Business, Events and Hospitality

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Food Choice: the Shopping Experience of Older Consumers in Scotland
(Queen Margaret University, 2001) Hare, Caroline Anne
This thesis investigates the food shopping experience of older consumers (aged 65+) in Scotland. The aim was to develop the shopping dimension of food choice research and broaden the understanding of older consumers within this context. The need for such a study is borne out of the political impetus on food choice research, with the older age segment being particularly important due to: increasing numbers of older people; their vulnerability in terms of nutrition; the changes in food shopping that they have experienced in their lifetime; and their potential for being disadvantaged consumers. The growing numbers of older people present a number of challenges within the food choice discipline. The food retail sector, which is highly competitive, is faced with meeting the needs of a growing market segment which it has previously neglected. There have been efforts by governments to integrate the food retailing sector into the policy for improving the dietary health of the nation. However, these recommendations have been limited and the specific issues for older people in terms of food shopping not fully described. This thesis provides four major findings which provide an original contribution to knowledge. The first is that the characteristics of the older consumer result in a diverse shopping activity. This is reflected in the diversity of their personal circumstances, their preferences and their shopping activity. Secondly, the disadvantage experienced by older consumers is more complex than previously recognised. Thirdly, a comprehensive framework for investigating the shopping dimension of food choice research has been developed, and specifically applied to older consumers. Finally, there is a lack of inter-dependence and integration both between sectors influencing food choice and across the disciplines investigating it, and this must be addressed. There are several implications of these findings. First, academic research in the field of food choice should seek to undertake more multidisciplinary research and the conceptual model provides a framework from which to develop future studies. Secondly, specific recommendations can be made for retailers, both at a store level and concerning their contribution to the wider shopping environment. Thirdly, the findings are a catalyst for debate on the extent to which policy-makers should seek to integrate members of a multidisciplinary team in more detailed planning of recommendations.
The Connecting School: A Qualitative Evaluation of Intranet Development and the Role of the School Librarian in Scottish Secondary Schools.
(Queen Margaret University, 2004) Cater, M.
This study investigates the development of intranets in Scottish secondary schools and within that development the role of the school librarian. There is little written on the development of intranets in schools. There has been a lack of recent research on the role of the school librarian in the UK, and in particular there have been no studies investigating their involvement in ICT. This research adopted an interactionist approach which has been used in studying the social impact of computing (see Hiltz 1992). A grounded methodology has produced original substantive theory. Methods include a questionnaire to Scottish education authorities and semi-structured interviews with key individuals at authority level and in fifteen Scottish secondary schools. Schools which have successfully developed their own intranets were found to have a supportive culture which enabled key individuals to work on the intranet and develop content relevant to the internal curricular needs and ethos of the school. Examples of materials on the intranet was important in encouraging further content through a snowball effect. The key individuals were defined as activators (people with the technical skills to create content), mediators (people willing to encourage, provide ideas and examples) and to a lesser extent gatherers (who collected content from school staff). A predictive model for intranet development has been produced based on these findings. There appears to be flexibility within the role of the school librarian for individuals to take on a variety of roles. This research on intranet development found that the librarians who qualified within the last five years focussed on the intranet as a way of developing and promoting their role. Their involvement with the intranet has put school librarians in the role of intranet builder, intranet manager and content creators. Most significantly they have operated as activators and mediators in intranet development. Some librarians have broadened into network administration roles. This is increasing the difference between recently qualified librarians and longer serving school librarians. However it was found that the more recent graduates involvement with these more technical roles is not distancing them from their traditional areas of work. There is evidence that through these new roles, close curriculum cooperation has been achieved.
Networking between small tourism businesses and its contribution to destination development.
(Queen Margaret University, 2004) Tinsley, Ross
This thesis aims to further understanding of networks in tourism. Specifically, it focuses on networking between small tourism businesses and its contributions to destination development. These networks are understood in terms of social, communication and exchange relations. The research is located within the context of contemporary debates regarding small businesses and networking. Within tourism, it can be located in wider research regarding destination development and community tourism. The literature review examines early sociological studies on networks, providing a background to small business literature on networks. Early research tends to be quantitative-driven whilst later research stresses the need for a greater cultural understanding of network phenomena. Within tourism development, there is a move away from rigid models based on physical expansion to ones which stress the socially constructed nature of tourism destination evolution. This is complimentary to the 'organic' nature of networks. Field research was undertaken using a methodology called interpretative anthropology. Data was collected in two destinations with differing levels of tourism infrastructure development. One was in Scotland and the other was in India, resulting in in-depth interviews with a total of 34 respondents. Participant observation was additionally used in the Indian context. Collective templates were developed from the data and presented in two main areas. The first provided a social background to the business community and the second illustrated business networking as an integrated part of wider social norms. These were then discussed in relation to social, communication and exchange networks and their contributions to destination development. Practical implications of the findings are identified in relation to business growth and tourism destination development. A key outcome is that less developed tourism infrastructure results in greater reliance on networking between businesses, whilst more developed infrastructure reduces direct business contribution. The former results in a more directly significant contribution to tourism destination development than in the latter. The key is to achieve equilibrium between horizontal and vertical network support, rather than a transition from informal to formal. A further significant outcome is the influence of destination size and social network density. This impacts on the nature and effectiveness of the tourism businesses' contribution to destination development. Destination size and social network density are also significant success factors when viewed from an internal destination perspective i.e. sub-communities and/or tourism sectors. These are identified as crucial to understanding and supporting tourism business communities. The community embeddedness of networks means smaller business communities have much greater control and regulation of their own members, and their contribution to tourism destination development. This is achieved through stronger social norms. Support agencies need to be aware of this when assisting business communities, with advice tailored accordingly.
