Research Projects

For quick access to a project in this page, please click on one of the following links:

• An economic study of a single nationality’s contribution to a small alpine destination in Switzerland
  By Dr I. Jenkins, Director of Research  
• Perceptions of Innovativeness Among Swiss Hotel Managers
  By Dr. Marshall, Mr. Pardo and Dr. Tajeddini
• LRG Research Project Portfolio 2009
• LRG Publications & Conference Presentations 2009

BRITS WEEK IN LAAX

An economic study of a single nationality’s contribution to a small alpine destination in Switzerland

By Dr I. Jenkins, Director of Research

This project was under taken at the end of March, 2009, at Laax, located in the south eastern region of Switzerland and a popular skiing destination for British holidaymakers.  Its focus was the British Free Style Skiing Championship’s programme which is organised by a British company called Soul Sports, this event is the climax of the year for this competition. The competition encompasses both freestyle skiing and snowboarding and has been held at this location for the past five years.  It extends over one week and is always held during the first week of April.

Laax is an interesting case study, as it had developed snowboarding at a time when snowboarding was not welcomed in many ski resorts. The destination has therefore, to some extent, established a snowboarding niche and cornered the market in this adventure sport.  Many British snowboarders would have heard of Laax as a snowboarding destination.  

The Laax destination is dominated by a Swiss company called Weisse Arena (established some 30 years ago) who have developed an infrastructure which ensures that economic spend, within the destination, is wholly contained; this involves clever use of economic facilities.  The company now owns several restaurants, all the lifts within the location, as well as a number of hotels and chalet complexes.  The company hosts a number of competitions throughout the year and the ‘Brits Week’ is just one product of several which they have developed.

Three members of the Bulle research team, Dr Ian Jenkins, Dr Ruth Rios-Morales and Corina Heinz carried out the research.  The data collection methodology was basedupon a mixed method format.  The aim was to explore the expenditure of British tourists at Laax during this week and try and gauge the economic impact this has on a small tourist  destination. 

The data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative instruments.  The British customers were very favourable to the collection of data and also provided some rich qualitative information which will be used to inform the interpretation of the results.

The project had two aims: Tourism and Leisure Marketing

•  Firstly, to provide economic and consultancy data for the two companies that were involved in staging the event. (Both companies were pleased to have LRG undertaking the research which may extend into a longitudinal study).
  
• Secondly, to provide academic data that could be used to produce conference or journal papers.

 
In terms of research, the idea grew out of a journal article in ‘Ski + board’ magazine published in January 2009.  The research team were attracted by the applied nature of the potential research and the relevance both to a Swiss tourist destination and the importance of primary economic data for the two private companies involved at Laax.  As research Director I would encourage members of staff to consider similar projects within their own academic discipline, relating it to the tourism and hospitality industry.  Research can and should be fun!

 







 

Perceptions of Innovativeness Among Swiss Hotel Managers

By Dr. Marshall, Mr. Pardo and Dr. Tajeddini

 

 

Research is lacking concerning innovativeness and the service industry. Faced with a global economic downturn, the ability of service managers, and in particular hotel managers, to quickly adjust their service offerings in response to changing customer needs is a critical competitive competency.

 

A majority of prior research concerning innovativeness has been conducted in different firms focusing on products and processes. However, little knowledge exists from the service-oriented hotel industry. Since service is an intangible process which is difficult to measure, and due to the critical role of management in innovation, the objective of this study therefore is to explore senior and top managers’ perceptions of innovativeness within a sample of deluxe hotels located in Switzerland.

 

A purposeful stratified sampling method will be employed, where in-depth interviews will be carried out over a three/four-month period. Meaning units (MUs) will be abstracted, which are compared and discussed with the interviewees until a basic agreement of terms can be made.

 

The emerging findings will highlight how top managers and owners perceive the innovativeness concept to gain a competitive advantage with insight into the relationship between innovativeness and competitive advantage, namely through a culture which fosters new ideas, processes and services. Our goal is to provide unique insight into manager’s perceptions of innovativeness and how this knowledge can lead to new competencies in.




