Online and Offline Business Networking Methods of Tourism Entrepreneurs
Heidi Smolander
International Business and Sales Management
University of Eastern Finland Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies
Business School 11.2.2021
University of Eastern Finland
Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies Business School
International Business and Sales Management
Smolander, Heidi: Online and Offline Business Networking Methods of Tourism Entrepreneurs Thesis: 63 pages, 1 appendix (2 pages)
Thesis instructor: Sylvie Chetty February 2021
Keywords: business networking, tourism industry, social media, entrepreneur
The tourism sector is a large service sector in Finland, and it generates 2,5% of Finnish gross domestic product. Most of the tourism companies are micro-enterprises, and the behavior of the tourists is changing. Business networking is especially important for tourism entrepreneurs. They often lack resources themselves, and cooperation between the other companies is needed to provide a full tourist experience. Digital possibilities have brought new ways for networking for entrepreneurs, such as social media.
This thesis explores how and why tourism entrepreneurs combine online and offline networking methods. The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world since 2020 and significantly affected the tourism sector. For this reason, the perspective of how the pandemic situation has affected the business networking behavior was included. The literature review looks at the business networking, online networking, and characteristics of tourism networking. The theoretical framework is built around weak and strong ties and formal and informal relationships, in addition to networking benefits. The second part of the theoretical framework looks at business networking on social media.
Four tourism entrepreneurs were interviewed in the research. Two of the companies were activity tourism companies and two accommodation and activity companies. The primary information was collected with semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed with thematic coding. The social media profile of the tourism companies and the entrepreneurs were used as secondary information.
COVID-19 pandemic time has forced tourism entrepreneurs to use more online communication in their business networking to some degree. This study provides new information about the business networking of tourism entrepreneurs. Real-world meetings are the most preferred way to start business network relationships and build trust. The implications of the findings help tourism entrepreneurs to understand different business networking methods. They also give suggestions to tourism cooperatives on how they should use the methods with their members.
Itä-Suomen Yliopisto
Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekunta Kauppatieteiden laitos
Kansainvälisen liiketalouden ja myynnin johtaminen
Smolander, Heidi: Matkailualan Yrittäjien Virtuaalinen ja Reaalimaailmassa Tapahtuva Yritysverkostoituminen
Pro Gradu: 63 sivua, 1 liite (2 sivua) Ohjaaja: Sylvie Chetty
Helmikuu 2021
Avainsanat: yritysverkostoituminen, matkailuala, sosiaalinen media, yrittäjä
Suomen matkailutoimiala on suuri ja se muodostaa 2,5% Suomen bruttokansantuotteesta. Valtaosa matkailualan yrityksistä ovat mikroyrityksiä ja matkailijoiden käytös on muuttumassa.
Yritysverkostoituminen erityisen tärkeää matkailualanyrittäjille. Heillä ei usein ole itsellään kaikkia tarvittavia resursseja. Tarvitaan yhteistyötä toisten yritysten kanssa, jotta matkailijoille voidaan tarjota elämyksiä. Digitaaliset ratkaisut ovat tuoneet yrittäjille uusia verkostoitumisen tapoja, kuten sosiaalisen median.
Tässä pro gradu -tutkimuksessa tutkitaan miten ja miksi matkailualan yrittäjät yhdistävät virtuaalisia ja reaalimaailmassa tapahtuvia verkostoitumisen tapoja. Globaali koronaviruspandemia iski maailmaan vuonna 2020 ja vaikutti matkailualaan merkittävästi. Tästä syystä tutkimukseen sisällytettiin myös näkökulma siitä, miten pandemia on vaikuttanut verkostoitumiseen. Kirjallisuuskatsaus keskittyy yritysverkostoitumiseen, virtuaaliseen verkostoitumiseen ja matkailualan verkostoitumiseen.
Teoreettinen viitekehys on rakennettu heikkojen ja vahvojen siteiden ja virallisten ja epävirallisten suhteiden sekä verkostoitumisen hyötyjen ympärille. Toinen osa teoreettisestä viitekehyksestä tarkastelee yritysverkostoitumista sosiaalisessa mediassa.
Neljää matkailualan yrittäjää haastateltiin tutkimusta varten. Kaksi yrityksistä oli aktiviteettejä tarjoavia yrityksiä ja kaksi tarjosivat aktiviteettien lisäksi myös majoituspalveluita. Primääriaineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoituina haastatteluina. Haastattelut analysoitiin temaattisella koodauksella.
Matkailuyritysten ja yrittäjien sosiaalisen median profiilit ovat sekundaarista tietoa tutkimuksessa.
Koronapandemia pakotti matkailualan yrittäjät käyttämään enemmän virtuaalista kommunikaatiota verkostonsa kanssa. Tämä tutkimus tarjoaa uutta tietoa matkailualan yrittäjien yritysverkostoitumisesta.
Tapaamiset reaalimaailmassa ovat suosituin tapa aloittaa verkoston suhde ja rakentaa luottamusta.
Tutkimuksen päätelmät auttavat matkailualan yrittäjiä ymmärtämään erilaisia yritysverkostoitumisen menetelmiä. Ne antavat myös matkailualan yhdistyksille neuvoja siitä, miten heidän tulisi hyödyntää menetelmiä jäsentensä kanssa.
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ... 6
1.1. Background ... 6
1.2. Research gap ... 7
1.2. Research question ... 8
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ... 9
2.1. Network theory ... 9
2.1.1 The classification of ties ... 11
2.1.2 Tourism business networking ... 12
2.2. Online and offline networking channels ... 14
2.2.1 Social media networking ... 17
2.3. Theoretical framework ... 20
3. METHODOLOGY ... 22
3.1. Research methodology ... 22
3.2. Data collection ... 24
3.3. Case companies... 26
3.4. Data analysis ... 27
3.5. Research evaluation ... 29
4. FINDINGS ... 31
4.1. Offline business networking ... 31
4.2. COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on business networking ... 37
4.3. Online business networking ... 42
4.4. Combining online and offline business networking ... 49
5. CONCLUSIONS ... 55
5.1. Discussion ... 55
5.2. Practical implications ... 58
5.3. Limitations and future research ... 60
REFERENCES ... 61
APPENDICES... 64
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1. Model of how social media networks contribute to business performance enhancement
(Quinton and Wilson, 2016). ... 18
FIGURE 2. Theoretical framework for business network relationship ... 21
FIGURE 3. Business networking on social media (adapted from Quinton and Wilson (2016) model). .... 21
Figure 4. Updated framework for business network relationship... 54
LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. Table of the details of the entrepreneurs and interviews ... 26
TABLE 2. The background of the entrepreneurs ... 31
TABLE 3. Offline communication channels ... 37
TABLE 4. Social media profiles of the entrepreneurs ... 43
TABLE 5. Online communication channels ... 49
1. INTRODUCTION
This chapter outlines the background of the tourism business sector in Finland. The research gap will be presented in the tourism context. At the end of this chapter, the research questions are introduced.
