As the environment surrounding travel agency is rapidly changing, it shows accelerated dynamic environmental uncertainty and complicated industrial structure. In addition, it is easy to open travel agency even with a small capital. It has less risk be...
As the environment surrounding travel agency is rapidly changing, it shows accelerated dynamic environmental uncertainty and complicated industrial structure. In addition, it is easy to open travel agency even with a small capital. It has less risk bearing and depends on personal sales. Due to these industrial characteristics, travel agency has a low entry barrier, and is under fierce competition in the market. Thus, in response to these environmental changes, travel agent managers should actively deal with changes and risks by using their strengths and making up for their weaknesses. In particular, how to win in the travel market which is more competitive than other industries and how to maintain competitive advantage may be the propositions for all managers.
These challenges of management strategies are raising the necessity for studies on how environmental characteristics influence goal achievement in travel agency, on how unique abilities that cannot be copied by other travel agents, on competencies, are formed and maintained in the rapidly changing external environment and on what kind of strategic choice can create a higher performance and be maintained for a long time.
Based on the above recognition of problems, this study aimed to analyze the environmental characteristic of travel agency and competence within travel agents necessary to obtain competitive advantage in the market, create long-term performance and keep continuity, and to verify types and variables of strategies fit for it.
Moreover, this study intended to identify whether each factor as an independent variable has a direct relation with performance and what influence the prime fitness between factors has on competitive advantage and long-term performance.
To achieve these objectives, both bibliographic and empirical studies were conducted in this research. Regarding the period of the study, the standard year was set up as the year of 2005. As for the regional range of this study, the subjects of analysis were limited to wholesalers, retailers and tour operators in Seoul Metropolitan City and Gyeonggi-do, where travel agents were closely crowded. The range of the study contents was composed of five chapters in total. In Chapter Ⅰ, stated were raised questions, the purpose, the range and methods of this study. Chapter Ⅱ was made up with the theoretical background to achieve the purpose of the study. In Chapter Ⅲ, established were standards to measure travel agency's environment, competence, strategies, fitness and performance which were introduced in this study. After study models and hypotheses were set up based on the above, survey objectives, survey methods and analysis methods were presented and described in the survey design. Chapter Ⅳ hypotheses and models were verified and discussions and implications of results from analysis were given after the collected data were analyzed by empirical analysis and examined for reliability and validity. Chapter Ⅴ was composed of conclusions.
After a questionnaire for empirical analysis was modified and supplemented through a pre-questionnaire survey, the main survey was conducted. With respect to sample travel agents, all travel wholesalers were sampled among those agents that reported their planned tours to the Korea Association of Travel Agent as of April 2005. Regarding travel wholesalers&retailers, travel retailers and tour operators, agents were randomly sampled from those registered in the 2004 Korea Tourist Business Directory. As for the questionnaire survey, 450 questionnaire sheets were distributed to wholesalers, wholesalers&retailers, retailers and tour operators for about ten days from July 19 to 28, 2005, and then 427 sheets were collected. With employees at each travel agent, the survey was conducted in the way that respondents filled up the sheets after listening to the objective and purpose of this study. Those sheets were collected by surveyors in person.
In respect to the analysis of data, after 28 sheets which were improper as data were excluded from the collected sheets, a total of 399 sheets were processed through coding and analyzed by SAS statistic package program(version 8.12) and AMOS(Analysis Moment of Structure)4 program.
