‘ he o ganisa ion’s p edisposi ion o accep en ep eneu ial p o-
cesses, p ac ices, and decision making, cha ac e ised by i s p e e ence o inno a i eness, isk aking, and
p oac i eness’ (Ma suno e al., 2002, p. 19). Responden s a ed hei i m’s eO using a 5-poin like - ype
scale. One i em had o be emo ed om he eP scale in ou sample due o non-signi ican ac o
6 M. D. l. calis O e al.
loadings. a e he emo al o ha i em, he scale p esen ed adjus men indexes wi hin he c i ical al-
ues: compa a i e i index (cFi) = .924 (>0.9), and Ben le -Bone no med Fi index (nFi) = .904 (>0.9).
Ma ke eco e y pe cep ion
acco ding o We ne el and Ka nani (1987), pe cei ed en i onmen al unce ain y can be measu ed based
on ou dimensions: demand, supply, he in ensi y o compe i ion, and ex e nal ac o s. in his pape , we
decided o ocus on he unce ain y o ma ke eco e y, which depends on ex e nal ac o s ( o he indus-
y), one o hose ou dimensions. he e o e, esponden s we e asked how hey ag eed wi h he ollow-
ing s a emen : ‘Fi m’s manage s conside ha , in 6 mon hs, he sec o will egis e demand le els a leas
equal o 2019,’ using a 5-poin like - ype scale.
Reco e y ac ions
Responden s we e asked o choose om a lis o 13 possible ac ions, he h ee mos ele an he i m
had aken o eco e business du ing he pandemic’s peak. Responden s could also answe ‘none’ o add
new ac ions no conside ed in he lis . he lis o ac ions p o ided was based on cos a e al. (2021).
Fi m size
Fi m size was measu ed in i e anks: (1) om 10 o 14 employees; (2) om 15 o 29 employees; (3) om
30 o 49 employees; (4) om 50 o 249 employees; and (5) 250 o mo e employees. Fi m size was
included in ou s udy because smalle companies we e mo e a ec ed by cOViD-19 due o hei limi ed
esou ces when compa ed wi h la ge companies (Pedauga e al., 2021).
Fi m age
Fi m age co esponds o he di e ence be ween 2021 and he yea o he i m’s ounda ion. his a iable
was included because as i ms age, hey end o be less en ep eneu ial (gü büz & aykol, 2009).
Sample
We chose o s udy &h i ms in Po ugal due o he coun y’s inc easing ele ance as a ou ism des ina-
ion. Po ugal anked 16 h globally in he a el & ou ism De elopmen index (Wo ld economic Fo um,
2022) in 2021; i was named he Leading Des ina ion in Eu ope o ou consecu i e yea s (2017–2020) and
again in 2022 and 2023 a he Wo ld T a el Awa ds.1
o a i e a ou sample, we used he Po uguese ou ism na ional Regis y (P nR),2 which includes
di e en &h sec o s. wo emails we e sen in i ing o pa icipa e in he s udy, he i s in July 2021 and
he second in sep embe 2021. a o al o 69 i ms wi h 10+ employees pa icipa ed in he s udy. hese
a e i ms om he accommoda ion sec o (69.6%), a el agencies/ ou ope a o s (5.8%) and amusemen
and ec ea ion ac i i ies (8.7%). 11 i ms con i med o belong o &h bu did no indica e he subsec o .
he mean age o i ms is 26 yea s. 25% o i ms a e less han 9.5 yea s o age, and 25% ha e mo e han
38 yea s. app oxima ely 50% o i ms a e e y small (10 o 29 employees), 21.7% ha e 30 o 49 employ-
ees, and 18.8% a e medium-sized. Fi e a e la ge i ms (7.2%) wi h 250 o mo e employees.
We chose o ely on single key in o man s o ou da a collec ion, ollowing hube and Powe (1985)
guidelines o ob aining quali y da a om single in o man s. We a ge ed senio manage s since hey a e
he mos knowledgeable ega ding hei i m’s s a egies, namely i s en ep eneu ial o ien a ion (co in &
Wales, 2019).