1.1. Background
The tourism service sector is large in Finland. Every euro spent on the tourism business also benefits other business fields as well. The tourism sector is the second biggest service export field. The foreign and domestic demand for the tourism business is around 15,7 billion euros, and there are almost 29 000 tourism companies in Finland. The whole tourism industry employed more than 142 000 people in 2018.
The tourism sector in Finland consists of the food and beverage service industry, passenger transport industry, cultural, sports- and recreational, and accommodation industries (Business Finland, 2020). The number of international visitors in Finland has doubled since 2000. The Finnish government has taken notice of the need for tourism growth. The government has launched multiple programs to support tourism. To name a few, there have been initiatives regarding sustainability and digitalization in the sector (OECD, 2020).
As the tourism business is big in Finland, it affects the Finnish economy and employment in multiple ways. The whole tourism sector consists of around 2,5% of Finland’s gross domestic product. The other sectors often also benefit from the tourist income as well. When the tourism sector is thriving, its effect can be seen in the other business sectors (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö a, 2019). The tourism business has become more and more global in recent years. The changing habits of the tourists, digitalization, and other megatrends all influence Finnish tourism companies. The national Finnish tourism strategy emphasizes cooperation between actors to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism sector. The need for business networks to grow and develop in the tourism business has been widely recognized (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö b, 2019).
The tourism business continued its growth in 2019, and the beginning of the year 2020 looked promising. The pre-estimations showed that the overnight stays grew 7,7% in January compared to the previous year and a growing trend continued in February. However, as the Convid-19 pandemic started to show its dramatic effect at the beginning of March 2020 in Finland, it changed the outlook for the whole industry. The overnight stays changed to 88% less than the previous year in April. The restaurants were commanded to shut down for two months to help stop the Convid-19 virus from spreading. The demand for the tourism industry services collapsed. The companies started quickly adapting to the
situation by laying off the employees and negotiating flexibility for the payment options (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, 2020).
The pandemic situation hit the industry in multiple ways. The current estimations show that the consumption from the tourist customers is reduced 60-70% from the effect of the pandemic in the year 2020. It is estimated that the consumption to reach the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic might take at least until 2022. The changes in the tourism industry can be large and long-lasting. The companies need to consider the tourist’s health and hygienic needs in a new way (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, 2020).
1.2. Research gap
Business networking is a topic that has been previously well researched in academic studies. The business networks offer new information and resources for the companies (Håkansson and Ford, 2002).
The same is true for the tourism service business. Most of the tourism companies are small and lack resources, and business networking is essential for them. The tourism companies can use their business networks to access knowledge and become more innovative. Most of the tourism companies cooperate with others (Booyens and Rogerson, 2017). There are around 29 000 tourism companies in Finland, and most of them are micro-sized companies employing less than ten employees. The annual turnover of half of the tourism companies is less than 100 000 euros (Työ- ja Elinkeinoministeriö c, 2019). Over 70 regional tourism organizations in Finland have been created to support tourism companies (Business Finland, 2019).
Online possibilities have given new ways to create relationships and networks. Social media networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are cost-effective and easy ways to keep in touch with business networks. The digital possibilities have even created new ways for networking (Quinton and Wilson, 2016; Smith, Smith, and Shaw, 2017).
The importance of digital possibilities is recognized for the tourism business. Digitalization gives Finnish companies the opportunity to compete directly online with international competitors. However, most of the research and development has focused on the online applications for the tourists or the digital platforms that bring the tourist product information for the tourists (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö b, 2019;
Dickinson et al., 2017).
Online channels are becoming common in everyday use for everyone and the entrepreneurs as well.
There is a need to understand how entrepreneurs communicate with their business network (Kuhn,
Galloway and Collins-Williams, 2016). As we live in 2021, research on online networking methods in tourism companies is still lacking. This thesis aims to fill this research gap and to find out how and why entrepreneurs are mixing online and offline communication methods in their business networking. Both online and offline perspectives are looked at to add more understanding of business networking for Finnish tourism entrepreneurs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the Finnish tourism business as it has on the whole world.
The situation has continued to develop since March 2020 (Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, 2020). The main topic of the research is the business networking of tourism entrepreneurs. As the tourism industry is one of the biggest that has been affected by the pandemic situation, the thesis research will shed light on how it has affected the interviewed entrepreneurs and their business networking habits.
1.2. Research question
This thesis research aims to understand how Finnish tourism entrepreneurs use online and offline possibilities to grow and maintain their business relationships. The qualitative study deepens the knowledge of how and why entrepreneurs choose their methods for business networking.
The tourism companies are looked at mainly through their business networks. The business network includes other entrepreneurs, associations, and other actors in their business networks. The research on this thesis does not focus on the networks between tourists.
The effects of the COVID-19 are also included in the research. The pandemic situation has had a lot of impact on the tourism industry, and it could not be ignored as a perspective at this time. Based on these entrepreneurs' interviews, the thesis also aims to shed light on how these tourism companies have been affected by the situation.
Research questions:
1. How tourism entrepreneurs mix online and offline business networking methods?
2. Why the entrepreneurs choose online or offline method to communicate with their business network?
3. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected tourism entrepreneurs’ business networking methods?
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review will first look at the business networking studies. The definition of business networking will be established, and the phenomena discussed. The literature review will continue with the weak and strong tie concept regarding relationships. The tourism business networking will be looked at more closely. The last part of the literature review focuses on the online and offline business networking methods.
2.1. Network theory
Networking is a crucial part of the entrepreneurial process (Jack et al., 2010). The success of the company can be affected by its possibility to get resources it does not possess, and networking can help the company to achieve these resources. Networking can help the company to grow and survive better (Watson, 2007). Networking offers access to the information and the potential the company would not be able to achieve without a relationship with the other actors (Shu, Ren and Zheng, 2018).
