Gendered and diversified? Leadership in global hospitality and tourism academia

Purpose: This paper aims to represent a unique and original piece of research on full professors in global hospitality and tourism academia. Aimed at revisiting academic leadership, this study identifies its components and gains insight into the so far understudied dimensions of diversity in academic contexts worldwide. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the careers of senior researchers (R3 and R4, according to European Commission) in hospitality and tourism, with special attention given to diversity. Based on quantitative methodology and a standardised online search, it uses individual-level data to give insights into dimensions of academic leadership. Full professors from the UK, the USA, German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea) build the sample. Findings: Academic leadership in hospitality and tourism academia is not yet fully tied to cooperation with industry, as predicted by the “Triple Helix” model. Currently, the majority of the intellectual component constitutes academic leadership, outweighing administrative and innovative angles. Gender, age and ethnic diversity are underrepresented. While some regions can be considered sealed to ethnic diversity, others are more open and attract international scholars. Originality/value: Rooted in interdisciplinary explanations, this study is the first of its kind to consider various diversity dimensions of academic leadership from a global perspective. It not only enriches the notion of academic leadership but also provides several practical implications and suggestions for further research