Business Structure of the Hilton Hotels-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Analyse the Business Structure of the Hilton Hotels Resorts in the Global Contexts. Answer: Introduction Hospitality industry has become a major source of economic drive for both the global and the local place. On the other hand, the local economy of a country has evident impacts on the flourishing development of hospitality industry. The industry is supported by three different business domains such as food beverage, accommodation and travel tourism. Accommodation in its own zone has become one of the most required things at the present days. The growth of global tourism industry has also benefitted the hotel industry. The rising requirements for accommodation because of the advent of globalisation have encouraged the construction of many hotels across the globe. The incrementing requirements have also encouraged the expansion of hotel chains at the global platform. Such expansion has not only benefitted the companies itself but it has also affected the worldwide economy of the hospitality industry. Furthermore, this has resulted in the worldwide economic growth[1]. In this assignment, the learner has selected the Hilton Hotels Resorts to understand the topic of the study. Hilton Hotels Resorts is a part of Hilton. This is one of the largest hotel brands in the world. They have strategically planned for their international expansion as they have targeted all the attractive places such as locations near to airports, popular destinations for vacations and convention centres. Such expansion plans have helped in the prosperity of the hotel and so in the economy of its local global locations[2]. The main purpose of this assignment is to analyse the business structure of the Hilton Hotels Resorts in the global contexts. Additionally, the assignment would also check the impact of hospitality industry on the local the global industry. Nature of hospitality The nature of hospitality of Hilton Hotels Resorts can be classified into five segments such as the follows[3]: A room for all Nourishing the requirements of customers Meeting the needs of all Giving respect and values to customers Caring not only the customers but the global people The above-mentioned points do very well illustrate a fact that customer service is of utmost importance to the Hilton Hotels Resorts. The hotel group has cared the requirements of their customers with their innovative approach towards everything, which are integral parts of the hotel industry. Such innovation can be measured in their smart designing approach for their hotel infrastructure. They have shown innovation in their varied range of foods, which are smartly priced as well. Leisure is not an unlike characteristic of a hotel group but giving space to community is something that requires a strategically strong approach towards creative things. Transparency reliability is another set of characteristic that has helped the group in reckoning its name in the list of those few, which have benefitted mostly from the hotel industry[4]. Corporate Social Responsibility has become a growing concern for every multinational company in nowadays. It has become a significant resource to prov e a caring nature of companies for its employees, different stakeholders and the surrounding environment. It is indeed a challenge to satisfy the needs of every stakeholder and to keep the company free from any environmental related issues. However, Hilton Hotels Resorts is one of those few companies, which has marked its presence in the various CSR related activities. They have not only cared their employees with fair labour and human rights but have also tried to make them educated and empowered with various different skills. Apart from different skills, ethical practices are also the part of their training curriculum. Additionally, they also care for local communities through different social and cultural programs. Forbes has rated the company as the top green brand. There has been a significant reduction in the wastages of water, energy and CO2[5]. Multi National Corporation (MNC) Hilton Hotel use information technology to perfection to win a competitive advantage in the market. Apart from an extensive use of technology, the hotel group depend hugely on the expansion process as well. It is highly focussed in expanding to various international locations, which is also evident in a fact that the hotel group has so far 100,000 rooms to its group in 2015 itself. Out of which approximately around 14,500 rooms have been achieved by converting the competitors brands. The highly incrementing global expansion of the company has created the need of making huge investments on a regular basis. This is for such reason the company has debts to their credit approximately around USD10.5billion. This might cause problems to the company in sustaining their business dominance as Competitor Company can easily copy the process. Any new or existing market competitors can become harmful for the companys market share[6]. It is also noteworthy that Hilton has aggressively focussed on global expansion while at the same time; it has also focussed on wining the local hearts. It has cared the local and global environment. Unarguably, the company has been named as the first company to win the LEED and Green Seal certification for environmental cares. It has reduced CO2 emission from its plants. Nevertheless, CO2 emission has become a global issue. CO2 emission causes global warming, which results in floods, earthquakes. Hilton hotel has done an appreciable job to cut down on the CO2 emission and other wastages such as water and energy. The company is