Human capital as a driver of innovation capability and competitiveness in the hotel industry

The purpose of this research is to analyse the relationship between flexibility and qualification of human resources, innovation capability and competitiveness in the hotel industry. Once the existing gaps in the literature have been identified, four research questions are formulated, which are tested through Partial Least Squares methodology on Spanish hotels. The study confirmed that: innovation capability of hotels positively influences their competitiveness; flexibility and qualification of human capital precede innovation and competitiveness; and, innovation acts as a mediating variable between human resources and competitiveness. This research advocates the analysis of the flexibility and qualification of human resources owing to the significance of them in the development of new knowledge for innovation in the services provided by hotels.