Focus Grup Articol 121

8/10/2019 Focus Grup Articol 121

1/5

http://jtr.sagepub.com

Journal of Travel Research

DOI: 10.1177/0047287593032002101993; 32; 61Journal of Travel Research

Ady MilmanChoice

Maximizing the Value of Focus Group Research: Qualitative Analysis of Consumer's Destination

http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/2/61 The online version of this article can be found at:

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:

Travel and Tourism Research Association

can be found at:Journal of Travel ResearchAdditional services and information for

http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts:

http://jtr.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:

http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/2/61Citations

by Bobalca Claudia on September 18, 2009http://jtr.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://www.ttra.com/http://www.ttra.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://jtr.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://jtr.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://jtr.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/2/61http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/32/2/61http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://jtr.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://jtr.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://www.ttra.com/


2/5

61

Research Notes & Communications

Maximizing the Value of Focus Group Research:Qualitative Analysis of Consumers Destination Choice

ADY MILMAN

This research note describes an example of an application of qualitative methodologyto the study of destination choice. The example illustrates the value of conducting focusgroups for identifying themes relevant to destination choice that reflect the three ego states.

The purpose of this section is to carry shorter articles andshort notes on pilot studies, innovative or exploratory research.It is hoped that this section will (1)mtroduce new research tech-niques and result in greater experimentation, testing, and imple-

mentation ; (2) serve as a communication vehicle for reader commentson various articles, book reviews, etc., and (3) wherever possible,summarize the results of other meetings which have dealt withtounsm and recreation.

Decision making may be defined as selecting and com-mitting oneself to a course of action through a process thatinvolves a series of steps or events. Decision making regard-ing travel behavior implies commitments to courses of actionsimilar to any other form of decision: the traveler is involvedin a mental process of forming an opinionbased on compari-son and

judgmentsof alternatives.

The travel and tourism literature has addressed extensivelythe topic of consumer decision making (Jenkins 1983; Pittsand Woodside 1986; Shih 1986; Van Raaij 1986; Cook andMcCleary 1983; Pearce and Caltabiano 1983; Cosenza andDavis 1981; Ritchie and Filiatrault 1980; Crompton 1979;Goodrich 1978; Woodside and Sherrill 1977). However,review of these contributions reveals that the studies employedmethodologies that produced quantitative data on past orpotential travelers that allowed the researcher to establish sta-tistical relationships between operationally defined variables.

A different approach to understanding the process ofdestination choice would be a study from the actors ownframe of reference (Bogdan and Taylor 1975). This so-calledphenomenological approach underlines that situations con-sist of actor, others and their actions, and physical objects.Consequently,different participants define different situationsin different manners, mainly owing to the different social roles,norms, values, and goals set by the different actors (Bogdanand Taylor 1975). By applying this philosophy to marketingresearch, qualitative methodologies could be essential tounderstanding decision making processes and/or productusage patterns of consumers (Gordon and Langmaid 1988).

The aim of this research note is to report an examplewhere qualitative methodology was applied to the study of

destination choice. More specifically, the question consid-ered was why vacation travelers choose a particular destina-tion over another. For the purpose of this study, destinationchoice was defined as the travelers act of picking out a vaca-tion destination from a greater number of destinations.

METHODOLOGY

Ten focus groups were commissioned by a national tour-ist office of a European country. The overall goal of the dis-cussions was to solicit input regarding consumer motivationto travel to particular destinations. Each group consisted of12 participants who were U. S. experienced travelers that hadtraveled at least once to an international destination (notcountingCanada and Mexico) in the three years prior to theresearch time. The participants represented different agegroups (20 to 66) and an array of ethnic, educational, occupa-tional, and economic backgrounds. The groups also consistedof equal representation of males and females.

The focus groups were conducted in the Chicago, Hous-ton, San Francisco, and New York metropolitanareas to allowgeographicalrepresentation of large metropolitan areas thatgenerate international travel. All group discussions were heldin specially designated rooms in independent research firmsthat are used exclusively for focus group research. Incentivefees were paid to the focus group participants for attendingthe session and complimentary light refreshments wereprovided prior to the beginning of each discussion.

In preparation for the group discussion, a flow chart wasprepared by the moderator to determine the specific timingfor all the stages in the discussion process. Following the&dquo;warmup&dquo;phase that was aimed to help the participants feelcomfortable with the group process, each discussion waslaunched by introducing broad issues of vacation travel and

Ady Milman is at the Dick Pope Sr Institute for TourismStudies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/http://jtr.sagepub.com/


3/5

62

incrementallynarrowed to the topic of destination choice. Eachof the round-table group discussions lasted an average of twohours and was audiotaped. Transcripts were made and thedata are discussed in the findings section of this research note.

