The Development of Innovation Management to Enhance Customers’ Service Values for Hotel Businesses in Thailand
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Abstract
The objectives of this research were 1) to study the types of service innovations in hotel businesses that respond to changing customer demand; and 2) to study the concepts and analyze the development and management processes of hotel business innovations. The research methodology was qualitative research with the population and a sampling group of the managerial employees of 240 three- to five-star hotels certified by the Thai Hotels Association (2019). The in-depth interviews with 25 managerial-level employees were conducted by convenience sampling. Interview forms were used as a research tool. The data analysis was based on content analysis.
The study's findings revealed that: (1) managerial-level employees stated that service innovation that hotels successfully implemented could be classified into five categories, which are as follows: 1) Technovation, service innovations related to technology; 2) Touchnovation, service innovation with care and customer-centricity; 3) Thainovation, service innovation that includes Thai characteristics; 4) Teamnovation, service innovation resulting from collaboration; and 5) Themenovation, service innovations related to storytelling communication. (2) The second finding was that two concepts could be used to integrate innovation development and management: 1) the concept of structure, teamwork, and innovation management using the fork model; and 2) the concept of synergy theory, resource management, and personnel development in the hotel business along with service synergies under the same direction of innovation management policy. This led to a new concept and theory derived from the process and research results, namely the "2S Model," the theory of innovation management to enhance customers’ service values for hotel businesses. It consists of structure, the visionary management of a new generation of innovative organizations, synergy, and the integration of services under the same direction of visionary innovation management policy.
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