Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Designing For Tourism Innovation
Designing For Tourism Innovation
THAILAND
INDUSTRY RESEARCH PROJECT
b y Marc Morrell
INDEX
Arriving in Bangkok
Photograph by Marc Morrell
01. A B STRACT, M E THODOLOGY AND ETHICS 05
1.1 Abstract
1.2 Scope
1.3 Methodology
1.4 Ethics
06 . R ECOM M E NDATIONS 45
6.1 Designing a Response to the Challenge
6.2 Building a Culture of Empathy and Trust at TakeMeTour
6.3 Turning Empathy and Trust into Innovative Value
07. C ONCLUS I ON 55
7.1 Feedback
7.2 Interpreting the Feedback
7.3 Iterations
7.4 Conclusion
08 . BI B LI OG RA PHY 59
09. A PPE ND I X 67
01.
My apartment in Bangkok
Photograph by Marc Morrell
A B ST RACT,
ME T H O D O LO GY
& ET H IC S
1.1 Abstract
1.2 Scope
1.3 Methodology
1.3.1 Tools
1.3.2 Techniques
1.3.3 Limitations of the Methodology
1.4 Ethics
1.1 AB STRACT
This research project explored tourism innovation in Thailand. For three months of
its four month duration I worked as an intern at TakeMeTour in Bangkok, a Thai travel
startup specialising in one day tours hosted by locals. The project was conducted in
Thailand as it is one of the world’s preeminent tourism destinations, with an economy
heavily reliant on the tourism industry. However, Thailand’s innovation output within
the travel tech space struggles to match the digital economy aspirations of the Thai
Government. Through working with TakeMeTour I have been able to research the
possible causes, as well as identify ways in which the company can respond to trends,
threats, and opportunities to better innovate in a challenging climate.
The project began by travelling to Thailand with a number of research questions around
innovation, tourism trends, and the Thai startup ecosystem. Once integrated into the
company, I began by consulting pre-published information to familiarise myself with
the context in which I was working, as well as understand that which was already known
about the difficulties associated with tourism innovation in Thailand. Thereafter, through
deeper immersion into the Thai startup ecosystem, I conducted interviews with experts
where I sought to explore how my findings intersected in the real world, as well as to
gain a deeper insight into where they believed the biggest challenges lay. In combination
with a case study of an innovative tourism company, as well as my direct findings
through observation and interaction at TakeMeTour, the project developed towards
aset of recommendations designed to enhance TakeMeTour’s innovation capabilities
within its local context.
1.2 SCOP E
Tourism is a key enabler of the global economy yet historically has been reactive to
technological advancements (IATA, 2017). Therefore, this is not a problem unique to
Thailand. However, whilst understanding that this is a globally pervasive issue, this
research project seeks to identify ways in which the industry might become more
proactive in Thailand specifically. This will begin by exploring the following three
research questions:
Firstly, where is the current academic thinking on innovation and is it relevant to tourism?
Secondly, what is changing in travel and how are new trends likely to impact TakeMeTour?
Thirdly, how well developed is Thailand’s startup scene and what factors influence its
innovative capabilities?
05
In seeking answers to these questions, the project will conclude with a respectful
blueprint for TakeMeTour’s future innovation needs, proposing solutions to anticipated
changes, unforeseen challenges, and how they may be met with the confidence to
embrace them as opportunities.
1 . 3. 1 TOOLS
AG I LE
Agile working is a response to the historical hierarchical approaches to managing
projects, creating new ways for teams to adapt quickly to turbulent markets by taking
them out of silos and encouraging customer-centric self management instead (Rigby et
al, 2016).
The “Manifesto for Agile Software Development” emphasises four core principles, which
help achieve this (Cervone, 2011):
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
Working software over comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
Responding to change over following a plan.
The flexibility that Agile offers is suitable for conducting this research project as there are
multiple unknowns and an unspecified desired outcome. It may be necessary to adapt
and alter my approach as the project develops, therefore Agile principles are suitable
for responding to the unexpected and allowing the project to be led by discovery, rather
than belief.
DES I G N THI NK I NG
“Design Thinking is a ‘human centred’ approach to innovation that draws from the
designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the
requirements for business success.” – (Brown, IDEO, no date)
This project will likely require the use of empathy, therefore as Design Thinking is about
a deep understanding of the lives of the people being designed for, it obliges an open
mind, rather than the selling of one’s own ideas (Hilton, 2015).
