Thomas Cook'un İflası: Tüketici Davranışı, Dijital Dönüşüm ve Stratejik Yönetim Perspektifinden Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 185 yıllık bir geçmişe sahip bir şirket olan Thomas Cook'un 2019 iflasını dijital dönüşüm, değişen tüketici davranışları, finansal sürdürülebilirlik, kurumsal yönetim ve kriz yönetimi dahil olmak üzere çok boyutlu dinamikler ışığında inceliyor. Çalışmada, geleneksel turizm işletmelerinin çağın gerekliliklerine uyum sağlamada karşılaştıkları zorluklar bir vaka çalışması yöntemiyle analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmanın yöntemi, Yin'in (2018) açıklayıcı tek vakalı çalışma tasarımına dayanmaktadır. İkincil veri kaynaklarına dayanan analiz sürecinde, Thomas Cook'un iflasına katkıda bulunan faktörler, tanımlayıcı bir analiz tekniği kullanılarak dijitalleşme, deneyim ekonomisi, finansal erken uyarı sistemleri, organizasyonel esneklik ve yönetişim çerçeveleri olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Akademik yayınlar, endüstri raporları, şirket belgeleri ve güvenilir medya içeriği veri setini oluşturdu. Bulgular, Thomas Cook'un dijital dönüşüme yetersiz adaptasyonu, geleneksel bir iş modeli konusundaki ısrarı, değişen tüketici tercihlerine karşı duyarsızlığı, zayıf kriz yönetimi ve etik zayıflıkları nedeniyle örgütsel kırılganlık geliştirdiğini ortaya koyuyor. Ayrıca, üst yönetim bonus sistemlerinin etik ve yönetişim ilkeleriyle çelişmesi, paydaşların güvenini baltalayan önemli bir faktör olarak öne çıkıyor. Çalışma, benzer yapılara sahip turizm işletmeleri için dijital adaptasyon, stratejik planlama, örgütsel esneklik ve etik yönetişim alanlarında politika ve uygulama düzeyinde önleyici stratejiler geliştirme potansiyeline sahiptir.

Keywords

• Thomas Cook
• Dijital Dönüşüm
• Stratejik Yönetim
• Tüketici Davranışı
• Kurumsal Yönetişim

The Bankruptcy of Thomas Cook: An Evaluation from the Perspective of Consumer Behaviour, Digital Transformation and Strategic Management

Abstract

This study examines the 2019 bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, a company with a 185-year history, in the light of multidimensional dynamics, including digital transformation, changing consumer behaviours, financial sustainability, corporate governance, and crisis management. In the study, the difficulties faced by traditional tourism businesses in adapting to the requirements of the age are analysed through a case study method. The study's method is based on Yin's (2018) explanatory single-case study design. In the analysis process based on secondary data sources, the factors contributing to the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook were classified into digitalisation, experience economy, financial early warning systems, organisational flexibility, and governance frameworks, using a descriptive analysis technique. Academic publications, industry reports, company documents, and credible media content formed the dataset. The findings reveal that Thomas Cook has developed organisational vulnerability due to its inadequate adaptation to digital transformation, its insistence on a traditional business model, its insensitivity to changing consumer preferences, poor crisis management, and ethical weaknesses. In addition, the fact that top management bonus systems contradict ethical and governance principles stands out as an essential factor that undermines stakeholder trust. The study has the potential to develop preventive strategies at the policy and practice level in the areas of digital adaptation, strategic planning, organisational resilience and ethical governance for tourism enterprises with similar structures.

Keywords

• Thomas Cook
• Digital Transformation
• Strategic Management
• Consumer Behaviour
• Corporate Governance

References

1. Aguilera, R. V. & Jackson, G. (2003). The cross-national diversity of corporate governance: Dimensions and determinants. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 447-465.
2. Aksoy, C. (2024). Digital transformation of businesses and digital leadership approach. Journal of Quality and Strategy Management, 4(1), 1-29.
3. Altman, E. I. (1968). Financial ratios, discriminant analysis and the prediction of corporate bankruptcy. The Journal of Finance, 23(4), 589-609.
4. Baker, S. R. (2014). Political uncertainty and the demand for money. Carnegie-Rochester-NYU Conference Series on Public Policy, 89, 33-49.
5. Barr, S., Shaw, G., Coles, T. & Prillwitz, J. (2010). 'A holiday is a holiday': Practicing sustainability, home and away. Journal of Transport Geography, 18(3), 474-481.
6. Barker, V. L. & Duhaime, I. M. (1997). Strategic change in the turnaround process: Theory and empirical evidence. Strategic Management Journal, 18(1), 13-38.
7. Bebchuk, L. A. & Fried, J. M. (2004). Pay without performance: The unfulfilled promise of executive compensation. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
8. Becken, S. (2007). Tourists' perception of international air travel's impact on the global climate and potential climate change policies. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(4), 351-368.