There is no one set definition for the term network. The network can be seen as a separate entity itself, something even more significant than the sum of its members. Another way to look at the networks is the focus on the process. To look at networking rather than focus on the network as its own organization. Networks are formed from the combined ties between their members (Jack et al., 2010).
A business network is an entity where the companies are connected through different relationships.
Every company has its human resources and history. The business relationships are the sum of the past interactions that the companies or people have with each other (Håkansson and Ford, 2002). The network can also be defined as exchanges between individuals. The networks have traditionally consisted mostly of groups in the same geographical area. Thanks to the new online possibilities such as digitalization and social media, they can also include online groups (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
The networks affect the company, and the company can affect its network and its partners. The company is a sum of its relationships. The network relationship has no value if the partners do not influence each other in some manner. The relationship development in a business network is continuously moving and shaping the actors in its network. No one company can use only its resources to satisfy customer demands. The business relationships are a tool for the company, but at the same time, the relationships themselves can develop the company. The companies react to each other and shape their interaction based on each other’s behavior (Håkansson and Ford, 2002).
In their paper, Holmlund and Törnroos (1997) showed the network relationships as a process. The content of the network is determined by how much both parties in it take time and resources to grow the relationship. The development of the network relationship is shaped by how much the companies invest in themselves and into the relationship between them. The network gives new possibilities for companies. Simultaneously, it can also be restrictive as an important co-dependent relationship can hinder the change in one company. The company is in a relationship with another one, and that relationship may determine how much the company can change. If the companies have invested much time, human and other resources in working together, then the changes in one company will change the relationship in the network (Håkansson and Ford, 2002).
The network consists of all the relationships the companies and the actors have with each other. All the companies have their motivations and ambitions inside the network. The change in the network position takes time and commitment. The company can use its network relationships to learn about its resources and those available in the networks. The company can try to understand their position and the position of the others in the network (Håkansson and Ford, 2002).
The companies create value for each other by working with a common interest. Mutual commitment is vital in creating and continuing value creation. The coordination actions can include the other parties in addition to the main actors. All the companies are part of their business networks. They can work with other companies in a mutually beneficial manner. These mutually existing relationships may not be focused on specific business sectors or regions (Holm, Eriksson and Johanson, 1999).
Entrepreneurial networks are an essential resource for the business. The networks offer new information, enhance ideas, give emotional support, and attain new business resources (Skokic, Lynch and Morrison, 2019). The aim of a business relationship is to achieve value for both parties. The development of the business relationship can increase the value it provides to the companies. Building a deep connection with a business partner takes time and commitment by both partners in the relationship. It is seen that it is easier to create a meaningful business relationship with someone with whom one has already shared history or connection (Holm, Eriksson and Johanson, 1999).
Networking is an entrepreneurial act and helps entrepreneurs to manage uncertainty. When the entrepreneur networks with new contacts, they have no way of knowing who or when someone will provide the needed resource or information. Networking is used to find out the right people for the
right resources. In the beginning, the entrepreneur forms new ties to cast a wide net to get needed social resources for innovation and growth (Engel, Kaandorp and Elfring, 2017).
One of the most significant values of networking is the resources it provides for the company. Jack et al. (2010, p. 333) found out that the resources are not the only benefit the entrepreneur gains from networking. They state: “what seems to make the ‘net’ work is the interactions and these are based on social factors; affinity, shared attitudes and trust”. According to their finding the networking at its core is a social process. The starting reason for networking comes from needing lacking resources. The main value comes from the mutuality and the interactions between the actors.
The entrepreneurs use their social networks less at the start of the business. At that time, the entrepreneurs look for informal and strong ties more for moral support than other resources. The weak ties, such as officials, provide knowledge that the entrepreneurs would not get otherwise. When the company grows and becomes more stable, the entrepreneurs start to access the weak ties more often.
The process is dynamic. As the business changes and grows from the start, so does the need for resources (Teixeira et al., 2019).
2.1.1 The classification of ties
The strong and weak tie definition for relationships is a known classification in network studies. They are used to define the different kinds of relationships. The term tie in this context refers to the relationship between two people (Jack, 2005). The concept was introduced by Granovetter (1973) in his paper ‘The strength of weak ties’ and has since been widely used. In this thesis, the notion of strong and weak ties will be used to refer to the difference between relationships in the network.
The tie between two people is shaped by how much they interact with each other. A strong tie between parties requires more time and commitment compared to a weaker tie. The strong ties are long-lasting.
The people who have a strong tie together are usually somewhat similar to one another. A strong tie is formed by people who know each other and meet frequently. The weak tie refers to the relationships that people have, which are less linked. The weak tie classification is used for the relationships in which one does not know another so well, such as acquaintances. The weak ties are important to get new ideas and information. They give insight to the world beyond his own circle and help find new opportunities (Granovetter, 1973).
The entrepreneur can gain different benefits from both strong and weak ties (Kuhn, Galloway and Collins-Williams, 2016). Jack (2005) studied the strong and weak ties in an entrepreneurial context. Their results found that the meeting frequency with strong ties was not always necessary for the relationship to be considered strong. The entrepreneur could also have people waiting on their network and to be used when needed. The strong ties can be used to get resources and new information. In this study, the weak ties were seen to be used by initiating contact through strong ties. Strong ties such as family or friends can have a restrictive effect on the business if they cause tensions between individuals.
Another way to categorize different network relationships is the notion of formal and informal ties. The formal networks are the relationships with other businesses and governmental associations. The informal networks refer to the family and personal relationships of the entrepreneur (Littunen, 2000).
The informal networks can also have a lot to offer for the business. The informal networks of the entrepreneur usually work by exchanging favors (Skokic, Lynch and Morrison, 2019). However, informal networks can also work against themselves, as they can lack diversity (Jack, 2005). This classification of formal and informal relationships will be used in this thesis to differentiate between relationships.
Gloor et al. (2016) defined the difference between real-world and online ties. Purely offline ties are stronger than online ties. The actors have usually met in the real world, and regardless of the strength of the tie, the person remembers the other person. The online ties can consist of the friends of an acquaintance or people the person has never met. On the online social media platform, online ties can be created easily by connecting with one another. The online tie can be an indicator of the real-world tie as well or its relationship. This classification works well for the aim of this thesis. The point is to look at the difference between online and offline interaction.
