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Mission statements are a key element of any organization. Ideally, the mission statement should be written at the initial stages of an organization’s life to be a useful tool to guide future organization’s decisions and strategy. However, at the early stages of an organization’s life, the organization might still be under development with the objective and stakeholders not yet well-defined, and therefore, stating the mission so early on, might neglect some important elements. In this paper, the authors explore the difference in mission statement quality between missions that have been created at the birth stage of an organization versus missions that are just explicitly formulated once the organization is already well-established and an underlying implicit mission already exists. The authors use as an empirical setting university research parks.

The authors evaluate mission statement quality using content analysis. The authors then test the differences on mission statement quality between two groups of research parks, those that have followed a creation strategy versus those that have followed a formulation strategy, using mean of differences test.

The authors find that a formulation strategy produces more complete mission statements than the creation strategy. Research parks that have followed a formulation strategy include in their mission statements more references to relevant stakeholders, such as investors, than parks following a creation strategy with respect to their mission statement.

The research setting is Spanish Science Parks. This research setting is appropriate to answer the research question, as two Park creation strategies, planned and unplanned, allow the researchers to clearly differentiate between two mission conception strategies. However, the sample size is rather small.

Research has shown that a well-defined mission helps organizations focus and strategy formulation. The authors’ research offers some guidance on how to achieve a high-quality mission statement which will, in turn, help organizations have a better definition of their purpose.

Research until now has assumed that the mission statement should be formulated at the initial stages of the organization’s life. The authors’ research shows that defining the mission statement later in the process creates higher-quality mission statements that better reflect the organizations purpose and relevant stakeholders.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of innovative performances for science parks as a framework for understanding how effectively human and structural capital (i.e. intellectual assets) are leveraged. The key point is fostering main determinants to investigate and/or make sense of key management activities/factors shaping the evolution and performance of knowledge creating processes.

The study was based on the quantitative and qualitative values, for the period 2000-2011, gathered from a sample of 901 public and private organizations located in the 21 European Union (EU) countries. With regard to the methodology, the hypothesis testing first required an analysis of the correlations between the investigation variables, and then the use of regression analysis to study the relationships between the innovative performance of the research institutions, and the financial, organizational and knowledge characteristics of the science parks investigated.

The empirical research shows that: the allocation of public resources does not influence most of the selected indicators of performance, with the exception of the negative effect seen for the number of patents; the resources provided by venture capitalists have a positive effect on all of the indicators of performance of the science park; the science parks of greater dimensions have better performances; the positive impact of the systemic relationships seems to have an effect that is limited to the increase in the number of contracts stipulated with industry; the number of publications produced by researchers of the science parks seems to have an unclear effect on the innovative performance; and an increase in the number of researchers enhances the innovative performance of the science parks.

It seems appropriate to suggest some research lines that arise from the limits of this work. In particular, it should be stressed that there is a need to enlarge the sample investigated to embrace local innovation systems outside the EU, so as to provide further validation to the empirical results of this research.

This research has some practical implications of notable interest at the level of European policies. Interventions of public policies supporting innovation should not be concentrated on the increase of public funding but on increasing private capital investment.

This paper aims to extend literature about factors explaining the financial, organizational and cognitive performance of science parks in Europe.

This paper aims to examine the competitive strategies employed by two of the largest theme park operators in Florida, based on a content analysis of popular media articles about theme park giants in the USA. It aims to provide a comparative examination of their competitive strategies, to develop a conceptual model of the same and to expand knowledge about current competitiveness in the theme park sector.

This study used directed content analysis to identify and analyze strategies applied in the theme park sector as manifested in the mass media. Each database was searched using the following four key terms: competition, strategy, Disney and Universal Studios. Results were screened for relevance based on their inclusion of all four key terms. At the conclusion of the search, 87 articles from 34 US-based sources were amassed, varying in circulation size and published between 1985 and 2013. Each article was read, and sentences that suggested the use of a strategy were recorded. Although the intention was to leave each data point at a one-sentence maximum, occasionally, a second sentence was included for context and clarification. Each article was read twice to ensure the inclusion of all potential data points.

The findings suggest that the largest US-based theme parks utilize strategies of value, uniqueness, niche markets, innovation, variety and quality as highlighted in the research literature. However, this study also confirms two additional competitive strategies that have heretofore not been examined in tourism studies – currency and convenience – as advantageous management and promotional mechanisms against their competitors.

Limitations to this research include a limited number of popular media articles available for analysis. This precluded a random sample of articles. In addition, the study was based on print media statements and keyword identification, which could also limit the generalizability of the findings. Nonetheless, it is believed that the case studies researched in this paper are indicative of many of the competitive strategies used by theme park managers throughout the world.