Environmental management practices in the independent accommodation sector: a motivational perspective
(Queen Margaret University, 2005) Tzschentke-Hamilton, N. A.
This thesis seeks to develop an understanding of hospitality businesses and their relationship with the environment, thereby developing the subject discipline by addressing an under-researched area. Specifically, it seeks to provide an empirically based understanding of the rationale and process behind the decision to adopt environmental management practices, with a view to encourage their wider adoption in the industry through the successful promotion of environmental initiatives. Accordingly, the study addresses three main dimensions: the process of decision-making and the decisional factors leading to the decision; the rationale behind it; and the outcome of the decision. To suit the explorative nature of the investigation the research adopts an interpretivist, qualitative approach using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a sample of purposively selected owner-managers of serviced accommodation establishments in Scotland. Participating businesses were all members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme, an environmental accreditation scheme for tourism businesses. The data is analysed following Crabtree and Miller's (1992) template approach to coding in the first stage of analysis, and a cognitive mapping approach based on Kelly's Personal Construct Theory (1955) in the secondary stage of analysis. The analytical software used for the development and analysis of cognitive maps is Decision Explorer. The trustworthiness of the study is ensured by addressing the four criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The study found that the decision to adopt environmental management practices reflected a lifestyle choice, was driven by personal values and beliefs and influenced by a wealth of personal, socio-cultural and situational factors. Four distinct motivational groups were identified based on the emerging rationale for action: Profit-motivated Greens (financially driven), Practival Greens (both financially and ethically driven), Ethical Greens (ethically driven) and Holistic Greens (also ethically driven but to a greater extent). Variations in personal environment ethic, personal construct of environmental practices and the type of value attributed to action further distinguished respondents in the four typologies. Attitudinal, operational and financial factors were found to act as constraints to further action. A range of intrinsic benefits (personal satisfaction and peace of mind) as well as extrinsic benefits (financial, operational and marketing) were acknowledged following adoption of environmental practices and participation in the scheme. It is concluded that whilst promotion strategies should continue to promote the financial benefits of environmental involvement, equal consideration should be given to appealing to the moral conscience of individual business owners. Efforts should also seek to educate operators on action strategies and on the value of their contribution. A need for improved support and infrastructure is identified. Finally, in order to attract participation, environmental accreditation schemes such as the Green Tourism Business Scheme, which provides the context for this study, must prove commercially beneficial to businesses. This, it is argued, can only be achieved through improved promotion, and consequently, widespread consumer recognition. Recommendations are provided as a basis for action in this direction.
Stakeholders: a source of competitive advantage? An analysis of the influence of stakeholders on the strategies of independent, rural, Scottish museums during their organisational life cycle.
(Queen Margaret University, 2008) Halcro, K.
