Exploring determinants of meeting planners’ commitment to the business relationships with destination management companies

Modifying the conceptual model of site selection in the organisation of association conferences

“…In terms of the relationship between meeting planner and DMO, the results of the interviews confirm not only the dependency of planners on DMOs for support but also their early involvement, as indicated in previous studies of site selection conducted by Fawzy and Samra (2008) and Weber and Chon (2002). The study data would also appear to corroborate Weber and Chon (2002) and Shin et al (2017) investigations showing that experienced planners are more likely to use the services of a DMO than less skilled meeting planners in order save time and money. This was clear in the interview with the most experienced planner interviewed, having accrued 28 years in their current role.…”

“…The average length of time that each participant has spent in their current role is 10 years and had worked on attracting or delivering both national and international association conferences (in terms of where they took place and the where delegates travelled from to attend). The data collected through the interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed through a six-step process using Saldaña's (2016) techniques of first and second cycle coding. The first cycle coding involved In Vivo, provisional and thematic coding to identify key phrases, argot, predetermined themes which included variables influencing site selection (venue, accommodation, marketing support, information for delegates, access, etc.)…”

“…Upon completion of first cycle coding, three techniques of second cycle coding were used to further examine the data. Saldaña's (2016) techniques of pattern coding were used to remove minor themes and cluster and determine key themes and axial coding was then applied which involved analysing highlighted text within the context of the interview and/or in view of the literature on site selection and taking into account the amount and richness of information given by the participant and their strength of feeling on the topic. Finally, elaborative coding was then used to describe the most dominant themes of the interviews.…”

“…Membership of committees can include salaried staff or volunteers, or a mixture of the two (Shone, 1998), but in the organisation of major conferences this will include a professional meeting planner who will have a significant influence over the decisions taken by the committee (Clark et al, 1998;Kang et al, 2005;Weber, 2001). Although the internet now provides easy access to industry suppliers, planners work closely with DMOs when organising destination events as they value their expertise, neutrality and the quality and depth of service they provide (Chacko & Fenich, 2000;Jago & Deery, 2005;McCartney, 2014;Shin, Jeong, Oh, & Tierney, 2017;Weber, 2001).…”

Tourism public-private partnership (PPP) projects: an exploratory-sequential approach

“…Moreover, there is a relative lack of theoretical attention to a thorough understanding of commitment in PPP projects. The majority of tourism researchers who studied LTPPPC focused on its significant benefits for partnerships (Peroff et al, 2017;Shin et al, 2017;Wong et al, 2012) and minimal research has discussed possible influences of LTPPPC in the tourism context (Abdal-Fadeel, 2011). Neither tourism nor general PPP studies offer sufficient cases of PPP success or failure to complement the understanding of commitment and the influence internal and external stakeholders might play in LTPPPC.…”