Managing family businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry: the transitional economy of Poland

This study’s objective is to examine the nature of tourism and hospitality family businesses that operate in the transitional Polish economy and to analyze the environment for development and growth of these entrepreneurial firms in the reforming economy. In order to evaluate and compare firms’ development relative to selected external environmental factors affecting entrepreneurial operations, on-site surveys and personal interviews were conducted with Polish entrepreneurs who own and operate family businesses within tourism and hospitality industry. The environmental conditions are grouped into four external nvironmental factors: political and legal environment, financial environment, non-financial environment, and socio-economic environment, and analyzed based on Kazanjian’s (1988) and Gnyawali and Fogel’s models (1994). The paper also analyzes the competencies of the owners of the entrepreneurial firms that are important for the firm’s success throughout the firm’s life cycle. Based on this study results, policy implications are made for assisting the tourism and hospitality firms’ growth and development in transitional economy.
Cilj rada je ispitati prirodu obiteljskih poduzeća u turizmu i hotelijerstvu u poljskom tranzicijskom gospodarstvu i analizirati poslovno okruženje za razvoj i rast ovih poduzetničkih tvrtki u gospodarstvu koje se reformira. Za procjenu i usporedbu razvoja obiteljskih poduzeća na čije poslovanje utječu određeni čimbenici okruženja, provedene su ankete i intervjui s poljskim poduzetnicima, vlasnicima i djelatnicima obiteljskih poduzeća u turizmu i hotelijerstvu. Uvjeti okruženja grupirani su u četiri čimbenika eksternog okruženja: političko i pravno, financijsko, neprofitno okruženje i društveno ekonomsko okruženje. Analiza se temelji na modelima Kazajnjiana (1988), Gnyawalia i Fogela (1994). U radu se također analiziraju kompetencije vlasnika poduzetničkih tvrtki koje su bitne za uspješno poslovanje tvrtki u njihovom cjelokupnom životnom ciklusu. Rezultati istraživanja pružaju uvid u implikacije politike poslovanja turističkih i hotelijerskih poduzeća što pomaže u njihovom razvoju i rastu u tranzicijskom gospodarstvu.