Studying Inter-organisational Relationships in Tourism

Review of Methodological Approaches

Deodat Mwesiumoa

Nigel Halpernab

aMolde University College - Specialized University in Logistics

bOslo School of Management

Role of coordination in Tourism

Tourism industry is essentially a

coordination-intensive

Actors in the tourism industry can

hardly benefit without coordinating their

operations

Thus, the success of the industry is

highly dependent on effective

collaboration between organisations

Value creation in tourism industry

Tourism Inter-organisational relationships

Inter-organizational relationships are

crucial for Tourism industry

Value is created, delivered and

captured through relationships

among organizations

Tourism Inter-organisational relationships (TIORs) research

TIORs is one of the important topics in

tourism research

Several studies have been conducted

on TIORs

Research programs have addressed

various aspects of TIORs

Aim of the review

To highlight methodological approaches

used in TIORs research

To identify their relative strengths and

weaknesses

To propose alternative approaches to

improve the quality of TIOR

Method

“Content analysis” of articles published

in leading tourism journals

Focus on articles that have reported

empirical research

Words representing inter-organizational

entities were used as search terms Coordination

Collaboration

Cooperation

Integration

Network

Cluster

Partnership

Source of the articles

Annals of Tourism Research (ATR)

Tourism Management (TM)

Journal of Travel Research (JTR)

Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing

(JTTM)

Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality

and Tourism (SJHT)

Tourism Management Perspectives

(TMP)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

ATR TM JTR JTTM SJHT TMP

Number of articles reviewed

Number of articles reviewed

N=67

Topics covered in the reviewed articles

The reviewed articles covered various

topics which include:

Antecedents of TIORs

Patterns of TIORs

Forms of TIORs

Processes within of TIORs

Governance of TIORs

Outcomes of TIORs

Research

Unit of analysis in TIORs research

The unit of analysis is the major entity

analyzed in a study.

The reviewed articles reported research

that use one of three units of analysis:

The organization

Interorganizational dyad

Interorganizational network

Unit

of

Unit of analysis – The organization

Tour operator

Hotel

DMONTO

Travel agent

Museum

Airline

Restaurant

Unit of analysis – Interorganizational dyad

Hotels

Travel agents Y

Tour operator

Unit of analysis

e.g.

Travel agents X

DMO

Tourism actor X

Unit of analysis

Unit of analysis

Unit of analysis – A network

Unit of analysis

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Organization Dyad Network

Number of articles reviewed

Number of articles reviewed

N=67

Methodological choices in

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Monoqualitative

method

Monoquantitative

method

Mixed method Multimethodqualitative

Multimethodquantitaive

Number of articles reviewed

Number of articles reviewed

N=67

Research strategies

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Case study Survey Archivalresearch

Mixedmethodsresearch

Number of articles reviewed

Number of articles reviewed

N=67

Data collection methods

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Mail survey Administeredquestionnaire

Personalinterview

Telephoneinterview

Secondarydata

Number of articles reviewed

Number of articles reviewed

N=67

Response rates

Response rates of survey studies

ranged from 7% to 95%

Administered questionnaire survey

lead in response rates (up to 95%)

Studies employing telephone

interview (up to 64%)

Personal interview (up to 39%)

Mail survey had the lowest response

rates (7% - 29% )

Sample sizes

Sample sizes for the reviewed

studies vary from 6 to 323,

depending on the research strategy

Mean sample size for survey studies

is 131

The mean sample size for studies

using secondary data is 142

Analytic techniques

Reliance on Univariate and bivariate

statistics: 39 (59%)

Some studies used some form of

multivariate analysis: 18 (26%)

Social Network analytic techniques:

10 (15%)

Time horizon

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Crosssectionalstudies

Longitudinalstudies

Number of articles reviewed

3

N=67

64

Use of single informant

It appears that use of single

informant is common among TIORs

studies

All of the reviewed survey studies

employed single informants for every

organization under study

Numerous and independent sources

that agree with each other, give

reasonable confidence that their

account of the matter is correct

The

informant

Measurement of constructs

Most quantitative TIORs involve

measurement of constructs

Use of single-item scales is common

among TIORs studies

Conventional measurement wisdom

strongly advocates the use of multi-

item scales

VS.

η

xx1 x2 xn

η

Common method variance

Most TIORs studies pay no attention

to the potential problem of CMV

All of the studies that employed

survey used a single sources for all

the variables in an instrument

This introduces the possibility of

systematic method bias due to the

use of a single source

Among the studies that employed

(self-report) surveys, only five

addressed CMV

x1 x2 x3 y1 y2 y3

η1 η2

Common Factor

Use different data sources

For example use archival data for

dependent variables and survey

responses independent variables

Different informants for independent

variables and dependent variables

Dependent

variables

Independent

variables

Collect data at different times

Cross-sectional surveys are believed

to be especially prone to potential

CMV bias

Collecting data at different times help

to reduce the cognitive accessibility

of the earlier responses

Dependent

variables

Independent

variables

t1 t2

Employing different scale formats

Some measurement procedures are

more likely to engender CMV bias

than others

Employing different formats and

scales for predictors versus

outcomes

In particular, surveys that employ a

single-scale format

This is because repeated contact

with a single format reduces cognitive

processing and thus encourage

“straight-line responses”

Statistical approaches (Ex Post measures)

Model specification

Partial out or control for latent CMV

F3

F2

F1

Call for more longitudinal TIORs studies

To determine how changing

properties of organizations fit into

systemic change.

To establish causal relationships

and for making reliable inferences

Experimental designs in TIORs studies

In search of reliable causal

explanations in TIORs

Field experiments vs. lab

experiments ?????

Feasibility ?????

Asante