Data indicates that Scottish museum attendance is rising annually, yet anecdotal comments appear to contradict this evidence. Explanations for this dichotomy are inevitably complex and varied, but variations in organisational performance have been explained by the Resource-Based View, which argues an organisation's competitive advantage stems from its ability to access and use resources. This perspective is examined through the concept of stakeholder theory. This thesis investigates the influence stakeholders have on independent, rural Scottish museums during the organisational life cycle, and whether this is a source of competitive advantage. The research involved an exploratory survey to scope the characteristics and environment in which Scotland's museums were operating, but also a typology for further research. The outcome was to adopt a phenomenological approach to investigate fourteen independent, rural, museums strategies during the organisational life cycle, drawing on stakeholder models proposed by Mitchell, Agle & Wood (1997) and Jawahar & McLaughlin (2001). This process involved interviewing 141 stakeholders to discuss their experiences in shaping these museums' strategies. Using narrative analysis, it emerged that these museums' strategies were influenced by different stakeholders during the organisational life cycle and this is reflected in a model developed from these findings. Growth museums were characterised by either an entrepreneurial leader or a board of trustees working in collaboration with key paid staff to access resources, particularly funding. By contrast, mature stage museums were dominated by a definitive stakeholder centred on a group of trustees who also occupied other stakeholder groups, notably volunteers and the community. This definitive stakeholder provided these museums with many of their resources, which proved to be an organisational strength, but also a weakness. The museum in decline and which ceased trading during this study, closed as a result of losing the definitive stakeholder's confidence and withdrawing funding. It was evident that stakeholders did influence museum strategy, but the definitive stakeholder explained a museum's competitive advantage
An investigation into the host's relationship with the commercial home
(Queen Margaret University, 2008-05) Sweeney, Majella
The research presented in this thesis is an investigation of the views of commercial home owners within Scotland. The thesis is designed to deepen understanding of the commercial home sector, and more specifically, the relationship the host has with the commercial home. The host's relationship with their commercial home contributes to the provision of commercial hospitality within a home setting. The review of the literature points to a number of conceptual gaps in our understanding, notably that there has been no study directly focusing upon the host perspective of the commercial home and how this relationship with the home might potentially impinge upon the guest experience. The specific aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the host and their commercial home and its influences on product construction. As the hospitality product is more of a total sensory experience than has perhaps been acknowledged to date, it is appropriate to seek to understand the host perspective. Prior studies have very largely focused on readily accessible 'objective' issues, rather than below the surface issues accessing the inner self, the intangible dimensions of self, which may determine aspects of the hospitality product. The field research involved the researcher taking photographs of the commercial home properties and then using the photographs as prompts to interview the hosts and explore intangible elements such as memories, emotions and senses. A conceptual framework was developed from the data, identifying the main components of the host home relationship, and was revised as each commercial home was analysed. The framework is divided into three sections; Home, Host, and Business. In relation to the Home section themes that emerged include, Meanings of Home, Décor, and Artefacts. In relation to the Host section, themes include Family and Lifestyle. With regards to the Business section, themes include Feelings, Space, Guests, Performance, Target Market, Tourist Board and Competitors.
An Investigation into Information and Communication Technologies-Based Applications for Sustainable Tourism Development of Destinations
(Queen Margaret University, 2009) Ali, Alisha
Sustainable tourism is a heavily researched concept but in reality there has been limited implementation of the principles and practices of sustainable tourism for destinations. Adopting a destination focused perspective, this thesis presents research which expounded Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a practical, new and innovative approach to sustainable tourism development i.e. computer-supported sustainability. A literature review revealed that there was no specific study focusing on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism development despite the mention and benefits of doing so. However it did identify that several opportunities existed in destination management for using ICT as well as a collection of ICT-based tools/applications which can be used for managing different aspects of sustainable tourism. Therefore an investigative analysis was necessary in building a solid body of work on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism as a practical approach for destination managers. These findings formed the input for the primary research which was conducted in two phases: surveys administered to destination managers and eTourism experts followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in this domain identified from the surveys. The primary research alongside the literature findings led to the development of a descriptive framework which identified, categorised and described the uses of these ICT-based tools/applications for managing tourism's impacts. Assessment procedures based on the sustainability goals of the destination were then developed in order assist destination managers selecting the ICT-based tools/applications that were best suited for managing the sustainable tourism development of their destinations. The conclusion of this research clearly identifies that destination managers' sophisticated application of ICT to sustainable tourism is the next logical and practical step they can take in making sustainable tourism a workable reality for their destinations. This research is the building block for prospective research in the ICT-sustainable tourism domain. Future research avenues would be to use the results presented to determine the suitability, applicability and feasibility of the ICT-based tools/applications presented for destination managers. This existing research can be used to develop a more co-ordinated approach to theory development and engage in more empirical research to address tourism challenges with regards to using ICT for sustainable tourism development.
The development of an assessment framework for Etourism capability in Scotland
(Queen Margaret University, 2009) Reino, Sofia Pardinas
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are claimed to provide businesses with a competitive advantage, to the extent of reshaping entire industries. In tourism, an information-intensive activity and the impact of ICT has been extensively documented at the industry, destination and business level. eTourism Capability refers here to the contribution of ICT to tourism business performance. Therefore, the work is based within the Tourism domain. However, its methods are mainly emerging from the adapted combination of previous research in business and eBusiness. Previous work has urged for the development of wide-angle studies, assessing the eTourism Capability of a destination. However, existing research addressing this issue, tends to place the focus on only one specific aspect of technology adoption, it is not sector specific and/or does not take into consideration the different levels of contribution to performance made by systems. In order to develop an eTourism Capability Assessment Framework for Scotland, and to provide the baseline for its strategic benchmarking with other tourism destinations, the work included an extensive literature review of Tourism and eTourism, developed of a conceptual framework. This supported the selection of key tourism industry stakeholders, i.e. the accommodation sector within the established context. An electronic questionnaire enabled the data collection. Through a mix of statistical techniques, the data treatment provided answers to the research questions, which related to the most suitable approach for ICT indexing in the accommodation sector, the level of contribution to performance by the different ICT elements, patterns describing the impact of business characteristics on ICT uptake, and the predictive models for this uptake. The results suggested the suitability of IT-based indexes for assessing the ICT uptake of this sector. Additionally, the results suggested important differences in the contribution that each system makes to business performance. This even varies across systems supporting similar business functions. Furthermore, the results emphasised the influence of the individual ICT on their own adoption, and suggested several dimensions to describe systems, which underlie the association between business characteristics and ICT adoption by the accommodation sector. These are compatibility observability, physical accessibility, verticality of systems and whether these support standardisation of processes across branches. Since the influence of business characteristics on ICT uptake seem to be system-specific, the predictive models are developed for each individual system. Finally, recommendations for further research have also been made.
