Addressing endogeneity : some (mostly) harmless recommendations

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on addressing endogeneity using instrument-free methods. The authors discuss some extensions to well-known techniques. Design/methodology/approach: This paper discusses some attractive methods to address endogeneity without the need for instruments. The methods are labeled are “harmless” in the sense that instruments are not needed and the distributional assumptions are kept to a minimum or they are replaced by more flexible semi-parametric assumptions. Findings: Using a hospitality application, the authors provide evidence about the effectiveness of these techniques and provide directions for their implementation. Research limitations/implications: Finding valid instruments has always been a key challenge for researchers in the field. This paper discusses and introduces methods that free researchers from the need to find instruments. Originality/value: The paper discusses techniques that are introduced from the first time in the tourism literature.