Sony Mathew and Hamid Seddighi
This paper provides remarkable insight into the structural components of a firm's core competence and its development via research and development (R&D) activities for innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides remarkable insight into the structural components of a firm's core competence and its development via research and development (R&D) activities for innovation and exporting activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have used a positivist design and a deductive methodology. The authors have examined the extant literature developing a theoretical framework to empirically investigate the relationships between a firm's core competence, organisational learning (OL), tacitness, dynamic capability and R&D activities. To carry out this investigation, the authors have collected stratified sample data from 330 firms operating in North East England, a peripheral region of England.
Findings
The authors have found that there are indeed significant statistical relationships between these structural components, R&D activities and a firm's core competence, and this nexus is pertinent to innovation and exporting. Furthermore, it is found that North East England is significantly constrained by the lack of finance, technological capability, experts and brain drain. Based on these findings, the authors propose a cooperative R&D framework to narrow down these constraints to assist firms in developing core competencies for innovation and exporting in peripheral regions.
Social implications
There is an urgent need to investigate the incidence of knowledge-driven activities, R&D, the extent of innovation and exporting activities of firms operating in North East England, a peripheral region of the United Kingdom (UK).
Originality/value
This study provides an original and systematic investigation of the firm's core competence and its formation via key structural components for innovation and exporting within an empirical framework.
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Ivana Adamson and H.R. Seddighi
This study provides an analysis of two regional samples on R&D activities in manufacturing small and medium‐size firms in the UK. The results show that there are statistically…
Abstract
This study provides an analysis of two regional samples on R&D activities in manufacturing small and medium‐size firms in the UK. The results show that there are statistically significant regional differences between the North East and the West Midlands (χr2 of 11.8 s.s. at p < .01), where the North East SMEs seem to engage less in R&D activities. The results may be of some interest to the relevant R&D funding bodies.
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Paul Reay and Hamid R. Seddighi
The aim of this study is twofold: to evaluate empirically the incidence of co‐creation activities; and to identify company characteristics that enable capabilities for innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is twofold: to evaluate empirically the incidence of co‐creation activities; and to identify company characteristics that enable capabilities for innovation via co‐creation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a positivist research methodology that focused on data collection via a literature‐based designed questionnaire, followed by analyses of the collected data. This first stage study focused investigation on a sample of high turnover companies, the “Top 250 Companies” annual list published by Durham University Business School, operating in the North East region of England. Eighty complete questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 32 per cent.
Findings
The results of the survey indicated that co‐creation activities and capabilities were not extensive in the sample population. However, the companies that were strategically focussed on meeting the demands of individual customers were more inclined to have developed capabilities necessary for co‐creation activities. This finding supported the presuppositions for co‐creation identified in the literature. There was also evidence in the survey that indicated the need for the greater use of information and computing technology in business processes in the sample population, and the improvement of communications systems to enhance co‐creation activities and create value.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to explore and quantify co‐creation activities in the UK across industry sectors, and to demonstrate how such analyses can be used to assist business growth and economic development.
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Natasa Slak and Matjaz Robinsak
Until now the majority of researchers of sports tourism have focused their research on the tourist and their characteristics, meaning, on the demand. Since the majority of authors…
Abstract
Until now the majority of researchers of sports tourism have focused their research on the tourist and their characteristics, meaning, on the demand. Since the majority of authors (Gibson 1998; Seddighi and Theoracharous 2002; Hudson 2003; ?inch and Higham 2001) studied tourists and their characteristics we decided to focus on the providers of active sports holidays. According to Planina, Mihali_(2002, pg. 29) the tourism model is built on demand and supply. The supply side was analyzed by WTO (2004) in their research amongst European tour operators with the highest turnover in order to establish how sport features in products involving Latin America. Based on this idea we decided to carry out a research amongst providers of active sports holidays and asked them about a typical client. We divided the providers into segments according to the type of guests. The research was carried out to find the answer to the question “What do providers of active sports holidays offer in Slovenia and how they perceive their guests?” We were interested to know what they actually offer and the trend of the enquiries they receive from their visitors. The characteristics of the visitors are important to help providers decide how to develop their facilities to meet the demands of the market. We learnt that in Slovenia the majority of tourists are short‐length stays. We also researched the supply and demand and learnt that the providers expect the demand to be highest for skiing and cycling. In the largest of the segments the activities most frequently offered are swimming (water sports), tennis (racquet sports), the usual team sports and skiing. However, the demand for these sports is not growing. Amongst the activities which are in lesser demand but have been defined by the providers as growing are mountain biking and golf.
