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Master's thesis for Hyper Island Digital Management MA.
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.
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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