Disruptive Innovation - Aalborg Universitet · 2018-06-27 · and entails the principles of both aforementioned theories. The thesis framework consists of a section that aims to clarify

DisruptiveInnovationAStudyoftheCharterIndustry

AalbrogUniversitet–Culture,Communication&Globalisation10thSemester,2018MasterThesisSupervisor:PeterKvistgaardAndersBoeltNikolaKlasnic

Acknowledgments

Wewanttothankeveryintervieweeparticipatinginthisthesis.Withoutyou,thiswouldnothave

beenpossible.Furthermore,wewanttothankoursupervisor,PeterKvistgaard,forproviding

guidancethatmadethisthesistowhatitis.

Specialthanksgoto:

LarsThykier,CEOofDanskRejsebureauForening

PederHornshøj,CEOofBravoTours

JanVendelbo,CEOofSpies

TerjePedersen,HeadofDigitalSalesandMarketingatTUI

GlennBisgaard,HeadofPublicRelationatApollo

CarstenTerpHansen,DeputyDirectorofSuncharter

EjnerMunkSvendsen,TradePromotionOfficeratSparekassenVendsyssel

MartinBraun,HeadoftheProductionDepartmentatSparekassenVendsyssel

AllanBrodersen,DigitalProductManageratTV2

ThorvaldStigsen,FounderofMomondo

TuneHein,DisruptionExpert

Abstract

ThepastcoupleofyearshavewitnessedastrongincreaseofpassengersdepartingfromDanish

airports,whilethenumberofcharterpassengershasstagnated,orevendecreasedduringthe

sameperiod.Differentexpertsarguethatthedevelopmentiscausedbydisruptiveonline

platformsandthattheagencieswithintheDanishcharterindustryarethreatened,whereasthe

CEOofDanskRejsebureauForeningclaimsthatthisisnotthecaseandthatdisruptive

developmentshavenotbeenseenintheDanishcharterindustrysincetheemergenceofthe

Internet.Hefurthermoreaddsthattheagenciesarenotthreatenedandthattheseonline

platformsarejustexpandingthemarket.Thethesistherefore,seekstoclarifyhowthetravelhas

experienceddisruptioninpastandifitistraceabletoday.Furthermore,itseekstoinvestigatehow

preparedDanishcharteragenciesaretohandledisruptiveinnovations.

Thethesisinitiatesbygivinganoverviewofthetravelindustryincludingthetraditionalcharter

agenciesandthebeforementionedonlineplatforms.Fromthispointonitpresentsthetheoryof

ClaytonChristensenandHeinandHonoré,whichdealwithprinciplesofhowtoharnessthe

principlesofdisruptiveinnovation.Throughoutthesetheories,auniquethesisframeworkcreated

andentailstheprinciplesofbothaforementionedtheories.Thethesisframeworkconsistsofa

sectionthataimstoclarifywhatcanandwhatcannotbeidentifiedasdisruptiveinnovationanda

sectionthatprovidesguidelinestohowacompanycanpreparethemselvesforafuturedisruptive

innovation.Thenextchapterexplainstheaccountofmethodandcontinuesintoasectionthatis

called“thedigitalscene”.Thissectioninitiateswithanexplanationofhowindustrieshasbeen

alteredbytechnologicaldevelopmentsfollowedbyadescriptionofhowdigitalisationhashadan

impactonconsumerbehaviourandendingwithanelaborationofhowtheonlineplatform,

Momondo,wascreatedbasedonstatementsfromtheplatformsfounder,ThorvaldStigsen.From

hereon,theanalysisbeginsandkicksoffbyanalysingwhatcanandwhatcannotbedeterminedas

disruptioninthehistoryofthetravelindustry.Moreover,theanalysiscontinuesbyanalysingthe

statementsfromtheparticipatingcharteragencieswiththeuniquelyconstructedthesis

framework.Thisleadsintoanoverallassessmentofthecharteragenciespreparednessandthe

thesisisconcluded.

1

TableofContent

Introduction................................................................................................................................3

ProblemAnalysis.........................................................................................................................4ProblemStatement...............................................................................................................................5

Settingthescene.........................................................................................................................6TheTravelIndustry...............................................................................................................................6

TraditionalCharterAgency.......................................................................................................................6Globaldistributionsystems(GDS)-CharterFlights&Hotels...................................................................7OnlineTravelAgencies(OTA)...................................................................................................................8MetaSearchEngines................................................................................................................................9TripAdvisor................................................................................................................................................9Airbnb.....................................................................................................................................................10TravelTechStart-ups..............................................................................................................................10

DanishCharterAgencies.....................................................................................................................11TUIGroup...............................................................................................................................................11SpiesRejser.............................................................................................................................................11BravoTours.............................................................................................................................................12Suncharter..............................................................................................................................................12ApolloRejser...........................................................................................................................................12

Accountoftheory......................................................................................................................13ClaytonChristensen-DisruptiveInnovation........................................................................................13

TheDefinitionofDisruption...................................................................................................................14HarnessingTheFivePrinciplesofDisruptiveInnovations......................................................................16Principle1-CompaniesDependonCustomersandInvestorsforResources........................................16Principle2–SmallMarketsDoNotSolvetheGrowthNeedofLargeCompanies.................................17Principle3-MarketsThatDoNotExistCannotBeAnalysed.................................................................17Principle4-AnOrganisation’sCapabilitiesDefineItsDisabilities..........................................................18Principle5-TechnologySupplyMayNotEqualMarketDemand..........................................................19

HeinandHonoré-DisruptorDie........................................................................................................21Globalisation...........................................................................................................................................22Digitalisation–IT-enabling.....................................................................................................................22SharedEconomy.....................................................................................................................................23

ThesisFramework...............................................................................................................................24TheThesis’DefinitionofDisruption.......................................................................................................25HarnessingtheSevenPrinciplesofDisruptiveInnovations....................................................................26

AccountofMethod...................................................................................................................28EpistemologicalStandpoint.................................................................................................................28ResearchDesignandDataCollection...................................................................................................30InterviewTechniquesandApproaches................................................................................................32ContentCondensing............................................................................................................................33MetaMatrix........................................................................................................................................34Limitations..........................................................................................................................................34

ClaytonChristensen................................................................................................................................34Hein&Honoré........................................................................................................................................35

2

AnalyticalApproach............................................................................................................................35

TheDigitalScene.......................................................................................................................36DigitalEffectsonConsumerBehaviour................................................................................................37

PowerShifts............................................................................................................................................38Connectivity............................................................................................................................................39

TheMakingofMomondo....................................................................................................................41

Analysis.....................................................................................................................................42

SustainingandDisruptiveDevelopmentinTheTravelIndustry.................................................421930-60s.................................................................................................................................................421970s......................................................................................................................................................431990s......................................................................................................................................................442000s......................................................................................................................................................44

MetaMatrix........................................................................................................................................46Researchforproductdevelopment.....................................................................................................47

Thecharterindustry...............................................................................................................................47Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................53

ProfitableVs.LessProfitableCustomers.............................................................................................55Thecharterindustry...............................................................................................................................55Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................59

UnknownDevelopmentsandOrganisationalStructure.......................................................................61Thecharterindustry...............................................................................................................................61Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................66

FocusonStart-UpTechs......................................................................................................................68TheCharterIndustry...............................................................................................................................68Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................71

GlobalConsiderations.........................................................................................................................72TheCharterIndustry...............................................................................................................................72Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................76

Digitalisationefforts...........................................................................................................................78TheCharterIndustry...............................................................................................................................78Othercompanies....................................................................................................................................83

FindingsinMetaMatrix............................................................................................................86TheCharterIndustry...............................................................................................................................86OtherCompanies....................................................................................................................................88

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................89

Bibliografi..................................................................................................................................93

Appendixes&Figures................................................................................................................96

3

Introduction

In2016,thenumberoftravellersfromCopenhagenAirportandBillundAirport

increasedbyrespectively9,1and6,3percent,whilethenumberDaneswhochosetobooktheir

holidaythroughtraditionalDanishcharteragenciesdecreasedby0,5percentfrom2015to2016.

(TV22017).Theairportshaveexperiencedasolidgrowthinpassengerssince2011,butthecharter

industryhasstagnatedsince2012asillustratedbelow(TV22017).

Figure1:TheDanesdiscardcharterholidays-Source:(TV22017)

TheDanishairportshavealsodetectedthischangeintheindustryandin2013BillundAirport

reportedthattheyexperiencedanabsenceof20.000charterpassengers,whilethenumberin

CopenhagenAirportreached30.000(Business2014).ThisdevelopmentindicatesthattheDanes

havefoundotherwaystotravelthanthepackagetour.

Inanarticlefrom2015,JesperEwald,DirectoratFDMTravelandwhohasseen

FDM’snetturnoverfallby200millionfrom2010to2014,statesthatthecompetitioninthetravel

industryhasbeenintensifiedandalteredbyinternationalcompanieslikeHotels.comandAirbnb.

JanVendelbo,CEOatSpies,concursbyexplainingthatthelargeactorscanselltheirproducts

extremelycheap,whichisresultinginlowermarketprices(Børsen2015).AccordingtoDansk

Brancheanalyse,therevenuefortheDanishtravelindustrydecreasedby1.8percentfrom2013

4

to2014,whileareportfromRejsearrangørerIDanmark(RID)showsafallin4.327charter

passengersdepartingfromDanishairportsinthesameperiod(Børsen2015);(RID,

RejsearrangørerIDanmark2014).OleEgholm,DirectorandFounderofDanskBrancheanalyse,

addsthatthenumbersseenin2014aresignificantanditisatendencythathasjustbegun.He

continuesbystatingthatthefutureoftheDanishtravelagenciesisbleakandthatthecompanies

whohavethepossibilityofmovingtheirrevenuetoforeigncountries,andtherebypayfewer

taxes,willslowlyforceotherDanishagenciesoutofbusiness(Børsen2015).TheCEOofDansk

RejsebureauForening,LarsThykierstatesthattheyhavetoldcharteragenciesthroughoutthelast

tenyears,tospecialiseandnotsellstandardisedproductssinceitwouldresultinthemarketsolely

competingonprice,butthatcharteragenciesarenowherenearclosingdown(Børsen2015).

JanDamsgaard,professoratCopenhagenBusinessSchool,contendsinhisbookfrom

2015,TheDigitalConversion,thatnewplatformssuchasHotels.comandBooking.comwere

companiesthatenteredthemarketwiththeambitionofsellingtherooms,whichthehotelshad

difficultiesinsellingthroughtheirsaleschannels.Hearguesthattheseplatformsaregood

examplesofdisruptionandbeforethetravelindustryrealisedit,theyhadtakenoverthemarket

(Damsgaard2015,p.41).Furthermore,inanarticlefrom2017,OleEgholmarguesthatthetravel

industryistheindustryinDenmark,whichis,byfar,themostexposedtodisruptionandthat

airlinesalongwithcompaniessuchasHotels.com,AirbnbandExpediaallaretakingrevenueaway

fromtheDanishmarket.Despitethesearguments,LarsThykier,inthesamearticle,insiststhatthe

charteragenciesarenotonthepointofextinction,butmaintainsthefactthattheyneedto

developmoreindividualandcustomisedproducts(TV22017).

ProblemAnalysis

Basedontheabovementioned,wecontactedLarsThykierandPederHornshøj,CEO

ofBravoTours,withtheobjectivetoinvestigatehowtheyviewthedevelopmentintheindustry

andiftheyfeelthreatenedbyonlineplatforms.

LarsThykieracknowledgesthattherehasbeenashiftinthewaypeopleretrieve

informationregardingtravelandholiday,butunderlinesthatplatformssuchasExpedia,

Hotels.comandAirbnbarenotdisruptingtheindustry.Hestatesthattherealdisruption

happened,whentheInternetemergedintheearly2000’s(Appendix2,20:30-24:50min).

5

Furthermore,hedisagreeswiththestatementsofJanDamsgaardandOleEgholmandstates:

“whenpeopletalkaboutdisruptionIstartsmilingandthinktomyself;disruptionissomethingwe

experienced20yearsago”(Appendix2,24:40-24:50min).Inaddition,LarsThykiercannotseethe

differencebetweenwhatAirbnbisofferingtodayandtheholidayapartments,whichFDMtravel

offered40-50yearsago(Appendix2,24:50-25:42min).Hecontinuous:“Formedisruptioniswhen

youstartalloverandcreatesomethingfromthebeginning”(Appendix2,26:30-26:50min).When

askedabouttheonlinethreats,LarsThykierstates,thattheonlineplatformshavecontributedin

expandingthemarketandthatthereisroomforeveryone.Thechoicefortheconsumerisifthey

wanttohavetheinsuranceoftalkingwithsomeone,whoknowssomethingaboutit,orifthey

wanttodoitbythemselvesontheInternet(Appendix12,53:10-54:10).PederHornshøjagrees

andcontendsthateventhoughtheonlineplatformshaveexpandedthemarket,thecharter

industryisatitsall-timehigh.Heacknowledgesthatduetothearrivalofmanynewcompetitors,

thecharterindustryhaslostmarketshares,but,simultaneously,heargues,thattheDanestravel

muchmoreandutilisestheonlineplatformstotravelinaway,whichthecharteragencieshave

difficultiesinoffering.Thisisespeciallytheflexibletrips,whereacustomercantraveltoCostadel

SolonaThursdayandflyhomeagainthefollowingSunday(Appendix12,-12:45-13:30).

Throughtheintroductionandabove-mentioneddata,itiscleartoseethatthereare

differentperceptionsofwhatdisruptionreallyis.Thisthesisaimstoclarifywheninnovations

becomesdisruptivebyemployingtheframeworkofClaytonChristensen,whocoinedtheterm

disruptionin1995.Heexplainsthatinnovations,andthetechnologyusedinthem,canbedefined

aseithersustainingordisruptiveinnovations.Moreover,asitisillustratedintheabove

mentioned,thecharterindustrydoesnotfollowthegrowthintheDanishairportsandexternal

expertsdeemthatthecharterindustryisthreatenedbydisruption,butleaderswithintheindustry

areconvincedthatthedevelopmentisjustexpandingthemarket.Byemployingrelevanttheory,

wewillinvestigatethepreparednessofagencies,withintheDanishcharterindustry,towards

disruptionandthisleadstothefollowingproblemstatement:

ProblemStatement

Hasthetravelindustryexperienceddisruptionandhowpreparedareagencies,withinthe

Danishcharterindustry,tohandledisruptiveinnovation?

6

Settingthescene

Thenextsectionwillprovideasmalloverviewofthehistoryofthetravelindustry,

theactorsthatconstituteit,andlastly,abriefintroductionoftheDanishchartertravelagencies

whohavetakenpartinthethesisstudy.

TheTravelIndustry

Thetravelindustry,asweknowittoday,haspreviouslyexperiencedchangemultiple

timesthrougheitherchangesinpowerstructure,processesormethods.AccordingtoErkanSezgin

andMedetYolal,theauthorsoftheGoldenAgeofMassTourism:ItsHistoryandDevelopment

(2012),theriseofmasstourismcameintheearlyyearsofthetwentiethcentury,asa

consequenceofNorthernEuropeansandNorthernAmericanshavingincreasingwealthand

outgoingattitudes,whiletheresimultaneouslywereimprovementsintechnologyandpeople’s

transport(SezginogYolal2012,p.73).Usingthesteamtrainandshipfortransportation,Thomas

CookorganisedinternationalpackagetourstothreedestinationsincludingtheFarEast,Indiaand

Americain1862(SezginogYolal2012).Thenatureoftouristproductsweredramaticallychanged

aftertheSecondWorldWar,especiallybetween1960’sand1980’s,withthecommercial

developmentinrailways,airtransportation,accommodationcompaniesandtravelagencies

(SezginogYolal2012,p.76).This,combinedwiththeincreasedalluretowardsthesun,

encouragedtheemergenceofpackagetoursandmasstourism,asweknowthemtoday(Sezginog

Yolal2012,p.73).AccordingtoWorldTourismOrganisation,internationaltouristarrivalshave

increasedfrom674millionin2000to1,235millionin2016.Inaddition,worldwidedestination

earningsgavesurgedfromUS$495billionin2000to1,220billionin2016(UNWTO2017,p.2)

TraditionalCharterAgency

ThomasCookfoundedthefirsttravelagencyinEnglandbackin1841.Duringthe19th

century,ThomasCookagenciescontinuedtodevelopwhilemoreandmoreagenciesbeganto

appearacrosstheglobe.ThiswasahugedevelopmentandmilestonefortravelandforCook,who

wasalsothefirstmantoestablishapackagetourholiday.Asoftoday,travelagenciesprovide

customerswithexpertiseandguidancewhenbookingatripofanykind.Agenciescanbesmall,

independentoperationsorlarge,nationwidechainsresponsibleforpackagingtripstomillionsof

7

travellers.Inreturnfortheirservices,travelagenciesreceivecommissionsfromsupplierswho

typicallymakepaymentafterthetriphasconcludedsuccessfully(Cook2018).Asof2018,Thomas

CookGroupisoneoflargestandoldesttravelandtourismcompaniesinworld,havingtravel

agencies,brandsandairlinescoveringEurope,allwhileemploying22.000people.

Globaldistributionsystems(GDS)-CharterFlights&Hotels

Eventhoughthisthesisfocusesonchartertravelagencies,thedevelopmentsinair

transportationandaccommodationcompaniesplayasignificantpartinestablishingthedynamics

withintheindustry.Theimportantprogressinairtransportationthathelpedfacilitatemass

tourismwasthecharterflightsandtheequalrights,whichtheyweregiveninthe60s,makingit

easierandmorereasonableforchartertravelagenciestoorganiseflightsandtourstonew

destinations(SezginogYolal2012,pp.78-79).Duringthisperiodinmasstourismcomputer

technologywasstillinitsinfancy,thusmeaning,computersweremainlyusedforplanningand

deliveryprocess,ofthetouristproduct.Inthe60s,airlinesusedcomputerreservationsystems

(CRS)tofacilitatetransaction,withhotelsandtravelagencieslateronestablishingtheirown.

However,theCRSsintheearlyyearswereservingdumbterminals,withoutintranetorInternet,

andwerethereforenotworkingsynchronously(SezginogYolal2012,pp.76-77).Thelimitationsof

CRScametoanendinthelate70s,duetotheAirlineDeregulationAct,whichmeantthattheUS

governmentcontroloffares,routsandmarketentryofnewairlinewasnowremoved,introducing

thefreemarketincommercialairline(SezginogYolal2012,pp.77-78).TheEuropeanUnion

introducedsimilarlegislationin1987.Thisresultedingreatproductiongrowthwithintheindustry.

Thenewcompanies,schedules,faresandservicesbroughtonafiercecompetitionamongairline

companies,leadingsomeairlinecompaniesintostrategicpartnerships,whicheventually

establishedglobaldistributionsystems(GDSs)(SezginogYolal2012,pp.78-80).Thesewere

originallycreatedbyseveralofthelargestairlinestofacilitatetransactionandmarketingoftheir

flightstotravelagencies,buthavesincebecomeindependentfirms,fourofwhich,controlthe

vastmajorityofthedistributionmarket,namely,Sabre,Galileo,AmadeusandWorldspan(The

Economist2012).SomeofthetastiestmarginsinthetravelbusinessareenjoyedbythesesGDS

companies,withmostaccommodationsandflightsbeingbookedbyaphysicaloronlinetravel

agent,goingthroughaglobaldistributionsystem.Thishasresultedinincarrierspayingmorethan

sevenbilliondollarsinGDSfeesbackin2012(TheEconomist2012),whilehotelandother

8

accommodationcompaniesusuallypayupto20percentonabookingwhentheysellaroom

throughaglobaldistributionsystem.TheusageofGDS,byairlinesandhotels,increasetheircost,

whiletravelagentsandagenciesgetasmallcommissionbyemployingandbookingthroughaGDS

(Sheivachman2017,TheEconomist2012).

OnlineTravelAgencies(OTA)

AnonlinetravelagencyorOTAisatravelwebsitethatspecialisesinthesaleoftravel

productstoconsumers.Theseagenciessellavarietyoftravelproductsincludingflights,hotels,car

rentals,cruises,activitiesandpackages,onanonlineplatform(May2014).Intheearlydaysof

OTAs,themaingoalwastohelpairlinesandhotelsgetridofemptybedsandseats,leadingthem

toemployGDStoharvesttheentireinventorysupply.Today,theyfunctionasallaroundtravel

agenciesandnotonlyasanagencyfocusingonleftoverbedsandseats(May2014).Asof2017,

thetwobelow-mentionedOTAsaccountfortwo-thirdsoftheglobalonlinetravel-bookingindustry

andland80percentofallEuropeanhotelsalesononlinetravelagencies,partlyduetotheir

consistentacquisitionofsmallerornewcompanies(Rossini2016,Nasdaq2017).

ExpediaGroup

In1996Microsoftlauncheswww.expedia.comaspartofMicrosoftExpediaTravel

Services.TheExpediaGroupconsistofknownbrandssuchas,Expedia.comTrivago,HomeAway,

CarRentals.com,TripadvisorandHotels.comtonameafew(TheExpediaGroup2018).

Hotels.comisanOTAsitethatsellshotelstaysallovertheworldandshowpricesfor

internationalchains,bed&breakfast,resortsandlocalhotels.Theyofferlast-minutedealsand

havearewardprogram,whichgivesthecustomersafreeovernightstayaftertheyhavemade10

reservationsthroughthesite(Jet,Forbes.com2017).

BookingHoldings

In1997,founderJayWalkerlaunchedPriceline.com.BookingHoldingshavebrands

suchas,Priceline,Agoda,Kajak,MomondoandBooking.com(BookingHoldings2018)

OnBooking.comyoucanbookalmostanytravelreservationpossibleincludinghotel

accommodations,businessapartments,flights,trains,buses,rentalcars,airporttaxisand

9

restaurants.Booking.comisamemberofBookingHoldingsand,therefore,thesearchresultson

Priceline,Momondo,KajakandBooking.comarerathersimilar.Booking.comcontains1.5million

hotellistingsworldwideandKayak.compowerstheirflightsearchresults,soitrepresentsavariety

ofpossibilitiesfortheconsumers.Furthermore,Booking.comhasasanextraserviceincluded,a

trendwindowintheupper-leftcorner,whichtellsyou,basedontheirprediction,ifyoushould

buynoworwaitincasefarepriceswillincrease(Jet,Forbes.com2017).

MetaSearchEngines

WhatdiffersametasearchenginetoaOTAisthattheydonotprocessbooking

transactions,nordotheyprovidethefullrangeofservicesanddestinationcontenttypicallyfound

onanOTAsite.Instead,travelMetasearchengineslinkacustomerdirectlytotheairlines,hotels

oragencies,throughapay-per-clickmodel.MetasearchenginecompaniesincludeMomondo,

Kajak.com,Skyscanner.com,Fly.com,Trivago.comandBingTravelamongothers(Christodoulidou,

ConnollyogBrewer2010).

Momondoisanonlinepricesearchenginethatcheckspricesfromthousandsof

travelprovidersandcomparethepricestoothertravelbookingsites.Itwasfoundedin2006in

Denmarkandstartedasasearchengine,whichsearchedtheInternetforflighttickets.Intime,

Momondohasevolvedtobecomeasearchengine,whichbesidesflightsalsoincludeshotelsand

rentalcarstotheirassortment.Whensearchingforflights,Momondo’salgorithmsortstheflights

inthreedifferentoptionsfortheconsumer.Thesethreeoptionsarenamelycheapest,quickest

andbest,andtheoptionshavebeencollectedfromapproximately30flightportals.Additionally,

whensearchingforahotel,Momondocomparethepricesfromseveralsitesincludingbigsites

suchasExpedia.comandBooking.com,butalsofromlesser-knownsitesand,thusincreasingthe

transparencyinthetravelindustry(Jet,Forbes.com2017).

TripAdvisor

TripadvisorisanAmericantravelandrestaurantwebsitecompanyfoundedinthe

early2000s,providinghotelandrestaurantreviewsandothertravel-relatedcontent.Italso

includesinteractivetravelforumsandwasanearlyadaptorofuser-generatedcontent.

TripAdvisoristheworld’slargesttravelsiteandhasanaverageofmorethan455millionunique

10

monthlyvisitors(TripAdvisor2018).TripAdvisor-brandedsitesareavailablein49markets,

coveringapproximately7.5millionaccommodations,airlines,attractions,andrestaurantswith

morethan600millionreviewsandopinions(TripAdvisor2018).

Airbnb

Airbnbwasfoundedin2008ontheideatocreateavirtualmarketplace,where

propertyorhouseownerscouldsharetheirspaceforshort-termrents(May2014).Thevirtual

marketplaceoffersaccesstomillionsofaccommodationsinmorethan191countries,from

apartmentsandvillastocastles,treehousesandB&Bs.Customershavethepossibilityof

experiencingexoticdestinationsandgetalocal,authenticexperiencewithouttheuseof

traditionalintermediaries.Theaccommodationsarereservedandbookedwithoutflightseats,

leavingthatparttothecustomer(Airbnb2018).In2016Airbnblaunchedtheirnewfeature,

AirbnbExperiences,whichaimsatofferingexperiencesbeyondjustfindingaplacetostay.It

includesawiderangeofactivitiesfromtakingasurfingtripinMalibutoeatingobscurefoodin

Paris(AirbnbExperiences2018,Looper2016).TheultimategoalforAirbnbistooffermorethan

justshort-termapartmentrentalsandtheyaretherefore,offeringexperienceservicesinthehope

ofusersstartingtoseethemasago-tocompanyforalltravelneed(Looper2016).

TravelTechStart-ups

AccordingtoareportmadebyCBInsightsin2017therehasbeenaspikeintravel

techstart-ups,offeringservicesandproductsincludingbookingservices,searchandplanning

platforms,on-demandtravel,recommendationsitesandmore.Car-hailingservicesarenot

included.Thereportshowsthatsince2013,traveltechstart-upshaveraisedmorethan10billion

dollarsinfunding(CBInsights2017).US-basedcompaniesleadinbothnumberofdealsanddollar

amountraised,butthetraveltechstart-upecosystemhasalsoemergedinAsiaandEurope.India

andChinaaccountfor10percentand8percentofglobaldealsrespectively,followedby

Europeancountriessuchas,France6percent,Germany6percent,theUK6percentandSpain4

percent.USbasedtraveltechstart-upsarestillbyfartheonesclaimingthelargestpoolofdeals,

with31percentoftheglobaldeals(CBInsights2017).

11

DanishCharterAgencies

TheDanes,andScandinaviansingeneral,havebeensomeofthefirstchartertourist

theworldhasseen.TheearliestcharteragenciesseeninDenmarkcameinthemid1950s,with

Mallorca,Spainbeingdestination.Thetransportationofcustomerswasfacilitatedthroughtrains,

busesandships,butlikeintherestofNorthernEuropeandNorthernAmerica,flight

transportationwasintroducedinthe1960s(Severisen2012).Thefollowingsectionwillgiveabrief

introductiontosomeofthecompaniesconstitutingtheDanishchartertravelindustry.These

companiesalsoconstitutethedatabywhich,thethesisproblemstatementwillbeanswered.