The paper developed a competitive strategy model that has utility for them park planners and managers, as they attempt to understand the competitive advantages and those of their direct competitors. The findings in this study have broader implications for other theme parks throughout the world.

The social implications of this study are manifold. They include the notion that theme park attendees manifest certain behaviors and seek out certain experiences as they make decisions on which parks to attend. The notions of value, uniqueness, niche markets, innovation, variety, quality, currency and convenience all reveal how some consumers determine their choice of venue for recreational travel.

This paper provides an original research of the theme park sector by examining two of the USA’s largest theme park giants and the strategies they use in a comparative and competitive manner to attraction clientele and maintain visitation. In particular, the paper develops a conceptual model based upon the review of strategies literature and, then, tests it and modifies it based on the findings of the study.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the theme park industry, particularly following the financial stresses induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. CAPEX drivers are poorly understood due to the idiosyncratic nature of this industry, which is dominated by a few large players. It also aims to identify the variables influencing both the growth and maintenance components of CAPEX among U.S. theme park operators.

The paper uses contingency theory to analyze both financial and nonfinancial data from U.S. theme park operators between 2009 and 2021. The paper also uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to manage issues of multicollinearity and to ensure robustness in the findings.

The analysis identifies several key determinants of CAPEX. Resources and the presence of competing theme parks in proximity to an operator’s parks positively affect CAPEX. Conversely, higher leverage, dividend payouts, intellectual property (IP) dominance and population density in areas with their active parks correlate with reduced CAPEX. The paper also notes distinct trends in maintenance versus growth CAPEX post-COVID-19, with maintenance CAPEX increasing as operators invest in existing assets while growth CAPEX trending downwards.

The study’s scope is confined to U.S.-based theme park operators, limiting the generalizability of the findings internationally. Moreover, data limitations restrict the sample size due to the consolidation of the industry players, potentially affecting the statistical power of the analysis.

This research offers significant insights for theme park operators, industry analysts and policymakers. Understanding the factors influencing CAPEX can aid operators in strategic planning and investment decisions, especially in a post-pandemic economic environment where efficient capital allocation will be crucial for recovery and growth. A major contribution of this research is the development of a new measure for IP dominance, which allows theme park operators to quantify the impact of IP on their investment strategies.

This study contributes uniquely by incorporating both financial and nonfinancial determinants in analyzing CAPEX within the theme park industry, a sector significantly impacted by the pandemic. It introduces novel metrics for assessing the impact of IP on CAPEX and differentiates between the factors driving maintenance and growth expenditures. The findings enrich the existing literature on hospitality management and provide actionable insights that could guide the strategic financial decisions of theme park operators.

Innovation is today considered a competitive differential for improving the performance of companies, and technology parks are seen as environments with favorable conditions for such innovation. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework for analyzing favorable conditions for innovation in technology parks, the innovations produced and organizational performance.

To this end, the authors conducted bibliographic research and in-depth interviews with managers of companies based at the Tecnopuc Science and Technology Park, and managers of the park itself, to establish practical support for previous theoretical findings.

As a result, a framework was developed to link the favorable conditions for innovation, and organizational performance.

The analysis model proposed here synthesizes the contributions made by several scholars on the theme, allowing for a more detailed and integrated interpretation of the phenomenon, namely, the ways through which the effective development of innovation takes place in companies residing in technology parks and the contribution of innovation to the specific performance of companies.

The use of the proposed framework can help direct park managers’ action towards those relationships or activities that prove to be ineffective in achieving desired goals.

The use of the proposed model in empirical surveys will allow for better understanding of the phenomenon involving the features of technology parks and their effects on innovation and the performance of companies installed there, considering that such parks allow them to access resources with lower transaction costs.

Aims to examine the services and facilities provided by public parks revealing that the attributes corresponding to performance of service delivery involve the interaction between non‐human aspects of physical environment and emotional experience of users which differ from common human aspects of service quality. Also, a service quality programme without reference to other service providers can easily lead to misguided or counterproductive service improvement strategies.

The present study suggests an integrative approach to diagnosing service quality of public parks that comprises an assessment of performance outcomes and desires to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of service quality and visitor satisfaction as regards frequent users and low users of public parks. Measures pertaining to this approach were examined by a survey of nine public parks in the county of Derbyshire in the UK.

The results show the effect of individual attributes on visitor satisfaction and their diagnostic value for service improvements. The analysis of desires highlights the differences of pre‐visit (prepurchase) evaluation variables between frequent users and low users.

