Ostalo
DOCTORAL DISSERTATION SUMMARY: INFLUENCE OF SMALL ENTERPRISES ON SEASONALITY OF CROATIAN TOURISM
Angela Milenkovska Klimoska
; University of Rijeka Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Croatia
Sažetak
Purpose
The seasonality of business is an important determinant of the hotel industry, particularly
in holiday destinations. Seasonality opens a series of questions which require particular
attention and application of appropriate strategies both on the hotel enterprise level, and
on the level of a tourist destination.
Bearing in mind the dominance of small hotels on the tourist market, large market
flexibility and creativity of small entrepreneurship, and the ability of fast adjustment to
the changing market conditions (Vukičević, 2000.), small entrepreneurship in hospitality
is given a function of a trigger of transformation of a tourist destination focused
exclusively on business in one (winter or summer) season in the destination with a whole
year business.
Doctoral dissertation is focused towards actualizing the significance of small
entrepreneurship in reducing seasonality in Croatian tourism. This research has managed
to extend previous knowledge about the nature and the intensity of connections of
features of hotels and seasonality of business in coastal destinations (Ćorluka, 2015),
on continental Croatia and Republic of Northern Macedonia, as a destination in which
tourist demand does not show pronounced seasonality.
Present lack of research which prove the connection between small entrepreneurship
and reduction of seasonality on tourism, and still even greater lack of specific content
which relates on the characteristics of small hotels on reducing seasonality in hospitality
on European and national level, have pointed on the need of focusing the doctoral dissertation on the relation of characteristics of small entrepreneurship and seasonality
of business. The assumption is that there is a relation between the characteristics of small
entrepreneurship and seasonality of business.
Purpose of research was to deepen the existing scientific and professional findings about
the seasonality of business in Croatian hospitality and the influence of initiatives of small
entrepreneurs in hospitality on reduction of seasonality and reach new findings about the
connection of characteristics of hotels and seasonal business.
Research goals were: 1) to explore the theoretical determinants of hospitality, and in
particular small entrepreneurship in hospitality and its significance for the tourist
destination; 2) to determine the aspects of seasonality in hotel business through specifics
of hotel business and connection of hotel business along with a determined time interval
depending on the natural and institutional causes of seasonality; 3) to explore the
seasonality of entrepreneurs in European hospitality, and in particular the place and role of
small entrepreneurship in development of European tourist destinations; 4) to analyse the
connection of characteristics of Croatian hotels and seasonality of business of Croatian
hotel industry; 5) to explore the necessity of stimulation of entrepreneurial initiatives for
increasing competitiveness of Croatian tourist destinations and inclusion of continental
part of Croatia into the tourist flows; 6) to point out on the application of necessary
measures and implementation of appropriate model of managing small entrepreneurship
with a purpose of creating and applying new and/or innovated strategies of reduction of
seasonality, in order to completely satisfy the existing and attract new market segments.
Following the purpose and goals of the research, the following scientific hypothesis was
set: scientific and professional knowledge about the hotel industry, small business in
the hotel industry and seasonality of business, and knowledge about the state of small
business in Croatian and European hospitality, as well as the impact of small hotels
are the basic determinants of entrepreneurial initiatives that give direction to the
development of tourism in the destination and result in a reduction in the seasonality of
business in the Croatian hotel industry. Proof of the basic scientific hypothesis was made
possible through the development of five auxiliary hypotheses, and a built-in conceptual
model that tested the positive relationship between the characteristics of small hotels and
seasonal business.
Methodology
Appropriate scientific research methods were used in processing data relevant to the
topic of the doctoral dissertation and presenting the results of research for the purpose of
proving the set basic and auxiliary hypotheses: description method, compilation method,
comparison method, induction and deduction method, analysis and synthesis method,
and quantitative data were processed using mathematical and statistical methods.
For the purposes of empirical research, descriptive statistics methods were used in
collecting, grouping, and analysing the characteristics of hotel enterprises and hotels
covered by the research and business performance expressed through the rate of
occupancy of hotel capacities. The obtained data are tabulated and graphically presented,and the aim was to calculate various numerical indicators that express the characteristics
of the observed phenomenon. Correlation and regression analysis were used in testing
the set research model.
