3 LEADERSHIP IN HOSPITALITY
A structured literature search identified a range of peer-reviewed relevant journal
articles and several book chapters. These have been categorised and critically
reviewed to establish the state of the art of leadership knowledge in the
hospitality context. Following a short description of the literature search strategy
and analytical framework for the review, the remainder of this section critically
evaluates the state of knowledge with regard to leadership studies in the
hospitality sectors.
The findings from the review are then considered alongside Pittaway et al.’s
(1998) recommendations for a framework for future leadership research in the
hospitality sectors.
3.1 Review strategy and analytical framework
During December 2009 a range of bibliographical databases relevant to hospitality
(CAB Abstracts, Emerald Insight, Hospitality & Tourism Complete), business and
management studies (Business Source® Complete) and social science /
psychology (Academic Search™ Complete) were interrogated using the search
term “leadership AND hospitality”. This revealed 21 titles and subsequent
analysis of these texts identified the existence of a further 35 relevant titles. The
search was updated during October 2010 resulting in the identification of a further
16 articles. In total 66 peer-reviewed journal articles, 5 book chapters and one
serial contribution (Tsai 2008) focusing on leadership issues in hospitality
contexts were found. A detailed analysis of each of these 72 contributions was
undertaken to identify their respective theoretical foci and findings. Appendix V
provides a categorised listing the 72 contributions and the bibliographical details
for each can be found in the list of references.
The first stage of analyses identified that, of the 72 identified studies, 46 (64 per
cent) had utilised a theoretical perspective from within the range of leadership
theories described in the leadership studies literature (see e.g. Yukl 1989; Van
Seters and Field 1990; Lowe and Gardner 2000; and Antonakis et al. 2004a for
reviews of leadership theories).