TUIGroup

TUIGroupisthelargesttravelandtourismcompanyintheworldwith1.600travel

agenciesandonlineportalsacrosstheworld.Theiroperationswereestablishedmorethan40

yearsagoandtodayinclude150aircrafts,325hotelsand15cruiseships,whichareoperatedand

servicedbyroughly67.000employees.TUIGroupasweknowittoday,hasbeenthroughmany

mergersandacquisitionsrelatedtraveloperations,i.e.airlines,hotelsandagencies.InNovember

2016thecompanydecidedtochangethenameofStarTours,thenameoftheiragencyoperating

inDenmark,toTUIwiththegoalbeingtosynergisetheirbrandandoperations(TUIGROUP2018).

AccordingtoRID,TUIDenmarkhasmarketsharesamountingto17percentofthetotalDanish

charterindustry,andhassoldmorethen180.000packagedtoursin2017,makingthemthe

secondlargestcharteragencyinDenmark(RID,RejsearrangøreriDanmark2018).

SpiesRejser

SpieswasoneofthefirstcharteragenciesinDenmark,establishingoperationsback

inthemid-1950s.Throughtimeandacquisitions,thecompanydevelopintothebiggestcharter

agencyinDenmarkaccountingfor85percentofthetotalmarketsharesin1985.(Spies2018).

AccordingtodataprovidedbyRejsearrangørerIDanmark,asof2017,Spiesarestillmarket

leadersinDenmarkwithmarketsharesamountingto25percentandpackagetoursalesreaching

265.000(RID,RejsearrangøreriDanmark2018).Spies’organisationconsistsof88employeesasof

2017andhasbeenpartoftheThomasCookGroupsince2008(Spies2018).

12

BravoTours

BravoTourswasestablishedin1998withanaimtocombattheincreasedglobal

competitionthechartertravelindustryexperiencedinDenmark.Whenglobaltravelagencies

enteredtheDanishmarket,travelandtourguidesincreasinglybegantoincludeSwedish,

NorwegianandEnglishspeakingguides,whichBravoTourswantedtoaddress.Today,BravoTours

employsmorethan70people,withalltheirguidesbeingDanish-speakingguides.BravoToursis

alsoapartofPrimeraTravelGroup,whichconsistsofvariousagenciesinSweden,Norway,Island,

Finland,IrelandandEngland,DenmarkandtheairlinePrimeraAir(BravoTours2018).According

tofiguresfrom2017,BravoToursisDenmark’sthirdlargestcharteragencywith17percentofthe

totalmarketsharesand175.000packagedtourssold(RID,RejsearrangøreriDanmark2018).

Suncharter

Suncharterisaregionallybasedcharteragencymainlycateringtocustomersresiding

intheNorthernJutlandregion.Thecompanywasfoundedin2012,butwaslateracquiredby

PrimoTours.Throughtheiracquisitions,PrimoToursnowownAarhusCharterandSuncharter,

besidesPrimoTours,makingthemthefifthlargesttravelagencyinDenmark,withmorethen

85.000packagedtourssoldin2017,27.000ofwhichSunchartersold(RID,Rejsearrangøreri

Danmark2018,SunCharter2018).

ApolloRejser

ApolloRejser(Apollo)isoneoftheleadingcharteragenciesinScandinavia,operating

ontheSwedish,Norwegian,FinnishandDanishchartermarket.Thecompanyestablisheditsfirst

agencyinDenmarkbackin1986andlateronexpandedintotheSwedish,NorwegianandFinnish

marketthroughestablishmentofbranches,oracquisitionsofalreadyestablishedagencies.Apollo

ownsthreedifferentairlines,namely,Novair,GolfPlaisirandLimeTravelandemploysmorethan

900employees(Apollo2018).In2017,Apollowasregisteredasthefourthbiggestcharteragency

inDenmark,withmarketsharesamountingto16percentandtotalamountofsoldpackaged

toursamountingtomorethen166.000(RID,RejsearrangøreriDanmark2018).

13

Accountoftheory

Inthefollowingsection,wewillelaboratethetheoryofClaytonChristensen’sdisruptiontheory

andexplaintheframeworkbyHeinandHonoré,whichisanexpansionandmodificationofthe

theorybyChristensen.Thisisdonewiththeobjectivetoobtainathoroughunderstandingofwhat

disruptiveinnovationisandhowcompaniesshouldpreparefor,andharness,disruptive

innovationsanddigitalisation.Furthermore,basedontheauthors’work,anewandtopical

frameworkwillbedevelopedanditwillincludeelementsoftheoriginaldisruptiontheoryaswell

ascontainingtheperspectivesofhowtohandledisruptioninthedigitalage.

ClaytonChristensen-DisruptiveInnovation

Thetermdisruptionanddisruptiveinnovationhasbeenwidelyexploitedthelast

decades,evenincircumstancesthathadlittletonon-todowiththepurposeoftheoriginalterm.

Thetermwasfirstintroducedinthepaper,Disruptivetechnologies-CatchingthewaveinHarvard

BusinessReviewbackin1995.Thetheoryofinnovativedisruptionbuildsonthepremiseofwhy

leadingcompaniesfailtokeeptheirpositionwhenfacedwithanintrusionofnewtechnology

(BowerogChristensen1995,p.43).BowerandChristensenintroducetheconceptofdisruptive

innovation,andwhyitdrivessuccessfulcompaniestofail,byhighlightingtwomainelements.

Firstly,leadingcompaniesmisreadthetechnologyusedtomovethemoutofaleadingposition

andsecondly,theydothisbecausetheypaytoomuchattentionontheircurrentcustomers

(BowerogChristensen1995,pp.43-46).Theauthorsexplainthatcurrentcustomersare

accustomedtousingtheircurrenttechnologiesandthereforeseektechnologicalprogressthat

sustainstheircurrentoperations,andnotnewonesthatdisruptorchangeit(Bowerog

Christensen1995,p.48).Asaresultofthis,BowerandChristensen(1995)highlightthatmanagers

andcompanieswhotrytostudynewtechnologiesoftenmisreadthevalue,sincetheymeasureit

oncurrentuseandneedsratherthanlong-termdevelopment(BowerogChristensen1995,pp.48-

53).Inhisbook,TheInnovator’sDilemma–WhenNewTechnologiesCauseGreatFirmstoFail,

from1998,ClaytonM.Christensenhighlightedwhichfactorsmadecompaniesmisreadthevalue

oftechnologiesandheintroducedafailureframework,explainingwhysounddecisionsbygreat

managerscanleadfirmstofailure(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xvii)

14

TheDefinitionofDisruption

Inordertounderstandthefailedframeworkandtheorybehinddisruptive

technologies,thetermmustfirstbedefined.Christensendefinestheterm,technology,as

“processesbywhichanorganizationtransformslabor,capital,materials,andinformationinto

productsandservicesofgreatervalue”(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xvii,line14-16)Heusesthe

exampleofaretailerlikeSears,whoemploysonetypeoftechnologytoproduce,presentand

delivergoodstocustomers,whileadiscountwarehousewouldemployadifferenttypeof

technology.Thetermtechnology,therefore,extendsbeyondengineeringandmanufacturing,to

includemarketing,investmentandmanagerialprocesses.ThetermInnovationreferstothe

changeinoneoftheabove-mentionedtechnologies,thuscreatingdisruptiveinnovation(C.M.

Christensen1997).Moreover,thetermdisruptionistheprocess,inwhichinnovativetechnologies

causechangesinindustries,orasChristensenstatesitinanarticlefrom2015“Disruption

describesaprocesswherebyasmallercompanywithfewerresourcesisabletosuccessfully

challengeestablishedincumbentbusinesses”(Christensen,RaynorogMcDonald2015).

DisruptiveInnovationSustainingInnovation

Characteristic

New-marketentryorLow-

endmarketentry

Characteristic

Improvinganalready

existingproducttoa

alreadyexitingconsumer

andneed

DisruptiveInnovation

Technologydefinition:Engineering,manufacturing,marketing,investmentandmanagerial

processes

Innovationdefinition:Innovationreferstothechangeinoneoftheabovementionedtechnologies

TechnologicalInnovationsareeither:

Figure2:IllustrationClaytonChristensendefinitiononSustainingandDisruptiveInnovations-Source:Thesiscreation

15

Christensenexplainsthatthethreemainfindingsinhisstudyofdisruptiveinnovation

inthediskdrive,contradictsallthepreviouslyknowngoodmanagementpractices,suchas

planningbetter,workingharder,becomingmorecustomer-drivenandtakinglonger-term

perspectives,sinceallthosedo,isaggravatetheproblemwhendealingwithdisruptive

technologies(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxii)Christensenstates,that“Everycompanyinevery

industryworksundercertainforces—lawsoforganizationalnature—thatactpowerfullytodefine

whatthatcompanycanandcannotdo”(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxii,line.28)Hecontinuesby

underliningthatmanagers,whoarefacedwithdisruptivetechnologies,oftenfailtheircompanies

whentheseforcesoverpowerthem.Toexplainhowdealingwithdisruptivetechnologiesrequires

newmethodsandperspectives,hepresentstheanalogyfromancienttimes,inwhichpeople

attemptedtoflybystrappingfeatheredwingstotheirarmsandflappedthemwithalltheirpower

astheyleaptfromhighplaces;ultimatelyalwaysfailing.Flightdidnotbecomepossible,until

peoplecametounderstandtherelevantnaturallawsandprinciplesthatdefinedhowtheworld

workedthroughthelawofgravity,Bernoulli’sprinciple,andtheconceptsoflift,drag,and

resistance(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxii)Aftergainingtheknowledgeneeded,peoplewhere

abletoharnessthepoweroftheselawsandprinciples,enablingthemtoflyandreachdistances

andheightsthatwerepreviouslyunimaginable.

TheFailureFramework-Thethreemainfindings

#1-Sustainingvs.Disruptive

technologies

Managerslacktheunderstandingregardingthestrategicdifferencebetweensustaininganddisruptivetechnologies

#2-TrajectoriesofMarketNeedversus

TechnologyImprovement

Overshootingtheneedofthemarket.Toomany

investmentsinsustainingtechnologies,ultimatelyprovidingmorethanthe

customers’need

#3-DisruptiveTechnologiesversusRationalInvestments

• Disruptiveproductsaresimplerandcheapertobeginwith=lowerprofitmargins

• Disruptivetechnologiesare

commercialisedinsmall,emergingandinsufficientmarkets

• Mostprofitablecustomersdo

notwant,andinitiallycannotuse,productsbasedondisruptivetechnologies

Figure3:illustrationofClaytonChristensen(1995)threemainfindings-Source:Thesiscreation

16

HarnessingTheFivePrinciplesofDisruptiveInnovations

Asinhisanalogy,Christensenpresentsfivelawsorprinciplesofdisruptive

developmentthat,ifmanagerscanunderstandandharnesstheseprinciples,theycaninfact

succeednotablywhenconfrontedwithdisruptivetechnology(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxiii).

Principle1-CompaniesDependonCustomersandInvestorsforResources.

Thefirstprincipleisthatcompaniesdependoncustomersandinvestorsfor

resources.Thehistoryofthediskdriveindustryshowsthattheestablishedfirmsstayedatop

throughtheirinvestmentsinsustainingtechnologiesthatincreasetheproductperformanceand

valuesrelatedtocustomerneeds.Christensenarguesthatthisisevidencethatsupportsthe

theoryofresourcedependence,wheremanagersthinktheycontroltheflowofresources,whilein

fact,customerseffectivelycontrolthepatternsofresourceallocationinwell-runcompanies(C.M.

Christensen1997,p.99).Christensenargues,thatresourceallocationandinnovationaretwo

sidesofthesamecoinsincenewproductdevelopingprojectsthatsucceedneedadequatefinding,

staffingandmanagementattention.Ingreatcompanies,itisonlypossibletogettheseresourcesif

customerswantit,sincetheprocessoftraditionalgoodresourceallocationisdesignedtoweed

outproposalscustomersdonotwant(C.M.Christensen1997,p.103).Foramanagertoharness

thefirstprinciple,theyneedtoembedprojectstodevelopandcommercialisedisruptive

technologies,byaligningthemwiththerightcustomers.Ifthisisdonewell,Christensenargues

thatresourceallocationispossiblesincetherightcustomerswillincreasethedemandforthese

products,iftheyaresufficientinaddressingtheircurrentneeds(C.M.Christensen1997,p.99)

Theonlyinstances,inwhichleadingfirmshavesuccessfullyestablishedastrongpositionina

disruptivetechnology,weretheoneswheremanagersestablishedindependentorganisationsthat

aimedatbuildinganewindependentbusinessaroundthedisruptivetechnology(C.M.

Christensen1997,p.xxiv).Companieswhosecoststructureistailoredtocompeteinhigh-end

marketscannotbeprofitableinlow-endmarketsaswell.Therefore,creatinganindependent

organisation,withacoststructurebuildtoachieveprofitabilityatthelowmargins,characteristic

ofmostdisruptivetechnologies,istheonlyviablewayforestablishedfirmstoharnessthis

principle(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxiv).

17

Principle2–SmallMarketsDoNotSolvetheGrowthNeedofLargeCompanies

Theestablishmentofanew,smallerorganisationtofocusonnewdisruptive

technologiesisalsoconnectedtothesecondprinciplepresentedbyChristensen,becausesmall

marketsdonotsolvethegrowthneedsoflargecompanies.AccordingtoChristensen,manylarge

companiesadoptthestrategyofwaitingfornewmarketstobecomelargeenoughforthemto

becomeinterestingandrelevant,priortoentering(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxv).Asseeninthe

caseofthediskdriveindustry,thisisnotalwayspossiblesincethecompaniesenteringthese

emergingmarketsearly,havesignificantfirst-moveradvantagesoverlaterentrants.Foralarge

companythesolutionfordealingwiththisprinciple,istoestablishanorganisationwhosesize

matchesthesizeofthetargetedmarket.Christensenarguesthattheevidencefromthediskdrive

industryshowsthatcreatingnewmarketsissignificantlylessriskyandmorerewarding,than

enteringestablishedmarketsagainstestablishedcompetition(C.M.Christensen1997,p.121).

Therefore,managersshouldplaceprojectstodevelopdisruptivetechnologiesinorganisations

smallenoughtogetexcitedaboutsmallopportunitiesandsmallwins(C.M.Christensen1997,p.

99).

Principle3-MarketsThatDoNotExistCannotBeAnalysed

Thethirdprincipleconcernstheissueofmarketsthatdonotexistcannotbe

analysed.Someofthehallmarksofgoodmanagementarebasedonmarketresearchandgood

planningfollowedbyexecutingtheplan.Whenthesemethodsareappliedtosustaining

technologicalinnovation,thesepracticesareinvaluablesincetheyaretheprimaryreasonfor

establishedfirmsleadingineverysingleinstanceofsustainingdevelopment(C.M.Christensen

1997,p.xxv).Thesameapproachcannotbeappliedtodisruptivetechnologies,accordingto

Christensen,duetothefactthattheapplicationsofthetechnologyisstillunknownatthetime,

andthestrategiesshouldthereforebeplansoflearninganddiscovering,insteadofplansfor

executing(C.M.Christensen1997,p.143).Inthecontextofanormalbusinessenvironment,

managerslearnaboutinnovationinasustainingtechnologycontextbecausemosttechnologies

developedbyestablishedcompaniesaresustainingincharacter.Theseinnovationsaretargetedat

knownmarkets,inwhichthecustomerneedsareknownandunderstood.Insuchenvironments,a

plannedresearchapproachtoevaluate,develop,andmarketinnovativeproductsisnotonly

18

possible;itiscriticaltosuccess(C.M.Christensen1997,pp.143-144).Theseforecastscanbe

nearlyimpossibletomakeinthecaseofdisruptivetechnologies,asseeninthecaseofthedisk

driveindustry,wheretheDisk/TrendReportforecastfor14-inchdiskdriveswassevenpercentof

whattheindustryactuallyshipped,whereastheforecastfor5.25-inchdiskdriveswasoffby235

percent(C.M.Christensen1997,pp.144-145).Christensen’sarguesthatcompaniesneedto

adaptaniterativeprocessoftrail,learning,andtrailagain,whensearchingforamarketfor

disruptivetechnologies,inordertogainknowledgeandthefirst-moveradvantagesassociated

withearlyentranceinemergingmarkets(C.M.Christensen1997,p.99).

Principle4-AnOrganisation’sCapabilitiesDefineItsDisabilities

TheforcepresentedinthefourthprinciplebyChristensenalsoaffectsthe

establishmentofanindependentorganisation.Herehearguesthatanorganisation’scapabilities

defineitsdisabilities.Managersthattackleinnovativeproblemsinstinctivelyfocusonassigning

themostcapableemployeeswiththerightrequirementstohandlethejob(C.M.Christensen

1997,p.xxvi).WhatChristensenhighlightsastheprobleminthesecases,isthatonecouldtake

twosetsofidenticallycapablepeopleandputthemtoworkintwodifferentorganisations.What

thetwoemployeesaccomplishwouldlikelybesignificantlydifferent.Christensenarguesthatthis

isduetotheorganisationitself,independentofthepeopleandotherresourcesinthem,has

capabilities.(C.M.Christensen1997,p.161).Christensendividestheorganisationscapabilities

intothreefactors:theorganisationsresources,theprocesses,anditsvalues.

Acompany’sresourcesincludepeople,equipment,technology,productdesigns,

brands,information,cashandrelationshipswithsuppliers,distributors,andcustomers.Allthe

beforementionedresourcescan,accordingtoChristensen,becategorisedasthingsorassetsthat

canbehiredandfiredorboughtandsold.Theaccesstoplentifulandhigh-qualityresources

enhancestheorganisationschancesofadaptingandcopingwithchange(C.M.Christensen1997,

p.162)

Thefactoroforganisationalprocessesisbasedonthevaluetheorganisationcreates,

whenanemployeetransformsinputsofresources;people,equipment,technology,product

designs,brands,information,energyandcashintoproductsandservicesofgreaterworth(C.M.

Christensen1997,p.163).Processescanbedefinedaspatternsofinteraction,coordination,

19

communication,anddecision-makingthroughwhichtheyaccomplishtransformations.These

processesdefinehowanorganisationtransformsinputsintogreatervalueforthecustomers.The

mainprocessthatmakesgoodcompaniesincapableofrespondingtochangearethose,that

definehowmarketresearchiscommonlydone,bothinhowanalysisistranslatedintofinancial

projectionandhowbudgetsarenegotiatedanddelivered(C.M.Christensen1997,p.163).

AccordingtoChristensen,bytheirverynature,processesareestablishedsothatemployees

performrecurrenttasksinaconsistentway,timeaftertime,toensureconsistency.Thismeans

theverymechanisms,throughwhichorganisationscreatevalue,areessentiallyinimicaltochange

and,therefore,inflexibleprocessesarewhereorganisationsmostseveredisabilitiesincopingwith

changereside(C.M.Christensen1997,p.164).

Thelastfactorthataffectstheorganisationsabilityinwhatitcanandcannot

accomplish,isthevaluesofanorganisation.Christensendescribesvaluesasthecriteriabywhich

decisionsaboutprioritiesaremade.Theseprioritiescould,accordingtoChristensen,bebasedon

astandardbywhichemployeesprioritisedecisions,suchas;whetheranorderisattractiveornot;

whetheracustomerismoreorlessimportant;whetherandideaisgoodorbadandsoon(C.M.

Christensen1997,pp.164-165).Organisationsthatsuccessfullyaddressdisruption,accordingto

Christensen,utilisesomeoftheresourcesofthemainstreamorganisation,butcarefullyfocuson

notleveragingtheirprocessesandvalues.Therefore,Christensenstates,thatacompanyshould

separatedtheirorganisationintodepartmentsortasksforces,sothattheindividualdepartment

ortaskforcesresources,processes,andvalues,areinlinewiththeattributesandneedsthe

disruptivetechnologiescreates(C.M.Christensen1997,pp.164-166).

Principle5-TechnologySupplyMayNotEqualMarketDemand

ThefifthandlastprinciplespresentedbyChristensen,describeshowtechnology

supplymaynotequalmarketdemand.Asdescribedinthesectionofsustainingversusdisruptive

innovation,thelattercanbecomefullyperformance-competitivewithinthemainstreammarket

againstmoreestablishedproducts,eventhoughthetechnologyinitiallyonlycanbeusedinsmall

andemergingmarketsremotefromthemainstream(C.M.Christensen1997,p.xxvii).These

technologiesbecomeeligibleinimprovingthemainstreamcustomersdemandduetothepaceof

technologicalprogressinsustaininginnovation,whichcreatesaperformanceoversupply.This

20

createstheopportunityfordisruptivetechnologiestoemergeandinvadeestablishedmarkets

frombelow(C.M.Christensen1997,p.183).Productsthatseriouslyunderperformtoday,

regardingcustomerexpectationsinmainstreammarkets,maybecomestrongperformers

tomorrow.Atthesametime,theattributesthatmakethedisruptivetechnologyunattractivein

establishedmarkets,areoftentheverysamethatconstitutetheirgreatnessinemergingmarkets.

Asseeninthecaseofdevelopmentinthediskdriveindustry,wherethe8-inchdrivers,andlater

5.25-inchand2.5-inchdriverscreatednewneedsandmarketsbeforepenetratingthemainstream

market(C.M.Christensen1997,pp.19-23;p.99).AccordingtoChristensen,companiesthat

contributedtothecreationofnewmarketsandvaluedtheattributesofthedisruptive

technologieswerethemostsuccessfulincommercialisingthetechnologies.Thecreationofnew

marketsis,accordingtoChristensen’study,afarmorefavourablewayofaddressingdisruptive

technologies,insteadofcontinuingtolookforatechnologicalbreakthroughthatenabledthe

disruptiveproducttocompeteasasustainingtechnologyinmainstreammarkets(C.M.

Christensen1997,p.100,Christensen,RaynorogMcDonald2015).

ThefiguredownbelowsummarisesChristensen’sfiveprinciples

Principle#1Companiesdependoncustomersandinvestorsfor

resources

Principle#2Smallmarketsdon’tsolvethegrowthneedsoflarge

companies

Principle#3Marketsthatdon’texistcan’tbeanalysed

Principle#4Anorganisation’scapabilitiesdefineitsdisabilities

Principle#5Technologysupplymaynotequalmarketdemand

Createseparateorganisationthatcanexperienceandsolveaseparategrowthneed,whileanalysingthe

potentialofdisruptivetechnologies

Companiesneedtoadaptaniterativeprocessoftrailandlearning,whensearchingforcustomersand

marketfordisruptivetechnologies

Anorganisationthatfocusesonmainstreamcustomerswithhighreturnoftencannotseebenefits

ofdisruptivetech.–createseparateorganisation/taskforce,whichonlyfocusonlearning

andmatchingdisruptivetech.

Disruptiveinnovationswithlowreturnstodaycandevelopintoproducts/servicesthatcanservicethe

mainstreamcustomersdemandtomorrow

Focusonmatchingdisruptivetechwiththerightcustomer,notthebestormaintargetcustomers.

Figure4:Illustrationofthefiveprinciplesandhowtoharnessthem-Source:ThesisCreation

21

HeinandHonoré-DisruptorDie

Manyscholarsandprofessionalshaveworkedwiththephenomenaofdisruptive

innovationssinceBowerandChristensenintroducedtheconceptbackin1995.TwoDanish

authors,TuneHeinandThomasHonoré,continuedClaytonChristensenworkintheirbook,

DisruptorDie,from2016wheretheypresentthecurrentsituationofthealreadyknownconcept;

disruptiveinnovation.EventhoughthetwoauthorscontinuetheworkbasedonChristensen’s

failedframeworkandfiveprinciples,theydodisagreewithoneofthemainstatementsput

forwardbyChristensen.HeinandHonoréarguethatChristensen’statement,whichsuggeststhat

oldcompaniesfailduetotheirobligationstowardsexistingcustomers,isnotnecessarilytrueand

instead,theyputforwardanargumentonhowestablishedcompaniescansustainandthrive,even

whenfacedwithdisruptiveinnovations(HeinogHonoré2016,p.16).Toillustratetheirpoint,they

usetheexampleofhowhigh-endcarmanufactureswerethreatenedbydisruptionthroughthe

conceptofcar-sharing,butinsteadofdyingorlosingsales,manufacturessuchas,BMWand

Mercedesendedupsellingagreatnumberofcarstocar-sharingcompaniesandclubs(Heinog

Honoré2016,p.17).EventhoughHeinandHonoréarguethatestablishedcompaniesdonothave

tobefirstmovers,whendealingwithdisruptivetechnologies,theystillstresstheimportanceof

payingattentiontodisruptivetechnologiesandactingfast.Thisisduetothepacethesenew

actorsmoveinonthemarketandiftheestablishedcompaniesdonotfollow,theymightendup

gettingmarginalisedregardlessoftheirsize.Therefore,HeinandHonorépresentthethreemain

trendsdrivingdisruptionandhowcompaniescanutilisethemtotheiradvantage,whenpreparing

fordisruptivedevelopments.

Toexplaindisruption,asitisknowntoday,HeinandHonoréargue,thattheworld

knowstheconceptofinnovation,butwhatitseentodayiswhattheycallradicalinnovation.

Innovationsdonotonlycreatenewdigitalproductsormarkets,butinsteadradicallychanges

establishedprocessesandmethods(HeinogHonoré2016,p.19).Thisdevelopmentisconsidered

theforth-industrialrevolutionbyWorldEconomicForum,wheresteampowerandcoaldefinethe

firstrevolution,electricitythesecond,computersandinformationtechnologythethirdandnow,

lastly,digitalisationanddisruptionisdefiningtheforthindustrialrevolution(HeinogHonoré2016,

p.19).Thereasonforthisdevelopmentis,accordingtoHeinandHonoré,duetothreetrends,

22

whichwhencombined,createtheperfectstormregardingdisruption.Thesetrendsare

globalisation,digitalisation(IT-enabling)andsharedeconomy(HeinogHonoré2016,p.20).

Globalisation

Globalisation,asoftoday,istrivializedwhencomparedtopreviousconditions.

Today,itisnotonlybigmultinationalcompanieswhohaveaninterestinChina,butnowitalso

includessmallcompanieswithfewemployeesthataredealingwiththeChinesemarketand

suppliers.ThesamegoesforthetraditionalDanishconsumer,whenheorshepurchasesforeign

productsthroughe-bay.Thetrendofglobalisationisawell-knownphenomenon,whichhas

openedforcheaplabour,transportandsalesacrosstheglobe(HeinogHonoré2016,pp.19-20).

Therefore,Hein&Honorestatethatcompanieshavetoincorporatetheadvantagesthat

globalisationbrings,whilealsohavingaglobalmind-setwhenformulatingstrategiesregarding

productandcompanydevelopment(HeinogHonoré2016,pp.19-20).

Digitalisation–IT-enabling

Thesecondtrend,digitalisationis,accordingtoHeinandHonoré,notnecessarily

centredonproductsbeingdigital,butthattheyinsteadaredrivenbyITandthefocusisonIT-

enabling.Theyexplainthatacarisstillacar,butITenablesittobecomeacar-sharing

product/service,whileaTV-seriesisstillaTV-series,butwhencombinedwithIT,itenables

streamingservices.Itisthroughthisargumentthattheauthorsarguethattraditionalproducts

andcompaniescangetcarriedintothedigitalisationera,withthecorrectuseofIT-enabling(Hein

ogHonoré2016,p.21).ThereasonsIT-enablingfacilitatesdisruptionis,accordingtotheauthors,

duetothreeoverallconsequences.

