Sustainability as a corporate strategy: A performance comparison of green and non-green SME Hotels

Abstract

[ENG] Sustainability in recent years has gained momentum as a business model, given the challenges facing the economy and society. Small and medium‐sized hotel companies have begun to apply new management systems based on sustainability, seeking a dual objective, on the one hand to differentiate themselves from their competition and reach growing market niches, on the other hand to have a more efficient and less polluting business model. When implementing this sustainable management, they also face challenges in its application, such as its lack of regulation by institutions and large investments in innovation. We will carry out an OLS model to identify the internal elements that characterize ecological hotels, and these management systems are being effective for SMEs in Barcelona (Spain). [SPA] Sustainability in recent years has gained momentum as a business model, given the challenges facing the economy and society. Small and medium‐sized hotel companies have begun to apply new management systems based on sustainability, seeking a dual objective, on the one hand to differentiate themselves from their competition and reach growing market niches, on the other hand to have a more efficient and less polluting business model. When implementing this sustainable management, they also face challenges in its application, such as its lack of regulation by institutions and large investments in innovation. We will carry out an OLS model to identify the internal elements that characterize ecological hotels, and these management systems are being effective for SMEs in Barcelona (Spain). [ENG] En los últimos años, la sostenibilidad ha cobrado impulso como modelo de negocio dados los desafíos a los que se enfrenta la economía y la sociedad. Las pequeñas y medianas empresas hoteleras han comenzado a aplicar sistemas de gestión novedosos basados ​​en la sostenibilidad buscando un doble objetivo, por un lado, diferenciarse de su competencia y alcanzar nichos de mercado en crecimiento, por otro, tener un sistema más eficiente y menos contaminante. Al implementar esta gestión sostenible, también enfrentan desafíos en su aplicación como la falta de regulación por parte de las instituciones y las grandes inversiones en innovación. Llevaremos a cabo un modelo MCO para identificar los elementos internos que caracterizan a los hoteles ecológicos y sí estos cambios en la gestión tradicional están siendo efectivos para las PYMEs en Barcelona (España) .