Tourism and hospitality industry: A case study of Polish female firms

Abstract

The objective was to identify the firms’ short-run and long-run strategies that contributed to firms’ development, job creation and economic growth of local economies, and employees’ and customers’ satisfaction across all Butler’s stages of development. The results indicate that the firms have been successful supporting environmental sustainability, conservation of natural resources, and protection of cultural elements of local communities. During the Covid-19 shutdown, the female entrepreneurs assessed past strategies, invested in development and production of new and better-quality products and services, advanced employees’ and entrepreneurial skills, and transformation of digital and production infrastructure. The study identified the importance of government policies critical for entrepreneurship success, particularly during global crises. The paper illustrates several lessons focused specifically on fostering a supportive work environment that enables firms to endure through and successfully recover from market shocks or global crises. The study concludes that all female entrepreneurs were experienced, motivated, visionary, goal-oriented, and innovative regarding their entrepreneurial undertakings while focusing on understanding the needs and maximizing employee and customer satisfaction. The resiliency they developed enabled them to stay focused on their goals and maintain successful operations while facing insufficient financial and non-financial support, market challenges, and global crises.

Keywords

• development
• entrepreneurial ecosystem
• exogenous shock
• growth
• short-run and long-run strategies
• tourism industry