DEFINING AND DIMENSIONALIZING ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIVENESS

Few research agendas have successfully addressed tourism firm-level innovativeness, and the few studies that do exist typically provide only descriptive data or often remain at a conceptual level (Siguaw et al., 2006). Subsequently, an extensive knowledge gap concerning what constitutes firm-level innovativeness exists. Academics are confusing innovativeness with innovation and innovation orientation; producing many conflicting and inconsistent research results. Drawing from prior relevant research conducted over the past 39 years in the innovation, tourism, organizational, strategy, marketing, consumer, and psychology literatures; this paper provides an operational definition and conceptualization of innovativeness that is useful to both tourism researchers and practitioners. Keywords: Innovativeness, Conceptualization, Small Tourism Firm