The Effects of Network Capability and the Distribution on Firm Performance of Hotel Businesses in Thailand

Purpose: The aim of this research is to study 1) the effects of internal factors (technological capability and entrepreneurial orientation) that affect Thailand’s hotel business network capability. 2) the effects of external factors (government policy and trust relationship) that affect Thailand’s hotel business network capability. 3) the impact of network capability on the firm performance. 4) the moderating effect of absorptive capacity between network capability and firm performance. Research design, data and methodology: The test model collected data from a mail survey of 164 hotel businesses in Thailand. The correlation and multiple regression were adopted to analyze and test the proposed hypotheses. Results: Interestingly, technological capability, entrepreneurship orientation, and trust relationship have a direct impact on network capability. However, network capability still does not have a significant relationship with firm performance in all dimensions. Surprisingly, the absorptive capacity does not have a moderating effect on the relationship of network capability on firm performance of hotel businesses in Thailand. Conclusions: This research found that the hotel business should focus on analyzing the external and internal environment as it affects network building, which will guide the creation of strategies for further increasing hotel distribution channels and competitive advantage.