Environmental Scanning Practices of Travel Agent Companies in Singapore |
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Authors: | Xue Zhang Shaheen Majid Schubert Foo |
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Affiliation: | 1. Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singaporezh0002ue@e.ntu.edu.sg;3. Division of Information Studies, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore |
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Abstract: | The success of tourism firms relies heavily on their ability to adapt to the changing external environments. Environmental scanning, as the acquisition and use of information about external events and trends, has received greater attention in the tourism management literature. This study investigated the environmental scanning initiatives of travel agent companies in Singapore through a questionnaire survey. In total, 42 completed forms were returned from 319 invited firms. The findings discovered a positive relationship between the scanning frequency and the perceived strategic uncertainty of task environment. It was also found that human information sources were used most frequently for collecting environmental information due to their highest reliability, while electronic sources were under-utilized probably due to lack of computer-based information system and awareness toward the importance of online information. |
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Keywords: | environmental scanning travel agent companies Singapore information source |
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