The study included twelve characteristics of the hotel (independent variable): hotel
location, hotel size, hotel capacity, hotel categorization, hotel business years, hotel
by purpose, hotel by length of stay, hotel by location - destination, hotel regarding
categorization, hotel with regard to the way of doing business, hotel with regard to the
form of business, hotel with regard to the channels of placement of hotel accommodation.
Selected characteristics have been used in previous research, which has enabled their
assessment as determinants of business seasonality. It is assumed that these hotel
characteristics are correlated with the rate of occupancy of accommodation facilities in
seasonal intervals (dependent variable). The study adhered to the view of three categories
of seasonality with respect to tourism trends: high, middle, and low seasons (Kastenholz
and Almeida, 2008). Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to group the occupancy rate
into individual seasonal intervals, as one of the methods of multivariate analysis, namely
the Ward method, and the results are presented in a dendogram. Euclidean distance
was used to determine similarity. Range method, standard deviation and variance were
used as a measure of dispersion, with the determination of the arithmetic mean for both
individual months and seasonal intervals using descriptive statistics.
The research was based on panel data, respectively, the hotel data in three seasonal
intervals. Therefore, the observation units are hotels (for the Republic of Croatia N =
237, and for Northern Macedonia N = 51), and the seasonal intervals are units of time (T
= 3). This led to the conclusion of 711 observations for each hotel covered by the survey
in the Republic of Croatia, and 153 observations for each hotel covered by the survey
in Northern Macedonia. The correlation values expressed by the Pearson coefficient
showed the extent to which changes in hotel feature values were related to changes in
hotel occupancy values in low, medium and high season seasonal intervals, and its sign
determined the direction of correlation. The t-test was used to test the linear correlation
coefficient. However, since the SPSS program was used for the calculation, a two-way
test of the significance of the linear correlation coefficient (Two-tailed) was used, which
is automatically included when calculating the correlation of two variables.
The research was further deepened by regression analysis, respectively the model
of multiple linear regression, in order to determine the analytical expression of the
relationship between the variables. The regression model was used as a basis for
forecasting the improvement of hotel occupancy in certain seasonal intervals by changes
on the side of hotel characteristics. The appropriateness of using a regression model is
based on the Variance Inflator Factor (VIF) diagnostic test, which determines which
variables will be included in the model. With the help of the VIF test from the regression
model, independent variables for which the existence of multicollinearity problems was
determined were omitted. The research was conducted on a random sample of 237 respondents in Croatian hotels
and on a sample of 51 respondents in Northern Macedonia which served comparative
purposes and developed a discussion on the connection and impact of hotel characteristics
on seasonality in two different destinations regarding hotel seasonality. An online survey
questionnaire was used, consisting of two groups of questions. One group of questions
related to the characteristics of the hotel business and the other to the characteristics of the
hotel. Data were processed using IBM SPSS.
Findings
The results of the research confirmed the high level of seasonality of the Croatian hotel
industry business and pointed out the problems and challenges that small hotels face in
the fight against unprofitability of business. The analysis of small business in the hotel
industry in Europe and the world highlighted the greater negative implications of the
effects of seasonality on small hotels compared to large ones. This especially refers to
the occupancy of hotel capacities and the realization of profit per unit of accommodation.
The research further showed that seasonality in hotel occupancy mainly depends on the
market segment in which the hotel offers its services. Changes in the structure of hotel
guest profiles are directly reflected in the monthly patterns that are monitored in the
occupancy profile. Therefore, hotels are directing their efforts towards attracting that
segment of guests that will bring them greater occupancy. Research has shown that
small hotels, due to their flexibility, can easily adapt to new trends and provide a guest
service that will make him a satisfied and loyal guest. Tourist destinations with a higher
number of quality small entrepreneurs achieve greater competitiveness, utilization of
accommodation capacities and reduction of seasonality.