Firstly,allproductsthataredrivenbyIT-enablingreducetheircostsdrastically,since

themarginalcostsfordigitalproductsareoften,ifnotalways,zero.Thishelpsfacilitatethemove

ofcustomerpreferencesfasterwithproductsandservicesbecomingcheaper.Moreimportantly,

otherfactorssuchas,copingwithdigitalproductsbecomeseasier,whiledistributingcostsoften

becomesmallerornon-existing(HeinogHonoré2016,p.21).

Secondly,theauthorsarguethatabettercustomerserviceisanessentialfactorin

disruption.Theyexplainitbyhighlightingthatitisnotthedigitaldisseminationofthetaxaride

23

thatdefinesUberasadisruptiveplatform,buttheincreasedcustomerserviceandexperienced

associatedwiththeusageoftheirdigitalproduct.ThroughtheUberapplication,customerscan

viewwhereexactlythedriveris,howmanyminutestheywillhavetowaitandtheestimatedcost.

Furthermore,Uberdriversarebeingratedconsistentlyaftereachdrive,deliveringamore

transparentandconvenientproduct(HeinogHonoré2016,p.22).AccordingtoHeinandHonoré,

managersandcompanieshavetofocusondesign,on-demand,convenience,personalisationand

purposewhendigitalisingordevelopingaproduct.Byimplementingthesepossibilitiesintheir

products,companiescanutilisethebenefitsofincreasedcustomerserviceassociatedwithIT-

enablingproducts(HeinogHonoré2016,p.23).

ThelastreasonIT-enablingfacilitatesdisruptionis,accordingtoHeinandHonoré,

basedonthefactoroftempo.Digitalisingaproductdrasticallyincreasesthetempo,bywhicha

companygetsaccesstonewmarketsandcustomers.Atraditionalcompany,regardlessofhow

geniusandrevolutionarytheirproductmightbe,dependsonestablishingsalesanddistribution

channelsinorderforthemtogrow,whileacompanysupplyingadigitalisedproductorservice,in

theory,hasaccesstoallonlinecustomers.Thisenablescompaniestogrowwithanextraordinary

speed,thuscausingdisruptiontoindustriesmuchfasterthannon-digitalisedcompanies(Heinog

Honoré2016,pp.24-25).AccordingtoHeinogHonoré,thesethreefactorsareallcontributingto

theargument,ofwhycompaniesneedtoimplementdigitalisationandIT-enabling,inorderto

competewithfuturedisruptivedevelopments(HeinogHonoré2016,p.25).

SharedEconomy

Thethirdandlasttrendis,accordingtoHeinandHonore,sharedeconomy.The

phenomenonofsharedeconomyhasbeenwell-knownfordecades,but,duetodigitalisation,the

conceptnowplaysamuchbiggerroleineverydaybusiness(HeinogHonoré2016,p.26).Shared

economyisdrivenbyforcessuchas,savingsandturningaprofitonunderutilisedoravailable

resources,whileactingandbeingsocialalsoplayabigpart.AccordingtoHeinandHonoré,shared

economyisfocusedonprivateresources(peer-to-peer)ratherthancommerciallyproduced

products,eventhoughtheseservicesandexchangescanbefacilitatedthroughcommercial

companies(HeinogHonoré2016,p.26).Theydividethebehaviourandcompaniesintothree

typesofsharedeconomy;match,sharedconsumptionandsharedknowledge.Matchisfocused

24

onconnectingsupplieranduserwithoutthetraditionalintermediary,whilesharedusedealswith

theactionsofhelpingeachotherfullyutilisealreadyusedresources,likeforexample,sharinga

ridetoworkorbuyingandsharingassets.Thelasttypeisdrivenbytheneedforinformationand

knowledgeexchange,whereexperiences,endorsements,critiquesandratingsofservices,

productsandcompaniesaresharedwithpeers(HeinogHonoré2016,pp.26-27).

Thefiguredownbelowillustratesthethreetrendsdrivingdisruptionaccordingto

HeinandHonoré.

ThesisFramework

Thefirstsectionofthethesisframeworkisconstructedtoprovideanoverall

understandingofwhatcanbedeemasdisruptiveinnovationandwhatcannot.Thesecondsection

hasthepurposeofprovidingaframeworkthatcandetermineifDanishcharteragenciesare

preparedtohandledisruptiveinnovationsandwheretheycanimprove.

Figure5:IllustrationofHein&Honoréthethreetrendsdrivingdisruptionandhowcompaniescanutilisethem-Source:ThesisCreation

• Newmarkets&new

customers

• Cheaperlabour

• Cross-Cultural

• Reducecosts

o Production

o Distribution

o Maintenance

• Increasedcostumer

service&experience

o On-demand

o Convenience

o Personalisation

• Tempo

o Growthrate

o Expansionofsalesand

distributionchannels

• Savings

• Utilisingunder/left

overresources

• Greenandsocially

responsible

• Easierandmore

user-friendlytoact

sustainable

Globalisation IT-Enabling SharedEconomy

25

TheThesis’DefinitionofDisruption

Thisthesisacknowledgesthesameseparationofinnovativetechnologies,as

Christensenmakes,whendividingtechnologicalinnovationsintosustaininganddisruptive

technologies.Whenanalysingifacompanyoraproductisofadisruptivenature,Christensen

statesthatthewayinwhichacompanyorproductentersthemarketshouldeitherbeanew-

market-orlow-endmarketentry,inwhichtheinnovationservicestheneedsofanewmarketor

servicetheneedsoflowerlevelcustomers.Thetwoscholars,HeinandHonoré,disagreewiththis

statementandargue,thatthesetwoapproachesarenottheonlyonesthatcanbeconsideredas

disruptive.Theyclaim,thatbyIT-enablingordigitalisingacompany’smethod,productorservice,

acompanycanbecomedisruptive.Especiallywhencompaniestakethetwoothertrends,

globalisationandsharedeconomy,intoaccountwhendevelopingnewinnovativeproductsand/or

services.ThedebateisessentiallyrootedinHeinandHonorédefiningdigitalisationandIT-

enablingasdisruptive,whereasChristensenarguesthatdigitalisationfocusesonminimisingcost,

increasingcustomerserviceandusability,thusmakingitasustainingtechnology.

ThisthesisemploysChristensen’sdefinitionofwhenacompany,productorserviceis

disruptive,butacknowledgesthatChristensen’sstudiesweredonebeforetheInternetwasapart

ofeachhouseholdandindividual,andbeforecompaniesbeganinvestinginIT-enablingtheir

productsandservices.Therefore,theargumentsondisruptionpresentedbyHeinandHonoréare

incorporatedintothethesisframework,sothatproductsandservicesthatarebasedon

digitalisationandaccomplishmorethanjustimprovinganalreadyexistingproduct,canbe

consideredasdisruptiveduetotheirdisruptiveelements.Thisthesisacknowledgesthat

Christensenhasmadeamodificationofhisoriginalframeworkin2015,wherethedigitalerawas

arrived,butChristensen,asexplainedabove,consideredthedigitalisationofproductsasbeinga

sustainabledevelopment.Itcantherefore,beindicatedthatChristensen,tosomedegree,failto

followhisownadvice,asheinhisbookstatesthatcompaniesneedtothrowouttheverythings

thatmadethemsuccessfulbecausetheydonotworkwhenfacedwithdisruptivetechnological

change(C.M.Christensen1997,p.172)ItcanbedebatedifChristensen’sdefinitionofwhat

disruptioniscanbedeficientsincehestickstohispriorunderstandingofdisruption,eventhough

digitalisationhasbroughtradicalchangetohowcompaniesevolvetoday.Thefigure4,illustrated

26

downbelow,highlightsthreedifferentcriteria’sthisthesisemploystoinvestigateifacompany,

productorservicecanbedefinedasadisruptiveinnovation.

Thefiguredownbelowillustrateswhatthethesisconsidersdisruptiveinnovationwhen

determiningacompany,productorservice.

HarnessingtheSevenPrinciplesofDisruptiveInnovations

ThefiveprinciplesofChristensenconstitutethefoundationofthethesisframework

anditissupportedbythetrendspresentedbyHeinandHonoré.Thetwotrends,globalisationand

digitalisationareincorporatedinthethesisframework,butthelasttrend,sharedeconomy,have

beendiscardedduetolackofrelevanceandinsufficientanswersprovidedbytheinterviewees.All

elementsofthetwotheoriesareloyallypresentedinthethesisframework,butforthesakeof

applicability,theyhavebeenadjustedforthepurposeofthepaperandtheproblemstatement.

Thethesisprinciplesareelaboratedinthesectiondownbelow.

Principle1:Researchforproductdevelopment

Christensenarguesthatcompaniesdevelopnewproductsbasedoncurrent

customerneedssinceresourceallocationforproductdevelopmentisdrivenbywhatcurrent

NewMarketEntry

Low-endMarketEntry

Digitalisingproducts,servicesormethods

DisruptiveInnovation

Figure6:Thesisdefinitionofdisruption.Source:ThesisCreation

27

customersdemand.Theseactionsresultinthecompanyinvestinginsustainingimprovementsto

analreadyexistingproductandconsequentlynotsearchingfornewtrendsandtechnologies.

Therefore,thethesisprincipleintendstoinvestigateifcharteragenciesbasetheirproduct

developmentoninternalorexternalresearchbeforedevelopingnewproductsandservices.

Principle2:Profitablevs.LessProfitableCustomers

Christensenarguesthatsmallmarketscannotfulfilalargecompany’sgrowingneeds

andtherefore,theydonotwanttooperateinthesemarkets.Furthermore,hecontendsthata

companythatisenteringthismarketearlygetsfirst-moveradvantagesandgetsfootholdinthis

market.Thisprincipleofthethesisfocusesonthecharteragencieswillingnesstooperateinthe

lowprofitpartofthetravelmarketandtherebynarrowingthegapfornewentrantcompanies.

Principle3:UnknownDevelopments

Christensencontendsthatmarketsthatdonotexistcannotbeanalysedandthat

mostcompaniesexecuteinsteadofdiscoveringandlearning.Hearguesthatmanagersaretaught

aboutinnovationinasustainingmannerwhereproductdevelopmentistargetedatknown

marketsandknowncustomerneeds.Thisprincipleofthethesisseekstoinvestigateifcharter

agenciesfocusonunknowntrendsandtechnologiesthatenabledisruptiveinnovationratherthan

sustaining.

Principle4:OrganisationalStructure

Throughouttheentireframework,Christensenunderlinestheimportanceofcreating

aseparatetaskforce,whichisnotaffectedbytherootsandvaluesofthedailyoperations.This

separationofanorganisationenablesthetaskforcetothinkinnovativewithoutbeinglimitedby

thecompany’sprocesses.Theobjectiveofthisthesisprincipleistoinvestigateifthecharter

agencieshaveaseparatetasksforce,whichdealswithnewtechnologiesanddisruptive

innovations.Furthermore,thisisthemostessentialprincipletoharness.

Principle5:FocusonStart-upTechCompanies

Christensenexplainsthatproductsthatareseriouslyunderperformingtodaycan

becomestrongperformerstomorrow.Therefore,thepurposeofthisprincipleistoscrutiniseif

28

charteragenciesarefocusingonstart-uptechsthatareservicingcustomersinthelowendofthe

travelmarket,since,eventhough,thesestart-uptechsarenotastrongcompetitor,atthe

moment,theymightbecomeathreatinthefuture.

Principle6:GlobalConsiderations

HeinandHonoréexplainthatglobalisationhasbroughtawiderangeofpossibilities

thateventhesmallestcompaniescantakeadvantageof.Theycanoperateglobally,whichhas

enabledthemtogrowinafastpace,but,onthecontrary,globalisationhasalsoincreasedthe

numberofcompetitorsinlocalmarkets.Thisprincipleofthethesisframeworkfocusesonhow

chartercompaniesutilisetheadvantagesglobalisationbrings,whilealsoinvestigatinghowthey

viewthethreats.

Principle7:Digitalisationefforts

HeinandHonoréarguethatbyIT-enablingaproductorservicecanentailseveral

improvements.Firstly,itreducescosts,secondly,itcanimprovecustomerserviceandlastly,itcan

growinafastpace.Therefore,thisthesisprincipleseekstoexaminehowcharteragenciesutilise

thebenefitsofdigitalisationintheirproductsandbusiness.

AccountofMethod

Thissectionaimstoclarifythemethodologicalfoundationofthethesis,which

initiallypresentstheontologicalandepistemologicalstandpoints.Followingthis,theresearch

designanddatacollectionmethodswillbeelaboratedaswellasaspecificationofhowthedatais

processed.

EpistemologicalStandpoint

Theepistemologicalandontologicalstandpointsofthethesisareestablishedonthe

workofHans-GeorgGadamerconcerningphilosophicalhermeneutics.AccordingtoGadamer,

interpretationisapartofthehumanconditionandhearguesthatitisbymakingsenseofthe

world,andourselvesintheworld,thatwerealiseourfullhumanpotentialasethicalagents(Nixon

2017,p.15).Gadamercontendsthathumansunderstandtheworldinandthroughourexperience

29

oftheworld.He,therefore,considersitvitalfortheindividualtounderstandtheworld,thatthe

individualisanactivepartoftheinterpretationprocess(Nixon2017,pp.18-19).Humanprejudice

orashecallsit,historicity,isthepointofdeparturewhereinterpretationbeginsanditisbuilt

uponinterpretationvaluesandassumptionsthatareshapedbyourorigins.Someofour

prejudicesmayassistunderstanding,whileothersmaydenyunderstandingand,therefore,

Gadamerstressesthatwemustbeawareoftheprejudicesweareimportingintointerpretation

process,sincethehermeneuticaltaskinvolvesself-examination.Itisthereforeimportantnotto

haveblindfaithinone’sconvictions,buttohavethecommitmenttoquestiontheseconvictions.

Thebelievethataninterpreterhasundergoneaself-examinationprocessenablesustohavetrust

intheinterpretationandtrustisanecessaryconditionofunderstanding.Ifwetrustednothingin

thisworld,thenitwouldbeaworldbeyondourunderstanding.Gadamer,furthermore,argues

thathermeneuticsshouldfocusonunderstandingratherthanmisunderstandingandthatit

cannotbeconsideredamethodtoavoidmisinterpretations.Theunderstandingismadethrough

utilisingtheprejudicesthatassist,butalsothroughtheknowledge,whichderivesfromrejecting

inappropriateprejudices.Gadamer,therefore,inoppositiontothescientificideal,insistsonthe

productivepowerofprejudiceinsteadofdenyingthemcategorically.Gadamerrefusestoaccept

thatweneedtoexcludeourselvesfromtheinterpretationprocessinordertoachieveobjectivity

(Nixon2017,pp.18-19).InadditiontoGadamer’sworkofunderstanding,heexplainshownew

interpretationrevisethepre-understandingthroughthehermeneuticcircle.Gadamerstatesthat

thehermeneuticcircleconsistsofthe“whole”,whichisone’spre-understandingorprejudiceofa

topic,andthe“parts”thatisnewknowledge.Heargues,thatunderstandingisaconstantback

andforthbetweenthewholeandtheparts,whichresultsintheinterpreterisconstantlyrevising

thepre-understandingasheorsheadvancesintheunderstandingofthenewknowledge.The

newknowledgetherebyhelpstheinterpretertoobtainamoreaccurateideaofthewhole

(Grondin2017,pp.11-14).

TheworkbyGadamerconstitutestheverybackboneofthisthesisandwehave

therefore,chosentheontologicalstandpointofconstructivismandtheepistemological

standpoint,Interpretivism.ThereasonwhywehavechosenGadamer’sworkasourguidelineis

thatitrepresentsthewayinwhichourdatahasbeenprocessed.Eachoftheinterviewees’

30

understandingofthetravelindustryisformedbytheirprejudicesandtherefore,theyhave

differentopinionsonwhatisrightandwrong.Furthermore,we,asresearchers,areinfluencedby

ourprejudice,whenweinterpretthestatementsbytheintervieweesandtherefore,theoutcome

cannotavoidbeinginfluencedbyourunderstandingofit.Intermsofthehermeneuticcircle,we

havethroughtheinterpretationofthetheoreticalframeworksanddatacollectionevolvedour

pre-understanding.Withdatacollectionfromseveralparties,wehaveattemptedtodevelopour

understandingtobecomeasobjectiveaspossible.

ResearchDesignandDataCollection

Thisthesisisconductedasacomparativeresearchdesign,sincethisdesignstrivesto

understandsocialphenomenathroughcomparingtwoormorecasesorsituations(Bryman2012,

pp.64-68).Inthismatter,theaimwiththisresearchdesignistocomparehowagencies,within

theDanishcharterindustry,handledisruptiveinnovations.Thisisconductedwithanobjectiveof

examiningcompanieswithintheDanishcharterindustryandifthereareanypatternsintheirway

ofrespondingtothechanges.Furthermore,aresearchofcompanieswithinindustriesthat

experienceasimilartechnologicaladvancementwillbeexecuted,tocomparehowthecharter

agenciesmanagethedevelopmentincomparisontothesecompanies.Togetherwiththe

theoreticalframeworks,thesecomparisonsarecrucialtoanswertheproblemstatement,since

theygiveanoverviewoftheDanishtravelindustryandbusinesseswithsimilarchallenges.

Thisresearchdesignwillbecarriedoutthroughtheapplicationofbothprimaryand

secondarydata.Thelatterconsistsofarticlesconcerningthetravelindustry,thetechnological

advancementinquestionandtheimpactithashadonotherindustries.Theprimarydatais

collectedthroughasequentialpurposivesamplingmethod,sinceallintervieweesofthethesishas

eitheraconnectiontotheDanishtravelindustry,expertisewithintechnologicaladvancementand

howtomanageitorispositionedinanindustry,whichhavesimilartechnologicalchallenges.The

intervieweesare,therefore,chosenbasedontheirrelevancetotheproblemstatementandnot

randomlypicked.Furthermore,asasequentialapproach,thesamplingisanevolvingprocess

whereparticipantsareaddedduringtheresearchtogiveabroaderunderstandingandmore

thoroughanswertotheproblemstatement.Purposivesamplingcannotallowtheresearcherto

generalizetoapopulation,buttheambitionwiththesamplingeffortsistocollectenough

31

secondaryandprimarydatatogiveanindicationofthesituationwithinDanishcharterindustry

(Bryman2012,pp.408-410).

Inthisthesis,thecollectionofbothprimaryandsecondarydatahasshapedthe

constructionofthetheoreticalframework.Theframeworkconsistsofdifferentauthorsacross

time,whochallengeseachother’sviewpoints,butalsocontributetoatheoreticalframework

whichincludestheinitialthoughtofthesubjectandhowithaschangedintime.Moreover,the

initiatepilotinterviewshelpedshapethetheoreticalframeworkandthisframeworkplayeda

significantpartincollectingdatafromthatpointon.Thisincludesbothprimaryandsecondary

data.Therefore,theinductiveapproach,whichistodeveloptheoryfromthedatacollected,is

deemedsuitableforthethesis,but,simultaneously,thedeductiveapproach,whichsuggestthat

datashouldbecollectedbasedontheory,alsofitsthethesisstructure.Itcan,therefore,be

arguedthattheapproachchosenforthisthesisisacombinationofboth(Bryman2012,pp.21-

24).

Primarydata

Semi-StructuredInterviews:

Interview1:LarsThykier,CEOofDanskRejsebureauForening

Interview2:PederHornshøj,CEOofBravoTours

Interview3:JanVendelbo,CEOofSpies

Interview4:TerjePedersen,HeadofDigitalSalesandMarketingatTUI

Interview5:GlennBisgaard,HeadofPublicRelationatApollo

Interview6:CarstenTerpHansen,DeputyDirectorofSuncharter

Interview7:EjnerMunkSvendsen,TradePromotionOfficeratSparekassenVendsyssel

Interview8:AllanBrodersen,DigitalProductManageratTV2

Interview9:ThorvaldStigsen,FounderofMomondo

Interview10:TuneHein,DisruptionExpert

32

InterviewTechniquesandApproaches

Theprimarydataofthisthesishasbeencollectedthroughsemi-structured

interviewswithparticipants,whohavesignificanceinrelationtotheproblemstatement.The

initialsamplingofinterviewswasconductedaspilotinterviewswithasemi-structuredguideline,

whichhadthepurposeofgainingathoroughunderstandingoftheoftheDanishcharterindustry.

Thiswasapartoftheinitialproblemanalysisandtheyplayedanimportantroleinthe

developmentoftheimprovedfocusoftheresearch.

Next,basedontheinitialinterviewsandtheoreticalframework,semi-structured

interviewswereconductedwithamorenarrowedfocusonthedevelopedproblemstatement.

Commonfortheinitiatepilotinterviewsandthesemi-structuredinterviewslaterintheprocess,is

thattheyarecharacterisedbytheutilisationofopen-endedquestions,whichprovidedthe

informantwiththepossibilityofansweringfreely.Theresearchersaimoftheinterviewswasto

createarelaxedenvironmentwithaflexibletimeframeenablingtheinformanttoreflectonthe

questionsasked.Oppositetosurveyinterviews,whichispermeatedwiththeutilisationofclosed-

endedquestions,theaimoftheseinterviewswastoallowtheparticipanttohaveagreaterimpact

ontheconversationandenablingtheresearcherstogaininsightinpossibleunknownareas(Tjora

2012,pp.104-109).Furthermore,theparticipantswereinformedabouttheagendaofthe

interviewsbeforehandasanattempttoensurethemthattheywouldn’tfindthemselvesinan

uncomfortablesituationwithquestionstheycouldn’tanswerorweren’tinterestedinanswering.

Theinterviewershave,therefore,strivedtocreateaninterviewenvironmentthattheparticipant

wouldfeelcomfortablein,whichenhancesthechancesofhimorhertoanswerthequestionsina,

totheinterviewer,satisfactorymanner(Tjora2012,pp.110-112).

ThestructureoftheinterviewsfollowedprinciplesofAkselTjora’sthreephasesof

thesemi-structuredinterview.First,inthephasehecallsthewarmupphase,thequestionsofthe

interviewsweresimpleandharmless,whichallowstheparticipanttogetcomfortableandrelaxed

inthesituation.Inthenextphase,whichisthereflexionphase,theinformant,ifnecessary,would

beallowedtogivethoroughanswers.Itisalsointhisphasetheinterviewerasksfollowup

questiontodigdeeperintocertaintopicsrelevanttotheresearch.Lastlyisround-offwherethe

33

interviewernormalisesthesituationandthankstheinformantforhisorherparticipation(Tjora

2012,pp.112-120).

Duetothelargedistancebetweentheinterviewersandtheparticipators

geographically,mostoftheinterviewshavebeenconductedthroughatelephoneorSkype

connection.AccordingtoTjora,semi-structuredinterviewsaremostoptimalfacetoface,sinceit

canenhancethecomfortablefeeling.Healsoarguesthatinterviewsconductedonatelephoneare

shorterthanfacetofaceinterviewssincetheinterviewertendtobemoreplannedinhis

questioningand,simultaneously,theinformanttendtogiveshorteranswers.Theinterviewers,

furthermore,willnotbeabletoreadtheinformantsbodylanguage,whichcanbehelpfulin

formingacomfortableconversation.Ontheotherhand,thefactthatthereisnovisiblecontact

canprovidetheparticipantwithagreaterfeelingofanonymityandthiscanbeacalmingfactor

(Tjora2012,pp.140-142).

ContentCondensing

Asatool,codingisutilisedtobreakdocumentsofdataintokeywords,whichcan

describecertainsectionsofthedocument.Thiscanbeefficienttounderstandtheoverallmeaning

oftheinterviewbydividingitintocodes,sinceitcancontributetoamoregeneralunderstanding.

Codingbringsseveraladvantagesfortheresearcher,sinceitcanreducethehoursspendon

selectingdataand,furthermore,itcanconcentratethedataintobeingmoresimpleand

structured,whichmakesitmoremanageable(KvaleogBrinkmann2015,p.223)Whencoding

data,twoapproachescanapplicabletoreachamorethoroughunderstandingofthedata

collected.Firstly,thecodingprocesscanbecontrolledbythedata,whichenablestheresearcher

todevelopcodesasheorsheinterpretsbitsofdata.Second,theresearchercanbeconcept

controlledwhereheorshehasdevelopedcodesbeforehandfromcollecteddataorother

literature,whichenablestheresearchertoconductinterviewswithspecificgoalsinmind.Thisis

nottobeunderstoodastheresearcherchooseamoreclose-endedinterviewstructure,butthe

researchersimplyhaskeywords,whichthequestionsarerevolvingaround(KvaleogBrinkmann

2015,pp.224-225).Whencontentcondensingtheinterviews,theresearcherconcentratesthe

relevantpartsoftheinterviewintoshortdescriptions,which,ascontentunitsareeasiertoutilise

inacontentanalysis.Thesecontentunitscomposetheinformant’sopinion,ofacertainmatter

34

andmakeiteasierfortheresearchertocomparetosimilarunitsfromotherinformants(Kvaleog

Brinkmann2015,pp.227-228)

Thisthesisutilisesaconceptcontrolledcodingprocesssincetheinterviewsofthe

thesisareconductedwithcodessetbeforehandbasedonthetheoreticalframework.The

researchersidentifiedkeywordsofinterestthrough,firstly,thepilotinterviewsandsecondary

datathatformedtheselectionandcreationofthetheoreticalframework,which,intheend,

specifiedthekeywordstobecomemoreanalysable.

MetaMatrix

Toenhancethetransparencyofthedatacollected,asystematicmodelcalledmeta-

matrixwillbeapplied.Thismethodisutilisedtocreateabetterunderstandingofthedataandto

makeiteasiertointerpret(MilesogHuberman1994,pp.240-241).Themeta-matrixwillconsistof

intervieweesandtheoreticalassertionstoillustrateiftheintervieweesarehandlingdisruptive

innovations,astheyshould,accordingtothetheorists.Themeta-matrixislocatedinAppendix1.

Exampleofmeta-matrixstructure:

Limitations

ClaytonChristensen

ThetheoreticalframeworkmadebyClaytonChristensenisathoroughframework,

whichisefficientindefiningwhatisandwhatisnotdisruptiveinnovation,andhowthesecanbe

harnessed.Eventhoughitisdeemedveryuseful,thethesisacknowledgesthatClaytonChristen

Figure7-Illustrationofmeta-matrix–Appendix1

35

hasmadehisframeworkandpublisheditinabook,whichthenshouldbesoldtobusinessleaders

whofeartheconsequencesofdisruption.We,therefore,statethatithasbeentakeninto

considerationthatChristensenprofitsbyspreadingthehorrorsofdisruptionandcanhavemotive

forincreasingtheneedforabooklikehis.Furthermore,Christensen’sframeworkissuitedfor

largecompanies,butthethesisassessthatitisapplicableforsmallerorganisationsaswell.

Hein&Honoré

ThethesisacknowledgesthatHeinandHonoréindependentlycannotbeconsidered

asavalidtheory,butwedeemourutilisationoftheirworkcanbejustified,sincetheytaketheir

pointofdeparturefromtheframeworkofChristensenandtheyfromhereattemptstoaddan

extradimensiontoit.Theirworkistherebynotaframeworkassuch,butitismodificationofan

alreadyexistingtheory.Furthermore,HeinandHonoréitcanbearguedthatHeinandHonoré

havethesamemotiveasChristensenwithbookbeingpossibleprofit.