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Nguyen T. Thai and Ulku Yuksel
The choice overload (CO) phenomenon, whereby having many options leads to negative consequences, has been studied widely in psychology and marketing. However, empirical evidence…
Abstract
The choice overload (CO) phenomenon, whereby having many options leads to negative consequences, has been studied widely in psychology and marketing. However, empirical evidence of CO in the tourism context is limited, even though people often encounter numerous choices (e.g., vacation destinations, airfares, hotels, tours) at different stages when planning their holidays. Investigating CO in tourism and hospitality is important because (online) travel advisors are providing tourists with numerous choices, yet they do not know whether or not these decision makers are content after choosing from these large choice sets. This chapter proposes to review and apply insights garnered from the CO literature to tourism research. Accordingly, the chapter proposes five groups of solutions for tourists and travel advisors to avoid CO effects: reducing decision task difficulty, reducing choice-set complexity, reducing preference uncertainty, focusing on decision goals rather than the means to achieve those goals, and adopting appropriate decision-making styles.
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A. Pereira, C. Frias and A. P. Jerónimo
Brand love is a notion where feelings are developed towards a specific brand. This notion is more than just a preference, it is an emotional attachment with the consumed product…
Abstract
Brand love is a notion where feelings are developed towards a specific brand. This notion is more than just a preference, it is an emotional attachment with the consumed product and the brand that represents it. In tourism, destination marketing will increase the relationship between tourists and places using certain kind of messages and images whose goal is to stimulate their senses and feelings. In crisis management situations, it acts as a mediator, by assessing tourists' risk and safety perceptions, and helps mitigate lasting negative effects.
However, can destination brand love be promoted during these pandemic times? To get an in-deep understanding of the connections that exist between love and safety in tourism, this study explores two concepts through an extended literature review and a qualitative methodological approach using content analysis procedures that will focus on international marketing strategies during the ongoing pandemic crisis.
The qualitative approach was conducted through a survey composed of a set of open-ended questions (N = 31) where respondents were asked to identify their feelings after viewing the promotional tourism campaigns released after the significant increase in cases of COVID-19 worldwide.
The main results demonstrate the existence of brand love antecedents – brand trust and a sense of community, and an overall positive reaction to the images and messages promoted. Also, the existence of brand love antecedents demonstrates the brands' capacity to adapt to crisis events and its ability to outline the kind of paths that have to be defined for tourists to remain passionate about destinations.
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Sai Liang, Qiang Ye, Xiaoxia Zhang, Rob Law and Caiyan Gong
Online reviews have become increasingly important and numerous studies have noted the effect of social factors on the review provision of users. The purpose of this study is to…
Abstract
Purpose
Online reviews have become increasingly important and numerous studies have noted the effect of social factors on the review provision of users. The purpose of this study is to investigate how hometowner contributions, which are defined as prior reviews posted by users from the same city, affect the quality of reviews by focal users.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the theories of competitive altruism, pure altruism and reciprocity, as well as several social influence theories, a conceptual framework is constructed to explain user contribution behavior. In addition, empirical models are established based on 831,737 reviews of 919 hotels on Tripadvisor.
Findings
The quality of reviews by hometowners can significantly motivate subsequent users to contribute high-quality reviews. This positive effect is stronger than the effect of previous contributions by non-hometowners. The effect of hometowner contribution is amplified in users with limited review-posting experience and/or in those from countries with a considerable cultural distance from the target destination.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides the hospitality literature with new insights into the effect of social factors on the review provision of users in the context of online hotel review websites. The results also present numerous practical implications for online travel communities.
