IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i23p6846-d293131.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Constraining International Growth in Nautical Tourism Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Yen E. Lam-González

    (Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain)

  • Chaitanya Suárez-Rojas

    (Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain)

  • Carmelo J. León

    (Institute of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain)

Abstract

In tourism, entrepreneurial internationalisation is considered a measure of the development of the industry and a key driver of innovation, competitiveness and image enhancement. In nautical tourism, research is still scarce in terms of supporting business’ internationalisation. This paper analyses factors constraining the international growth of island-based nautical tourism organisations. For the research, a sample of 60 nautical tourism SMEs´ owners of six different islands in the Macaronesia Region (Canary Islands, Madeira and Cape Verde archipelagos) were interviewed. As a result, we provide up to date information about current conditions and barriers to the internationalisation process within the segment and also identify the profile of the firms with the best international performance. The study is of great usefulness for the industry as it guides on the areas that require special attention to enhance those social, environmental and economic conditions of nautical tourism firms that ensure sustainable international growth. Moreover, it helps policymakers of island destinations seeking specialisation and positioning within the international nautical tourism market to raise the efficiency of current incentive mechanisms for internationalisation, thus contributing to increase tourism competitiveness. Finally, the study highlights the importance of fostering wider cooperation among islands with common interests in nautical specialisation and the challenges that this represents for the tourism management.