in the list of few top hotels in the world not only because of the revenues that it generates globally but also because of its various cultural and social activities that it conducts to influence the community[7]. Business structure of hospitality chains Figure 1: Business Structure (Source:[8]) The business structure of the Hilton Hotel clearly state that the every head of departments (HODs) is in direct connection to the middle mangers. Middle managers in the Hilton Groups are in direct connection with the higher management. This is very effective to facilitate an effective intercommunication in between the different HODs and the middle higher managers. Figure 2: Value Chain of Hilton (Source:[9]) The value chain of the hotel is divided into two sections such as support activities and primary activities. Primary activities conduct the entire supply chain operations such as incoming of required materials, manufacturing process and serving the products services to its customers. Support activities have its vital contribution in the value chain management of Hilton Groups. Support activities are formed by the firm infrastructure, human resource, technology and procurement. The human resource management is effective, which has also contributed with its thought process in the success of Hilton Hotel. The HRM and the management of the company had sensed the urgency of being compatible with the latest technologies. This is why the management and the HRM had responded to the felt urgency. This is evident in the technologies, which the company use. They collaborated with resources to provide excellent technology such as mainstay reservation and property administration system. Addition ally, they also provide high-speed internet, entertainment services in rooms and data security to their customers. They have highly experienced personnel, which performs the purchasing of areas needed to build up the hotel. Effective professionals manage procurement in the Hilton Group. Supply management is efficiently conducted with the help of strategic dealings with the hundreds of suppliers. They have already made agreements with their numerous suppliers on the global and regional pricing of all the required services products. They believe in delivering best quality products services for value-based pricing[10]. Operations Marketing Branding Hilton Group has some unlike marketing strategies, which has also benefitted the company. Like any other company, they use Twitter to interact with their followers. This helps them know the demands of customers. They do so by using a tool for social listening. Such tool indicates them about any information if it is available at any place across the globe. This just shows a very good use of the technology to beat the competition. Another very important strategy is to be regional while being global. This strategy has benefitted immensely to the company. They believe in hiring regional marketing executives at the global platform. This strategy helps them understand the requirements of the customers more effectively. Hilton has rather targeted the midscale hotels as their target market in recent times. They have identified the potentialities of mid scale hotels[11]. One of the key marketing aspects of the Hilton Company is to keep their loyal customers updated with current promotions, activities and events. They do so by mailing them electronic letters. They also post various photos and videos that cover all the happenings and activities at its different hotels and resorts. Branding is another segment, which the company conducts strategically. They rather prefer partners to suppliers to provide best in quality services products to their customers. The different brands that are connected to the company, merely present their efficient strategies for branding. For different services they collaborates with different companies such as for luxury lifestyle they have CONRAD, for full service they have CURIO, for all suites they have HOMEWOOD SUITES. They have identified their efficient partners and are working in collaboration with them[12]. Human resource management The human resource department is another winning aspect of the company, which is helping the brand to grow with indomitable success. Training is an essential element of the HRM of the Hilton Group. They know the importance of customer service, which is why they have designed their training curriculum to benefit the professional at every level. Professionals are even trained on how to impart a high standard customer service to the guest. Their list of expertise includes many such as Employment Relations, Collective Agreements on Bargaining, Recruitment, Employment Law and Training. They are top class human resource systems. They use various technologies to enhance their effectiveness such as PeopleSoft and SuccessFactors. They use this technology to recruit and retain the industrys finest professionals. To enhance the effectiveness of the HRM, they have also maintained good relationships with different top schools in hotel. The bonding would supply them quality professionals because H ilton can have an indirect control on such schools. This would help the company in presenting their requirements from professionals. Moreover, this would help Hilton get eligible professionals from such relationships. This is not the end; the human resource department of the company are leaders in online recruitment and electronically tracking of the applicants. They keep their database updated to keep them aware with the turnover statistics, background research and costs of drug testing[13]. The discussions have made things evident about the human resource department