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1 – 10 of 130Ioulia Poulaki, Evi Chatzopoulou, Mary Constantoglou and Vaia Konstantinidou
This paper aims to examine how Airbnb has been transformed from an informal form of tourism accommodation into an emerging form of tourism e-micro-entrepreneurship through an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how Airbnb has been transformed from an informal form of tourism accommodation into an emerging form of tourism e-micro-entrepreneurship through an interesting triangle consisting of three distinct parts: hosts, platform and guests.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering that the peer-to-peer response has sealed the sharing economy's success, research methodology involves primary research that focuses on the adeptness of Airbnb hosts as e-micro-entrepreneurs from the customers' perspective. A quantitative methodology was employed by applying a convenience sampling strategy through a structured questionnaire that was distributed online, resulting in a collection of 150 useable responses. A statistical analysis has been performed to test the research's objectives.
Findings
Driven by Airbnb hosts' entrepreneurial behavior in managing their listings and guests' responses, research findings led to the development of a post-conceptual IRMA model, which describes this particular form of hosting as an e-micro-entrepreneurship opportunity, while guests' satisfaction confirms the platform's performance and hosts' efforts in service quality provision.
Research limitations/implications
This study brings valuable insights to the tourism e-entrepreneurship literature through the assessment of the Airbnb platform and the hosts as e-micro-entrepreneurs, providing useful information to researchers and managers involved in the Sharing Economy's disruptive innovation and a more complete understanding of the drivers of Airbnb's consumer adoption.
Originality/value
Research on Airbnb mainly focuses on service quality from the customer perspective, while the existing literature does not highlight how a new type of e-micro-entrepreneurship has emerged by operating in the sharing economy's disruptive innovation ecosystem, which illustrates the factors that motivate hosts and guests to share accommodation services in an equilibrium bond.
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Morakot Ditta-Apichai, Uraiporn Kattiyapornpong and Ulrike Gretzel
This paper aims to bridge micro-entrepreneurship, sharing economy and community-based tourism (CBT) literature by analyzing the specific ways in which technological platforms…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to bridge micro-entrepreneurship, sharing economy and community-based tourism (CBT) literature by analyzing the specific ways in which technological platforms mitigate risks and create opportunities that benefit local communities.
Design/methodology/approach
Six online platforms (two local and four international) used by tourism micro-entrepreneurs in Thailand were systematically analyzed to compare and contrast nuances in their business models, as well as their features to highlight benefits to CBT. Thematic analysis was used in the data analysis.
Findings
Three different types of business models based on tourism offers, membership policy and contributions to the destination community were identified. The variety of tourism offers includes tailor-made tours and private tour guides, local food experiences, skilled workshops and other local/community-based activities. Importantly, Thai platforms work closely with the Thai Government to promote tourism micro-entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This paper adds to tourism micro-entrepreneurship, sharing economy and CBT literature by dissecting the business models of online platforms and their roles as mediators of CBT, discussing the platforms’ contributions to the achievement of sustainable development goals.
研究设计/方法/途径
研究样本包括六个在线平台(两个本地、四个国际)服务于泰国微创业主们。本论文采用系统分析法来比较个中平台之间的细小差别和有利于社区型旅游产业的特点。分析方法为主题分析法。
研究结果
研究发现了三种不同商业模式, 基于旅游产品、会员制、对目的地社区的贡献等三方面。旅游产品包括定制化旅游路线和私人旅游导游、当地美食体验、工坊、以及其他的当地/社区型活动。最主要的是, 泰国网络平台与泰国政府紧密合作, 以促进旅游微创业。
研究原创性/价值
本论文解析了在线平台的商业模式和其对社区型旅游产业的作用, 讨论了平台对可持续发展目标的贡献, 因此, 本论文对于旅游微创业、共享经济、和社区型旅游产业的文献做出贡献。
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Anna Sandler, Amir Shani and Shahar Shilo
Home-based commercial hospitality (HBCH) is the focus of this study. This community-based tourism (CBT), which has received little research attention, is examined to reveal the…
Abstract
Purpose
Home-based commercial hospitality (HBCH) is the focus of this study. This community-based tourism (CBT), which has received little research attention, is examined to reveal the meaning of commercially hosting visitors in private homes for experiential meetings on a variety of topics such as food, art, culture, folklore and various workshops.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method was adopted, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with HBCH providers in the desert town of Arad, located in southern Israel.
Findings
The study reveals the impact of this unusual occupation on the host's quality of life, the factors that encourage and suppress involvement in this entrepreneurship, as well as the positive and negative consequences of HBCH on the local environment.
Practical implications
The findings could offer important guidelines to municipalities and local governments seeking to encourage CBT and sustainable micro-enterprises.
Originality/value
HBCH is a recent phenomenon and, as such, has been little researched. This study of one community raises issues that may be shared by HBCH enterprises. The findings could contribute to developing such initiatives elsewhere, avoiding the obstacles faced in this pioneering effort.
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Duarte B. Morais, Ernie Heath, Mapula Tlhagale, Fay Cobb Payton, Kate Martin, Khanjan Mehta and John Bass
Many tourists are interested in locally beneficial experiences, which should afford opportunities for vulnerable individuals to earn their way out of poverty. However, host…
Abstract
Many tourists are interested in locally beneficial experiences, which should afford opportunities for vulnerable individuals to earn their way out of poverty. However, host communities remain largely relegated to the role of passive tourees receiving only scraps from the tourism industry. This chapter introduces “People-First Tourism,” a project that attempts to leverage information technology innovations and ubiquitous cell phones to provide micro-entrepreneurs with access to markets and to support peer networks, with two factors accounting for much of tourism's unfulfilled potential to enable dignified and sustainable rural livelihoods. The chapter reports the findings from fieldwork conducted in South Africa in January–February 2010, testing project validity with individuals from rural communities and with high-level tourism and telecom stakeholders.
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Luisa Andreu, Enrique Bigne, Suzanne Amaro and Jesús Palomo
The purpose of this study is to examine Airbnb research using bibliometric methods. Using research performance analysis, this study highlights and provides an updated overview of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine Airbnb research using bibliometric methods. Using research performance analysis, this study highlights and provides an updated overview of Airbnb research by revealing patterns in journals, papers and most influential authors and countries. Furthermore, it graphically illustrates how research themes have evolved by mapping a co-word analysis and points out potential trends for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological design for this study involves three phases: the document source selection, the definition of the variables to be analyzed and the bibliometric analysis. A statistical multivariate analysis of all the documents’ characteristics was performed with R software. Furthermore, natural language processing techniques were used to analyze all the abstracts and keywords specified in the 129 selected documents.
Findings
Results show the genesis and evolution of publications on Airbnb research, scatter of journals and journals’ characteristics, author and productivity characteristics, geographical distribution of the research and content analysis using keywords.
Research limitations/implications
Despite Airbnb having a history of 10 years, research publications only started in 2015. Therefore, the bibliometric study includes papers from 2015 to 2019. One of the main limitations is that papers were selected in October of 2019, before the year was over. However, the latest academic publications (in press and earlycite) were included in the analysis.
Originality/value
This study analyzed bibliometric set of laws (Price’s, Lotka’s and Bradford’s) to better understand the patterns of the most relevant scientific production regarding Airbnb in tourism and hospitality journals. Using natural language processing techniques, this study analyzes all the abstracts and keywords specified in the selected documents. Results show the evolution of research topics in four periods: 2015-2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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