Business innovation capacity and growth of travel and tourism agencies (SMEs) in the Cusco province

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine and analyze the impact of business innovation capacity on the growth of travel and tourism agencies in the province of Cusco. A survey consisting of 22 items on a 5-level Likert scale was applied to 274 owners and/or managers of travel and tourism agencies registered in the REMYPE in the province of Cusco. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for data processing. The results indicate that innovation capacity (CIN) has a strong effect on business growth (CEM) (R2 = 0.752) and that innovative culture, innovative activities and collaboration networks also have a strong effect on business growth (R2 = 0.767), from which it can be concluded that innovation capacity is an important mechanism for business growth in travel and tourism agencies. Overall, this research contributes to the development of a largely understudied literature on the impact of innovativeness on business growth.