of the company. The HRM believes in two things such as recruiting the most eligible professionals and retaining them with utmost care of efficient training. They do so because they believe that people are key assets to provide an exemplary customer service. Sustainability Sustainability has become one of their key interests, which is very much displayed in their innovation and credibility towards the social friendly activities. They use innovation to efficiently manage the energy. Since 2009, they have been able to reduce the use of energy by 17 percent across the globe. It is a very significant achievement, which is a rare feat to many. To preserve the energy and to avoid excessive usage of energy, Hilton has collaborated with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to perform their superiority in managing the energy performance in the construction of building space. They have collaborated with the World Wildlife Find to facilitate the absorbance of renewable energy. This simply proves their concern for an environment friendly atmosphere, which is only possible with the use of renewable energy[14]. They are also working efficiently to reduce the usage of water or in other words, they are trying to save water from any wastage. This is very much evident in the ir controlling operations. They have been able to reduce the usage of water by 17 percent in an approximately 7 years. They have also collaborated with many international companies for hotel to enhance the effectiveness of their approach to save water and reduce the usage of water further. They have also identified the harmfulness of wastages, which is why they are working efficiently to reduce the wastages. Interestingly, they have been able to reduce the wastages by approximately around 30 percent in 7 years. Soap recycling is another important asset of their sustainability approach as this is evident in their achievement so far. They have so far recycled over five million units. They have also diverted approximately one million pounds of waste of soaps from landfills. They have collaborated with World Wildlife Fund to reduce the wastages of food. Carbon reduction has become a challenge to every single sector. Like any other sector, Hilton Group has efficiently reduced the carbon emission by approximately 23 percent in just 7 years. This is acknowledgeable under the present scenario. In collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, Hilton has made an announcement for future sustainability of seafood[15]. Economic (Impact on) Local economy Hospitality industry has provided solutions to many of which economy is an essential part. It is very interesting that economic status of a country influence the behaviour of a hotel company. It does so by allocating sufficient investments that fulfils the needs of rapid new hotel construction and inclusion of many rooms. Globalisation has benefitted the tourism sector immensely and hotel industry is not any exception. The growing footfalls of travellers with the passage of every year are bringing ample of pressure to the different hotel groups. Furthermore, the pressure has come up in different forms such as in the form of accommodating more rooms, so that, the rising numbers of travellers could get ample of space in their desired hotels. Apart from the inclusion of hotel rooms, there are also the needs of incepting fresh and talented graduate professionals in order to meet the rising requirements of workforce. Moreover, the rising numbers of travellers has posed high challenges to the different hotel groups across the globe[16]. Companies as such of Hilton Hotels have high concerns for customer service, which means there are needs for sufficient numbers of staffs who can care for the travellers with proven skills. Additionally, the growing numbers of footfalls of travellers with the passage of every year has brought some more challenges to the hotel industry. They are now supposed to be more versatile with their supply chain management in order to maintain a highest standard of customer service. Nevertheless, these challenges can never be countered if the different hotel industry does not have adequate financial support from the local government[17]. On the other hand, the flourishing business of hotel industry does influence the economy of the country as well. It does so in numerous ways such as providing employability to numerous professionals, incrementing the GDP power of the country etc. The growing business of hotel industry does open up door to many jobs in different categories, which means it supports in reducing a sufficient number of unemployment. High employment rate on the other hand is a solution to many such as the GDP growth per capita[18]. The above-mentioned facts can well be understood with the help of a sociological theory namely Functionalism. The theory states that work and economy provide numerous purposes for society. It provides solutions to the different requirements of society such as goods and services. It also provides work to the community that they can use to satisfy their personal needs. In the light of the mentioned sociological theory, it is evident that the growth of an industry is a growth of the entire society. Furthermore, the growth of the entire society is a growth of the local country[19]. This is exactly what happens with a prosperous hotel industry. The incrementing construction works of different hotels and rooms is a solution to jobs, which in other words mean that the hospitality sector is providing the staffing solution to the entire community and the local country. Following are some benefits, which the growing economy of the hotel industry is providing