Intangible Resources in Performance Measurement Systems of the Hotel Industry

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the value of intangible resources and, consequently, the importance of their integration into performance measurement systems applied in the hotel industry.

Design/methodology/approach – Based on a thorough literature review, arguments draw on relevant theories in performance measurement in the hotel industry and the concept of intangible resources. Merging these two different concepts reveals new research areas.

Findings – The literature review shows that even those integrated performance measurement systems that aim to include non-financial measures do not necessarily capture intangible resources. Based on this finding, suggestions for extending performance measurement systems are made.

Practical implications – This paper has significant implications for hotel managers, as it will allow them to broaden their perspective and include important performance drivers (i.e. intangible resources such as knowledge, motivation and social capital) in their performance measurement systems.

Originality/value – The paper highlights the need for a comprehensive performance measurement approach that comprises indicators for measuring intangible resources and suggests tools that better capture the contribution of these important performance drivers.