AnalyticalApproach

Inordertoinvestigatethephenomenaofdisruptionandanswertheproblem

statement,wewillstartoffwithprovidingasuitabletheoreticalframework.Firstly,wewill

introducetheDigitalScene,whichaimstoclarifyhowdigitalisationhasinfluencedthecustomer

behaviourbypresentingKotleretal.Marketing4.0.Thereafter,wewillpresenthowMomondo

wascreatedandhowonlineplatformsthinkandact,basedonourinterviewwithThorvald

Stigsen.Thenextstepistoscrutinisehowthetravelindustryhasexperiencedsustainingand

disruptivedevelopmenttoclarifywhyexpertsandactorswithinthecharterindustry,haveso

polarisedperceptionsonwhensomethingisdisruptive.Thisisdonebasedonrelevantsecondary

data,supportedbyourinterviewwithLarsThykier.Afterestablishinghowsignificantinnovations

haveaffectedthecharterindustry,ouranalysisoftheDanishcharteragencieswillbeconducted.

Theanalysisisbuiltonthethesisframework,whichiscomprisedoftwotheories,andconstructed

withtheproblemstatementinmind.Thesevenprinciplesderivedfromourthesisframeworkwill

beincorporatedinourmeta-matrixandtheanswersgivenbymanagers.Nextwewilldiscusshow

eachcompanyscoresinourmeta-matrixonthebasisofthethesisframeworkandinrelationto

36

ourproblemstatement.Lastly,wewillprovideaconclusion,whichanswerstheproblem

statement.

TheDigitalScene

Thefollowingsectionwillprovideinsightonhowindustrieshavebeenalteredby

technologicaldevelopmentsfollowedbyadescriptionofhowtheInternetanddigitalisationhave

hadanimpactoncustomerandconsumerbehaviour.Furthermore,abriefinsightonhow

ThorvaldStigsencreatedMomondowillbepresentedtogainknowledgeonhowonlineplatforms

thinkandact.

AccordingtoCBSprofessorJanDamsgaard,theworldisundergoingachange,which

wehaveneverseenbeforeandifcompaniesmanagetoadjusttothisdevelopment,thenthe

worldisattheirfeet.Conversely,iftheydonotadjusttoit,theresultcanlikelybeashutdownof

thecompany.Thisistherealitybusinessleadersneedtodealwithtodaywiththefast-going

technologicaladvancement(Damsgaard2015,pp.9-13).Evidenceofthisdevelopmentiseasyto

findintoday’ssocietyanditisvisibleineverycity.Movierentalshopsandrecordstoresusedto

bevisibleineventhesmallestcities,buttodaytheyarenottobefoundanywhere.Furthermore,

thebank’sbranchofficeswerealsowidelyspreadalloverthecountry,buttodaytheyareslowly

reducinginnumbers.Thisisaresultofthedigitalrevolutionand,accordingtoDamsgaard,this

revolutionwillprovetobeascomprehensiveastheindustrialrevolutionifnotgreater

(Damsgaard2015,pp.9-13).

Figure8,downbelowillustratesexamplesofindustriesthathavebeenaltered.

Theseareindustriesthateither,completelyorpartially,operateontheB2Cmarketandare

presentedtoillustratehowdigitalisationcanaffectbusinessmodels:

Industry Change

Thewatchindustry Fromhandwatchtowatchonyourphone

Thebookindustry Fromonlythebestauthorscouldpublishabook

37

toallauthorscanpublishtheirbookontheirown

website

Thegrocerysector Fromconsumersdoingtheirgroceriesina

physicalstoretohomedelivery

TheTVandradioindustry Fromconsumersschedulingtheirtimetoairtime

andtodaywheretheycanwatchorheartheir

favouriteshowwhereverandwheneverthey

want.

Thepostalindustry Fromdeliveringmainlyletterstoonlydelivering

packages

Thefinancialsector Fromphysicalservicetoonlinebanking

Thetaxiindustry Fromexpensiveservicetoacheapertransport

throughanapp.

Themusicindustry Fromphysicalstorestostreaming

Figure8:Howindustrieshavebeenaltered-Source:(Wiese2016,pp.292-293)

DigitalEffectsonConsumerBehaviour

Overtheyearsmarketinghaschangedsignificantlyandhasfollowedthe

developmentwithinconsumerbehaviourandtrends.Thesechangeshavelargelybeencausedby

newtechnologyandtheemergenceoftheInternet.AccordingtoKotler,KartajayaandSetiawan,

marketinghasevolvedthrough4stages,whichtheycallmarketing1.0,2.0,3.0and4.0(Kotler,

KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing3.02010,pp.3-5).In2017,marketing4.0waspublishedandthis

focusesonthetransitionfromtraditionalmarketingtodigitalmarketing.AccordingtoKotleretal.

itwasnecessarytomakemarketing4.0sincetherehasbeeninrecentyearshasbeenalotof

technologicaladvancementsinrecentyears.Theyarguethatitisnotduetonewtechnologies,but

38

thatexistingtechnologieshavebeenconvergingandthishasmadeagreatimpactonmarketing

practicesaroundtheworld(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,p.11).

PowerShifts

TheInternethaschangedtheworldandthepowerstructuresweoncekneware

undergoingsignificantchanges.Asanexample,fromthefinancialcrisisweexperiencedthatthe

powerfulG7countrieswasnotabletosolvethecrisisontheirown,butwereforcedtoinvolvethe

G20nations,whichincludescountriessuchasIndia,IndonesiaandChina.Thiswasanevidenceof

theeconomicpoweroftheworldhasdiffusedandthisisaresultoftheconnectivityand

transparency,whichtheInternethasbroughttotheworld.Oneexampleoftheconnectivitywe

experiencetodayisFacebook,whichhas1.65billionusersontheirplatform(Kotler,Kartajayaog

Setiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.15-21).AccordingtoKotleretal.(2017),theworldhasbeen

accustomedtoaverticalpowerstructure,butthisnowhasbeendilutedbyamorehorizontal

structure.TodaypeoplegettheirbreakingnewsonTwitterfromcitisenjournalistsinsteadofthe

TVnetworksandsurveyfromvarietymagazineshowedthattheyounggenerationfrom13-18

weremoreinterestedinfamousYouTubersthanHollywoodcelebrities(Kotler,Kartajayaog

Setiawan,Marketing4.02017).Theseareexamplesofhowthepowerstructurehasbecomemore

horizontal,inclusiveandsocialinsteadofvertical,exclusiveandindividual.Customercommunities

havebecomemorevocalandtodaytheyaremorepowerfulthanever.Theysharestoriesabout

bigbrandsandbigcompanies,andthesehavenowbecomemorecrediblethanthecompanies’

targetedadvertisingcampaigns(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.15-21).

Accordingtotheauthors,socialcircleshavebecomethemainsourceofinfluenceandcustomers

tendtofollowtheadviceofthesegroups,whentheyaredecidingwhichbrandtochoose(Kotler,

KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.15-21).Thiscanbeseenascustomersattempting

toprotectthemselvesagainstuntruemarketingcampaignsfromthecompanies.Infact,Google

researchshowsthat8outof10smartphoneusersintheUnitedStatesdomobileresearchin-store

andinIndonesiamorethanhalfofthetelevisionaudiencedoesmobileresearch,whilewatching

televisioncommercials(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.23-24)Thistrend

hasinrecentyearsmadethefoundationforcompanieslikeTripAdvisorandYelp,andthis

developmentchangedtherelationshipbetweencustomersandbrandsfromverticaltohorizontal.

Customerswillnotbefooledbythebrands’fakerepresentationofvalueanymoreduetotheir

39

communitiesandtherefore,brandsshouldtakeamorehorizontalpointofviewandconsider

customersaspeersandfriendsofthecompany(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.0

2017,pp.15-21)

Furthermore,globalisationhaschangedthebalanceofpowerbetweencompanies

andthestrengthofcompanyisnolongerdeterminedbytheirsize,countryorpastadvantages.

Today,smallerandyoungercompaniesareabletocompetewithglobalcompaniesandas(Kotler,

KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.15-21)arguethatinthefuturenocompanywill

dominatetheothers.Technologyhastakenawaythesuperiorityfromhigh-volumemainstream

brandsandprovidedmorepowertonichecompanies.Thephysicalandlogisticalconstraintsof

thesmallercompanieshavebeenreducedwiththeInternet.Thisinclusivityhasmadeitpossible

forcompaniestoenterindustriestheywouldn’thavebeenabletocompeteinbeforeandthishas

broughtcomplexityintomanyindustriessinceitcanbechallengingforcompaniestolocatetheir

competitors.Insomecases,companiescanexperiencebecomingrivalswithbrandsfromother

industries,sincetechnologyhasmadeitpossibleforthemtoenteranothermarketandtherefore,

itsometimescanbebeneficialforcompaniestoreachco-opetition(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,

Marketing4.02017,pp.15-21).Additionally,Kotleretal.statethatabrandcanbemore

competitivebyconnectingwithcustomercommunities,sincetheserepresenttheinclusivitythat

peopleembracetodayanditisnotaboutbeingsimilar,butrespectingeachotherdespite

differences.Intheonlineworld,socialmediahasenabledpeopletobuildrelationshipswitheach

otherwithnodemographicorgeographicbarriersandcompaniesmustacceptthatthemarket

supplytheideasandthebrand’sjobistocommercialiseit(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,

Marketing4.02017,pp.19-27).

Connectivity

Innearfuture,anewgenerationofcustomersisemergingandtheyareyoung,

urban,mobileandhaveastrongconnectivity.Theconnectivityisillustratedthroughtheirheavy

useofmobiledevices,whichtheyutilisetostayconnectedwiththeircommunity,butalsotostay

informed.Forexample,theyutilisetheirsmartphonestoresearchpriceandqualityofproduct

onlineand,asmentionedearlieron,theytrustproductreviewsfromotherconsumersmorethan

thebrandsthemselves(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.22-28).This

40

developmenthasledsomepeopletosaythattheconsumersaremorepowerfulthanever,but

arguesthattheconsumersarenotincontrolofwhattheyarebuying.AccordingtoKotleretal.

consumersareinfluencedbythreefactors,whentheyaremakingapurchase.Thefirstfactoris

marketingcommunicationinvariousmedia,thesecondfactoristheopinionoffriendsandfamily

andthirdlyispersonalknowledgeaboutabrand,whichtheconsumerhasexperiencedinthepast.

Thesethreefactorscombinedwiththeconsumers’abilitytocompareproductsandservicesonline

emphasisestheimportanceofbrandsmaintainingagreatimage(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,

Marketing4.02017,pp.22-28).Accordingto(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,

pp.28-36)consumershavebecomehighlydependentofothersopinionwhenmakingapurchase

decision.Theyarguethattheconsumersareoftenconsideringthewordofothersasmore

importantthanmarketingcommunicationorevenpersonalpreferences.Thereasonforthis,

accordingtothem,isconnectivityitselfandthelowleveloftrustinmarketingadvertisement.

Furthermore,connectivityalongwiththepresenceofdevicesandscreenseverywherehasalso

broughtmanydistractionstothecustomers.AsurveybytheNationalCenterforBiotechnological

Informationdisplayedthattheaveragehumanattentionspanhasdroppedfrom12secondsin

2000to8secondsin2013andthishasattributedtothecustomershavingdifficultiesinfocusing

andlimitedtheirabilitytodecide.Thiscanbearesultofconstantmessagesontheconsumers

connectedmobiledevices,whichrequireconstantattention.Thispresentsachallengeinthe

futureformarketerssinceitbecomesharderandhardertoobtaintheattentionoftheconsumer

and,onthesametime,obtaintheirtrust(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.

22-28).(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,Marketing4.02017,pp.28-36)suggeststhatbrandsneed

tostartconversationsaboutthebrandincustomercommunities,whichcanmakeconsumers

awareoftheirproductsandperhapsturningsomeconsumersintoloyaladvocates.Inthelast

decade,thedefinitionofloyaltyhasbecomesynonymouswithacustomer,whorecommenda

brandtofriendsandfamily.Onthebasisofthis,FrederickReichhelddesignedtheNetPromoter

Score,whichisthemostfamousmeasurementframeworkofbrandadvocacy.Itdividesthe

customersintothreecategories,dependentontheirscoreofthecompany,namelypromoters,

passivesanddetractors.Theframeworkismeasuredbysubtractingthepercentageofpromoters

fromthedetractorsandherebyfindingifthereismorepositivecoveragethannegative.

InterestinglytonoteisalargecompanylikeMcDonald’shas33%promotersand29%detractors,

41

butaccordingtoKotleretal.theaimforeverycompanyshouldbetoanarmyofpromotersthat

canguardthecompanyagainstcriticisminthedigitalworld(Kotler,KartajayaogSetiawan,

Marketing4.02017,pp.22-28).

TheMakingofMomondo

ThorvaldStigsen,theCEOofSkyGate,establishedMomondointheearly2000s.

SkyGatewasacompanythatdeliveredtravelsolutiontolargecompanieswithglobaltravel

activities.Inaddition,thecompanyprovidedcustomerrelationmanagement(CRM)systemsto

businesstravelagencies,whichThorvaldStigsenexplains,wouldendupbeingthefoundationfor

thetechnologyusedinMomondo’ssearchengine(Appendix3,01:30-03.00min).ThorvaldStigsen

statesthathedidnotknowmuchabouttheInternetorhowcompanies,thatbuilttheirbusiness

modelonline,earnedmoney.Thisledhimtoinvestigatehowsuccessfulonlinecompanies

operated,wherehediscoveredthatonlineproductsweredrivenbyclickorasThorvaldStigsen

statesit“youbuyandsellclicks”(Appendix3,07:15-07:19min).Afterobtainingthisknowledge,he

realisedthatonlinebusinessmodelswerethecompleteoppositeoftheclassicalbusinessmodel.

Whenacompanysellsaproductthevaluepropositionoftheproductthatthecustomergets,is

tiedtogetherwiththerevenuestream,meaningthequalityoftheproductdefinestherevenue

stream,accordingtoThorvaldStigsen.Heexplainsthatthisisnotthebusinessmodelhe

discoveredwhenheinvestigatingsuccessfulonlinecompanies,butinsteaddiscoveredthatonthe

Internetitwascompletelydifferent.Heresuccessfulcompaniesmanagedtoseparatevalue

propositionandrevenuestream,sothatthevaluethecustomergetisnottiedtoacompany’s

revenuestream(Appendix3,06:15-09:00min).ThorvaldStigsenstatesthatcompanies,suchas

Google,investedmillionsindevelopingthetechnologythatenabledthemtoprovidethevalue

propositionof‘we’llfindwhatyouseek’andafterlaunchingthemeta-searchengineandobtaining

acriticalmassofusers,thenbegantodevelopthetechnologythatenabledthemtointegrate

advertisements,whichwoulddefinetheirrevenuestreamAppendix3,09:30-09:00min).Thorvald

StigsenexplainsthatthiswastheapproachhetookwhenestablishingMomondoandstatesthat

heseparatedasmalltasksforceofthreeemployees,outofSkyGate’s20employees,toonlyfocus

ondevelopingthesearchengineusedinMomondo(Appendix3,03:45-04:15min).

42

Analysis

SustainingandDisruptiveDevelopmentinTheTravelIndustry

Thefollowingsectionwillinvestigatethetravelindustrytodeterminehowithas

experiencedsustaininganddisruptivedevelopments.Thepreviouslymentionedactors

constitutingthetravelindustry,presentedinsettingthescene,willbeinvestigatedtodetermine

thenatureofthedevelopmenttheirentrancetotheindustryentailed.Byinvestigatingthe

sustainingordisruptivenatureofsignificantinnovationsandcompanieswithinthetravelindustry,

thequestionofhowandwhenthetravelindustryexperiencedsustaininganddisruptive

developments,canbeanswered.Accordingtothethesisframework,thedistinctionbetween

sustaininganddisruptiveinnovationsisbasedon,howcompaniesthatutilisenewtechnologyand

facilitatetheseinnovations,enterandaffectthemarket.

SustainingInnovation:Companiesutilisingnewtechnologytoimproveanalreadyexistingproduct

toanalreadyexistingcustomerandneed.

DisruptiveInnovation:Companiesutilisingnewtechnologytocreatenewproductsthatsupplythe

needoflow-endcustomersorutilisingnewtechnologytocreateanew

market. Companies utilising digitalisation to create new products,

servicesormethodsarealsoconsidereddisruptive.

1930-60s

PublicTransportation

Thetravelindustryhas,asmentionedearlier,experiencedradicalchangemultiple

times.Publictransportationwasthefirststepinfacilitatingmasstourismandwasindustrialised

throughthetechnologicaldevelopmentsinsteamengineanditseffectontrains,shipsand

railways.Meanwhile,tradeunionsforcedgovernmentsformoreflexibleworkinghoursandbythe

year1939,manyEuropeancountriesagreedonsalariedholidaysforemployeeswhichbrought

increasedprosperityandtheneedforvacation(SezginogYolal2012,75).Thisdisruptedthetravel

industryofthetimesincepeoplecouldnowtravellongerdistances,whilethecostoftravelling

becamemoreaffordablebecauseofthesalariedholidays.Thedevelopmentinsocietyandinthe

43

technologyofsteampower,createdwhatChristensenwoulddefineasanewmarketforthetravel

industrywiththeemergenceofthechartertourist.

CharterFlights

Duringthe1960scharterflightsmadetheirentranceonthemarket.Thismadeit

possibleforchartertouristtotravelacrosscontinentsinrecordtimecomparedtoshipsandtrains.

Withtheentranceofcharterflights,computerreservationsystems(CRS)werealsointroduced

throughtheemergenceofcomputerstechnologyanddiskdrives.TheseCRSwerelaterdeveloped

intowhatisknownasglobaldistributionsystem(GDS)today(SezginogYolal2012,76-78).This

technologicaldevelopmentiswhatChristensenwoulddeemassustainingdevelopment,even

thoughcharterflightsbroughtmanynewpossibilities,itwasstillthesameoutcomeforthesame

customers.

1970s

GDS&TheInternet

Airlinecompaniesincreasinglybecamemorepowerfulinthetravelindustrydueto

theefficienciestheirtechnologiespossessedwithflightminimisingtravel-timeandGDSmaking

thelogisticaloperationsmoreeffective.Duringtheperiodbetweenthe1970sandmid1990s,the

providersofGDSbecameindependentfirmsinsteadofbeingownedbytheairlineswhom

establishedthem(SezginogYolal2012).TheseGDScompanieswerealsothefirsttoexperience

changewhenthetechnologyoftheInternetbecameapartoftheindustry.Theemergenceofthe

Internetresultedinairlinesandhotelsbeingabletofacilitatethebookingandtransactionthrough

theirownreservationsystems,whichwereconnectedtotheInternet.Lufthansa,AirFranceand

IberiasoldmostoftheirsharesinAmadeus(thelargestGDS);AmericanAirlinessoldSabre;British

AirwaysandKLMsoldoutofGalileo;andsoon(TheEconomist2012).Thetechnologyofthe

Internetandtheaffectithadonthetravelindustrycanbedescribedasadisruptivedevelopment

asthenewresearchandbookingpossibilitiescreatedthemarketforthe“do-it-yourself”tourists.

CompaniessuchasEasyJetandRyanairdisruptedtheindustrybyintroducinganewlow-cost

modelthatencouragedcustomersto“Bookonourwebsite”insteadof“Bookingthroughyour

localtravelagent”(May2014).The“do-it-yourself”touristswerenotnecessarilyinterestedin

chartertravels,butinsteadwantedtoseetheworldwithouthavingtochoosebetweenthe

44

productsprovidedbythecharteragenciesanddidnotfinditdifficulttoresearchandbooktheir

travelsonline.

1990s

OnlineTravelAgencies

AccordingtoLarsThykier,theCEOofDanskRejsebureauForening,suppliersof

inventory,especiallyhotels,werereallybadinutilisingthetechnologyoftheInternetwithmany

ofthemhavinginsufficientwebsiteornoneatall(Appendix2,06:00-07:30).Thisledthe

emergenceofOTAs,whogatheredinventoryfrombothflightandhotelcompaniestohelpthem

getridofleftoverseatsandbeds.LarsThykierstates,thatitwasnormalforhotelstopay20-30

percentoftheroomcostincommissiontotheOTAssincetheendgoalwastofullyutilisethe

roomcapacityofthehotel(Appendix2,06:30-07:30).Thiscreatedevenmoreconvenienceforthe

“do-it-yourself”tourist,whodidnothavetocheckmultipleunderdevelopedwebsites,butcould

insteadgatheravastamountofinformationandoffers,ononewebsite.Theconveniencethe

OTAsoffered,combinedwithcheaphotels,ledtotraditionalcharterproductssuchasflightand

hotelbeingdividedintotwoseparateproductsfromwhichcustomerscouldcustomisetheirown

vacation(May2014).Thisdevelopmentcanstillbecharacterisedasasustainingdevelopmentdue

tocharterholidaysstillbeingtheproduct,butthroughtheutilisationofthetechnology,the

Internet,OTAsmanagedtosupplytheneedoflow-endchartertouristandpeoplewhopreviously

didnothavetheeconomicalresourcestotravel.Therefore,theycanbedeemedasalow-end

disruptiveinnovation.ByutilisingtheInternetanddigitalisingtheirentireprocess,OTA’scould

reduce,ifnoteliminate,costsincustomerservice,officespace,travelguidesandinsurance,thus

supplyingacheaperalternativetowhatcharteragencieswereoffering(Christodoulidou,Connolly

ogBrewer2010).Inaddition,OTA’ssuchasExpediaGroupandBookingHoldingshaveacquired

multiplesmallandlargetechcompaniesandonlineproviders,whichindicatestheirincreased

focusoninvestinginsustainingtechnologiestoimprovetheirproducts,whichinreturn,will

increasinglymakeitpossibleforthemtoservicetheneedsofthemostprofitablecharter

customers(BookingHoldings2018);(TheExpediaGroup2018).

2000s

Metasearchengines

45

Throughoutthebeginningofthe2000’stheriseinonlinetravelactivityandnumber

ofonlineagenciescontinuedtoincreased,whichledtotheemergencesofMetasearchengines.

Thesecompaniesutilisedthesoftwarecalledweb-crawlers,inwhichanInternetbotsearchesthe

entirewebbasedonpre-determinekeywordsandMetadata.Thesecompaniesfurtherincreased

thetransparencyoftheindustrywiththeseso-calledweb-crawlersscanningalltravelrelated

websites,inordertocollectthemallinoneplace(Appendix3,17:30-18:30min).Thetechnology

usedtoenableweb-crawlerscanbeseenasasustaininginnovation,accordingtoChristensen.

Metasearchenginescontaindisruptiveelements,accordingtoHeinandHonoré,withthe

increasedtransparencyandconvenienceonthemarketbyhavingallpossibilitiesgatheredinone

place.

Tripadvisor

TheInternetalsogavebirthtothetechnologyofsocialmediaandpeer-to-peer

platformsthatfacilitatedthemoveofinformation.Thesocialmediaplatform,Tripadvisor,hadthe

purposeofconnectingtravellersallovertheworldandcreateacommunityforthemtoshare

experiencesandrecommendairlines,hotelsandtravelagencies(May2014).Thisfacilitateda

powershift,sincecustomersdidnotsolelyrelyontraditionaltravelagenciesandOTAsfor

expertiseandrecommendations,butcouldnowinsteadreadpeerreviews,continuingthe

transparencyeffortsoftheabove-mentionedOTAsandmeta-searchengines.Asmentionedinin

thesectionofMetasearchengines,Tripadvisoralsocontainselementsofdisruptionsinceit

enhancestransparencyandreducesthecontrolofinformationthecompaniesandbusinessleader

have(TripAdvisor2018).

Airbnb

Theincreaseddigitalisationofsuppliersandtheirtravelproducts,combinedwiththe

technologicaladvancementinmobileapplications,gavebirthtothesharedeconomyplatform

Airbnb.Theplatformaimedatcreatingavirtualmarketplace,wherepropertyorhouseowners

couldsharetheirspaceforshort-termrents(May2014).Theintroductionofprivatehousesand

accommodationshaspreviouslybeenseeninthetravelindustrythroughtimeshares,butdueto

theglobalpresenceofAirbnbandthedigitalavailabilityoftheproduct,theplatformhasgrown

drasticallyinshorttime.ThisiscombinedwithAirbnbsutilisationofsharedeconomytrends,

whereresourcesareefficientlyutilised,informationispeerdrivenandcustomersincreasinglygain

46

uniqueexperiences.Furthermore,Airbnb’slaunchofAirbnbExperiences,whichisstillfairlynew

andonlyavailableinsomeregionsoftheworld,indicatesthattheyareinfiltratingsomeofthe

additionalsalescharteragenciesusuallyharvest(AirbnbExperiences2018).Byenablingcustomers

tochoosewhichexperiencetheywishtogainandcombineitwithaccommodationsadequateto

thecustomerneed,createsanewmarketservicingtheneedof“travelexplores”.Theseexplores

cangainuniqueexperiencesinexoticdestination,thusleadingtotheargumentthatAirbnbis

usinginnovativetechnologytocommercialanewmarket.

Figure10,downbelowillustratesthesustaininganddisruptiveinnovations

MetaMatrix

Inorderforthethesistoinvestigateandcomparecharteragenciesandother

companies,inrelationtotheproblemformulation,ameta-matrixisformulated.Eachkeyword

(Appendix3,06:15-09:00min).

PublicTranspora

tion

CharterFlights

CRS/GDS

OTA

MetaSearchEngine

Trip-Advisor

Airbnb

1930-60s 1960s 1990s

2000s20062008

SteamEngine Internet

Figure9:Illustrationofsustaininganddisruptivedevelopmentinthetravelindustry-Source:Thesiscreation

1970-90s

47

withinthemeta-matrixrepresentsatheme,whichwasderivedfromthetheoreticalframeworkon

thebasisoftheproblemformulation.Thefollowingsectionswillpresenttheanswersgivenby

managersregardingeachthemeinthemeta-matrix.

Researchforproductdevelopment

Accordingtothethesisframework,companiesshouldnotonlyfocusontheircurrent

customerswhendevelopingnewproductsorservices,sincedevelopingsolelyonbehalfofexisting

customerneedsmightresultinthecompanymissingoutonnewmarkettrendsandtechnologies,

whichcoulddefinethefuturemarketneeds.

Thecharterindustry

TUIDenmark

AccordingtoTerjePedersen,TUIGroupdoesnotidentifyasbeingacharteragency

anymore,butinstead,functionsasanoveralltouroperatorthatsuppliespackagedchartertours

amongotherproductsandservices.Whenthecompanyfocusshiftedfrombeingacharteragency

tobecomingatouroperator,theTUIGrouprenamedallofitsworldwidebrands,whichwere

previouslyfragmentisedintolocalnationbrands,inorderforthemtosynergiseandexpandtheir

operations(Appendix4,03:00-05:30min).Additionally,TerjePedersenexplainsthatTUIownsthe

entirevaluechainincludingplains,hotels,cruiseshipsanddestinationagencies.Eachofthemis

separatedfromeachotherandhastheirownbusinessmodelandi.e.TerjePedersenarguesthat

theiraimisthateachofthemhastobethebestwithintheirfield(Appendix4,05:25-06:30min).