Although focus groups may prove rich in idea generation,they have some important shortcomings. The first is thenonrandom sample of relevant participants; second is theunimpressive sample size (even if 10 focus groups, represent-ing opinions of 120 people, were conducted). Consequently,any statistical projections would be inappropriate. Third, thetask of obtaining meaningful participation from the entiregroup may be sometimes difficult, principallybecause of veryvocal and/or very shy people (Greenbaum 1988).

FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETATION

Interpretation of qualitativedata involves not only the con-tent of the information but also nonverbal communication likesilences, contradictions, tone of voice, level of energy, andso on (Gordon and Langmaid 1988). It is also important to

note that the interpretation of qualitative research is a sub-jective process and depends on the individual researcher. Theprocess of interpretation is continuous and consists of roll-ing hypotheses (Gordon and Langmaid 1988).

Gordon and Langmaid (1988) suggested a theoreticalframework to interpret qualitativedata adopted from the trans-actional analysis theory originated by Eric Beme (1977). Thispsychologicaltheory analyzes the structure of social interac-tions, in which individuals assume three alternate personal-ity states (Parent, Adult, Child) that may be used singly orin combination.

The Parent ego state contains our taught concepts of life,the values and generalizations explicitly given to us by ourparents and other influential people in our lives. The Adultego stage is our storehouse of facts and skills gained fromthe objective environment and has no feelings. The Child egostate contains our feelings and incorporates hopes, wishes,and desires (Klein 1980).

Gordon and Langmaid (1988) suggested applying thestructural analysis of &dquo;egostates&dquo;to the area of consumerdecisions. According to Berne (1977), when two people meettransactions occur between them, even if no words are spo-ken. The Parent, Adult, and Child in one individual meetthe Parent, Adult, and Child in another individual. Since anyperson may choose to be in any of his or her three ego statesand to address any of the three ego states of the other, thereare nine possibilities for any single transaction (Klein 1980).

Relationships are unbalanced or disruptive if nonreciprocalstates are presented. When the focus group participantsdiscussed their decision-making processes when choosing aparticular destination they shared thoughts relevant to thesethree ego states.

FINDINGS: SOME INTERPRETIVE EXAMPLES

The qualitative data were analyzed and sorted accordingto each of the three ego states. The focus group participantsalso rationalized their decision to choose a particular desti-nation by

incorporatinga combination of two or more

egostates. The following examples illustrate this analysis.

The Parent State

Analysis of the transcripts revealed that some &dquo;parental&considerations are an important component of the decision-making process. For example, judgments regarding house-hold or familyharmony had a major impact on the decisionof where to go. The responsibility of satisfying partner orspouse needs turned out to be quite an influential decisionfactor that emerged in all focus groups:

My partner doesnt like to travel ... he likes going on a ship ...he hates packing and unpacking ... we always go to cruisedestinations....

A number of participants chose to travel to certain desti-nations because of a set of beliefs they gained about specificdestinations:

Eighty percent of what we have was discovered in England ...our law was developed there too ... I wanted to see where wecame from and why are we like what we are today....

Other &dquo;parental&dquo;rationalizations of the decision whereto travel were illustrated by some participants who had previ-ous learning

or

cultural experiences about the destination:The originalthirteen U.S. colonies were British.... We are taughtand reinforced in school to think of this country.... I went toEngland because I studied their literature....

The Adult State

Some participants were motivated to travel to certain des-tinations because of the opportunity they had in the actualtravel activity or some perceived utility at the destination.For example:

We are lucky to have family in different parts of the world ...my wife is a Swede and every year we go to Sweden ... we alsochoose another European country to visit....

or

I alwaysgo to Germany because I have family there and it doesntcost me a penny....

Other examples of rationalizing attributed the decision togo to a specific destination to distance:

It takes three hours to get from New York to the Caribbean andseven hours to get to Europe ... I take five days off during thewinter and I wouldnt want to spend fifteen hours commuting....

The Child State

Some travelers explained their decision to choose a par-ticular destination by pointing out their own wishes anddesires. Specific destinations were chosen as a result ofperceived intrinsic satisfaction, &dquo;romanticism,&dquo;or &dquo;fantasy.&Some participants were motivated to visit certain destinationsbecause they were curious to see whether their fantasies wouldbe fulfilled. For example:

I would go wherever my mood takes me ... I dont use travel agents... I do whatever I want ... I have a hit list of where Id liketo go....

or

Ialways thought

of the Far East as a totalmysticism ...

It is a

shoppers paradise ... everything is sent to your hotel....



