Business environment for hospitality entrepreneurship
Saša Zupan Korže
GEA College, Slovenia
sasa.zupan@gea-college.si
Sonja Sibila Lebe
University of Maribor, Slovenia
sonjasibila.lebe@um.si
Abstract
Entrepreneurship penetrates all spheres of the economy and life in general. It develops in a particular business environment, which looks for developmental opportunities. Within this environment, a wide spectre of factors is at work: social, cultural and political. These factors can promote or discourage entrepreneurial activities. In this process, state mechanisms play an important role. The main purpose of this paper is to get insight into how the entrepreneurs in small hotels (SH) in Slovenia asses the business environment for running small hospitality businesses. Empirical research was conducted in Slovenia in 2014 and 2015. The data were collected from SH entrepreneurs and SH directors during 62 semi-structured interviews. We analysed data with qualitative methods: interpretation, comparison, grouping, quantification. The results of the research provide a clear insight about major issues that Slovenian entrepreneurs have to face in the business environment when running their SH. They are – at certain points – consistent with findings in other countries. The research can assist the state institutions to implement certain measures and mechanisms to improve institutional framework for entrepreneurship.
Keywords: entrepreneurship; hospitality; small hotels; business environment