Outsourcing in Australian Hotels: A Transaction Cost Economics Perspective

Abstract

A triangulated field study and questionnaire survey methodology was applied to investigate antecedents of outsourcing activity in Australian hotels. The field study involved the conduct of semistructured interviews with 15 managers in large hotels. Subsequent to this, a survey questionnaire was mailed to 356 general managers in Australian hotels with 100 or more rooms. The survey yielded a return of 111 completed questionnaires. The study represents an examination of transaction cost economics (TCE), a partial investigation of agency theory, and other organizational factors that may influence hotel outsourcing. The study's findings provide some support for TCE and provide insight into other factors that appear to be affecting Australian hotels' propensity to outsource. © 2007 International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education.