The traditional marketplace: serious leisure and recommending authentic travel

ABSTRACT

Services reliant on revenue generated from tourism are often beholden to how authentic visitors perceive their offering to be. From a managerial perspective, this is exacerbated when they serve a dual-purpose, as both actively ingrained in local culture and showcased international tourist attractions. As such, this study contributes to Kolar and ?abkar’s (2010) consumer-based model of authenticity by assessing the relationships between serious leisure, object-based and existential authenticity, and visitor word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations in Iranian cultural tourism. Utilising partial least-squares structural equation modelling, and drawing upon responses from 615 visitors to the Tabriz Grand Bazaar, it thus extends the model’s applicability to the developing Middle Eastern context. The results extend extant research by emphasising the importance of object-based authenticity, as opposed to existential authenticity, in stimulating positive visitor WOM recommendations. Consequently, this study advances the prevailing understanding of the role of authenticity in stimulating positive behavioural intentions by highlighting how destinations can stimulate visitor recommendations.     

旅游目的地竞争与吸引力创新分析

文章提出了旅游吸引力三层次和目的地发展创新的三阶段假说,并以此为全文论证的逻辑起点,认为旅游景区所有权与经营权分离这种“制度创新”是地区发展旅游经济竞争的必然结果,目的地旅游发展应该从旅游产业的概念回归到旅游经济的层面上来,对于目的地旅游吸引物资源也应该完成从资源性管理向资产性管理的跳跃。     

Little big firms? Corporate social responsibility in small businesses that do not compete against big ones

This article examines the drivers and barriers for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Norwegian graduate uniform industry, which is a market devoid of large corporations, consisting entirely of two small businesses. It finds that these small businesses' CSR activities are not particularly well explained by the existing literature on CSR in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises, which assumes the presence of large competitors. This raises the question of whether small businesses that do not compete against large corporations may actually behave more like ‘little big firms’ when it comes to CSR. The article finds that the two businesses studied are mostly driven by external pressure to improve their social responsibility. Such pressure stems partly from news reports on their activities and partly from increasing competition leading to a situation where the small businesses operating in the market scrutinise each others' activities.     

From entrepot to entrepot via merchant manufacturing: adaptive mechanisms,organizational capabilities and the structure of the Hong Kong economy

The economy of Hong Kong has developed a mix of adaptation mechanisms which has yielded spectacular performance. In one part of the mix, small Chinese family businesses provide an ‘entrepreneurial’ adaptation mechanism which reacts quickly to price signals. Elsewhere ‘peak organizations’ with deep hierarchies have coordinated activities which involve scale and scope. This has led to the development of a particular and restricted set of organizational capabilities which are ill suited to the ‘technological upgrading’ strategies that are frequently recommended for Hong Kong manufacturing. It is unlikely that such upgrading will take place, or that Hong Kong will become a technological development centre for manufacturing industry in the People's Republic of China.     

生产性服务业空间集聚与制造业效率提升——基于空间外溢效应的实证研究

本文利用2003—2009年247个城市样本数据,实证检验了我国城市生产性服务业空间集聚对制造业效率的空间外溢效应。结果表明,生产性服务业空间集聚不仅能够提升本地区制造业效率,且能够通过空间外溢效应提升周边地区制造业效率,空间外溢系数达到了0.864。生产性服务业空间集聚会通过竞争效应、专业化效应以及外部性等途径降低制造业交易成本,进而提高制造业效率。鉴于此,政府应支持生产性服务业空间集聚,突破影响空间外溢效应区域边界的自然条件和制度约束,加大人力资本、交通基础设施等方面的积累和投入,促进生产性服务业对制造业效率空间溢出效应的有效发挥。     

Family Matters? Recruitment Methods and Cultural Boundaries in Singapore Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises

Singapore official discourse speaks of (Chinese) families as both cultural and economic assets and as vestiges of national identity. Chinese families are often described in traditional terms, namely as patrilinial, patrilocal, patriarchal and clearly hierarchical. In Singapore official discourse, the historical success of traditional family businesses is presented as a unique ethnic and national characteristic. Simultaneously, the Singapore state claims to be ‘modern’, ‘Western’, and ‘cosmopolitan’, allowing little space for ‘parochial practices’ and ‘archaic traditions’. Either praised or looked down on, family businesses occupy an ambiguous position within the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ discourses of the Singapore state. This article supplies the evidence of changing family and business relations in Chinese–Singapore firms. Three major factors are isolated that influence Singapore attitudes towards family businesses: Chinese culture, globalization and the logic of developing capitalism, and the role of the Singapore state.     

Young Entrepreneurs in the Mobile Telephony Sector in Ghana: From Necessities to Aspirations

Despite increasing research interest in the mobile telephony sector, only a few studies have devoted attention to informal businesses in the sector. Using qualitative field data collected on young mobile telephony entrepreneurs in Accra, this paper argues that despite the businesses being ‘informal’, they cannot be dismissed as ‘necessity’ enterprises unworthy of support. On the contrary, many young entrepreneurs have aspirations which are influencing their desire to stay in business. The article thus questions the bifurcated nature of entrepreneurial motivations, using the burgeoning mobile telephony sector as a case study, and draws out implications for policy support for youth-run businesses in the informal sector generally.     

Location strategies of multiunit service businesses: spatial differentiation and agglomeration among hamburger restaurants in Paris, 1984–2004

In this article, we study how multiunit service businesses locate their units, choosing between two opposite spatial strategies. Whereas, locating one’s units close to competitors’ brings positive agglomeration externalities, locating one’s units far away from others’ allows local monopolies through spatial differentiation. We examine location strategies of the two biggest hamburger restaurant chains—namely McDonald’s and Quick—in Paris between 1984 and 2004. Results show that competitive standings impact locational strategy choices. The market leader favors spatial differentiation, thus preempting premium locations. Conversely, the challenger favors locations close to the leader, thus aiming at agglomeration externalities.

US small retail businesses’ perception of competition: Looking through a lens of fear,confidence, or cooperation

The U.S. retail industry has undergone dramatic changes, leading to the closing of brick-and-mortar retail stores on a large scale. Understanding perceived market competition among small retail businesses may help explain why certain businesses survive or fail in the altered retail environment. This study investigates small retail businesses' perceptions of competition within/outside the community, underlying reasons for their perceptions, and variations in perceptions by different business characteristics. Contrary to common expectations, we found that more than half of businesses interviewed were optimistic in the face of competition. Our data reveal two salient underlying reasons for pessimism and five for optimism. These perceptions tended to differ by operational locality (urban clusters vs. urban areas), business revenues, and innovativeness. Based on the findings, we developed propositions and a framework of small businesses' perceived competition and sustainable competitive advantage. We discussed theoretical and practical implications for small retail businesses’ sustainable growth in the challenging retail environment.     

Why Do Some Small Businesses Grow Faster and Become “Successful” While Others Do Not Get Beyond the ‘Foothills’?

Abstract

A great deal of research has been undertaken in the area of growth and yet the reason why some small businesses grow faster and more successful than others, has not received sufficient research attention and little is known. This study sought to provide some understanding of the broad question “Why do some small businesses grow faster and ‘successful’ while others do not get beyond the ‘foothills’”.

The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that it is the actions of the individual entrepreneurs and their management teams that are more significant in achieving business growth. The entrepreneurs in the sample possessed some willingness to pursue opportunities, to marshal resources and initiate actions rather than to react to other people's actions. The owner-managers did not possess the entrepreneurial and management skills authomatically but were acqwuired over time. Our understanding of the growth of small businesses was derived from the in-depth interviews held with the owner-managers themselves on how their businesses evolved over time.     

