THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF BEING A MAORI BUSINESS

Transcription

1 Mana Taiao Limited PO Box Ellerslie Auckland Tel: (09) Web: THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF BEING A MAORI BUSINESS A report investigating Maori tourism products By: K. Jones, Z. Morrison-Briars For: Mana Taiao Date: July 2004

2 Contents Executive Summary...1 Introduction...2 The New Zealand Tourism Industry...2 Maori Cultural Tourism...2 Background...3 Purpose of the Study...4 The Research Question...4 Objectives...4 Methods...5 Approach...5 Recruitment Procedures...5 Participants...5 Data Collection...5 Data Analysis...5 Results...6 Key Themes and Trends...6 Summary of Findings...6 Discussion...7 Characteristics of the Business Operator...7 The Offered Experience...7 The Business Structure...7 Global Indigeneity...7 Conclusions and Recommendations...8 Conclusions...8 Recommendations...8 References...9 i

3 PART 1 Executive Summary This report presents a subset of findings from the Waka Tohu research programme. The overall goal of this programme is to investigate ways for Maori businesses to foster their competitiveness enabling them to increase sales and profits in New Zealand s export and domestic markets. The Waka Tohu project has four main research objectives: 1. Conduct research into Maori business branding in global markets 2. Investigate any competitive advantage of being a Maori business 3. Understand the Maori products and services branding experience 4. Document how Maori companies integrate their cultural heritage into their business approach This study focused on the experience of Maori business operators within the tourism sector, and used a qualitative approach to investigate notions of competitive advantage, added value, business sophistication, emotional capital, and global indigeneity. The results of the study did not allow the identification of a clear competitive advantage to being a Maori business within the tourism industry, but instead suggested that the notion of added value is a more meaningful concept to describe the advantages of being a Maori tourism business. the notion of added value is a more meaningful concept to describe the advantages of being a Maori tourism business The results revealed that emotional capital is a key component in visitor demand; however operators of Maori businesses within the New Zealand tourism industry have a limited understanding of the importance of this. The study also identified that businesses operators had a limited understanding of the volatile market they operated in which has the potential to impact negatively on their business sustainability. The delivery of the visitor experience requires the use of intangible emotional and intellectual capital, a complex set of variables not currently measured by business tools. The results of this study show an emerging pattern of themes that need to be addressed to strengthen Maori business within the New Zealand tourism industry. 1

4 PART 2 Introduction The Maori tourism industry provides a useful platform to consider investigating the competitive advantage of being a Maori business. The tourism industry is widely recognised as being driven by influences and factors that affect global travel and experiences in international markets. These experiences relate to indigenous attractions, natural environments, transport accessibility, accommodation facilities, personal safety, and currency value. New Zealand competes in a global environment for the tourism dollar. Maori tourism operators compete with other countries that have an indigenous culture. In particular, this competition stems from within the Pacific. This aspect of tourism in the South Pacific contributes to the difficulties indigenous populations experience in establishing sustainable businesses that are not dominated by seasonal visitor patterns (1). THE NEW ZEALAND TOURISM INDUSTRY According to recent statistics, there were over 2 million international visitors to New Zealand in the year ending May 2004, an increase of 8.5% from the previous year, and in the year ending September 2002 tourism generated over $5.9 billion in foreign exchange (2). The industry encompasses all businesses, individuals and organisations - directly involved or closely associated with - providing products and services for the visitor experience and prides itself on providing visitors with an enjoyable experience. For the operators, it provides an opportunity to create employment, enjoyment and profits. Because of its economic potential and benefits and associated factors, the New Zealand tourism industry has been the subject of numerous research reports and reviews investigating the scope and nature of a broad range of tourism products and services On a regional scale, the South Pacific is over-represented as an inbound tourist destination and is further characterised by a low level of participation by domestic tourists (3-7). However of more immediate relevance to this study are the reports that have focused upon investigating cultural tourism (4, 8, 9). MAORI CULTURAL TOURISM Maori involvement in tourism as a commercial industry began in the mid to late 19 th century in Rotorua, a region rich in natural resources such as lakes, rivers, forests, mountains, and geothermal activity. These resources provided Maori with many of the essentials of life; an abundance of kai (food), hangi (cooking methods), thermal and mineral baths, and richly carved whare (shelter). The location of village sites and the interaction between the new settlers mainly from England, Scotland, and Ireland provided the catalyst for these new settlers to enter the Maori world and experience the living culture complete with cooking styles, traditional whakapapa (history), waiata or kapa haka (songs and dances), and whakairo (carvings). Maori tourism today largely follows the 19 th century pattern and is made up of unique experiences that are connected to whakapapa (history), and whenua (land) as sea, rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests. These experiences include performing arts, heritage, indigenous food, visual arts, adventure, and other activities that are directly connected to the Maori owner or operator. However more recently there has been a demand for authentic Maori experiences that allow people to connect with the land and its resources (global indigeneity). More Maori products are poised to enter the tourism market, and competition for the Maori tourism dollar is expected to intensify nationally as iwi, hapu, whanau and Maori individuals begin to develop cultural tourism products to meet the clear demand for global indigeneity or connectedness. 2

