Theoretical Foundation: The Pillars that the Research Stands on the Theories Used as a Fundament for the Study
Diffusion of innovations theory
There are many ways in which the concept of a Diffusion of Innovations Theory can be approached from. According to the existing definition, Diffusion of Innovations Theory deals with defining the rates of innovation acceptance within a particular cultural setting towards the efficiency of social network and the rates of technological development within the given culture. In other words, a Diffusion of Innovations Theory is a set of principles and laws that helps define the ways in which “an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” (Rogers, 2010, p. 5).
In the setting of the present-day world, the given definition presupposes that an innovation can only become popular and well recognized once the existing social network system, such as Facebook, is utilized. However, Rogers argues that the Diffusion of Innovations theory can be used not only for commercial purposes, but also for the purposes of educating students. In other words, Rogers makes it obvious that educators must communicate efficiently in the course of the teaching process so that the latter could flow in the most productive way possible. It is imperative to stress that Rogers specifies five key stages of diffusion process, i.e., “knowledge stage, persuasion stage, decision stage, implementation stage, and confirmation stage” (Rogers, 2010, p. 21), therefore, making it easier for teachers to apply Rogers’ postulates to the educational setting.
Seminal source
When it comes to discussing the origins of the theory and the factors that have predetermined its appearance, or, at the very least, played an essential part in the process of theory creation, one must stress that Rogers was basically the first person to push the concept of Diffusion of Innovations into the world of research. Indeed, when it comes to the analysis of the relevant sources that date back to the origins of Rogers’ theory, one will most likely find out that Rogers was, in fact, the very first person who actually suggested that the popularity of innovations has something to do with the social network and communication between the potential customers and the target audience. However, when it comes to picking the work that literally launched numerous researches on the issue, one must give credit to Gabriel Tarde, the person who actually came up with the idea of innovations diffusion (Deleuze, 2004). Despite the fact that Rogers was the first to coin the term, Tarde was the one to create the concept: “Tarde observed certain generalizations about the diffusion of innovations that he called the laws of limitation” (Rogers, 2010, p. 40). That being said, Tarde’s The laws of limitation can be considered the seminal source (Sharma & Sharma, 1997).
Alignment with the research question
The relation of the Diffusion of Innovations theory suggested by Rogers to the given paper is obvious. As the research question concerns the attitudes among teachers towards the use of technological innovations in educational settings, the positive aspects of the technology use in class will help define the reasons for teachers to be eager towards technology use during lessons (White, King & Tsang, 2011).
It is worth mentioning, though, that the study will also revolve around the cases of teachers being unwilling to utilize modern media for academic purposes. In the given case, the theory of Diffusion of Innovations will allow to seek the avenues to overcome the prejudices among reluctant teachers.
The current study and other researches based on the theory
It would be a mistake to consider that the given theory is far too young to have been used in any other research except for the given paper. Quite on the contrary, the Diffusion of Innovations theory has quite a history of being used as the fundament for numerous papers, including the studies conducted in the field of education, business and healthcare. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Diffusion of Innovations concept is well worth being adopted in the given study as well. Of all the studies that used the Diffusion of Innovations theory as their basis, the following studies should be mentioned.
Valente, T. & Davis, R. (1999). Accelerating the diffusion of innovations using opinion leaders. AAPSS, 566(5), p. 55–67
Despite the fact that the authors of the research do not expand the existing theory, but only use it as a basis for their own academic paper, it cannot be denied that the given research makes an efficient use of the theory in question by applying it to educational setting. It is also noteworthy that the authors of the research trace the history of the theory back to its origins, therefore, creating the premises for its modernization and making it clear that, when refurbished, the given theory can be adopted towards modern concerns.
Bowen, C. M., Stanton, M. & Mammo, M. (2012). Using diffusion of innovations theory to implement the confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 27(2), p. 139–145
Another intriguing study, the research by Bowen, Stanton and Mammo allows for a better understanding of the theory of Diffusion of Innovations by putting it into a completely different setting; instead of the traditional learning or business environment, the postulates of the theory under consideration are implemented within the healthcare service setting. The given step opens even more possibilities for researchers, proving that the given theory can be used in a variety of scenarios and serves the purpose of integrating technology and information management within literally any environment.
Of course, the papers written by Rogers must be named among the most prominent researches that utilize the basic postulates of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory ad even expand it to the point where it can be applied to practically any setting, starting from business field and up to the field of teaching. With that in mind, such papers as Diffusion of innovations (Rogers, 1983), Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.) (2010), Communication networks: Toward a new paradigm for research (1981) and many other ones.
That being said, it should still be mentioned that the Diffusion of Innovations theory did not always work right and cannot be used as the silver bullet for literally any teaching purpose. While it is important to understand the power of the modern social media, as well as its influence and the staying power of the news transported with the help of social networks, it is impossible to rely completely on technologies in the process of teaching (Wu, 2012).
The theory and its relevance to the proposed study
As it has been stressed above, the theory of diffusion of innovations can be used in a variety of fields and for a number of purposes, seeing how it enhances the process of knowledge management and makes the procedure of information acquisition, processing and further distribution considerably easier. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Diffusion of Innovations theory has a lot to do with the given research. Indeed, it must be admitted that the present-day technology opens ample opportunities for education. However, by far the most impressive quality of modern technology is that it allows for an almost immediate transfer of vast amounts of data to the remote corners of the world. Seeing how studying presupposes that the students must provided with the relevant information to study and consider, it is imperative that every learner should have an access to the given information, which modern social network provides.
Reference List
Bowen, C. M., Stanton, M. & Mammo, M. (2012). Using diffusion of innovations theory to implement the confusion assessment method for the intensive care unit. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 27(2), p. 139–145.
Deleuze, G. (2004). Difference and repetition. New York, NY: Continuum.
Rogers, E. M. (1981). Communication networks: Toward a new paradigm for research. New York: Free Press.
Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press.
Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.
Rogers, E. M. (2010). Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Sharma, R. K. & Sharma, R. (1997). Social psychology. Mew Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors.
Valente, T. & Davis, R. (1999). Accelerating the diffusion of innovations using opinion leaders. AAPSS, 566(5), p. 55–67.
White, B., King, I. & Tsang, P. (2011). Social media tools and platforms in learning environments. San Francisco, CA: AT&T Lab Research.
Wu, Y. (2012). Advanced technology in teaching: Proceedings of the 2009 3rd international conference on teaching and computational science. New York, NY: Springer.
With the coming of technology, people have discovered that IT applications can be customized to meet their needs. This has led to a high level of innovation that was not there before. With such innovations and making everything accessible through a click of a button, Google Apps is one such application that has made it easier to access any information on handheld computer notebooks.
This report will elaborate on how IT has been essential for business management and the impact it has brought to the society. The approach will be majorly an evaluation of the history of Google Apps and how since innovation it has proved to be essential in the business environment.
IT innovation is one of the key features that have seen business become more workable around the globe. With developing different IT products, it does not only portraying product innovation but also business innovation. Google Apps is one such innovation where business people are able to get business emails, calendars and documents without necessarily sitting in an office.
With Google Apps Innovation, communication among team members has been enhanced hence making business environment more interactive than it was before. A higher level of efficiency has been enhanced since the response to queries in the business environment is quick. With Google Apps data management, expensive and time consuming data storage devices have been avoided since all information is online and accessed as wished by the user (Grove Group, 2011).
Historical review of the topic
Before IT innovation, business communication and collaboration was very manual. In search for a better environment, business owners and employees demanded for a better and faster way to communicate with customers and business partners (Laudon & Laudon, 2011).
