Strategic Choices

The strategic choices are not the main focus of this research. Notwithstanding, a firm develops and executes competitive strategies with the strategic resources

exclusive to the firm for the purpose of obtaining competitive advantages (Barney, 1991; Porter, 1985). This part examines the strategies implemented by Firm A and Firm B and investigates if the strategies partially lend themselves to firm success.

4.5.3.1 Diversification

Firm A and Firm B aim to provide their customers with one-stop shopping, satisfying all of their needs. To achieve this goal, both companies adopted the diversification approach. They provide peripheral services surrounding convention management/translation services. For instance, the seven business units of Firm A are involved in different facets of conference and event management such as conference equipment rental and language services. The company can send its tech support team to set up the equipment and

interpretation booths; at the same time they help customers select one or two suitable freelance translators from their talent pool. The same applies to Firm B.

The employers of Firm A and Firm B agreed that the concept of total solutions and one-stop shopping did give them competitive advantages to a certain extent.

However, whether or not the advantages are sustainable deserve further investigation.

4.5.3.2 Differentiation

The market segment targeted by Firm A and Firm B is a high-end market because their business objective is to offer services of excellent quality. The aim to provide services of better quality along with diversification of products, however, requires higher costs. As a result, they cannot afford to function in low-end markets.

Due to the global economic trend and political factors in Taiwan, the two study cases are mapping out their expansion plan for the future. Firm A is taking aim at the Asia-Pacific market; Firm B at the Northeast Asian market. Their strategy for the near future is consistent with the forecast made by the industry expert. This implies that years of experience and practice in the MICE industry and the T&I industry peripheral to MICE have equipped the two employers with the perspective and insight to generalise about phenomenon and predict potential trends with which the two can prepare to identify or develop, and deploy strategic resources.

Chapter Five Conclusion

This chapter concludes the present study by summarising the main points of the research and research findings, discussing the study’s managerial implications, and reporting research contributions and suggestions for further study.

5.1 Summary of the Research

The MICE industry has been booming over the past two decades or so, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. No major cities or countries can afford to ignore the

development of the industry because it has contributed substantially to the economic growth of destinations. A destination does benefit financially from the operations and activities of the core segment of the MICE industry, which consists of venue

organisers, PCO’s and PEO’s. As a matter of fact, the MICE industry brings

unprecedented economic benefits to such peripheral industries as hotel, transportation, and translation and interpretation industries, etc.

Translators and interpreters play an important role in bridging the gap between the local and international participants in international conventions and exhibitions.

PCO’s and translation agencies act as intermediaries between interpreters and translators and conference/exhibition management service buyers. As a result, if PCO’s and translation vendors are successful in the MICE industry, their success and prosperity will benefit translators and interpreters by assigning more

translation/interpretation assignments to them. Nonetheless, little attention has been given by academia, and more specifically, the scholars and practitioners of the T&I industry, to addressing the multi-faceted issues faced by the MICE industry in Taiwan.

In view of the lack of research on the MICE industry, this study plans to fill the void in the literature, particularly on the firm-level performance, and to provide insight into existing and potential industry players as well as freelance translators and interpreters who are interested in this industry.

This research aims to find out what high-performing firms in the MICE industry have had and have done in order to achieve sustained competitive advantages and therefore superior performance based on the theoretical perspectives of

resource-based view (RBV) and social exchange theory (SET) with SCP paradigm in an attempt to have a thorough understanding of the current development of the MICE industry and its peripheral T&I industry In Taiwan.

RBV was used to explicate what high-performers have had in the MICE industry that leads to firm success. Firm resources are divided into three categories which are tangible and intangible assets and capabilities, among which intangible assets and capabilities are considered key/strategic resources that create sustained competitive advantages. Intangible assets can further be divided into two types: informational and relational. Included in the informational assets are intellectual property and databases;

client trust, reputation, and networks and communication systems, are in the relational assets. As for capabilities, there are experiential, management/operational, and

attitudinal capabilities. Experiential capabilities are comprised of team-embodied knowledge and learning-by-doing; management/operational capabilities include formal rules and structures and managerial skills, and attitudinal capabilities range from organisational culture, organisational history, ideology, values and attitude.

It has been indicated above that informal and formal relations are a form of

intangible assets, which lay the groundwork for competitive advantages. In terms of the do’s performed by high-performing companies in the MICE industry, social exchange theory was adopted to examine how these companies obtained sustainable competitive advantages through maintenance of the relationships with stakeholders in and between firms. In social exchange theory, there are dimensions that can be used to measure social exchanges, and in this research, the three types of relationships were not evaluated against the same dimensions. The most frequently used dimensions were communication, reciprocity, and trust.

The present study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through the case-study approach by using in-depth interviews with

semi-structured questionnaires. The purpose of the interviews was to identify the key resources of the companies that have excellent performance, and how the key

resources are perceived and valued, especially by employers. The interviews were also designed to measure the formal and informal relations within and between the organisations. The employer of each studied case was first interviewed. Based on the answers provided by the employers of two firms, nine employees, six suppliers, one industry expert and one customer as well as two project managers were interviewed to cross-check the statements made by the employers.