AccordingtoTerjePedersen,TUIhasamajoradvantagebecauseoftheirglobalsize,makingtheir

internalstudiesregardingcustomerbehaviourmorecomprehensiveanddetailed,whichinreturn

givesthecompanyamoreaccuraterepresentationofpossiblefuturecustomerneedsand

demands(Appendix4,10:00-11:00min).ThesamesizealsogivesTUIanadvantageindeveloping

newdestinationsandhotels,sincetheyknowhowChinese,Danes,BritsandGermanswantto

travel.ThisenablesTUItocreateconcepthotelsanduniquetourpackages,targetedtowardsa

specificcustomersegmentfromvariousmarkets(Appendix4,11:00-11:30min).

Score

Asalargetouroperator,TUIcollectsinsightoncustomerneedsanddemandsfrom

48

theglobalmarket.Furthermore,thefactthattheydivideofeachoftheiroperationsinto

independentbusinessmodelsindicatesthattheyhaveathoroughfocusinseveralareas.Basedon

this,TUIisdeemedtohaveathoroughfocusbothinternallyandexternally,whichresultsina

greenscore.

BravoTours

AccordingtoPederHornshøj,CEOofBravoTours,theirproductdevelopmentis

currentlyfocusedonexpandingdestinationsanddevelopingconcepthotels.Heelaboratesby

statingthatthisfocusisdrivenbyhowotherDanishcharteragencies,namelyTUIandSpies,have

developedtheirproductsthroughouttheyears,consequentlyleadingBravoTourstoinvestalot

resourcesindevelopingconcepthotels(Appendix5,01:20-02:30min).AccordingtoPeder

Hornshøj,thisissomethingtheyhavelackedinregardtotheircompetitors,butwhathe

highlights,asbeingtheirmostimportantdevelopmentfocus,istoimprovehotelqualityrelativeto

price.AccordingtoPederHornshøj,theydeterminetheirfocusandinvestmentsininnovation

partlyonexternaldataandtrends,asseenabove,buttheyalsolistentocurrentcustomersand

theirneeds.Heargues,thattheyalreadyknowtheircustomersandtheirneeds,andthereforethe

companyfollowsmarkettrendsanddevelopmentsmorethaninternaldatawhendecidingwhatto

improveordevelop.PederHornshøjcontinuesbyexplaininghowacombinationofinternaland

externaldataprovidedthemwithinsight,onthechangingnatureofdepartureneeds,withboth

currentcustomersandotherconsumersincreasinglydemandingmoreflexibility.Thishasled

BravoTourstodevelopwhattheycalldynamicpackaging,wherecustomerscancombineflight

andhotelstowhereverandwhenevertheywant(Appendix5,02:20-03:15min).Accordingto

PederHornshøj,itmaybethatitisstilloneofBravoToursfamoushotelsthatareused,but

insteadoftheirownairline,itmaybeSASflyingonewayandNorwegiantheotherway.He

continuesbystating,thatitissomethingbrandnewandtheautomationofthisservicehasjust

beendeployedandwillbeoperationalbylateautumnof2018(Appendix13,12:40-15:15min).In

addition,PederHornshøjstates,thatthemostimportantelementinresearchdevelopment,isthe

elementofknowingwhichtrendsandtechnologicaldevelopmentsnottofollow.Heargues,that

eventhoughtheynoticecertainmarkettrendsorchangesinbuyingbehaviour,theydonotreact

49

onit,ifitisnotsuitableregardingtheirbusinessmodel.AccordingtoPederHornshøj,BravoTours

wantstosupplygreat,affordableandpersonalproducts,whichmeanstheydonotseetheneed

forincorporatingtoomanyservicesorproductsthatvariesawayfromtheircore-valueproposition


Score

BravoTourscontendsthattheyhaveadequateknowledgeoninternalcustomer

needsand,therefore,theyconsideritasvitaltofocusonexternaldataanddevelopments.

Therefore,BravoToursisappointedagreenscore.

Spies

AccordingtoJanVendelbo,Spiesfocusisonbothinternalandexternalresearch

whendevelopingnewproductsandservices,orashestatesit,“wefollowindustrytrends,and

innovatebasedonthose”(Appendix6,01:55-01.58min).JanVendelbocontinuesthatthegeneral

trendisthatcustomers,nowmorethanever,wanthotelsandhotelrelatedproductstobemore

customisedandbasedonspecificneeds.Hecontinuesbystatingthatchartercustomers

previouslyjustwantedasimplehotelsomewheredownsouth,whereastoday,customerswant

morewhenvacationingduringthesummer.Thenewneedscustomershaveare,accordingtoJan

Vendelbo,morefocusedonexperiencingwhattheywant,whentheywant-whilebeingina

customisedenvironment.Heusestheexampleofacustomerwhorequiresanadulthotel,without

kids,whichalsohasactivitiessuchas,tennis,fitness,etc.andcanprovideawellnessexperience.

Thesamecanbesaidofcustomerswhoseekagastronomicalexperience(Appendix6,02:00-

03.30min).ThisdevelopmentincustomerbehaviourhasleadSpiestodevelopmoreunique

productsandpackagesbasedonsegmentsandpreferences.Inordertosupplyuniqueness,Spies

hasdevelopedconcepthotels,whichcaterstoaspecificsegmentorsegments.Theseareeither

newlybuildortheuseanexistinghotel,whichisthenremodelledtoencapsulatethespecific

need.Thehotelsarebasedondifferentsegmentssuchas,families,couples,singlesand

adventure/experienceseekersanddividedintopackagesofgood,bettertogreattours,depending

onthequalityandservicelevelthecustomersseek(Appendix6,03:40-04.00min).Asmentioned

50

earlier,Spiesfocusesonbothinternalandexternalresearchwhendevelopingnewproductsand

services,but,accordingtoJanVendelbo,theydomorethanjustfollowingmarkettrends.He

highlightsthatSpieshasatravelpanelorfocusgroup;comprisedof15.000differenttravellers,

whohavenotnecessarilytravelledwithSpiesbefore,butinstead,representtheentiretyof

travellers.Thisfocusgroupisutilisedthroughouttheyearisaskedquestionsregardingtravel

research,booking,marketing,newproducts,servicesetc.(Appendix6,04:20-04.45min).

AccordingtoJanVendelbo,theirinternalknowledgeoncustomerneedsanddemands,combined

withgeneralmarkettendenciesandthetrendsseenwithintheirfocusgroup,iswhatdrives

innovationatSpies.Furthermore,hestatesthatthebefore-mentioneddevelopmentresearch

methods,arenottheonlymethodsusedwheninnovating.Thedataregardingbuyingbehaviour

andcustomerneeds,regardlessofinternalorexternal,indicateswhatthefuturemightlooklike

basedonthetravellers’preferences,butaccordingtoJanVendelbo,customersdonotalways

knowwhatcanmakeavacationevenbetter.Becauseofthat,JanVendelboexplainsthatSpies

focusesonutilisingtheirownknowledge,sincetheyareoneoftheoldesttravelagenciesin

Denmark,whilealsobeingapartoftheThomasCookGroup,topredictandenhancethecustomer

experience,byinnovatingproductsandservicesthecustomerdidnotknowwereneededor

possible(Appendix6,04:45-06.00min).JanVendelboalsoemphasisesthatthechangeincustomer

behaviour,regardingflexibledeparturesanddestination,wasatrendtheycaughtearly,leading

themtointroducetheirconceptofflexibleflightanddestinationmorethan10yearsago

(Appendix6,08:05-09.15min).

Score

Asapartofaglobaloperatorgroup,Spieshasextensiveaccesstodiversedataon

customerneedsanddemands.Additionally,Spies’utilisationofalargefocusgroupindicates

extensivefocusonbothinternalandexternalresearchresultinginthescoregreen.

SunCharter.

WhenSunCharterdevelopsnewproducts,accordingtoCarstenTerpHansen,itisnot

onthesamelevelasotheragencieswithintheDanishcharterindustry(Appendix7,01:15-

51

01:30min).Heexplains,thatduetoSunCharter’sfairlyyoungageandtheirspecialisedfocuson

chartertouristsfromtheNorthernJutlandregion,resultsintheirproductdevelopmentismainly

focusedontheneedsfromsegmentsinthisregion(Appendix7,01:45-02:40min).Hecontinuesby

statingthattheirsegmentsizeisnotaslargeasthecompetitorsandthattheirmainfocusison

externaldataanddevelopmentswhenformulatingnewproducts.Thereasonforthisis,according

toCarstenHansen,duetothefactthatifacompanycontinuestodevelopsolelybasedon

demandsfromcurrentcustomers,thecompanymightendupdilutingthesecustomers,shouldthe

newproductsnotsuitormatchacertainneed.Therefore,SunCharterconsidersthebroad

perspectiveasessentialwhenproductdeveloping,inwhichtheyresearchwhatthegeneral

customerdemandis,andhowtheycandevelopproductsthataddressesandsuitsthese

customers.CarstenTerpHansenemphasisesthatwhendevelopingnewproducts,directed

towardsthesesegments,SunCharteralwayslooksathowtheycandifferentiatethemselvesfrom

otheragenciesalreadysupplyingthesecustomers(Appendix7,02:50-03:45min).Thisisbecause,

ashestatesit,youcouldendupdilutingyourownoperationsandcompanyvalue,byofferingthe

exactsameproduct.Consequently,CarstenTerpHansenstatesthatSunCharterseekstofind

destination,whicharenotwellknownorunderdevelopedontheDanishmarket.Thisissomething

thathasbecomeincreasinglydifficultinthecurrentmarketplace,sotheirgoalistofindsmall

nichesegments,andproduceproductstosuittheirneeds.Inregardtohowtheydevelopnew

productstocurrentcustomers,CarstenTerpHansenexplainsthatSunCharterconsidersit

importantforthecompanytobeabletooffercurrentcustomer,thecommonlyknownDanish

charterdestinationsandthereforetheirfocusisonestablishingroutesandhotelsinthesewell-

knowndestination(Appendix7,04:00-04:30min).

Score

SunCharterarguesthattheyhaveasmallgroupofcustomers,buttheanswers

providedindicatesthattheexternalfocusisplacedonthecustomersofothercharteragenciesin

Denmarkandnotcustomersegmentsoutsideofit.Therefore,sincethecustomerswithininthe

Danishcharterindustryarenotthatdiverse,theimpactoftheirexternalresearchislimitedtoa

yellowagrade.

52

Apollo

AccordingtoGlennBisgaard,whentheyinitiateproductdevelopmentthecompany

focusesonthequestionof,whichopportunitiesareachievableandprofitabletoobtain.

Therefore,bothinternalandexternalresearchisutilisedwhenproductdeveloping.Apolloisthe

biggestbusinesspartnerSAShasinNorthernEuropewithmorethanonemillionNordictravellers

boardingSASflightseveryyear,whichaccordingtoGlennBisgaard,givesApolloagreatadvantage

whennegotiatingthepossibilityofdevelopingnewroutesanddestinations(Appendix8,05:40-05-

06.30min).Thecompanymainlyfocusesonwhatthecustomerswantandthencombineitwith

whattheydeemas,beingpossibleandprofitable,basedonexternalresearch(Appendix8,05:54-

06:00min).Toillustratetheusageofexternaldatainproductdevelopment,GlennBisgaarduses

theexampleofhowApollo,backin2014,incooperationwiththeirdepartmentsinSweden,

NorwayandFinlanddecidedtomakeAlbaniaanewcharterdestination.Today,hestates,that

thereisagreatdemandforpackagedtourstoAlbaniaandwithApollobeingthefirstNordic

agencytoprovidethispossibility,theyhavehadagreatadvantageofestablishingpartnerships

withhotelsandbuildingnewones,whichinreturnhelpsApollocreateanddevelopnewcharter

destination(Appendix8,06:45-07:30min).GlennBisgaardcontinuesbystatingthatinternal

customerresearch,whichiscomposedbydatafromalldepartmentsinScandinavia,isalsousedto

developnewservices.ThelatestproductdevelopmentinitiativeApollohascomeupwithisApollo

TV,whichaccordingtoGlennBisgaard,issomethingthatcametofruition,duetothedemandand

behaviouroftheircustomers.TheinternaldatasuggestedthatApollo’scustomerspreferredto

obtainnewknowledgeontravelandcharterrelatednewstroughavisualmedium,ratherthan

readingorclickingthoughdifferentpages.ThisledtothedevelopmentofApolloTV,whichis

availableonboththeApollowebsiteandmobileapplication(Appendix8,11:15-11:45min).The

developmentofthemobileapplicationwasalsodrivenbytheirinternalcustomerdatawith

customersrequestingmoreconvenienceregardingcommunicationwiththetravelguides.The

mobileapplicationisstillunderdevelopment,accordingtoGlennBisgaard,butstates,thatthey

continuetodevelopnewfunctionstoincreasecustomers’satisfactionandconveniencewiththe

implementationofabookingsystembeingthelatestinnovation(Appendix8,13:15-14:30min).

Score

Apollo’sproductdevelopmentismainlybasedoninternalcustomerneedsand

53

demands,whicharethensupplementedwithexternaldatatodeemwhatispossibleand

profitable.Thisconstellationbetweeninternalandexternalresearchillustratesthattheirfocusis

primarily,oncurrentcustomerneedsanddemandsandduetothedowngradeoftheexternal

focus,theyscoreayellowgrade.

Othercompanies

TV2

AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,theresearchconductedpriortodevelopingnew

productsinTV2isdividedbetweeninternalandexternalresearch.AllanBrodersenexplains,that

thelocaleditorialofficessupplythedemandfromcustomersandviewers,whilethesales

departmentsuppliesdataoncommercialpossibilities.Thisconstitutestheinternalresearchwithin

TV2sorganisation(Appendix10,03:30-04:00min).AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,ifproduct

developmentwasconductedsolelybasedontherequestfromaninternalcommercial

department,theproductwouldessentiallyconsistofadsandTV2wouldlosealloftheirviewers,

whereas,iftheproductdevelopmentwasconductedbasedonthedemandfromlocaleditorial

offices,theywouldhavemanyviewersbutlackprofitability(Appendix10,04:00-04:30min).

Furthermore,whenelaboratingontheuseofexternalresearch,AllanBrodersenstates,thatthe

externalresearchconsistofmonitoringcompetitors,bothlocalandforeign,inordertogain

insightonwhatprogrammesandadd-onstheyhavesuccesswith.AllanBrodersennamesDRas

beingthecompetitortheymonitorinDenmark,butemphasisesthattheyalsofollowlargemedia

outletsinUSAandinEnglandtogatherinformationandinspirationfornewproducts(Appendix

10,04:45-05:30min).Heexplains,thatwhenmonitoringcompetitors,TV2doesnotonlyfocuson

TVprogrammesbutalsodigitaladd-onbecauseofthedevelopmentinhowviewersconsume

writtenandvisualmediahavebecomeincreasinglyimportant.ThisisalsothereasonforTV2

havingadepartmentsolelyfocusingondigitalisationandhowtoutiliseitspossibilities,ratherthan

onlyfocusingondevelopingproductsforTV,whichbeforestreaminganddigitalisation,wasthe

company’sonlyrevenuestreambesidesadvertisements(Appendix10,05:45-06:00min).

Score

54

TV2hasextensiveinternalresearchthroughtheirutilisationofmultipleeditorial

officesandtheirsalesdepartment.Whenresearchingexternally,TV2takesintoaccountboth

Danishcompetitorsandforeignmedia.Therefore,TV2scoresagreeninthemeta-matrix.

SparekassenVendsyssel

AccordingtoMartinBraun,becauseoftheirsizeSparekassenVendsysselhasto

monitorthelargerfinancialinstitutionsandhowtheyoperate.SparekassenVendsysselassess

bothbanksinDenmarkandfinancialinstitutionsonagloballeveltoinvestigateforproductsand

servicesthatareinlinewiththeirvalues(Appendix9,00.45-01.30min).Thereasontheydothis,is

accordingtoMartinBraun,sothattheydonotoverlookservicesorproductsthatcustomers’

demandthatpotentiallycouldgivethemacompetitiveadvantage.Theuseofexternaldataalso

extendsintoresearchonhowcompanieswithatechnologicalbackgroundoperate.These

companiesMartinBraunreferrerstoasFinTechcompanies.MartinBraunandEjnerSvendsen

states,thatthesecompaniespossessarealthreattothemarket,especiallywiththeemergenceof

openbanking,wherethird-partyprovidersbuildapplicationsandservicesbasedonbankdata

(Appendix9,05.15-06.30min).Theseareallconsiderationstheyincludebeforedevelopingnew

products,butasMartinBraunandEjnerSvendsenstress,thereisareasonwhytheircurrent

customershavechosenSparekassenVendsysselratherthanotherinstitutesandthisisdueto

personalcontactandservice.Therefore,thebankalsofocusesoninternaldataoncustomer

demandsbeforedevelopingnewproductsandservices,sincetheyshouldbeinlinewiththebanks

valuesandcurrentcustomerdemands(Appendix9,02.05-03.15min).Inaddition,EjnerSvendsen

explainsthatduetothecompetitivenatureofthemarket,theycannotaffordtoignoreexternal

customerdemands,whichmeansthattheysometimeshavetoincludeproductsnotinlinewith

theirvalues.HereMartinBraunexplainshowcompetitorshavebegunofferingdebitcardstokids

under10yearsold.Thisdoesnotconcurwiththebanksvalues,butduetothecustomerdemand,

theyfelltheneedtoalsoincorporateproductsassuch(Appendix9,01.30-02:15min).

Furthermore,EjnerSvendsenstatesthatinnovationregardingtechnologicalservicesandproducts

aredoneonabasisofexternalandinternaldata,inwhichhepresentsareportconductedby

FinansWatch,ondigitaltrendsfrom3.000respondents(Appendix9,03.20-04.00min).

55

Score

SparekassenVendsysselisawareofthatduetotheirsizeitisessentialforthemto

haveanexternalfocus.ThisincludesobservingforeignandDanishfinancialinstitution,butalso

reportsondigitalcustomertrends.Thisillustratesextensiveexternalfocusandtherefore,

SparekassenVendsysselscoreagreen.

ProfitableVs.LessProfitableCustomers

Thissectionrepresentsthesecondprincipleofthethesisframeworkandaimsto

illustratehowcompaniesapportiontheirresourcesbetweencustomersegments.Thethesis

frameworkstresstheimportanceofcompanieshavingafocusonsmallerandlessprofitable

markets.Therefore,thissectioninvestigatesthecompanies’willingnesstobepresentinmarkets,

whichdoesn’tnecessarilyprovidehighprofits,butcontributesinnarrowingthegapfornew

businessestoenterlowprofitmarketsandgettheirfootholdintheindustry.

Thecharterindustry

TUI

InthecaseofTUI,theyunderlinethattheyhaveafocusonbothprofitableandless

profitablecustomersaslongasitisscalable.TerjePedersenargues,thatTUIiscapableof

providingholidaysforcustomers,whodoesnothavetheeconomyordonotwanttospendhigh

amountsonapackagedtour,and,simultaneously,theycanofferholidaysforcustomerswhoseek

theluxuriousandmoreexpensiveholidays.Theycanofferthepremiumexperience,whichinclude

fivestarhotels,highservicelevelandhaveahighprice,buttheycanalsoofferthethreestar

hotelsandexperience,whichismorecompetitiveinrelationtotheprice.Hecontends,thatTUI

offersbothkindsofservicesintheDanishmarket,butthattheDanishcustomers,toalarge

degree,preferspendingsmalleramountsontheirholiday.TerjePedersencomparestheDanish

marketwiththeNorwegianmarketandstatesthattheNorwegianpeoplehaveasignificantly

higheraverageordersize.TUIofferthesameproductsontheDanishandNorwegianmarket,but,

asTerjePedersenstates,forsomereasonNorwegianschoosetospendahigheramountofmoney

56

ontheirholiday,whileDanespreferthecheaperoptions.Furthermore,TerjePedersenstresses

thateventhoughTUIwantstoofferholidaysonthelow-pricemarket,theydonotwanttobe

sellingholidaysfor500or1.000Danishkroner,assomeoftheircompetitorsdoes,sincethese

solutionsaresimplynotprofitableforthem.Hesaysthatthisisonlyasolutionfortravelagencies,

whichdoesnotoperatewiththeirownflightsandhotelsbecausethey,thereby,haveminimum

riskboundtothesale.Moreover,TerjePedersenarguesthatsincetheseholidaypricesonly

provideverysmallprofitsandarenotsomethingyoucanbuildyourbusinesson,TUIdoesnot

believeinthisbusinessplan(appendix2,14:00-15:50min).

Score

TUIhasahighfocusontheprofitablecustomers,buttheyhaveonlybeendeemedto

haveamediumfocusonthesmallercustomers.Thereasonwhyitisdeemedasamediumfocusis

theirunwillingnesstooperateinthepartofthemarketwheretheygetthelowestprofitsand

thereforescoreayellow

BravoTours

BravoTourshasabroadfocusonbothprofitableandlessprofitablecustomers,and

thisisnotsomethingtheydosolelybecauseoftheirdesiretoserveallkindsofcustomers,itisa

necessity.PederHornshøjarguesthatBravoTourswouldliketobeinasituation,wherethey

couldrunabusinessthatonlyservedprofitablecustomers,butstressesthatthecompanyisinan

industrywheretheyhavetosellholidays,whichtheylosemoneyon,iftheywanttobeabletoget

theholidaysthattheycanearnbigprofitson.Thereasonbehindthis,asHornshøjexplains,isthat

iftheywantthebesthotelsinJune,thentheyalsohavetoputthemforsaleinothermonthssuch

asMayandApril,wherethedemandforholidaysissignificantlylower.Therefore,heargues,that

thelessprofitablecustomersthatbuyholidaypackagesoutsideofthemainseasonarealmostjust

asimportanttothecompany,sincetheyhelpthecompanytominimizetheprofitlossesonthese

holidays.Moreover,PederHornshøjcontendsthatitisnotpossibletorunacompanythatonly

sellholidaysinthesummerperiod,wheretheschoolsareclosedbecauseyouwillhavedifficulties

ingettingtherighthotelbookingsandflighttickets.BravoTourshas,therefore,acknowledged

57

thatapartoftheirbusinessplanistolosemoneyinsomemonths,sothattheycangetbigger

profitsinthemainseason(Appendix5,4:30-6:30min).

Score

BravoToursisforcedtofocusonthelessprofitablecustomersiftheywanttogeta

holdontheprofitablecustomersinthesummerperiod.Therefore,theiracceptanceofthis

situationandacknowledgementoftheimportanceofthelessprofitablecustomersisthereason

behindBravoToursisgradedwiththecolourgreen.

Spies

JanVendelboemphasizesthatthemostimportantcustomersforSpiesaretheones

whoareloyalandtravelwiththemeveryyear.But,intermsofprofitableandlessprofitable

customers,hearguesthatallcustomersareimportantforthem.JanVendelbostatesthatthey

havecustomerstheydonotnecessarilymakeanyprofitonbecausetheywanttotravelintheoff-

season.HestatesthatitisnecessaryforSpiestohavethebesthotelroomsforsaleintheoff-

season,iftheywanttohavethemforsaleinthemainseason.Furthermore,hecontendsthat

travellersintheoff-seasonarealsoimportantbecauseSpiesneedstosellasmanyflightseatsas

possible,sothattheydonotlosemoneyonit.Therefore,thecustomerswhotravelintheoff-

seasonforcheappricesarejustasimportantasthecustomerswhotravelinthemainseasonfor

fullpricetickets.Moreover,JanVendelbostatesthatSpiesattemptstohaveproductsthatfollow

thecustomers’lifecyclemeaningthattheyattempttoprovideholidaysforeachgenerationand

forpeoplewithkidsandwithout(Appendix6,5:30-9:00min).

Score

Spiesare,likeBravoTours,forcedtohaveafocusonless-profitablecustomersifthey

wanttohaveaccesstothebesthotelsduringthesummer.Theyhavethesamestrategythatthey

needtofocusonthesmallcustomersintheoff-season,iftheywantasuccessfulmainseason.The

acknowledgementoftheimportanceofthelessprofitablecustomers,resultsinSpiesgettingthe

scoregreeninthemeta-matrix.

58

SunCharter

CarstenTerpHansenstatesthatSunCharterattemptstoservebothprofitableand

lessprofitablecustomers.Hearguesthattheintensifiedcompetitioninthetravelindustryhas

madethecustomersveryprice-conscious,butsimultaneouslytheyhavealsoexperiencedthatthe

customerswanttopaythepricethatqualitycosts.Therefore,hearguesthatSunCharterhas

productstocustomerswhowantstopayforquality,butalsotocustomerswhowantacheap

vacation.Hesaysthatthelatterisstillofgreatquality,buttheyaremakingcompromisesinsome

areasoftheholiday.Therefore,hecontendsthatSunCharter’sfinesttaskistomakeanhonest

descriptionoftheholiday,sothecustomersareawareofwhattheygetandwhattheydonotget

(Appendix7:50-9:30min).

Score

SunCharterprovidesanequalfocusonbothprofitableandlessprofitablecustomers

andtheyare,therefore,gradedwiththecolourgreen.

Apollo

GlennBisgaardstatesthatApollohasafocusonbothprofitableandlessprofitable

customers.TheirproductdevelopmentisbasedonallcustomersandhearguesthatApollo4years

agomadeadecisionofthemwantingtobethelargestDanishcharterholidayprovidertoDubai

andtheEmirates.Todaythisobjectivehasbeenreached(Appendix818:30-19:15min).

Furthermore,theyareveryawareofthetravelindustryisdominatedbyalast-minutemarket,

wherecustomerscanbuypricereducedholidays(Appendix8,21:30-22:00min).Whenaskedif

theyhaveanequalfocusonlessprofitablecustomersasonprofitablecustomers,GlennBisgaard

statesthatthefocusisequalduetotheirprimaryassignment,whichistoselleachoftheirflight

seats(Appendix8,23:00-23:30min).He,furthermore,addsthatthisisasignificanttasksincethe

momentwhentheflighttakesoff,theflightseatsandhotelroomsinthegiventimeisworth

nothingtothem(Appendix8,25:00-25:26min).Basedonthis,hewasaskedifthefocuswouldbe

59

thesameiftheirholidayswasnottimesensitiveandhestatedthattheyalwayshavetime

sensitiveproductssotheoverallfocuswillalwaysbeontheprofitablecustomersandthelast-

minutetravellersnomatteritismainseasonoroff-season(Appendix8,25:27-26:20min).

Score

Apolloservesbothkindsofcustomers,butsincetheyonlyfocusontheless

profitablesegmentwhentheyareforcedto,theyaredeemedtohaveamediumfocusonthis

segmentand.therefore,aremarkedwithyellow.

Othercompanies

TV2

TV2isinmanywaysadifferentcasefromthepreviouscompanies,sincetheyhavea

lotofdifferentcustomers.Theirlargestincomeisfromtelevisioncommercialsandfromtelevision

channelproviders,andthentheyalsohaveanincomedigitallyfromTV2Playandonline

advertisements.TheonlyservicewheretheyhavecustomersasintheotherindustriesiswithTV2

Play,whiletheotherincomesarefromothercompanies(Appendix10,6:05-7:00min).Therefore,

toinvestigatehowtheyapportiontheirfocusbetweenprofitableandlessprofitablecustomers,

thiswillbebasedontheincomeoftheproductandnotonthecustomers.

AllanBrodersenstatesthatallcompanieshavefocusontheirbiggestincome,but

sincethattelevisioncommercialshavestagnatedthecompany,atthemoment,isputtingalotof

focusonTV2Playandtheirtelevisionbroadcasting.Hestatesthattheapp,TV2Nyhederne,isthe

biggestnewsappinDenmark,buttheydonotearnalotofmoneyonthecommercialsintheapp.

