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Business Closure in the North American Theme Park Industry: an Analysis of Causes

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Business Closure in the North American Theme Park Industry: an Analysis of Causes BUSINESS CLOSURE IN THE NORTH AMERICAN THEME PARK INDUSTRY: AN ANALYSIS OF CAUSES by KELLY T. KAAK B.A. University of Texas, San Antonio, 1989 M.S. University of Texas, Austin, 1992 M.S. University of Central Florida, 2010 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2018 Major Professor: Ady Milman © 2018 Kelly T. Kaak ii ABSTRACT Prior to this study, no analysis had focused on the 31% failure rate recorded among theme parks opened in North American between the years 1955 and 2009. This study’s purpose was to identify the causes of closures among the 23 failed theme parks and inform the industry of what can be learned from these business failures. Business failure analysis typically stresses the impact of financial ratios and the accuracy of certain negative numbers to predict impending failure, but such studies avoid examining the underlying causes that lead to poor financial performance in the first place. To focus on this question, this study adopted an events approach to discover the actual event causes that preceded failure and business closure. This study tabulated the frequency of event occurrences among two samples: failed/closed theme parks and a comparable sample of surviving theme parks. Event occurrences were more common among the failed/closed sample than among the surviving theme parks sample. A detailed analysis revealed that six of the 21 events measured were more common among the failed/closed theme park sample: declaring bankruptcy; excessive debt or general unprofitability; low customer satisfaction, defined as not offering enough to do in the park and/or inadequate capacity; development pressures; limited space for expansion; and a location in a regional geographic market. Theme parks failed more frequently due to involuntary event causes than due to voluntary closures. And, in contrast to previous studies, the occurrences of internal environmental events associated with business failure were not significantly different from the occurrences of external environmental events associated with failure. These findings identified events that have preceded failure or closure in theme parks and can provide insights to operators iii and industry decision makers on how best to prevent or better manage such business closures in the future. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study is dedicated to those pioneers who created and formed the theme park industry: Walt Disney; Harrison “Buzz” Price; C.V. Wood; Ben O’Dorision; Angus Wynne; George Millay; Randall Duell; Ira West; Walter Knott; Jack and Pete Herschend; Bud Hurlbut; Ed Morgan; Karl Bacon; Roy Hofheinz; Dennis Speigel; Lamar Hunt; E. Pat Hall; Warner LeRoy; Anton Schwarzkopf; John C. Allen; and many others…. A never-ending thanks to my family (Ellen and Avery) for putting up with all of this, my midlife crisis, and my undiagnosed obsession with theme parks. Thanks to Dr. Ady Milman for making it acceptable to consider theme parks as a worthy focus of academic study, and my dissertation committee (Dr. Deborah Breiter Event Study Scholar Emeritus; Dr. Jesse Perez Mendez, College of Education & Human Performance— Rosen College Special Liaison; and Dr. Markus Shuckert—He Who Has Seen Theme Park Failure Causes) for staying with me through an (over-)extended writing timeline. Thanks to the Rosen College for focusing a curriculum on the attractions industry. And thanks to my instructors and fellow students who taught me much, both inside and outside of the classroom. Plus, thanks to the Libraries at the University of Florida and the Illinois State University for preserving the old copies of Amusement Business for an eccentric researcher like me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ............................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 4 Theme Park Failure Rates in Comparison to Overall Business Failure Rates ................ 5 Ratio Analysis—The Most Common Form of Business Failure Analysis ..................... 6 A Focus on the Causes of Business Failure .................................................................... 7 Problem Statement .................................................................................................................. 7 The Lack of Business Failure Literature on the Theme Park Sector .............................. 7 Negative Impacts Stemming From Theme Park Failures ............................................... 8 Neglecting to Include Failed Subjects in Studies ............................................................ 8 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................... 9 Research Question ................................................................................................................ 11 Study Methodology ............................................................................................................... 11 Operational Definitions ......................................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................................ 19 Explanation of the Theoretical Model .................................................................................. 19 The Adapted Framework .............................................................................................. 22 Definitions for Business Failure ........................................................................................... 26 Business Failure Rates .......................................................................................................... 29 Rationale for Studying Failure .............................................................................................. 32 Causes of Failure ................................................................................................................... 35 Age, Specifically Youth or the Newness of the Firm ................................................... 35 Smallness ...................................................................................................................... 36 Largeness ...................................................................................................................... 37 Industry Affiliation ....................................................................................................... 37 Outside / External Causes ............................................................................................. 38 Internal Causes .............................................................................................................. 40 Strategies Used to Avoid Bankruptcy ................................................................................... 42 Failure Analysis Models ....................................................................................................... 43 Boiled Frog Theory ....................................................................................................... 43 Drowned Frog Theory ................................................................................................... 44 Failed Startup Theory .................................................................................................... 45 Failed Turnaround Theory ............................................................................................ 45 Lack of Leadership Theory ........................................................................................... 46 vi Seminal Failure Analysis Studies ......................................................................................... 46 Failure Analysis Studies in the Hospitality Industry ............................................................ 47 Restaurant Failure Analysis .......................................................................................... 48 Hotel Failure Analysis .................................................................................................. 49 Event Failure Analysis .................................................................................................. 50 Failure Analysis—Statistical Methods Employed ................................................................ 51 Findings ................................................................................................................................. 56 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 58 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 58 Research Design Strategy ....................................................................................................
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