Citation:

Kigunawan, Agustinus Purna Irawan, Haris Maupa. "Innovation and Performance in the Hotel Industry: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 33-43, 2026. Crossref. http://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V5I3P106

Abstract:

This study examines how innovation has been conceptualized and theorized in the hotel industry and highlights the mechanisms and constraints through which it influences multidimensional business performance. Using a systematic literature review (SLR) employing the PRISMA framework, this study synthesizes 81 peer-reviewed articles published between 2022 and 2026 and indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The review integrates descriptive mapping, thematic synthesis, and integrative concept development to consolidate fragmented insights in the area of innovation and performance. The results show that innovation in the hotel industry has evolved from being treated as discrete initiatives, such as product, process, digital, marketing, and green innovation, to being conceptualized as a multidimensional strategic capability embedded in organizational routines. Innovation does not directly affect hotel performance in a linear manner, but rather indirectly through mediating paths such as operational efficiency, enhanced customer experience, organizational learning and sustainability-oriented legitimacy. The results give additional evidence that hotel performance is inherently multidimensional, including financial, operational, relational and sustainability outcomes. The success of innovation is strongly tied to organizational and contextual factors such as the size of the company, strategic orientation, technological readiness, market turbulence and other aspects in the institutional environment. This study contributes to theoretical clarity and offers an organized research agenda by embedding conceptual typologies of innovation, mediation mechanisms, and boundary conditions within a systematic analytical framework. The study calls for future longitudinal designs, cross-country comparisons, exploration of nonlinear effects and better integration between digital transformation and sustainability. More broadly, this study speaks to the need for more cumulative, mechanism-based and context-sensitive knowledge about hotel innovation-related performance.

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Keywords:

Innovation, Hotel Performance, Dynamic Capabilities, Digital Transformation, Sustainability.