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Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111
7th International Conference on Globalization and Higher Education in Economics and Business
Administration, GEBA 2013
The method of ethnographic and content analysis in determining
development factors of economic and managerial tourism
performance
Gina Ionela Butnarua*
a
“Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Department of Economy and Business Administration, Bulevardul Carol I, Nr.11, Iasi, 700506 , Romania
Abstract
This research work has the purpose to contribute to a greater awareness of economic and managerial performance in tourism. The
research intends to identify the best application practices for the development of economic and managerial performance in
tourism, with the purpose to obtain high economic results by the identification of the factors. The research is focused mainly on
management. However, it also uses concepts derived from the technology of information on management, marketing and finance.
For the method of ethnographic and content analysis in determining development factors of economic and managerial tourism
performance, we took into account reference factors, obtained from the ethnographical content analysis.
©©2015
2014The
TheAuthors.
Authors.Published
Publishedbyby Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Selection and peer-review under responsibility
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza
University of
Peer-review Iasi.responsibility of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi.
under
Keywords: Analysis of ethnographic content (AEC), economic and managerial tourism performance, the factors of the development
1. Research issues and objectives
The research objective is mainly to describe and to explain the development factors of managerial performances
in tourism in the context of globalisation. Consequently, we used a descriptive and explicative research concerning
the concepts identified by a rigorous analysis of the scientific literature in the field. Furthermore, this approach tries
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +4 0 (232) 201453, fax: +40 (232) 201201.
E-mail address: gina.butnaru@uaic.ro
2212-5671 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi.
doi:10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00053-2
Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111 105
to identify the best practices that tourism companies should apply, taking into account some cultural and social
aspects.
In order to reach this objective, we formulated three research questions, as follows:
(A) Which are the factors determining the increase (the development) of managerial performance in a wider
meaning?
(B) Could managerial performance have implications concerning the increase (the development) of economic
performance?
(C) Are the factors identified pertinent for the development of managerial performances in tourism?
In our research, it is important to make the distinction between “factors of performance development” and
“practices used”. We understand by “factor” an essential condition determining the appearance of a process,
phenomenon, or element contributing to the production of a phenomenon or process [1], while “practices used”, or
“practical solutions”, respectively, are based on several factors, together with their imbricate interactions. Imbricate
relationships existing between different aspects of managerial performances for the development of economic
performances (at technological, organisational and strategic level) require the need of an integrated frame of
analysis.
2. Research strategy
We identified several qualitative methods of research, based on an inductive approach generating theories [2],
[6], [7], which “function from specific observations to extensive generalisations”, on interpretation and
constructivism [2]. Informally, this analysis is also called from bottom up, and the conclusions are based on
premises, and involve a high degree of uncertainty.
Table 1 presents the research methods:
Table 1. Research methods. Analysis of data and results
Research strategy Method of sampling and data collecting Analysis of data and results
1. Method of ethnographic and content Sampling by taking the data from scientific Analysis of the data as described in
analysis [2], [3], [4], [5]. articles. Table 3.
Results: success factors and their
relationships, preliminary list of the
practices.
2. Analysis method: case study of Semi-structured interviews of 45-60 minutes each, Preliminary list of the factors.
“explanatory” type Yin (2003), the applied to the managers.
observation unit is the organisation
The structure of the sample will be established on
(hotel/ hotel chain/tourism company), and the basis of dispersion logic [8].
the analysis unit is the process, by the
analysis of the factors of development of The dimension of the final sample (the number of
economic and managerial performances participants for each of the three hotels/ hotel
in tourism: three hotels/ hotel chain/ chains/ tourism companies), will be established
tourism company. afterwards on the basis of the principle of
“theoretical saturation”, as de Strauss and Corbin
proposed (1990).
3. Delphi Study [9] Panel of experts; 8-10 members. The list of the most important
factors validated and eventually
filled out by experts.