Findings and discussion
We conduc ed a clus e analysis o es ou p oposi ions conside ing wo clus e ing a iables: eO and
MRP. h ee clus e s eme ged acco ding o di e en combina ions o he le el o eO wi h he le el o MRP
(Figu e 1). he e o e, e idence om esul s allows he alida ion o P1—T&H i ms may be o ganised in o
di e en ypes acco ding o he combina ion o he le el o EO wi h he le el o MRP. he con i med clus e s
cOgen BUsiness & ManageMen 7
co espond o i ms wi h high eO + high MRP (clus e 1; 20 i ms), low eO + Mode a e MRP (clus e 2; 31
i ms), and high eO + low MRP (clus e 3; 18 i ms).
When in es iga ing which a iables dis inguish be ween he di e en ypes o i ms, we ound ha
hese included he wo clus e ing a iables - eO (sig. < 0.001) and MRP (sig. < 0.001). hese esul s a e
consis en wi h o he au ho s, conside ing ha eO depends on he ex e nal en i onmen (Ma ins &
Rialp, 2013; ajeddini e al., 2020) and how manage s pe cei e i (simsek e al., 2007).
Fi m size (sig. = 0.456) and i m age (sig. = 0.305) a e no signi ican ly di e en be ween clus e s.
conce ning i m size, his esul migh be ela ed o he cha ac e is ics o he sample in his s udy, whe e
he majo i y is small. Rega ding i m age, ou esul s do no e eal di e ences in eO acco ding o age;
clus e 2 (low eO) is no signi ican ly di e en om clus e s 1 and 3 (high eO) ega ding i m age. his
esul is con a y o wha would be expec ed acco ding o he li e a u e (gü büz & aykol, 2009).
o es ou second p oposi ion, we compa ed he ac ions aken by he i ms in each clus e . able 1
p esen s he ac ions aken by each clus e and he o ali y o he sample. in able 1, he ac ions aken
by mo e han 50% o each clus e ’s membe s a e highligh ed.
When looking a he esul s o he whole sample (las column, o he igh ), one may obse e ha
he mos common ac ions adop ed by mos &h i ms we e sani a ion measu es, ma ke ing communi-
ca ion ac ions, and p oduc /se ice changes. We should no ice ha , in Po ugal, many sani a ion mea-
su es we e manda o y. howe e , many i ms ook addi ional sani a ion measu es o ob ain he clean &
sa e badge om u ismo de Po ugal ( he Po uguese na ional ou ism Boa d), a badge gi en o i ms
ha complied wi h he sugges ed measu es. Rega ding ma ke ing communica ion ac ions and p oduc /
se ice changes, esul s a e cong uen wi h Mai e al. (2016), who ound in hei li e a u e e iew ha
ma ke ing s a egies should be a p ima y ocus in he disas e eco e y phase.
Di e ences can be obse ed be ween clus e s ega ding he chosen eco e y ac ions, gi ing suppo
o P2—Reco e y ac ions di e ac oss he esul ing ypes o T&H i ms, as he combina ion o each company’s
le el o EO and MRP will ansla e, in p ac ice, in o speci ic choices o eco e y ac ions. One o hose
5791113151719
0
1
2
3
4
5
Clus e 3Clus e 2 Clus e 1
Ma ke - eco e y
pe cepon
En ep eneu ial
p ocli i y
Figu e 1. Clus e s acco ding o en ep eneu ial o ien a ion × ma ke eco e y pe cep ion.
Table 1. ac ions aken by i ms in each clus e —in pe cen age.
ype o ac ions Clus e 1 Clus e 2 Clus e 3 o al sample
no measu es aken 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
in es men in new equipmen 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
inc ease in p ice 5.0 0.0 0.0 1.7
a ac ing new ma ke s 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
in es men in new echnologies 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Pa ne ship de elopmen 50.0 35.5 27.8 37.7
Remodeling / Cons uc ion wo ks 35.0 19.4 11.1 21.7
Change in ope a ional p ocesses 40.0 45.2 38.9 42.0
Lowe ing p ice 5.0 22.6 33.3 20.3
P oduc /se ice changes 60.0 45.2 61.1 53.6
sani a ion measu es 70.0 77.4 66.7 72.5
Changes in s a p o ile (e.g. skills) 20.0 9.7 22.2 15.9
Changes in s a size 55.5 45.2 44.4 47.8
Ma ke ing communica ion 75.0 67.7 77.8 72.5
