BUSINESS PERFORMANCE OF SMALL TOURISM ENTERPRISES: A STUDY IN AKÇAKOCA

Abstract

The key role played by small businesses in the economy and society is emphasized by many researchers. Small businesses are well recognized and acknowledged as vital and significant contributors to economic development, employment, innovation, income generation and the general health and welfare of regional, national and international economies. Despite the acknowledged importance of small businesses for the economies of countries and the significant role they play within the tourism industry, there is dearth of research on small tourism businesses and tourism. Small tourism businesses are often less visible than larger ones in urban and resort environments, and have received little attention in these contexts. Although many common characteristics exist between small businesses in general, the milieu and the sector in which they operate should be taken into consideration when analyzing business performance. Measuring business performance in tourism industry has been attracting researchers and practitioners for some time. However, there are few studies on performance measurement in the tourism industry when compared to studies done for other industries. When these studies are examined, it can be seen that most of the studies have neglected to take into account the unique characteristics of tourism industry. The tourism industry comprises a variety of businesses that offer different services for tourists. The term tourism business embraces businesses such as; transportation businesses, accommodation businesses, tour operators, travel agents, tourism promotion and advertisement businesses, businesses engaged in tourism insurance and finance, food and beverage businesses, entertainment businesses, nature parks, zoos, businesses that organize concerts, theatres and shows, gaming businesses, convention and meeting organizing businesses, translation and guiding services, businesses that produce and sell travel goods, etc. When measuring business performance in tourism industry, the unique characteristics of these sectors should be taken into account. Several possible tools offered in the related literature to measure business performance in the tourism industry and it is also indicated that these measures have special features that differentiate them from measures in other sectors and industries. The distinguishing characteristics of the tourism industry, such as intangibility, perishability, interdependence, service quality, heterogeneity, inseparability of production and consumption, imprecise standards, short distribution channel, reliability and consistency, face to face interaction and information exchange, participation of customer in production process of the product, and fluctuating demand should be reflected in the measurement process. Many authors emphasize that the acknowledged differences between industries require that the characteristics of the industry in which the venture operates be taken into consideration when measuring performance. Furthermore, it is assumed that within service industries, such as tourism, there are particular goals that stem from the conditions and characteristics unique to the industry. For example, some authors recommend the use of non-financial performance measures based on the fact that tourism establishments are labor intensive and customer-oriented. It is also recommended in the related literature that business performance is a complex and multidimensional concept and only one area of business performance such as employee turnover rates or profit margin is not enough to represent the whole picture. Thus, in order to get a comprehensive understanding about the performance, several measures should be utilized. Profitability measures such as return on equity, return on sale, and return on asset, bedroom occupancy rate, annual revenue, break-even point, and guest satisfaction, the number of customers served in a certain time period, average spending by customers, trends in turnover, and expectations in these indicators for the following year, occupancy percentages are some of the primary business performance measures employed in the literature. Along with the above mentioned idiosyncrasies of the industry, there are some industry specific points that oblige a different view in measuring performance. For example, in some studies, performance measures were related to considerations such as generating jobs for family members, achieving lifestyle goals, improving and enriching social life as well as generating personal income and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, because the product offered in the tourism industry is an intangible experience, using subjective performance measures along with objective indicators becomes important. In this context, it is emphasized that using both types of measures would enable managers to receive information on factors that cannot be measured objectively, such as customer satisfaction as well as emotional and other holistic aspects, which contribute to service quality and to the tourist experience. Another issue to consider when analyzing the business performance of STBs is that the location of STBs, rural or urban setting, may have an effect on business performance. It is known that, many STBs, particularly those in the food and beverage sector, travel agents and, to some extent visitors’ attraction/activities, are more likely to rely on local markets as has also been identified elsewhere. Thus, the type of location should also be taken into consideration when analyzing business performance. In this context, the present study focuses on STBs in an urban setting, namely Akcakoca, Turkey. The major purpose of this study is to derive information about performance measures of small tourism businesses. Taking into consideration the paucity of field study supported researches that investigate the performance of small tourism businesses, this study, designed on the basis of The Goal Theory, intends to contribute to the knowledge pool on aforementioned subject. The study consisted of two main phases. First, a pilot test was conducted to construct a questionnaire. Following the pilot study, the main part of the study took place and the self-administered questionnaire was distributed to STBs. The pilot study began with a review of literature. The relevant literature and survey instruments used in past studies were reviewed to generate a list of performance measures. Taking into account the fact that the entrepreneurs of STBs have distinctive goals, a series of interviews was also included in the pilot phase of the study. The list of performance measures extracted from literature and information derived from the owners or managers of STBs provided the basis for developing the questionnaire. Performances of 87 small tourism businesses were investigated within the scope of the study. The results of the study indicated a nonconformance between objective financial measures and other measures. In this study, a questionnaire form was developed that contains measures which can be used on analyzing the performances of small tourism businesses.

Keywords

• Business performance, Tourism businesses, Small scaled tourism businesses, Akçakoca

KÜÇÜK ÖLÇEKLİ TURİZM İŞLETMELERİNDE İŞLETME PERFORMANSI: AKÇAKOCA’DA BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, küçük ölçekli turizm işletmelerinin peformans ölçütleri hakkında bilgi elde etmektir. Küçük ölçekli turizm işletmelerinin performanslarını inceleyen alan araştırmasına dayalı çalışmaların yetersiz olduğu dikkate alınarak, Amaç Kuramı çerçevesinde tasarlanan bu çalışma söz konusu alandaki bilgi birikimine katkıda bulunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında 87 küçük ölçekli turizm işletmesinin performansları incelenmiştir. Çalışmada küçük ölçekli turizm işletmelerinin işletme performanslarının incelenmesinde kullanılabilecek ölçütleri içeren bir anket formu geliştirilmiştir. Dahası, bu anket içerisinde yer alan ölçütlerin nasıl bir ilişki içerisinde oldukları yapılan alan araştırmasıyla irdelenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar performans ölçütlerinden nesnel finansal ölçütler ile diğer ölçütler arasında uyumsuzluk olduğunu göstermektedir.

Keywords

• İşletme Performansı, Turizm İşletmeleri, Küçük Ölçekli İşletmeler, Akçakoca