The effects of quality and environmental management on competitive advantage: A mixed methods study in the hotel industry

•Quality management is related with competitive advantage.•Environmental management is related with competitive advantage.•Quality management is related with environmental management.•Mixed methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods.

This paper reports results derived from a mixed methods study where 13 hotel managers were initially interviewed, followed by a quantitative study of 355 additional managers. Data were analysed using partial least squares path modelling. The research question related to the relationship between quality and environmental management and the competitive advantage sought by hotels. The results indicate that quality management and environmental management permit the improvement of competitive advantage in terms of both costs and differentiation. Moreover, hotels implementing quality programmes find fewer obstacles in implementing environmental management.