2.1.2 Tourism business networking
The tourism companies often have scarce resources and no hierarchy or control mechanisms. Business networking is a crucial part of the survival of tourism companies. Networks can help to improve innovation and knowledge gathering. Networks help cooperation between different actors, which is characteristic for the tourism companies (Booyens and Rogerson, 2017; Lemmetyinen and Go, 2009).
Tourism consumption has changed to become more specialized and segmented. The networks help small and medium-sized tourism companies together to offer the visitors specific tourism experiences (Novelli, Schmitz and Spencer, 2006).
The cooperation between tourism companies is an essential part of destination building. The tourism destination development is improved when the actors are willing and can collaborate with each other (Buffa, Beritelli and Martini, 2019). Different businesses are organizing different aspects of tourist products. The cooperation between the entrepreneurs is crucial to be able to offer different activities as part of the tourist product. The cooperation can happen between the entrepreneurs or via a broader destination association. Cooperation can include all kinds of collaborative alliances that interact with each other towards a common goal (Czernek-Marszałek, 2018).
The cooperative Healthy Lifestyle Tourism Cluster in the United Kingdom was researched on how it benefitted its network members. The researchers found that the cooperative alliances have helped the companies improve their service quality, become more involved in the local events, and get better business referrals. The companies had more visibility from the cooperative. For the new companies, the cooperative offered market information and ideas on how to improve the value chain (Novelli, Schmitz and Spencer, 2006).
The cooperatives in the tourism sector are important, and in addition to the network actors, they can add value to the whole tourism experience. The cooperative is not static but a constantly changing process that connects different actors. The actors in the network are also competitors, which can cause issues with trust or social capital. It is especially valid for local operators. These affect the company’s wanting to work together on long-term benefits. The cooperative can increase the willingness to network and actively work together. The cooperation boosts innovation and helps the company to improve its business (Novelli, Schmitz and Spencer, 2006).
Networking plays a crucial part in tourism innovation. According to one definition, tourism is a complex system of connected networks that give access to knowledge. Tourism learning and innovation happen through the networks. Research done on Western Cape tourism companies found many interesting points regarding tourism networks and innovation. Innovation in tourism companies can happen informally. It can happen in the company itself. The tourism companies benefit from networking outside of their sector. The most novel innovations happen when they have access to outside knowledge. Formal network connections important for business and innovation. The study results suggest that local networking is valuable for business, but the best ground for new innovations comes from those networks that are further from the company (Booyens and Rogerson, 2017).
Sharing a project to develop new innovative products is a way to strengthen the relationships between different actors. The shared experience in a project can help the relationship development between the private tourism companies and the governmental offices. When the company participates in a project, they help to influence their relationships with the whole community. The relationships developed in a shared project can help create business network relationships with the actors outside of the project (Buffa, Beritelli and Martini, 2019).
The social network of the entrepreneur can help them to discover the right opportunities. The entrepreneur can work as an agent in building their networks. Shu, Ren and Zheng (2018) proposed that the entrepreneur network capability consists of network orientation, network building, network maintenance, and network coordination. The network orientation refers to the level the entrepreneur depends on the social network in their daily activities. The network building consists of the activities the entrepreneur makes to enhance and largen their social network. Network maintenance refers to the skill of maintaining network relationships.
The coordination of the business network requires abilities from the entrepreneur in charge. Network coordination capability comes from being able to maintain multiple network relationships at the same time. The entrepreneur needs to understand what resources from which partner they can get from their network to be able to use them. Combining the information from the different sources can become a competitive advantage for the entrepreneur (Shu, Ren and Zheng, 2018). Lemmetyinen and Go (2009) found out that it is also true for cooperative networks. One of the key capabilities is to be able to vision and orchestrate the business network to increase its commitment to the brand. The cooperation coordination in the network is enhanced when the actors create shared knowledge and an environment for learning. After the cooperation has ended, the actors need to see the value in partnership to continue to work together to achieve benefits.
2.2. Online and offline networking channels
Offline business networking is the traditional way of meeting new people and growing and developing the network. It is done without the help of digital possibilities (Mitchell, Schlegelmilch and Mone, 2016).
In this thesis, offline business networking is used to refer to all the various ways of meeting people and communicating with them that is done in the physical world. This includes activities such as meeting face-to-face in live events.
Events as a way for business networking
The event industry for business networking is growing simultaneously as digital enhancements offer new solutions for business networking. Business events have been the best way to meet new business contacts and have been used for business networking a lot before online possibilities. The meeting in person always includes interaction between the participants. Meeting others face to face gives the possibility to talk and socialize with other people. It fulfils one of the basic human need for social interaction (Kitchen, 2016; Mitchell, Schlegelmilch and Mone, 2016).
The companies can use events for their internal or external networking. Whichever the case, the individual often decides for themselves if they attend the event or not. A part of the value in the real- life events is that the participants co-create the value in the event for themselves (Mitchell, Schlegelmilch and Mone, 2016). The business events can give a sense of the community for the individual. When the individual attends the same event every year, they can feel like they belong to the group. The feeling of the shared community in the event affects the individual’s observation of the event and the eagerness to come back to the event (Kitchen, 2016).
The individual gains personal value in addition to professional development when they attend the business networking event. The professional benefit comes from learning and seeing how others do business differently. The business networking events give the possibility for innovation value by giving access to the new information and seeing the latest trends. Meeting the people and the potential new partners gives value to the attendee. When meeting the person, they have the benefit of knowing the other person more. The business networking events can also produce emotional and hedonic value for the participants (Mitchell, Schlegelmilch and Mone, 2016).
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed travel and at the same time affected the event industry. When the face- to-face interactions became rarer, the event industry had to switch to online channels. The change from the traditional meetings happened fast, and the people had to react quickly. The virtual meetings are helping to maintain business relationships until it is time for traveling again. As the pandemic affects everyone around the globe, the need for exchanging knowledge is essential. It might be that the hybrid events that combine digital and real-world interaction are becoming the standard in the event industry.
However, the value of the real-life meetings is seen to remain (BBC, n.d).
Online business networking
The online possibilities for business networking have been researched in the tourism business. However, most of the previous research focuses on the interaction between the company and the tourists. The digitalization possibilities are numerous, but one of the biggest is social media. Virtual communities between tourists and social media are an important part of the tourism experience. For example, mobile devices bring strangers together in the same destination and connect to the social network. The online possibilities help the tourist to find information, connect, and interact with each other. Mobile applications can enhance tourism experience of the visitors (Dickinson et al., 2017; Lee, and Hallak, 2020). However, business networking in the online context in the tourism industry has been left much less attention. In this thesis, the online and offline contexts will be looked at to gain an understanding of how tourism entrepreneurs combine different business networking methods.