我国零售业区域集聚影响因素的实证分析及政策含义

我国零售业区域集聚作用日益凸显并逐渐被人们认识,本文利用空间基尼系数和区位商对我国零售业的区域集聚趋势进行了分析,并通过个体固定效应面板数据模型对影响我国零售业区域集聚的因素做了实证研究。文章研究发现,我国零售业区域集聚度呈下降趋势,人力资本的投入与零售业地区集聚发展呈正相关关系,而政府政策以及地区居民购买力与地区零售业的集聚发展水平呈负相关关系的结论,从地理位置来看,各地区零售业的集聚发展与该地区的地理位置所代表的消费习惯等因素有关,且东中部地区受该因素正向影响较多,而西部地区反之。文章最后还根据这些研究发现提出进一步促进我国零售业集聚发展的相关政策建议。     

服务业集聚、空间溢出与经济增长质量--基于中国省际空间面板杜宾模型的经验研究

本文基于2000－2013年中国省际面板数据,采用空间杜宾模型研究服务业集聚及其空间溢出对经济增长质量的影响,发现多样化服务业集聚对本省份和邻近省份的经济增长质量作用为正,服务业内竞争对本省份的经济增长质量影响不显著,但对邻近省份具有负作用,专业化集聚对本省份和邻近省份的影响均不显著;稳健性分析表明以上结论稳健且东部地区在服务业集聚提升经济增长质量方面具有区位优势。针对可能存在的空间分割,以各省会为圆心、每20 km或10km 进行累加形成距离带并对空间溢出进行估算,表明服务业集聚的空间溢出存在空间边界。     

FDI、本土企业集聚及经济增长效应——基于浙江县域面板数据的实证检验

文章基于浙江52县1996年-2005年的面板数据实证检验了外资企业、本土企业集聚及经济增长效应。实证结果表明,外资企业、本土企业空间集聚具有显著的经济增长效应,但是相比于资本来说两者作用效果并不强;外资企业在浙江县域的区位分布并不注重本土企业空间集聚状况,而是更加注重外资企业空间集聚度;本土企业空间集聚是本土企业发展的重要影响因素,而外资企业集聚对本土企业投资反而呈现较小的"挤出效应"。因此,为了进一步提升浙江县域内生经济增长,应加强浙江县域外资企业与本土企业融合,从而提高区域持续的增长潜力。     

A Probability of Revisitation Model: The Case of Winter Visits to the Grand Canyon

This paper finds that on average first-time visitors to the Grand Canyon are willing to travel significantly greater distances than repeat visitors. These findings are based upon a binary logit model of repeat visitations estimated from a recent sample of Grand Canyon visitors. This model expresses the probability of repeat visitation as a function of distance travelled and visitor demographic profiles. Included among the demographic characteristics are income, available leisure time, and the number of previous visits. An important managerial implication of this study - not only for the Grand Canyon but also for other tourist destinations - is the value of ‘probability of revisitation’ approach in identifying subtle market fragments. This opens the door to sophisticated marketing strategies that, in this case, cater to the separate needs and desires of repeat and first-time visitors to enhance revenue possibilities.     

Where to refuel: Modeling on-the-way choice of convenience outlet

For many goods consumers do not make a special trip to a store. Especially for a convenience good such as fuel they will buy the product while on-the-way to some final destination. This paper introduces on-the-way choice of retail outlet as a form of convenience shopping. It presents a model of on-the-way choice of retail outlet and applies the model in the context of fuel retailing to explore its implications for segmentation and spatial competition. The model allows analyzing how choice of retail outlet varies not only with spatio-temporal variables (distance, detour, local competition and agglomeration) but also with trip-related characteristics such as time of day and prior awareness of one's purchase need. The model is a latent class random utility choice model. An application to gas station choices observed in a medium-sized Asian city show the model to fit substantially better than existing models. The empirical results indicate consumers may adopt one of two decision strategies. When adopting an immediacy-oriented strategy they behave in accordance with the traditional gravity-based retail models and tend to choose the most spatially convenient outlet. When following a destination-oriented strategy they focus more on maintaining their overall trip efficiency and so will tend to visit outlets located closer to their main destination and are more susceptible to retail agglomeration effects. The paper demonstrates how the model can be used to inform segmentation and local competition analyses that account for variations in these strategies as well as variations in consumer type, origin and time of travel. Simulations of a duopoly setting further demonstrate the implications.     