to the local economy of the country [20]: Employment solution- The growing construction of hotel rooms and the incrementing expansion of hotel groups in the different countries are providing solutions to staffing at the different positions. Unemployment is the one factor that has challenged the economy of many countries across the globe. The different policies of local governments across the globe have failed in making a significant impact. However, the prospering hotel industry has made things possible significantly. Globalisation in this context has helped immensely in bringing such change. Globalisation has caused the integration of different people with different cultures at one place. Nevertheless, nowadays, people go to foreign locations for their different purposes such as jobs, business meetings, making tours etc. Such purposes have contributed notably in the incrementing growth of the hotel industry across the globe. The travellers footfalls have been surprisingly increased in the last few decades. The increased foo tfall of travellers not only helped the different hotel groups to earn huge revenues but also enhanced their investment capabilities. This is why the different hotel groups have now become more capable in making investments in different construction related activities and the recruitment of required professionals. Moreover, the changing picture of travel industry has benefitted the hotel industry, which in return has influenced the economy of the local country. Direct impact- This is the one of the most common impacts of the hospitality industry. This is because it influence the revenue generation in multi departments such as the room, spa and parking, food beverages, employees and contractual workers. Such revenues influence the local economy directly by elevating the GDP growth. Fiscal impact- This is benefitted from an incrementing revenues of the hotel industry because it enables the payment of different taxes such as payroll taxes, all government taxes, sales taxes etc. It is very much evident that the payment of different taxes by different hotel groups in other way strengthens the financial capability of the local country. Furthermore, it strengthens the purchasing power parity (PPP) of the respective country. Indirect impact- The incrementing revenues of the hotel company would indirectly benefit those who are associated to the company through any means. This would benefit the housekeepers, telecommunication vendors, suppliers and other vendors. Incrementing revenue would ensure an incrementing relationship in between the hotel company and the different vendors. Furthermore, this would help the hotel company in an elongated business relationship with the suppliers, which is never possible in a reducing revenue scenario. Global economy The growing economy of the hotel industry does not only benefit the local country but it also influences the global economy as well. The first and foremost impact of the growing hotel sector is on the airline industry at the global level[21]. The growing number of travellers from across the different parts of world helps to boost the airline sector at the global level. Globalisation has influenced played an important role in driving the airline industry. Globalisation has attracted the interest of different groups towards the different places in the world for different purposes such as business, education and tour. Nevertheless, each of the purpose has benefitted the economy of the target country. Business at the global platform has benefitted both the airline industry and the target global country[22]. The rising number of business travellers boosts the revenues of different airline companies, which in return benefit the economy of the country. Additionally, business expansion at th e global places has become enlarged due to such fact. This is beneficial for target global country, as they would get many potential business options. Moreover, this is would also provide the staffing solution to the target global country, which is very important for the growth of GDP per capita. Education is the other purpose that has played its important role in influencing the economy of the target global country. Many students are going to foreign locations such as USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and many other places for having post graduate degree courses. This is directly influencing the economy of the target global country[23]. This is directly benefitting the entire stakeholders and shareholders of a particular institution. On the other hand, this is indirectly benefitting the educational sector of concerned international country. In such ways, it is helping the industry to contribute in the economy of the concerned country. Nowadays, education has emerged as one of the pot ential resources in elevating the GDP growth of the concerned foreign country. Tourism on the other hand has also benefitted the global economy[24]. The growing tourism sector in a particular global country helps the industry to earn more revenues. In recent time, the footfalls of foreign travellers have significantly increased, which share a significant number of travellers along with the local visitors. The incrementing numbers of foreign travellers mean the incrementing development of tourism sector, which on the other side would continue on adding the numbers of foreign travellers. Incrementing foreign travellers would improve the business of airline industry of the target international country. This would directly influence the economy of the concerned foreign country. Additionally, the foreign travellers would visit to many historical and famous places. This would directly