This is because they needed an end to walking with address books and day planners written in notebooks. The needed, a break from untraceable business emails that after some time got lost since there was no safe custody of historical email data (Grove Group, 2011). Google Apps came in to answer the queries that business people had.
With Google Apps, companies got a web application that could be customizable to their needs. Through Gmail, Google groups, Calendars, Talk, Docs, Marketplace and Sites, business has become more interactive. Communication to customers and business partners has become faster and better since it can be done across a group within a short time.
Cases or stories related to the topic
With innovation in IT, the business environment is challenged to focus on the services needed by their customers, suppliers, employees and business partners (Laudon & Laudon, 2011). A good example of an innovation similar to Google Apps is in Apple Company. The company has been innovative in introducing successful new products like iPod, iTunes and iPhones to the world of IT (Lindgardt, Reeves, Stalk & Deimler, 2009).
All of those products did not only declare the company a success, but they also enhanced availability of notebooks that could be hand held as compared to the traditional address books and day planners. Music downloads, and information access has been made easier hence enhancing efficiency and convenience to the users. With this kind of innovation and convenient access of information, business has grown to a level higher than where it was before such ideas came to reality.
Notebooks are another innovative communication gadget built for wireless communication and internet access (Laudon & Laudon, 2011). Due to their small size, their portability is high making it easier to serve their purpose. They have been designed to have a higher connectivity to the internet. Their highest computing power coupled with their cheap prices has made internet marketing easier hence impacting the business environment positively.
Different arguments of the topic, e.g. ethical impact on society
According to Cave, Oranje, Schindler, Shehabi, & Robinson (2009), social and ethical changes are highly affected by IT connectivity. With increased IT innovation, the society has been greatly affected both positively and negatively. Some of the negative impacts that IT innovation has had on the society include:
Decrease in privacy and internet confidentiality which is favored by the fact that information kept in history files. These files can be accessed by making a collection of databases that may reveal information about somebody’s browser, and the person involved. With such exposure, information ceased to be private.
Insecurity and computer crimes have increases as many people get to learn how to use the applications. It has become relatively easy for people to hack into other people’s accounts, access their information and use it to commit crimes. This is the key reason behind many bank robberies that are common nowadays.
Addiction to the internet, lack of proper accountability for actions performed over the internet and freedom of action are among the many concerns that have come up with IT innovations (Cave, Oranje, Schindler, Shehabi, & Robinson, 2009). So many illegal businesses are opened since one can work from anywhere and be able to access all they need through Google Apps business. This reduced accountability level which is a key ethical factor.
The positive impact that IT innovation has had on the society include:
Google Apps as a communication tool has managed to reduce the global society into a small village. Through Google Apps, the society has managed to develop from the traditional organizational boundaries to an extended society where customers and service providers are just a click away (Laudon & Laudon, 2011). This has made business environment more open since everything is communicated via the internet that has been made available to all.
Through IT innovation, business society has become more competitive than it was before. Customers are able to access a wide range of information on a given service hence providing them with a choice of where to buy from. It has also opened to customers’ comments on a company’s products hence helping the company to provide specialized products as per the customer recommendations (Perner, 2008). This has helped to maintain customers who otherwise could go for better services elsewhere.
Enduring relationships in the business world that were otherwise hard to maintain has been enhanced by IT. Across the board, constant and frequent communications have made it possible for customers and service providers to keep track of what the other side could be developing. This has enhanced delivery of services that are customer focused (Perner, 2008).
Explain how this topic is related to the concepts learned from the textbook
There is a very close relationship between this topic and concepts learned from the textbook. One of the points of relationship is the discussion on the ethical and social impact of information systems. In both cases, there has been a clear expression on the positive, and the negative effects that IT has had on the society.
One of the greatest concerns comes in security, privacy and confidentiality of the system. Through IT, privacy has been highly affected since information can be accessed by anybody if the management system is not well maintained. This has increased cases of hacking into private data leading to high levels of crime.
In both cases, IT innovation has brought a positive impact in business environment. There is a common observation that with IT innovation, business has become more interactive and open to all. Communication to customers, service providers and stakeholders around the globe has been enhanced.
Conclusion
IT innovation has had a remarkable impact in business around the globe due to customized communication that came in order to replace traditional notebooks with handheld computer note books. As discussed earlier, it is through different innovative ideas that business world has grown to where it is today.
With Google Apps, communication among group members has grown to a level that has enhanced management. Everybody in the chain of business has been brought to one society where communication and access of information is established. Having mentioned the positive side of IT innovation, it has also come in with great exposure to lack of privacy and confidentiality.
Such exposures have risked business and enhanced internet crimes like Bank robbery and hacking accounts to use in crimes. New technologies in the IT sector have revolutionized the society; it has become easy to handle so many tasks at once and effectively.
References
Cave, J., Oranje, C. V., Schindler, R., Brutscher, PH-B., & Robinson, N. (2009). Trends in Connectivity technologies and their social-economic impacts. Final Report of the study: Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society, TR-776-EC. Web.
Grove Group. (2011). Historic Message Journaling. Google Apps Marketplace. Web.
Laudon, J & Laudon, K. (2010). Management Information Systems, 11E. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Lindgardt, Z., Reeves, M., Stalk, G., & Deimler, M. S. (2009). Business Model Innovation. The Boston Consulting Group. Web.
Perner, L. (2008). Introduction to Marketing. USC Marshall. Web.
Intense competition in the current global markets has provided a strong impetus for innovation-oriented strategic decisions in organisations. Effective innovation decisions are fundamental to successful new market entry, sustained competitive advantage, and profitability (Marsh, 2012). Technological innovation allows for the commercial exploitation of inventions through new products/services (Marsh, 2012).
The changing competitive environment requires the assimilation and integration of business technology in organisational strategies and value chains. A specific technological innovation is the console used in PlayStation in the video games industry. This report explores the development of gaming consoles as technological innovation product, milestones achieved in this area, and impact on organisations. It also includes recommendations for future developments based on the analysis.
Major Subtypes of Technological Innovation
Advances in business technology have created immense opportunities for business growth. The technological innovations related to the PlayStation are described below.
Consoles
Video games that have impacted on firm operations and interactions with customers fall into three groups console, PC, and mobile (Szirmai, Naude, Goedhuys, 2012). Consoles use a devoted hardware is linked to a screen (Xbox) or handheld device, e.g., Nitendo (Szirmai et al., 2012). In contrast, PC games operate on personal computers based on the Windows OS. Some PC games also run on Mac and Linux operating systems. Other games can be played on PC web browsers or gaming websites. The third category is the mobile games that can be played on handheld phones and tablets.
E-commerce
B2C e-commerce platforms have made it easier to buy or sell online. E-commerce encompasses the application of “electronic communications and information” in business transactions for B2B or B2C value creation (Christensen & Raynor, 2015, p. 56). A range of open source e-commerce software exists that support business processes, improved responsiveness to market needs, and omni-channel experience (social media) for the customers (Raphael & Christoph, 2012). Gaming software firms and distributors transact through e-commerce platforms implemented in their consoles.
Mobile Commerce (M-commerce)
M-commerce entails transactions performed via wireless technology or mobile devices, such as cell phones. It is fuelled by the high mobile phone penetration. M-commerce includes a range of services, such as mobile banking, mobile payment (bills), and order placement by consumers, among others (Hill & Rothaermel, 2013).