贵州省旅游景区门票定价问题研究

"十一五"期间,贵州省旅游业快速增长,在旅游竞争日益白热化的格局下,全省旅游收入在全国排位仍然上升了6位,但仍存在票价上涨过快、过度价格竞争等问题,相关管理部门应允许部分景区适度提高门票价格,逐步扩大"免费游"景点开放范围,进一步建立健全管理法制,不断创新和提供新产品,促进该省景区经济、社会和环境效益协调发展。     

‘What's so special about family business?’ An exploratory study of UK and Irish consumer experiences of family businesses

While family‐owned businesses are considered to have specific advantages in customer relationships, limited research has been conducted into how these abilities are developed or understood by the public. Consumers may indeed perceive family businesses differently from non‐family businesses, but this aspect has received scant attention within the literature. This paper sets out exploratory work designed to gain an understanding of Irish and UK consumer perceptions of family‐owned businesses, within both urban and rural communities. The study provides insight into the meaning of ‘familiness’ in consumers' minds when linked to family businesses, and explores the relationships and experiences that respondents have of family firms. Emerging issues include family business heritage, community bonds and social stewardship, consumer loyalty and generational transfer, distinction, choice and retail heterogeneity. The findings of this exploratory study suggest that researchers should be paying more attention to the positive aspects of family businesses within communities, and concludes with suggestions for future research to further extend this area of study.     

Matching audio/video app features with young user preferences: An integrated approach

Audio/video mobile applications (apps) enable people to engage in leisure activities without time and space restrictions, which gradually changed human leisure behaviours. This study is one of the first to integrate means-end chain theory, Kano and conjoint analyses to reveal young user preferences for entertainment audio/video mobile apps. A preliminary qualitative survey with 36 young interviewees established the questionnaire items in the subsequent survey of 389 young respondents. Results show that ‘subtitle choice’, ‘resolution selection’, ‘top ranking list’ and ‘advertising mode and format’ are key attributes that directly influence young user willingness to download apps. In particular, ‘flashing banner ads’, ‘resolution ≤ 480 ppi’, ‘5 seconds to skip ads’, providing ‘subtitle choice’ and without ‘top ranking list’ is the best combination of attribute levels of audio/video apps that meet young users' desires. That is, young users prefer mobile apps with ‘resolution ≤ 480 ppi’ and ‘subtitle’ choices and expect that they can skip flashing banner ads in 5 s. Providing a top audio/video ranking list, however, is unnecessary for young app users. The findings can help marketers and app designers develop effective app designs and advertising strategies for young users to expedite the adoption of entertainment audio/video apps.     

Commercial Speech as a Basic Freedom

This empirical study brings together prior research on competitive advertising effects from two perspectives: ad repetition and brand familiarity. Specifically, we compare free and cued recall, attitude accessibility and valence, and purchase intentions, for high-share and low-share brands in two mature markets, manipulating levels of target ad repetition and competitive advertising. Overall, recall and attitude accessibility were the most affected by different combinations of ad repetition and competition. For low-share brands, recall was generally greater in the absence of competition; for high-share brands, in certain cases, recall was greater in the presence of competition. Distinct quadratic patterns of attitude accessibility were observed, depending on whether competing ads were present (inverted ‘U-shape’) or absent (‘U-shape’). Preferences (attitude valence, purchase intentions) were relatively stable across conditions. Directions for future research are proposed.