5 PART 3 Background In 2001 the Stafford Group Report was published entitled A Study of Barriers, Impediments & Opportunities for Maori in Tourism: He Matai Tapoi Maori. This study provided data on the level of Maori involvement in the New Zealand tourism industry and was based on the analysis of case studies of successful Maori tourism operators including Wakatu Incorporation, Whale Watch Kaikoura, Whakarewarewa, the Thermal Village, Tamaki Tours, Waitomo Downunder, and Ngai Tahu. The report considered four main areas: 1. Involvement of Maori in the tourism industry 2. Barriers and impediments to Maori involvement in the tourism industry 3. Identified opportunities for Maori involvement in the tourism industry 4. Proposed steps to improve Maori involvement and participation in the tourism industry The report found: Maori tourism businesses are significantly outnumbered by non-maori tourism businesses Maori have difficulty securing conventional debt and equity finance Low levels of investment in Maori tourism operations Turnover in Maori tourism businesses is generally low with little commercial benefit A lack of appropriate consultation with Maori in key tourism industry decisions Tourism can negatively impact on taonga (treasures) or cultural norms To address these issues and increase Maori involvement in tourism activities the report recommended: Developing and implementing a market research programme for Maori tourism Developing and implementing a Maori tourism strategy Facilitating a suite of services for capacity building and to increase Maori representation on tourism boards and in Maori tourism regional organizations Facilitating access to defined business skills, finance, and tourism training courses The Stafford Report has provided the most integrated picture of Maori participation in the New Zealand tourism industry and was useful in focusing the present study on aspects of Maori participation within tourism, particularly in addressing the central research question of whether there is an advantage to being a Maori business in the tourism industry. 3

6 PART 4 Purpose of the Study THE RESEARCH QUESTION The research question addressed by this study arose from a larger study investigating whether there was a competitive advantage to being an indigenous business. A thread throughout the tourism literature assumes that indigenous populations are able to harness their cultural resources (culture, artifacts, way of life etc) to provide for their economic development (1). Developing sustainable tourism is envisaged as a way of achieving this, with the underlying assumption being that the indigenous culture provides sufficient leverage to achieve this. The specific question addressed in this study was is there a competitive advantage to being a Maori business within the New Zealand tourism industry? Is there a competitive advantage to being a Maori business within the New Zealand tourism industry? OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived competitive advantage or added value associated with being a Maori business within the New Zealand tourism industry. The specific objectives were to: 1. Understand the experience of Maori business operators within the tourism sector 2. Investigate the notions of competitive advantage, added value, business sophistication, emotional capital, and global indigeneity and their impact on business success 4

