Redefining inclusion: disability employment and inclusive organizational climate in tourism
Ana Leal-Solís, Rafael Robina-Ramírez, María Teresa Rubio CabezasPurpose
This study examines how inclusive organizational climates foster disability employment and labor inclusion within tourism organizations by analyzing the relationships between emotional and cognitive development, organizational development, social impact and inclusive human resource practices in the Spanish tourism sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-methods approach was adopted. First, a qualitative phase involving focus groups with professionals from tourism, disability inclusion, occupational therapy and human resources was conducted to refine and validate the measurement instrument. Second, a quantitative survey was administered to 245 employees from 25 tourism organizations in Extremadura, Spain. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
The findings show that inclusive organizational climate positively influences emotional and cognitive development and organizational development. Organizational development subsequently strengthens social impact, while emotional and cognitive development, organizational development and social impact jointly reinforce inclusive human resource practices. The results highlight disability employment as an interconnected organizational process capable of generating employee, organizational and societal benefits simultaneously.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to tourism organizations located in one Spanish region, which may affect the transferability of findings to other institutional and cultural contexts. Nevertheless, the research contributes to hospitality and organizational inclusion literature by providing an integrated model linking employee, organizational and social dimensions of disability employment within tourism workplaces.
Practical implications
Tourism organizations can strengthen inclusive human resource practices by fostering inclusive organizational climates through leadership commitment, staff training, accessible organizational environments and participatory inclusion strategies aimed at reducing workplace barriers for employees with disabilities.
Social implications
The findings reinforce the role of tourism organizations in promoting social cohesion, workplace inclusion and the normalization of disability within service-intensive environments. Inclusive employment practices may contribute positively to reducing structural and attitudinal barriers affecting people with disabilities in the labor market.
Originality/value
This study provides an empirically validated model integrating emotional and cognitive development, organizational development, social impact and inclusive human resource practices within a single framework of disability employment in tourism. By combining qualitative instrument development with quantitative modeling in the Spanish tourism context, the study extends literature that has traditionally examined these dimensions separately.