Internal barriers to small business development: a study of independent retailers from the Edinburgh South Asian community
(Queen Margaret University, 2009) Welsh, Rita
This thesis presents a conceptual model of the nature/interaction of internal factors shaping individual ethnic minority micro-enterprise owners' response to external threats in the business environment aimed to assist business support agencies developing/targeting appropriate help/support to enhance business development. Focus of the empirical research is Edinburgh Pakistani community owned convenience stores, as the failure to survive will adversely affect this community disproportionately reliant on the c-store sector and provision of related local social and economic benefits. The intangible influences on business approaches (education, experience, access to finance/business advice, personal values, goals, motivation, role models and cultural background) demands a qualitative, postmodern constructivist methodology, utilising social science adaptive grounded theory methods for sample selection, data collection/management, and theory generation. The initial conceptual model emerging from constant comparison analysis of qualitative interviews with a theoretical sample of 21 Edinburgh Pakistani c-store owners indicates key internal factors as start-up motivation, cultural influences and changing aspirations, awareness and acknowledgement of these influences on predominantly reactive responses to trading challenges varying widely. Comparison with wider ethnic minority/micro-enterprise research develops a conceptual model of the interacting internal barriers to minority community micro-enterprise development. Within any minority community and/or micro-business sector the owner's response to changing business environments is shaped by three factors: motivation for self-employment and changing sojourner mentality; cultural influences and depth of social embeddedness; and generational aspirations and degree of economic embeddedness in the mainstream community. By taking the complex, multi-layered, individual, dynamic nature of these factors into account when developing and marketing business advice, support agencies can design and deliver products and services relevant to specific needs and resource availability. Raising owners' awareness of the factors influencing business decisions will increase the potential for micro-enterprises to react proactively to external threats, with related benefits to individual owners, minority populations and the local community.
Local assessment of needs for consumer information and advice services in Great Britain: the development of a scientific conceptual model of assessment.
(Queen Margaret University, 2010) Wang, Fang
UK consumers are facing a high level of detriment. Much of the detriment can be avoided or reduced by making consumers informed and well equipped with suitable levels of knowledge and skills thus become empowered. As one important element to consumer empowerment, there is a strong case that consumers need suitable consumer information and advice services (CIAS). In an attempt to improve the local CIAS provision in Great Britain, the Consumer Support Network (CSN) initiative was launched in 1999 to join up the existing local CIAS providers. A local CIAS needs assessment was required for each CSN to achieve full establishment status (Brennan and Galloway 2002). It was discovered during the period that there was a lack of a scientific local CIAS needs assessment model available for local agencies to employ. This triggered this research project which is aimed to fill this gap. Due to the fact that Northern Ireland was not included in the CSN initiative, it was decided that this research targeted Great Britain, namely England, Scotland and Wales, although the literature would be drawn from the UK to inform the research. In the UK, the majority of CIAS is publicly funded and provided by public and voluntary sectors. Due to the funding nature of local CIAS provision, the needs for CIAS can be defined as needs for public services in this research. A review of the existing literature provided detailed background on the UK consumer landscape and the consumer empowerment agenda. Two broader categories of issues surrounding the concept of needs for public services and needs assessment were also identified: the theoretical debate on needs for public services and needs assessment and specific practical issues concerning local CIAS needs and needs assessment. The research is focused on the latter, since the purpose of a local CIAS needs assessment is to provide practical guidance to assist local agencies to design and improve their services. This research aims to investigate and develop a scientific conceptual local CIAS needs assessment model. This aim was achieved by identifying the relevant practical issues surrounding local CIAS needs and needs assessment involving two research populations: the CIAS professionals, who are responsible for the delivery of local CIAS, and the general public, who are the recipients of CIAS. Due to the characteristics of these two research populations, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was chosen in this research. The CSN coordinators were chosen to represent the CIAS professionals in the first phase qualitative research. The transcriptions of 18 semi structured in-depth interviews were collected and analysed to generate the initial assessment model. The important part of the initial model, the needs for CIAS and its components, was tested and then modified in the second phase quantitative research based on the analysis of the data collected from 585 on-street questionnaire surveys of the general public in Great Britain which was chosen as the research population in the second phase. A purposive sampling was employed to ensure a good level of representativeness considering the resource constrains to this research. The employment of combined research methods ensures the assessment model is scientific by comparing and contrasting data from both local CIAS professionals and the recipients of local CIAS. The scientific attribute of the assessment model is also assured by employing scientific qualitative and quantitative data collecting and analysing techniques and procedures. The results of the two phases enabled this research to produce a scientific conceptual assessment model. The main product of this thesis, the new local CIAS needs assessment model, is evidence based, tailor-made, and ready to be employed by