Knowledge sources, agglomeration, and hotel performance

Abstract

This study builds on the theories of industrial districts and knowledge, aiming to analyze the extent to which internal and external knowledge affect the performance of Spanish hotels situated in the Mediterranean coastline's tourist districts. Results from a quantitative analysis show that knowledge coming from the firm's workers, and the value of registered trademarks prevail over the investments in R&D in terms of hotel profitability. Regarding external knowledge, the study confirms the hypotheses referred to knowledge externalities from having a special location as well as knowledge from university centers and technological research institutions.