Small hotels in Croatia participate with a very high share (73.5% in 2019), but in the
total hotel capacity they make up only about 22%. In order to better position themselves
in the tourist market, small hotels strive for a personalized approach and the most
authentic product to attract guests, but the hotel offer still lacks strong diversification
and specialization of hotel products. The Lorenzo curve clearly showed the high level
of seasonality of the Croatian hotel industry, and in the period from 2010 to 2019 there
are no significant changes, although a noticeable decrease in seasonality is noticeable by
a slight shift in the concentration of tourist nights in the upper Lorenz curve. The Gini
coefficient showed a higher seasonality of the total realized tourist overnights in the
Republic of Croatia, compared to those realized in hotels and similar facilities.
Empirical research has proven the hypothesis: there is a positive link between the
characteristics of small hotels and seasonal business. The research using correlation and
regression analysis concludes that the characteristics of hotels defined in the model are
related, but neither correlation nor regression analysis has determined the significance
of all characteristics for seasonal business of small hotels, both in the sample in the
Republic of Croatia and in the North. Macedonia. The significance of the Pearson coefficient in the sample for the Republic of Croatia was
noticed in a number of connections between the variables of hotel characteristics and the
‘low season’ in relation to the ‘middle season’ and the ‘high season’. All relationships
between independent variables and ‘low season’ were statistically significant at either
1% or 5%, and when examining the association between independent variables and ‘midseason’ and independent variables and ‘high season’, a statistically significant association
was observed only for the hotel location variable. On the sample for the Republic of
Northern Macedonia a significant correlation was determined between the variables’
type of hotel in terms of number of accommodation units’ (HBHS) and ‘low season’
and ‘type of hotel in terms of number of beds’ (HBK)’ and ‘low season’ at the level of
significance of 0.01, and variables HBHS and ‘mid-season’, and variables HBK and
‘high season’ at the level of significance of 0.05, as well as variables ‘year of operation
of the hotel’ (GPH) and ‘low season’. Based on the previously mentioned, it can be
stated that there is a correlation of independent variables of hotel characteristics set in
the research model with hotel occupancy in certain seasonal intervals, but no statistical
significance of the relationship between all independent and dependent variables in the
examined model was determined.
Regression analysis showed the direction of correlation within the relationships of the
examined regression models for the sample of hotels in the Republic of Croatia and in
the Republic of Northern Macedonia. However, while the significance of connections
within the model was determined in the sample, this was not the case with the sample
in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. The regression model for the middle and high
seasons had a low level of representativeness, and predictions within the model were
not found to make a statistically unique contribution to hotel occupancy. Therefore, it is
very important to explore other parameters, such as content in the destination, in order
to find out about the factors that affect the seasonality of the tourist destination and the
seasonality of the hotel business.
Originality of the research
The originality of this doctoral thesis is reflected in the creation of scientific and applied
contributions to economic theory and practice. The scientific contribution can be expressed
through the development of the theory of the relationship between the characteristics of
small hotels and the seasonality of business, given the lack of knowledge in this area.
The next contribution is in a systematic review and critical analysis of previous research
on the impact of small hotel characteristics on occupancy during the year and building
a research model to measure the relationship between individual characteristics of small
hotels and occupancy in low, medium and high season. The variables used in the research
based on previous research have been adjusted for the needs of the doctoral dissertation.
Testing the research model gained new insights into the relationship between the
characteristics of small hotels and occupancy in each season (low, medium, high) and the
diversity of results related to geographical features of the destination and indicated the
justification for linking hotel characteristics and seasonality. Objective knowledge about
small business in the Croatian hotel industry and the impact of small hotel characteristics
on business seasonality, obtained by the research, is the basis for proposing measures and management models in small hotels in order to reduce seasonality in the Croatian hotel
industry. The results of experimental research provide a basis for future research.
Ključne riječi
hotel industry; small business in hotel industry; seasonality; seasonality reduction strategy
Hrčak ID:
269581
URI
Datum izdavanja:
4.10.2021.
Posjeta: 565 *