local CIAS agencies. This model consists of two sections, left and right: the needs assessment process and the practical issues of local CIAS needs. The left section includes the main stages of a local CIAS needs assessment and highlights the key issues associated with each stage. The right section illustrates the key components of CIAS needs and factors influencing CIAS needs: consumer knowledge and shopping patterns and their key components. The two effective means of local consumer segmentation, consumer disadvantage and consumer age, are also identified and illustrated in the section. The scientific CIAS assessment model could assist the professionals to gather evidence on local CIAS needs more effectively and systematically. The evidence could be used to improve the existing CIAS provision and design new CIAS to target any unmet needs identified. The evidence gathered, together with the relevant findings of this research, could also strengthen the case of local CIAS provision and better coordination with national CIAS provision such as Consumer Direct. The model could also benefit the professionals, policy makers and academia by comprehensively illustrating the components of CIAS need, the key relating factors and effective means for local consumer segmentation. The outcomes of the research also shed a light on the gaps in the literature thus identifies the possible areas of future research.
Developing an effectiveness evaluation framework for destination management systems
(Queen Margaret University, 2010) Horan, Patrick
The ever-increasing use of the Web as a channel of distribution within the tourism industry naturally leads to a situation where its effectiveness needs to be examined and justified. While there is a growing realisation of the need to assess the effectiveness of a Destination Management Systems (DMS) based websites, research into this area in the tourism domain has been quite limited and narrow in focus. This situation is further compounded by the fact that currently there is little in the way of appropriate models and techniques in place to manage a DMS based websites effectively and that there is a general lack of consensus when it comes to defining and understanding its standards and concepts. This thesis describes a methodology for the development and evaluation of a comprehensive set of weighted dimensions and criteria for measuring the effectiveness of DMS based websites. Ultimately, from a DMS perspective, website effectiveness depends on how well a website performs with respect to the related business goals. The scope of the research was limited to assessing the impact of DMS effectiveness on the accommodation sector. This research began by employing a Delphi study to generate, validate and prioritise a comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for measuring the effectiveness of a DMS. The Delphi study successfully identified a total of 12 dimensions and 105 criteria required to assess DMS based websites effectiveness. These components were incorporated into a comprehensive evaluation framework applied specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of a DMS based websites using a diverse range of approaches and perspectives. The evaluation phase of the research took place over an eight month period and concentrated on testing this framework using VisitScotland.com as a test bed. The outcomes from the evaluation phase successfully demonstrated that the framework provides DMS management with a comprehensive method to measure and manage the effectiveness of their Web presence by not only identifying areas of the website and website strategy that needed attention but also by providing advice and suggestions on how to improve these areas.
Narratives of working within a complex organisation: Ethnographic study of cultural competence
(Queen Margaret University, 2011) Lindner, Susan Helga
The aim of this research was to shed light on the multiple social realities within an organisation and provide perspectives on how individuals made sense of the social world, which enabled them to participate in these social realities. As Smircich (1983) explained, culture is something that an organisation is, rather than has. As such, the literature considered ways of assisting individuals to survive and thrive within complex social realities and the personal costs associated with participating in them. The literature was used to demonstrate how my view changed from understanding organisations as beings to considering them as subjective cultures. I based this research on an interpretative phenomenology. My views were influenced by my desire to explore and interpret the experiences of individuals, who were the organisation's directors. Ethnography enabled me to take into account the knowledge shown in everyday social interactions in the workplace. Multiple perspectives and influences, which shaped this social world, were illuminated by bringing to the surface individual experiences and perceptions. These were achieved by gathering responses to a questionnaire; transcripts of interviews with the eleven directors; four pilot interviews with employees, who were not directors; pre and post interview sheets; and my reflective diary. The diary provided a transparent account of the research process and included an acknowledgment of any potential bias. This research relied heavily on the views expressed by the eleven directors in their interviews and my own views. Consequently, I wrote this thesis in the first person whenever possible. I chose a theatrical method, aligned to the work of Goffman (1959), to present this research; using acts and scenes to represent the main formal and informal cultural clues, which emerged. I presented Burke's dramatism model (1945, 1969) of human behaviour as a means of understanding the cultural clues, which were revealed. The findings contribute to an understanding of organisational life and are relevant for those, who want to understand the dynamics of human groups, which, ultimately, may lead to improving our lives in this world. By acknowledging the existence of the cultural scenario and by revealing the characteristics of those, who blunder and those, who exploit, this research demonstrates that individuals have to be encouraged to see the cognitive and visible aspects of the culture, which exist within the structures and processes, the roles and the knowledge and communication, which exist within organisations. We can comprehend this world from many viewpoints if we only take the time to look.