TheirfocuswiththeappisthereforetomakepeoplewatchsomemoretelevisionortouseTV2

Play.HefurthermoreaddsthatallTV2’sproductsreferencetoTV2Playasastrategytomake

peoplesubscribetoTV2Play,sincethisiswherethelargestgrowthis(Appendix10,7:00-

8:30min).Moreover,AllanBrodersenstatesthattheentiretelevisionindustryisaffectedbythe

factthatpeoplewatchlesstelevisionflow,butthatDRandTV2arelessaffectedsincetheir

channelsareavailableineverychannelpackagefromthetelevisionchannelproviders.

Additionally,hestatesthatTV2Playissolutiontoattempttowinbacksomeofthe“cablecutters”

60

ashecallsthem,whodoesnotwanttelevisionchannelpackagesanymore(Appendix10,8:30-

10:40min).

Score

TV2’sdecisiontoputtheirmainfocusawayfromtheirlargestincomeandfocus

moreonthelessprofitableareasofthecompanyillustratesthattheyarewellawareofthe

developmentintheindustry.Theeffortsaredeemedassatisfactoryinrelationtothethesis

frameworkandtheygetthescoregreen.


EjnerSvendsenandMartinBrauncontendthatwhentheyaredevelopingproducts,

itisaimedtoserveabroadaudienceandnotonlythemostprofitablecustomers.MartinBraun

addsthatthelargeracustomeristhemoreadvantagesheorshegets.SvendsenandBraunstate

thatthebankwantstoappealmoretotheyoungersegment,sincethiswherethepotentialis,and

thattheyincurrenttimedonotsucceedinmakingthemselvesattractivetothisgeneration

(Appendix9,21:45-22:20min).EjnerSvendsenascertains:“Therearebanksthatarebetterat

attractingtheyounggenerationthanusanditirritatesus”(Appendix9,22:21-22:25min).

Moreover,BraunandSvendsencontendthattheyoungersegmentdemandfastandeasycontact

withthebankand,therefore,thebankisconsideringthepossibilityofcreatinganonlinechat

solutionfor18to28yearoldsandperhapshiringemployeestobeavailableonthechatinthe

eveninghours,wherethebanknormallyisclosed.MartinBraunfurthermoreaddsthatthis

segmentprobablywouldprefertocontactthebankonlinewiththeirrequestsinsteadofbyphone

and,therefore,thechatsolutioncouldbeattractivetothissegment(Appendix9,22:50-

23:55min).

Score

Thebanksacknowledgementofthelackingpullingpoweroftheyoungersegmentas

wellastheirthoughtsofhowtheycanbecomemoreattractivetothissegmentdisplaysthatthey

61

haveahighfocusonthelessprofitablesegmentand,therefore,theyhavebeengradedwiththe

colourgreen.

UnknownDevelopmentsandOrganisationalStructure

Thissectionrepresentsthethirdprincipleofthethesisframeworkandaimsto

illustratehowacompanyfocusesonunknowndevelopments.Furthermore,itcontainsthefourth

principle,whichstresstheimportanceofcompaniescreatingaseparateorganisationortaskforce,

whichpurposeistohandledisruptiveinnovations.

Thecharterindustry

TUI

AccordingtoTerjePedersen,researchingandmonitoringnewtechnologiesand

customertrends,whicharenotknowntothetravelindustry,isanefforttheyconsideressential.

HecontinuesbystatingthatthreemonthsagoTUImetwithalotofdifferenttraveltechstart-ups

duringtheirtriptoSiliconValley.TripstoSiliconValleyaresomethingTUIdoesonaregularbasis

inorderforthemtoknowwhattechnologiesiscurrentlypresentandwhicharebeingdeveloped

(Appendix4,16:00-16:30min).TerjePedersenhighlightstheseactionsasbeingessential,sincethis

givesTUIanin-depthunderstandingonhowtechnologiesareevolvingandhowtheycouldaffect

theirbusiness.Duringthesetrips,thegoalisnotonlytoseewhatpossibilitiesnewtechnologies

produce,butinstead,TUIispresentsothattheycancommunicateandconsider,whichstart-ups

toinvestinorbuy.Furthermore,TerjePedersenstatesthatTUIhasenteredcooperationwitha

tech.incubatorcalledPlug-and-Pay,whichdoesnotonlyincludetraveltechstart-ups,buttech

start-upsingeneral(Appendix4,16:40-17:30min).AccordingtoTerjePedersenthishelpsTUI

identifywhichtechnologiestheyshouldinvestin,whilealsogainingin-depthknowledgeonhow

customersgreetthesenewtechnologiesandwhatfuturedemandstheyshouldhave.Accordingto

TerjePedersenthesedemandsandtrendscouldbe;customersdemandinghotelsfullyequipped

withthelatestandbesttechnology,ormaybeamobileapplication,whichisstreamlinedand

includesvirtualroomkeysandautomaticcheck-inwhenarrivingatthehotel(Appendix4,17:30-

18:15min).Furthermore,hecontinuesbystatingthatTUIalsohasin-houseprogrammersthat

research,studyanddevelopsnewtechnologieswithTUIinnovationcentresinUK,Germanyand

62

Stockholm.TerjePedersenexplainsthattheyarrangehackatons,asseeninsomeofthelargest

techcompanies.Ahackathonisadesignsprint-likeevent,inwhichcomputerprogrammersand

othersinvolvedinsoftwaredevelopmentcollaborateintensivelyonsoftwareprojects.Terje

Pedersenmentionstechnologiessuchas,biohacking,voicechat,robots,AIandblockchain,as

technologiestestedandconvertedintoprototypesduringthesehackathons(Appendix4,18:50-

21:15min).

Score

TUIhasacomprehensivefocusonunknowndevelopmentsandhasfurthermore,

threeindependentinnovationcentres.Therefore,TUIismarkedwithgreeninbothprinciplesin

themeta-matrix.

BravoTours

AccordingtoPederHornshøj,BravoTourshaveduringthelastcoupleofyears

relocatedagreatamountofresources,bothemployeesandcapital,towardsnewtechnologiesin

ordertoenhancetheirtechnologicalpositiononthemarket.Hecontinuesbystatingthatthe

reasonfortheirheavyinvestmentsinnewtechnologiesisduetotheconsumptiondevelopment,

inwhichcustomerresearchandbuyinghabitsnowtakeplaceontheInternet(Appendix5,06:20-

07:15min).PeterHornshøjaddsthat,iftheyasacompanydonotsufficientlyattractcustomerson

theInternet,thenthecompanywouldeventuallyevaporatefromthemarket.Thishas,according

toPeterHornshøj,resultedinBravoToursinvestingmillionsondevelopinganewwebsite

(Appendix5,07:15-07:45min).TheapproachBravoTourshasrelativetomonitoringunknown

technologiesandcustomertrends,PeterHorsnhøjstatesthattheentiremanagementtakespart

inresearchingandinnovatingnewproductsandservices,butdoesnothaveaseparatetaskforce

(Appendix5,11:10-12:00).Previouslythemanagementfocuswasondestinationdevelopments

wheninnovating,buthasduringthelastcoupleofyearsshiftedtowardsnewtechnologies.Peter

Horsnhøjstates,thattheydonothaveaseparatedepartmentforinnovation,butcertain

employeesparticipateonworldwidetravelfairsandexhibitions,whichisthemethodBravoTours

employswhengatheringknowledgeonunknowndevelopments(Appendix5,12:15-13:20min).In

63

addition,heexplainsthattheacquisitionoftheirnewestbookingsystemwasaccomplished

throughthecompany’sextensiveresearchonwhichbookingsystemsthatwereavailableonthe

marketandhowthesesystemscouldharvestthefuturepossibilities,regardingcompatibilitywith

newtechnologies.AccordingtoPeterHornshøj,thisapproachresultedinBravoToursnowhaving

thebestbookingsystemonthemarket,whereafterbothTUIandSpiesalsohaveacquiredand

implementedthesamesystem(Appendix5,13:30-14:30min).

Score

BravoTourshasundergoneatransformationshiftingtheirfocusfromdestination

developmenttofocusonnewtechnologieswheninnovating.Theyoccasionallyparticipatein

worldwidetravelfairstoseeknewpossibilitiesandtechnologies,butsincethefairsonlyapplyto

thetravelindustryitisdeemedthatitisnottheplacetoobtainknowledgeonunknown

technologies.Furthermore,theydonothaveaseparatetaskforceandarethereforegradedwith

yellowinprinciplethreeandredinprinciplefour.

Spies

AccordingtoJanVendelbo,focusingonunknowndevelopmentandtrendsisnot

somethingSpiesarejustmonitoring,butsomethingtheyarecreating.Heexplains,thatbackin

2012-2013theymadeanAprilfool’sjoke,inwhichtheylaunchanewconcepthotelonlyfocused

onhipstersandhipsterneeds.Fiveyearslater,aconcepthoteladdressingthehipsterneed

actuallymaterialisedintheirdevelopmentofCasaCookhotels.Theproductwasaimedat

customerslivinginmetropolitancities,withadesireforhealthyactivities,designandhigh

comfort.AccordingtoJanVendelbo,theneedanddemandsforsuchhotelswerenotpresenton

themarketpriortotheirdevelopmentofit.Furthermore,hestates,thattheydoofcoursefollow

customertrendsthatarenotestablishedonthemarket,andstressesthatduetoSpiesbeinga

technologydrivencompany,focusonunknowntechnologiesalsohasahighpriority(Appendix6,

09:30-10:55min).JanVendelbostatesthatSpies,aspartofThomasCookGroup,havean

internationalinnovationdepartmentthatfocusesonhowtoimplementnewtechnologies,aswell

asdevelopingthem.Inadditiontothat,hestates,thatdelegationsfromSpiesandtheThomas

64

CookGroupvisitsSiliconValleywheretheyaimtodetectnewtechnologiesthatfocuson

customerexperiencesandcustomerservice(Appendix6,11:15-11:55;28:00-29:15min).Jan

Vendelboadditionallyexplains,thateventhoughtheydonothaveaninnovationdepartmentin

Denmark,theystillsearchandmonitorexternaldevelopmentsintechnologiesandcustomer

trendsthroughtheirinternalonlineinnovationforum.Trendsandtechnologiesdetectedonthese

forumshavealsoresultedinproductsandservicesbeingdevelopedandimplementedinSpies.

HereJanVendelbohighlightshowdebatesontheforums,ledtofurtherdevelopmentoftheir

mobileapplicationwithvirtualkeysbeingaccessiblethroughtheapplication(Appendix6,11:45-

12:10;33:50-34:15min).

Score

ThefactthatSpieshasaninnovationcentreandthattheyvisitSiliconValleyin

researchfornewtechnologiesresultsinSpiesbeinggradedwithgreeninbothprinciples.

SunCharter

AccordingtoCarstenTerpHansen,SunCharterdoesnotfocusthatmuchontrends

andtechnologiesthatarenotestablishedonthemarket.Heexplains,thatsincetheyonlyfocuson

chartercustomersandcharterproducts,theydonotrelocatetoomuchenergyinmonitoring

companiesandtrendsoutsidetheirfocus.Therefore,CarstenTerpHansenstatesthatcompanies

likeAirbnbandsucharenotdeemasanimportantfocusareasinceSunCharterdoesnotprovide

tripstometropolisandotherdestinationsoutsidethechartercategory.Instead,theyfocuson

whattheyaregoodat,whicharecharterflightsandhotels(Appendix7,05:00-06:45min).In

additionCarstenTerpHansenexplainsthattheydofollowmarketdevelopments,butwhenit

cometoresearchingnewpossibilities,theyfocusondestinationdevelopmentandconcepthotels.

AshestateswithSunCharterbeingathree-year-oldcompanytheydonothavethesize,or

resources,tofocusonunknowndevelopmentsandtrendsyet.CarstenTerpHansencontinuesby

statingthateventhoughtheydonothavetheresourcestoinvestigatetheseunknowntrends,

SunChartersprocurementdepartmentdoesmonitorthemarketanduniquebusinessmodels.

Furthermore,hestates,thattheykeepaclosedialogwiththeirforeignpartnersonwhatis

65

happeningonagloballevel,whiletheyalsoparticipateinseveralfairsandworkshopsregarding

thetravelindustry(Appendix7,07:10-08:20min).

Score

SunCharterdoesnothaveafocusonunknowndevelopmentsaswellastheydonot

havetheresourcestocreateaseparatetaskforceand,therefore,theyaremarkedwithredin

bothprinciplethreeandfour.

Apollo

AccordingtoGlennBisgaard,Apollodoesobservedevelopmentsincustomertrends

andtechnologies,whicharenotpresentonthecurrentmarket,butstressesthattheirfocusison

whattheyaregoodat.HecontinuesbystatingthatApollodoesfocusoncompaniessuchas

Airbnb,whomhedescribesasanintruderwhenfirstintroducedtothemarket(Appendix8,28:10-

31:30min).Apollodoesnothaveadepartmentmonitoringthesedevelopments,butinstead,they

haveanonlineforumwherethesesubjectsanddevelopmentsarediscussed(Appendix8,38:00-

38:50min).Inaddition,GlennBisgaardexplainsthatApollodoeshaveacollectiveResearch&

Developmentdepartment,whichmonitorsanddetectsnewlydeveloptendenciesand

technologies,butstates,thatwhenyouincludesomethingnewtoacompany’sbusinessmodel

youmighthavetoabandonsomethingelse,whichmightdeviatethecompaniescorebusiness.

AccordingtoGlennBisgaard,duetotheirlonghistoryandexperienceregardingmanagingchanges

andchallenges,hefeelsApolloiswellequippedtoadjustandadapt(Appendix8,36:10-37:55min).

Score

Apollohasahighfocusonsustainingdevelopmentsbutrelativetounknown

developments,theydonotprioritiseitandaretherefore,markedwithared.Inrelationto

principlefour,ApolloispartofagroupthathasanR&Ddepartmentandtherefore,scoreagreen.

66

Othercompanies

TV2

AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,TV2hasbeenmonitoringdevelopmentsinunknown

technologiesandcustomerbehavioureversincetheintroductionofdigitalmedia,whichhe

explains,iswhatdrovethemtotheestablishmentofadigitaldepartment.Hecontinuesby

stating,thatthedigitaldepartmentfocusesonmonitoringthemediamarketforbehaviour,

technologiesandfuturepossibilitiesthatcouldenhanceTV2’sTVproductsanddigitalproducts.

Heemphasisesthatthedigitalproductdepartmentaremostlyresponsibleforinnovationand

productdevelopments(Appendix10,10:30-11:30min).AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,thedigital

productdepartmentkeepsacloseeyeonthelargestcompetitors,suchas,Netflix,Facebookand

YouTubetoensurethattheirdigitalproductskeepupwiththenewesttechnologicalpossibilities.

HehighlightstheirfocusonNetflix,whichhestatesaremarketleadersonthedigitalmedium

market,andhowNetflix’stechnologiesregardinguserexperience,havebeenresearchbyTV2.

AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,thealgorithmsandtechnologyusedbyNetflixtorecommendwhich

movies,seriesorshowscustomersshouldconsider,arebasedonpriorengagementsonthe

platform.TechnologiesassucharesomethingTV2seekstoimplementintheirdigitalproduct,the

TV2Playmobileapplication,andhavethereforeconductedextensiveresearchonwhocould

providesuchtechnologies(Appendix10,12:05-14:30min).Moreover,AllanBrodersenstates,that

eventhoughdigitalproductsareontherise,theTVpartintheirbusinessmodelisstillthemost

profitable,especiallytheadvertisingrevenuerelatedtothemedium.Becauseofthis,TV2doesnot

panicwhendigitalcompetitorssuchas,FacebookorNetflixannouncesnewproductsorfunctions.

Heelaborates,thateventhoughtheTVmediumhasbeendeemeddeadbysome,nobodyknows

if,andwhenitwillhappen,whichiswhyTV2keepcalmwheninvestigatingnewpossibilities

(Appendix10,13:40-15:30min).Furthermore,AllanBrodersendoesemphasisethattheway

customersconsumeentertainmentandnewsiscontinuouslybecomingmoredigitaland

therefore,theydohavestrategiesanddialoguesonhowtomaketheirdigitalproductsmore

profitableandhowtoact,ifnewtechnologiesorcompetitorssuchasAmazonPrimeentersthe

Danishmarket(Appendix10,10:05-11:00min).

Score

67

TV2’sfocusisprimarilyontheirlargestcompetitorsandtheirtechnological

advancements.ItappearsthatTV2haslessfocusonunknowntechnologiesandthereforescoresa

yellowinprinciplethree.Theestablishmentofadigitaldepartmentillustratesthecompanyis

dividingtheirorganisationintodifferenttaskforcesandtherefore,scoregreeninprinciplefour.


AccordingtoMartinBraun,SparekassenVendsysseldoesresearchdevelopments

thatarenotestablishedonthemarketandexplainsthatallfinancialinstitutionsunderthename

Sparekasse,haveacommondatacentrecalledSDC,whichmonitorsdevelopmentsintechnologies

andproducesthenewsystemstheyemploy.MartinBrauncontinuesbyexplainingtheresearch

process,whenmonitoringthesedevelopments,whichisacooperationbetweenthedatacentre

andtheITandproductdepartmentofSparekassenVendsyssel.Thedatacentresupplies

knowledgeonwhattechnologiesarebeingdevelopedandwhicharepossibletoimplement,while

SparekassenVendsysseldiscussandevaluateif,andhowtoimplementthenewtechnologies

(Appendix9,29.35-31.30min).EjnerSvendsenstatesthattheyalwaystrytokeepaneyeon

developmentsoutsidetheindustrybyreadingFinanceWatchandforeignmedias’reportingonthe

futurelandscapeofthefinancialindustry,butacknowledgesthatduetotheirsize,Sparekassen

Vendsysselusuallysettleinthewakeoflargercompetitorssuchas,NordeaandDanskeBank.He

explains,DanskeBankhave400ITpersonnel,whocaninnovate,code,programme,anddevelop

newpossibilities,whereasSparekassenVendsysselissubstantiallysmallerandfocusmoreon

utilisingtechnologiesthatareinlinewiththeirvalues(Appendix9,31.05-33.30min).Inaddition,

MartinBraunstatesthattherearemajoradvantagesofbeingfirstmoversontheDanishfinancial

market,asseenwithDanskeBank’sMobilePay.Hereheexplainsthatthecollectiveeffortmade

fromotherfinancialinstitutions,whichconsistedoftheapplicationSwipp,nevercamecloseto

competingwithMobilePayduetocustomerpreferencealreadybeingestablished.Furthermore,

hehighlightsthatforeigncompetitors,suchasApple,havetriedtoenterthemarketwith

ApplePaybutexperiencedsimilardifficulties(Appendix9,33.50-35.30min).

Score

68

SparekassenVendsysselattemptstoseekfornewdevelopments,butduetotheir

sizeandcorevalues,theyhavetheirdifficulties.Furthermore,theyhaveinSDCaresearchcentre.

Basedonthis,SparekassenVendsysselisgradedwiththecolouryellowinprinciplethreeand

receivesagreeninprinciplefour.

FocusonStart-UpTechs

Thetheoreticalframeworkofthethesisstresstheimportanceofincumbentskeeping

aneyeonstart-uptechsthatareoperatinginsmallmarkets,sincethese,inthelongrun,canbea

threatintheestablishedmarket.Thecompaniesparticipatinginthethesiswillbegradedoutfrom

theirfocusandsearchforcompaniesliketheseandhowtheydecidetohandlethem.

TheCharterIndustry

TUI

TerjePedersenunderlinesthatdisruptionischaracterisedbythefactthatnoone

sawthemcomingandtherefore,itishardtokeepaneyeon.Hementionsanexampleofif

someonewasinventinganewwayofsailing,thenwouldTUInotbeoverseeingdevelopmentslike

this,sincetheyareworkingoutfromthelargevolumesandlargenumbers.However,he

underlinesthatwhentheyarevitalizingtheirbusinessmodels,thentheyneedtotakethesetechs

anddevelopmentsintoconsiderationandthatiswhytheyattempttojoinpartnershipsregarding

innovationthatcanhelpthemtodecideifthereareanymergingtechnologiesthattheyneedto

implement.Theyneedtoinvestigateifthereareanystart-upsthatpeoplearetalkingaboutin

SiliconValley,whichcouldbeinterestingseenfromtheviewpointofatravelagency.Hementions

thateverybodyiscurrentlytalkingaboutautonomousdrivingandTUIis,inthiscase,assessingif

theyshouldbethefirsttoimplementthisintheirtravelbussesontheirdestinations.But,ashe

mentionedinsectiontwoofthemeta-matrixanalysis,itallcomesdowntoifitisaprofitable

businessmodelornotandoutfromthisassessmenttheydecidetoimplementitornot.Heargues

thatithastobetakenintoconsiderationifautonomousbussesdifferTUIfromtherestandif

peoplewillchoosetotravelwiththembecauseofthis.Hearguesthatitprobablywillnot,butifit

becomesconvenientandtheycanminimisethecostsoftheircustomers,thenitcouldendup

beingimplemented.Thatbeingsaid,hearguesthatTUIprobablywillnotbefirstmoversinthis

69

area,sincetheyare,asheillustratesit,abigcruiseshipthatchangesdirectionabitslowly,but

thatissomethingthatcomeswithbeingabigcompany.Tocompensateforthat,hestates,that

theyhavealotofsmalldepartments,whichconstantlyaretestingoutnewtrendsand

technologies,sothatthecompanykeepstracewiththedevelopmentandinvestigateiftheworld

isreadyforityet.TerjePedersen,furthermore,explainthattheremightcomeanewAirbnband

thattheremightbeasoftwaredeveloperinabasementsomewhere,whocandevelopaproduct

thatcanendupbeingTUI’sprimarycompetitorinfiveyears,buteventhoughtheyarekeepingan

eyeonnewdevelopments,thentheycannotforeseeitall(Appendix4,21:50-24:30min).

Score

TUIfocusesonstart-uptechsandtakesthemintoconsideration,whentheyare

vitalisingtheirbusinessmodel.Eventhoughtheyareassessingstart-uptechs,theyacknowledge

thefactthattheyarealargecompanythatchangesdirectionabitslowlyandtherefore,they

preferutilisingpartnershipswithtechstart-ups,whichcanhelpthemassessifagiventechnology

shouldbeimplemented.Basedonthis,TUIscoregreen.

BravoTours

PederHornshøjstatesthatBravoTourskeepsaneyeonstart-uptechsand

companieswithanotherbusinessmodelthanthemselves.Theyhavesoftwaredevelopersthatare

lookingatothersitessuchasMomondoandAirbnbtoinvestigateifthereissomethingtheycan

learnfromthem.Furthermore,hearguesthatBravoToursalsoattemptstobefirstmoverson

thingsthathavenotbeenseenbeforeandeventhoughthatitisnoteasytocomewithsomething

completelynew,theconstellationisamixoftheirbestideasandsomethingothercompanieshave

hadsuccesswith.Furthermore,hearguesthatallcompaniesthatenterthetravelindustryare

competitorstoBravoToursandthattheprofileofacompetitorhaschanged.Inthepast,their

mainrivalswereSpies,TUI,Apolloandbasicallyotherchartercompanies,sincetheyarealike

BravoTours,buttoday,heargues,thatthereisanevenbiggercompetitionfromeverythingelse

thanthetraditionalchartercompanies.Thereisofcoursecompetitionwithinthecharterindustry,

butthemostessentialcompetitioncomesfromthebroadspectreofcompanies.Heconsidersthe

70

competitionfromtheoldrivalsassomethingtheyhaveundercontrol,butthenewcompetitionis

moredifficulttorespondto(Appendix5,16:34-19:02min).

Score

ThefactBravoToursacknowledgesthattheirmaincompetitiondoesnotcomefrom

theiroldrivalsanymoreindicatesthattheyhaveafocusonnewstart-uptechs,but,onthe

contrary,thereferencetoAirbnbandMomondoimpliesthattheirfocusliesonalready

establishedcompaniesoutsideofthecharterindustry.Therefore,theygetayellow.

Spies

JanVendelboarguesthatSpiesisveryawareofstart-uptechsandthattheyrecently

hadadelegationfromthecompany,whichtravelledtoSiliconValleytohaveameetingwithsome

ofthesetechcompaniestogetaholdonthedevelopmentintheindustry.He,furthermore,

believesthatSpies’competitiveadvantageisthattheyhavethecustomerinfocusandthatthey

stillhaveemployeesthecustomercangetincontactwithbothathomeandatthedestination.

Moreover,hecontendsthatpeopleoftenaremoresatisfiediftheyhavebeenincontactwitha

humanbeing,butthatthereinsomecasesalsoarepeoplewhowantthecontactdigitally,soSpies

attemptstofindtherightbalanceinthismatter(Appendix6,28:43-30:05min).

Score

WithtripstoSiliconValleyitindicatesthatSpieshasafocusonstart-uptechs,but

sinceJanVendelbo’selaborationofthematterislackingspecificationitcanbearguedthatthe

focusonstart-uptechsisplacedintheThomasCookGroupandnotdrivenbySpies’interestinthe

matter.Thisresultsinthescoreyellow.

SunCharter

CarstenTerpHansenarguesthatSunCharterisglancingatallopportunitiesandat

thebusinessmodelsofstart-uptechs,andiftheycantakeadvantageoftheirexperiences,then

71

theyareofcourseinterestedindoingthat.Buthestatesthatthesestart-uptechsarenota

competitortoSunCharter(Appendix7,10:20-10:52min).

Score

Whetherornotstart-uptechsareacompetitortoSunCharter,thisstatement

illustratesthattheydonothaveafocusonthemandthisresultsinthescorered.

Apollo

GlennBisgaardstatesthattheyhaveasmallfocusonstart-uptechs,butdonot

assessorinvestigatethemuntiltheystartstealingrevenue.Hehighlightsthatshouldithappen

thatcompanieslikeAirbnbstarttoeatmoreandmoreofthecustomertravelbudget,thenthey

startevaluatingwhattodo.Thiscouldresultininitiatingcooperationorevenbuyingsmallstart-

uptechs(Appendix8,31:30-33:00min).

Score

TheabovementionedstatementsillustratethatApollostartstofocusonstart-up

techs,whentheyhavebecomeathreatandtherefore,Apolloisgradedwiththecolourred.

Othercompanies

TV2

AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,TV2keepsaneyeonnewplayersonthemarket,but

donotpanicifthesenewactorssupplycontentinadifferentway.Heusestheexampleof

FacebookprovidingfreebroadcastingofaNFLmatchontheirplatform,TV2wouldnotpanica

startprovidingfreecontentasanresponsesincetheywouldruintheirbusinessmodel(Appendix

10,13:30-14:20).Hedoesstatethattechnologyhasbroughtintensifiedcompetitiontothe

market,whereAllanBrodersenmentionsGoogle,FacebookandNetflixasbiggestcompetitors

besidesDR(Appendix10,18:20-19:30min).

Score

72

TV2isawareoftheglobalcompetition,buttheirfocusismainlyonlargerand

alreadyestablishedtechnologicalcompanies.SinceTV2acknowledgestheglobalthreatfromtech

companies,theyaredeemedtohaveafocusonstart-uptechs,butwithAllanBrodersenonly

mentioningFacebook,NetflixandYouTubetheygetthegradeyellow.