Business Intelligence/Analytics
Advances in analytics technologies allow the integration of big data in corporate decision-making. Analytics solutions such as service-as-a-software (SaaS) are utilised to forecast or simulate demand levels and manage logistics in real time for optimised supply chains (Liu, Prajogo, Oke, 2016). Firms also use prescriptive analytics deployed in vendor managed inventory to avoid business uncertainties through what/if considerations.
Enterprise Systems
These software solutions support the integration of a firm’s information processing system and relevant data (Lusch & Nambisan, 2015). Enterprise systems facilitate data sharing within the organisation for effective management operations, reporting, and information flows (Lusch & Nambisan, 2015). Implemented within these systems are applications for order fulfilment processing, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management, etc.
Important Milestones for Technological Innovation
Software
Advancement in computer graphics software characterised the evolution of the video games. The shift to 3D in the late 1990s was facilitated by the development of 3D accelerator software (Greenspan, 2015). The inclusion of the software in the PlayStation led to improved visual quality of the consoles. At the same time, software developers focused on sports/car races, which became popular with gamers. Licensing of multiple publishers and brands also accelerated development in the gaming industry.
Internet
Another important development in business technological innovation is the evolution of the Internet. The Net invented for research, but it quickly developed into a commercial tool (Hakansson, 2015). It has its roots in the 1960 ARPANET network developed for research. In 1983, the number of connected computers increased to over 200, providing an impetus for the development of the Internet Protocol (IP) for standardised data transmission via the Internet (Hakansson, 2015). The Net was still meant for non-commercial use during this period.
Storage Media
The increase in storage capacity from ROM cartridges to discs accelerated the growth of the gaming industry. The CDs had a larger storage capacity than the cartridges. The development of the discs was an important technological milestone in the gaming industry. The early 2000s saw the launch of the DVD technology, which was deployed in the PS 2 (Greenspan, 2015). DVDs were less costly and had a larger storage capacity than the CDs.
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
The development of a GUI, a navigable World Wide Web, and uniform resource locators (URLs) in the 1990s led to the evolution of integrated web-based consoles. In addition, commercial restrictions were relaxed, giving room for e-commerce investment (Hakansson, 2015). The Internet users also increased, making the Net an attractive commercial tool for organisations.
Impact of Technological Innovation on Management Approach
The managerial implications of technological innovation relate to organisational strategy, structure, and personnel. Having a well-defined innovation strategy is useful in predicting the impact of a firm’s portfolio of technologies on its competitive position. The major strategic solutions for the management of technological innovations in the real world are offensive, defensive, imitative, and opportunistic strategies (Baden-Fuller & Haefliger, 2013).
An offensive innovation strategy is meant to give “technical and market leadership” through launching new products/services (Baden-Fuller & Haefliger, 2013, p. 425). Offensive innovators establish in-house R&D units or linkages with research centres to develop unique technical competencies that give long-term competitive advantages. As a result, such firms are research intensive and thrive on patents. For example, Apple followed an offensive strategy in developing the iPod and iPhone.
Fewer firms adopt offensive innovation approaches. Majority use defensive, imitative, or opportunistic approaches to manage their technological innovation. Defensive innovators avoid the risks of being the first movers by being reactionary (Drucker, 2014). However, they are as research intensive as the offensive innovators. For example, Apple used a defensive strategy to develop improved microcomputer devices in reaction to IBM’s mainframe computers. Firms that pursue an imitative innovation strategy copy current technologies, saving them R&D resources and costs (Onetti, Zucchella, Jones, McDougall-Covin, 2012).
For example, many mobile phone manufacturers imitated the touch-screen technology pioneered in Apple’s iPhone. Firms that follow opportunistic or niche innovation approach capitalise on new opportunities in the market. As such, ‘opportunist’ firms lack unique in-house R&D capabilities, but are responsive to market changes (Metcalfe & Miles, 2012). An example of a firm using strategic opportunism is Google with its niche products – Google Earth, Maps etc. (Metcalfe & Miles, 2012).
Technological innovation also impacts on organisational structures and management styles. An effective managerial approach is required to manage disparate teams – R&D, design/engineering, production, and sales/marketing – involved in the innovation process (Bock, Opsahl, George, Gann, 2012). Project managers should create an atmosphere of open communication and cooperation between the functional teams. Further, strong technical training and gatekeeping function are required to realise the goals of multidisciplinary projects. Firms use either functional or project structures to manage innovation efforts.
Functional structures involve “a higher rate of change of the technology’s knowledge base” than project structures do (Bock et al., 2012, p. 287). The management styles involved in technological innovation include lightweight, heavyweight, and independent, based on the vastness of team responsibilities (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2013). Further, the management process may involve project planning tools such as PERT/CPM. For example, DuPont Company employed a CPM algorithm to on-schedule construction/repair of its production plants.
Staffing the organisation is done to reflect the critical roles/functions of personnel in the innovation project. An integrated staffing policy considers multiple roles. The idea generators, i.e., innovators, are required to give creative insights necessary for project initiation, while product champions help advocate for the innovation (Camison & Villar-Lopez, 2014). The sponsor is another role required in innovative organisation.
He/she supports the innovators through resource allocation. An organisation also needs a venture manager to harness entrepreneurial efforts within it. The final role is that of a gatekeeper. They serve as important information linchpins of the firm through their relationships with the external technological environment. Besides staffing, managerial actions are required to stimulate innovation or maintain a ‘creative tension’ through effective job assignments, training/development, and reward systems.
Recommended Future Developments of Technological Innovation
Sony entered into the console market with the PlayStation 2 or PS2. The PS2 was a highly successful console, selling over 140m units (Cunningham, Rhode & Whaley, 2012). It was developed to be compatible with many systems, a strategy followed in the development of the PS3. The PS3 included elaborate graphic designs to target skilled gamers and fans. The release of Sony’s PS3 elicited great publicity due to its advanced technical specifications. However, its development was associated with high production costs. The high costs impact negatively on Sony’s profit margins. The recommended future developments for the PlayStation include:
Sony should create an online gaming community – online console gaming will offer a virtual reality experience to gamers. Therefore, the online component will be important to Sony’s console business strategy.
Digital media incorporation – the PlayStation should integrate digital media into the console system. Differentiated digital products such as images, videos, web pages, and music should be incorporated into the PS4 to improve the console’s appeal as a home media centre.
Movie releases – the PlayStation should be designed to distribute Sony Entertainment films to enrich the gaming experience. Movie releases would constitute a strategic improvement on the PlayStation console.
3-Minute Video Pitch
Sony’s PlayStation development from PS2 to PS3 and now PS4 followed a path of continuous improvement of the technical specifications of its console. An offensive strategy was employed in developing PlayStation’s technological trajectory. The improvements made on PS3 led to better visual quality features and gaming experience provided by the PS4. The firm has developed a network of developers and publishers that drive its technological agenda based on customer experiences and preferences.
However, the online gaming segment is not part of Sony’s console business strategy at the moment. In this view, the recommended future developments of the PlayStation include the creation of an online community to test and rate console releases and the incorporation of digital media, including audio music, into the console to turn the PlayStation into a home media centre. Sony entertainment should also consider launching its edutainment movies through the console to expand its product offerings to gamers.
Reference List
Baden-Fuller, C. & Haefliger, S. 2013. Business models and technological innovation. Long Range Planning, 46(6): 419-426.
Bock, A., Opsahl, T., George, G. & Gann, D. 2012. The effects of culture and structure on strategic flexibility during business model innovation. Journal of Management Studies, 49(2): 279-305.
Boudreau, K.J. 2012. Let a thousand flowers bloom? An early look at large numbers of software app developers and patterns of innovation. Organization Science, 23: 1409-1427.
