Human resources practices and employee motivation in the hospitality industry: a cross-cultural research

Purpose –This study conducted a comparative analysis between hotels located in Brazil and England on human resource practices and employee motivation, using the cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede (1980) and the conservation of resources theory. Design/Methodology/Approach – Questionnaires were completed by 154 hotels, 96 and 58 dyads of human resources managers and frontline employees from Brazil and England, respectively, corresponding to a total of 308 respondents. Importance-performance analysis was used to examine the data collected through independent t-tests. Findings – The results showed that Brazilian managers considered training as the most important human resources practice, while information sharing had the best performance in their hotels. English managers ranked employment security with the highest importance and performance ratings. Brazilian frontline employees ranked intrinsic motivation with the highest importance and performance ratings, while English frontline employees ranked extrinsic motivation with the highest importance and performance ratings. Originality of the research – This research extended previous studies using the conservation of resources theory and also developed competitive strategies targeted to specific cultures. Another contribution was the comparative study between hotel employees (managers and frontline) from two countries (Brazil and England), applying the importance-performance analysis