Hospitality finance research during recent two decades

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to understand hospitality finance research through content analysis by examining articles published during the past two decades (1990 to 2009). Design/methodology/approach – This study identified subject areas, methodologies, and citations from hospitality finance papers published in four major hospitality journals ( Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research , International Journal of Hospitality Management , International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , and Cornell Hospitality Quarterly ). Findings – A perusal of 113 hospitality finance articles suggested that researchers have focused on several subjects, such as risk management, financing, bankruptcy, and capital structure. Even though qualitative analysis was the most common method in the 1990s, the use of quantitative analyses dramatically increased during the recent decade. Research limitations/implications – The data were collected from four hospitality journals. If data were collected from more hospitality journals, the most common subjects and citations might be different from the results of this study. Practical implications – This study offers readers a perspective on how hospitality finance research has been conducted recently and also suggests a big picture about the potential direction of future research. Originality/value – This study provides valuable information about past and current research streams, as well as the direction of hospitality finance research. Compared with previous review studies, this study concentrated on a specific segment of hospitality research in order to improve basic understanding of what is going on in the hospitality finance research, which has never been examined before.