Digitalization and social media networks have created new opportunities in the business world. As networking and relationship building has become easier, has it become more nuanced at the same time.
The online possibilities have changed the type of network ties and have made room for new network types (Quinton and Wilson, 2016). Social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have changed the communication between entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can interact with their formal and informal networks online (Smith, Smith, and Shaw, 2017). Facebook has been the most researched social media in the previous academic literature on social media channels (Olanrewaju et al., 2020). The entrepreneurs can use online channels to build relationships and gain resources such as information and support (Kuhn, Galloway and Collins-Williams, 2016).
The business relationships that are created through a shared connection on social media are valuable.
The social media networks seem to be especially relevant for finding and starting new business relationships (Quinton and Wilson, 2016). Entrepreneurs can get knowledge and resources through the relationships gained through online networking. The relationships can be maintained through online or offline interactions. The online network of the entrepreneur can offer a competitive advantage as each of the networks are unique, complex relationship webs (Sigfusson and Chetty, 2013).
Hardwick, Cruickshank, and Anderson (2012) studied innovation between small businesses and their customers. They found out that online communication is used as an initial place to start a networking relationship. Online and offline communication was seen to work together when the relationship developed. When the company and the customers started to proceed with their collaboration, face-to-
face meetings were preferred. The virtual meetings were a second choice if there were obstacles such as a long-distance between the parties. The study highlighted that personal contacts were important in creating a technical foundation for the network relationship.
Entrepreneurs can gain resources from their business network. The entrepreneurs can gain knowledge from their peers and sometimes even prefer gaining advice from their peers rather than professionals.
Online platforms and social media are useful places to seek advice from peers (Kuhn, Galloway and Collins-Williams, 2016).
Sigfusson and Chetty (2013) researched Icelandic international software entrepreneurs and how they developed their relationship on the social networking site LinkedIn. The social networking sites online are a good place for entrepreneurs to showcase their network size and strength. The study found out that the entrepreneurs who had online connections saw the relationships as a part of their network portfolio. They were not focused on the single relationship but instead looked at it as a specific connection for a particular industry. The entrepreneur can connect with potential international partners by using online networking tools. They can use the shared online network to be part of the needed network at abroad.
2.2.1 Social media networking
The main body of academic research on the use of social media and entrepreneurs has been focusing on social media use and marketing. Only in recent years, the other viewpoints such as networking for entrepreneurs have entered the academic research about social media. Entrepreneurs use social media to start relationships and strengthen and expand their business network (Olanrewaju et al., 2020).
Social media network participation is a way to develop a business network relationship. The study was done on wine professionals, and their LinkedIn behavior created a model of how taking part in social media networks can enhance business performance, see Figure 1 (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
FIGURE 1. Model of how social media networks contribute to business performance enhancement (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
The unselfish helping of others and sharing information was seen in LinkedIn exchanges on wine professionals as behavior exhibited on social media networks. Online networking sites give the possibility for the new networks to appear. In the study, both strong and weak ties were found. However, the weak ties were much more significant in amount even in one business sector. Social media networking helped trust to build between potential business partners. Belonging in the same social media professional group helped the feeling of trust between professionals. This can help shorten the time the relationship takes time to build (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
A network that was built on many weak ties can take much time to manage. The online business network with many weak ties can include irrelevant contacts in addition to useful ones. The irrelevant contacts could be strangers and take much more time than their value. A real-life meeting in a conference, for example was an essential part of strengthening weak ties. A benefit with weak ties was seen on the possibility to discuss new ideas freely without the fear of someone taking over the idea. The weak ties can be the beginning of the strong ties as the connection in the online network the initial trust between the actors (Sigfusson and Chetty, 2013).
Taking part in social media business network creates trust between the members even all over the world.
The trustfulness of the contacts is evaluated by their online profile and the content they post on the social media networking site. The networking site itself is seen as a trustful space and acts as a first
screening process for the new contact. The content posted is viewed by how useful it is to the viewer and its knowledge. This all gives information that can speed up the start of a relationship with weak ties.
The social business network participants bring value to the network, and information is shared without agenda. The sharing of information is reciprocal (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
The motive behind participating in social media networking sites can be strategical to enhance the network. The other reasons for network creation can include searching for new information or growing the business. Emergent networks that come from growing the network through weak ties can also start a new business relationship (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
The social networking sites such as LinkedIn can work as a starting point of a business relationship. If the relationship evolves, it can be moved to other communication modes or to a meeting. Transactional or relational relationships can be useful on social networking sites. Networking on social media can help the business performance with new information, co-creation of new business ventures, and new business contacts (Quinton and Wilson, 2016).
Social networking sites have been found to help entrepreneurs broaden their network in ways that would take the time or be harder in face-to-face communication. In social networking sites, they can make connections that would require many resources in the offline world. It is easier to find common interests online and by that strengthen the weaker ties to stronger ones. Taking care of strong relationships can be made easier by using online channels (Smith, Smith, and Shaw, 2017).
Gloor et al. (2016) offered a different perspective on their research. Their study that multiple online social networking ties do not help entrepreneurial success. They concluded that online relationships are only as valuable as the offline relationship that it stems from. They argue that increasing the number of weak ties on online social media platforms does not provide the same value for entrepreneurial success as weak offline ties. It is common to add as many friends or connections on Facebook and LinkedIn as possible. The researchers estimated that collecting connections can be the entrepreneur’s way to show their popularity.
The weak tie relationships can add to the social capital of the entrepreneurs (Sigfusson and Chetty, 2013). Lee and Hallak (2020) studied tourism entrepreneurs in New Zealand and how they develop their social capital in offline and online methods. In their research, they divided the entrepreneurs into three different sectors. Active Online Networkers gained a lot of social capital from their networks that were built on online networking platforms. In-Person Networkers build their connections in face-to-face
meetings and prefer strong ties. They are do not take much advantage of the possibilities in online networking. Less Engaged Networkers had the lowest levels of social capital from online platforms or face-to-face meetings. Less Engaged Networkers were the biggest group of entrepreneurs.
The social capital was also looked at regarding the tourism company’s performance. The research results showed that the Less Engaged Networkers reported lower performance outlooks compared to the others. The social capital built through online engagement showed to have positive results for the tourism company’s business performance. The less engaged hindered their possibilities of finding a competitive advantage, which lessened their performance (Lee and Hallak, 2020).