7 PART 5 Methods APPROACH A bicultural research team was appointed to conduct the investigation. A qualitative approach was used to facilitate data gathering in the business setting. This approach allowed the collection of data from people living and working in dynamic and complex social situations. The study was divided into two components: 1. Critical incident interviews conducted with the primary research participants 2. Brief cultural visitor surveys conducted with secondary participants RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES Primary research participants were recruited from Maori Business operators identified from the Maori Tourism Business Database (generated by the University of Waikato) and industry contacts. Participants were chosen from businesses that reflect the diversity of tourism products on offer including Marae stays, cultural performances, significant sites and historical tours, soft adventure activities, thermal experiences, visual arts, and customised tours throughout New Zealand that have a high level of Maori content. Secondary research participants were recruited from inbound tourism operators and regional tourism operators. Potential participants were contacted by a Maori researcher and a number of hui (meetings) were set up. The Maori researcher fostered positive relationships with the participant sample resulting in a 100% response rate from those invited to participate in the interview process. PARTICIPANTS The study sample comprised a total of 18 participants: 10 primary research participants consisting of individual Maori tourism business operators 6 inbound tourism operators who contribute to 50% of the inbound tourism business into New Zealand 2 Regional Tourism Organisation representatives DATA COLLECTION The Critical Incident Interview technique (CIIT) was used to gather data from primary research participants. In-depth, open-ended, personal interviews were conducted with the 18 primary participants. The main objective of these interviews was to obtain narratives from the participants who described positive and less positive events they had experienced in their businesses. This method yielded 87 usable critical incidents. DATA ANALYSIS The critical incidents were facilitated and coded independently by two researchers using a content analysis coding scheme. Kappa values were used to measure the reliability of the results. Intra-observer reliability was rated as excellent for coding of positive and less positive incidents, and fair for extraction of key themes. 5

8 PART 6 Results KEY THEMES AND TRENDS Key themes and illustrative quotes are presented in the table below. Business sophistication Lack of research Tribal politics Emotional capital Added value Global indigeneity I m always looking for something to give me an edge I m not complacent We had no idea how to get tourists to come in how do you get them? It s a case of getting knocked down by your own people, I think we are getting leadership by mediocrity and there s quite a bit of jealousy out there It s an intensely personal experience so we bring our people here, put them in front of a Maori welcome and its very powerful, it pulls on the emotions, it connects people to their past and this prepares them for the rest of their experience Increasing numbers of people where the visitor is younger, better educated, has a deeper interest in the place they re visiting and they want a sense of the background wallpaper of the country International people want to understand our culture they want to connect SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Key findings of the study include: No clear competitive advantage to being a Maori business within the tourism industry could be identified The notion of added value appeared to be a more meaningful concept when describing the advantages of being a Maori tourism business The notion of emotional capital was determined to be a critical component of the Maori tourism business. However there appeared to be a limited awareness of the importance of this concept as part of the business practices of the Maori operator which could negatively impact on business sustainability Maori operators generally had a limited understanding of the volatile market in which they operate in which could negatively impact on business sustainability Maori tourism businesses are clustered along a business sophistication continuum which is reflected by the degree to which they operate within the Western business model 6

