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Master's thesis for Hyper Island Digital Management MA.

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reveal more about a person’s beliefs, needs, emotions, and desires than opinion surveys and

market research ever could.’ (Hilton, 2015, p.24)

DESK RESEARCH

Forming the basis of the Literature Review, this will comprise consultation and critical

analysis of pre-published information, sourced from academic articles, trusted sources,

and literature surrounding the research questions outlined above. The findings will be

treated as conjecture upon which deeper exploration of their practical application will

be applied to help formulate theory (Morse and Field, 1996).

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

As part of qualitative research I have chosen to conduct Expert Interviews as a rich

source of real world insight. According to Meuser and Nagel, an expert is defined as

follows (Meuser and Nagel, as cited in Van Audenhove, 2007):

A person responsible for the development, implementation or control of solutions/

strategies/policies;

A person who has privileged access to information about groups of persons or

decision processes.

It is important to establish that knowledge obtained from experts is not neutral and that

interview style and setting influences information obtained (Van Audenhove, 2007). In

order to obtain the best possible qualitative data, I have approached experts on the basis

of their relevance to the topics that I am exploring and shall conduct open ended, semistructured

interviews that place an emphasis on eliciting motives, beliefs, and routines

to gain deep insight into their expertise (Van Audenhove, 2007).

All participants will be advised of the purpose of their participation, their right to

withdraw within a specified time frame and shall, where possible, be recorded.

OBSERVATION

This will involve integrating myself in to the day-to-day workings of TakeMeTour and

observing the way they operate. I do not intend to interfere or advise, rather to ask

questions as I go along to build a broad understanding of where the organisation is

in its evolution and where the areas for development may be through comparison

to the findings from desk research and interviews.

08

1.3.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODOLOGY

The existing body of research around tourism innovation in Thailand is slim, therefore

the intention of this project is to uncover new insights and provide new knowledge.

However, there are limitations to what can be achieved within the time-frame

and context:

• Although the Thai startup I am working with speak English, their business is partly

conducted in Thai, which I do not speak. This may mean that subtleties and nuances

that could lead to deeper insight are missed. Where appropriate, I will ask for

clarification and/or translation.

• Access to other startups in Thailand is limited by the size of the ecosystem. From

early research, the guarding of intellectual property is a particular concern, therefore

I have been asked not to contact TakeMeTour’s direct competition. I will seek

permission from TakeMeTour before approaching other companies in Thailand for

research purposes and I will be protective of their IP.

• I will not have access to sensitive company information, such as financials, and have

signed a non-disclosure agreement with the company. Therefore, I will be unable to

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