4/5

63

Several participants mentioned that, in the process ofanticipating a visit to a particular destination, they had sub-consciously developed a visual image of a destination theyhad never visited. Their decision to visit the particular des-tination was rationalized by the need to satisfy their curiosityabout the reality of the destinations perceived image. Thisprocess of expectation development and its confirmation wasexplained by one participant:

I pick a place because I had seen a picture of it for many years... when I was m high school I saw pictures of Stonehenge mEngland or Machu Pichu ... if your picture is similar to yourdestination - you are lucky....

Collaboration of Two or More Ego StatesWhile each of the three states had a special place in the

potential travelers psyche, analysis of the transcript revealedthat the participants also flicked quickly from one ego stateto another. Peoplecan be overly Parental, stuck in their Adult,or play with their Child (Gordon and Langmaid 1988). Thedifferent strengths of ego states were exhibited in noticeablepersonality differences among the participants.

The following example illustrates a combination of an Adult state and a Child state explainingmotivation for travel:

I want to go to a place I havent been before like China, Egypt... I got there and my wishes were fulfilled .. In 1973 Air Indiahad a program to take you to Bombay for $475 .. I went thereand I got to see a great deal of India .. I worked the programaround the bargain....

These types of collaborations can be visualized on a three-dimension scale, as illustrated in Figure 1.

FIGURE 1CONSUMER DESTINATION CHOICE:

THETHREE EGO

STATESOF

TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS

Adapted from Berne, Eric (1977). Intuition and Ego States: The Ori-gins of Transactional Analyis. New York: Harper & Row.

IMPLICATIONS

This research note suggested a qualitative approach to thestudy of human judgment and decision making pertinent totravel. The example presented illustrates the value ofconducting focus groups for identifying themes relevant todestination choice that reflect the three ego states.

While some products or services may have dominant egostates (insurance companies are Adult, while toy stores areChild), the travel product has a combination of all three, andmotivation to travel may be perceived as a complex transac-tion process among the three. Destination advertising is aimedat triggering potential travelers ego states to result in com-plimentary transactions (Klein 1980) that would respondfavorably to the ego state of the potential traveler at the timeof contact. For example, advertisements that feature playful,exciting,and colorful themes may respond to the Child state,whereas informative and factual advertisements about a des-tination are aimed at triggering the Adult state. In a givenmoment, it is impossible to forecast the ego state that con-tains the most active energy in an individual, and thereforethe recommendation is to engage all three ego states at once.

This would maximize the interaction between the viewer andthe advertisement and increase the chances of getting his orher interest.

The qualitative data obtained from the focus groups pro-vide a valuable source of information about vocabulary,jar-gon, and language that could be used to create visual or ver-bal themes that represent the three ego states, and by so doingcommunicate better with consumers (Greenbaum 1988).

Furthermore, the information may also serve as a cata-lyst for developing subsequent quantitative surveys, richer incontent and sample size to test the validity and reliability ofthese themes or ideas.

In this view, additional qualitative research in the travelindustry should be developed to assist marketing executivesto understand better travelers motivation to choose particu-lar destinations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berne, Eric (1977). Intuition and Ego States: The Origins of Transactional Analysis. New York: Harper & Row.

Bogdan, R., and S. J. Taylor (1975). Introduction to Qualitative Methods.New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Cook, Robert L., and Ken W. McCleary (1983). "Redefining Vacation Dis-tances in Consumer Minds." Journal of Travel Research, 22 (2): 31-34.

Cosenza, Robert M., and Duane L. Davis (1981). "Family Vacation Deci-sion Making Over the Family Life Cycle: A Decision and InfluenceStructure Analysis." Journal of Travel Research, 20 (2): 17-23.

Crompton, John L. (1979)."Motives for Pleasure Vacation." Annals of Tour-ism Research, 4 (4): 408-24.Goodrich, J. N. (1978). "The Relationships between Preferences for and

Perceptions of Vacation Destinations: Application of a Choice Model."Journal of Travel Research, 17 (2): 8-13.

Gordon, Wendy, and Roy Langmaid (1988). Qualitative Market Research.Brookfield, VT: Gower Publishing Co.

Greenbaum, L. Thomas (1988). The Practical Handbook and Guide to FocusGroup Research. Lexington,MA: Lexington Books.

Klein, Mavis (1980). Lives People Live. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Jenkins, Roger L. (1978). "Family Vacation Decision Making." Journal of

Travel Research, 16 (4): 2-7.Ritchie J. R. Brent, and Pierre Filiatrault (1980). "Family Vacation Deci-

sion Making A Replication and Extension." Journal of TravelResearch, 18 (4): 3-14.

Pearce, Philip L., and Marie L. Caltabiano (1983). "Inferring Travel Moti-vation from Travelers Experiences." Journal of Travel Research,22 (2): 16-20.