Camison, C. & Villar-Lopez, A. 2014. Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance. Journal of Business Research, 67(1): 2891-2902.
Christensen, C. M., & Raynor, M. 2015. The innovator’s solution: creating and sustaining successful growth. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Cunningham, H., Rhode, M., & Whaley, C. 2012. Video games industry overview: an analysis of the current market and future growth trends. International Business Project. Web.
Davila, T., Epstein, M., & Shelton, R. 2013. Making innovation work: how to manage it, measure it, and profit from it. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson FT Press.
Drucker, P. 2014. Innovation and entrepreneurship. New York, NY: Harper-Collins Publishers.
Greenspan, D. 2015. Mastering the game: business and legal issues for video game developers. Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO.
Hakansson, H. 2015. Industrial technological development: a network approach. London, UK: Croom Helm.
Hill, C. & Rothaermel, F. 2013. The performance of incumbent firms in the face of radical technological innovation. Academy of Management Review, 28(2): 257-274.
Howe, J. 2012. Crowdsourcing: why the power of the crowd is driving the future of business. New York, NY: Crown Business.
Liu, Z., Prajogo, D. & Oke, A. 2016. Supply chain technologies: linking adoption, utilization, and performance. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 52(4): 22-41.
Lusch, R. & Nambisan, S. 2015. Service innovation: a service-dominant logic perspective. MIS Quarterly, 39(1): 155-175.
Marsh, P. 2012. The new industrial revolution: consumers, globalization and the end of mass production. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Metcalfe, S., & Miles, I. 2012. Innovation systems in the service economy: measurement and case study analysis. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Onetti, A., Zucchella, A., Jones, M. & McDougall-Covin, P. 2012. Internationalization, innovation, and entrepreneurship: business models for new technology-based firms. Journal of Management & Governance, 16(3): 337-368.
Raphael, A. & Christoph, Z. 2012. Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3): 41-49.
Saebi, T., & Foss, N. 2015. Business models for open innovation: matching heterogeneous open innovation strategies with business model dimensions. European Management Journal, 33(3): 201-213.
Szirmai, A., Naude, W., & Goedhuys, M. 2012. Entrepreneurship, innovation and development. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
In current business management strategies, management should look for the best methods to improve service and product delivery in their organizations; leaders have the role of synchronizing and combining human, financial, and physical resources within their organization; effective managers ensure that the above resources are to their optimal level.
Well management organizations are building blocks to innovation, creativity, and inventiveness; such companies always have a competitive edge over their competitors (MeShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2020).
Innovation has affected the products, services, and the processes that the hospitality industry is offering; there has been shift to create products that will meet the demand of the current generation.
Some innovations that have been made in that effect include fast foods, development of tour companies, and growth in the educational sector of the industry.
Innovation has been taken as an effective management tool where role, managers start by understanding the potential their organization have in particular areas then take such strategic management measure to maximize and improve their organizations potential as they minimize the effects of their industry threats and internal weaknesses.
With innovation, new processes of making products have been improved; for instance, there have been different flavors of coffee made by different coffee companies like Starbucks in the efforts of attracting customers. Other than products, the nature of management styles have been innovated; focus is currently on ways to reduce operational cost and maximize gains attainable from a certain service/product.
The hospitality industry is more of a service industry, thus for an effective operational management, the focus should be on the quality of service that customers receive from the company; this has been one area that innovation has been used to seek solutions and remedy.
When quality and satisfying services are offered, then customers can develop loyalty to certain company, a factor that builds a strong brand name for the company. In the United States of America, the service industry account for over 80% of the economy’s job market; in hotel and tourism industry, much efforts has been made to improve the service delivery systems in the sector (Paauwe, 2009).
Innovation and Globalization for Global Reservation System
With innovation and globalisation, the system has taken different changes which include global reservation systems, integrated supply chain management policies, and international supply chain management.
In the hospitality industry the ability and willingness to provide quality services is seen as an essential strategy for success and survival; a service can be defined as an encounter between business and a customer that has supporting facility and using facilitated goods.
The utility that certain individual customers get from certain commodity is the quality of the commodity as long as the customer is concerned; differences in people tastes brought about by globalisation has called for leaders to innovate best policies to offer standard services.
To expand customer base and get their loyalty, leaders in the hospitality industry should look into its service delivery and aim at improving the experience that a customer derives; the “moment of truth” with the customer should offer a memorable experience that can make the customer hunger for more services. High quality service should look into the products quality, speed of service and the general outlook of the restaurants.
Hotel industry leadership teams have the role of pioneering a service improvement strategy; an effective service strategy is strong competitive advantage in the hospitality industry (Benckendorff, Moscardo & Pendergast, 2010).
References
Benckendorff, P., Moscardo, G. & Pendergast, D. ,2010. Tourism & Generation Y, CABI. London: Wallingford.
MeShane, S. Olekalns, M. and Travaglione, T., 2020. Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim Focus. Sydney: McGraw Hill Irwin
Paauwe, J. ,2009. HRM and Performance: Achievement, Methodological Issues and Prospects. Journal of Management Studies, 46 (1), 123
Tourism sector is seen to be experiencing fierce and increased competition specifically as a result of continued globalization. This is further compounded by the fact that there have been increased developments in information technology in the sector, and as a way to be relevant in this changing situation, tourism and the entire hospitality industry are working harder to maintain competitiveness.
Today, the call is for hospitality and tourism industry to balance art, innovation, and performance in order to achieve success. One characteristic about tourism is that it has become mature in nature, a fact that in turn is accelerating the need for innovation in the sector in order to identify and pursue new tourism attractions and ventures.
Many stakeholders in the tourism industries are convinced that the new order that is taking place in the tourism sector and the larger hospitality industry calls for players to embrace innovation. This should be achieved through providing enhanced product and service innovation, which is to be achieved, by providing more varied tourism experiences for quality-conscious and saturated multi-option customers.
Elderly population in the tourism sector is an area that the larger industry still disregards despite the important role elderly customers play in propelling the industry.
Many of products and services in the industry are yet to fully address the needs of elderly people, which in turn have resulted into under-utilization of market potential of this segment. Therefore, the aim of this research paper is to investigate and recommend how well service-innovation in tourism industry can serve and satisfy the elderly consumers.
Elderly sharing with service management of innovation performance in Tourism industry
Innovation has become important irrespective of the particular business an individual or organization is involved in (Hotel Mule, 2011). It has been regarded as a critical aspect in ensuring business grows or expands.
The role of innovation in national, international, and even industry economies has been explored and the conclusion drawn is that, as a result of innovation, countries and industries have experienced growth (Hotel Mule).
Predicting the important role of innovation in contemporary world, Drucker’s (1999) postulated that the management challenge of the new 21st century was grounded on innovation and that innovation constituted a critical and vital competence that every organization that aspires for growth and continuity requires (Hotel Mule).
Innovation in any business is seen to have numerous benefits. First, according to Ottenbacher and Gnoth (2005), innovation results into more competitiveness of business (cited in Hotel Mule). Second, all products and services have life cycle where, after going through numerous phases, the product or service decline in quality and usability and new products and services need to be developed.
Therefore, innovation becomes the key to unlocking new ways and means of introducing new products and services to the market to substitute for ageing ones. In other words, innovation becomes important to companies and businesses in providing help of producing better products and services that have the ability to achieve long-term competitive advantage (Hotel Mule).
Further, innovation introduced in an organization is likely to contribute to the increase in revenue for the organization, as the products and services gain competitive performance in the market place. Lastly, through innovation, a company or business is able to meet the changing needs of its constituent consumer-population hence continue appealing to its consumers.
