Katya Vladova

Department of Management and Administration, 

University of Economics, Varna, Bulgaria

vladova_k@ue-varna.bg

ORCID 0000-0003-1616-1100

Entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic capabilities in the hospitality industry

Iveta Hamarneh

Department of Tourism, Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Law,

Pan-European University, Prague, Czechia

iveta.hamarneh@peuni.cz

ORCID 0000-0002-4724-098X

Abstract. The concept of dynamic capabilities explains organizations' potential to create and sustain competitive advantages in unstable, competitive environments. Organizations with well-developed dynamic capabilities balance routine activities with the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities. This paper examines entrepreneurial orientation as a prerequisite for dynamic capabilities development, testing the relationship among 4- and 5-star hotels in the Black Sea region of Bulgaria. A conceptual model grounded in Teece's dynamic capabilities framework and entrepreneurial orientation theory was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4, based on survey data from 56 valid respondents. The results confirm that entrepreneurial orientation has a statistically significant, positive effect on dynamic capabilities (β = 0.898, p < 0.001, R² = 0.806). Innovativeness and decisiveness/ vision emerged as the strongest facets of entrepreneurial orientation, while sensing, transformation, and organizational learning emerged as the strongest facets of dynamic capabilities. The findings extend dynamic capabilities theory by empirically validating entrepreneurial orientation as a foundational driver of capability development in a knowledge-intensive service sector, and offer practical guidance for hotel managers seeking to strengthen organizational agility and competitiveness.

Received: August, 2025

1st Revision: July, 2026

Accepted: September, 2026

DOI: 10.14254/2071-8330.2026/19-3/12

JEL Classification: L26, M10, L83

Keywords: entrepreneurial orientation, dynamic capabilities, hospitality sector, PLS-SEM, Bulgaria