Mothers' experience of sustainable fashion consumption: an existential phenomenological exploration within Edinburgh
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh., 2012) Ritch, Elaine L.
The research described in this thesis is an interpretative approach to exploring fashion consumption behaviour through applying a sustainability lens, underpinned by tenets of value. The research adopts existential phenomenology to explores the lived experience of mothers who work in a professional occupation, whereby lifeworlds which encourage intentions to adopt sustainability are juxtaposed within a myriad of lifeworld restrictions. The theoretical underpinning of the research assumes that consumers seek value in their consumption, whereby underlying tensions result in value trade--�]offs. As the research focus is to determine perceptions of fashion with the inclusion of sustainability, the participants evaluate a number of value types such as aesthetics versus ethics, price, quality, accessibility, altruism and guilt. The research identifies that situational values are focal; the immediacy of those consumer values contradict their detachment to production implications. Due to the dearth of information that can be meaningfully evaluated, the participants attempted to incorporate heuristic propensities to avoid fashion consumption which misaligned with their moral sentiment. Transferring sustainable principles from other consumption contexts to fashion resulted in uncertainty as to why sustainability was compromised and illustrated a reduced consciousness of what constitutes fashion production, including debating the implications of production on both the environment and for garment--�]workers. This dissimilarity contrasts with empowerment to adopt sustainability in other contexts situations, where value was maximised in networks sharing children�fs clothing, reusing plastic bags and recycling behaviours. Conclusions include that consumers can expedite fashion sustainability with meaningful guidance, supporting facilities and assurance of the positive consequences of sustainable behaviours.
The latin american entrepreneur in the United Kingdom: an exploration of the factors driving the formation of the migrant enclave economy and its influence on the community
(Queen Margaret University, 2013) Silva, Mauricio
This thesis is an exploratory study into the decision-making process of Latin American migrants in the United Kingdom identifying common trends in the factors that drive the formation of migrant enclave economies, including the decisions to migrate, start a business and strategies to resource it from within the network. For the past fifteen years Latin American migration to the UK has steadily grown in numbers and unlike their predecessors who came to the UK as political refugees, these individuals are mostly economic migrants attracted by the low levels of unemployment and earnings which they can remit to their families in their countries of origin. This community like many other new migrant groups in the UK remains largely under-researched and 'invisible' therefore vulnerable to exclusion, discrimination and exploitation. Using a qualitative methodological approach including 20 in-depth interviews and 113 completed surveys, this research found evidence in the Latin American migrants of a process of arrival and settlement in which there is a dependency on informal networks through migration, business formation, and access to economic and financial resources. The research found that Latin American migrants followed a 'herding' attitude in terms of their dependency on the networks for information, resources and decision-making in general. This reduced the risks involved in migration and the difficulties finding sources of income. Outside of the network's span of control Latin American migrants were found to have perceptions of discrimination given the economic opportunities available to them mostly in low-wage, manual service jobs. Their common assumption is that this is due to local indifference towards their overseas references and accreditations, their limited English skills or heavily accented pronunciation, or in a few cases prejudices towards foreigners. While the network played a central role in providing information and resources for the decisions, the herding effect caused by perceptions of barriers to opportunities both at their home country and destination were found to be the key driver for migrating, starting a business, and finding the necessary resources. The findings of this research are limited by the 'invisibility' of the Latin American community in the UK: the representativeness of the sample is unknown given there are no records or data on the overall number of Latin American merchants in the UK. Also, since the migration and legal status of these individuals and their ventures is also unknown, it is difficult to validate the information provided by the subjects interviewed and surveyed. The key conclusion for policy makers from these limited findings is that immigration into the UK from Latin America appears to be a process driven by group decisions and shaped by the information and resources of transnational informal networks. To influence it, they must first engage the community in the UK and manage the expectations of potential migrants by taking a more active role in the transfer of information through informal networks.
The role of information and communications technology in supporting sustainable tourism: in-trip tourists perspectives
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2013) Scott, Mareba M.
