Circular Economy in the Portuguese Hotel Industry
There is a substantial amount of literature on Circular Economy (CE), particularly at the industry level. Nevertheless, limited attention has been devoted to the implementation of Circular Economy in the Portuguese travel and tourism sector in general, and by the Portuguese hotel industry in particu...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Sevilla (US) |
| Repositorio: | idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:idus.us.es:11441/146165 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/11441/146165 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Circular Economy R-Principles Portuguese hotel industry linear economy sustainability Eeconomía circular R-principios economía lineal sostenibilidad industria hotelera portuguesa |
| Sumario: | There is a substantial amount of literature on Circular Economy (CE), particularly at the industry level. Nevertheless, limited attention has been devoted to the implementation of Circular Economy in the Portuguese travel and tourism sector in general, and by the Portuguese hotel industry in particular. This thesis investigates Circular Economy and its implementation by the Portuguese hotel industry. Its main objective is: To examine the adoption of Circular Economy by the Portuguese hotel industry. The specific objectives delineated are the following: 1. to examine if there is awareness within the hotel industry of the Circular Economy concept; 2. to determine if this industry is implementing Circular Economy; 3. to identify the challenges that the hotel industry tackles to implement Circular Economy; 4. to perceive the benefits of implementing a Circular Economy approach in the hotel industry; 5. to identify which initiatives would encourage hoteliers to implement Circular Economy; 6. to determine if the organisational performance distribution is homogeneous considering the CE hotels profile; 7. to examine if there is a relationship between the implementation of Circular Economy and the organisational performance of hotels. In order to address the purpose of this thesis, the research was conducted in two phases. During the first phase a literature review on Circular Economy, CE R-Principles, linear economy, sustainability, CE dimensions (awareness, attitude, benefits, enablers, challenges and the organisational performance), CE and the tourism industry, as well as CE and the hotel industry was accomplished. These provide an understanding and a definition of the Circular Economy concept and allow to draw a distinction from those related concepts, so that the similarities and differences between these constructs could be highlighted. The Portuguese tourism sector in general and the Portuguese hotel industry in particular were also considered, so that the context in which this study takes place is contextualised. Some features regarding the Portuguese hotel industry that may provide this specific sector the potential so as to encourage the transition to a Circular Economy model were also considered. Throughout the second phase a quantitative approach were carried out by means of a questionnaire survey instrument conducted within the Portuguese hotel industry, with 78 valid responses obtained. The results of this study demonstrate that there is awareness among the group of participants regarding the Circular Economy concept and its R-Principles in general, and that some CE practices are already being implemented. The positive predictive impacts of the implementation of a CE model on the organisational performance of hotels were also recognised, as well as that implementing Circular Economy in these companies stands out as a challenging task with various obstacles that need to be overcome. Growing awareness regarding firms’ commitment to environmental issues and customers’ increasing consciousness and demand for sustainable products and services were also identified, and evidenced as a strategy to have access to new markets and consumers, which will ultimately enhance companies performance and profitability. The findings also indicate that an economic approach based on circularity is considered by hoteliers as extremely beneficial as it will allow companies to establish themselves as brands that are making progress towards sustainability, which will grant saving costs in the future, stimulate companies’ innovation, and finally enable job creation. Additionally, the enablers to a CE implementation were identified, with hoteliers ranking the following: a stronger support from supply agents in the transition and implementation phases, specialised consultancy at disposal, the establishing of a national awareness strategy regarding CE dissemination and its R-Principles, tax reduction to assist accompanies on the transition, training provided by governmental entities, and financial support. The main challenges considered by the participants were the lack of investment in CE implementation strategies, in policies that mainly focus on waste processing instead of concentrating on waste management and R-Principles oriented, and the lack of incentives to design circular products. At the organisational performance level, hoteliers reckoned that implementing CE in their companies would enable companies to acquire new competencies, reduce CO2 emissions, promote access to new markets and customers, increase customer satisfaction and the companies’ overall performance. The current research also revealed that hotels with higher star categorisation (four and five-star hotels), that are part of international hotel chains in the regions of Lisbon and Alentejo consider that a Circular Economy implementation would allow organisational performance of their companies to be strengthened. This thesis aims to contribute not only to the Circular Economy literature in general but also to the CE and the Portuguese hotel industry literature, which has been vaguely studied so far, and provide hoteliers meaningful insights on this subject. |
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