Learning by example Benchmarking organizational culture in hospitality, tourism and leisure SMEs Olympia Kyriakidou and Julie Gore School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK Abstract Purpose – To provide positive benchmarking examples of hospitality, tourism and leisure small management enterprises in the area of organizational culture. Design/methodology/approach – Extreme case sampling was used; locating information-rich key informants or critical cases. A total of 89 small businesses were researched including hotels (and guest houses), restaurants, pubs, visitor attractions and leisure opportunities. Findings – Semi-structured interviews were analysed using an iterative approach based on the assumptions of Argumentation Theory. Results suggest that best-performing small to medium-sized (SME) operations in the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry share certain elements of culture including: supporting values such as building the future together, cooperative setting of missions and strategies, development of teamwork and organizational learning. Research limitations/implications – The research completed is illustrative of positive benchmarking elements of organizational culture. Further research, however, could also look at negative features which may hinder the success of hospitality, tourism and leisure industry SMEs. Practical implications – The work provides clear suggestions for hospitality, tourism and leisure industry SMEs to improve managerial practice, focusing on five main cultural dimensions: organizational performance, teamwork, building the future together, building the ability to learn, and collaborative setting of strategies. Originality/value – This paper begins to fill the gap of a very under-researched area: benchmarking organizational culture in hospitality, tourism and leisure industry SMEs. Both academics and practitioners will find it very illuminating. Keywords Benchmarking, Organizational culture, Hospitality management, Tourism management, Small to medium-sized enterprises Paper type Research paper Introduction As part of the UK government’s industrial policy and following on from their competitiveness White Paper, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has funded a number of best practice initiatives in a range of industries, including the automotive sector, food manufacturing and the tourism sector (see www.fitforthefuture.org.uk), to investigate the key issues facing small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the future. The DTI has recognized the importance of SMEs for their contribution to the economy and as a source of innovative management strategies and practices. As part of their initiative, they commissioned from the “industry forum adaptation program” (IFAP) a competitiveness initiative seeking to devise and employ a strategic agenda for action for the tourism and hospitality industry, to tackle and solve some of its deep-rooted competitiveness issues. Within this context, the measurement of human capital and bridging the gap between the rhetoric and reality of “people are our most important asset” has stepped firmly into the spotlight (Guest, 2000; Scarbrough and The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/1463-5771.htm BIJ 12,3 192 Benchmarking: An International Journal Vol. 12 No. 3, 2005 pp. 192-206 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1463-5771 DOI 10.1108/14635770510600320