106 Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111
3. Research stages
1st stage: Literature analysis
The main objectives of this stage are as follows:
a) To make an analysis of the specific literature in order to understand the concept of performance, and to adopt
an operational definition for this concept, which is adequate for the research objectives, also including the research
questions;
b) To understand and to describe different approaches used by researchers in order to study, to describe and to
analyse the concept of performance, and to choose the most important factors approached by the scientific literature
influencing the performance;
c) To understand and to describe the concepts of "managerial performance and economic performance", as
presented in the literature, with the purpose to explain the conceptual frame as part of the research;
d) To better define the research issues, and to better emphasise the research questions.
2nd stage: Selection of the conceptual frame of the research
The objective of the 2nd stage of research is to choose a conceptual frame of the research.
3rd stage: Research methodology
4th stage: Realisation of an analysis of ethnographic content [2], [3], [4], [5] in order to identify a
preliminary list of factors and practices referring to performance
The purpose of the result in this stage is to offer a first version of the list of key words proposed, whose
intervention and congruence will be used in order to develop a preliminary list of the most representative factors of
development of the managerial and economic performance in tourism, approach realised from the point of view of
globalisation.
In order to reach this purpose/objective, I chose the method of the analysis of ethnographic content as it was
proposed by Altheide (1987) for the study of social and technical representations of collecting qualitative data.
Indeed, Altheide (1987) proposed a new method of qualitative research, “Analysis of ethnographic content” (AEC),
which improves the research method “Content analysis” (CA). Instead of focusing only on a statistical analysis
(frequency of the themes in the content analysis), as in the case of the conventional method, this method consists in
a “reflexive analysis of the documents” [5]. This can be used in order to study the reflexion of the products in social
interactions, and also to realise the analysis of an element in its relationship with another element [5]. Due to the fact
that this method is the most appropriate when the objective of the results of the research is “commenting and
narrative description” [5], I decided to use this analysis in the realisation of my research.
Content analysis has the role to emphasise the differences in content of the concepts under study [5]. This is
realised by manual or automatic codification of documents, interviews, newspaper articles or other written
information. The researcher has words or expressions identified in the conceptual categories deriving from this
analysis, in order to study the frequency of their appearance (using Quantitative Content Analysis), or to understand
and identify the relationship among themes, and the appearance of sub-themes for the method proposed by Altheide
(1987). Krippendorf (2004) identifies five key-processes of content analysis.
Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111 107
Table 2. Key-processes of content analysis (Altheide, 1987; Krippendorf, 2004), applied to our approach
Key-processes Content analysis: of sampling and of data collection
1. Defining the analysis unit – the word, paragraphs from The analysis unit is represented by scientific articles.
articles, phrases, etc.
2. Sampling – selection of the study units, which are Scientific articles dealing with the concept of performance.
representative for the research.
3. Reduction – reduction of the complexity of the content of Codification to key words and phrases.
the data analysed.
4. Deduction - contextual phenomena are analysed to identify Expected results: identification of themes and sub-themes related to
the context of the research results. factors that develop managerial and economic performance in
tourism, according to the conceptual analysis frame chosen in stage
2.
5. Narration – the results are reported using narrative Consolidation of the sub-themes identified and formulation of the
conventions. factors developing managerial and economic performance in
tourism, as it results from this content analysis.
5th stage: We build a list with the most important factors of development of managerial performances in
tourism
These factors are:
x Creativity and innovation
x Human capital
x Competence
x Competitiveness
x Education
x Determinants of the performance of organisations – according to Drucker, Sink, Armstrong, Peters
4. Results of the research
4.1. Creativity and innovation
Creative thinking and imagination are important elements in any field of activity, and the absence of creativity
may lead without any doubt not only to stagnation of development, but may also lead in time even to an economic
decline of a company. Consequently, creativity is a natural characteristic of all thinking beings, and not only of an
elite belonging to the humankind. From the ancient times, man had to be creative, first of all in order to survive.