Literature Review
Tourism continues to play an important role in economies of many countries. For instance, economic growth of most of the OECD countries has benefited from tourism and this is estimated to be more that 30% (OECD, 2004). At the same time, tourism has become the major avenue of creating income and employment for populations of many countries at various stages of development.
Today, there are many new forms of tourism coming up mostly in traditional areas of tourism. The observation is that, more innovative, specialized and customer-experience oriented form of tourism are being developed and introduced in the sector due to dynamism taking place in the industry (OECD, 2004).
The changes are further heightened by expanding needs in the industry coupled by increasing demographic changes such as ageing populations, which is leading to acceleration in segmentation of tourism products and creation of new types of tourism products (OECD, 2004).
Innovation taking place in tourism industry is resulting into new ideas, services, and products to the marketplace and as part of overall changes taking place in the industry, innovation in the industry is leading to new and innovative services, products, and processes. Therefore, regard for innovation in tourism industry should be to view it as permanent, global, and dynamic process (OECD, 2004).
‘New tourism’ that has come about as a result of tourism segmentation and customization to respond to tourists needs, is differentiated from the ‘old tourism’ in which the later is characterized as “mass, standardized and rigidly packaged tourism” (OECD, 2004, P.1). The ‘new tourism’ has come as a result of changing demographics, lifestyles, holiday and work patterns (OECD, 2004).
Of importance is the aspect of the ‘new tourism’ as a result of demographic changes, whereby in majority of OECD countries, the population is largely seen to be ageing and these elderly people, to great extent, are playing an important and increasing role in shaping tourism activities (OECD, 2004).
At the same time, studies show that elderly people unlike other demographic segments spend more money consuming tourism products and services; thus, to experience and maximize benefits from the elderly people, the tourism industry has been forced to embrace the idea of innovation (OECD, 2004).
Service innovation in tourism
A lot of literature concerning innovation has greatly been dominated by manufacturing industry, which helped to reinforce the belief that this was the main driver of economic change, and further, as a result of high profile technology as the driver of change (Hall and Williams, 2008).
Nevertheless, the recent times have witnessed accelerated effort by key stakeholder to pay more attention to the service sector, which has been recognized as site of innovation (Hall and Williams, 2008). Tether (2004) provides two approaches of service sector innovation where the author states two approaches – assimilation and demarcation (Hall and Williams, 2008).
Applicable to the service industry is the demarcation approach, which postulates that the service sector is unique in that its services are intangible, involving considerable interaction with customers and have unique aspects of service delivery (Hall and Williams, 2008).
Services are perceived to be dynamic and fluid, time and again changing to customers’ demands and as a result of stiff competition. Innovation and new service development constitute two strategic features that assure growth and sustainability of any industry (Hall and Williams, 2008).
Although service innovation is seen to be vital in almost all industries, it has particularly become critical in those industries that are seen to be market-saturated, and customer needs change constantly such as in the case of tourism (Peters and Pikkemaat, 2006).
Innovation is a word that has received numerous definitions and understanding but the general consensus has rested on perceiving innovation to constitute the process of creating something new (Peters and Pikkemaat, 2006).
Further definitions of innovation have been developed by varied authors such as Schumpeter (1934) who, in defining innovation outlined five key areas in which an organization can introduce innovation.
The five areas are: “generation of new or improved products; introduction of new production processes; development of new sales markets; development of new supply markets; and reorganization and restructuring of the company” (Peters and Pikkemaat, 2006, p.2).
Hjalager (1997) observed that innovation in tourism industry is characterized by limited research and political consideration, and definition of the term innovation according to tourism industry is “the market-based application of new processes, products, or forms of organization” (Peters and Pikkemaat, 2006, p.2).
Different authors have investigated the issue of service innovation, which to extent relates to tourism. For example, Booz-Allen and Hamilton (1982), in a well-published research, they carried out identified numerous kinds of service innovation to exist.
They include new product and service innovation; new product and service lines; accelerated improvements or modification in the existing products and services; innovation in terms of repositioning; and lastly cost reductions innovation (Booz-Allen and Hamilton, 1982 cited in Hotel Mule, 2011).
Further, Lovelock (1984) carried out another research in which the following kinds of service innovation were identified: innovations originating in new service for the markets in undefined markets; innovation of new services for market that already benefit from the existing services which meet the same generic needs; and innovation for new services for the currently served market which generally are offered to the organization’s existing customers.
Other types of service innovations identified by the author include service line extension where innovation in this particular area is carried out to achieve different way of service; service improvements where innovation dwells making improvements on existing services; service improvements; and innovation with regard to style changes (Lovelock 1984 cited in Hotel Mule, 2011).
Carrying out research on the same, Debackere et al. (1998) observe innovation in service marketing largely centers on incremental changes to the products and processes and also fundamental changes to products and services (Hotel Mule, 2011).
Gadrey et al. (1995) observes that service innovation has to do with unbundling of existing service products; modification of service products; innovations in processes and organization for existing service products (Hotel Mule, 2011).
Lastly, Avlonitis et al. (2001) note that service innovation has to do with introducing new services to the market; new improvements to the company services; improvements to the delivery processes; service modification; service line extensions; and service repositioning (Hotel Mule, 2011).
Therefore, service innovation in tourism largely takes place within the precepts of the above-discussed types of innovations.
Elderly consumers and service innovation in tourism
One would say the ‘baby-boomers’ are getting old now, majority of them retiring from jobs and embracing satisfying leisure activities (Behrens, 2009). At the same time, the young generation seems to have been outnumbered by the baby-boomers and as result, tourism and leisure consumption draws large percentage of baby-boomers as compared to the young generation (Behrens, 2009).
Elderly tourist has drawn greater attention and many tourist and hospitality firms have re-designed their marketing plans and strategies to pay more attention to this group (Behrens, 2009). However, as more attention and focus on elderly tourist becomes the issue, many of the services provided to the elderly consumers have little concern for the wellness of the consumers (Behrens, 2009).
Much attention has been directed to traveling services, which older people seem to be enjoying. Therefore, health tourism for elderly people is still an infant area that little has been written and discussed about, hence little is known.
Experience and observation in many of the developed economies is that there is a steady growing demand for wellness products, wellbeing, health, fitness, and stress management products and services a situation that positively indicate that new health and spa products are likely to continue emerging and developing (ETC, 2006 cited in Behrens, 2009).
Research continues to show that health and wellness tourism products and services for elderly consumers will continue to be strong in the industry, and as such, there is need to increase quality of services and spur design. These products and services will continue to excite mostly the western elderly consumers.
Further, recent research work has shown that there will be continued demand for spiritual products and services for this segment of consumers.
In this case, it can be seen that popularity for products and services such as extravagant and luxurious services of exotic massage oils, Thai massage, Indian head massage, acupuncture, hot stone massage, several hours’ massages, underwater spas, private hotel, and spa room, together with design spa are increasing greatly (PATA, 2005 cited in Behrens, 2009).
Consensus that is fast gaining ground in tourist and hospitality industry is that, Spas are gaining an exceptional aura of respect as more and more baby boomers and their children continue to show strong desire for healthy ageing treatments and products that delivers results in terms of looking young and healthy (Behrens, 2009).
More so, some elderly tourists are convinced that these kinds of treatments and services are more attractive and less injurious as compared to injections and surgery (Behrens, 2009). At the same time, elderly consumers are looking and getting attracted to personal care programs that hospitality industry could provide.
Research Model
The reasons why people consume tourism services and products has been explained using many theories and models. Motivation has been identified as the key factor that contributes to tourist consumer behavior and the central to this motivation is the aspect of need (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999).
