Business Strategy and CEO Compensation: Evidence from the Hospitality and Tourism Industry*

This study examines the relationship between a hospitality and tourism (HT) firm's business strategy and the level and structure of compensation for its chief executive officer (CEO). Using the ordinary least square (OLS) estimation method, we find that firms in the HT industry that adopt an innovation-oriented business strategy increase their CEOs' total compensation. The increased compensation is not derived from a cash-based component but from an equity-based component of the total CEO compensation. The higher levels of risk exposure that HT firms encounter when adopting an innovation-oriented business strategy motivate these compensation dynamics. Further, HT firms that implement an innovation-oriented business strategy and possess a higher firm value are those that remunerate their CEOs using equity-based compensation. We find no such evidence for cash-based compensation. Therefore, we advocate for a strategy-induced compensation premium in the CEOs' compensation contracting for the HT industry.