Left to right: Dr K. Tajeddini, Mr P. Pardo and Dr T. Marshall - lecturers at LRG-UAS, Bluche campus

 

 

LRG Research Project Portfolio 2009


Economic Impact of Tourism in Laax-Switzerland
- Ian Jenkins, Ruth Rios-Morales, Corina Heinz
Sustainable Tourism
- Roland Schröder (BiTS),  Ian Jenkins, Olivier Hahn (BiTS), Ruth Rios-Morales, David Horrigan, Sue Clark
The Economic Effects of Golf Tourism: The Need for Brand Strategy
- David Horrigan, Ian Jenkins, Ruth Rios-Morales
The Kempiski Project
- Peter Juskiw, Ian Jenkins & MBA and MEd students
A day out: re-modelling tourist behaviour and the impact of the ‘Doughnut’ effect 
- Julian Hoseason
Smartship Cruise Project
- Ian Jenkins, Paul Fynn
The Influence of Culture on Learning Styles in Multicultural Classrooms
- Zarina Charlesworth
CATS in New York State – Sustainability and Climate Indicators
- Sue Clark
Gimel Project
- Alain Gervaix ,Corina Heinz, Quynh Roux, Ian Jenkins
Request, Recovery and Return
- Michael Nash 
The Invention of Switzerland: Literature, Art and Popular writing to Grand Tour
- Anthony Ozturk
Communication and Employees in an International Workplace
- Judith De Jong, Ruth Rios-Morales, Lyn Glanz
Work/Life balance in a Geneva-based luxury hotel: the case of the Mandarin Oriental
- Robert Lewis
Perceptions of innovativeness among Swiss hotel managers:
- Tom Marshall, Philip Pardo, Kayhan Tajeddini
Customer Orientation, Learning Orientation, and New Service Development: An Empirical Investigation of Swiss Hotel Industry
- Kayhan Tajeddini
Sustainable Tourism: A Financial Approach of Responsible Tourism
- Henri Kuokkanen, Ruth Rios-Morales
The Impact of Cultural Values on Achievement Goal Adoption and Work Performance
- Caroline Pulfrey
The Effects of Political Instability in the Tourism Industry
- Ruth Rios Morales, Dragan Gamberger (Rudjer Boskovic Institute),Tom Smuc (Rudjer Boskovic Institute), Ian Jenkins.
Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism, the case of Vietnam
- Ruth Rios-Morales, Quynh Roux, Ian Jenkins
The Impact of Bilateral Agreements on Tourism
- Ruth Rios-Morales
Career, Risk and Identity frameworks of Mountain Professionals 
- Josephine Underwood

 

 