MartinBraunandEjnerSvendsencontendthatSparekassenVendsysselinthefuture

couldconsiderbuyingaFinTechcompanytogetknowledgeortoutilizetheirtechnology,butthat

theorganisation,atthemoment,isnotreadytothiskindofdevelopment(Appendix9,51:08-

51:30min).Furthermore,MartinBraunarguesthatthebankkeepsaneyeonFinTechcompanies

asapotentialthreatforthefutureandthattheypossessabiggerthreatthantheotherfinancial

institutes(Appendix9,05.15-06.30min).

Score

SparekassenVendsysselisawareofthethreatfromFinTechcompanies,which

suggeststhattheyareactivelykeepinganeyeontheseandtherefore,theyscoreagreen.

GlobalConsiderations

Thethesisframeworkemphasisesthatglobalisationhasbroughtawiderangeof

possibilities,whicheventhesmallestcompaniescantakeadvantageof.Ithasopenedthe

possibilityforeverycompanytoexpandtheirbusinessoperationstoforeignmarkets,whichcan

helpacompanygrow,but,simultaneously,companiescanalsoexperiencemorecompetitionin

theirownmarkets.Basedonthedevelopment,whichtheglobalisationhasbrought,theobjective

forthissectionistoinvestigatehowthecompaniesparticipatinginthisthesisarecontemplating

theadvantagesanddisadvantagesinrelationtotheircompany.

TheCharterIndustry

TUI

73

TerjePedersenarguesthatTUIhasembracedglobalisationandtriestoreachthe

benefitsinsteadofworkingagainstit.Hementions,asanexamplethatmanytravelagencieshave

hotelsclosedfor6monthsduringtheoff-season,whileTUIaretryingtomakethehotelattractive

allyeararound.HesaysthatahotelonGranCanariamightbefilledwithDanesforthefirst6

monthsoftheyearandthenChinesepeoplethenext6months.ThisisoneofTUI’sattemptsto

takeadvantageofthepossibilitiesthatglobalisationhasbrought.Furthermore,hecontendsthat

TUItakenastrategicdecisionofbeingalocalactorintermsofmarketingandservice

departments,butoveralltheyareaglobalplayerinthemarket.HealsostatesthattheDanish

marketismoreglobalthanitislocaltodaybecauseoftheglobalcompetition.Moreover,hestates

thataNorwegianoraGermanmightbuyaholidayaDanishconsumerhasbeenconsidering,since

thepackagedtoursarecustomisedandavailabletotheNordicmarket.Thisalsohasaneffecton

thepricingbecauseifagroupofNorwegiansbuy10roomsinahotel,thenitwillalsobecome

moreexpensivefortheDanishconsumersduetomarketdemand.He,furthermore,arguesthat

thesizeofthecompetitorsineachmarketalsohasaninfluenceontheproductsthatTUI’sisgoing

tosellinagivencountry.HeexplainsanexampleofAirbnbandiftheywerenotbiginGermany,

thenTUIwouldattempttosellthetypeofproductsinGermany,whichtheyhavenotsoldin

Denmark,sincetherewouldbeabettermarketforit.Heisoverallpositiveaboutthepossibilities

globalisationhasbrought,buthementionsBrexitasbeingoneofthebadthingsaboutbeinga

globalactor,sincethiswillcostthecompanymoney(Appendix4,26:15-29:05min).

Score

TUIisaglobalplayerandknowshowtofullyutilisetheadvantagesofglobalisation,

asseenintheexampleofhowtofullyexploitthecapacityofahotelallyeararoundandthereby

maximiseprofits.ThethreatsTUIfacebyglobalisationismainlyincreasedcompetitiononthelocal

marketswhileforeignpoliticsalsoaffectstheirbusinessmodel.ThereforeTUIismarkedwiththe

colourgreen.

BravoTours

PederHornshøjcontendsthatitisimportanttoembraceglobalisationandtohavea

globalmind-set.Today,BravoToursisthinkingmuchmoreglobalthantheydidjustthreeyears

agoandbecauseofthistheyareinvestingmoremoneyintechnologysothattheycanactglobally.

74

HearguesthatBravoTourscould,iftheywantedto,startacompanyinGermanyinaweekand

startsellingholidayswithin14dayswiththetechnologytheyhavetoday.Asanegativeof

globalisation,heexplainsthatsometimeswhenacompanyarehavingmoreandmoreoperations,

thentheyarehavinglessfocusonsomeoftheimportantareas.Youneedtohaveacontrolover

yourmainbusinessbeforeyouareexpandingtoforeignmarkets.Therefore,heclaimsthattiming

iscrucialandthatyoucannotjustgoforeveryopportunitybecausethis,intheend,willbringyou

down.He,furthermore,statesthatothercompaniesarehavingthesamethoughtsexpandingto

theDanishmarketconsequentlymakingitimportantthattheyareincontrolathome(Appendix5,

19:10-22:00min).

Score

BravoToursiscapableofexpandingtheiroperationstonewmarkets,whichindicates

thattheyunderstandthepossibilitiesofglobalisation,butdoesnotnecessarilytakeadvantageof

it.Onthecontrary,BravoToursisalsoawareofthethreatsofglobalisationsinceopenmarkets

hasresultedinglobalcompetitorsenteringtheDanishchartermarketandarethereforemarked

withgreen.

Spies

Asapartoftheworld’ssecondlargesttravelgroup,ThomasCook,Spieshasalotof

opportunitiessuchasdevelopingconceptualisedhotelsandbringingamorevariedrangeof

productstotheircustomers.ThiswouldnothavebeenpossibleifSpiesweretomakethese

investmentsthemselves,accordingtoJanVendelbo.Furthermore,hestates,thatglobalisationhas

resultedinSpiescooperatingmuchmoreacrosscountrybordersthantheyhavedonebefore.He

ascertainsthattheywouldnotbethelargesttravelagencyinDenmarkiftheyhavenothadbeena

partoftheThomasCookGroup.Asthedisadvantagesofglobalisation,JanVendelbostatesthat

thechallengeistoavoidbecomingtooglobalandnothavealocaltouch.Acompanymustnot

thinkthattheGermanandDanishmarketisthesame,hestatesasanexample.Theattemptof

stayinglocalisalsoseeninthefactthatThomasCook’sbrandsineverycountryhavekepttheir

brandnamesinsteadofdoingasTUIandchangingalltheagenciesintoonename,heargues.Jan

75

Vendelboascertainsthathethinksthelargestthreatofglobalisationisthemisperceptionofsome

companiesthinkingthattheycanruletheworldfromonecountryandnotbepresentineachand

everyoneofthecountriestheyoperatein(Appendix6,12:45-16:38min).Eventhoughhehasthis

opinion,JanVendelboexplainshowExpediaandThomasCookhasmadeajointventurewhere

ExpediawillsupplythetypeoftravelthatThomasCookhasdifficultiesinoffering.Theseareflight

departuresandhotelsindestinationtheydonotoperatein,whereheexplainthatfromJune,

2018Spieswilloffertheseproductstotheircustomersthroughtheirbrandandwillincludethe

serviceandinsurancetheSpiesbrandisknownfor(Appendix6,21:00-25:00min).

Score

AsapartofThomasCookGroup,Spiesharveststheadvantagesofglobalisationas

seeninthejointventurewithExpedia.IntermsofthreatsSpiesfocusesonwhatthey,asa

business,shouldavoidinsteadoffocusingontheexternalthreatsofglobalisation.Thefactthat

JanVendelboexplainsthatbecomingtooglobalisthelargestthreatismoreajustificationof

Spies’decisiontomaintainlocalbrandsandnotconsiderationsregardingthreatsfrom

globalisation.ThisresultsinSpiesbeingmarkedwiththecolouryellow.

SunCharter

CarstenTerpHansenarguesthatalotofthehotelstheyhaveintheirassortmentare

notavailableonothersitessuchasExpediaandHotels.com.Furthermore,hearguesthatwith

theirsizeandthetypeoftravelagencytheyare,theirmainrivalsaretheothercharteragencies

andnotglobalcompanies(Appendix7,11:00-14:50min).Hestates,thatglobalcompanieslike

AirbnbisnotacompetitortoSunCharter(Appendix7,10:00-10:35min).Additionally,hestates

thatthesizeofSunChartercontributesinthemhavingagreaterpresenceinrelationtotheir

customersandthattheyhaveagreateroverviewoftheirproducts,sincetheydonothavethat

many(Appendix7,11:00-14:50min).Inaddition,CarstenTerpHansenstatesthatSunCharterdoes

nothaveanyplansofexpandingtheiroperationacrosstheDanishborderortootherairportsin

Denmark(Appendix7,17:00-17:15min).

Score

76

SunCharterdoesnotviewglobalisation,asanimportantpartoftheirbusinessmodel

duetotheirembeddednessinNorthernJutlandandtheirambitionistostaylocalandnotexpand

theiroperation.Furthermore,globalisationhasnotchangedtheirdepictionofcompetitorssince

theystillviewcharteragenciesastheirmainrivalsanddoesnotviewglobalcompaniesasa

competitortothem.Therefore,SunCharterscoresaredinthemeta-matrix.

Apollo

GlennBisgaardstatesthatglobalisationhasresultedineverythingbecomingmore

convenient,bothinregardtoInformationsharingandthatithasbecomeeasiertotravelgreat

distancestonewdestinations.Healsoarguesthattheircustomershavebecomewiserandin

somecaseshavebecomemoreinformedaboutadestinationthanApollo,sincetheycanread

everythingontheInternetandtherefore,everybodyhavebecomeexpert.Additionally,hestates

thathethinksthatglobalisationhasnotbroughtanythreatsandthattheyonlyseeitasnew

possibilitiesintheSWATanalysis(Appendix8,47:18-48:52min).

Score

Apolloutilisesthepossibilitiesofglobalisationbyexpandingoperationsand

establishingnewdestinations.Furthermore,Apollohighlightsthatglobalisationhasbroughtno

threats.Interestinglytonote,Apolloarguesthatthecustomersinsomecaseshavebecomemore

informedthanApollo,buttheyarestillnotcapableoflocatinganythreats.Thereforetheyscorea

yellow.

Othercompanies

TV2

AllanBrodersenconsiderglobalisationasahugecompetitortoTV2,sinceithas

broughtcompaniessuchasGoogle,NetflixandFacebook,whichareTV2’smaincompetitors.Back

inthedaytheirmaincompetitorwasDRandtheironlyobjectivewastohavebetteraudience

77

ratingsthanthem,butnowtheycompeteonpeoples’timeandattention.Multiplealternativesto

TV2’sserviceshavearrivedandgivenpeoplenewentertainmentpossibilitiesinsteadofTV2.As

theupsideoftheglobalisationithasbroughtalotoftechnologyandpossibilities,butthemain

thingisthatithasbroughtmorecompetition.AllanBrodersenascertainsthateventhoughit

wouldbeboring,TV2wouldhavebeenhealthierandmoreprofitableiftherewerenotanyglobal

competitors(Appendix10,18:35-20:15min).

Score

TV2hasagreatfocusonthethreatsofglobalisationwhile,intermsofpossibilities,

theyemphasiseontechnologicalimprovementsandhowtheycanimprovecurrentoperationsand

products,andthereforetheyscoregreen.


EjnerMunkSvendsenarguesthatglobalisationhasnothadabiginfluenceon

SparekassenVendsyssel,sincetheyareasmallfinancialinstitute.Theplacewheretheyarein

touchwithglobalisationisintransactionsandhowtheycanmoveanamountofmoneyfromIran

toDenmarkasheusesasanexample.Thisisbothregardingpractical,safetyandlegalissues.

MartinBraunaddsthatitalsohastheinfluencethattheresuddenlyisnotthatfarfromtheiroffice

inVråtoCopenhagen,StockholmorBrussels,whentheyhavetocommunicatewithsomeone.In

otherwords,communicationhasbecomealoteasier,hestates.Whentalkingabout

disadvantagesMartinBraunstatesthattheFinTechcompanieshaveintensifiedthecompetition.

Backinthedays,youhadtobeplacedinDenmarkifyouwantedtooperateinDanishfinancial

market,butwiththedevelopmentinEUlegislation,whichDanishlawprimarilyfollows,itexpands

themarketwithFinTechcompanies,accordingtoBraun.Additionally,hecontends,thathis

primaryworryistheinfluenceoftheEUlegislation,sincethemarketofcompetitorsbecomes

significantlylarger(Appendix9,1.00:15-1.03:10min).

Score

78

Regardingthepossibilitiesthatglobalisationenables,SparekassenVendsysselhasa

lowfocusonitsinceitdoesnotaddtotheirbusinessmodel.Intermsofthreatstheyemphasise

ontheincreasedglobalcompetitionfromFinTechcompanies,whichhasresultedinthescore

yellow.

Digitalisationefforts

Thethesisframeworkemphasisesthatbyfocusingondigitalisationthroughoutthe

wholebusiness,companiescanutilisetheirresourcesmoreefficiently,creategreaterservicesand

experiencesfortheircustomers,whilealsoincreasingtheiradaptabilitytonewmarketsand

customers.

TheCharterIndustry

TUI

AccordingtoTerjePedersen,thedigitalisationofTUIsproductsandprocesses,have

alreadybeenaccomplished.Hestatesthattheactivitiesfrommarketing,sales,logisticsand

customer&userexperienceshaveallbeenthroughsomesortofdigitalisationprocess.He

continuesbystatingthatdiscussionsondigitalisationanditsbenefitsispartofthepastatTUI.

TerjePedersenstatesthattheyperceivedigitalisationaspartofeverydayoperationsincethatis

theworldweliveintoday.Heelaborates,thatcustomerservice,salesandmarketinghavebeen

conductedonlineforquitesometimenow.Thisismainlyduetothedevelopmentincustomer

behaviourwithcustomersnowalwaysbeingonlineandalwayshavingtheirmobilephoneon

them,whichmadeTUIfocusonhowtoutilisethedevelopment(Appendix4,35:00-38:35min).

TerjePedersenstatesthatthiscustomerdevelopmentledthedigitalisationprocessatTUItocome

naturallyandthattheyhavesincecontinuedtheirdevelopmentindigitalimprovements,likethe

TUImobileapplication.AccordingtoTerjePedersen,thisisthereasonwhyTUIdoesnotview

digitalisationassomethingexternalornew.Furthermore,TerjePedersenstatesthatTUIalways

seekstofindacompetitiveedgeandwiththecompanyoperatingonaglobalscale,theyhave

madeinvestmentsintechnologiesthathelpmanagetheinventorymoreefficiently.Heexplains

thatTUIisthefirstagencyonthemarkettoutiliseblockchaintechnology,whichisadecentralised

distributionsystem,whichwillhelpTUImanageandautomatealargepartofbedstockandhotel

79

capacitybetweenallthemarketstheyoperatein(Appendix2,36:30-37:45min).Inaddition,Terje

Pedersenstatesthatalltheseinvestmentsindigitalisationandtechnologieshavebuiltthe

foundationforTUItobecomeanextremelydatadrivencompany.Thishas,asTerjePedersen

statesit,creatednewuniquesellingpointsforTUI,sincetheycancustomiseandpersonalisenew

productswiththeircompletecontrolofthevaluechaincombinedwithnewtechnologies


Score

DigitalisationhasledTUItobeadatadrivencompany,bothregardingstreamlining

departmentsandoperation,butalsoproductdevelopment.Furthermore,customersserviceand

experienceshavebeenincreasedthroughTUIsmobileapplicationcombinedwithaccessonthe

websiteinmultiplelanguages.TUIsdigitalisationeffortsaredeemcomprehensiveandtherefore

resultinthecolourgreen.

BravoTours

DigitalisationplaysanimportantpartinBravoToursbusinessmodel,butitcreates

bothpositiveandnegativeoutcomesforthecompanyanditscustomers,accordingtoPeder

Horsnhøj.Hestatesthattheydecidedtoinvestheavilyinnewsystemsanddigitalisingprocesses,

sincethatwasthenewpreferenceforthecustomers,whichmeantthemarketplacealsomovedin

thatdirection.Hecontinuesbystating,thatifleadersthinkthatdigitalisationautomaticallybrings

convenienceandcostsavings,thentheyshouldreconsider.AccordingtoPederHornshøj,ittakes

skillsandknowledgetoreapthebenefitsfromdigitalisation,whichhestatestheycurrentlyhave,

butthatsavingwasnottheirendgoalofdigitalisingtheircompany.Headds,thatofcourseBravo

Toursgainsavingsthroughthedigitalisationofsomeroutinesandmanualwork,butthatit

undoubtedlycostsalotofmoneytobedigital.Therefore,hestates,thatitwasmainlyduetothe

shiftinmarketplacecausedbycustomersandnotduetosavings,BravoToursdecidedtoinvestin

digitalisation(Appendix5,22:05-23:10min).Theincreaseddigitalisationsofthetravelindustryand

itsproductshave,accordingtoPederHornshøj,alsobroughtanegativedevelopmentfor

customers.Eventhoughdigitalisationhasmadetheentiremarketmoretransparent,ithasalso

80

broughtthestruggleofgaininganoverviewofproducts,companiesandpossibilities.Today

customershavetoomanypossibilities,makingitmuchmoredifficulttomakethecorrectchoice.

Therefore,hestates,thatBravoTourswillneverbecomea100percentdigitalisedcompany,since

therestillisalotofcustomerswhowishtogetaconfirmationfromexpertstoinsuretheymade

thecorrectchoice.Heexplains,thatthisisthereasonwhyBravoToursisalwaysreadytoconsult

inperson,byphoneorthroughonlinechat.Inaddition,PederHornshøjstates,thatsomeproduct

groupssuchasdynamicpackagingmightbecome100percentdigitalisedandthatBravoTourshas

becomevastlymoredigitalisedduringthelastcoupleofyears,butsincecustomersstillvaluethe

physicalandpersonalconsulting,BravoToursarenot,cannotandwillnotbecomeafully

digitalisedcompany(Appendix5,23:35-24:00;26:10min).

Score

EventhoughBravoToursmaintainacriticalstandpointtowardsdigitalisation,the

companystillchosetoimplementandinvestheavilyindigitalimprovements.Theanswersgiven

byBravoToursdisplaysthatthecompanyhasbeenthroughtheprocessofdigitalisationsince

PederHornshøjiscapableofsharingconcretelearningsandthereforescoreagreen.

Spies

Spiesbegantheirdigitalisationseffortsbackinthemid1990’s,whichthroughoutthe

yearshasdemandedmassiveinvestments,accordingtoJanVendelbo(Appendix4,20:00-20:30).

HecontinuesbystatingthatthisprocesswouldnothavebeenpossibleifSpieswasnotpartof

ThomasCookGroup,duetotheeconomicalrequirementsdigitalisationhasandcontinuetohave

ifcompanieswanttokeepup.JanVendelboelaboratesthatSpies’currentdigitalchannels,such

aswebsite,mobileapplicationandothersystems,hadnotbeenonthesamelevelwithwhatthey

currentlyhaveiftheyweretoinvestbythemselves.Byinvestingindigitalisationcollectively

throughtheentireThomasCookGroup,ithasenabledallagenciesinthegrouptoutiliseand

operateonthesameplatform,thusprovidingsimplicityandcost-effectiveefficiency,accordingto

JanVendelbo(Appendix6,16:45-18.30min).Hecontinuesbystatingthatdigitalisationgenerallyis

averygood,ifnotthebestsolution,butthattheremaybeelementsthatcouldhavebeendone

81

better,ifitwastargetedattheDanishchartermarketonlyratherthanapplicableonaglobal

scale.TherearesomethingsSpiescoulddobetteriftheyonlydigitalisedbasedontheneedsand

conditionsoftheDanishmarket,but,asJanVendebostates,aslongasthewholeGroupbenefits

fromitandbecomesbetter,localagencieswillhavetorenounceit.Furthermore,JanVendelbo

addsthatdigitalisationhasgivenrisetolargeandglobalcompetitors,suchastheOTAs,butdueto

theirawarenessofthedigitaldevelopment,Spiesmanagedtohandleit.Heexplainsthatthefocus

wasonhowtopositionthecompanyonthenewlyformedmarketandbysuccessfullyachievingit,

Spieshasgrownanddoesbettereachyear,accordingtoJanVendelbo.Thisisbecausetheydid

notcopythenewcompetitors,butinsteadfocusedonmodernisingtheirplatformatthetimeto

adapttothenewmarketplace(Appendix6,18:40-19.55min).

Score

ThefactthatSpiesispresentdigitallythroughtheirmobileapplicationandwebsite,

whichqualityissupportedbytheknow-howandeconomicalresourcesbytheThomasCook

Group,resultsinSpiesbeinggradedwithagreen.

SunCharter

AccordingtoCarstenTerpHansen,SunCharterwasfoundedacoupleofyearsago

meaning,thecompanywasbornintothedigitalera.Heexplainsthattheyhaveanofficein

Aalborgairportbutthatbookingsmainlyaredoneonline.Hecontinuesbystatingthateven

thoughsomeoftheirsegmentsareoftheoldergenerationshestillexperiencesalotofonline

activitiesfromthem.Somecustomersdonotneedanypersonalhelp,whileothersutilisetheir

mail,onlinechatorphonelinestogainfurtherknowledgeorgetcustomisedadvise.CarstenTerp

HansenstatesthatmostcustomersresearchallSunCharter’spossibilitiesonlineandbook

thereafter,butstresses,thatthereisstillademandfromcustomersseekingthephysicaland

personalservice(Appendix7,15:00-16:30min).Thesearemainlyelderlycouplesorlargerfamilies,

whowhishtomakesureofwhatkindofproductandexperiencetheyarebuyingandifthereare

otherpossibilitiestheyarenotawareof.ThisisabigpriorityatSunCharterandCarstenTerp

Hansenstatesthattheyalwaysseektoinformtheircustomersthatitispossibletocomevisit

82

themandgetacupofcoffeetomakesureeverythingisasthecustomerwishes(Appendix7,

16:40-17:25min).Regardingmarketing,CarstenTerpHansenexplains,thatinthebeginning

SuncCharter’smarketingfocuswasonbeingseenlocallyandtherefore,marketingeffortswereto

supportandsponsormultiplesmalllocalsportsclubs.SunCharterhavesincemovedmostoftheir

activitiestoonlineplatformsandchannelsbecause,asCarstenTerpHansenstates,heretheyhave

theopportunitytomeasuretheeffectsoftheirmarketingefforts,whileheemphasisesthat,in

spiteoftheirfocusbecomingmoredigital,SunCharterstillsponsorslocallyinNorthernJutland


Score

SunCharterhasreducescostsbydigitalisingbothsalesandmarketingactivities,but

theirmainfocusistoprovideanofflinepersonalservice.Thefocusonthepersonalservicelimits

SunCharterinutilisingalltheadvantagesbroughtbydigitalisation,sinceonlineactivitiesareonly

theretosupportthepersonalserviceandthereforetheyscoreayellow.

Apollo

DigitalisationhasimprovedmultipleprocessesinApollo,accordingtoGlenn

Bisgaard.Heexplains,thattheentiretime-to-marketprocesshasimproveddrasticallywithideas

andnewproductsbeingintroducedandestablishedonthemarketinrecordtimecomparedto

beforetheInternet.Additionally,GlennBisgaardstatesthatdigitalisationhasmadeitpossiblefor

Apollotodevelopandimprovetheirpointofcontactsregardingcustomersandpartners,whichis

freeingupalotofresources.Heexplains,thatpriortotheInternetemployeeswithintheindustry

hadtomanuallymarkofhotellistandthereafterfaxthemtothenextperson.Thisprocesshas

beenabolishedatApollowithemployeesnowgatheringandobtainingdatathroughApollosback-

endinthereservationssystems(Appendix8,49:00-50:20min).AccordingtoGlennBisgaard,this

efficiencybroughtbydigitalisationiswhatmakesdigitalisationfantastic,especiallyforthe

companybutalsocustomers.Hefurtherstates,thatthecustomerjourneyalsohasbenefitted

fromdigitalisation,duetotheeasyaccesstoinformationandmoreconvenientcommunication

withrelevantparties.WiththeestablishmentofApollo’swebsiteandmobileapplication

83

customersnowhaveafulloverviewofpossibilities,recommendationsandcommunicationallin

oneplaceand,ashestates,thisissomethingApolloconsistentlytrytoimprove(Appendix8,

50:30-51:20min).AccordingtoGlennBisgaard,digitalisationhasonlybroughtpossibilitiesandhe

explains,thatatApollo,theydonotwanttoactlikethepeopleinthemid1990sthatcalledthe

Internetatemporaryinnovation;insteadtheytrytoembracedigitalisationandtechnological

developments.Inordertodothat,companiesshould,accordingtoGlennBisgaard,viewall

possibilitiesbroughtonbythenewtechnologyandthereaftereitherhirepersonnelequippedfor

thetask,orconsultwithexternalexpertsonhowtoimplementthenewtechnologicalpossibilities

(Appendix8,50:30-51:20min).HedescribesthisasApollo’sjourneyandstate,thatcompanies

shouldnotfeardigitalisation,butembraceitsinceitdevelopsthemarketasawhole-notjustthe

supplieroftheproductbutalsothecustomersusingit.Theonlynegativeelementhecanpointto

digitalisationhasbroughtonisthedeterminationofvalidinformationonline.Heexplainsthatit

hasbecomeincreasinglyhardertodeterminingwhatisrealandwhatisfake(Appendix8,51:50-

53:05min).

Score

ThroughdigitalisationApollohasmanagedtoreducecosts,increasetheircustomer

serviceandlaunchproductsinrecordtime,whichillustratethatthecompanyhasanextensive

focusondigitalisationandthereforegetthescoregreen.

Othercompanies

TV2

AccordingtoAllanBrodersen,digitalisationbringsaboutanabundantlymassof

possibilities,buthestressesthenegativeimpactithashadonTV2,duethemarginalisationtheTV

mediumiscurrentlyundergoing.Thisdevelopmentisalsowhatledtotheestablishmentofthe

digitaldepartmentinTV2(Appendix10,22:55-23:30min).AllanBrodersenexplains,thatpeople

nolongerhavetotuneintoTV2orDRtogainknowledgeoncurrentnewsorentertainment,but

insteadusemobileplatformsuchas,TwitterandFacebooktoobtainnewsandNetflixandsimilar

platformtoaccessentertainment.Witheverybodyhavingasmartphonenowadays,Allan

84

Brodersenstates,thatnews,eventsandincidentsarereportedonbywhoeveriscloses,througha

livefeedonTwitter,Facebookorsimilarplatformsandadds,thatentertainmentalsocanbe

consumedthroughsmartphones(Appendix10,20:10-22:05min).Ashementionedprior,theTV

mediumisstillalargerevenuestreamandthereforeTV2havenotabandonedit,butwiththis

consumptiondevelopment,AllanBrodersenexplains,thattheirdigitaleffortandinvestmentsin

thesehavetocontinueandevenincrease.Theycurrentlyhavefivedifferentmobileapplications;

tv2newsapp,tv2sportapp,tv2vejr,tv2tid,tv2playcombinedwithstreamingpossibilitiesontheir

webpage,butAllanBrodersenstates,thattheyhavetobecomebetteratincreasingtherevenue

streamonthesedigitalproducts.Thedigitalproductshaveexperiencedastrongincreasein

revenuethelastcoupleofyear,butiftheyaretoreplacetheTVmediumrevenue,AllanBrodersen

states,thatTV2hastocontinuetheirinvestmentsin,anddevelopmentof,theseproducts

(Appendix10,22:10-23:35min).