As a result of empirical analysis, in the examination of the reliability of each variable designed on the basis of theoretical research,"changes in the cycle of demand" among environmental characteristic factors and "low-cost production" and "ability to differentiate products" among constituent factors of competence were excluded because they had low reliability. Regarding the analysis of validity to find systematic structure embedded in many variables based on correlations between a number of variables, this study intended to verify models and hypotheses focused on the whole travel agency, apply the same models and hypotheses according to types of business in the distributional structure and draw their differences and characteristics. Thus, analysis on exploratory factors was used to classify factor groups in accordance with business characteristics. Reliability and validity were examined through analysis of such basic data, so hypotheses and models were verified. As a result of verifying the hypotheses, the following hypotheses were all adopted: Hypothesis Ⅰ. The environmental characteristic of travel agency may have direct effects on competence; Hypothesis Ⅱ. The environmental characteristic of travel agency may have direct effects on strategy; Hypothesis Ⅲ. The environmental characteristic of travel agency may have direct effects on performance; Hypothesis Ⅳ. The competence of travel agency may have direct effects on strategy; Hypothesis Ⅴ. The competence of travel agency may have direct effects on performance; Hypothesis Ⅵ. The strategy of travel agency may have direct effects on performance. The above results from verifying hypotheses suggest the following implications to travel agent managers:
First, the environmental characteristic of travel agency can be defined as uncertainty and competition. The higher environmental uncertainty and competition are, the lower performance gets. Therefore, travel agent managers should actively deal with environmental changes. When they form and maintain their own unique competence, which cannot be copied or obtained by their competitors for a short time, and establish and implement the fittest strategies for environmental characteristics and competence, they can create long-term performance.
Second, the competence of travel agency may be defined as the marketing ability superior to competitors, personal and physical abilities which cannot be copied, replaced or purchased by other agents and the ability to manage the quality of travel service. Competitive advantage in the market is decided according to the strength and quality of competence factors. In addition, competence must not be decided by strategies. Strategic types and variables should be chosen in accordance with competence.
Third, strategies of travel agency can create more successful performance only when market chances are found in an active search of uncertain environment, products and market reforms are led although profitability is low, and an early response to chances is carried out. However, if travel agents currently have a relatively stable market and financial ability, it is a more efficient management to get confirmed from starting companies about a new market or product they try to develop, maintain competitive efficiency in the existing market, develop new products and pioneer a new market.
Regarding the values of results from statistic data presented by the models, all of the whole travel agency, wholesalers, wholesalers&retailers and tour operators conformed with standards, so the models were analyzed as being fit. The structures and fitness relations between variables through verification of models suggest the following implications:
First, as for the fittest relation between environment-competence-performance, the environmental characteristic of travel agency showed direct positive effects on competence and negative effects on performance. Therefore, the higher the quality of the degree of the environmental characteristic of travel agency is, the lower performance gets. Travel agents should deal with crises through forming and maintaining competence responding to this and explore chances in the market. The degree and the continuity of competence created by the result have direct positive effects on performance.
Second, with regard to the fittest relation between competence-strategy-performance, competence has direct positive effects on strategy and performance. Strategy has direct positive effects on performance. Thus, for competence of travel agency, the degrees of formation and continuity as independent variables decide long-term performance. At the same time, it acts as a decisive factor in choosing strategic types and accordingly strategic variables as the prime factor. As a result, it has direct effects on performance.
Third, in respect to the fittest relation between environment-competence-strategy-performance, the environmental characteristic has direct positive effects on forming competence of travel agency. Competence has direct positive effects on strategy and performance. Strategy has direct positive effects on performance. Therefore, travel agency may form competitive advantage when it builds travel agency's market, sources, technology and marketing competence, and searches for environmental characteristics and fitness in response to environmental uncertainty and competition, and as a result, create performance. At the same time, it is necessary to choose strategic types and variables fit for the environmental characteristic and competence in order to obtain continual competitive advantage. This appears as long-term performance.
The significance of this study exists in the fact that it comprehended the current strategic theories which developed focusing on general corporations through theoretic and empirical studies, that is, the contingency theory, the strategic choice theory of resource-based theory, the theory for sources and continuity of competitive advantage and environmental determination of the industrial organization theory, and applied these theories to travel agency, a service business, establishing a theoretical ground of integral views fit for it and presenting a frame of standards for relevant studies in the future.