The aim of this research was to examine the factors influencing in-trip tourists' adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) tools/applications which support sustainable tourism. While ICT is a source of competitive advantage for businesses, there is limited research on how ICT can be used to support sustainable tourism development. At the same time, there has been greater consumer awareness about sustainable tourism but a challenge in translating this knowledge into action. This thesis therefore sought to explore and integrate these complementary elements. The study adopted a sequential mixed methods approach. Phase 1 employed an e-survey among sixty-six (66) eTourism experts, while Phase 2 of the study involved thirty (30) semi-structured face-to-face interviews with leisure tourists in the city of Edinburgh. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse Phase 1 and thematic analysis for Phase 2. The findings from the survey demonstrated that location based services were identified amongst the main ICT applications to support sustainable tourism. Geo-caching, ambient intelligence and context aware applications were among the new or emerging applications that eTourism experts felt were likely to change the way tourists experience a destination in the future. The interviews demonstrated that social connectedness motivated the use of in-trip ICT with social media being the primary platform. Mobile value elements, personal innovativeness and perceived enjoyment were postulated as influencing use behaviour. The results also illustrated the need for destinations to mix new media with some traditional strategies based on the destination's info-structure, tourists' source markets, tourists' profiles and sources of in-trip information. This thesis has made an original contribution to knowledge by examining the actual use of in-trip ICTs by tourists in relation to sustainable tourism. Future research needs to explore and measure how perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness and mobile value elements influence technology use behaviour.
Knowledge sharing under the influence of family: A Study of Small Knowledge-Intensive Family Firms in Scotland Volume One
(Queen Margaret University, 2013) Cunningham, James
The integration of the family and business worlds provides family firms with competitively unique capabilities. However, elements of entrenchment, strategic conservatism, and social pluralism, have become evident in many family-based organisations. The importance of balance in the cultural aspects of family business is therefore critical in achieving sustainable performance, of particular note being the role of organisational knowledge, facilitated by intra-organisational knowledge-sharing. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of path-goal leadership styles on intra-organisational knowledge-sharing in small family firms in Scotland. This work is rooted in the relativist research paradigm and results in a cultural picture of internal knowledge management practices, considering themes or patterns of leadership influence. A triangulation mixed-methods design is used, a type of design in which different but complementary data are collected. In this study, survey quantitative instruments (n = 109) test relationships between the behavioural variables of leadership style, familial influence, knowledge-sharing, and the performance variable of organisational efficacy. Concurrent with this analysis, qualitative interview data (n = 26) explore the phenomenon of social pluralism and multiple stakeholder perspectives existing within small family firms. Collecting both quantitative and qualitative data provides the opportunity for comparison to corroborate, contrast, or complement results. It is acknowledged that one form of data alone would be insufficient to achieve this. The findings of the work posit that leadership in small family firms is particularly sensitive to the perspectives and nature of individual organisational members; due to the diverse nature of family firm members this implies that great consideration is required on the part of leadership if performance enhancing knowledge-sharing is to be achieved. The main contribution of this work comes in the structured introduction of leadership and organisational knowledge theories to the realm of small family businesses. Moreover, analytical application of social power theories produces a relatively unique view on the internal culture of these relationally distinctive organisations.
The Development of an Evaluation Framework for Determining the Productivity and Effectiveness of Internet Room Diagramming Solutions
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2014) Lin, Kuan-wen
Internet Room Diagramming Solutions (RDS) has been regarded as not only one of the most innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) marketing media for raising the profiles of hotel and convention centre properties, but also as a practical tool to try out and to communicate planners' ideas on meeting and event designs. However, there is little research specific to RDS in the hospitality management and the event management research fields. In the first phase of this research, a three-round modified Delphi technique was employed with an expert panel to generate, validate and prioritise a comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for measuring the productivity and effectiveness of a leading RDS in the marketplace, and a hierarchical structure of these dimensions and criteria is presented. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used in the third round to generate relative priorities and to give weightings of these dimensions and criteria. In the phase two of this research, an AHP survey was conducted with the venue operators in the U.S. chain hotel systems for revalidation of the priorities and weightings of the dimensions/criteria which had been previously identified by the Delphi Panel experts. The client base of the leading RDS provider, MeetingMatrix, was used to conduct this survey. Forty-eight effective responses from the survey results have successfully revalidated some of the relative priorities in comparison with the Delphi results. Consistency exists in the priorities of criteria in Impact on Business Partner Relationships, Impact on Customer Satisfaction and Organisational Context. The criteria identified in this research could be adopted in order to conduct further research concerning performance measurements such as the ICT Balanced Scorecard for strategic management. The research methodology and approaches used could also be applied to performance measurements for general innovative ICT applications such as social media.