DOUBLE DI A M OND
The design process can be convoluted and misunderstood by those who do not
consider themselves designers. Aiming to address this, a prominent model that gives
Design Thinking structure is the British Design Council’s Double Diamond, Fig. 1, which
guides the design thinker through two diamond shaped journeys, using the concept of
divergent and convergent thinking in order to arrive at two touch points to define and
deliver a solution. This project will use the following Design Thinking framework:
06
Fig. 1: Double Diamond, British Design Council, 2005
1. 3. 2 TECHNI QUES
To enhance the efficacy of Design Thinking, a qualitative research approach will be
used. This will begin by exploring previous research, thereafter seeking elaboration,
enhancement, illustration, and clarification through interviews and observation (Morse
and Field, 1996).
DES K R ES E A R CH
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).
Q UA LI TATI V E R ES E ARC H
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, semi-
structured 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.
OBS E RVATI ON
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.
1.4 ETHICS
“In a region as big as Asia, you run the gamut of cities/countries that are ultra sensitive
and respectful around privacy, and those who don’t understand why there would even be a
concern in the first place.” (Peng, IDEO, p.54)
IDEO’s David Kelley suggests that ethics are an abstract construct, but broadly comprise
bringing respect, responsibility and honesty to our dealings with people. This applies to
those we teach, as well as those we learn from, therefore the challenge is to make the
abstract concrete (Kelley, 2015).
When operating in a foreign country, Kelley argues that ethical behaviour should be
held to a higher standard than that which the law requires and in so doing suggests the
following as a set of ethical principles and guidelines by which to abide (adapted from
IDEOS’s Little Book of Research Design Ethics, 2015):
PR I NCI PLES
Respect
Honour participants’ limits and value their comfort. Treat them as people rather than subjects
and be kind. In a country like Thailand ask: “Am I being respectful?”, “Do I have consent?”
Responsibility
Act to protect people’s current and future interests and do not mislead.
Honesty
Be truthful and timely in communication.
GUI DE LI NES
Planning & Preparation
Keep TakeMeTour accurately informed
Seek support to clarify ethical ambiguity
Give interview participants clear explanations
Seek permission, not forgiveness
Keep research activities lean in the field
Gathering Information
Introduce myself accurately
Listen and don’t advise
Don’t make promises I can’t keep
Take only the information needed
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Using & Sharing
Consider the audience
Represent honestly what I learn
Guard raw data
Protect participants’ recognisability and traceability
Archive materials carefully
10
02.
2 .1 INTROD UCTION
Travel and tourism offerings are a sizeable portion of the startup landscape (Paget,
Dimanche and Mounet, 2010). However, tourism innovation literature is fragmented and
scattered around niche specialisations with little addressing Asia generally and Thailand
more specifically. Thailand is a particularly interesting case study as it is amongst the
most visited countries in the world with a significant portion of its GDP attributable to
tourism, yet its tourism innovation output within the travel-tech space is currently under
developed (WTCC, 2017). The literature review will begin by defining and establishing
the case for innovation, followed by an analysis of shifting trends in tourism and where
the industry should focus its innovation efforts. The general findings from these two
sections will then be contextualised through an in-depth exploration of the Thai startup
ecosystem in order to understand its unique characteristics and identify where the
challenges to stimulating tourism innovation in Thailand may lie. For the purpose
of establishing a working definition of tourism in this project, the UN World Tourism
Organisation’s definition will be used:
‘Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside
their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and
12 other purposes’ (World Tourism Organisation, 1993).
The global tourism industry is often faced with the challenge of understanding how to
develop innovation capabilities from within (Martinez, 2017). Further, the multimodal
and complex activities of tourism companies make an objective study of how to address
those innovation challenges from an empirical and theoretical point of view difficult
(Cruz et al. 2016). However, tourism can be broadly arranged into three distinct sectors
of Transportation, Accommodation, and Activities; therefore, this literature review will
mitigate some of the above by focussing on those innovation challenges most relevant to
TakeMeTour’s ‘Activities’ sector.
Fig. 2:
Reeves et al, HBR.org, 2015
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Global Consultancy firm McKinsey report that 84% of global executives cite innovation
as extremely important to their growth strategies (McKinsey, 2010). Analysis of the
figures demonstrate that their priorities are well founded; innovation, and the creative
destruction it gives rise to, has resulted in only 12% of Fortune 500 firms from 1960 still
being in existence today (Perry, 2016).
Further, with reference to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the average lifespan of an S&P
company is decreasing year on year, largely because of an inability to adapt to the
complexity of the modern business landscape (McGrath, 2013). According to Innosight,
at the current turnover rate, 75% of the S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027 (Innosight,
2017). With a significant number of leading tourism brands, including Expedia and
Hilton, on the S&P500, it is highly likely that tourism providers will need to engage in
continuous evolution in order to adapt to the volatility of international travel demands
for both survival and growth (Hsu et al, 2016).