9 PART 7 Discussion Maori businesses that participated in this study were clustered along a business sophistication continuum which reflected the degree to which the business operated within a conventional Western business model. Where businesses were placed along this continuum appeared to be determined by four key variables: 1. Characteristics of the business operator personality, behaviour, knowledge 2. The offered experience emotional, informative, entertaining 3. The structure of the business complex or simple 4. Global indigeneity connectedness and authenticity CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUSINESS OPERATOR The study indicated that operators from more sophisticated businesses showed a deeper understanding and use of business practices and systems, and had a tendency to follow standard commercial procedures. These operators tended to focus less on personalities and their impacts within the business, and more on managing the visitor experience, and the quality of products and services. THE OFFERED EXPERIENCE Maori tourism products and services each have an emotional, informative, and entertaining component which impact on the visitor. A key trend identified in the research was the lack of acknowledgement or recognition given by business operators to the notion of emotional capital. This is defined as the collection and deployment of personal attributes, interpersonal skills, and the ability to develop rapport with the visitor, and has been identified as a key factor in the intensity of cultural experience. THE BUSINESS STRUCTURE The business structure and the business model used drives the operational aspect of the business, and impacts on the practical application and implementation of the Maori experience. For example whether the owners operate as a whanau, hapu, or iwi, or use Western commercial practices such as forming a limited liability company, partnership, or operating as a sole trader. The study identified a range of business structures along a continuum. At one end of the continuum was the local model, encompassing personality, behaviour, and knowledge within a whanau-based business. This type of operation was characterised by low levels of research and planning, strong reliance on personal characteristics to drive the business, and the use of whanau-based intelligence. At the opposite end of the continuum was a global model, encompassing Western business practices with compliance-based policies. These operators were able to integrate Western and Maori business practices, took a more strategic approach to their businesses, and deployed specific skills and knowledge to forward their business plans. GLOBAL INDIGENEITY The notion of global indigeneity arises from the concept of indigenous, and can be described as representing a connectedness amongst the peoples of the world through their relationship with the land and the environment (social, physical, cultural, and spiritual). The expression of indigenous peoples relationship with the land and broader environment is conveyed through the provision of authentic products, services, and lifestyle sharing, and previous research shows that this is a key demand factor among international visitors. The results of the study showed that although the expression of global ingenuity was not solely limited to the more sophisticated business operators, there was a pattern where this was more easily identified among operators using the global model of business. 7

10 PART 8 Conclusions and Recommendations CONCLUSIONS This study shows that Maori tourism businesses have great potential to add value to the international visitor experience, and indicates that success depends on the integration of the Maori ways of doing things with Western methods of enterprise management. Key conclusions include: The notion of added value is more useful when describing the advantage of being a Maori business within the New Zealand tourism industry, which is difficult to achieve in the absence of conventional Western business practices There are some positive experiences within the Maori tourism business that add to the value of products and services offered to the international visitor, however there are also some less positive experiences which can diminish the quality of their experience There is evidence that business can benefit when the Maori aspects are integrated with conventional Western methods of enterprise Maori business operators have whanau obligations which must be balanced with the implementation of their business process Emotional capital is the motivating force behind the intensity of visitors cultural experience, and is therefore an important business asset requiring active management within Maori tourism businesses RECOMMENDATIONS Key recommendations include further investigation into: The notion of applying a cultural business mix structure that can lift the capability and capacity of Maori operators to increase their level of sophistication along the business continuum. This may include components such as emotional capital management, knowledge of business disciplines, knowledge of global indigeneity, and realness management (authenticity). The relationship between customer satisfaction and the variables identified as key influencers of Maori business sophistication. The added value of being a Maori business in other industry sectors such as fisheries, food and beverage, creative industries (arts, film, entertainment) 8

11 PART 9 References 1. Weaver D. Perspectives on Sustainable Tourism in the South Pacific. In: Harris R, Griffin T, Williams P, editors. Sustainable Tourism: A Global Perspective. London: Butterworth-Heinemann; Zealand SN. Key Tourism Statistics. In. Wellington: Statistics New Zealand; Brunton C. Demand for Cultural Tourism: Summary of Research Findings. Wellington: Tourism New Zealand Library; Ryan C. Visitors to the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rotorua - a Study of Perceptions and Images. Waikato: Waikato Management School, University of Waikato; Simmons D, Fairweather J. Tourism in Rotorua: Destination, Evolution and Recommendations for Management. Canterbury: Tourism, Recreation Research and Education, Lincoln University; Report No.: 18/ Group TS. A Study of Barriers, Impediments and Opportunities for Maori in Tourism: He Matai Tapoi Maori. Wellington: The Office of Tourism and Sport and Te Puni Kokiri Ministry of Maori Development; Zealand TRCN. Tourism Research and Development Strategy A Draft for Consideration and Comment Version 4. Wellington: New Zealand Office of Tourism and Sport; McIntosh A, Smith A, Ingram T. Tourist Experiences of Maori Culture in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Dunedin: Centre for Tourism, University of Otago; Report No.: Research paper no Taylor J. Consuming Identity: Modernity and Tourism in New Zealand. Auckland: Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland; This summary report was produced by WritersInc Ltd Tel (09) or visit 9