Competition In the Maldives' Resort Industry: Keeping Up or Falling Behind

Abstract

Innovation is essential to sustain a competitive advantage in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. This study examines the influence of mimetic pressure—the inclination of businesses to emulate successful rivals—on opportunity-enhancing techniques to foster service innovation and secure a competitive advantage in the Maldives' resort sector. This analysis examines how these approaches enhance human and relational capital, with structural capital acting as a moderator in the resort sector of the Maldives. This study integrates the resource-based view (RBV) with institutional theory to identify the essential traits that foster innovation in resort firms within competitive tourism markets. The findings from interviews with 114 industry professionals and SEM-PLS analysis reveal a strong correlation among service innovation, human capital development, and mimetic pressure, all of which substantially enhance competitive advantage. These findings have substantial implications for resort managers and politicians in emerging economies, particularly in tourism-dependent nations such as the Maldives. Organisations can effectively increase innovation skills and maintain a competitive position by focusing on human resource and intellectual capital development. The study's findings are significant to expanding tourism economies since they provide practical recommendations for improving service quality, promoting sustainable growth, and increasing global competitiveness in culturally varied settings.