Abstract:
1. Introduction
This study was conducted to investigate the contribution of
multilingualism toward achieving business excellence in the hospitality
industry in Sri Lanka through a comparative case study approach between
two major hotel chains operating in Sri Lanka. Language barriers could
present great challenges to effective communication and service provision.
2. Research Methodology
The interpretivist approach underlies this study, and hence, a qualitative
method approach is applied in order to capture the rich experiences of
hospitality staff concerning multilingualism. A comparative case study
design allowed for an in-depth investigation into the language practices of
two hotel environments. The data collection is completed through in-depth
interviews, observation conducted during the visits at the two selected
establishments with the guest interactions, and document reviews to
gather insight on the performance excellence during the implemented
period. A target sample of 14 was studied for those who directly interact
with the guests at the selected organizations. Purposive sampling was used
to ensure participants in the study possess relevant insights into the use of
multiple languages within their operation.
3. Findings and Discussion
The findings have shown that businesses that practice multilingualism not
only improve guest satisfaction but also enhance their operational
performance. The ability to communicate across languages creates more
inclusiveness, leading to the emergence of loyal customers who are able to
deliver competitive advantages. Furthermore, language training programs
were found to improve employee motivation, which contributed to
operational excellence for the organizations.
4. Conclusion and Implications
The present study, therefore, explored the reasons why these organizations
invest heavily in multilingualism practices within hospitality
establishments. The contribution of the study is to the body of literature
and, more importantly, to the industry-leading hospitality practices to gain
a competitive advantage using multilingualism