Needs are regarded as powerful forces that stimulate behavior, and the general conviction is that, to fully understand human motivation, it is required to identify and explain what needs people have and how they can be fulfilled.
Abraham Maslow’s development of the hierarchy of needs model in 1947 brought about a model that could explain the motivational factors that may contribute to why individuals express particular behavior about consumption of products and services.
Maslow’s work or model can be seen to tie with tourism consumption motivation as the consumption in general is seen to be stimulated by a need or want satisfier (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999). Crompton (1979), utilizing Maslow’s results and findings, identified nine motives that can be classified as needs that motivate tourist actions and consumption behavior (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999).
To the author, these needs could be classified into two: push factors and pull factors (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999). Push motives can be classified as escape from mundane environment, exploration, and evaluation of self, relaxation, prestige, regression, enhancement of relationship, and facilitation of social interaction (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999).
On the other hand, pull motives constitute novelty and education (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999). On the other hand, Mannel and ISO-Ahola (1987) identify two main types of push and pull factors as personal and interpersonal (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999).
The postulation of the author is that people especially elderly travel to leave behind personal and interpersonal problems of their environment and to obtain compensating personal or interpersonal rewards (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999).
The escaping and seeking model of leisure motivation. Source: Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999.Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Source: Montana and Charnove, 2008.
Discussion and Recommendations
Many of the available wellness and health services and facilities in tourism industry have continued to suffer from decline in quality and popularity as majority of its users are elderly, and little attention continues to be paid to this segment of the tourism market (Smith and Puczko, 2008). For instance, there is lack of adequate purpose-built wellness resorts, hotels, and centers within the hospitality and tourism industry.
The little available facilities in the tourism industry are largely dilapidated and lack meaningful renovation, while at the same time, service levels are usually not developed, as they should be. The situation has been motivated by lack of clear and coherent policy work to guide such undertaking and generally, the support from key stakeholders is minimal (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
Wellness, together with medical tourism, is an area that is slowly attracting elderly consumers as the issue of physical incapability and health problems take order. In addition, there is need for key industry players to get involved in putting up efficient wellness facilities that are able to accommodate medical elderly visitors on one hand and the wellness elderly visitors on the other and (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
Still, the problem is further compounded from the fact that the location issue is also contributing to scarceness and inaccessibility of wellness facilities among the elderly tourists.
For instance, the available facilities are located in relatively remote and inaccessible or unknown parts of the country, and though the domestic consumers may have knowledge of these facilities, the problem normally is felt among international elderly tourist consumers who largely may not be aware of the existence of such sites or facilities (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
Therefore, to address this problem will require branding wellness tourism and initiating programs that can be used to promote wellness programs to both local and international elderly consumers (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
The following is recommended as part of the strategies to improve the wellness tourism among elderly segment of the market. First, there is need to combine luxury brands together with high technology in order to make this uncharted market segment popular.
The following should be some of the strategies to initiate within this industry: establishment of MySpa, this constitutes a wellness lifestyle trend that combines technology to provide wellness facilities such as spas rooms, hospitals within the tourism sector.
Elderly people, when they visit particular tourist destination, should be able to find personalized treatment and health status information more appropriately and quickly (Pearce, Filep and Ross, 2010).
Second, the industry needs to encourage establishment of hol-life retreats, which in essence, are retreat-style wellness centers or spas where people go for some time away from their stressful lives and workplaces to recover and refocus on themselves and their needs (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
The benefits of such centers to the elderly tourist consumers is that, it will be able to provide the consumers with ample time to re-adjust specifically after retirement or after a stressful event in their lives (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
At the same time, enhancement of these kinds of wellness spas is that there can be incorporation of lighter courses, classes or even workshop in which elderly tourist consumers can be subjected to in attempt to enable them recover very fast (Smith and Puczko, 2008).
Conclusion
Demographic changes are fast changing the landscape of tourism and hospitality industry. Age today is used in tourism industry to design appropriate products and services for the specific and particular population segment concerned.
Elderly segment of the population is becoming an important tourism consumption segment and this may be associated to available time and leisure opportunities they are presented with after retirement (Weiermair and Mathies, 2004).
Nevertheless, as the industry may be convinced that elderly clients consume almost similar products and services as other demographic segments, it is coming out clear that this group has distinct needs, as far as tourism industry and its services are concerned.
Wellness and health tourism is an area that is yet to receive considerable literature development but profound evidence shows that elderly people are being motivated by needs from this area. Older people face both health and stressful issue that majority of them will want to do away with.
Appropriate wellness and health programs, facilities and even training within the overall tourism industry will help to meet the needs of elderly consumers. Motivation to undertake this remains grounded in the fact that elderly tourist continue to dominate large group of people who consume tourism products and services, and any form of ignoring this demographic segment will as well mean impacting the business negatively.
References
Behrens, A. (2009). The Internationalization Process of Wellness Tourism. Berlin: GRIN Verlag. Web.
Wireless Media and Telecommunications: The Effects
At present, it is hard to imagine the life of an average citizen without such an element of everyday life as wireless media. Indeed, the use of the latter has changed the present-day world completely, turning it into a place where everything is intertwined into a single entity. Therefore, it is especially important to consider the effect which wireless media has had on telecommunications.
It is obvious that with the help of wireless-based telecommunications, a faster and more efficient connection with any country of the world is possible. Hence, it can be considered that the world integration and the fusion of cultures owe much to the telecommunication system, which has made the exchange of knowledge and elements of cultures possible.
In addition, one can see distinctly that with the help of wireless media, signals can be transmitted to longer distances and, thus, reach the most remotely located places. Therefore, it can be considered that telecommunications development was spurred greatly with the help of wireless media.
The Ways Smartphones Are Changing the Business Landscape
Oddly enough, there was the time when the idea of carrying a portable computer which allowed both to transmit certain multimedia to the most distant places and at the same time be used as a means of efficient and high-quality communication was considered impossible.
Now that Smartphones have become a part and parcel of everyday reality, the above-mentioned idea does not seem that fantastic anymore. With the help of Smartphones, the pattern of communication is currently changing, which can be demonstrated best on the example of business communication.
The most important thing about Smartphones is their ability to turn into a mobile phone when one needs to communicate with a partner and into a mini-computer when the access to the Internet is required. Therefore, the use of smartphones makes business run faster due to their functionality.
The second factor which allows to spur business processes with the use of smartphones is the fact that the latter allow to communicate with people all over the world without taking exhausting travels. Thus, smartphones can be considered the driving force of entrepreneurship.
Location-Based Applications for Business and Individual Users: Benefits and Drawbacks
Nowadays, having merely a mobile phone with a sole function of calling and receiving phone calls is no longer in existence, mostly because, with a bunch of functions and new gimmicks, such gadgets as smartphones are surprisingly more useful and obviously more marketable. Among the most recent functions included in smartphones, the location-based application seems to make the most sense and enjoy the widest popularity. However, its importance varies depending on whom it serves.
When it comes to business and entrepreneurship, the use of the LBA services seems rather legit, for with the help of the LBA, business partners can assess their opportunities better.
However, taken as a function for individual users, the given gimmick is nowhere near the significance the application has for businesses and entrepreneurs, because the former face the situations when a chance to use the Wi-Fi zone is crucial are fewer.
Thus, it is clear that wireless media have spurred communication. Affecting both business and personal life, they revolutionized communication sphere. The world is facing the era of information society being fully equipped.