It may be said that many corporations are still not well placed to innovate, with a
tendency towards developing established concepts more efficiently, rather than
adopting new thinking. Consequently, Steve Hilton observes two distinct types of
response when confronted with a threat from a competitor (Hilton, 2016):
1. Erecting barriers to entry to prevent new, more innovative competitors from launching,
or succeeding once they launch;
2. Adopting a collaborative, human-centred approach, often with multiple parties,
based on mutually beneficial relationships to produce greater value for
society than could otherwise be produced on their own.
Insofar as the second approach is favourable, it is helpful to identify commonalities
and causalities that may encourage and enhance the thinking necessary to succeed at
innovation.
14
Fig. 3: What is Disruptive Innovation?, HBR.org, 2015
15
Whilst each ‘Job’ may contain the same three emotional desires as outlined by
Christensen, Klement argues each ‘Job’ is a unique combination and ratio of these
desires. Therefore, Jobs Theory demands that assumptions are removed and instead,
innovators should ascertain the validity of their ‘Job’ by asking “How might my customer
be better since they started using this product?” (Klement, 2016).
Finally, it must be stated that Jobs Theory attempts to deal with real people and their
behaviours, therefore it does not distill numerical data that can be manipulated in
spreadsheets. Instead, it attempts to explain that numbers can disguise stories that
are otherwise rich in data and require a uniquely human-centred approach to elicit
(Christensen, 2016).
Fig. 5:
Chesbrough,
OurIdeaWorks.com, 1993
The Open Innovation paradigm consists of two distinct phenomena, Outside-In and
Inside-Out (Chesbrough, 2012).
Outside-In: Opening up a company’s innovation processes to many kinds of external inputs
and contributions.
Inside-Out: Organisations allow unused and under-utilised ideas to go outside the
organisation for others to use in their businesses.
Today, Open Innovation is a mainstream research area and has been shown to help
companies reduce costs, accelerate time to market, increase differentiation in the
market, and create new revenue streams (Gassmann et al, 2010), However, Pisano
warns that Open Innovation is not an ‘off the shelf’ solution for galvanising innovation;
efforts must be led by management who believe in it and new strategies should be
implemented to ensure its effectiveness as part of a coherent system (Pisano, 2015).
This may be particularly important in Thailand as it is known that many companies
closely guard their intellectual property. Further, whilst efforts of the Thai government
16
are actively encouraging more open-source adoption, greater education of the benefits
would need to occur prior to widespread adoption (Yu, 2016).
2. 3. 4 I NS I G HTS
With many layers to the tourism industry in Thailand, the above is not exhaustive,
rather an indication of the diversity of influences the Activities sector may encounter. A
commonality is that traditional distribution channels, and SMEs in particular, may face
competitive challenges from those companies with the resources able to exploit new
technologies, new sectors, and shifting habits.
On the one hand, a growing sharing economy offers the possibility of deeper human
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connection, however, a pressing challenge for experience providers in Thailand may be
to identify new ways to deliver greater humanity in travel if sharing economy practises
remain illegal in the country. On the other hand, the emergence of Digital Realities may
create a future where real life connections have the potential to be rendered obsolete.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence and use of Big Data within travel illustrate the growing
preference for personalisation, a feature the industry has been particularly aware
of at the top end of the market. This may lead to further decline in the demand for
standardised products when it is applied to the mainstream.
It is therefore possible that smaller tourism providers may have a future in which
they are no longer competing solely with other traditional suppliers in the same
segmentation, rather with the purveyors of new personalised or digital realities
experiences. To that extent, an ability to detect and adapt to shifting trends proactively
will likely be advantageous.
Fig. 7:
Startup Ecosystem
startupcommons.org, no date
21
To encourage greater startup activity, many localised networks aimed at developing
startups have evolved, known as ‘Startup Ecosystems’; a typical ecosystem is formed of
startups in their various stages of growth, a variety of support organisations, and people
with specific expertise who interact to promote and sustain startup life, shown in Fig. 7.
A prominent example of an ecosystem is Silicon Valley, known to possess a set of unique
identifying characteristics that allow the various parties within its ecosystem to interact
and support one another (Haines, 2014). However, Silicon Valley’s exceptional rate
of success contrasts with large global variance within other ecosystems; sometimes
metropolitan areas within the same country exhibit large disparities in their ability to
create and sustain startup growth (Motoyama and Watkins, 2014). It can be shown that
almost all ecosystems are adapted for localisation (Malecki 1994), which may partially
explain causality behind each ecosystem’s marked variance (Motoyama and Watkins,
2014). It has been suggested that Silicon Valley is not just a model, but a mindset for
innovation, yet within the startup communities of less developed countries, there is
increasing evidence to show that a clone approach to innovation has limited success
(Haines, 2014).
Author and entrepreneur Ressi has identified two distinct trends in the evolution of
startup ecosystems in developing countries (Ressi, 2017).
1. The best results are driven from the bottom up approach, with grassroots efforts being led by
local startup founders.