Suggested Citation

  • Yen E. Lam-González & Chaitanya Suárez-Rojas & Carmelo J. León, 2019. "Factors Constraining International Growth in Nautical Tourism Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-19, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6846-:d:293131
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6846/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6846/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diakomihalis, Mihail N., 2007. "Chapter 13 Greek Maritime Tourism: Evolution, Structures and Prospects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 419-455, January.
    2. repec:ecr:col095:27555 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Armstrong, J. Scott & Overton, Terry S., 1977. "Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys," MPRA Paper 81694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. -, 2004. "Yachting in the Eastern Caribbean: a regional overview," Sede Subregional de la CEPAL para el Caribe (Estudios e Investigaciones) 27547, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    5. Leonidou, Leonidas C., 2000. "Barriers to export management: an organizational and internationalization analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 121-148.
    6. Wood, Andy & Logar, Cyril M. & Riley, William B., 2015. "Initiating exporting: The role of managerial motivation in small to medium enterprises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2358-2365.
    7. Hexian Wang & Wei Liu & Mengyuan Zhu & Qing Wang, 2018. "Embrace or Not? An Empirical Study of the Impact of Globalization on the Country’s Sustainability in the Case of NAFTA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    8. Fletcher, Richard, 2001. "A holistic approach to internationalisation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 25-49, February.
    9. Martin Schnitzer & Maximilian Seidl & Philipp Schlemmer & Mike Peters, 2018. "Analyzing the Coopetition between Tourism and Leisure Suppliers—A Case Study of the Leisure Card Tirol," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-20, May.
    10. Borda, Armando & Geleilate, José-Mauricio G. & Newburry, William & Kundu, Sumit K., 2017. "Firm internationalization, business group diversification and firm performance: The case of Latin American firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 104-113.
    11. Rangel, M.O. & Pita, C.B. & Gonçalves, J.M.S. & Oliveira, F. & Costa, C. & Erzini, K., 2015. "Eco-touristic snorkelling routes at Marinha beach (Algarve): Environmental education and human impacts," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 62-69.
    12. Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Ucbasaran, Deniz, 2001. "The internationalization of new and small firms: A resource-based view," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 333-358, July.
    13. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    14. Jan Johanson & Finn Wiedersheim‐Paul, 1975. "The Internationalization Of The Firm — Four Swedish Cases 1," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(3), pages 305-323, October.
    15. Peter Wild & John Dearing, 2000. "Development of and prospects for cruising in Europe," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 315-333.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul, Justin, 2020. "SCOPE framework for SMEs: A new theoretical lens for success and internationalization," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 219-230.
    2. Manolopoulos, Dimitris & Chatzopoulou, Erifili & Kottaridi, Constantina, 2018. "Resources, home institutional context and SMEs’ exporting: Direct relationships and contingency effects," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 993-1006.
    3. Jafari Sadeghi, Vahid & Biancone, Paolo Pietro, 2018. "How micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are driven outward the superior international trade performance? A multidimensional study on Italian food sector," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 597-606.
    4. Daniele Cerrato & Mariacristina Piva, 2012. "The internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises: the effect of family management, human capital and foreign ownership," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(4), pages 617-644, November.
    5. Hernández, Virginia & Nieto, María Jesús, 2016. "Inward–outward connections and their impact on firm growth," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 296-306.
    6. Pinho, José Carlos & Prange, Christiane, 2016. "The effect of social networks and dynamic internationalization capabilities on international performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 391-403.
    7. Kim, Jae-jin & Hemmert, Martin, 2016. "What drives the export performance of small and medium-sized subcontracting firms? A study of Korean manufacturers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 511-521.
    8. Jolanda Hessels & Siri Terjesen, 2008. "Entrepreneurial Career Capital, Innovation and New Venture Export Orientation," Scales Research Reports H200808, EIM Business and Policy Research.
    9. Oliva, Fábio Lotti & Teberga, Pedro Marins Freire & Testi, Lucas Israel Oliveira & Kotabe, Masaaki & Giudice, Manlio Del & Kelle, Peter & Cunha, Miguel Pina, 2022. "Risks and critical success factors in the internationalization of born global startups of industry 4.0: A social, environmental, economic, and institutional analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    10. Sinkovics, Rudolf R. & Kurt, Yusuf & Sinkovics, Noemi, 2018. "The effect of matching on perceived export barriers and performance in an era of globalization discontents: Empirical evidence from UK SMEs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 1065-1079.
    11. Jean-François Hennart & Antonio Majocchi & Birgit Hagen, 2021. "What’s so special about born globals, their entrepreneurs or their business model?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1665-1694, December.
    12. Paul, Justin & Parthasarathy, Sundar & Gupta, Parul, 2017. "Exporting challenges of SMEs: A review and future research agenda," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 327-342.
    13. Marina Dabić & Jane Maley & Leo-Paul Dana & Ivan Novak & Massimiliano M. Pellegrini & Andrea Caputo, 2020. "Pathways of SME internationalization: a bibliometric and systematic review," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 705-725, October.
    14. Sandberg, Susanne & Sui, Sui & Baum, Matthias, 2019. "Effects of prior market experiences and firm-specific resources on developed economy SMEs' export exit from emerging markets: Complementary or compensatory?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 489-502.
    15. Liu, Yulong & Yu, Yang, 2018. "Institutions, firm resources and the foreign establishment mode choices of Chinese firms: The moderating role of home regional institutional development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 111-121.
    16. Kotler, Philip & Manrai, Lalita A. & Lascu, Dana-Nicoleta & Manrai, Ajay K., 2019. "Influence of country and company characteristics on international business decisions: A review, conceptual model, and propositions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 482-498.
    17. Sun, Wenbin & Price, Joseph & Ding, Yuan, 2019. "The longitudinal effects of internationalization on firm performance: The moderating role of marketing capability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 326-337.
    18. Andrew Chan & Francis Cheng & Shuk-Ling Cheng, 2023. "Post-Crisis Sustainable Performance of Manufacturing SMEs: The Roles of Positive Orientation, Financial Slack, and External Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-18, August.
    19. Riviere, Monica & Romero-Martínez, Ana M., 2021. "Network embeddedness, headquarters entrepreneurial orientation, and MNE international performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    20. Li, Haiyan, 2020. "Role of overseas ethnic and non-ethnic ties and firm activity in the home country in the internationalization of returnee entrepreneurial firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6846-:d:293131. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.