The integrative approach of service quality analysis proposed by this study accounts for the limitations of relying on a single conventional measure of service quality.

The differences may help identify new dimensions for further research and suggest future behavioural intentions such as loyalty and repeat visits. With the knowledge of individual service components that affect overall visitor satisfaction, managers can pin‐point areas for improvement to overcome service shortcomings, and allocate scarce resources more effectively.

Caravan parks in Australian capital cities have provided a source of housing at the lower end of the market for many years. This includes opportunities for both private rental and home ownership. However, emerging trends in the property market have threatened the viability of caravan parks. In order to maintain or increase income levels, some caravan parks have focused on more profitable short‐term tourist opportunities rather than traditional long‐term housing. While the closure and conversion of caravan parks raise crucial questions for Australian social and housing policy, there are also implications for the broader property market. This paper examines the changing role of the operation of caravan parks, with the emphasis placed on their economic feasibility. The research is based on a survey of 30 caravan park operators in Queensland, Australia. The factors influencing caravan parks are identified, and suggestions to address the changing role of caravan parks as a provider in the affordable housing market are canvassed.

The purpose of this paper is to study factors that affect the success of technology parks in terms of fostering entrepreneurial firm formation, growth, and financing.

Based on a new international dataset of technology parks (tech parks) from 13 countries (eight developing countries and five developed countries), the paper relates the success of technology transfer to the legal environment within which the tech park operates, as well as the characteristics of the tenants in the tech park and the services provided by the tech park.

The data indicate entrepreneurial success is more likely to be facilitated when there is better legal protection offered to companies in the jurisdiction within which the tech park is located, when there is a greater presence of foreign university- and government-affiliated companies in tech parks, and a smaller presence of foreign private companies in tech parks, particularly foreign subsidiaries. The data further indicate entrepreneurial success is more likely when tech park tenants have greater testing/analysis focus, and when tenants have less assembly- and service-focussed activities. Also, entrepreneurial success is more likely to be facilitated by tech parks with on- and off-site technology licensing offices that promote trade shows, provide access to funds for commercialization and distribute information on the R&D outcomes of tech park tenants.

The data offer insights into efficient design of tech parks. Coarse measures from survey data are limitations yet offer scope for further examination in future research.

The paper provides guidance for entrepreneurs and their investors in terms of ways maximize value in terms of entrepreneurial growth and financing from selecting appropriate tech parks.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the interrelationship between film-induced tourism and visits to theme parks by tourists and examine the most viewed movies worldwide (2010–2022) which are related with theme parks and their attractions.

The methodology used in this study is a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring the most visited theme parks worldwide and the most viewed movies that have allowed to answer the research questions.

This research provides a new contribution to tourism and entertainment industries. Results have shown that film-induced tourism can be the perfect marketing tool to attract more tourists to theme parks through movies and their real or fictional characters represented in films such as Marvel, Minions, Avatar, Harry Potter and Disney, amongst many others. These famous characters are part of theme park’s rides to attract tourists to visit film theme parks These rides allow users to travel in a fantasy experience and interact with film characters of cartoons or fictions. There is a high correlation between film-induced tourism and theme parks’ attractions. Film-induced tourism provides great benefits to the society, theme parks, cinemas and tourist destinations. Indeed, movies help to increase the number of visitors to theme parks. In 2019, 215 million people visited the top 20 theme parks worldwide analyzed in this study, this figure is quite lucrative to entertainment and tourism sectors, local and regional economies where these theme parks are localized.

This study presents the importance of theme parks at tourist destinations because theme parks are an extension of movies, thus is, the end of the physical perfect experience at theme parks which began in a movie seat or on your TV/videogame/PC screens.

本文的主要目的是分析电影引起的旅游和游客参观主题公园之间的相互关系, 并研究与主题公园及其景点有关的全球最受欢迎的电影（2010-2022年）。

本研究使用的方法是一套定性和定量的指标来衡量全球访问量最大的主题公园和观看次数最多的电影, 使我们能够回答本研究中提出的问题。

这项研究为旅游和娱乐业提供了新的贡献, 结果表明, 电影引起的旅游可以成为完美的营销工具, 通过电影及其影片吸引更多的游客到主题公园。通过电影和他们在电影中所代表的真实或虚构的人物, 如漫威、小人、阿凡达、哈利波特、迪斯尼等, 主题公园。这些著名人物是主题公园景点的一部分, 以吸引游客参观与电影有关的景点。这些景点让游客有一个幻想的体验, 并与卡通人物互动。电影引起的旅游和主题公园景点之间存在着高度的相关性。我们必须认识到, 电影引发的旅游为社会、主题公园、电影院和旅游目的地提供了巨大的利益。事实上, 电影有助于增加主题公园的游客数量。2019年, 有2.15亿人参观了本研究中分析的世界前20大主题公园, 这个数字对于娱乐和旅游部门、这些主题公园所在的地方和区域经济来说是相当有利可图的。