2. Many developing countries have government funded innovation centres, where investment
and expertise are delivered from the top down. Rarely does this give rise to lasting companies.
It may be inferred through data comparison above that the Thai startup ecosystem is
underperforming relative to its neighbours, even allowing for population adjustment.
Whilst superficially the requisite infrastructure may be in place, the figures point to a
deeper, structural imbalance that merits further exploration.
2 . 4. 6 I NS I G HTS
The startup scene in Thailand’s unique characteristics have been influenced by
a confluence of factors; understanding these help contextualise the challenges
TakeMeTour have faced as they have grown. If a startup is a vision of the future, it is
probable that the relationship an individual, or even a collective, has with the past will
influence the lens through which that future is envisioned.
Thailand faces both structural and cultural challenges as it tries to shift from an
agricultural economy to a knowledge based one; its progress is inhibited by structural
factors, such as under investment in Research and Development, but also by a culture
that places the status quo as the imperative, exhibits strong risk aversion and high
uncertainty avoidance. Research also suggests that greater efforts must be made at
25
a grassroots level to encourage more startup activity through appropriate venture
capital funding and mentorship as it is not sufficient for the government to simply keep
directing funds at innovation efforts in a top down manner.
Whilst it is well known that many Asian societies have steep power distance gradients,
Thailand registers particularly low trust of environments outside of the family. The
extent to which trust is both recognised and understood as integral to creating the right
set of circumstances for innovation should be explored in expert interviews.
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03.
3 . 1. 1 M E E T THE E XPERTS
G A R E TH
LY M E R
Innovation Expert. Gareth’s innovation experience
across multiple industries and cultures is valuable
for gaining insights and validating ideas about
approaching innovation in different cultures.
28
MIKE
RYA N
Futurist. Mike’s expertise in predicting how the
world is likely to change and how companies can
adapt is particularly helpful for a non-partisan view
of travel’s emerging trends.
R I CHA R D
J ONES
CEO Appsmaker Store. Originally from the UK, now
based in Singapore, Richard has helped multiple
Asian travel startups launch platforms throughout
the region.
PHI LI P
M OR R E LL
CEO VJV. Philip has founded several travel
companies since the 1970s that have redefined the
travel experience, which is helpful for understanding
historical travel behaviours and values.
JUN
I S HI K AWA
CEO Tabika. Jun’s experience of the Activities
market in Japan allows an appreciation of the
wider challenges associated with this particular
segmentation in Asia, particularly as Tabika are
currently expanding in to Thailand.
AMARIT
CHA R OE NPHA N
CEO Hubba and TechSauce. Amongst the most
influential of Thailand’s startup founders, Amarit is
the ‘go-to’ man for a broad perspective on the Thai
startup ecosystem.
29
B OOM
S UPAWAT
FA R
LE E ATHI WAT
CEO Tourkrub. TourKrub aims to address the
complexities of outbound travel from Thailand and
Far has a unique perspective as a startup addressing
Thailand’s internal market.
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3.3 THE IMPACT OF C U LT U RE
According to Englen et al’s study on entrepreneurial orientation in Thailand, cultural
dimensions have influenced the development of Thailand’s innovative capabilities.
Amarit Charoenphan has found that traits such as risk aversion and lack of trust are
deeply ingrained in Thai culture, even leading to a mistrust of indigenous brands,
preferring instead to favour those established and proven abroad. He suggests that
in Thailand:
“There is no culture of accepting and embracing failure and ‘have another go’; a culture of
constantly learning and improving. Openness to new ideas, innovation — it’s all still in
the works here; it’s still hierarchical, old school and slow to adapt” (interview with Amarit)
Founder of MeRooms echoes this sentiment and consequently concludes that for his
startup to succeed he cannot address Thailand’s internal market as he is unsure if it can
adapt and mature:
“The best hope is inbound tourism, collaboration with the established players or thinking
ahead about what people are coming to Bangkok for, building it and exiting when the big
players come in.” (interview with Boom)
This appears to have created a vicious circle as whilst the travel tech space in Thailand
has potential, the opportunities it offers for innovation are not yet being reaped (WTCC.
org; Russell, 2016). According to Richard Jones, much of what is currently generated
involves cloning established ideas, citing Grab Taxis in Thailand as a direct response to
Uber. Further, Richard’s work with companies in Asia generally reveals a widespread
cultural fear of failure that demands new concepts be proven elsewhere first (interview
with Richard Jones). The founder of Tabika, who operate in the same Activities
segmentation as TakeMeTour in Japan, has observed a similar reluctance to try new
things in his own country, citing a fear of making mistakes. These insights complement
the findings of Thailand’s low trust society status and its high uncertainty avoidance
(Ward et al, 2014; Hofstede, 2016). However, this cultural aspect alone is not entirely
responsible for Thailand’s innovative orientation, as Japan, whilst exhibiting many
similar cultural characteristics to Thailand, continues to remain at the vanguard of
technological progress (Ready, 2015).
