Disruptor Recognition and Market Value of Incumbent Firms: Airbnb and the Lodging Industry

Files
TR Number
Date
2022-04-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sage
Abstract

Although Airbnb debuted in 2008, incumbent lodging firms did not fully recognize it as a legitimate competitor for several years. However, as Airbnb made inroads into the accommodation business, hotel firms and their investors started to take notice and to legitimize its disruptive role. In this paper, we investigate investors’ awareness of the disruptor Airbnb as a competitor of incumbent lodging firms. Specifically, we assess the effect of awareness on incumbent hotel management and hotel property owner firms. Employing an event study methodology, our analysis finds that Airbnb performance milestones negatively affect incumbents’ market value. This research contributes to our understanding of the role played by investors and financial analysts in shaping competitive markets by legitimizing an industry disruptor and by spurring competitive action among incumbent firms.

Description
Keywords
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism, Airbnb, awareness, competitor recognition, event analysis, stock market, TO-PEER ACCOMMODATION, COMPETITIVE DYNAMICS, ASSET-LIGHT, ISOMORPHISM, CONSTRAINTS, STRATEGY, RISK
Citation