Empirical Analysis of Organizational Marketing of Incentive Travel Based on the Demand Perspective.

The notion of incentive travel comes from the West, and it plays an important role in motivating employees. In China, incentive travel is still a new idea, and the specific details vary widely from case to case. This empirical study examines cases of local organization of incentive travel in Guangzhou municipality. From a review of the literature, it is evident that studies thus far have focused on the choice of destination, evaluating competiveness, and analyzing the economic impact of incentive travel; this subject has rarely been investigated from the perspective of demand. Thus, to address this deficiency, the present study made a systematic examination of organizational marketing from the demand perspective. This study was based on semi-structured deep interviews with professionals selected from 16 organizations, covering different industries, including the insurance, auto, medical, pharmaceutical, energy, and manufacturing industries. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, with the authors completing almost 30,000 written characters of text. After analyzing the interview content, this study identified three types of incentive travel in China: travel for motivating employees (Type 1), travel as a business reward by an organization (Type 2), and travel for the employees' welfare (Type 3 ). We found that many differences existed in the institutionalized operation, customized services, and degree of attention devoted to return on investment (ROI). Type 1 was found to be similar to internationally recognized incentive travel, for example, where there is a fixed budget that derives come from a predicted income, a clear standard for selecting those who qualify for such travel, and an assessment criterion is made with respect to ROI. However, the other two types were very different. Type 2 was found to be more casual both with regard to the selection of participants and to the details of travel plans. Type 3 was oriented toward all employees, and it was also undertaken very occasionally by trade unions on behalf of their members. The most important reason behind the above differences was how the participants regarded incentive travel. If the expenses were not paid by the participants themselves, then the travel was indeed thought of as incentive travel; if the participants did pay, it was not considered incentive travel. Based upon this understanding, we distinguished our three types of incentive travel in China today. This paper also explores the influencing factors regarding the differences among the three types: these are the decision-maker's inclination, the power of the institution, and concerns about social influences induced by taking incentive travel. With Type 1, the greater the power of the institution, the more the incentive travel followed normalized procedures. With Type 2 and Type 3, there was a greater influence of the decision-maker's inclination and more concerns about social influence; incentive travel followed less normalized procedures. From the above facts, it is evident that the incentive travel market is complex and diverse in China. Unlike in Western countries, where incentive travel is merely a management tool to motivate employees toward achieving higher commercial goals, incentive travel in China is related more to personal inclination, government policies, and social concerns about the negative influence produced by taking such travel. Finally, the authors summarize three stages in the growing organizational market: the spontaneous stage, empirical stage, and institutional stage. The spontaneous stage is one that organizations enter having little experience, and it is featured by Type 2 and Type 3; the empirical stage means that organizations have gained some experience, and it features all three types; the institutional stage signifies mature operations and it features Type 1. For a while, all three stages exist simultaneously, but the movement is gradually made from the spontaneous stage to the institutional stage. This market for incentive travel should be promoted under the government's lead because the value of such travel goes far beyond relaxation and sightseeing. It is more about mutual understanding, physical health, and humanistic care for employees. It is also a long-term strategic investment for an enterprise. Incentive travel should receive greater attention when the government is formulating social policy; otherwise, the rigid demand on group consumption will leave only travel for other purposes given the rapid growth in China's economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]