Internationalization of the lodging industry in the light of eclectic paradigm

Abstract

Efforts concerning presentation of products to consumers in wider areas, particularly in international markets, lead lodging managers to focus on internationalization. This study aims to investigate the entry mode selection operation of lodging enterprises. Eclectic paradigm, developed by Dunning (1993), is used as a conceptual base for this study. Dunning's paradigm is an internationalization theory that relates to the advantages of ownership, location and internalization in lodging industry. Although the paradigm has been used in many service sector studies in international literature, there is still a lack of information about Turkish lodging industry. In accordance with the purpose of fill this gap, a questionnaire was conducted from international lodging enterprises in Mugla, the third destination of Turkey hosting the highest number of tourist. The results of the study are compared with the findings of previous researches. The findings obtained tend to confirm the applicability of the eclectic theory of foreign direct investment to lodging industry. It's expected that the findings of this study will contribute to selection of market entry decision making process by hotel managers, and provide new knowledge in internationalization literature, especially internationalization of Turkish lodging industry. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.