5/5

64

Pitts Robert E., and Arch G. Woodside (1986). "Personal Values and TravelDecisions." Journal of Travel Research, 25 (1): 20-25.

Shih, David (1986) "VALS as a Tool of Tourism Market Research: ThePennsylvania Experience." Journal of Travel Research, 24 (4):2-11.

Van Raaij, W. Fred (1986). "Consumer Research on Tourism Mental andBehavioral Constructs." Annals of Tourism Research, 13 (1): 1-9.

Woodside, Arch G., and Dan Shernll (1977). "Travel Evoked, Inept, andInert Sets of Vacation Destinations." Journal of Travel Research, 16(1): 14-18.

TheImpact

ofVideoconferencing

on Airline Business TrafficPETER CODDINGTON

April 22, 1985:"Everybody was predicting a few years ago that teleconferencing was going to have

an enormous impact on travel. I saw estimates that it was going to cut travel by as muchas 50%. But it has proven to have had a minimal impact on travel. You cant get peopleto change the way they conduct business. They still get on airplanes and go.

"

American Express Travel Expense Control Consultant Judith Dettinger

June 13, 1991:"Videoconferencing has been around for a decade or so. During this period it has achievedsmall but now accelerating measures of success. Most recently, technology improvements

and significant price reductions have stimulated manyto use

this technologyas a

substi-tute for certain types of business travel. The lack of viable international business traveloptions during the Gulf War moved many customers to use videoconferencing for the firsttime. They liked what they saw."

Speech given by Hal Selander at the Travel and Tourism Research Association 22nd Annual Conference

In 1978, the Department of Transportationreleased a studyentitled The Impact of Telecommunications on Transporta-tion Demand through the Year 2000. This study claimedvideoconferencing could reduce business travel by approxi-mately 50% over the next decade, and it shocked the travelindustry into commissioning studies and forecasts since halfof its revenues come from business travel.

By 1985 videoconferencing had had no impact on busi-ness traffic and the airline industry had assumed the origi-nal DOT projections were incorrect. Indeed, until recentlyvideoconferencinghad replaced business travel to a very slightextent. The Persian Gulf War and the threat of terrorism, tech-nological improvements in videoconferencing,exorbitant cor-porate travel expenses, and the loss of time spent in travelall have stimulated recent videoconferencing growth. TheDOT prediction may have been a little premature and the air-line industry was lulled into a false sense of security whenoriginal forecasts did not become reality right away. But, asin all new technologies, development and marketability donot occur at

thesame

time and now, after 13 years, thenum-

bers seem to indicate videoconferencing is about to explode.The impact a viable videoconferencing market may have

on business travel is a little more difficult to predict. Somefigures seem to indicate one could replace the other. Somepeople believe business travel is an executive perk that cannever be extracted from the business culture. Others believethat videoconferencing could actually stimulate additionalbusiness travel. Business trips taken for one- to two-hourmeetings could be replaced by videoconferencing,and I sug-gest a survey question be included in the next annual U.S.Travel Data Center Survey asking respondents how many of

their business trips are for one- to two-hour meetings. In thisfashion, the potential loss of business travel to videoconferenc-ing could be measured.

Unfortunately,data on the length of meetings on businesstrips were not available from the American Express TravelResearch Library, the Runzheimer Travel Consortium, andvarious other travel-related publications and surveys. Whilesome data are available on the length of business trips, theinformation is not exact enough. It has been suggested thatvideoconferencing would only affect intracompany travelrather than intercompany travel because of the need to &dquo;pressflesh,&dquo;especially when selling. The theory reasons thatintracompany meetings on subjects ranging from training,operations, organizational and administrative issues can behandled by videoconferencing.However, this theory does nothold true for all instances. For example, some sales presen-tations, especially short international ones, could be madewith videoconferencing. Conversely, some intracompanymeetings require more contact than can be offered by a videoscreen.

Specifically,videoconferencinglends itself to

short,vital meetings that require more communication than the tele-phone can offer. With the telephone, only voice can be usedto exchange ideas, thoughts, plans, and directives. With thevideoconferencingstudio, two groups of business people canexchange not only body language and facial signals but also,and perhaps more importantly, graphs, tables, slides, videos,and spreadsheets.

Videoconferencing has recently grown owing in part tothe Persian Gulf War and the downturn in the. economy.Because of a perceived increase of terrorism and rising travelexpenses, businesses cut travel by 8 % after the onset of thePersian Gulf War (Economist 1991). During the Gulf War,videoconferencing saw marked increases as videoconferenc-ing services at U.S. Sprint increased previouslevels by a factor

Peter Coddington is a Sales Manager with Aviation Weekand Space Technology in Washington, D.C.


Focus Grup Articol 121

Documents

Transcript of Focus Grup Articol 121