Abstract

MONTEIRO, Ileana  and  SOUSA, Fernando. The innovative leadership in the hospitality industry at Algarve. Rev. Portuguesa e Brasileira de Gestão [online]. 2008, vol.7, n.2, pp.68-78. ISSN 1645-4464.

This paper summarizes a research designed to explain the process innovation in high quality hospitality industry through the action of innovative hotel managers and to identify the collaborators' perceptions of innovative managers. Also, 24 innovative and 6 non innovative leaders’ interviews were subjected to content analysis and factorial analysis of variance, in order to extract the managers’ perceptual maps. As to the quantitative study, the results showed the differences between innovative and non innovative managers, either as perceived by their teams or by the managers themselves; and that innovation was more likely to happen in back office departments, where the clients’ contributions were filtered by the employees. These results and the qualitative ones stressed the importance of interactive communication processes, aimed at increasing the learning and the quality of the interactions leader-collaborator, leading every one to pay attention to minor details and to invest in the reflexive processes which allow for a continuous improvement and innovation.

Keywords : Innovative Leader; Innovation in Hospitality; Symbolic Interactivity; Decision Skill; Relational Skills.

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