A compelling explanation of this divergence in Thailand was identified as beginning
in the education system, which is slow to adapt and discourages critical thinking
(Intarakumnerd, 2015). In practical terms, educational rote learning hampers innovation
efforts as people become accustomed to being told what to do, thereby creating a dearth
of ‘free thinkers’ (interview with Amarit).
3.7 CONCLUSIO N S
It is apparent that many barriers to innovation exist in Thailand and that these issues
are interconnected and deeply culturally entrenched. From only a small selection of
interviewees the data is insufficient from which to draw precise theory. However,
there are points of overlap between the insights from the literature review and the
experts’ perspectives that help answer the central questions of this research project:
1. In light of digital realties complexities and expense (Evans, 2017), as well as
seemingly minimal tourism industry concern about its impact, the argument that
travel’s future is increasingly about creating greater human connection is persuasive
because it is highly likely that connecting with other humans is ‘a hard wired
human trait to which we will always revert back’ (Gareth Lymer). This also aligns
with MacCannell’s observation from 1973 about a tourist’s desire to experience
authenticity, with little evidence to suggest that habit changing since it was
observed 50 years ago (MacCannell, 1973).
2. The role of corporate culture in innovation in Thailand is emerging as more
important than the literature review suggests, as highlighted by experience of
dysfunctional interpersonal relationships at work (Amarit & Boom). This is arguably
explained by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, particularly across the Power/Distance
relationship and the Uncertainty Avoidance dimensions, and is supported by Englen
et al’s work suggesting that entrepreneurial orientation in Thailand is influenced
by national cultural characteristics (Englen et al, 2015).
3. Whilst there is awareness of differences in innovative capabilities between Thailand
and Western countries, interviews revealed very little understanding of modern pillars
of innovation; those experts consulted outside of Thailand support the literature
review’s findings of empathy and trust as units of value in innovation (Interviews with
Gareth Lymer and Richard Jones; Diekhöner, 2017). However, awareness of these in
Thailand appear to be limited. According to Hayton et al, previous western innovation
paradigms have not succeeded in Thailand, which may suggest an alternative
approach involving localisation could be helpful for future efforts (Hayton et al, 2002).
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04.
Floatel in Kanchanaburi
Photograph by Marc Morrell
A LOO K
AT A N
INN OVAT I V E
T RAVEL COM PANY
4.1 Why AirBnB is innovative
4.2 How AirBnB Innovate
4.3 Translating values into Actions
4.4 Insights
Following the insights from both the literature review and expert interviews, the role
of culture in Thai startup settings is emerging as far more important to Thailand’s
innovative orientation than first anticipated. Before introducing TakeMeTour, it is helpful
to look outside of the Thai startup ecosystem to a strongly culture-led, innovative
tourism company and gather insights that may be transferred to TakeMeTour. The
purpose of this is not to clone, rather to inform and complement this project’s ability to
help TakeMeTour’s innovative ability.
AirBnB is amongst the world’s most recognisable travel brands, credited with having
disrupted the accommodation vertical of travel (Gallagher, 2017; Varma et al, 2016).
Further, AirBnB have recently enhanced their host/guest relationship through a newly
launched Activities service called ‘Trips’ in the Thai market, an almost identical product
to TakeMeTour’s (Ting, 2017).
This may be significant for TakeMeTour as if a trend of personalised, more intimate
human experiences has been correctly predicted, they now face direct competition from
a brand that has already established trust in a peer-to-peer market place and whose
reach extends to 191 countries globally (Ting, 2017; atairbnb.com, 2016). Therefore, it is
useful to identify the ways in which AirBnB have developed the innovative capabilities to
continually deliver the value that has allowed them to grow their brand.
GR OUND CONTR OL
Referred to by Mark Levy as the company’s secret sauce, ‘Ground Control’ aims to bring
AirBnB’s global travel mindset and mission to life by creating the internal ‘belonging’
that enables employees to form a group that can stay together as they progress through
their careers (Clune, 2017). This team is dedicated to looking after the workplace
environment, internal communications, employee recognition, celebration and events.
O NE A I R BNB
AirBnB hold regular global employee conferences to break-down barriers and encourage
integration of their community. The conferences not only focus on the company’s future,
but their people and development, as well as exploring ways in which they might better
work together (Clune, 2017).
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05.
NOPPON
& TA R O
TAK E M E TOU R ’S
FOU N DE RS
VERTICAL OR
INTENSIVE PROGRESS
Doing New Things
HORIZONTAL OR
EXTENSIVE PROGRESS
Copying Things That Work
Fig. 12: Vertical Progress, Thiel, 2014
41
Therefore, it is likely crucial that TakeMeTour have the tools to detect Fig. 12’s vertical
opportunities for progress to do new things as a point of differentiation if they are to
grow alongside one of the world’s most established brands (Thiel, 2014).
