Current Situation of Innovation Activities in Women-Owned Tourism Enterprises in Northern Vietnam

Abstract

This study explores the current state of innovation among Women-owned Tourism Enterprises (WTEs) in Northern Vietnam, emphasizing adaptive strategies, barriers, and institutional influences. Using enterprise-level survey data from 110 firms and guided by the Oslo Manual (2018), the analysis employs descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to assess innovation intensity, constraints, and institutional support mechanisms. Results indicate that 93% of surveyed enterprises introduced new or improved products and services over the past three years, averaging 5.17 process innovations per firm. However, most innovations remain incremental and service-oriented due to financial constraints, limited human capital, and weak collaborative networks. The EFA identifies three key latent dimensions of barriers-resource-capability, institutional-coordination, and structural-social-explaining 73.6% of total variance. Firm size shows a marginally significant effect, with larger firms exhibiting stronger absorptive and investment capacities. The findings highlight that women’s innovation behavior in tourism is contextually adaptive yet structurally constrained, shaped by social capital and institutional linkages. The paper concludes with recommendations to develop a Women Tourism Innovation Index (WTII), promote gender-responsive financing, and strengthen digital transformation and cross-sectoral partnerships to enhance women’s innovation capacity and contribute to inclusive, sustainable tourism development.