benefit the all vendors who are associated to a particular place. The prospering business of a particular place would mean that the flow of all kinds of taxes would be rightly maintaine d. Moreover, it means an incrementing economic power of the concerned international place. In addition to the mentioned benefits, foreign travellers would also go for shopping, which mean that this would influence the retail companies, their suppliers, their vendors and the employees. In this case, the flow of tax to the government would rightly happen, which is necessary for an incrementing financial capability of the specific foreign country[25]. Some travellers travel to foreign countries to watch different kinds of sports such as Cricket, Football, and Tennis etc. This would benefit the different sporting grounds as well as their owners. This would directly influence employees working in such grounds, the different associated vendors, the shareholders etc. This again would benefit the concerned government, as the selling of tickets would ensure a healthy flow of different taxes[26]. Conclusion Hilton Hotel is one of the most noteworthy hotel chains in the world. It has made things possible with the help of improved strategic planning. They have used technology to the perfection to enhance the capabilities of its human resource department, supply chain operations and other operations at across its global chain. Their Human Resource Department are well versed with the latest technologies, which is why they are fulfilling their objective to hire the best and to retain the best. The management are well equipped with sustainability features, which is why they are busy with endless list of activities. This is also evident in their various activities such as seafood sustainability, carbon emission reduction, reduction of water use and many. They have some unique ways to approach for marketing and branding activities. They believe in working in collaboration with different brands to earn expertise in different genre. The global hospitality industry is incrementing in its popularit y with the passage of days. The growing sector has become a significant resource of GDP growth per capita of the local economy as well as the global economy. The incrementing popularity of hospitality industry is because of various purposes, which it serves such as education, jobs, business, tour etc. The hospitality industry is growing in its popularity; on the other hand, it is also posing challenges to the different tourism companies as well. They have challenge to develop the infrastructure of the hotel chains to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. References Bradi?, Milan, Ljiljana Kosar, and Bojana Kalenjuk. "Business guests satisfaction in the hotel industry: A case study of North American hotel chains."Turizam17, no. 2 (2013): 60-70. Brotherton, Bob, ed.International Hospitality Industry. Routledge, 2012. Brotherton, Bob, ed.International Hospitality Industry. Routledge, 2012. Burrell, Gibson, and Gareth Morgan.Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis: Elements of the sociology of corporate life. Routledge, 2017. Chou, Ming Che. "Does tourism development promote economic growth in transition countries? A panel data analysis."Economic Modelling33 (2013): 226-232. Erez, Miriam, Alon Lisak, Raveh Harush, Ella Glikson, Rikki Nouri, and Efrat Shokef. "Going global: Developing management students' cultural intelligence and global identity in culturally diverse virtual teams."Academy of Management Learning Education12, no. 3 (2013): 330-355. Gannon, Judie M., Angela Roper, and Liz Doherty. "Strategic human resource management: Insights from the international hotel industry."International Journal of Hospitality Management47 (2015): 65-75. Gu, Huimin, Chris Ryan, and Larry Yu. "The changing structure of the Chinese hotel industry: 19802012."Tourism Management Perspectives4 (2012): 56-63. Hoque, Kim.Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and performance. Routledge, 2013. Hoque, Kim.Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and performance. Routledge, 2013. Hovhannisyan, Nune, and Wolfgang Keller. "International business travel: an engine of innovation?."Journal of Economic Growth20, no. 1 (2015): 75-104. Hsieh, Yu-Chin. "Hotel companies' environmental policies and practices: a content analysis of their web pages."International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management24, no. 1 (2012): 97-121. Hu, Hsin-Hui Sunny. "The effectiveness of environmental advertising in the hotel industry."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly53, no. 2 (2012): 154-164. Kosov, Renta, Francine Lafontaine, and Rozenn Perrigot. "Organizational form and performance: evidence from the hotel industry."Review of Economics and Statistics95, no. 4 (2013): 1303-1323. Li, Xu, Youcheng Wang, and Yixiu Yu. "Present and future hotel website marketing activities: Change propensity analysis."International Journal of Hospitality Management47 (2015): 131-139. MARIN, DIANA. "Study on the economic impact of tourism and of agrotourism on local communities."Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences47, no. 4 (2015): 160-163. Mok, Connie, Beverley Sparks, and Jay Kadampully.Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. Routledge, 2013. Mowforth, Martin, and Ian Munt.Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge, 2015. Rogerson, Christian M. "Urban tourism, economic regeneration and inclusion: Evidence from South Africa."Local Economy28, no. 2 (2013): 188-202. Sainaghi, Ruggero, Paul Phillips, and Valentina Corti. "Measuring hotel performance: Using a balanced scorecard perspectives approach."International Journal of Hospitality Management34 (2013): 150-159. Shank, Matthew D., and Mark R. Lyberger.Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge, 2014. Tavitiyaman, Pimtong, Hanqin Qiu Zhang, and Hailin Qu. "The effect of competitive strategies and organizational structure on hotel performance."International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management24, no. 1 (2012): 140-159. Thakran, Kanika, and Rohit Verma. "The emergence of hybrid online distribution channels in travel, tourism and hospitality."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly54, no. 3 (2013): 240-247. Wang, Gao-Liang. "A Study of How the Organizational Culture of International Tourist Hotels Affects Organizational Performance: Using Intellectual Capital as the Mediating Variable."Journal of Global Business Management8, no. 1 (2012): 189. Woods, Ruth, and Matthias Haase. "THE ROLE OF SHOPPING CENTRES IN THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSITION OF NEIGHBOURHOODS."CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS AND ORGANISATION 2013(2013): 48. Zhang, Jie J., Nitin Joglekar, Janelle Heineke, and Rohit Verma. "Eco-efficiency of service co-production: connecting eco-certifications and resource efficiency in US hotels."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly55, no. 3 (2014): 252-264. Brotherton, Bob, ed.International Hospitality Industry. Routledge, 2012. Gu, Huimin, Chris Ryan, and Larry Yu. "The changing structure of the Chinese hotel industry: 19802012."Tourism Management Perspectives4 (2012): 56-63. Mok, Connie, Beverley Sparks, and Jay Kadampully.Service quality management in hospitality, tourism, and leisure. Routledge, 2013. Wang, Gao-Liang. "A Study of How the Organizational Culture of International Tourist Hotels Affects Organizational Performance: Using Intellectual Capital as the Mediating Variable."Journal of Global Business Management8, no. 1 (2012): 189. Hsieh, Yu-Chin. "Hotel companies' environmental policies and practices: a content analysis of their web pages."International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management24, no. 1 (2012): 97-121. Sainaghi, Ruggero, Paul Phillips, and Valentina Corti. "Measuring hotel performance: Using a balanced scorecard perspectives approach."International Journal of Hospitality Management34 (2013): 150-159. Hu, Hsin-Hui Sunny. "The effectiveness of environmental advertising in the hotel industry."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly53, no. 2 (2012): 154-164. Hoque, Kim.Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and performance. Routledge, 2013. Brotherton, Bob, ed.International Hospitality Industry. Routledge, 2012. Hoque, Kim.Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and performance. Routledge, 2013. Li, Xu, Youcheng Wang, and Yixiu Yu. "Present and future hotel website marketing activities: Change propensity analysis."International Journal of Hospitality Management47 (2015): 131-139. Tavitiyaman, Pimtong, Hanqin Qiu Zhang, and Hailin Qu. "The effect of competitive strategies and organizational structure on hotel performance."International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management24, no. 1 (2012): 140-159. Gannon, Judie M., Angela Roper, and Liz Doherty. "Strategic human resource management: Insights from the international hotel industry."International Journal of Hospitality Management47 (2015): 65-75. Bradi?, Milan, Ljiljana Kosar, and Bojana Kalenjuk. "Business guests satisfaction in the hotel industry: A case study of North American hotel chains."Turizam17, no. 2 (2013): 60-70. Zhang, Jie J., Nitin Joglekar, Janelle Heineke, and Rohit Verma. "Eco-efficiency of service co-production: connecting eco-certifications and resource efficiency in US hotels."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly55, no. 3 (2014): 252-264. Mowforth, Martin, and Ian Munt.Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge, 2015. Kosov, Renta, Francine Lafontaine, and Rozenn Perrigot. "Organizational form and performance: evidence from the hotel industry."Review of Economics and Statistics95, no. 4 (2013): 1303-1323. Rogerson, Christian M. "Urban tourism, economic regeneration and inclusion: Evidence from South Africa."Local Economy28, no. 2 (2013): 188-202. Burrell, Gibson, and Gareth Morgan.Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis: Elements of the sociology of corporate life. Routledge, 2017. Chou, Ming Che. "Does tourism development promote economic growth in transition countries? A panel data analysis."Economic Modelling33 (2013): 226-232. Thakran, Kanika, and Rohit Verma. "The emergence of hybrid online distribution channels in travel, tourism and hospitality."Cornell Hospitality Quarterly54, no. 3 (2013): 240-247. Hovhannisyan, Nune, and Wolfgang Keller. "International business travel: an engine of innovation?."Journal of Economic Growth20, no. 1 (2015): 75-104. Erez, Miriam, Alon Lisak, Raveh Harush, Ella Glikson, Rikki Nouri, and Efrat Shokef. "Going global: Developing management students' cultural intelligence and global identity in culturally diverse virtual teams."Academy of Management Learning Education12, no. 3 (2013): 330-355. MARIN, DIANA. "Study on the economic impact of tourism and of agrotourism on local communities."Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences47, no. 4 (2015): 160-163. Woods, Ruth, and Matthias Haase. "THE ROLE OF SHOPPING CENTRES IN THE SUSTAINABLE TRANSITION OF NEIGHBOURHOODS."CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS AND ORGANISATION 2013(2013): 48. Shank, Matthew D., and Mark R. Lyberger.Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge, 2014.