Fostering Sustainability through Hackathons in the Hospitality Industry: An exploratory study on how sustainability hackathons are executed and its impacts on employees
Author
Waldesten, Ted Johan Gustav
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2019
Pages
75
Abstract
The tourism and hospitality sector has expanded rapidly, creating sustainability challenges and a pressing need for effective workplace education on sustainability. This thesis explores how sustainability hackathons are executed in the hospitality industry and how they affect employees. An intensive case study of five hotels in the Scandic chain draws on 15 qualitative semi-structured interviews to analyze both the execution of a hackathon and its outcomes. The study finds that game-based learning and creative problem-solving were critical to fostering sustainability learning during the event. Facilitators—the General Managers—played a pivotal role in shaping the education and culture, acting as change agents whose leadership and personal interest in sustainability amplified impacts. The hackathon influenced employees’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains, while variations in facilitators’ approaches affected the specific knowledge and skills developed. Overall, the results underscore the need for a holistic view of learning outcomes across domains and suggest that sustainability hackathons can provide useful arenas for cross-departmental collaboration to address sustainability challenges.
Turisme- og hotelbranchen har vokset hurtigt, hvilket medfører bæredygtighedsudfordringer og et behov for effektiv uddannelse i bæredygtighed på arbejdspladsen. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan bæredygtighedshackathons gennemføres i hotelbranchen, og hvilke virkninger de har på medarbejdere. Et intensivt casestudie af fem hoteller i Scandic-kæden bygger på 15 kvalitative, semistrukturerede interviews for at analysere både afviklingen af et hackathon og dets resultater. Undersøgelsen viser, at spilbaseret læring og kreativ problemløsning var centrale greb til at fremme læring om bæredygtighed i hackathonet. Facilitatorerne, dvs. hoteldirektørerne (General Managers), spillede en nøglerolle i at forme indhold og kultur, fungerede som forandringsagenter og forstærkede effekter gennem deres ledelse og personlige engagement i bæredygtighed. Hackathonet påvirkede medarbejdernes kognitive, affektive og psykomotoriske domæner, men forskelle i facilitatorernes tilgang påvirkede også, hvilken viden og hvilke færdigheder der blev udviklet. Resultaterne peger på behovet for en holistisk forståelse af læringsudbyttet på tværs af domæner og indikerer, at bæredygtighedshackathons kan fungere som nyttige arenaer, hvor fagligheder fra forskellige hotelafdelinger mødes for at adressere bæredygtige udfordringer.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]