Satisfying the elementary human need of shelter is the best example. At first, the shelter was provided by the natural
environment, by a rock, a cave, and afterwards it was built, getting through all the phases of innovation: formulating
the problem to solve, incubation, illumination, action, checking [10]. In a tourist company, innovative activities are
not developed like campaigns, and no manager has a consistent support in order to plan certain terms of conception
of an innovation (creativity result), and one cannot expect or foretell the immediate recovery of the efforts of energy,
money, and time invested for experimenting and launching the new products and services. Consequently, creativity
and innovation are compulsory practices by the special impact they have in the development of tourist companies.
4.2. Human capital
Creative thinking, innovation, human performance, high productivity are the basic elements assuring the future
development of human society. The creativity management of implementation of future technologies uses the
concept of intellectual capital, by which all the knowledge is defined, the engine of the changes needed to be
implemented in the whole economic organisation of human society.
108 Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111
This radical transformation level based on knowledge in future society is defined as knowledge society, and it
involves man primarily, from the top creative people, to every employee of the companies. The employees with
innovative characteristics will represent a determining factor in the implementation of the new technologies. They
are the people who, by their personal contribution, make the connection between research-development-industry-
governmental factors of decision. Educated, innovative, creative, competitive labour is the progress vector towards
the new from tomorrow, through the force of “creative destruction”, phenomenon by which the old economic
structures are removed, making way to a new economic system with higher performance and productivity.
In the future economy of the knowledge society, the companies in the tourist sector will not be able to increase
the market share or to penetrate new global markets if they do not invest in technology, if they do not apply a
creative management, a strategy of creativity, a new method of creative management of human capital (human
resource). All these activities should develop according to new rules, eliminating the existing rules on the market.
4.3. Competence
According to Verboncu and Zalman (2005) [23], a third factor conditioning the level of managerial performances
is the competence of those who realise the management processes, and of the managers of each department,
respectively, and also of those who operationalize the decisions, i.e. the executants. The decisive role goes to the
managers, no matter the position occupied in the structure of the tourism company.
Consequently, managerial performances can be also obtained by identifying the managers’ competences. In the
field of tourist services, competences are a “confirmed principle”. They derive from the manager’s behaviour and
have an impact over the performance of a manager of a company in this field of activity. Competences concern clear
aspects making the distinction between an efficient and a less efficient performance of a manager.
A tourism manager, who has the objective of acquiring performance in what he realises, should add passion to his
daily activity. In this field, a manager cannot perform without being compatible with the value of this sector. A
manager should know how to lead a team, to permanently develop it, and also to offer proper work conditions. In
order to know how to work with people, some innate qualities are needed. For example, smile is essential in this
field of activity [11].
4.4. Competitiveness
Competitiveness is a complex concept, long debated by the economists in the whole world. By this concept we
understand “the characteristic of being competitive”, i.e. of being “susceptible to bear competition”.
Usually, in hospitality industry, competitiveness is determined mainly by the abilities to relate, by the learning
capacity, human resources, information technique and technology. The companies in this field are more and more
confronted with the intensification of competition at global level, the rapid development of technology, and more
and more demanding expectations of the customers. Most of the hotels improved their internal operations by
increasing quality and lowering the costs. These companies are now preoccupied to develop the competition
advantage from several sources. These sources become factors influencing competitiveness. Quality is a strategic
element of the activity developed within the organizations in the field of tourism and determines competitiveness in
tourism at the highest level.
Competitiveness is defined as the character of the one who can bear competition on the market, and is absolutely
related to quality [12].
On a competitive market, the accommodation unit has the main objective to fully satisfy the customers’
necessities in order to make them become not only faithful customers, but also a communication and promotion
means of the accommodation unit [13]. Consequently, we can state that the manager should take into account both
the service quality, and the quality of the products offered to the customers. At the same time, the manager should
be permanently preoccupied with the development and maintenance of quality, making also efforts to lower the
costs. Signing contracts with the providers of products necessary in tourism organisations should have at the same
time the purpose to assure the quality of the product, and also to maintain the quality on long term. This guarantee is
assured when the providers demonstrate that they work in leadership and quality assurance systems acknowledged
internationally [14].
Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111 109
Competitiveness represents the engine of the development of the organisations in the field of tourism, and it can
be easily influenced and conditioned by the variations of the economic environment [15]. They succeed on a
competitive market, and this means that they make money, invest, lower their costs, employ and develop new
services according to the manager’s skills and performance.
4.5. Education
The process of involving human resources gravitates around the force given by the education, which is also the
vector determining performance. However, it should equally take into account all the other components conditioning
the behavioural spectrum, like: interests, attitudes, motivations and needs. The concept of performance is not easy to
define, because it is ambiguous and integrating. Performance means success, competitiveness, action, continuous
effort, it is the optimisation of the present and the protection of the future [16]. Performance can be defined as a
balanced totality of complementary parameters, which are sometimes contradictory, describing results and processes
of reaching these results [16].
In the contemporary conditions of founding the human activity on the principle of continuous education, of
transformation of the information in a basic resource of the company, and – more recently – of the realisation of the
learning organisations and of the companies based on knowledge, the formation and improvement of the manager
and his team become a priority for each organisation [17].
According to Barbu (2010) [22], the necessity of a coherent and systemic approach of the role of education and
professional training of the performing manager recommends in Europe to improve the access to education of the
young people from all the social levels, and to maintain high educational standards and international openness. In
Romania, since its integration in the European Union, the following strategic objectives have been necessary: the
development of quality and efficacy of educational systems; facilitating the citizens’ access to education and
professional training; openness of educational and professional training systems towards society, social, economic
and cultural environment. By these strategic objectives, the specific intention is to obtain results with the purpose of
increasing the performance of each individual.
4.6. Determinants of performance of the organisations – according to Drucker, Sink, Armstrong, Peters
Tom Peters (1987-1989), identified seven determinants of performance. In 1953, Peter Drucker mentioned nine
determinants to reach success. In 1985, Virginia University, under the leadership of Scott Sink et al. (1984), showed
the connection between performance and productivity, starting from six key factors. In 2003, Armstrong identified
ten possible factors of managerial performances (table 3).
Table 3: Determinants of organisational performances – comparative analysis
Peter Drucker Scott Sink Michael Armstrong Tom Peters
- social responsibility - quality - clarity of team objectives; - close to consumers
- customers’ satisfaction - efficiency - how work is allocated to the team; - close to new forces
- employees’ performance - productivity - processes concerning cohesion; - close to operations
- management performance - quality of life - capacity to manage internal conflict; - productivity by new
and work forces
- internal productivity - relationships with other teams;
- employees’ attitude - responsibility - setting objectives and priorities; - simplicity
- innovation - orientation towards
- management development - performances monitoring;
action
- budget of innovation operation - leadership quality;
- autonomy and
- qualification level of the individual team entrepreneurship
members;
- systems and resources available to support the
team.
Adapted after: [18], [19], [20], [21]
110 Gina Ionela Butnaru / Procedia Economics and Finance 20 (2015) 104 – 111
An important modality to determine the managers’ performance is to use a performance measurement system.
Performance should be measured at three corresponding levels, as follows: at the level of the entire organisation;
at the level of the subunits or departments; at individual level.
Performance represents a basic requirement, especially with a competition which is stronger and stronger every
day.
5. Conclusions
We can conclude from this research that the factors identified are pertinent for the development of managerial
performances in tourism. Therefore, managers, as the main factors in the development of businesses in the field of
tourism, by continuous education and a lot of experience, can contribute inevitably to the increase of economic
performances. Managers’ creativity and innovation are key elements, because they can lead to obtaining some
original products with high impact over the potential tourists, and also to positive economic results. A tourism
manager should be competitive and competent, qualities that can be innate, or acquired during the development of
successful businesses in this field of activity.
Consequently, creativity, innovation, competitiveness, competence and education are determinant factors in the
development of managerial performances in tourism, which could positively influence the economic performances
acquired by successful companies in this field of activity.
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