Strategic planning practices in the Greek hospitality industry

This paper aims to investigate the nature and extent of strategic planning in the Greek hospitality industry and its outcomes based on Greek managers' views.

Although the concept of strategic planning and its dimensions have been widely discussed in previous literature, research has mainly focused on well-developed countries and established sectors. However, there is a limited research in less developed countries like Greece and under-researched sectors like the hospitality industry. This paper aims to give some insights into the nature and extent of use of strategic planning processes and its positive outcomes in the Greek hospitality industry through a study based on a sample of 21 Greek five-star hotels.

The main findings of the paper concern with some major strategic planning dimensions: planning formality, functional coverage, internal and external orientation, centralization and time horizon of planning. Additionally, the study highlights the positive outcomes/benefits of planning according to managers' views, as well as the financial performance of the Greek five-star hotels that are examined. Descriptive results are presented and the respondents' individual characteristics are outlined.

The study provides a benchmark for the measurement of strategic planning and the benefits derived from planning in the Greek hospitality industry, a critical sector for the Greek economy.

The article contributes in the extensive literature on strategic planning, by discussing the development of strategic planning practices in Greek hotels, which operate in a highly uncertain environment.