The collaborative relationship between transport and tourism in Scottish islands: from policy to practice
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2014) Currie, Christine
Despite a ubiquitous interest, the concept of collaboration remains elusive. Regardless, the pervasiveness of discourse pertaining to it continues to infiltrate policy as public sector reform advocates for behaviour and practice driven by an ethos of “joining-up”. The interdependency of the transport-tourism relationship provides an opportunity to consider collaboration in a context where the benefits of integration can be substantial. Within island domains the reliance of tourism economies on efficient transport systems is intensified. Consequently this research presents an analysis of the scope, role and nature of collaboration between industries whose sustainability is to a large extent symbiotic and critical to local prosperity. A review of the literature demonstrates a lack of focus on research pertaining to a stakeholder perspective of the transport-tourism relationship. Within the island environment, studies on this scenario of cross-industry engagement further diminish although the argument expressing the significance of transport in tourism is vociferous. Gaps were also identified in the conceptualisation of collaboration inhibiting a universal definition and thus a comprehensive understanding. The primary research adopted a qualitative approach. Data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews from stakeholders across transport and tourism who fulfilled pre-considered criteria. The key findings identify constraints to collaboration in the form of structural disparity while divergent industry objectives further impede practical integration. Despite this, the role of “islandness” neutralises barriers to engagement. The propensity to cultivate social capital within these boundaried geographies provides an environment naturally conducive to the creation of collaborative capacity. Consensual development of shared goals between collaborating parties manifested as intrinsic for the purpose of buy-in and commitment throughout the collaborative process. Similarly, an absence of leadership in practice resulted in highlighting the fundamental role it delivers within collaboration. The empirical findings provide both practical and theoretical contribution. Further they present policy-makers with evidence-informed suggestions to address impediments which prevent the practice of collaboration.
National culinary capital how the state and tv shape the 'taste of the nation' to create distinction
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2014) Buscemi, Francesco
This interdisciplinary thesis breaks new ground in the fields of food and media studies, in the specific areas of culinary capital and food TV. On food studies, this thesis theorises that the state plays the role of meta-tastemaker, legitimising some foods as a source of social distinction in order to support national ideologies and beliefs. The social prestige that citizens accumulate thanks to these foods is what this thesis defines as national culinary capital. On media studies, this thesis analyses how national culinary capital is represented on television, and how the media and the nation negotiate it. Only by merging the two disciplines has this thesis been able to catch the sense of the complex power relationships between the nation and the media. Through the analysis of two national TV food travelogues, the Italian Ti Ci Porto Io and the British Jamie's Great Britain, this work draws on Bourdieu's concepts of statist and cultural capital, and on Naccarato and LeBesco's theorisation of culinary capital. Cultural studies views of national culture and television, and theories on nation-building contribute to the theoretical framework. Methodologically, this study applies political economy and Bourdieu's field analysis to Italian and British TV and food TV, and to the broadcasters and production companies of the shows. In addition, moving image and semiotic analysis of the travelogues clarify how the two shows represent national culinary capital. An interview with the Italian producer, and a failed interview with the British one shed further light on the national ideologies represented by the shows and linked to food. The results show how, in the two countries, national culinary capital supports different ideologies with similar aims. Moreover, while in Italy the state exerts its power over the media in a stronger way, in Britain the media prove to be powerful enough to shape an independent form of national culinary capital, embodied by the media invention of the celebrity chef.
An investigation into destination management systems website evaluation theory and practice
(Queen Margaret University,Edinburgh, 2015) Sourak, Nesrin
The main aim of this thesis is an investigation into Destination Management Systems (DMS) website effectiveness and evaluation in the tourism domain from both academic and industry (destination management) perspectives. This thesis begins with a comprehensive review of the literature about theories, concepts and methods used for DMS website effectiveness evaluation. The future direction of DMS website evaluation in tourism and a conceptual framework that defines the contemporary theory versus practice of the DMS websites evaluation is elaborated. The research employed first three rounds of Delphi study to generate an up-to-date definition and aims of DMS. The Delphi study also generated an up-to-date comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of DMS websites. The research then employed structured interviews as well as online survey sent to forty-six official destination websites to review how industry is evaluating their DMS websites. What approaches they use in addition to the criteria and dimensions when evaluating the effectiveness of their DMS websites is explored. This thesis also reviews additional aspects related to the in destination evaluation. The findings of the Delphi study indicated that there is a rising emergence of social media as a new important component related to DMS. The findings also suggested additional aims to previously identified aims of the DMS. The new additional aims of DMS found in this research are: support sustainable destination management; empower and support tourism firms; enable collaboration at the destination; increase consumer satisfaction level and capture consumer data. Further findings also indicated compared with these established by previous researchers there are new additions to the evaluation dimensions of DMS websites proposed which are: sustainability, marketing, collaboration issues, and goals of the website. The findings of this thesis indicated that there is a congruence and consensus between academic experts and industry in terms of the most dimensions that are crucial for DMS websites evaluation. The findings, however, indicated that there is limited parallel between criteria identified with the Delphi study and those found and used by destination management practitioners. This thesis calls for additional research to develop a support system to ensure a focused involvement between academia and industry in the area of DMS website evaluation. This thesis contributes to knowledge by generating an up-to-date and comprehensive set of dimensions and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of a DMS website. This thesis also contributes to knowledge through the identification of the current dimensions, criteria, and evaluation approaches used by industry practitioners. This research adopted a strategy in presenting the literature review that enhanced the understanding of the DMS websites and their comprehensive evaluation in tourism. This research is one of the first studies in the tourism field that reviews and sheds light on and compares and contracts contemporary thinking on both academia and industry evaluation of DMS websites.