Inovação para sustentabilidade em hotéis de Aracaju: um estudo de caso múltiplos

Abstract

The term sustainability marks the relationship between economic, social and environmental development, thus, it transposes the search for a balance between the preservation of the environment and the provision of human needs (UN, 2020). According to Machado et al. (2019), innovation management represents the main instrument for organizations to achieve sustainability. In this sense, management for sustainable innovation represents a path for organizations to achieve the requirements for sustainable development. It is worth mentioning that among the various economic sectors we have tourism, which is an important activity in the generation and regional redistribution of income. (MTUR, 2021). Likewise, the hotel business is one of the main activities of the tourism sector. In this way, the hotel industry is an expanding segment that is subject to sustainable innovative actions that can allow adding value to the services of its enterprises. It is important to note that the hotel sector embraces sustainable practices and pays attention to sustainable innovations and the importance of awareness for sustainable development. In this way, the present study sought to analyze the sustainable model practiced in hotels in Aracaju, based on the adoption of good sustainable practices. To achieve this objective, the Hotel Sustainability Model was adopted and adapted in relation to sustainable practices, adapted from the model by Wang et al. (2021). As for the methodological procedures, the research was a qualitative approach. The nature of the research was exploratory and descriptive. The strategy used consisted of the multiple case study method, based on preestablished criteria. For data collection, a semi-structured interview script was used. The segment addressed in this research was the hotel sector in the city of Aracaju and the interviewees were the managers of these enterprises. And for the treatment and analysis of the evidence, the technique of content analysis was adopted. The results found indicate that the main motivations for adopting sustainable practices are compliance with legislation and reduction of operating costs. The main barriers mentioned were the absence of incentive public policies, high investment costs and resistance from employees. Several sustainable practices were found in the research, such as results in the environmental dimension with the use of renewable energy to reduce operating costs, in the social dimension, with actions to support socio-environmental programs and in the economic dimension, with compliance with current legislation. The main barriers mentioned were the absence of incentive public policies, high investment costs and resistance from employees. The research showed that Aracaju's hotel organizations are in the process of implementing sustainable innovations at different levels. As contributions, understanding the course of hotel management, as learning to practice sustainability can contribute to regional development and sustainable responsibility policies applied by the hotel sector, in addition to expanding the academic debate. In addition, it showed the importance of inserting the SDGs in the context of the hotel sector and the adoption of sustainable innovations as a path to a management model that promotes sustainable regional development.