Social capital from online platforms can be used as a marketing tool for entrepreneurs. The most significant difference for Active Online Networkers was the higher future sales forecasts. In this study, tourism entrepreneurs focused on using online tools to find out more about their customers and personalize marketing. In this study on New Zealand entrepreneurs, those that were less engaged in online methods were older than those who were more active on online platforms (Lee and Hallak, 2020).
2.3. Theoretical framework
The main theoretical framework for this thesis comes from business networking. The previous academic literature review focused on business networking. Business networking is vital for tourism entrepreneurs, and the previous research on tourism networking was looked at more closely in the literature review.
Online and offline business networking methods were presented. The online communication method for business networking was presented more extensively compared to offline to enhance the understanding of the previous research on the topic.
The business network can be seen as a changing process that is determined by how much all parties take resources to develop the relationship (Holmlund and Törnroos, 1997). In small tourism companies, business networks are essential because they help the company offer its customers the best product.
Small companies often lack the resources to do that on their own (Novelli, Schmitz and Spencer, 2006).
Business networking can help the company to gain more resources. It can help the company perform better and offer many different benefits. The business network can consist of formal and informal relationships (Watson, 2007). The entrepreneur can use strong and weak ties in their business network for different benefits (Jack, 2005).
The two frameworks below will help to understand how the entrepreneurs communicate with their business network. By examining the use of networking communication methods, the researcher will be
able to understand better why entrepreneurs choose specific channels and how COVID-19 pandemic time might have affected that behavior. The first framework will help to understand different business network relationships and categorize them and their benefits. The second framework will help to understand business network behavior on social media. Figure 2 summarizes the theoretical framework for the business network relationship that is based on the previous literature.
FIGURE 2. Theoretical framework for business network relationship
Quinton and Wilson (2016) have created a model of how social media networks contribute to business performance enhancement. In this thesis, the adapted model is used to look closer to the business networking behavior on social media. Figure 3 below presents the adapted framework of Quinton and Wilson’s model business networking on social media. It allows to look deeper into the actions the entrepreneurs have on social media for business networking.
The framework includes four different parts. Behaviors in online business networks different actions taken in the social media platform. The networking opportunities include strategic and emergent business networking behavior. The relationship type describes if the relationships on social media are more relational or strategic. The enhancement for business is the value the entrepreneur gains from the interactions with network members.
FIGURE 3. Business networking on social media (adapted from Quinton and Wilson (2016) model).
Relationship type Tie strength Networking
benefits
Behaviors in online business networks
Networking opportunities
Relationship type
Enhancement for business
3. METHODOLOGY
This chapter focuses on the research methodology and the reasoning behind it. The process of data collection will be explained, and the case companies introduced. After that, the data analysis for the thesis will be covered. The last part of this chapter will look at the research evaluation.
3.1. Research methodology
Quantitative and qualitative are the two main different research methods. They both have their place in business research. Quantitative research focuses on statistical knowledge and more generalizable results. Qualitative research is more concerned with interpretation. Qualitative research focuses on how and why specific things work the way they do. It gives an understanding of how we can make sense of things in their context (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008).
Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008) have described the nature of qualitative research as a moving and changing process. It is common that changes can happen during the research process. Even if there can be changes during the research, it is useful to start planning the research design at the beginning. This also happened during the research process for this thesis. The first version of this thesis focused more on retail business networking in the internationalization context rather than tourism business networking. The online networking possibilities were fascinating to the research, and that is why retail online business networking was chosen as the first idea for the thesis. As the thesis progressed, it became clear that the retail sector was not the most convenient for thesis research. Finding the right companies for data gathering was hard. It was challenging to gain access to the right people for the interviews. The groundwork was already done, but the thesis process did not move forward.
The interest in online business networking continued, and it was time to think about how to change the thesis topic. When the tourism point of view came up, the thesis started to make sense again and move forward. The tourism business perspective was chosen because access to information was easier and in the researcher's interest.
The qualitative research method allows one to gain context-specific knowledge of human decisions and actions. The context sheds light on why people act the way they do. Having conversations with people is an excellent way to gain more understanding (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). The researcher concluded that the qualitative analysis was the most suitable method for the research as it gives a more comprehensive view of the issue. The research questions “How tourism entrepreneurs mix online and
offline business networking methods?” and “Why the entrepreneurs choose online or offline method to communicate with their business network?” are explored with the situation-specific understanding. The qualitative research method was also appropriate for the COVID-19 aspect to add knowledge of how tourism entrepreneurs have felt the situation rather than focus on a statistical view.
There are multiple research methods for qualitative research. The research questions are one of the bases on which to choose the research method for the research (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). The research questions in this thesis are “how” and “why” questions and aim to explain the present circumstances on business networking methods on tourism companies. The case study research method provides a way to answer the research questions of the thesis. The case study as a research method allows to look at the case and still have a holistic view at the same time. It gives the possibility to provide empirical insights into theoretical concepts and analytical generalization (Yin, 2014). The research questions can change during the research process. It is useful if the research question is set at the beginning of the case study, but the nature of the case study makes it tentative (Eisenhardt, 1989). This also happened during the process of this study. The research question was shaped during the research and became more focused. When analyzing the findings after the interviews, it became clear that all the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism companies could not be included in the research question in the context of this thesis. The research question would have become too big. This is how research question three found its right shape and was connected to the main research questions. The final third research question is “How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected tourism entrepreneurs’ business networking methods?”.
Most of the Finnish tourism companies are small. The majority of them are micro-sized enterprises and employ less than ten people (Business Finland, 2019; Työ- ja Elinkeinoministeriö c, 2019). For that reason, all the tourism companies chosen for the research are small and employ less than five people. The entrepreneur is in charge of the daily activities in small companies, and it can be hard to separate the entrepreneur’s personal actions from the business actions. The focus of the research is on entrepreneurs and their business networking habits. The use of online and offline channels is looked with a business networking perspective.
The aim of the case study is to get to know the specifics in one setting (Eisenhardt, 1989). Business research is often tied to practical issues and real-life situations, and this had made the case study popular in business research (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). The case study method has been criticized for lacking scientific rigor. As with other research forms, the researcher must follow systematic
procedures in the process (Yin, 2014). The researcher has aimed to be as transparent as possible in the research process to show the justifications behind her choices. The interviewed entrepreneurs were chosen because they are part of the phenomena studied and provided insights into their situation.
