Touristic SME’s Competitiveness in the Light of Present Challenges—A Qualitative Approach

Daniel Adrian Gârdan,Iuliana Petronela Gârdan,Carmen Adina Paștiu,Ionel Dumitru

doi:10.3390/su12219191

Daniel Adrian Gârdan, Iuliana Petronela Gârdan + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219191

Copy DOI

Abstract

Competitiveness of SMEs (Small or Medium Enterprise) within the tourism field has been of a great interest for many scholars over time. Due to the crisis conditions specific to the present time, the issue of competitiveness becomes a very sensitive one, giving rise to sometimes contradictory points of view. Our research aims to analyze the opinions and perceptions of SME managers in the field of tourism in terms of the concept of competitiveness, how to measure it and sources of competitiveness still viable within the context of the current crisis or specific to it, etc. In order to be able to properly analyze the above, qualitative research was initiated and conducted in the form of an in-depth interview with 42 Romanian SME managers in the tourism field. The results of the study reflect a mature approach of managers in terms of possible new sources of competitiveness—the emphasis on technical solutions capable of managing the socio-medical dimensions of tourism consumer behavior, a prevalence for an organic growth strategy and for additional investments in qualified personnel, as well as online management of most aspects related to services and openness to collaboration within tourism clusters.

Highlights

The broad context in which our research has been developed is referring to the evolution of the competitiveness concept itself, with a closer look at the competitiveness concept that is specific for the tourism field
We have developed our approach based on the literature, applying a semi-structured in-depth interview format designed for managers of tourism organizations
This study, conducted among managers of Romanian touristic SMEs, shows their perceptions and opinions on a very important topic for any modern organization, and especially for the ones involved in the tourism industry at the present time

Summary

Introduction

The broad context in which our research has been developed is referring to the evolution of the competitiveness concept itself, with a closer look at the competitiveness concept that is specific for the tourism field. Among the first efforts to analyze what may be the main basis for the competitiveness of tourism organizations is the work of Morey and Dittman (1995), who used data envelopment analysis with seven inputs and four outputs for the evaluation of 54 hotels dispersed all over the USA continental area, from the point of view of management performance [2]. As another early approach of studying tourism companies’ competitiveness, the work of Baker and Riley (1994) can be mentioned, who took into consideration management’s ability to forecast demand as well as the assessment of the actual performance of the hotels leading to a model of supply–demand mismatch. These authors proposed a holistic-type model of hotel productivity [3]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion