Yuttachai Hareebin, Neeranat Kaewprasert Rakangthong, Narinthon Imjai, Abror Abror, Somnuk Aujirapongpan
This study aims to develop a model of innovative leadership among HR managers in wellness tourism hotels to strengthen organizational adaptability and sustainability in response to the industry’s dynamic demands. A three-phase mixed-methods design was employed. In Phase 1, in-depth interviews were conducted with seven experts in wellness tourism HR, selected through purposive sampling, to explore core leadership components and inform the development of the survey instrument. In Phase 2, a structured questionnaire was administered to 387 HR managers from wellness tourism hotels in Phuket, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to validate the proposed model and examine the relationships among variables. In Phase 3, 12 senior HR managers, each with over seven years of leadership experience, participated in follow-up interviews to assess the practical relevance and contextual applicability of the findings. The study identifies four critical factors—HR professional skills, strategic intuition, networking capabilities, and dynamic capabilities—that play a significant role in shaping innovative leadership. Grounded in resource-based theory and service innovation capability theory, the findings contribute to advancing theoretical understanding of leadership in tourism contexts while offering strategic guidance for human capital development in wellness-focused hospitality enterprises. © 2026 The Author(s).
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand; School of Accountancy and Finance, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand; Faculty of Management Science, Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand; Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Padang (UNP), Indonesia; Faculty of Management Science, Silpakorn University, Phetchaburi, Thailand
