Creating Strategic Partner Acquisition Project Guideline for Duara Travels

Abstract

With increasing scientific understanding and felt negative effects across the world, people are more concerned on sustainability issues than ever before. The notion that everyone has their share to do for better tomorrow is starting to be accepted. Corporations realize their role by launching Corporate Social Responsibility programs that aim to increase their positive impact. Some companies take this aim even further by placing the social mission as their sole purpose that is to be accomplished by commercial means. These kinds of companies are called social enterprises. The thesis is commissioned by Duara Travels, which is a for-profit social enterprise operating in travel industry. The company’s aim is to create positive social and economic impact in rural communities of developing economies with an underlying mission to shape the income distribution in tourism industry. The company provides authentic travel experiences to its customers by providing three- and six-night village-experiences in communities aimed to foster cultural exchange and community empowerment. The thesis is conducted as a project that produces a product. The final product is a guideline for strategic partner acquisition in Duara Travels’ destination for Duara Travels. The guideline is based on knowledge that is accumulated in theoretical and operational phases of the thesis. The theoretical part of the thesis consists of two main themes. First theme examines issues of corporations acting as drivers for sustainable development. Concepts such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship are examined. The second theme examines is strategic collaboration between organizations. The issues are examined with an emphasis on tourism industry. In the operational part of the thesis, the author conducts a partner acquisition project for Duara Travels. The project is conducted as a pilot, providing knowledge base for the final product. The author conducts a trip to Bali, Duara Travels’ most popular destination, as a part of the project. In the destination various methods of acquiring partners are put into practice. The project is described in detail, laying out the plan, execution as well as reflection in each part of the project. The discussion gathers the knowledge accumulated in theoretical and operational part. Based on the knowledge acquired, the guideline is built. The guideline is built as a check-list. Its purpose is to act as a roadmap rather than strict manual, leaving space for contextual appliance and future improvement