9. Bessis, J. (2015). Risk management in banking (Fourth Edition). Cornwall: Wiley.
10. Bloomberg. (2019, Şubat 7). https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-02-07/brexit-and-heatwaves-are-hell-for-thomas-cook-and-tui adresinden 23 Mayıs 2025 tarihinde alınmıştır.
11. Boatright, J. R. (2014). Ethics and the conduct of business (Seventh Edition). Essex: Pearson.
12. Buhalis, D. & Amaranggana, A. (2015). Smart tourism destinations enhancing tourism experience through personalisation of services. İçinde; Tussyadiah, I. and Inversini, A. (Eds.); Information and communication technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 377-389). Switzerland: Springer.
13. Buhalis, D. & Law, R. (2008). Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the internet-The state of etourism research, Tourism Management, 29(4), 609-623.
14. Business, energy and industrial strategy committee. (2019, Ekim). https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/105675/pdf/ adresinden 25 Mayıs 2025 tarihinde alınmıştır.
15. Clarke, T. (2007). International corporate governance: A comparative approach. New York: Routledge.
16. Daily, C. M. & Dalton, D. R. (1994). Bankruptcy and corporate governance: The impact of board composition and structure. Academy of Management Journal, 37(6), 1603-1617.
17. Duchek, S. (2020). Organisational resilience: A capability-based conceptualisation. Business Research, 13(1), 215-246.
18. Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 57-74. Enders, W., Sandler, T. & Parise, G. F. (1992). An econometric analysis of the impact of terrorism on tourism. Kyklos, 45(4), 531-554.
19. Fitchratings. (2019, Eylül 5). https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/fitch-downgrades-thomas-cook-to-c-05-09-2019 adresinden 24 Mayıs 2025 tarihinde alınmıştır.
20. Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Massachusetts: Pitman Publishing.
21. Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2020). Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of Covid-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 29(1), 1-20.
22. Gretzel, U., Sigala, M., Xiang, Z. & Koo, C. (2015). Smart tourism: Foundations and developments. Electronic Markets, 25, 179-188.
23. Hannan, M. T. & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organisational change. American Sociological Review, 49(2), 149-164.
24. Henfridsson, O. & Bygstad, B. (2013). The generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution. MIS Quarterly, 37(3), 907-931.
25. Hopkin, P. (2018). Fundamentals of risk management: Understanding, evaluating and implementing effective risk management, (Fifth Edition). London: Kogan Page.
26. Hotchkiss, E. S., John, K. & Mooradian, R. M. (2008). Bankruptcy and the resolution of financial distress. In; Eckbo E. B., (Ed.), Handbook of Empirical Corporate Finance (Vol. 2, pp. 235-291). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
27. Jensen, M. C. & Murphy, K. J. (1990). Performance pay and top-management incentives. Journal of Political Economy, 98(2), 225-264.
28. Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organisations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366-395.
29. Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.
30. Kaptein, M. (2008). Developing and testing a measure for the ethical culture of organisations: The corporate ethical virtues model. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 29(7), 923-947.
31. Kim, J. H., Ritchie, J. R. B., & McCormick, B. (2012). Development of a scale to measure memorable tourism experiences. Journal of Travel Research, 51(1), 12-25.
32. Law, R., Buhalis, D., & Cobanoglu, C. (2014). Progress on information and communication technologies in hospitality and tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 26(5), 727-750.
33. Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458-468.
34. Morosan, C. & Jeong, M. (2008). Users' perceptions of two types of hotel reservation websites. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27(2), 284-292.
35. Neumayer, E. (2004). The impact of political violence on tourism: Dynamic cross-national estimation. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 48(2), 259-281.
36. OECD. (2016, 16 May). G20/OECD principles of corporate governance: (Turkish version). OECD Publishing, https://www.oecd.org/tr/publications/g20-oecd-principles-of-corporate-governance_9789264257443-tr.html, Access Date: 28/04/2025
37. Ohlson, J. A. (1980). Financial ratios and the probabilistic prediction of bankruptcy. Journal of Accounting Research, 18(1), 109-131.
38. Pearson, C. M. & Clair, J. A. (1998). Reframing crisis management. Academy of Management Review, 23(1), 59-76. Pine, B. J. & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The experience economy: Work is theatre and every business a stage. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
39. Richardson, A. J. (2008). Corporate social responsibility and financial sustainability: A theoretical framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 73(4), 381-394.
40. Ritchie, B. W. (2004). Chaos, crises and disasters: A strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry. Tourism Management, 25(6), 669-683.
41. Rust, R. T., & Huang, M. H. (2014). The service revolution and the transformation of marketing science. Marketing Science, 33(2), 206-221.
42. Seddighi, H. R., Nuttall, M. W. & Theocharous, A. L. (2001). Does cultural background of tourists influence the destination choice? An empirical study with special reference to political instability. Tourism Management, 22(2), 181-191.
43. Scott, D., Gössling, S., & Hall, C. M. (2012). International tourism and climate change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 3(3), 213-232.
44. Slatter, S., Lovett, D. & Barlow, L. (2006). Leading corporate turnaround: How leaders fix troubled companies. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
45. Shleifer, A. & Vishny, R. W. (1997). A survey of corporate governance. The Journal of Finance, 52(2), 737-783. Stryber. (2019, Eylül 24). https://www.stryber.com/insights/why-thomas-cook-failed-the-digital-transformation adresinden 23 Mayıs 2025 tarihinde alınmıştır.
46. Sudarsanam S. P., (1995). The essence of mergers and acquisitions. Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall.
47. Sun, J., Li, H. & Huang, Q.-H. (2014). Predicting financial distress and corporate failure: A review from the state-of-the-art definitions. Modelling, Sampling, and Featuring Approaches, Knowledge-Based Systems, 57, 41-56.
48. Tricker, B. (2015). Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices (Third Edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
49. Tussyadiah, I. P. & Pesonen, J. (2016). Impacts of peer-to-peer accommodation use on travel patterns. Journal of Travel Research, 55(8), 1022-1040.
50. Uriely, N. (2005). The tourist experience: Conceptual developments. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 199-216.
51. Werthner, H. & Klein, S. (1999). Information technology and tourism: A challenging relationship. Vienna: Springer-Verlag.
52. Xiang, Z. & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management, 31(2), 179-188.
53. Xiang, Z., Magnini, V. P., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2015). Information technology and consumer behaviour in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, 244-249.
54. Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (Sixth Edition). California: Sage Publications.