The case study is possible to carry out as a single- or multiple-case study. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. In his book, Yin (2014) states that if possible, the use of multiple case study as it gives more information. The decision on which approach to use needs to be made before the start of the data collection. A single case study is appropriate when the case is unusual or revelatory.
Multiple case study includes more than one set of cases. The benefit of the multiple case study is that there is more evidence, and the study is seen as stronger (Yin, 2014) and allows for within-case and cross-case comparison (Eisenhardt, 1989). The research on this thesis is conducted as a multiple case study on four tourism companies. The decision was made to include two activity entrepreneurs and two accommodation entrepreneurs to provide a fuller understanding of the business networking methods.
In line with Eisenhardt (1989) this would also allow for cross-case comparisons during data analysis.
3.2. Data collection
It is common to collect empirical data in qualitative business research. The researcher can use primary and secondary data in the analysis. The primary data is the information the researcher collects, and the secondary data refers to the data that is already existing without influence from the researcher. The data used in qualitative research can include information such as conversations, documents, or video format (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). In the case study research, it is possible to collect data from multiple different sources of evidence. The data can be qualitative or quantitative or the combination of both (Eisenhardt, 1989). The data used in this research are interviews and secondary documentation. All the data is qualitative in nature. With interviews, the researcher must remember that the responses can be affected by bias or poor articulation (Yin, 2014). The researcher came to understand her own bias during the first interview. She had to consciously let go of her expectation of what answers should be and let the entrepreneurs speak freely. The researcher also noticed that when referring to online business networking, the entrepreneurs talked about digital marketing. The researcher aimed to lessen this bias by making the definition of business networking clear to the interviewed entrepreneurs.
The process of changing the thesis topic was described above. One of the reasons the topic of the thesis was changed to tourism entrepreneurs was easier access to the case companies. At the beginning of the data collection, there was a thought to limit the companies to the Savo area. After doing research
about the small tourism companies in the area, that limitation was changed. When contacting the companies, the researcher looked for the companies with social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram pages to see that they already had some online use.
With these criteria, the region limitation was changed to the Lakeland area. This definition was chosen because the Finnish Lakeland is one of the landscape regions in Finland. Lakeland is also the term used by Visit Finland to promote the area. It covers the area from the Saimaa region to the Tampere region to the Kainuu region and the municipalities and cities in between (Visit Finland a, 2020). The search tool for international tourists provided by Visit Finland was used to find suitable companies to take part in the interview (Visit Finland b, 2020). Before finding this research tool, the researcher had noticed that finding suitable small tourism companies was surprisingly difficult using the Google search engine.
The data used in this thesis was collected with semi-structured interviews with four tourism entrepreneurs. A semi-structured interview is conversational, but the researcher aims to get specific information to answer the research question. The goal is to understand the meanings the interviewees give to issues and how they interpret them (Tuomi and Sarajärvi, 2018). The semi-structured interview style was selected as it gives the possibility to react to what the interviewee says and ask for more information or clarification. Consistent with Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008), the topic and themes in the interview were planned in advance, but the order of the questions and the specific wordings were changed depending on how the interview progressed.
The researcher felt that the semi-structured interview was the right choice. The list of the interview questions can be found in Appendix 1 at the end of the thesis. As the entrepreneurs used online business networking methods very differently, it was important to be able to dig deeper when needed. The researched had not anticipated all the different possibilities. It was useful to ask interviewed persons to define some points to get a clearer understanding. The interviews' questions naturally proceeded in a different order and the semi-structured interview method allowed for flexibility.
The interviews with the tourism entrepreneurs were conducted between 23rd October 2020 and 26th November 2020. The first interview was transcribed a month before the fourth interview was conducted.
It means that the data analysis and data collection were done at the same time. As Eisenhardt (1989) has noted, simultaneously collecting and analyzing data gave the researcher the possibility to start analyzing the data straight away and be flexible with the data collection. In this study, the main interview
questions were not altered after the first interview as the researcher felt it already covered all the critical points.
The details of the tourism companies and the name of the interviewed person are not revealed to guarantee confidentiality for the interviewees. The main reason for the confidentiality was to help the respondents to feel more comfortable to talk about how the COVID-19 situation has affected their business and business networking behavior. Table 1 describes information about each of the interviewed entrepreneurs, and the next chapter will give more information about the case companies.
Services Customer base
Interview length
Secondary data
Entrepreneur A Horseback riding activity, peat and herb treatments
Finnish 1 hour 59 minutes
- Company webpage - public LinkedIn page of entrepreneur
- Facebook page of the company
Entrepreneur B Guided nature tours activity
Finnish/
international 58 minutes
- Company webpage - public LinkedIn page of entrepreneur
- Facebook page of the company
Entrepreneur C Accommodation, guided nature tours, and creative activities
International/
Finnish
1 hour 7 minutes
- Company webpage - public LinkedIn page of entrepreneur
- Facebook page of the company
Entrepreneur D Accommodation, escape games, yoga, and nature activities
Finnish/
international 55 minutes
- Company webpage - Facebook page of the company
TABLE 1. Table of the details of the entrepreneurs and interviews 3.3. Case companies
The company of entrepreneur A is an activity-based tourism company. She offers horseback riding with Finnish horses. The riding activities include, for example, hikes in nature, horse as friend services, and services for those who have not ridden before. In addition to the horse-riding activities, the company offers peat treatments and massages, and products related to wild herbs. Before starting her own business, she had worked in other tourism companies in different areas. She had also worked in different fields before her own business. Her company has operated for two years. The customer base has been
mostly Finnish so far. It is a goal of the entrepreneur to also get a more international customer base in the future. She sometimes works with other entrepreneurs to offer combined services, but she works alone in her company.
Entrepreneur B has developed his career in the business sector. He has worked in the global IT industry and had his own accounting company. After his retirement, he started to work with his spouse in an activity tourism company. Their company has operated for ten years and offers activities in nature and national park area. Their products include activities such as canoeing trips guided tours in nature. The customer base of the company is a mixture of domestic, corporate, and international customers. The company has been active in starting a tourism cooperative in their area, and entrepreneur B is active in that cooperative. The company does not employ other people besides the entrepreneur and their spouse.
