Jon Martin Denstadli

Videoconferencing as a Mode of Communication A Comparative Study of the Use of Videoconferencing and Face-to-Face Meetings

Based on a quantitative survey of Norwegian business travelers, this study compares their use of face-to-face (FTF) meetings and videoconferences (VCs). The study finds that access and use of VCs are determined mainly by industry and the geographical structure of the enterprise. It also finds that VCs and FTF meetings differ along several dimensions, suggesting that these two modes of communication fulfill slightly different needs. Based on the survey results, the authors propose a framework to understand the emerging role of VCs. This framework would address both relational and task-based dimensions.

TESTING THE ACCURACY OF COLLECTED GEOINFORMATION IN THE NORWEGIAN PERSONAL TRAVEL SURVEY -- EXPERIENCES FROM A PILOT STUDY.

This paper presents results from a pilot study to the Norwegian Personal Travel Survey 2001 designed to test the quality of geographical information in travel surveys. The use of travel surveys to produce input data for transport modelling requires respondents to provide adequate geographical information on their trips. Data from a telephone survey of 1500 respondents are analysed, and it is shown that people in general are capable of recalling street addresses of places they have been to or give alternative geographical information to help locate trips at a set level. However, the accuracy of location recall varies with respect to place of residence, trip purpose and transport mode.

Booming Leisure Air Travel to Norway – The Role of Airline Competition

Abstract Economic growth and cheap air travel have increased airborne tourism in Europe. In Norway, the introduction of low‐cost carriers (LCCs) has given a boost to incoming tourism by air, as distinct from sea, road or rail, which seems to have more or less stagnated. Analysis shows that economic growth, reduced air fares and the advent of LCCs explain the different growth rates in incoming tourism by air between countries of origin. Reduced fares were the most important factors driving incoming air tourism during the period 2003–2007. Even though growth rates are highest from the new European Union countries, just as in many other European markets, traditional countries of origin still dominate in absolute terms, e.g. the Nordic countries, Germany, the UK and The Netherlands. Holiday travel and visiting friends and relatives are the fastest growing incoming tourist segments.

Stakeholder Consensus Regarding Trail Conditions and Management Responses: A Norwegian Case Study

Abstract Trail damage and vegetation loss due to recreation activities is an increasing problem in many natural areas. Managing ecological impacts through the selection of indicators and standards is a key component of developing a sustainable tourism industry, a process that appropriately is based on the judgment of different stakeholder groups. This study investigates stakeholder consensus regarding trail impacts and management preferences in the Norwegian community of Lom and the surrounding region. Evaluations are compared across three groups; tourists, residents with tourism‐related income, and other residents. Results show a fairly high tolerance for trail impacts across stakeholder groups. Differences are more noticeable with respect to management actions that might be used to reduce ecological impacts, with tourists generally being more supportive of actions. Results suggest that consensus on relevant indicators and standards may be achieved relatively easily, but agreement on management actions may be more difficult.

Information processing in choice‐based conjoint experiments

Purpose – This paper investigates how respondents to conjoint experiments process information and choose among product profiles, and how this varies with their knowledge about the product. Models for estimating conjoint attribute weights are almost exclusively based on principles of compensatory decision making. The paper aims to explore to what extent and in what way these basic principles of conjoint modelling are violated.Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained from a verbal protocol study where 18 undergraduate students each performed a total of 28 stated choice tasks while “thinking aloud”.Findings – Results show that cognitive operations consistent with compensatory decision rules constitute a majority of the total number of operations performed across tasks and respondents. However, few respondents exhibited a consistent use of compensatory‐type processes throughout their choice sets. Results suggest that individual preferences interact with characteristics of the choice sets to instigate ...

Business Networking, Travel Tiredness, and the Emergent Use of Video Conferences

ABSTRACT This article explores business travelers attitudes to videoconferencing and how these affect on the use of this technology. Based on an analysis of 1411 Norwegian business travelers’ attitudes, we find four dominant set of attitudes toward the use of videoconferences and travels: benefit oriented, network development, travel tiredness, and mobile collaborating. Attitudes related to network development and travel tiredness had the strongest impact on actual use of VC, suggesting that this is the most important attitude based barriers and drivers for future use of this technology.

Smartphones, travel time-use, and attitudes to public transport services. Insights from an explorative study of urban dwellers in two Norwegian cities

ABSTRACT The uptake of mobile media with internet connection has increased rapidly in almost every part of the world, and this has significantly changed how public transport passengers use their travel time. Studies have documented that use of mobile information and communication technologies (ICT) while traveling has the potential to enrich use of travel time and in some cases, strengthen positive attitudes towards public transport. The alternative hypothesis—that mobile communication technologies make travelers more critical and demanding, e.g., due to the risk of interference—has so far hardly been explored through empirical studies. Based on a web-based survey of travelers in two of the largest cities in Norway (Oslo and Trondheim), this paper investigates how use of smart devices are related to general attitudes toward public transportation services. A segmentation of travelers in three clusters based on their mobile use habits, shows that the most active group of mobile media users—a group of younger and middle-aged urban dwellers—were those who bore the most critical attitudes to the public transport services. In contrast, the groups that used their mobile phones rarely, or less actively, on their public transport trips were more satisfied. The findings suggests that a new generation of “equipped travelers” has developed expectations regarding their public transport journeys that service providers might have problems to fulfill in current times. Thus, there is a risk of the most active smartphone users developing negative attitudes to public transport if (or when) their experiences are not improved.