Learning to bridge the skills gap of digital competence : A qualitative case study in a hospitality and tourism organization undergoing digital transformation

Sammanfattning

The technological advancements have required organizations to digitally transform holistically, impacting both the organizational structures and the workforce within hotel and tourism organizations. These innovations have required the upskilling of the workforce to bridge the digital skills gap for organizations to stay competitive and employees to meet the sustainable development goals of lifelong learning. Previous research has found what digital competences are necessary and which training forms are used within the hospitality and tourism industry. This interpretative qualitative case study therefore investigated how hotels continuously develop employees' digital competences through semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis findings showed that formal learning (onboarding and occasional session/courses) and informal learning (self-learning and collegial learning) were used to develop employees’ digital competences. The findings also presented facilitating and constraining factors that impact the development of employees' digital competences, and implications regarding the psychosocial work environment and guest experience. Thus, contributing empirical findings to the scarce literature of digital transformation and digital competence within the hospitality and tourism industry.