Score

TV2hasadigitaldepartmentandhasdevelopedmultipleapplications,whichaimto

supporttheirtelevisionprogrammesdigitally.Furthermore,TV2iswellawareregardingcustomer

trendsandmediaconsumptionandthereforescoreagreen.


AccordingtoEjnerSvendsen,customersweremoreloyaltowardsfinancial

institutionspriortotheInternet.Heexplains,thatthecontinueddigitalisationofprocesses,

methods,productsandserviceswithinthefinancialindustry,hasledtoadecreaseofloyaltywith

customersnowconductingtheirfinancialaffairsononlineplatformswithindependentfinancial

serviceprovider,whichmakesitharderforSparekassenVendsysseltokeeptrackoftheiractions

andfinancialaffairs(Appendix9,01:06:00-01:07:30min).MartinBraunadds,thatthefinancial

sector,asawhole,haveexperiencedsubstantialdownsizingregardingemployeeswithinthe

sector,financialbranchesandfinancialinstitutions,duetodigitalisation(Appendix9,01:15:00-

01:17:00min).Therefore,accordingtoEjnerSvendsen,SparekassenVendsysselfocuses

digitalisationandrelocatesresourcestoequipthebankwithasmanydigitaltoolstoenhancetheir

85

performance.Hecontinuesbystatingthatthedigitalisationoftheirbusinessmodelandprocesses

hasledtogreatsavingsinregardtoproduction,especiallyinproductsandserviceswherethe

profitmarginislow,butexpensesarehigh.Heexplains,thatdigitalisingsomeserviceshasledto

customersbeingabletoconductcertaintasksathomethroughNetBank,whichtheypreviously

hadtoconductphysicallytogetherwiththefinancialadvisor.Thishasledtomajorfinancialsaving

withthefinancialadvisorworkingthecheckoutdeskhavebeencutinmanybraches,orhave

reducedtheworkinghoursatthecheckoutdesk.Furthermore,efficienciesincreditratings,

documentsignaturesandmorehasledthepersonnel,whousuallyconductedthesetasks,to

minimisetheirvaluewithEjnerSvendsenstating,that70percentoftasksconductedbysome

employees,havenowbeenmovedtotheironlineplatformandareavailablethroughself-service.

Thishasmadeitpossibleforthebanktolayoffmanyworkerandclosedownbranches,butcan

also,accordingtoEjnerSvendsen,resultindamagingthebrand(Appendix9,01:07:50-

01:09:45min).EjnerSvendsenstates,thatbeinglocallyanchoredisoneofSparekassen

Vendsysselsmainvaluesandtherefore,heexplainsthattheyhavetokeepthephysicalpresence,

whiletheysupporttheseoperationswithdigitaltoolsinordertokeepupwithmarketdemand

andcompetitionfromlargerfinancialinstitutes.Inaddition,MartinBraunelaboratesonmultiple

newsoftwaresolutionSparekassenVendsysseliscurrentlyimplementingandhowthesealsowill

reducecostmassivelywithinthenext24months,whichcouldleadthemtorevaluatecertain

employeesandbranchesagain(Appendix9,01:11:00-01:14:45min).

Score

SparekassenVendsysselisawareoftheincreasingdigitaldemand,butduetotheir

valuestheyhesitateinfollowingitcompletely.Theyimplementdigitaltoolswheretheycan

reducecostswithoutcompromisingwiththepersonalservice.Thecontinuedfocusondigitalising

thecompanyandreducingcostsresultsinthescoregreen.

86

FindingsinMetaMatrix

Thissectionsillustratesthecompanies’overallscore.

TheCharterIndustry

TUIThroughouttheanalysis,TUImanagedtoscoregreeninsixoutofsevenprinciples

withtheseventhbeingyellow,whichillustratesthatTUIisharnessingthethesisprinciplesinan

extraordinarymanner.Theyfocusbothinternallyandexternally,whiletheyareproduct

developingandasaglobalcompany,theyhaveextensiveknowledgeofmarketdevelopmentsand

customerdemands.Furthermore,theyhaveinnovationcentres,whichfocusesonnew

technologiessuchasblockchain,AIandrobots.Occasionally,theytaketripstoSiliconto

investigatewhatisnewandmeetwithstart-uptechstoinvestigatewhattheyshouldimplement

intheirbusinessmodel.TUIIT-enablesalltheirproductsandasaglobalplayertheyarewell-

awareofthepossibilitiesandthreatsthatglobalisationbrings.Theonlynegativeactiondetected

inthesevenprinciplesistheirunwillingnesstofullyfocusonlow-profitcustomerssincethis

resultsinTUIprovidingbetterconditionsforentrantsinthelow-endmarket.

BravoTours

BravoToursscorefourgreens,twoyellowsandonered,whichconcludesthatthey

aresomewhatpreparedtohandledisruptiveinnovations.Thecompanyhasathoroughknowledge

oftheirowncustomers,sotheyareprimarilyresearchingexternallywhentheyareproduct

developing.Furthermore,theyhaveanequalfocusonprofitableandlessprofitablecustomers,

whichimpedestheconditionsfornewentrants.BravoToursorganisationis,additionally,capable

ofexpandingtoforeignmarketswithinashortperiod,whichillustratesthattheyarepreparedto

takeadvantageofglobalisationand,simultaneously,theyareawareofthedevelopmentmight

resultinmorecompetitorsintheirownmarket.WhenfocusingonBravoToursinsufficiencies,

theyhavenotaseparatetaskforcetohandledisruptiveinnovations,whichisthemostimportant

partofthesevenprinciples.ThiscanhamperBravoToursattemptstohandledisruptive

innovationssinceitispossiblethattheyaretoodeeplyrootedintheirownvaluesandprocesses.

Furthermore,BravoToursarenotfocusingenoughonunknowndevelopments,whichenhance

thechancesofBravoToursmissingthenewmajortrendortechnology.Additionally,BravoTours

87

explainthattheyfocusonstart-uptechs,butsincetheymentionAirbnbandMomondo,whichare

well-establishedcompanies,asexamplesofstartuptechs,itcanbestronglyindicatedthatthey

arenottooinformedinthisarea.

Spies

Spiesisscoringgreeninfiveprinciplesandyellowintwoprinciplesanditcanbe

concludedthattheyarepreparedtohandledisruptiveinnovation.Spiesfocusbothinternallyand

externally,whiletheyalsoprovideanequalfocusonprofitableandlessprofitablecustomers.

Furthermore,theyhaveaninnovationcentreandhaveahighfocusonunknowndevelopments

illustratedbytheirtripstoSiliconValley.Throughouttheprinciples,itbecameclearthatSpiesis

verydependentonbeingapartoftheThomasCookGroup.Thisisdisplayedintheirglobal

considerations,digitaleffortsandfocusonstart-uptechs.Spiesasabrandcouldhaveagreater

focusonthethreatsofglobalisationandonstart-uptechs,butJanVendelbodoesnothesitatein

statingthattheyarebenefittinggreatlyonhavingaglobalorganisationbehindthem.

SunCharter

SunCharterscoresonegreen,twoyellowsandfourreds,whichconcludesthatthey

arenotpreparedtohandledisruptiveinnovations.Theyhaveanequalfocusonprofitableandless

profitablecustomers,whichislinewiththethesisframework,butthisistheonlyplacetheyare

deemedsufficient.Theyarguethattheyhaveanexternalandinternalfocus,butsincetheformer

isplacedonthecustomersoftheircompetitorswithintheDanishcharterindustry,thisisnot

deemedassufficient.SunCharterdoesnothavetheresourcestoestablishaseparatetaskforce

andtheyarenotfocusingonunknowndevelopments.ThethesisacknowledgesSunCharter’s

difficultiesincreatingaseparatetaskforce,but,nevertheless,thisweakensSunCharterinthe

processofhandlingapotentiallydisruptiveinnovation.Furthermore,SunCharterisnotcapableof

identifyinganythreatfromglobalisationandtheydonotconsiderglobalcompaniesorstart-up

techsascompetitorstothem.Lastly,thecompany’sIT-enablingoftheirproductsisdonewiththe

solefocusonsupportingtheirpersonalserviceandthisisnotdeemedtobetherightfocusto

graspthefullpotentialthatdigitalisationbrings.

88

Apollo

Apolloscorestwogreens,threeyellowsandtworeds,whichconcludesthattheyare

notprepared.Onthepositiveside,Apollohasaninnovationcentre,whichthethesisdeemsas

essentialtoharnesstheprinciplesofdisruptiveinnovation,butsincetheimpactofthisinnovation

centrecannotbetracedintheotherprinciples,theyarestillconcludedasnotprepared.

Furthermore,ApollohasahighfocusonIT-enablingtheirproducts,whichresultsintheycan

launchthemfasterandreducecostsintheirorganization.Onthenegativeside,Apolloprimarily

utilisesinternalresearchanddowngradethefocusonexternalresearching.Theyfocusonthe

profitablecustomersandonlyfocusonthelessprofitablewhentheirproductsbecometime

sensitive.Apollohasahighfocusonsustainingdevelopments,butde-emphasisethefocuson

unknowndevelopments.Moreover,theydonotfocusonstart-uptechsbeforetheybecomea

potentialthreatandtheydonotconsiderglobalisationasadevelopmentthathasbroughtany

threats.AsummationofthenegativesideillustratesthatApollocouldeasilyriskoverlookinga

trendortechnologythatcoulddefinethefutureneedsofthetravelindustry’scustomers.

Furthermore,theydonotpreparethemselvesforfuturecompetitorsbykeepinganeyeonthem.

OtherCompanies

TV2

TV2scoresgreeninfiveoutofsevenprinciplesandyellowintwoprinciples,which

indicatesthatTV2ispreparedtohandledisruptiveinnovations.TV2hasahighfocusonboth

externalandinternaltrendsanddatawhenproductdeveloping,whilealsohavingahighfocuson

lessprofitablecustomersduetothechangingconsumertrendsthatposeathreattoTV2main

product.Furthermore,aseparatedigitalisationdepartmenthasbeenestablishedinTV2,which

aimsatfocusinganddevelopingdigitalproductsthatvaryagreatdealfromtheirTVprogrammes

andmedium.Itisthesamedepartmentthatkeepsafocusontheglobalpossibilitiesregarding

developmentsintechnologiesandconsumertrendstoinsurethatthedevelopmentofnewdigital

productsareonparwiththetechnologicalpossibilities.Lastly,TV2hasalsobeenthrougha

processofIT-enablingmostoftheirproductswithmultipleapplicationdevelopedandwebsite

streamingbeingdeveloped.ThetwoyellowscoresTV2getarerootedintheirlackofinvestigation

89

ofunknowndevelopmentsandtheirfocusonstart-uptechs,whichcouldresultinTV2overlooking

anewpossibilityastheymainlymonitorlocalcompetitorsandlargeonlineplatform.


EventhoughSparekassenVendsysselisnotoneofthemajorfinancialinstitutionsin

Denmarktheystillrelocateresourcesandenergytokeepupwiththelargestcompetitors,while

acknowledgingthethreatsfromnewentrycompanies.Thetwoyellowscorestheygetarebased

ontheirlackoffocusonunknowndevelopmentsandglobalconsiderations,butastheyexplain,

thisisduetotheirsize.SparekassenVendsysseldoestrytofollowunknowndevelopments

throughtheresourcesavailable,butreceivessupportfromthedatacentreSCD,whichenables

themtostaycompetitivethroughdevelopmentsofnewsystemsandsoftware.Sparekassen

Vendsysselscoresfivegreen,whichisonlyonelessthanthehighestscoregiveninthemeta-

matrix,makingthempreparedtohandledisruptiveinnovation.Thisisdespiteoftheirorganisation

beingrelativesmallcomparetosomeofthecharteragencies,buttheystillmanagetofocusboth

internallyandexternallywhendevelopingnewproducts.Servicingthelessprofitablecustomersis

alsovitalforafinancialinstitutionasthem,sincethecompetitionfromFinTechcompaniesposea

bigthreattothewaySparekassenVendsysselwishestoconductbusiness.Therefore,thefocusis

highonstartuptechanddigitalisationeffort,toinsuretheydonotlosecustomersandrevenueto

FinTechcompanies.

Conclusion

Thepurposeofthisthesishasbeentoinvestigatethedisruptionphenomenaand

howpreparedtheagencies,withintheDanishcharterindustry,aretohandledisruptive

innovations.Duringtheresearch,itbecameclearthatperceptionofthephenomenadiffered

dependingonwhodefinedit.LarsThykierperceivestheInternetasthemostrecentdisruptionin

thetravelindustry,which,inotherwords,suggeststhatheperceivescompaniesderivingfromthe

Internettobeofasustainingnature.JanDamsgaard,ontheotherhand,perceivesacompanyasa

disruptiveinnovationdependingonthewayinwhichtheyenteramarketandisthereby,

90

proposingthattheInternetisnotthelatestdisruptionseeninthetravelindustry.Thisillustrates

theirdifferentperceptionsandbyconsideringthethesisframeworkitcanbeconcludedthatboth,

tosomedegree,arecorrect,butthatLarsThykierislimitedinhisunderstandingsinceheonly

acceptsdisruptionifitisanentirelynewtechnology.

Throughouttheinvestigation,thethesiswasabletoconcludeseveraldisruptive

innovationsinthehistoryofthetravelindustry.The1930’spublictransportationwasthefirst

development,scrutinizedinthisthesis,whichcouldbedeterminedasdisruptionduetothe

inventionofthesteamengineintrainsandtheestablishmentofanewmarketthrougha

developmentinthesociety.Furthermore,theemergenceofcharterflightsarrivedandbrought

newpossibilities,butsincetheoutcomeforthecustomerswasthesame,thethesisdeemsitasa

sustainingdevelopment.Followingthecharterflightscamethereservationanddistribution

systems,whichstructuredandstreamlinedthelogisticalprocessesrelatedtotravelling,butitdid

notprovideanyalterationtothemarketdynamicsandtherefore,itisdeemedasustaining

innovation.Moreover,whentheInternetemergeditcreatedthefoundationofthe“do-it-

yourself”touristmarket,whichgavetheconsumersanalternativetotheestablishedcharter

agencies.Low-costairlinesandOTA’stookadvantageofthisfoundationandcreatedplatforms

thatenabletheconsumerstobookflightsandhotelsseparatefromeachotherandthereby

customisingtheirownvacation.Thiscreatedanewmarketfor“do-it-yourself”tourists,while,

simultaneously,thecompanieswereservicingtheneedsofthelow-endchartertouristsand

therefore,thethesiscanconcludethatthiswasadisruptiveinnovation.Next,meta-search

enginesandsocialmediaplatformssuchasTripAdvisorarrived,butsincethesedidnotestablisha

newmarketorentertheexistingmarketinalow-endmanner,Christensendeemsthemas

sustaininginnovations.Onthecontrary,sincethethesisacknowledgesHeinandHonoré’s

perceptionofdisruption,itcanbeconcludedthattheseplatformsaredisruptiveinnovationssince

theycollectdataandprices,whichenhancestransparencyandconvenienceonthemarket.Lastly,

Airbnbarrivedinthetravelindustryandcreatedanewmarketbyexpandingtheaccommodation

fromhotelstoalsoincludeprivatehomes.Therefore,thethesisconcludesthatAirbnbisa

disruptiveinnovation.

91

Nowthatithasbeenconcludedthatdisruptionhashappenedinthetravelindustry,

bothbeforeandaftertheInternet,wewillconcludehowpreparedtheagencies,withintheDanish

charterindustry,aretohandledisruptiveinnovations.Throughouttheanalysis,itwasidentified

thattwooutoffiveagencieswereabletoharnessthesevenprinciplesofdisruptiveinnovationin

asatisfactorilymannerandwere,thereby,deemedprepared.Additionally,onewasdeemed

somewhatpreparedandtwonotprepared.Thetwothatmanagedtopassthethesisframework

wereSpiesandTUI,whicharethetwolargestagencieswithTUIbeingaglobalactorinthetravel

marketandSpiesbeingbackedbyaglobaltravelorganisationintheThomasCookGroup.These

twoagencieshavebothcreatedinnovationcentres,theybasetheirproductdevelopmenton

internalandexternaldata,theyresearchforunknowndevelopmentsand,lastly,theyare

digitalisingtheirproductsandprocesses.Additionally,BravoToursweretheagencythatwas

deemedsomewhatprepared.Theylackedamorethoroughfocusonunknowndevelopments,a

greateremphasisonstart-uptechsand,finally,theestablishmentofataskforcewhichoverall

purposeistoinnovateandhandledisruptiveinnovation.Moreover,thetwoagenciesthatwere

judgedasbeingnotpreparedareSunCharterandApollo.Theyonlymanagedtoharness

respectively,oneandtwoprinciplesofthethesisframework.Theyfocustoomuchontheirown

customers,donotattempttoresearchforunknowndevelopments,paynoattentiontostart-up

techsintheindustrybeforetheybecomeathreatandrefusethatglobalisationbringsanythreats

totheirbusinesses.

Thefindingsinthecharterindustryillustratesthatthelargercompanieshaveagreat

advantagewhenpreparingfordisruptiveinnovation.Thisispartlyduetotheireconomical

resources,butalsoduetotheirglobalpresence,whichenablesthemtoobtainabetter

understandingofhowthemarketneedsanddemandsaredeveloping.Theireconomicalresources

areespeciallyvisibleintheestablishmentofinnovationcentres,whichthethesisframework

stressesasthemostimportantprinciple.Eventhough,itisunderstandablethatthesmaller

agenciesdonothavetheresourcestoestablishandmaintaininnovationcentres,itcanbe

concludedthattheystilldonotmanagetoharnessprinciplesthatrequirefewerresources.Based

onthefindings,withtwoagenciesdeemedprepared,twodeemednotpreparedandonedeemed

somewhatprepared,itcanbeconcludedthattheoverallpreparednessoftheindustryis

somewhatprepared.

92

Whencomparingthefindingswithothercompaniesinthemeta-matrix,Sparekassen

Vendsysselillustratesthatasmallercompanycanharnesstheprinciplesinanequalsatisfactory

manner,asthecompanythatissignificantlylarger.Itcantherefore,beconcludedthatthesizeof

acompany,doesnotnecessarilydeterminehowpreparedtheyareatharnessingtheprinciplesof

disruptiveinnovation.

93

Bibliografi

Airbnb.»Airbnb.«www.airbnb.com.n.d.n.d2018.https://press.atairbnb.com/about-us/(senest

hentetellervistden30.042018).

AirbnbExperiences.»Airbnb.«www.airbnb.com.n.d.n.d2018.

https://www.airbnb.dk/s/experiences?refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fexperiences(senesthentet

ellervistden30.042018).

Apollo.www.apollo.dk.2018.https://www.apollorejser.dk/om-apollo(senesthentetellervistden

03.052018).

Børsen.Børsen.4.November2015.

http://borsen.dk/nyheder/avisen/artikel/11/125528/artikel.html.

BookingHoldings.BookingHoldingsInc,.n.d.n.d2018.

https://www.bookingholdings.com/about/history/(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Bower,JosephL,ogClaytonMChristensen.»DisruptiveTechnologies:CatchingTheWave.«

HarvardBusinessReview,1.Januar1995:43-53.

BravoTours.BravoTours.n.d.n.d2018.https://www.bravotours.dk/om/(senesthentetellervist

den05.012018).

Bryman,Alan.SocialResearchMethods5thedition.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2012.

Business,Berlingske.Business.dk.10.January2014.

https://www.business.dk/transport/danskerne-vaelger-charterrejser-fra.

CBInsights.»CBInsights.«www.cbinsignts.com.23.102017.

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/travel-tech-global-map/(senesthentetellervistden30.04

2018).

Christensen,ClaytonM.TheInnovater'sDilemma-WhenNewTechnologiesCauseGreatFirmsto

Fail.Boston,Massachusetts:HarvardBusinessReviewPress,1997.

Christensen,Clayton,MichaelERaynor,ogRoryMcDonald.HarvardBusinessReview.December

2015.https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation(senesthentetellervistden2018).

Christodoulidou,Natasa,DanielJConnolly,ogPearlBrewer.»Anexaminationofthetransactional

relationshipbetweenonlinetravelagencies,travelmetasites,andsuppliers.«International

JournalofContemporaryHospitalityManagement,n.d.n.d2010:1048-1062.

94

Cook,Thomas.thimascook.com.2018.https://www.thomascook.com/thomas-cook-history/175-

years/(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Damsgaard,Jan.Dendigitaleomstilling-9radikaleudfordringererhvervslivetskaloverleve.

København:Jurist-ogØkonomforbundetsForlag,2015.

Grondin,Jean.academia.edu.2017.

https://www.academia.edu/13944229/What_is_the_hermeneutical_circle(senesthentetellervist

den2018).

Hein,Tune,ogThomasHonoré.Disruptellerdø!Copenhagen:Peoples'Press,2016.

Jet,Johnny.Forbes.com.20.September2017.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnyjet/2017/09/20/a-review-of-momondo-cheap-flight-hotel-

searches/#60a76ad874f5.

—.Forbes.com.14.July2017.https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnyjet/2017/07/14/is-captain-

obvious-so-obvious-a-review-of-hotels-com/#3f3336fa332e.

—.Forbes.com.15.November2017.https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnyjet/2017/11/15/a-

review-of-booking-com/#7b1a6b1eb150.

Kotler,Philip,HermawanKartajaya,ogIwanSetiawan.Marketing3.0.Hoboken,NewJersey:John

Wiley&Sons,Inc,2010.

—.Marketing4.0.Hoboken,NewJersey:JohnWileyandSons,Inc.,2017.

Kvale,Steinar,ogSvendBrinkmann.Interview:Detkvalitativeforskningsinterviewsomhændværk.

3.Udgave.København:HansReitzelsForlag,2015.

Leswing,Kif.BusinessInsiderNordic.29.Juni2017.http://nordic.businessinsider.com/9-people-

who-knew-the-iphone-was-going-to-be-a-flop-2017-6(senesthentetellervistden2017.April

2018).

Looper,Christiande.»Digitaltrends.«www.digitaltrends.com.17.102016.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/airbnb-trips-launch/(senesthentetellervistden30.04

2018).

May,Kevin.TheGuardian.12.032014.https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/mar/12/how-

25-years-of-the-web-inspired-travel-revolution(senesthentetellervistden30.052018).

Miles,MatthewB.,ogA.MichaelHuberman.QualitativeDataAnalysis:AnExpandedSourcebook.

London:SAGEPublications,1994.

95

Nasdaq.www.nasdaq.com.27.062017.https://www.nasdaq.com/article/how-the-internet-

killed-60000-jobs-to-modernize-the-travel-trade-cm810144(senesthentetellervistden03.05

2018).

Nixon,Jon.Hans-GeorgGadamerTheHermeneuticalImagination.HongKong:Springer,2017.

RID.RejsearrangøreriDanmark.n.d.n.d2018.http://www.rejsearrangorer.dk/markedstal.html

(senesthentetellervistden05.012018).

—.RejsearrangørerIDanmark.2014.http://www.rejsearrangorer.dk/2014.html(senesthentet

ellervistden29.May2018).

Rossini,Angelo.Skift.07.072016.https://skift.com/2016/07/07/the-state-of-online-travel-

agencies-strong-growth-but-big-challenges-ahead/(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Severisen,Mads.»JylandsPosten.«www.jyllands-posten.dk.11.042012.https://jyllands-

posten.dk/livsstil/rejser/article4889227.ece(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Sezgin,Erkan,ogMedetYolal.»GoldenAgeofMassTourism:ItsHistoryandDevelopment.«I

VisionsforGlobalTourismIndustry,afMuratKasimoglu,478.IntechOpen,2012.

Sheivachman,Andrew.www.skift.com.AndrewSheivachman.20.092017.

https://skift.com/2017/09/20/travel-agents-are-increasingly-using-global-distribution-systems-to-

book-hotels/(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Spies.Spies.n.d.n.d2018.https://www.spies.dk/spies-i-aarstal(senesthentetellervistden01.05

2018).

SunCharter.SunCharter.n.d.n.d2018.https://www.suncharter.dk/information/vaerd-at-

vide/om-suncharter(senesthentetellervistdenn.d.n.d2018).

TheEconomist,The.Theineluctablemiddlemen.25.082012.

https://www.economist.com/node/21560866.

TheExpediaGroup.ExpediaGroup.n.d.n.d2018.https://www.expediagroup.com/about/history/

(senesthentetellervistden30.042018).

Tjora,Aksel.KvalitativeForskningsmetoderipraksis.Oslo:GyldendalAkademisk,2012.

TripAdvisor.TripAdvisor.n.d.n.d2018.https://tripadvisor.mediaroom.com/US(senesthentet

ellervistden30.042018).

TUIGROUP.TuiGroup.n.d.n.d2018.https://www.tuigroup.com/en-en/about-us/history(senest

hentetellervistden05.012018).

96

TV2.TV2.dk.15.May2017.http://nyheder.tv2.dk/business/2017-05-15-vi-rejser-mere-og-mere-

og-nu-klarer-vi-det-hele-selv.

UNWTO.UNWTOTourismHighlights,2017Edition.AnnualReport,WorldTourismOrganisation,

UNWTO-WorldTourismOrganisation,2017,15.

Usborne,David.Independent.20.January2012.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/the-moment-it-all-went-

wrong-for-kodak-6292212.html(senesthentetellervistden30.April2018).

Wiese,Torben.»Udnævndigselvtilchefforinnovation.«IGurubogen,afJonathanLøw.Jonathan

Løw//ListenLouder,2016.

Appendixes&Figures

Figure1:TheDanesdiscardcharterholidays………………………………………………………………………………3

Figure2:IllustrationClaytonChristensendefinitiononSustainingandDisruptiveInnovations…..14Figure3:illustrationofClaytonChristensen(1995)threemainfindings…………………………………….15

Figure4:Illustrationofthefiveprinciplesandhowtoharnessthem-Source:ThesisCreation…..20Figure5:IllustrationofHein&Honoréthethreetrendsdrivingdisruptionandhow

companiescanutilisethem……………………………………………………………………………………………………….24

Figure6:Thesisdefinitionofdisruption.Source:ThesisCreation…..………………………………………….26

Figure7:Illustrationofmeta-matrix…………………………………………………………………………………………34

Figure8:Howindustrieshavebeenaltered………………………………………………………………………………36

Figure9:Illustrationofsustaininganddisruptivedevelopmentinthetravelindustry……………….46

Appendix1:Meta-Matrix

Appendix2.LarsThykier,DanskRejsebureauForening

Appendix3.ThorvaldStigsen,Momondo

Appendix4:TerjePedersen,TUIGroup

Appendix5:PederHorsnhøj,BravoTours

Appendix6:JanVendelbo,SpiesRejser

Appendix7:CarstenTerpHansen,SunCharter

Appendix8:GlennBisgaard,ApolloRejser

97

Appendix9:EjnerSvendsen&MartinBraun,SparekassenVendsyssel

Appendix10:AllanBrodersen,TV2

Appendix11:TuneHein,Disruptellerdø!

Appendix12:PilotInterview–PederHornshøj

Documents

Disruptive Innovation - Aalborg Universitet · 2018-06-27 · and entails the principles of both aforementioned theories. The thesis framework consists of a section that aims to clarify