Earnings Management in the hospitality industry: A systematic literature review

Authors

  • Beatriz Gonçalves University of Algarve - School of Economics
  • Luís Serra Coelho University of Algarve - School of Economics
  • Patrícia Pinto University of Algarve - School of Economics

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.20240105

Keywords:

Earnings management, systematic literature review, hospitality industry

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the impact of Earnings Management (EM) practices in the hospitality industry and identify research gaps to be investigated in future research. The methodology is based on a systematic literature review (SLR), including 15 academic papers in the final sample, published from 2004 to 2021. There is clear evidence of EM practices in the hospitality industry, which are implemented through different techniques. Yet, several research gaps still persist. For instance, little is known about the EM behaviour of multinational hotel chains or private Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and we still do not know how such opportunistic behaviour is impacted by different variables. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also offers interesting future research opportunities. Despite the earnings management topic being widely explored in the literature, this SLR shows that the investigation of EM within the hospitality industry is very scarce. Nevertheless, since EM reduces the quality of financial reporting, these practices are a problem for investors, auditors, regulators and other stakeholders, who must rely on earnings disclosure to make decisions, which justifies the importance of its study.

Author Biographies

  • Beatriz Gonçalves, University of Algarve - School of Economics

    Beatriz Gonçalves holds a first degree in Economics and an MSc in Corporate Finance, and is currently a Ph.D. student in Economic and Management Sciences at the School of Economics - University of Algarve (SE UALG). She is also a junior member of the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs) and is a lecturer in statistics and data analysis at SE UALG. Apart from her academic career, Beatriz has several years of professional experience in the business sector.

  • Luís Serra Coelho, University of Algarve - School of Economics

    Luís Coelho is an Assistante Professor in Finance at The School of Economics - University of Algarve, where he takes on the roles of Associate Dean and Director of the MSc in Finance. He is also a member of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics from the University of Évora and an associated member of the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being from the University of the Algarve. Luís holds a first degree in Economics, and an MSc in Corporate Finance from the The School of Economics - University of Algarve. He also holds an MRes in Management from the Management School of the Cranfield University and a PhD in Management from The Business School - University of Edinburgh. He has published in several international journals such as the Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Accounting and Finance, Journal of Econometric Methods and the Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. He is a Certified Public Accountant at Portugal, member of several associations and the Head of the Algarve´s Chartered Economist¿s Association. Luís is also actively engaged in several consulting projects both with private and public entities, and is frequently cited in the regional media. 

  • Patrícia Pinto, University of Algarve - School of Economics

     Patrícia Pinto is Full Professor of data analysis (statistics and econometrics) and research methods at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve. She is an active member of the board of the PhD programme in Tourism in the same institution and coordinator of the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs) since 2018. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Organizations Management and a master degree in Economic and Business Sciences from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve. She completed her PhD in Quantitative Methods Applied to Economics and Management (statistics) at the University of Algarve in 2004. She got her "Agregação" in Quantitative Methods Applied to Economics and Management, from the University of Algarve in 2013, presenting a lesson in the topic “The use of Partial Least Squares Path Modeling in Tourism Research”.
    Patrícia Pinto’s current research interests include applications of statistical methods in Tourism, Marketing and Psychology. Currently, she explores the use of parametric and non-parametric statistics, regression models for sectional data, structural equations models with latent variables, clustering techniques, and multivariate statistics for qualitative variables in conducting research in Tourism management (Sustainable tourism, Tourism competitiveness, Segmentation, Destination image), Hospitality Management (Hotel employees’ professional satisfaction and motivation), Tourism and well-being (Attitudes towards tourism development, tourism and quality of life) and Marketing Research (mainly studies on consumer behaviour. At the end of 2019, she was a co-author of 88 scientific papers published in academic journals with scientific refereeing indexed in SCOPUS or Web of Science, 21 book chapters, and single author of 3 books. 42 of these works are indexed in SCOPUS, as listed in this ORCID site.
    Patrícia Pinto is reviewer of many international journals, including Current Issues in Tourism, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management and Tourism Geographies. She is the editor in chief of Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics.She has also taught short courses in the field of Data Analysis and Research Methods.

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Published

31.01.2024

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Vol. 20 No. 1 (2024)

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Tourism/Hospitality: Research Papers

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How to Cite

Gonçalves, B., Coelho, L. S., & Pinto, P. (2024). Earnings Management in the hospitality industry: A systematic literature review. Tourism & Management Studies, 20(1), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.18089/tms.20240105

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