Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the social structure of strategic management research in the hospitality management field to determine whether a strong social structure is needed and, if so, how this structure can be enriched within the hospitality field.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 1,652 articles related to hospitality strategic management published in leading hospitality and tourism as well as business journals were analyzed using co-authorship analysis combined with social network analysis.
Findings
The study’s findings demonstrate a progressive growth in collaboration. Leading authors, institutions and countries in the collaboration networks are identified. Network analysis shows that the ties in the network are too weak to build a strong social identity, although the community is broad.
Practical implications
This study provides solutions for building a strong social identity related to strategic management in the hospitality field. Moreover, this study helps leaders and managers, who need to know whom to speak to within academia to get industry-based advice, as well as scholars, junior researchers and graduate students, who must recognize the individuals producing knowledge in the academic field, to identify the key actors within the field.
Originality/value
As one of the first studies in this field, this research discusses why a strong social identity is necessary and how it can be built further while also looking at the potential for expansion in future studies.