The Importance of Benchmarking in the Innovative Activities of Tourism Enterprises: The Case Study of Lot S.A. Polish Airlines

The aim of this article is to identify the importance of benchmarking as a source of innovation in the activities of tourism enterprises through the case study of LOT S.A. Polish Airlines. To expand, the objective was to identify the departments within the company which used benchmarking as a stimulus to create a new or improve an existing offer. The subject was an airline belonging to Star Alliance and 27 employees from selected departments. The study used questionnaires and. with managers of selected departments only, open standardized interviews. Statistical inference methods, including a chi-square test, were applied to analyse the data. Although the introduction of benchmarking in the company’s structure allows for a quick escape route from a cycle of limitation in the company’s own culture and standard behaviour (and the acquisition of knowledge during the process gives rise to new and innovative ideas) the importance of this method in innovative activities did not result in any practical application. A lack of knowledge about benchmarking was noticeable, and an identification of this method with a simple competitive analysis resulted in failures in business activity as well as a lack of creativity in its application

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Email inquiries in hotels. Comparative study of Łódź and Novosibirsk

Rozdział z: Functioning of the Local Production Systems in Central and Eastern European Countries and Siberia. Case Studies and Comparative Studies, ed. Mariusz E. Sokołowicz.Guests and travel shoppers constantly search and book hotel rooms all over the world on various devices, shifting from one screen to another. Thanks to internet, “anytime, anywhere” access to information quite far outweighs its downsides. In the paper, the author focuses on the efficient use of the Internet as a tool which helps to communicate with clients. The reaction to inquiries sent by email influences both booking behavior and guest satisfaction as well. The objective of the survey presented in this paper is to test empirically response behavior to Internet enquiries. In particular, response time and information quality of received answers (information depth) were also analyzed. The research methods, which are used in the article, include the issue analysis, desktop study (review of academic papers with related works), the survey (using mystery shopping methodology) and analysis of the obtained results.Monograph financed under a contract of execution of the international scientific project within 7th Framework Programme of the European Union, co-financed by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (title: “Functioning of the Local Production Systems in the Conditions of Economic Crisis (Comparative Analysis and Benchmarking for the EU and Beyond”)). Monografia sfinansowana w oparciu o umowę o wykonanie projektu między narodowego w ramach 7. Programu Ramowego UE, współfinansowanego ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (tytuł projektu: „Funkcjonowanie lokalnych systemów produkcyjnych w warunkach kryzysu gospodarczego (analiza porównawcza i benchmarking w wybranych krajach UE oraz krajach trzecich”))

National Tourism Organizations’ online training offer. Switzerland Travel Academy Case Study

A large number of studies have been undertaken so far both by academic researchers and by communities from the industry on the use of the Internet for educational purposes. However, very limited research has yet been done on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as educational and training modes within the hospitality and tourism field. Travel agent training, certification processes and the use of ICTs to deliver training to the travel trade have been largely excluded from previous academicresearch.This study aims to address this research gap in order to understand the range of e-learning in the tourism field. It explores the use of e-learning courses created by nationaltourism organizations for the education and certification of their travel trade partners. This research will present the managerial perspective and will evaluate one of the best cases of e-learning courses presenting tourism destinations – the Switzerland Travel Academy.This paper will present the overall cycle of the course design, looking in particular at how the e-learning course has been designed, developed, implemented and assessed.Switzerland Tourism’s motivation for having such a training tool, the history of the training platform, management structure and usages will be discussed as well

Tourism and hotel competitiveness research

Author name used in this publication: Henry Tsai2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

A review of service quality and service delivery: Towards a customer co-production and customer-integration approach

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers with an overview of the service quality and delivery domain, focussing on the inclusion of customer co-production and customer integration. Specifically, this paper concentrates on service quality (including quality measurement), the service environment, controls and their consequences. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive review of the literature is conducted, analysed and presented. Findings: The review shows that service delivery is both complex and challenging, particularly when considering the unique characteristics of services and the high level of customer involvement in their creation. The facilitation, transformation and usage framework identifies how failures can occur at each stage of service delivery, beginning with the characteristics of the service environment, while control theory offers insights into the formal and informal controls that may be applied in the facilitation and transformation stages, which may reduce the likelihood or extent of such failures. Originality/value: Despite the fact that it is widely accepted that service quality is an antecedent to customer satisfaction, it is surprising that this customer co-creation aspect has been largely neglected in the extant literature. As such, the role that customer co-production plays in service quality performance has been examined in this paper. It is hoped that this examination will enhance both theoretical and practical understanding of service quality. It would be useful to find modern tools that can help in improving service quality performance