Clive Morley

A microeconomic theory of international tourism demand.

Abstract Current models of tourism demand based in economic utility theory assume a two-stage decision process, with the choice of tour independent of the prior decision to travel or not. In this article, a more comprehensive model is developed that incorporates the decision to travel or not and the time and budget allocations, as well as the choice of tour in one utility function with nontourism goods. The new model allows changes in incomes and in the prices of nontourism goods and services to affect tourism behavior in ways that the standard and simpler model does not, with implications for improved empirical model formulation.

A dynamic international demand model.

Abstract A formal, theoretical model of the dynamic structure of tourism demand is developed from consideration of information flows. The result is a nonlinear, diffusion form of model specification. Such models are estimated for seven major sources of tourists to Australia. The estimation results show that incomes have a key role in explaining international tourism to Australia. Income elasticities vary across origins according to a life cycle hypothesis in which income elasticities of demand are small for both relatively low and high income earners, and larger for a middle range of incomes. The modeling results also indicate that the usual constant elasticity demand models are likely to be misspecified.

The use of CPI for tourism prices in demand modelling.

Abstract The non-fare components or tourism prices are often proxied by consumer price indices (CPI) in tourism demand models. The argument for this is that tourism prices move in close concert with general consumer prices. It is not immediately obvious that this is true, as tourist spending differs from general consumer spending. This paper investigates the evidence for the use of CPI for tourism prices, employing a variety of methods and data. For 10 important tourist destinations price series for major tourist expenditure items were estimated. These were found, with a few exceptions, to correlate very highly with the destinations CPI. The high correlations persisted even after linear time-trend effects were removed from the series. In the case of Australia detailed data on tourist origins, numbers, spending breakdowns and on price changes were used to derive sound tourism price indices for major origins of tourists to Australia. The tourism price series were found to correlate very highly with the Australian CPI. The results confirm that it is reasonable to use CPI as a proxy for tourism prices in demand models. However, interpretation of the estimated coefficient is problematical.

Experimental destination choice analysis

Abstract Econometric modeling of tourism demand is restricted by problems of data aggregation, errors in variables, and multicollinearity. Discrete choice modeling of experimental data can avoid such problems. Data from a well-designed simulated choice experiment avoids selection bias and allows the study of choice alternatives beyond those observed. The methodology is illustrated with an example of an experiment exploring the impact of three price variables on the choice of Sydney as a destination by tourists from Kuala Lumpur. The combination of experimental design, stated preference data, and discrete choice models form a powerful body of techniques for analysis of tourism demand.

Call centre management: responsibilities and performance

Purpose – To investigate call centre management from the perspective of the managers, particularly what the key management responsibilities are in managing call centres and the key performance indicators (KPIs) used in managing call centres.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of call centre managers, followed by in‐depth interviews.Findings – There is confusion over the strategic intent of call centres. Centres are primarily used by organisations as a means of reducing costs, with customer service delivery a secondary consideration. Call centre managers, however, declared customer service as their main management responsibility.Practical implications – The metrics employed in the call centres resulted in managers concentrating on the call itself rather than the outcome of the call from the perspective of the customer or the organisation. Some quantitative measures were used as proxies for customer service, but the achievement of the relevant KPI became a goal in its own right. There appears to be an in...

Why Business Academics Remain in Australian Universities Despite Deteriorating Working Conditions and Reduced Job Satisfaction: An intellectual puzzle

In the last two decades, Australias 38 universities have been subjected to profound changes affecting the working lives of their academic staff. That the working conditions of staff have deteriorated cannot be denied, while many studies have shown that job satisfaction has been affected adversely. Paradoxically, there is little evidence that academics are seeking employment outside the university system. In this article, the authors report the findings from their survey of over 3000 academics employed in business disciplines in Australian universities, which aimed to find explanations for this phenomenon.

Corporate reputation and organisational performance: an Australian study

Purpose – To test for a relationship between corporate reputation and financial performance, using Australian data.Design/methodology/approach – Econometric modelling.Findings – No causal relationship between corporate reputation and financial performance (in either direction) was found. This is contrary to some findings in other countries. Reputation may not have a significant impact on performance in Australia. There may be weaknesses in the existing measure of reputation, or the finding may be due to unobserved variability in the intervening variable of managerial exploitation of the reputation.Research limitations/implications – The findings may be specific to Australia. In Australia, the linkage between reputation and performance may be too small to be significant in the available sample. It is argued that in corporate practice the link between reputation and performance proceeds via strategy and competitive advantage. Having a reputation resource is not enough; it needs to be managed well and exploi...

Dynamics in the specification of tourism demand models.

The specification of a tourism demand model now commonly includes lagged demand as an explanatory variable. This raises issues in the formulation and interpretation of econometric tourism demand models. It is argued that a simple lagged demand term is not sufficient to account for the dynamics of tourism demand. Many alternative specifications of the dynamic elements and form have been used in tourism demand modelling. This paper helps to resolve the issue of how the dynamics should be specified. It does this by a thorough review of the dynamic elements relevant to tourism demand and by demonstrating that the specification does make a difference in practice. Consideration of different formulations of the dynamics of tourism demand, drawing on theory and specific characteristics of tourism, leads to the recommendation of an ARIMA with explanatory variables model form.

Changes in higher education and valuing the job: the views of accounting academics in Australia

In a previous article (Bellamy et al., 2003), the authors reported on survey research that investigated reasons why academics from business disciplines enter and remain in academia, and the conditions they deem necessary to creating ideal work satisfaction. For both entering and remaining, as well as in achieving ideal work satisfaction, the most important factors were found to be autonomy and flexibility, with teaching and research the next most important factors. In a subsequent analysis of the data, reported in this article, the authors identify and explore significant differences between accounting academics and other business academics in the relative importance placed on these key factors. The findings may be used to inform policy makers and university administrators of the importance of discipline differences when identifying key factors for recruitment and retention of accounting academics specifically, and business academics generally.

Impacts of international airline alliances on tourism

International airline alliances have the effect of improving the efficiency and services of airlines, by, for example, lowering operating costs and making connections easier. They can thus lead to important pay-offs for tourists in terms of service improvements and lower fares. There is, however, a danger of alliances reducing competition, leading to increases in fares. The net balance of costs and benefits to tourists is dynamic, partially unquantified, and not as certain as some studies conclude. There is some economic evidence that, generally, air fares fall as a consequence of alliances, but perhaps not by the full extent of the realized cost savings. At the same time, alliances between formerly competing airlines on a route reduce competition, resulting in fewer flight services and higher fares.