Developing regional tourism in China(6)

中国区域旅游发展

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J.Jackson/TourismManagement27(2006)695–706

Infosteringanattitudetocompetitionbasedondifferentiationandinnovationratherthanprice,closeattentiontopersonalrelationshipsandtrustinsustainedcollaborationrepresentsthetacitbusiness-to-businessunderstandingthatgoesbeyondthewrittencontracts.Asaresultoflong-termbusinessrelationships,trust

buildsupbetweenthevariousparties.

Strongprivatesectorleadership.Whileinitiallypublicsectorauthoritiesmaybeinvolvedinfacilitatingclusterdevelopment,theleadershipfortheestablishedclustershouldbefromwithinthebusinessmember-shipoftheclusters.Strongleadershipwillallowexplicitup-frontgoalsettingandcontinualreinforce-mentofthesegoalstoavoidtheurgetoseeksubsidies

orlimitcompetition.

Institutionalisationofconcepts,relationships,andlinkages.Centralandprovincialgovernments,localtradeandbusinessdevelopmentorganisationsmaytakeanimportantfacilitationroleinformalisingandinstitutionalisinglinksandrelationshipsbetweentourismbusinessestoensurethelonger-termsurvivalofthecluster.Thisformalisationofrelationshipsisapointofdifferencefromearlierindustrialdistrictmodelsofbusinessorganisation.

Insum,clustertheoryfeaturestheimportanceoflocation,partnershipsbetweenorganisations,theim-portanceofclusterintersectionsandthesynergiesachievedthroughcompetitionalongsidecooperationbetweendifferentiated rms.ItisembeddedinPorter’s(1990)theoryofcompetitiveadvantageasameansofstrengtheningthelinkagesbetweenrelatedandsupport-ingindustrieswithinacontextfor rmstrategyandstructuredictatedbyanation’scultureandpoliticaleconomy.

3.4.Addingvaluetonaturaladvantage

AspointedoutbyBordas(1994,p.4),‘Nowadaysthesuccessofaclusterininternationaltourismmarketsdependslessandlessonitscomparativeadvantagesandmoreonitscompetitiveones’.Hence,theideaistomovefrompossessionofthecomparativeadvantage,whichmaybeendowedbynaturaladvantages,toapositionofcompetitiveadvantageutilisingthetheoryofbusinessclusters.Aproperlyfunctioningbusinessclusterwillreduceisolationofsmallandmediumenterprises,resultinincreasedproductivity,anincreasedcapacityforinnovationandwillstimulatenewbusinessformation.TheissueforinlanddestinationsinChinaishowtodeveloptheirnaturaladvantagesandfactorendowmentinaninnovativeway.Outcomeswilldependupontheimaginationandproductivitywithwhich rmsinalocationcancooperativelymanagetheseresources,inasustainablefashion,toproducevaluablegoodsandservices.Inadditiontocreatinganenvironmentthat

fostersinnovation,ahealthyclusterattainingacriticalmassalsogeneratesaself-reinforcingprocesstowhichotherbusinessesareattractedbecauseagrowingclustersignalsopportunityforalertentrepreneurs.Itisalsopossiblethatthedevelopmentofaclusterinoneindustrywillleadtorecognitionanddevelopmentofotherrelatedclusters.Forexample,thedevelopmentofatourismclustercouldbeapositiveforceinimprovinginfrastructuresuchastransportandcommunicationlinksforotherindustryclusters.Insuchaway,thedevelopmentoftourismbusinessclustersseemsanidealwayofsupportinggeneraleconomicdevelopment.3.5.Methodandlimitations

Thispaper rstexaminesthepresenceofthefourkeyelementsofPorter’sdiamondinthestudyregionthroughsecondarydatasources,aliteraturesearchincludingpresentationsattheForumonChina’sTourismheldin2001,andinterviewswithlocalindustryleaders.Thiswasdonetoestablishthepre-conditionsforconvertingcomparativeadvantagetocompetitiveadvantage.High-levelindustry,regionalgovernment,CNTAandacademicattitudestoclusterformationwerealsoelicitedduringtheForumonChina’sTourism.Forthepragmaticreasonsofaccesstosubjectsandinterpreters,theprovinceofSichuanwaschosenasafocusfortheprimarydatacollection.Aseriesofquestionnaire-basedandfollow-upin-depthinterviewswereconductedwithtenmanagement-levelmembersofthelocaltourismindustryfromtheaccommodation,foodandbeverage,travelandtours,andregionaltourismof cesinSichuan.Throughthesemeanstheunderstandingofcompetitionandcompetitivebeha-viourandtheirinteractionandcooperationwithotherbusinessesintheindustrywasexamined,toestablishtheirreceptivitytoclusterformation.Theinterviewswerebasedonastructuredquestionnaire,translatedintoChineseandwiththeassistanceofaninterpreterfromSichuanUniversity.Follow-upquestionsweredonethroughtheinterpreter.Responsesweretran-scribedontheChineselanguagequestionnairesandtranslatedbytheinterpreterontotheEnglishlanguagequestionnaires.

Respondentswereinvitedtorespondtoaseriesofdiagnosticstatementsregardinghowtheregioncouldbecomemorecompetitive,howindividualbusinessescouldbecomemorecompetitiveandthenatureoftheirinteractionwithotherbusinesses,using7-pointLikert-typescales.Follow-upquestionssoughtfurtherexpla-nationoftheresponsestothestructuredquestionnaire.Limitationstothisstudywereimposedbythevariabilityofthesecondarydatasources,witharangeofdifferentresultsformeasurespertainingtothesamevariable.Hencetheselectionofwhichresultstouserequiredsomejudgementcalls.Additionally,whiledata