A SHARED INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

In a developing economy's business environment, introduction of new technology creates a large potential for more effective and streamlined production of tourism services. This study shows guidelines of design of an inter-organizational information system for small tourism enterprises. The entrepreneurial goal is to support strategic alliances in order to obtain better market-fit and sustainable competitive advance. This requires that the enterprises are capable of evaluating their existing processes, identify and outline improvements, and implement them. More than that, enterprises have to execute profound strategic changes in their business processes. For this change, study shows that adaption of supportive information system can be a key factor to satisfy these demands. Firstly, using systematic literature review the study identifies global trends of e-tourism. Secondly the trends are compared with the reality of small tourism enterprises in Nicaraguan Caribbean coast. With interview and brain storming sessions with hotel managers and local tourism specialists, desired state of e-tourism enhanced business processes is defined. Performance gaps and solutions are identified and outlined in order to reach new customer segments and better customer satisfaction with use of inter-organizational information system. With help of shared information system, enterprises search for sustainable economic growth and more stable business environment for their activities. The scientific domain of research is Information systems science. The method used for data collection and interpretation is systematic literature review and human and institutional capacity development -method. As result, the research identifies critical business processes when implementing e-Tourism services into tourism enterprises in developing economies. Strategic solutions for sustainable improvements in business processes supported by use of shared information system are outlined. As a practical result, the study lists required steps in order to reach desired changes in tourism enterprises with e-tourism initiative. Specification of requirements for information system is made. The implementation process and construction of information system is left out from this research and it requires later its own case study.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Markets-as-networks theory: a review

This paper exposes the development of markets-as-networks theory from formal inception in the mid-1970s until 2010 state-of-the-art, en route presenting its historical roots. This largely European-based theory challenges the conventional, dichotomous view of the business world as including firms and markets, arguing for the existence of relational governance structures (the so-called ‘‘interfirm cooperation’’) in addition to hierarchical and transactional ones

UNRAVELING BRAND EQUITY: STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE CONSUMER PURCHASE DECISION

Marketing strategy is an important element in the business world. One of the objectives of the marketing strategy is to increase consumer buying decisions. This can be done by utilizing the equity of a brand. This research will aim to look at how to increase consumer purchasing decisions by using brand equity. This type of research is descriptive qualitative research. The data used in this study comes from various research results and previous studies which still have relevance to the content of the research. The results of this study then found that brand equity cannot be ignored as a driver of consumer purchasing decisions. There are several strategies to increase brand equity. This can be done by conducting marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness, by collaborating with artists or influencers. By using these various strategies, consumer purchasing decisions can be significantly improved

Assessing the Impacts of Crowdsourcing in Logistics and Supply Chain Operations

Crowdsourcing models, whereby firms start to delegate supply chain operations activities to a mass of actors in the marketplace, have grown drastically in recent years. 85% of the top global brands have reported to use crowdsourcing in the last ten year with top names such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Nestle. These emergent business models, however, have remained unexplored in extant SCM literature. Drawing on various theoretical underpinnings, this dissertation aims to investigate and develop a holistic understanding of the importance and impacts of crowdsourcing in SCM from multiple perspectives. Three individual studies implementing a range of methodological approaches (archival data, netnography, and field and scenario-based experiments) are conducted to examine potential impacts of crowdsourcing in different supply chain processes from the customer’s, the crowdsourcing firm’s, and the supply chain partner’s perspectives. Essay 1 employs a mixed method approach to investigate “how, when, and why” crowdsourced delivery may affect customer satisfaction and behavioral intention in online retailing. Essay 2 uses a field experiment to address how the framing of motivation messages could enhance crowdsourced agents’ participation and performance level in crowdsourced inventory audit tasks. Lastly, Essay 3 explores the impact of crowdsourcing activities by the manufacturers on the relationship dynamics within the manufacturer-consumers-retailer triads

The demand chain and response management: New directions for operations management?

Supply chain management would appear to be at the end of its lifecycle. Customers of all types are expressing preferences based upon some degree of product-service differentiation and not simply on cost. The growing interest in mass customisation and product platforms is evidence of these developments. Supply chain devotees argue that it (the supply chain) is capable of adequate response to these changes while others suggest the demand chain better serves the current market place. This article suggests that while the supply chain is by no means obsolete it can be argued that it is obsolescent and should be replaced by a more proactive response system. We explore demand chain analysis and demand chain management and show how “response management” is a worthy successor to the supply chain and a possible way to integrate the facilitating technology now available with a dynamic marketplace

Bevásárlóközpontok sikerének kulcsa.A bevásárlóközpont alkotóelemei és stratégiai illeszkedésük = The Key of Success in Shopping Centers. Composing Elements of Shopping Centers and their Strategic Fit

Dissszertációm középpontjában a bevásárlóközpontok, a „fogyasztás katedrálisai” (Sikos és Hoffmann, 2004) állnak. Ezek, a modern értelemben vett kereskedelmi létesítmények, még alig 20-30 éves múltra tekintenek egész Közép-Kelet Európában. Ennek következtében eddig még nagyon kevés tudományos kutatás foglalkozott ezzel a témakörrel. Ezt az űrt próbálja meg valamelyest betölteni jelen értekezés. Ezen a területen közismert a gyakorlat húzóereje a tudományos kutatásokra nézve (Brown,1992), így cseppet sem meglepő a megérzésekre támaszkodó gyakorlat. Szerintem mégis érdemes törekedni ennek a folyamatnak a megfordítására. A 2008 szeptemberében elkezdődött gazdasági világválság hátterében meghúzódó pénzügyi és ingatlan ipari válság rámutatott ennek szükségességére. A disszertációban egymást váltják az eddigi kutatásokból és a gyakorlat tudományos jellegű személyes megfigyeléséből származó információk. Végül bemutatom az általános bevásárlóközpont modellt, mely az új TERMÉK paradigma felől közelítve, egy egységes elméleti keretbe próbálja foglalni a bemutatott tudományos kutatásokból származó és a saját megfigyeléseken alapuló eredményeket. Ennek az elméleti keretnek a helytállóságát tesztelem SEM (structural equation modelling) segítségével 75 többnyire Közép-Kelet Európai bevásárlóközpontból álló mintán. (...