This study explores the influence of digital leadership (DL) on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in tourism and hospitality businesses, focusing on green absorptive capability (GAC) and eco-innovation (EI) as mediators. This study focused on middle-line management in travel agencies and hotels in Saudi Arabia. A total of 323 valid responses were collected and analyzed using WarpPLS 7.0, a PLS-SEM analysis tool. DL positively affected SCA, GAC, and EI. In addition, SCA was positively impacted by GAC and EI. Furthermore, this study found that GAC and EI significantly mediated the DL→SCA relationship. This study enhances the Dynamic Capabilities Theory, offering valuable insights for tourism and hospitality managers to utilize digital strategies and environmental initiatives for eco-conscious market competitiveness.

This study attempts to examine the impact of electronic human resource management (E-HRM) systems on achieving a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) in the tourism and hospitality industry by incorporating sustainable innovation (SI) and organizational agility (OA) as mediators. To survive, tourist and hospitality organizations must embrace digital transformation by using E-HRM practices such as digital recruiting, online training, and performance management tools. Organizations may improve their HR departments’ efficiency, effectiveness, and decision making, enhancing the overall organizational performance and preserving a sustainable competitive edge. Middle and first-line management of the five-star hotels and travel agencies in category A operating in Egypt were investigated. A PLS-SEM analysis was performed on 313 valid responses, gathered using WarpPLS 7.0. The findings revealed that E-HRM is positively associated with SCA, SI, and OA. Furthermore, there were positive associations between SI and OA and SCA. SI and OA were also shown to be mediators in the relationship between E-HRM and SCA. The study adds to the existing literature on how E-HRM impacts SI, OA, and SCA. The relationship between these components in hotels and travel agencies has not been the subject of any empirical research. The current study has addressed gaps by empirically analyzing these relationships in the context of Egyptian hotels and travel agencies. It integrates E-HRM, innovation, organizational agility, and competitive advantage within the context of sustainability in tourism and hospitality.

The tourism and hospitality industry is dynamic, so it demands agility to gain a competitive edge. This paper aims to examine the effect of transactional leadership on organizational agility in the tourism and hospitality industry. It also investigates the roles of organizational trust and ambidexterity as mediators by adopting the resource-based view (RBV). This study’s data are collected from the full-time employees working in category (A) travel agencies and five-star hotels operating in Egypt. The PLS-SEM approach was used to analyze 532 valid responses using WarpPLS 7.0. The findings showed that there is a positive relationship between transactional leadership and organizational agility, as well as positive relationships between transactional leadership with organizational trust and ambidexterity. Organizational trust and ambidexterity were also found to have positive relationships with organizational agility. Moreover, the findings revealed that organizational trust and ambidexterity play a mediating role between transactional leadership and organizational agility. According to the results, setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals is a key aspect of transactional leadership. Managers can collaborate with employees to set goals aligned with organizational agility, encouraging them to proactively identify and seize opportunities.

This study examines how job engagement (JE) is affected by benevolent leadership (BL). This study also explores psychological safety (PS) and workplace friendship (WF) as mediators. Data were collected from employees working in Egypt’s five-star hotels and category (A) travel agencies. There were 320 valid responses that were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The findings demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between benevolent leadership and job engagement. There were positive relationships between benevolent leadership and PS/WF. The findings also revealed a positive relationship between PS/WF and job engagement. In addition, the findings revealed that psychological safety and workplace friendship mediate the relationship between BL and JE. This research contributes to the studies on BL, PS, and WF in terms of JE, specifically in the hospitality and tourism context. It also includes suggestions for enhancing the workplace environment in hotel and tourism enterprises via BL, PS, and WF.

This study examines how green perceived value (GPV) and green attitude (GA) are affected by environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR). It also investigates the mediating role of environmental well-being (EWB) on the relationship between ECSR and GA and on the relationship between ECSR and GPV. A total of 910 responses gathered from the guests of travel agencies and 5-star hotels in Egypt were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results showed positive relationships between ECSR with GA, EWB, and GPV. Positive relationships between EWB with GA and GPV also existed. In addition, there was a mediating role of EWB in the relationship between ECSR and GA and in the relationship between ECSR and GPV. The research provides a theoretical contribution to bridging the gap in studies related to ECSR and EWB in relation to GPV and GA, specifically in the tourism and hotel sector. Practically, the research provides the tourism and hotel enterprises with recommendations to improve ECSR and EWB—this could, in turn, positively impact the GPV and GA of their guests. Limitations and potential directions for future research were also presented.

This study aimed to investigate three variables that may interact with internal branding (IB) in the hotel context: employee engagement (EE), workplace friendship (WF), and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). This study adopted a survey methodology. 385 valid responses were collected from employees of 20 five-star chain hotels located in the Greater Cairo region of Egypt. The data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between OCB and WF with EE, in addition to OCB, EE, and WF with IB. The mediating role of EE between OCB and IB, besides the moderating role of WF on the relationship between OCB and EE, was also determined. Contrary to the hypothesized model, results showed an insignificant relationship between WF and IB. This study provides a theoretical contribution to deepen the understanding of the internal branding concept in the context of the hotel industry. Practically, this research may be helpful for hotel enterprises in engendering and sustaining effective internal branding practices, which, in turn, could establish new links between internal and external hotel customers. Study limitations and potential directions for further research were also presented.