Nascent tourism entrepreneurship: the effect of business planning on new venture creation in the hospitality and tourism sector

This study aims to analyze the factors that promote new venture creation in the hospitality and tourism sector. Concretely, we focus on the critical role of business planning and explore the mechanism that explains business creation through entrepreneurial efforts invested by nascent tourism entrepreneurs. We are based on a sample of 90 nascent entrepreneurs from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED I and PSED II), who are involved in the new venture creation process within the hospitality and tourism sector. The results show that business planning directly relates to the entrepreneurial effort invested into the start-up process. On the other hand, it does not influence directly new venture creation in the hospitality and tourism sector; however, we test an indirect relationship through entrepreneurial effort. The present study offers important practical implications for policymakers who are dedicated to designing programs and policies that support the growth of the tourism and hospitality sector in the region.