In terms of a company culture, I have observed features of a startup environment that
would be familiar to those associated with startup culture in a Western context, yet I
have also recognised some of the obstacles to managing staff highlighted in previous
chapters. For example, there is an open plan office where the founders and the team
all sit, flexible working hours, and occasional ‘breakout’ sessions to discuss projects.
However, there is little by way of a defined culture and promotion of dialogue between
and across hierarchies.
Through the literature review, expert interviews, and the perspective of the founders,
distinct patterns emerge about the future of travel and the necessary direction for the
company to direct its innovation efforts towards.
The purpose of this research project is to help TakeMeTour gain a competitive advantage
by being able to better detect opportunities for innovation specific to their tourism
segment and within their local context. In this regard, the following three company
insights are particularly helpful in leading towards the ultimate challenge statement:
• There is a strong bias towards tech and big data as the primary vehicle
for innovation.
• There is a need to form partnerships as part of their growth strategy.
• More established international sharing economy platforms are moving
in to their market space.
43
06.
Trust & Em pa t hy P i l l a rs
1.Checkins and Checkouts. A simple, non threatening way to begin the process of
learning to facilitate dialogue and display feelings (Hyper Island Toolkit). Initially this
started by asking each team member to describe a feeling by ‘the animal that represents
my mood today’.
Once the initial awkwardness Checkins
of displaying&
Reflections Checkouts
feelings was diminished, newer subjects were
brought in, such as ‘how we felt about what
5 X PER WEEK we’d achieved the day before’ with each
A T THE p END
er is l an OF
team member eventually taking it in turn to choose the subject.
h ttp:// t ool box . hy d. c PR
om / cOJECTS
hec k- in - c hec k- ou t
h ttp: / / t ool b ox . hy p er is l an d. c om / r ef l ec t ion - t eam
Reflections
Feedback
A T THE END OF PR OJECTS
“ONE
h ttp: / / t ool b ox .IhyApPPR
THING ECIA
er is l an TE/ r A
d. c om efBOUT
l ec t ion -YOU”
t eam
h ttp://tool box . hy p er is l an d. c om / f eedb ac k- i- ap p r ec iat e
2. Reflections. Building upon the Checkins and Checkouts, Reflection was introduced
as a tool to help deepen the expression of thoughts, feelings and opinions about shared
experiences, with the ambition of building greater openness and trust into the team
(Hyper Island Toolkit). This was introduced as part of a talk I delivered on International
47
Feedback
Thank God it’s Friday!
Mindset and Sharing & Caring Culture. I had noticed that there was a reluctance
initially to share deep feelings, however, leading by example, tentatively progress
was made. Crucially, reflections encourage the use of ‘speaking from the I’, which is
Checkins
designed to encourage alternatives & Checkouts
to passive aggressive behaviour.
Reflections
This will be something I will encourage
A T THE 5 X the
END PER founders
OFWEEK to continue to participate in so as it
PR OJECTS
h ttp:// t ool box . hy p er is l an d. c om / c hec k- in - c hec k- ou t
becomes an integral part of /the
h ttp:/ t oolcompany function.
b ox . hy p er is l an d. c om / r ef l ec t ion - t eam
Reflections
Feedback
A T THE END OF PR OJECTS
“ONE THING I A PPR ECIA TE A BOUT YOU”
h ttp: / / t ool b ox . hy p er is l an d. c om / r ef l ec t ion - t eam
h ttp://tool box . hy p er is l an d. c om / f eedb ac k- i- ap p r ec iat e
4. Thank God It’s Friday! Adapting a company tradition of a group activity on a Friday
night, usually involving playing a board game, TGIF is evolving to be led by a different
member of the team each week, talking about something important to them and their
feelings in relation to it. This could be a book, a film, an occasion, or even a piece of
music. Following the talk, an opportunity for both those listening and the person who
delivered the talk flows in to a reflection. The purpose here is to encourage deeper
displays of emotion about interests and passions from outside of the work environment.
48
01
02
03
01. CHECK I NS
Practising Checkins for the first time
02. TA K E M E TOUR ’S N EW VALUES
Delivery of the values to support the new TakeMeTour culture
03. ‘THA NK G OD I T’S F RIDAY! ’
Delivering a talk on International Mindset to the team
49
6.3 TURNING EM PAT H Y AND T RU ST IN TO
INNOVATIVE VALU E
6. 3. 1 M A XI M I S E VA LUE THROUGH THE TRUST MODEL
As an inbound tour operator it is critical that TakeMeTour understand the value of
trustworthiness that its brand must communicate. In the U.K., a sizeable portion of
TakeMeTour’s customer demographic, preference for trusted brands is growing, with a
study in 2016 reflecting that 31% of Millennials will only buy from trusted brands (GFK,
2017). This behaviour is accentuated in the travel sector, attributable to concerns about
personal safety and security around global political instability (GFK, 2017).
