Developing a Global Ecotourism Network Through a Framework Expansion
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DEVELOPING A GLOBAL ECOTOURISM NETWORK THROUGH A FRAMEWORK EXPANSION Author: Maria Helene Pedersen Supervisor: Anders Sørensen Master in Tourism, November 2016 Aalborg University in Copenhagen ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to develop the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) in order for them to attract new members. The case study will be examined through a mixed method approach with interviews as well a survey. The research will be conducted through the humanistic inquiry approach to comprehend the many worldviews that is involved in a global network as well as use myself as the practitioner-researcher due to the experiences gained through an internship at GEN. The two main topics; the use of network and ecotourism, will be explored through a literature review. The literature review shows a gap in the literature on global networks within the ecotourism industry. This research leads to the theoretical framework, where the framework of Successful International Tourism Networks (SITN) by Morrison, et al. (2004) will be utilized. The framework consists of five elements, but due to the inadequate substance of each element, the framework will be expanded with relevant literature in each element and additionally include Tourism Network Lifecycle (Zehrer & Raich, 2010). The analysis will apply the expanded SITN framework and implement the case study of GEN. This will explore and develop GEN through the six elements, which the newly expanded SITN framework consists of. The elements entail; GEN’s objectives and purpose, the organizational structure and leadership of GEN, GEN’s resourcing, member engagement, benefits and inter-organizational learning, and GEN’s lifecycle. The expanded framework enlightens areas where GEN needs to focus in order to become more attractive for potential new members. The elements were found to be useful to enlighten different aspects of GEN’s development opportunities. However, it does lack in areas within the organizational structure and leadership, communication system and development of member relationships. Keywords: Tourism network development, ecotourism, global network, tourism network membership, Successful International Tourism Network framework, Tourism Network Lifecycle. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 1 LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS: .................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2 - METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1.1 ONTOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 EPISTEMOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 10 2.2 RESEARCH STRATEGY ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 LITERATURE RESEARCH .......................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................. 13 2.4.1 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS .................................................................................................... 14 2.4.2 SURVEY ........................................................................................................................................... 16 2.4.3 THE ROLE OF THE PRACTITIONER-RESEARCHER ............................................................................. 18 2.5 SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................................ 19 2.6. DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.6 ETHICS .................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.7 LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................................................... 20 2.8 DELIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 21 2.9 QUALITY EVALUATION OF FINDINGS ..................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 - LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................... 26 3.1 THE USE OF NETWORKS ......................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 DEFINITION OF ECOTOURISM ................................................................................................................ 28 CHAPTER 4 - THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................... 31 4.1 SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL TOURISM NETWORKS ............................................................................ 31 4.1.1 OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES ........................................................................................................... 33 4.1.2 ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP .......................................................................... 35 4.1.3 RESOURCING .................................................................................................................................. 35 4.1.4 MEMBER ENGAGEMENT ................................................................................................................ 36 4.1.5 BENEFITS AND INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING ...................................................................... 40 2 4.2 NETWORK LIFECYCLE ............................................................................................................................. 43 4.3 PART CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER 5 - CASE PRESENTATION: GLOBAL ECOTOURISM NETWORK ................................................... 47 CHAPTER 6 - ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................... 50 6.1 GEN’S OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES ........................................................................................................ 50 6.2 THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP OF GEN ............................................................. 54 6.3 GEN’S RESOURCING ............................................................................................................................... 55 6.4 MEMBER ENGAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 59 6.5 BENEFITS AND INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING ............................................................................. 61 6.6 GEN’S LIFECYCLE .................................................................................................................................... 64 6.7 PART CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 66 CHAPTER 7 - DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 8 - CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 72 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 74 APPENDIX 1 – INTERVIEW WITH THE CHAIRMAN (1) ............................................................................... 77 APPENDIX 2 – INTERVIEW WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT ............................................................................ 82 APPENDIX 3 - INTERVIEW WITH BOARD MEMBER .................................................................................. 91 APPENDIX 4 - INTERVIEW WITH BOARD MEMBER .................................................................................. 94 APPENDIX 5 - INTERVIEW WITH THE CHAIRMAN (2) ............................................................................... 99 APPENDIX 6 - INTERVIEW WITH A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION (NPO) WITHIN ECOTOURISM .............. 106 APPENDIX 7 – RESIGNATION LETTER ...................................................................................................... 113 APPENDIX 8 – SURVEY QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................ 114 APPENDIX 9 – SURVEY ANSWERS .......................................................................................................... 116 APPENDIX