AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INNOVATIVE MEASURES EMPLOYED BY SMALL TO
MEDIUM SIZE HOTELS IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INNOVATIVE MEASURES EMPLOYED BY SMALL TO
MEDIUM SIZE HOTELS IN HARARE, ZIMBABWE

NEHEMIYA NDHLOVU

The study sought to explore innovative measures employed by small to medium size
independent hotels. The study employed the interpretivist paradigm and used the qualitative
approach with a multiple case-study design. The population of the study comprised all the
managers and junior staff in five small to medium size independent hotels in Harare. The
sample of the study comprised fourteen managers and thirty junior staff purposively selected
from the hotels. Qualitative data were generated through focus group discussions and
qualitative interviews and were analysed for content using thematic analysis. Issues of data
trustworthiness were addressed. Credibility was achieved by adopting appropriate and well
recognised research methods while transferability was achieved through the provision of
background data to establish context of the study and to allow comparisons to be made.
Dependability was achieved through the use of “overlapping methods” and confirmability
was achieved through triangulation and provision of in-depth methodological description.
The study found that small to medium size independent hotels in Harare did not effectively
implement the innovative measures in the management of business. The study further
revealed that there were quite a number of major challenges faced by small to medium size
hotels in embracing innovation. The study recommends that SMEs must strategically plan for
innovation and effectively implement innovative measures. The study also recommends that
small to medium size independent hotels should address innovation in a more integrated and
systematic way and should use strategic measures to improve their operations. Further
studies need to be conducted across a number of industries and the results should be
compared across different industries and in the same industry over time.

ZIMBABWE OPEN UNIVERSITY