TakeMeTour currently use social media and review sites to build awareness of their
brand, encouraging customers to interact with and buy from them through ‘free’
channels. However, such relationships are transactional and momentary (Diekhöner,
2017). Without a solid layer of trustworthiness being created immediately, TakeMeTour
may struggle to create the strong brand equity from which their proposition can move
from Startup to Innovator (Fig. 14), particularly as established players move in to their
market (Diekhöner, 2017).
ITERATOR INNOVATOR
SURVIVOR STARTUP
By applying the Trust Model, TakeMeTour can methodically integrate greater trust
into their value proposition. Further, collaborative commercial behaviour, such as
open innovation, is stimulated by perception of trust existing between a company and
its customers, particularly relevant in the democratisation of innovation processes
(Diekhöner, 2017).
50
1. PE R CE PTI O N 2 . TEMPTATION 3 . CONNECTIO N
Radically focus TMT’s Provide taste tests. Help TMT’s customers
offering. socialise in safe and
Give your travellers meaningful ways.
Simplify TMT’s value experiential flexibility.
P R OACT IV E
proposition. Live in TMT’s customers’
Focus value propositions worlds.
Put authenticity above on common
all else. denominators. Let your stakeholders
influence who you are.
Disintermediate by
motivating crowd
participation.
51
6. 3. 2 A PPLY I NG E M PATHY AS A TOOL FOR INNOVATION
“People do not want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter inch hole.”
(Theodore Levitt)
Jobs Theory posits that companies don’t sell products and services to customers,
rather they help people address jobs they’re attempting to get done (Christensen,
2016). This is useful for TakeMeTour as it can help the company to innovate
according to underlying needs within travel, rather than simply asking travellers
what they think they want, or relying exclusively on data (Wunker, 2012). By making
‘the job’ the unit of analysis, it is possible for TakeMeTour to achieve predictable
growth, as opposed to leaving innovation to chance, and thereby gain a competitive
advantage (Ulwick, 2017).
Jobs Theory requires the use of empathy to identify the set of circumstances that
would compel a traveller to use a TakeMeTour service over someone else’s in the
first instance (Alkabie, 2017). In order to develop greater awareness of the power
of empathy, Fig. 16 shows Jobs Theory can be broken down in to an innovation
practise (Ulwick, 2017):
Samut Prakan
Photograph by Marc Morrell
FEED BAC K
7.1 Feedback
7.2 Interpreting the feedback
7.2.1 Greater Awareness of Trust?
7.2.3 Greater Awareness of Empathy?
7.3 Iterations
7.4 Conclusion
7.3 ITERATIONS
Having analysed the feedback and identified opportunities for refining the
recommendations, TakeMeTour may benefit from a modified approach in the following
ways:
1. A greater emphasis on understanding the primacy of culture. To guard against
cloning, making a direct comparison between AirBnB and TakeMeTour was avoided
as part of the recommendations. However, it is arguable that presentation of a case
study of AirBnB, or another highly culture led company, may have better validated the
value of company culture, particularly as previous commentators had suggested new
ideas in Asia must be proven elsewhere first. Whilst the practice of the suggested tools
has been embraced, the feedback does not reference a deeper understanding of why
and how these lead to better innovation, likely endorsing previous research findings of
national cultural characteristics’ influence on innovative orientation. Therefore, I have
provided my research and findings to the founders about AirBnB’s innovative culture
to share with the team during a ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ session, in order to reinforce
the purpose behind the tools.
2. Supplementary empathy based tools. To highlight the importance of a human-
centric, empathy driven response to innovation, Jobs To Be Done was recommended
to TakeMeTour as it has been both conceptually and practically proven academically.
However, on reflection of the feedback, it is necessary to to appreciate that as an
unfamiliar concept, Jobs Theory requires practise and not just awareness. The bridge
between generating the necessary internal culture to promote empathy and turning
that into innovative value may be enhanced through a practical workshop on Jobs
To Be Done. Alternatively, introduction of tools such as Design Thinking or Customer
Journey Mapping, neither of which were used by the Company, may also be useful for
a practical application of empathy.
7.4 CONCLUSION
I began this project with little knowledge of what I might find at TakeMeTour. Although I
have a background in travel and have previously visited Thailand, the learning curve was
steep. As far as I am aware, this is the first time a Hyper Island student has worked with
Hyper Island Methodology in a Thai business setting.
