Hospitality artisan entrepreneurs’ perspectives of sustainability

Abstract

Artisan entrepreneurs are argued to be creative disruptors of business norms influencing societal, political and economic change. Yet, studies of small- and medium-sized hospitality artisan enterprises are few, especially studies of their sustainability practice. This interpretive study used qualitative in-depth interviews with eight New Zealand hospitality operators who are deemed artisan entrepreneurs to glean exploratory insights into their perspectives of sustainability in their enterprises. Thematic analysis revealed four overarching conceptual themes that captured the artisans’ journeys against the tide of conventional business mores towards sustainable practice. The themes were the backstory, a road less travelled, tribe of journey-makers and rewards of the journey. The findings highlight that the sustainable hospitality business model demands much more than the conventional equivalent. As such, the findings reveal a sustainability consciousness as the driving motive and important starting point. The study also provides some evidence to confirm hospitality artisan entrepreneurs as creative disruptors in the global sustainable business agenda.