本研究揭示了主题公园在旅游目的地的重要性, 因为这些旅游景点是电影的延伸, 也就是说, 主题公园及其基于电影和动画的景点是游客在主题公园生活体验的最后一部分, 而这种体验是从电影院的座位上、电视、视频游戏或电脑屏幕前开始的。

El principal desafío de este artículo es analizar la interrelación entre el turismo inducido por las películas y las visitas a los parques temáticos por parte de los visitantes, y examinar las películas más vistas en todo el mundo (2010-2022) relacionadas con los parques temáticos y sus atracciones.

La metodología utilizada en este estudio es un conjunto de indicadores cualitativos y cuantitativos para medir los parques temáticos más visitados a nivel mundial y las películas más vistas que nos han permitido responder a las preguntas planteadas en esta investigación.

Esta investigación proporciona una nueva contribución a las industrias del turismo y el entretenimiento. Los resultados han demostrado que el turismo inducido por el cine puede ser la herramienta de marketing perfecta para atraer más visitantes a los parques temáticos a través de películas y sus personajes reales o ficticios representados en películas como Marvel, Minions, Avatar, Harry Potter, Disney, entre muchos otros. Estos personajes famosos son parte de las atracciones de los parques temáticos para atraer a los visitantes a visitar las atracciones relacionadas con las películas. Estas atracciones permiten a los visitantes tener una experiencia de fantasía e interactuar con personajes de películas de dibujos animados o ficción. Existe una alta correlación entre el turismo inducido por el cine y las atracciones de los parques temáticos. Debemos reconocer que el turismo inducido por el cine ofrece grandes beneficios a la sociedad, parques temáticos, cines y destinos turísticos. De hecho, las películas ayudan a aumentar el número de visitantes a los parques temáticos. En 2019, 215 millones de personas visitaron los 20 parques temáticos más importantes del mundo analizados en este estudio, esta cifra es bastante lucrativa para los sectores de entretenimiento y turismo, y la economía local y regional donde se encuentran estos parques temáticos.

Este estudio revela la importancia de los parques temáticos en los destinos turísticos, dado que estas atracciones turísticas son una extensión de las películas, es decir, los parques temáticos y sus atracciones basadas en películas y animaciones son la parte final de una experiencia vivida por los visitantes en dichos parques y que comenzó en un asiento de cine, frente a su TV, un videojuego, o pantalla de ordenador.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate and analyze hourly line-level employees' characteristics and their perceptions of their employment experience in large US theme parks and attractions, as well as to explore predictors for their retention.

The research instrument adopted a theoretical framework based on previous retention studies of hourly employees in various industries. Following a qualitative phase with theme park employees, the survey was tailored to the uniqueness of the industry. Since major theme park companies are protective of their employee database, a “snowball” sampling technique was adopted using a variety of Social Networking Sites (SNS). A total of 307 usable responses were attained.

The results indicated that of the 27 employment characteristics studied, the most important were perceived to be advancement opportunities, humane approach to employees, and a fun and challenging job. Importance-Performance analysis revealed that the largest gaps were recorded in the areas of pay, advancement opportunities, and a humane approach to employees. The results also confirmed that hourly employees' retention was predicted by employees' level of satisfaction, better experience with pay, and better experience with employee development training classes. However, hourly employee retention was also predicted by the employees' negative experience with flexible working hours and performance reviews.

Data collection through Social Networking Sites (SNS) may not necessarily be as reliable a source for data collection as other methodologies, though some contemporary research justifies its reliability. Utilizing the “snowball” technique and the absence of random sampling may have slanted the responses. Although demographic data on the typical theme park employee is unavailable, the data was skewed towards younger employees who may not necessarily represent other age groups. Due to the US theme park industry's leading presence in Central Florida, the sample primarily represented hourly employees working for the Central Florida theme park industry.

As the labor pool continues to decline, employers must adopt new creative strategies to keep their employees and attract new ones at the same time. This may be attained by developing and revising mission statements, values, and corporate visions that may be applicable to hourly employees: the largest labor segment in the theme park and attraction industry.

While recent hospitality turnover research focused on its antecedents, this study explores the predictors of why employees stay. Previous retention studies have focused on hotels or restaurants and not on the unique group of theme park hourly employees that work in different settings and employment conditions. Knowing why people stay can help reduce turnover and thus lower the cost of staffing.