Despite Thailand’s tourism tech space potential, the country is beset with interlaced
structural and cultural issues that cannot be bypassed or underestimated by well
56
meaning non-native attempts to help. Therefore, this project has hopefully begun a
conversation that can reframe the focus of TakeMeTour’s efforts to scale, whilst also
raising internal awareness of the importance of cultural issues as perceived by someone
not associated with the Thai startup ecosystem. The solutions to these challenges will
take much more than foreign intervention; they will need to be determinedly led by
local, grassroots efforts to transform the status quo.
Tourism habits continually evolve, yet the fundamental human instinct to travel appears
to remain constant. In answering this project’s original question of how the industry in
Thailand might become more proactive in detecting opportunities to innovate, arguably
tourism providers should start by being tourists themselves and design accordingly.
Many of the issues highlighted through this project are unlikely to be resolved soon,
but through enhancing awareness they may to some extent be legislated for.
I would like to conclude by saying I have had a rare and privileged insight into a very
different way of approaching business. Through this project I now better understand the
imperative to innovate in tourism. I have also experienced the value of cultural exchange,
not least because the contrast obliges both parties to challenge their own assumptions.
Tourism reminds us that in a deeply digital world there is still tremendous power in
connecting with our common humanity. It is hoped that this project will have enhanced
ways in which TakeMeTour can continually innovate their way to delivering this as
they grow.
57
08.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SECON DARY R ES E A R CH
In alphabetical order by surname(s) of author(s)
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Thurston, T. (2017). Christensen Vs. Lepore: A Matter Of Fact.
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matter-of-fact/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017].
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[online] Available at: https://skift.com/2017/03/27/this-is-what-airbnb-trips-hosts-really-
think-of-airbnbs-newest-product/ [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017].
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[online] Available at: http://www.marketingjournal.org/getting-started-with-jobs-to-be-
done-theory-anthony-ulwick/ [Accessed 1 Nov. 2017].
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[online] MIT Sloan Management Review. Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/
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[Accessed 15 Nov. 2017].
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09.
APPENDIX
Arriving back in Manchester
Photograph by Marc Morrell
FE ED BAC K
FRO M T H E T E A M
AT TA KE ME TOU R
N OPPON, CEO TA K E METOUR
‘As an entrepreneur, this study is rather TakeMeTour’s self-reflection than academic thesis.
This thesis not only studied about outside perspective or business environment but into
the company’s culture. Thus, it can be applied for company improvement and be a good
suggestion as well.
“Trust is critical” is what we totally agree and keep improving this in many perspectives.
However, there are some difficulties in doing this. As mentioned in the thesis, the limited
resource in startup company is critical also and every startups need to deal with this
anyway. Moreover, travel startup like TakeMeTour, we are dealing with 2 sides of user, first
is foreigner, second is local people which suit with different approach. In case of foreigners
go visiting other developing country, it needed much more consideration before they make
a booking. In the other hand, Airbnb case, they started with domestic market which all
users are local people and the market is big enough to grow. That created an easier way to
build trust first.
When people talk about innovation, it’s often referred to technology. However, innovation
is more than that. What this study suggests is to innovate each step of customer flow by
empathizing, understanding, and offering new solution.’
TA R O, CEO TA K E M E TOUR
‘Thank you so much for the insights on how to build & promote more innovation in
TakeMeTour. I like the fact that his recommendations are quite practical. Also, it’s taking
both internal (culture aspect) & external (branding & trust) factors into account. From time
to time, it’s crucial to get a recommendation from people outside the company to look into
your business from a different & fresh perspective.
The recommendation on building trust & add empathy element to the innovation are
something I think it’s very interesting. I’ll follow-up closely and make sure we take
that into account when developing a new idea. I have one specific comment on the
recommendations from you as follow:
Radically focus TMT’s offering: Focus on being exceptional at one thing rather than
creating variety for mass appeal.
> This is a very good and valid point. I totally agree that it’s good to be exceptional at one
thing. However, it’d have been even better to make a scalable impact from that. Therefore,
what we’ll be trying to do here is to create a scalable approach to what we are good at.
Instead of limit the offering to an only few trips, we may create an innovative solution (e.g.
using Machine Learning) to display a different set of trips to a different user. This is because
the experiences that people want could be subjective.
I personally find the rest of the recommendations very insightful. I appreciate his work and
effort on this. I firmly believe this will have a positive impact on TakeMeTour in the near
future.’
J E TA R I N, DE V E LOPER AT TAKEMETOUR
‘The presentation was excellent, simple is the best as Pantong said. Only one feedback
about presentation is the font on the slide, there is a font that *difficult to read*. About
Check In Check Out is good idea, we already did the check in and it works! and we should
have checkout too (actually we already have but not officially, like chit chat while walking
to the train station) It will help us knowing and understanding how was their day.’
68