The relationship between innovative organizational climate and work engagement: A research in hotel businesses of Balikesir

The tourism sector, which is among the most important sectors of the world, is a labour intensive sector. One of the most important resources of tourism businesses is human resources that make a difference in the conditions of competition. Being an innovative tourism business, ensuring the sustainability of the innovative organizational climate in the business with dedicated employees is very important for the success of tourism businesses. The aim of this research is to determine the innovative organizational climate perceptions and work engagement levels of the employees serving in hotel businesses and to test the relationship between these two concepts. For this purpose, a questionnaire was applied to 134 employees of 4 and 5 star hotels operating in Balıkesir city center. The data of the research were obtained between 07.12.2022 and 19.12.2022. Innovative Organizational Climate Scale and Work Engagement Scale were used in the research. According to the results of the validity and reliability analysis applied to the Innovative Organizational Climate Scale and Work Engagement Scale, Cronbach Alpha coefficients were found out 0,848 and 0,929 respectively. SPSS 25.0 Statistical Package of Social Sciences was used for the analysis of the research data and Frequency and Percentage Analysis, Factor Analysis, t-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Correlation Analysis were applied to the data. Obtained results are presented via tables and interpreted. According to the results of the research, a statistically significant and positive relationship was founded out between the innovative organizational climate perceptions and the levels of work engagement of the employees serving in the hotel businesses. It was determined that the support of the top management and the engagement of the employee have a quite strong impact in the creation of the innovative organizational climate and the conditions of work engagement, respectively. In the first chapter of this thesis, the problem, purpose, importance, assumptions, limitations and definitions of the research are given. In the second chapter of the study, the concepts of innovative organizational climate and work engagement, dimensions of these concepts, the affecting factors of innovative organizational climate and work engagement, the importance of these two concepts for hotel businesses and the related researches of these areas are included. In the third chapter, the method of the research, conducted to test the relationship between the innovative organizational climate perceptions of the employees and their work engagement levels, is explained. In the fourth and the fifth chapters findings and results of the research and recommendations are presented. Keywords: Tourism, Innovation, Innovative Organizational Climate, Work Engagement, Balıkesir.