Development of small-sized travel enterprises as an innovative organization

Abstract

The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) investigate and develop the innovative organization indicators for small-sized travel enterprises; 2) investigate the relationships of innovative organization indicators for small-sized travel enterprises; and 3) obtain the guidelines for developing small-sized travel enterprises as an innovative organization. This study apply Balanced Scorecard (BSC) concept, in order to enhance factors influential to performance and sustain competitiveness of organizational innovativeness.

The populations used for this study are management executives at the rate of one officer per one organization from all levels with at least 3 years working experience in small-sized travel enterprises, registered with Tourism Business and Guide Registration Office, Department of Tourism. A survey questionnaire has been conducted to investigate the relationship of factors that influence small-sized travel agencies innovativeness. The 400 questionnaire were collected throughout Thailand. Analyses of the data based on descriptive statistic to analyze frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Inferential statistics was used to make judgment of the probability and examine statistical hypothesis, and compare the means. Correlation and regression were used to test the variance.

Major findings can be summarized as follow: When considering each area of variables for factors that promote the innovative organization, there were four variables that had a positive influence and could be used to predict the performance of small-sized travel agencies in Thailand sorted by descending order as follows: 1) iv organizational innovation in the tourism business, 2) human capital innovation in the tourism business, 3) strategic innovation in the tourism business, and 4) leadership innovation in the tourism business, and organizational innovation in the tourism business had the highest positive influence. However, creativity innovation in the tourism business and teamwork innovation in the tourism business had no influence on the performance of small-sized travel agencies in Thailand.