Crisis Leadership in Tourism and Hospitality

A science mapping analysis and PRISMA protocol

Resumo

The volatile nature of the 21st century has underscored the urgent and critical need for immediate and effective crisis leadership in the tourism sector. Given tourism's susceptibility to crises, from terrorism, and natural disasters to geopolitical conflicts, this topic is paramount for ensuring resilience, growth, and sustainability.

The primary objectives of this study are to identify prevailing themes, authors, trends, and gaps in the current body of knowledge. It aims to significantly contribute to a better understanding of crisis leadership and crisis management differences and to offer valuable insights into future research in this field.

A research question was formulated, “What are the prevailing themes, challenges, and future directions in tourism crisis leadership?”. The study delves into a science mapping analysis utilising the PRISMA protocol to systematically review and map the existing literature on tourism crisis leadership. A bibliometric analysis employing R Studio and Bibliometrix software facilitates a rigorous assessment of publication trends, networks, clusters and evolution, ensuring a reliable research process.

Findings reveal a scarce literature landscape and a notable gap in the body of knowledge of tourism crisis leadership despite the significant attention given to crisis management. This study underscores the need for crisis leadership in the complementarity of crisis management and highlights the increasing severity, frequency, and global effects of crises. It also strongly advocates future research focusing on several players and exploring differences in crisis leadership efficacy. Despite limitations, the study offers valuable insights for academia and the sector, inspiring further exploration and discovery.