What is Innovation in the Hospitality and Tourism Marketplace? A Suggested Research Framework and Outputs Typology

Researchers have pointed to the dearth of innovation studies in the services sector relative to manufacturing (Prajogo, 2006) and some have hypothesized the difficulties in applying product development theories to services (Gallouj, 2002). In this paper, we offer a comprehensive framework for researching innovation in hospitality that comprises drivers of innovation, innovation outputs, and their connections with business performance. The framework synthesizes the research in the manufacturing sector and draws upon the most recent literature in hospitality innovation. Definitions of innovation outputs based on preliminary data from interviews and pilot surveys are summarized. Finally, we submit a typology that may serve as a starting point for academic and practitioner dialogue and suggest that reaching consensus on a typology is critical to advancing new knowledge in a comprehensive manner.