A PLS multigroup analysis of the role of businesswomen in the tourism sector in Andalusia

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the factors that influ-ence “business performance” or the “role of entrepreneurs”, as well as to analyse whether gender functions as a moderating variable, based on a survey conducted on a sample of 127 com-panies. Most of the literature in the tourism sector only considers hotel accommodation; thus, it is still limited in the case of non-hotel accommodation. Our research fills this gap by focusing on both types of establishments. An explanatory and confirmatory model has been carried out based on a PLS-SEM approach, taking the factors that determine business performance into ac-count. Moreover, a MICOM and a multi-group analysis have been undertaken in order to check whether gender acts as a modera-tor. Our findings reveal that there are no significant differences between tourist accommodation companies run by women and men in Andalusia; hence, gender is not a moderating variable regarding business performance. Furthermore, as full measure-ment invariance has been established, a comparison between groups emphasises that the influence of the environment, and the resources and capabilities of the entrepreneur, are factors that affect women more than men, and the number of employ-ees, work experience, and the occupancy rate are more impor-tant for businesswomen, whereas the distance to the nearest airport, check-in, and the occupancy rate are more important for businessmen. This empirical study has practical implications for hospitality industry professionals and concerned authorities which are responsible for designing strategies and policies related to this sector in Andalusia.