Why do hotels outsource? An investigation using asset specificity
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
ISSN: 0959-6119
Article publication date: 1 October 2005
Abstract
Purpose
To apply Williamson's six dimensional typology of asset specificity as a theoretical framework for appraising the nature of outsourcing activities in hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews with senior managers in large hotels.
Findings
Site specificity and brand capital appear to be the most pertinent dimensions of asset specificity in the sample investigated. Most observations support the transaction cost economics (TCE) prescription that high asset specificity results in insourcing.
Research limitations/implications
This study suffers from the normal shortcomings associated with fieldwork based on a limited sample of observations. Rather than attempting to make generalisable assertions, the study provides an exploration of the ways that asset specificity might manifest itself in hotel outsourcing decision making.
Practical implications
Asset specificity represents an important construct that should be considered when considering whether to outsource. It also provides a valuable context when considering the motivations of parties entering into a subcontracting arrangement.
Originality/value
No study applying either the asset specificity notion or the broader TCE theory has been found in the hospitality management literature. Also, there is a lack of prior research concerned with outsourcing in the hotel sector.
Keywords
Citation
Lamminmaki, D. (2005), "Why do hotels outsource? An investigation using asset specificity", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 516-528. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110510612158
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited