AN INVESTIGATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION: BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN NORTHERN THAILAND

Sainatee Chernbumroong (), Vlatka Skokic () and Andrew Lockwood ()
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Sainatee Chernbumroong: Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Business Administration, Department of Management and Entrepreneurship 239, A. Mueang Chiang Mai, Thailand, 50200
Vlatka Skokic: The University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism Department of Management Cvite Fiskovica 5, 21 000 Split, Croatia
Andrew Lockwood: The University of Surrey, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences School of Hospitality and Tourism Management GU2 7XH, Guildford, UK

Tourism and Hospitality Management, 2021, vol. 27, issue 1, 205-222

Abstract: Purpose – entrepreneurship scholars have argued extensively that the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial motivation cannot be studied in isolation from their broader socioeconomic environment. This study addresses this gap by examining the entrepreneurial motivation of hotel entrepreneurs in Northern Thailand. The study also investigates how various mediating factors and motivations to start a business shape tourism entrepreneurs' behaviour in relation to growth strategies. Design/ Methodology/ Approach – qualitative research was conducted in Northern Thailand 2012 and the follow-up study in 2019. Purposive and snowball sampling strategies were used. The primary data collection method was semi-structured interviews. Findings – the study identifies the coexistence of both lifestyle and growth-oriented entrepreneurs. The results show that the entrepreneurial decision to enter the hotel industry was not solely determined by the entrepreneur's own actions, but significantly by the family. The role of family in business creation is directive and not facilitative. Business growth was a desirable strategy for both lifestyle and growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Originality of the research – study shows that entrepreneurial motivation cannot be properly understood if it is studied in isolation from the wider socio-economic context. Moreover, it challenges the prevailing classification of tourism entrepreneurs into lifestyle-oriented and growth-oriented.

Keywords: entrepreneurial motivation; hotel entrepreneurs; lifestyle orientation; Thailand; qualitative methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tho:journl:v:27:y:2021:n:1:p:205-222

DOI: 10.20867/thm.27.1.12

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