Schumpeter (1934, p. 160) was among the first economists to study the broad subject of innovation. He went ahead to make a clear distinction between innovation and invention, where he defined invention as the discovery of a new idea or a previously unknown fact.
Innovation, according to him, is the ability to successfully apply a new idea or previously known fact into practice (Schumpeter 1934, p.162). Therefore, innovation may be defined as “a change in the thought process for doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries” (McKeown 2008, p. 74).
Drucker (2007) elucidates that innovation is a vital tool of all entrepreneurs. This is because innovation acts as a means by which entrepreneurs exploit changes in the market, which provides the opportunity for different businesses or different services.
Drucker (2007, p. 56) postulated that entrepreneurship and innovation were the main activities that lead to the creation of wealth. According to him, innovation is a resource and entrepreneurship is a catalyst through which the much-needed change in the society can be achieved.
Drucker (2007, p. 229) asserts that innovation is indispensable for all growing and evolving businesses that invest in any type of capital such as machinery, plant, human resource, equipment, and processes or brands.
He emphasizes that creative destruction was the key to achieving a competitive advantage in business through transformation of ideas and dreams into creation and development of new goods. This is achieved by the introduction of new consumer goods and application of new production methods.
According to Drucker an entrepreneur will always be on the look for changes, act on them, and utilize them as an opportunity (2007, p.121).
According to Freeman (1981), the national system of innovation is defined as, “The network of institutions in the public- and private-sectors whose activities and interactions initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies” (Freeman 1987, p.42).
Novelty and technology advancement are due to a set of associations among actors in the organization that include national research institutions, universities, and ventures.
A better indulgent of the government innovation organizations by legislators can aid in pointing out proficiencies therefore upholding groundbreaking execution and competitiveness. This can also aide in highlighting shortcomings within the system, both in institutions and in relation to government policies, which can obstruct innovation and technological development.
Schumpeter (1934, p.84) agrees with the argument of many development scholars that a successful industrial and economic development has always been linked to a nation’s ability to develop or acquire, absorb and disseminate advanced technologies. He continues to say that innovation systems serve the purpose of improving or maintaining already established level of competitiveness and growth in developed economies.
In the context of innovation systems, policies that encourage networking among the stakeholders in the system, focused at promoting innovative abilities of organizations specifically their ability to select and acquire technologies are the most vital (OECD 1997, p. 28).
According to the OECD (1997, p. 28), the national innovation systems can be analyzed using many approaches, some of which include firm-level innovation surveys that questions organizations on their sources of knowledge, which are relevant to innovation.
The other approach is the cluster analysis. This advance underscores the relations between specific variety of subdivisions and firms that can perhaps be clustered depending on to their networking and technical distinctiveness. OECD (1997, p. 28), continues to assert that innovation systems may also be analyzed at different levels with sub-regional, pan-regional, national, and international being examples.
For example, the national innovations system facilitated the growth of the Taiwanese pharmaceutical biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology company, as a result of the support by government and partnerships with other local and international Chinese biotech firms, thereby increasing the numbers of expertise used to manufacture transfers and raising capital.
The partnerships also promoted disruptive innovations where the partner firms were able to come up with new ideas and put them into action and rendering existing practices obsolete.
Through this, simpler, affordable, and more convenient approach, products and services were availed. Improved healthcare, increased food production, advanced treatment and diagnosis of diseases, as well as improved environmental management was also achieved (Bessant & Tidd 2007, p. 226).
Bessant and Tidd (2007, p. 230) argue that bio entrepreneurs found in the pharmaceutical companies usually operate in both a knowledge-based and science based industries.
Here, competitive advantage is a vital component and is achieved through efficient and effective management of intellectual property that originates from good science.
The bio entrepreneurs at the Taiwanese pharmaceutical biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology company for example, were researchers and scientist-turned entrepreneurs who wanted to see their research successes being adopted through commercialization thereby making the company to undergo significant development and advancement in the first half year.
However, most of its successes were attributed to the government policy support. Bessant and Tidd (2007, p. 235) emphasize that it is important to understand innovation as this shapes the way in which we may try to manage it.
This theory identified two approaches to innovation, which are technology push and demand pull. The technology push model approaches innovation as being solemnly driven by advances in the world of science, while the demand pull model refers to innovation as a positive response to demand for new products and processes.
According to Mensch (1979, p. 69) and Myer and Marquis (1969, p.133), these models could not stand empirical scrutiny and therefore were later replaced by other models. As a critic, Mensch (1979) used computers that were being produced in the UK during the 1960s as an example to explain why the traditional models did not hold any water.
He found out that the lifecycle of the computers created a foundation for preceding technological change. This is to say that there are a few feedback effects in the innovation process, which the linear representations of innovation processes did not capture.
Due to the failure to capture feedback, Kline and Rosenberg (1986, p. 57) developed the chain-linked innovation model. This model captured all the technical activities that take place during innovation process, market place external forces, and the complex interactions between the various stages of innovation.
This model also allowed for the visualizing of the different possible stages of the innovation process, their determinants and their interrelationship. Novelty and technology advancement are due to a set of associations among actors in the organization that include national research institutions, universities, and ventures
Chain-linked Innovation Model
Source: Kline and Rosenberg 1986, p. 5
As shown above in this model, Kline and Rosenberg identified five main paths that the innovation process follows. The first being the central chain of innovation C where invention/ production of a design begins, based on market signals or technological advances D, which will be developed, produced and then marketed.
“F, f in the process represents feedback loops iterating the steps and controls for perceived market signals and users’ needs, and also the linkages between science and innovation” (Kline and Rosenberg 1986, p. 128). K represents the recourses to various knowledge stocks accompanying the whole process.
The innovator seeks knowledge to try and solve a problem 1, then returns back with the knowledge and proceeds along the innovation chain if the required knowledge is available (2) or opts to research (3) if it is not. The results of the research activities are then applied in the innovation chain (4).
In the end, innovation results in feedback fed into the scientific arena (S). This model highlights the interdependence between the market pull and technology push aspects of innovation (Kline and Rosenberg 1986, p. 128).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the national system of innovation focuses on national mobilization of efforts through cooperation and co-ordinates policy efforts so as to enhance learning abilities that are required in order to achieve new dynamics in countries. In order to achieve this, the national system of innovation needs to bring up activities that will mobilize all the regions or sectors of the economy.
However, the national innovation systems faces a misinterpretation risk were it may be assumed to be promoting particular science-based institutions and activities that may yield very limited socio-economic impact (Hine & Kapeleri 2006, p. 51).
Therefore, there is need to concentrate more resources in promotion of the learning capabilities that will focus on educating people on the importance of the national systems of innovation.
In addition, more research into innovation systems should be administered so as to better understand how to construct in the current environment of global competition and networking, a more complete innovation and competence building systems (OECD 1997, p.43).
Freeman (1981) agrees that the national innovation system facilitated a major shift that constituted ‘international competitiveness’ as far as economists and policy maker’s views were concerned.
Freeman (1981, p.42) asserts that the shift also facilitated the focus of attention towards national policy strategies that created simpler, affordable, and more convenient products and services to both the international and domestic markets.
He postulates that the ‘system’ dimension in the term national systems of innovation has facilitated the shift of attention of the policy makers who are in charge of research, innovation and industrial development, from the traditional linear which had its limitations as stated earlier to interactive thinking of innovation which emphasis on destructive innovation.
As far as Lundvall and Borras (2004, p.98) are concerned, this shift in thinking may be referred to as a shift from ‘Science Policy’ and ‘Technology Policy’ to ‘Innovation policy’.
The national innovation systemic approach is also arguably better suited for policy-makers and all other stakeholders as it offers a more realistic picture of development processes.