The company of entrepreneur C has a rental cottage, and they also offer activities for its customers. It is a family business, but entrepreneur C is the most active at the moment. She has retired from her career as a journalist and now is focused on the tourism company. The company has operated for ten years. They have their nature routes in the cottage area. Most of the customer base has been international from the start of the business. The family members sometimes take part in the company's operations, but they are not formally employed. The other family members take part in the operations only when they can. Entrepreneur C is the most responsible for the company.
The company of entrepreneur D is a family business, and she started as an entrepreneur two years ago.
Her grandfather and grandmother started the business 20 years ago. Their main products are accommodation in the bigger main building and the smaller rooms. In addition to the accommodation, they offer activities such as escape room games in the forest, snowshoe walking, and yoga holidays.
They also host small events at the location. The company employs two other people besides her, and sometimes the family members also work for the company.
3.4. Data analysis
The research interviews with tourism were conducted in Finnish. As the interviewer and the interviewee were both Finnish, it felt the most comfortable option. Microsoft Teams software was used to record the interviews. Analyzing results was done in Finnish. After conducting the interviews, the researcher transcribed the Finnish interviews to the text format to help with analyzing the data. The transcribing is time-consuming but helps to familiarize with the data. Even though the interviews were videotaped, the
transcription included only the spoken words during the interview. For the purpose of this thesis, there was no need to include the behaviors of the participants. The organizing and all the attempts to label the data already included an interpretation of material (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). The analyzing process started with looking at the data and starting to play with it. Yin (2014) described that as a good place to start the analysis in a case study research.
In addition to the primary interview data, the researcher looked at secondary data about tourism companies. The secondary data included the company webpage and the Facebook pages of the company. The list of secondary data used for each of the interviewed entrepreneurs is included in table 1 above. The Facebook pages were chosen as the secondary source as the entrepreneurs had said in the interviews that they use Facebook for business networking more than Instagram. The researcher also looked at the public LinkedIn pages of the interviewed entrepreneurs who had an account.
The interview data was coded in themes. The coding consisted of organizing the transcripts and finding the patterns from them. In accordance with the thematic coding description from Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008), the researcher looked for the themes, issues, and categories that arose from the data.
The thematic topics included business networking, online and offline methods, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The data analysis in this thesis followed the process described by Yin (2014) and Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008). The multiple case study method often includes a cross-case analysis of separate cases. The analysis started with within-case analysis, as is common with the multiple case study method. The with- in case analysis looked first at each of the cases as separate. When each of the cases was looked at separately, the cross-case analysis was used to find the similarities and differences between them.
The excerpts from the interviews which were selected for the findings part were carefully translated from Finnish to English. In the translation process, the spoken language is formalized slightly to enhance the understanding of the quotes. The researcher considered the Finnish context when translating to ensure the translations are as close to the original as possible.
3.5. Research evaluation
All the research aims to avoid errors, and for that reason, the research needs to be evaluated. The trustworthiness of qualitative research can be assessed by the research’s reliability and validity (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008). The concepts of reliability and validity have been criticized as concepts to evaluate qualitative research because some have felt they are more suitable for quantitative research (Tuomi and Sarajärvi, 2018).
One of the ways of assessing the quality of qualitative research is the rigor of the research. The term refers to the precision in the research process (Farquhar, 2012). Yin (2014) offers four tests to use to evaluate the quality of the case study. These are based on the most used concepts of validity and reliability. These four tests include construct, internal and external validity, and reliability.
The test of construct validity looks if the case study has researched what it claims to research (Farquhar, 2012). Construct validity is concerned with if the study has identified the right operational measures for the issues in the research. The research can improve construct validity by using multiple data sources and show a clear chain of evidence to help the reader follow the study process (Yin, 2014). Construct validity was increased in this thesis research by using rich primary data interviews and supplementing it with secondary data from public social media pages of the entrepreneurs. The researcher has also clearly described the thesis process from the beginning and included the change of the topic. This is done to show how the research process has changed and progressed. The data analysis process was described above to give a reader a clear understanding of how it was done.
Internal validity is used when looking at the causal relationships in a case study. That is not applicable in this study. The test of external validity is concerned with the generalization of the research results.
For the case study research, the generalization refers to analytical generalization. External validity can be increased by using “how” and “why” research questions to help with analytical generalization (Yin, 2014). The research questions of the thesis are “how” and “why” questions. The use of multiple cases in the research gave the possibility to the replication of the results. The findings were connected to the previous theory to understand what is similar and what new in the findings.
The fourth test for the case study quality is the test of reliability. The reliability looks at the consistency of the data. The main question with the reliability is that if a researcher would replicate the research, would they get the same findings. Transparency in the research process is vital for reliability (Farquhar, 2012). The documentation of the case study, its protocol, and evidence improve reliability (Yin, 2014).
As with the rigor of the whole research, the researcher has shown the steps of the research process and its design as carefully as possible. The case study, design, and data are documented in the thesis. The excerpts in the findings section are carefully translated from Finnish to English.
4. FINDINGS
This chapter will focus on the findings from the empirical data. The offline business networking methods will be looked at first. It will be followed by how the COVID-19 affected the business networking behavior of the entrepreneurs. Next, the online business networking communication methods will be shown. The part of the chapter will examine the combining of different business networking methods.
4.1. Offline business networking
The first chapter of the research findings will focus on the offline business networking methods the entrepreneurs talked about in their interviews. Table 2 shows the education and the career background of the respondents. The background and the experience of the entrepreneurs are varied. Two are younger and have less experience as a tourism entrepreneur, and two are more experienced. The experienced ones are already retired from their earlier careers and have worked as a tourism entrepreneur longer.
Education background
Career situation Tourism entrepreneur experience Entrepreneur A Vocational Active entrepreneur 2 years Entrepreneur B Master’s
degree
Retired, continues to work as a tourism entrepreneur
+ 10 years
Entrepreneur C Master’s degree
Retired, continues to work as a tourism entrepreneur
+ 10 years
Entrepreneur D Vocational Active entrepreneur 2 years
TABLE 2. The background of the entrepreneurs
All the interviewees agreed that business networking is especially important for tourism entrepreneurs.
They recognized that when providing an exceptional tourist experience, the entrepreneur often needs help from other actors. Business networking provides a way to share experiences with other entrepreneurs and gain new knowledge from them.
“I think the business networks are especially important. – One can always use different perspectives. It is good to question your own decisions, whatever they may be. One can always ask and discuss. In that way, I am really happy with the networks that I have found, and I have created.” – Entrepreneur D
