Digital Entrepreneurs in Tourism and Hospitality: Human Resources Challenges and Opportunities in the Tech Era

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Merits, entitled “Digital Entrepreneurs in Tourism and Hospitality: Human Resources Challenges and Opportunities in the Tech Era.” Digital entrepreneurs in tourism and hospitality are professionals who leverage innovative digital technologies and online platforms to launch and manage business ventures. Digital entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as a key driver of economic growth, employment generation, and innovation. In the context of tourism and hospitality, fostering digital entrepreneurship relies heavily on an entrepreneurial mindset and culture, effective human resources management (HRM) strategies, and a robust business ecosystem. Such an ecosystem encourages collaboration among various stakeholders, including businesses, HR professionals, government bodies, non-governmental organisations, local communities, and educational institutions.

This Special Issue aims to provide valuable insights into the HR challenges and opportunities faced by digital entrepreneurs operating in the rapidly evolving tourism and hospitality sectors. As digital technologies continue to transform business models, service delivery, and consumer behaviour, entrepreneurs in these industries must adapt not only by using technological innovation, but also by developing effective human resources strategies that support organisational resilience, talent development, and long-term growth.

The focus of this Special Issue is on understanding how digital entrepreneurs recruit, manage, and retain talent in an increasingly virtual and competitive environment. It will also examine how human resources management (HRM) practices can promote innovation, collaboration, and employee well-being within digital start-ups and tech-enabled enterprises in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, digital leadership, remote work dynamics, workforce upskilling and reskilling, work–life balance, Corporate Social Responsibility, organisational culture in digital ventures, and the role of HRM in promoting diversity and inclusion in tech-driven businesses.

This theme is well aligned with the scope of Merits, which emphasises research related to merit-based systems, human potential, organisational development, and the role of institutions and policies in shaping professional environments. By bridging the disciplines of entrepreneurship, HRM, and digital transformation within the tourism and hospitality context, this Special Issue offers a focused yet interdisciplinary contribution to the journal's mission.

Our ultimate goal is to compile a high-quality collection of original articles, both empirical and conceptual, that critically examine how human resources strategies can support digital entrepreneurs in navigating the challenges and leveraging the opportunities presented by the Tech Era. This Special Issue welcomes both original research articles and comprehensive review papers that contribute to this deeper understanding of the evolving relationship between digital entrepreneurship, HRM, and technological transformation within the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Authors are encouraged to submit interdisciplinary, empirical, theoretical, or conceptual contributions that address the current challenges or the explore future opportunities for HRM in digitally driven entrepreneurial environments. Submissions may cover, but are not limited to, the following thematic areas:

• Future trends in human resources management (HRM) in tourism and hospitality;
• Human resources and technology integration in tourism and hospitality;
• The impact of emerging technologies (e.g., robotics, artificial intelligence, big data) on HRM in tourism and hospitality;
• The role of emerging technologies in shaping digital entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality;
• Workplace competition and innovation in the digital age in tourism and hospitality;
• Leadership development in digital entrepreneurial ventures in tourism and hospitality;
• Intellectual capital and knowledge-based strategies in tourism and hospitality;
• The human factor in digital entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality;
• Work–life balance in technology-enabled environments in tourism and hospitality;
• Hybrid and flexible work models in tourism and hospitality;
• Gender dynamics and equality in entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality;
• Entrepreneurial future skills and competencies in tourism and hospitality;
• Contemporary approaches to entrepreneurship education and training in tourism and hospitality;
• Ethical considerations in technology-driven entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality;
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in digital ventures in tourism and hospitality;
• Knowledge management in digital enterprises in tourism and hospitality;
• Change management in fast-paced, tech-driven sectors (tourism and hospitality);
• Innovation management and organisational adaptability in tourism and hospitality;
• Sustainable digital entrepreneurship and HRM practices in tourism and hospitality;
• HRM strategies in small- and medium-sized family-run digital enterprises in tourism and hospitality.
  

Submissions that offer comparative perspectives, industry-specific case studies, or cross-cultural analyses are particularly encouraged. Contributions should aim to inform policy, practice, or future research by addressing the strategic and operational dimensions of HRM in the context of digital entrepreneurship.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Christos Kakarougkas
Prof. Dr. Theodoros Stavrinoudis
Dr. Iason Koufodontis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Merits is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• digital entrepreneurship
• tourism and hospitality
• human resources and technology
• knowledge management
• change management
• innovation management
• Tech Era
• business ecosystem
• reskilling and upskilling