Beyond consensus: an alternative use of Delphi enquiry in hospitality research

Abstract

Purpose -To critically review the use of Delphi techniques in qualitative research for utilising 'expert' opinions and to explore through a detailed example, how Policy Delphi can be used by hospitality researchers as an alternative to the more widely used Normative Delphi.Design/methodology/approach -This paper reflects on the research methodology of a project that explored organisational crisis signals detection using Policy Delphi with a criterion sample comprising 16 senior hotel executives involved in crisis management.Findings -The main methodological concerns regarding Delphi are the definition of consensus, the expertise of the panel, its lack of scientific rigour, and -due to its lack of uniformity-reliability and validity of findings. Policy Delphi by default addresses the first since it does not seek consensus and can, through its design and execution, address the remaining concerns.Research limitations/implications -Carefully designed Policy Delphi can offer a powerful research tool for exploratory research in hospitality, particularly for development of policies and strategies within an organisation. Unlike Normative Delphi, it is not intended as a decision making tool, but rather as a tool to generate options and suggest alternative courses of action for consideration.Originality/value -The paper presents a valuable research tool that has evaded the attention of many hospitality researchers offering an illustrative example of its use in exploratory research to deliver credible, transferable and confirmable findings.

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