Originality/value
This study is an early attempt to analyze the effect of prior hometowner contributions on the subsequent contribution decisions of focal users. Thus, this study provides a satisfactory starting point for determining whether the review provision of focal users can be affected differently by prior contributions from their peers from different categories.
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Shabnam Khan, Saqib Rehman and Adeel Nasir
This study aims to explore the role of green motive (GM) and green dynamic capabilities (GDC) in green innovation (GI) through green value co-creation (GVC). Moreover, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the role of green motive (GM) and green dynamic capabilities (GDC) in green innovation (GI) through green value co-creation (GVC). Moreover, this study investigates the moderation of top management support (TMS) to strengthen the mediation of specific constructs; GM, GDC, green value co-creation (GVC) and green innovation (GI).
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 337 respondents (executive level/chief executive officer (CEO)) of service organizations were approached using a convenience sampling technique to collect the data through the survey method. Of these, 294 (87% response rate) duly filled responses were used in the final data analysis. In SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) v-23, the Process Macro-Hayes was used to evaluate the study's conceptual framework empirically.
Findings
The study revealed that TMS strengthened the mediation framework of GM, GDC, GVC and GI. Moreover, all hypotheses related to direct and indirect associations of specific constructs used in the theoretical framework were statistically significant and proved.
Originality/value
The comprehensive framework for GI of service organizations, primarily in the context of developing countries like Pakistan, is deficient in literature. This study helps service organizations by providing a comprehensive GI model to put a central focus on the transformation of management philosophy and working approach for achieving GI in the services structure.
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Myreya De-La-Cruz-Diaz, Aldo Alvarez-Risco, Micaela Jaramillo-Arévalo, Maria de las Mercedes Anderson-Seminario and Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales
The tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the most important in the world for decades, being essential for the economic, social, and cultural growth of the communities…
Abstract
The tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the most important in the world for decades, being essential for the economic, social, and cultural growth of the communities in which it is present. Both its importance in the world economy and its resilience have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict measures taken to combat it; despite suffering one of its worst years ever seen, it is still expected to continue growing in the future, and with this, to continue evolving. This industry cannot meet growth and evolution expectations to return to the same approach as prepandemic times. It is necessary for businesses focused on the sector to adopt a new intercultural approach to providing these services. In this way, by adapting the services to tourists, they have a better experience and thus, considering all the characteristics involved in the provision of tourist services, it is possible to achieve what is known as sustainable tourism, encompassing both the need of consumers to be understood as well as to consider the care of ecosystems and local workers. The present work seeks to identify the influence of an intercultural and sustainable approach in the choice of tourism destinations and companies, influencing the growth of tourism businesses focused on hospitality services. For this, literary research was carried out, and the case study of the company Airbnb and its implementation of an intercultural approach is presented.
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Paurav Shukla, Janice Brown and Donna Harper
Image has been found to be one of the important influences in the selection of consumers' choice for visiting and investing in a destination leading to sustainable development…
Abstract
Image has been found to be one of the important influences in the selection of consumers' choice for visiting and investing in a destination leading to sustainable development. Important determinants of tourism namely, knowledge of destination attractions and image association were employed in this research based on previous studies in a number of fields. The research reported in this paper presents the results of an empirical test of the determinants related to tourism using Liverpool as a case study because of its selection as the European Capital of Culture (CoC) for 2008. European Capital of Culture scheme has among its many objectives the idea of sustainable development for the chosen CoC. Combination of data collection methods was used for the research. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on destination image association by providing empirical evidence through the case study or Liverpool as well as how consumers relate to a destination and especially a CoC. One of the major findings of the study was the identification of image association clusters with regard to Liverpool as a CoC. We brand this clusters as the ‘tangible attractions cluster’ and ‘intangible attractions cluster’. The results of this research provide important implications for strategic image management and can aid in designing and implementing sustainable marketing programs for creating and enhancing tourism destination images.