The role of internal knowledge generation and external knowledge acquisition in tourist districts

This paper analyzes the role played by internal knowledge generation and external knowledge acquisition in the impact of agglomeration on the profitability of Spanish hotels. The results are of interest not only because they demonstrate that knowledge management strategies have a partial mediation effect in the relationship between agglomeration and profitability, but also because they find a substitution effect between internal knowledge generation and external knowledge acquisition. The analysis uses a sample of 2003 Spanish hotels and helps us to understand the real reasons behind the district effect.