LRG Publications & Conference Presentations 2009

• Charlesworth Z.M (2009). The challenge of the multicultural higher education classroom.   Paper presented at the 12 th Biennial Conference “Intercultural Dialogues”, June 29-July 3, University of Santa Catarina , Florianopolis , Brazil .
• Charlesworth Z.M (2009). Cultures of learning.   Paper presented at the 13 th Biennial Conference “Fostering Communities of Learners”, August 23-29. Conference Proceedings, University of Amsterdam & Vrije University , Amsterdam , Holland .
• Charlesworth Z M (2009). Actions speak louder than words – lessons from the multicultural hospitality classroom. Paper presented at the 18th Annual CHME Research Conference, University of Brighton, England.
• Charlesworth, Z.M. (2009). Cultures of learning: the missing variable. Reflecting   Education 5(2): 52-65.
• Horrigan, D. (2009). Branded content: A new model for driving tourism via film and branding strategies. Paper presented at the 4th International Scientific Conference, Rhodes, Greece, 3 – 5, April, 2009.
• Horrigan, D. (2009). Education as a tourism strategy.  Paper presented at the 7th APacCHRIE Conference, Singapore, 28 – 30, May, 2009.
• Horrigan, D.; Jenkins, I. and Rios-Morales, R. (2009). The economic effects of golf tourism: The need for a brand strategy. Paper presented at the Irish Academy of Management 12th Annual Conference, Galway, Ireland, 2 – 4, Sept, 2009.
• Horrigan, D. and Jenkins, I. (2009). A collaborative model for experience branding: Emotive and cognitive factors. Paper presented at the EuroCHRIE Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 22 – 24, October 2009.
• Imboden A. (2009). Adrenalin on Sale: A Discourse Analysis of Adventure Tourism in Sweden  and Switzerland. Paper presented at the 18th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 22 - 25 October 2009, University of Southern Denmark.
• Jenkins I., Rios-Morales R. and Horrigan D. (2009). The Economic Effects of a Single Nationality on a Niche Tourism Destination: The Brits Week in Laax. Paper presented at the 2nd EuroMed Annual Conference, 26-28 October, Salerno, Italy, ISSN: 1971-5293.
• Kuokkanen, H. and Rios-Morales, R. (2009). Conceptual Design of a Financial Approach to Developing Competitive Advantage through Responsible Tourism. Paper presented at the 2nd EuroMed Annual Conference, 26-28 October, Salerno, Italy, ISSN: 1971-5293.
• Lewis, R. (2009). Managing people at a distance: the experiences of part-time teleworkers in France. Paper presented at the 27th EuroCHRIE Annual Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 22-24 October 2009. ISBN: TBA.
• Lewis, R.; Edwards, C. and Truss, C. (2009). Telework in France: a longitudinal study on the experience of the OECD. Paper presented at the 15th world conference of the International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA), Sydney, Australia, 24-27 August 2009.  ISBN: TBA.
• Lewis, R. (2009). An investigation of telework in France: the case of the OECD.  Paper presented at the 5th Scottish Doctoral Management Conference, University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, 11-12 June 2009. 
• Lewis, R. and Lim, J. (2009). An evaluation of part-time, home-based telework using role sets: a model for ICT-enabled savings in emissions. Abstract presented at the IOP Conference Series, Earth and Environmental Science, Vol. 6, Session P54.02, The Role of Non-nation State Actors in Combating Global Warming, proceedings of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) International Scientific Congress on Climate Change, Copenhagen, Denmark, 10-12 March 2009. IOP Publishing, doi: 10.1088/1755-1307/6/4/542008.
• Lewis, R. (2009). A Study on Telework at the OECD. Paper presented at the American Association of Behaviorial and Social Sciences (AABSS) 10th annual conference, Las Vegas, USA, 5-6 February 2009.
• Modena, I. (2009). Communication Uncertainty and the Fictional Role of organizational culture. Journal of US-China Public Administration. 6(1): 37–44.
• Modena, I. (2009). Contingency in Corporate Communications. Risk Perception in Organizational Change. Paper presented at the International Conference organized by Beijing Normal University and University of Kent, Beijing, 15-17 April 2009.
• Murphy J., Doane R., Tuzovic S., Horrigan D. and Rios-Morales R. (2009). “Keyword Advertising as a Teaching, Learning and Research Tool,” panel at the Marketing Educators' Association Conference, 25 April, Newport Beach.
• Nash, Michael L. (2009). The EU confronts the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, Contemporary Review. 291 (1692): 33-40.
• Nash, Michael L. (2009). The Boldest Outreach: the Eastern Partnership initiative of the EU, Contemporary Review. 293 (169).
• Nash, Michael L. (2009). Royal and Legal: towards a theory for some uses of the Royal Prerogative. Paper presented at the 18th British Legal History Conference, University of Exeter, July 8-11, 2009
• Ozturk A. (2009). Translating Helvetica: Topography and Travel. Paper presented at the Travel and Translation Conference, Université Paris, 12-14 November 2009, France.
• Rios-Morales R. and Brennan L. (2009). The Emergence of Sovereign Wealth Funds as Contributors of Foreign Direct Investment. Paper presented at the Oxford Business & Economics Conference, 24-26 June 2009, Oxford, UK. IBSN: 978-0-9742114-1-9.
• Rios-Morales R. and Brennan L. (2009). Foreign Direct Investment from Emerging Countries into Europe. Paper presented at the 2nd EuroMed Annual Conference, 26-28 October, Salerno, Italy, ISSN: 1971-5293.
• Rios-Morales R., Gamberger D., Smuc T. and Azuaje F. (2009). Innovative Methods in Assessing Political Risk for Business Internationalization. Research in International Business and Finance, Special Edition Vol. 23 (2) 144-156. ISSN: 0275-5919.
• Rios-Morales R. and Brennan L. (2009). Ireland’s Innovative Governmental Policies Promoting Internationalization. Research in International Business and Finance. Special Edition, Vol. 23 (2), 157-168. ISSN: 0275-5919.
• Rios-Morales R. and Brennan L. (2009). Sovereign Wealth Funds: The New Global Financial Players. Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Commerce Exterieur et l'Eonomie - Les Cahiers de Recherche, No 12, 111-128. ISSN: 1628-419.
• Rios-Morales R., Ramady M. and Brennan L. (Accepted 2009 - Forthcoming). Sovereign Wealth Funds: and the Global Economy: the Impact of the Gulf Oil Producers. EuroMed Journal of Business. ISSN: 1450-2194.
• Syed, A.; Sharifah, F.; Hazarina, H. N.; Horrigan, D. and Murphy, J. (2009). Paper presented at the Travel research and sharing through user-generated content. Paper presented at the 7th APacCHRIE Conference, Singapore, 28 – 30, May, 2009.
• Tajeddini K and Mueller S (2009) “Entrepreneurial characteristics in Switzerland and the UK : A comparative study of techno-entrepreneurs”, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, DOI 10.1007/s10843-008-0028-4
• Tajeddini K and Trueman M (2008) “Effect of customer orientation and innovativeness on business performance: a study of small-sized service retailers”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business , Vol.7, No. 2, pp. 169-184
• Tajeddini K and Trueman M (2008) “Potential for Innovativeness: a Tale of the Swiss watch industry”, Journal of Marketing Management , Vol.24, No. (1-2), pp. 169-184
• Wetsch L., Jacobs D., Horrigan D., Rios-Morales R. and Murphy J. (2009) “Marketing Education Research Using Datasets from the Google Online Marketing Challenge”,  25 April, Newport Beach, USA.