This is because the NIS views innovation efforts as being closely linked to wider policies, both macroeconomic and educational therefore facilitating innovation and destructive innovation to be specific.
List of References
Bessant, J & Tidd, J 2007, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, London.
Drucker, F 2007, Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Economic Cooperation and Development, Elsevier Publication, New York.
Freeman, C 1981, Technological Innovation and National Economic Performance, Aalborg, Paris.
Hine, D & Kapeleri, J 2006, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology: An international perspective, Pinter Publishers, London.
Kline, S & Rosenberg, N 1986, The Positive Sum Strategy: Harnessing Technology for Economic Growth, National Academies Press, Washington.
Lundvall, B & Borras, S 2005, National systems of innovation: Towards a theory of innovation and interactive learning, Pinter Publishers, London.
McKeown, M 2008, The truth about innovation, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, London.
Mensch, J 1979, Successful industrial innovation, National Science Foundation, Washington.
OECD 1997, The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities, third edition, Paris
Schumpeter, JA 1934, Capitalism, socialism, and democracy, Harper & Brothers, New York.
Wii is often referred to as an innovative product, which altered the perception of gaming and implied the possibility of being physically involved in the process. Nonetheless, the firm’s positioning in the innovation matrix has to be determined to understand Nintendo’s intentions. Different types of innovation tend to reflect the intensity of changes and the lengths of implementation while having a different impact on the condition of the market.
It could be said that Wii introduced a completely novel concept, which does not comply with the initial settings of the industry and caused disruption to the existent competition. Based on the features related to Wii’s innovation described above, the strategic actions of Nintendo can be characterized by breakthrough innovation due to the compliance with the key descriptor of the principle.
The novelty of Wii’s principles contributes to restructuring and redesigning the current game market while altering the perceptions of gaming and making consoles the memories of the past. In conclusion, the positioning of Wii as a breakthrough innovation is critical and contribute to the understanding of business strategy, revenue-generating mechanism, and value proposition in the subsequent questions.
Despite the operations in the same market, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft used different strategies to satisfy the rising wants and demands of their target markets while aiming at the domination of the industry. In this case, it has to be mentioned that Sony’s PlayStation was paying substantial attention to the quality of the image, sound, and speed of the processor to build a perception of one of the leaders of the market in the console segment.
Its emphasis was focused on the previously established sector of players. Meanwhile, Microsoft discovered these features as equally important while being a strong competitor to Sony. In this case, the companies continued the enhancement of the existed technological segment without considering the possibilities for the innovation and R&D concepts to introduce a new model. Sony and Microsoft were ensured that their significant market shares could not be changed dramatically due to the lack of sufficient risk assessment and underestimation of the possibilities of Nintendo’s new product.
In this instance, the introduction of Wii focused on an entirely different value proposition while being able to discover the game market from a dissimilar angle. The company wanted to modify the overall perception of gaming and to escalate its availability to an extended range of users. The company wanted to make the process interactive and involve the user in the process to create an exceptional experience of using the console. In this case, it remains apparent that the proposed value proposition and redesign differentiated the company for the frontrunners of the industry while being the driving force for the company’s shares.
Based on the factors provided above, it could be said that the development and the introduction of a new console were aimed to enlarge the gaming segment by increasing the customer’s base by paying vehement attention to the females and families. Meanwhile, the association of Wii with the interactive and exciting activity with the friendly interface was the primary reason for the increase in the customer’s returns by revolutionizing the perceptions about gaming.
It could be said that Wii was aiming to provide a realistic experience for the users due to the possibility of online integration into the physical game or activity. It could be concluded that the advancement of the value proposition was motivated by the positive influence of the introduced innovation on the brand, upsurge in customer’s returns and satisfaction rates, increase market share, and clear differentiation strategy among the competitors.
A business model determines the key strategies and principles employed by the company to generate a competitive edge. In the context of Wii, Nintendo selected innovation as the primary driver of changes and differentiator from the rivalry. Meanwhile, focusing on the relationships with the customers and a combination of this concept with an innovative solution defined the necessity to prioritize a customer-centered approach.
In this case, the consumers became a centralized element of the buyer-seller relationship, and Wii covered the critical components such as user-friendly interface, association with fun, and involvement in sports activities at home, which helped the company build an exceptional and unforgettable experience for its customers and increase the overall profitability simultaneously.
It could be said that the Wii business model has a substantial correlation with the revenue-generating mechanism due to its ability to surge the efficiency and profitability of the organization. The primary elements were related to augmented customer satisfaction leading to the upsurge in the frequency of return and the free marketing approach related to word-of-mouth. Meanwhile, the overall enlargement of the coverage of the target segment aiming at families and females was an effective boost to the revenue.
It could be said that the compliance of the company’s strategy with the value positioning determined its ability to strengthen its position in the market while becoming a leader among the competitors.
The increasing innovation in the field of tourism has had a major impact on the industry. The world is increasingly becoming globalized and stakeholders in the tour and travel sector are forced to embrace the emerging technologies to achieve sustainability in their operations. In this paper, the researcher wanted to determine the impact of increasing innovations on the tour and travel industry. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources: primary data was collected from participants who were sampled to take part in the study; secondary data was collected from books, journal articles, and other relevant data sources. The primary data were analyzed using both descriptive and mathematical methods. The findings of the study concluded that although some stakeholders still fear change, innovation has had a positive impact overall on the tour and travel industry.
Introduction
The United Arab Emirates’ economy is increasingly becoming diversified as the government tries to reduce overreliance on oil and gas. According to Weeden (2016), one of the specific areas of the economy that has achieved massive growth over the recent past is tourism. The government has made significant investments to improve infrastructure and to create amenities to attract tourists from all over the world. Currently, the city of Dubai is one of the top global tourists’ destinations because of these developments. Dubai is home to the tallest building on earth, Burj Kkalifa, as well as the largest man-made island, Palm Island. Both these creations have contributed to making Dubai one of the preferred cities for tourists in the modern era. The trend that has been witnessed in this city, and various parts of the UAE, is driven by creativity and innovation.
The government has invested heavily in emerging technologies to transform tourism in the country. It is through this creativity and innovation that both Palm Island and Burj Khalifa was created. According to Morpeth and Hongliang (2015), other innovative structures also make Dubai a desirable city for tourists. Its roads and rail systems were designed and developed in very innovative ways, moving within the city reliable, time-efficient, and cheap. Tourism is currently one of the biggest pillars of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Increasing innovation is redefining the tour and travel industry and stakeholders in this industry are constantly coming up with new products that they can offer to both local and international visitors. In this paper, the researcher seeks to determine the impact of these innovations on tourism.
Research Questions
According to Knight (2013), when conducting research, it is important to focus on clear research questions that will aid in the data collection. These research questions help identify the data that should be collected from the respondents. The following questions will be used in this study to guide the process of data collection from this industry:
How relevant is technology in the field of tour and travel in the United Arab Emirates?
How receptive are the stakeholders in the tour and travel industry towards emerging technologies?
Is the investment made in innovative technologies proportionate to the returns?
What is the impact of increasing innovation on the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates?
What is the future of the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates in an increasingly globalized and highly innovative world?
Importance of the Study
This research project is very important to a variety of stakeholders. To the government of the United Arab Emirates, this document will help inform the process of policymaking in the country. Specifically, it explains why it is important for the government to formulate policies that will promote the use of emerging technologies in the tour and travel sector. For the stakeholders in this industry, this research paper highlights the importance of emerging technologies and why they cannot be ignored. It explains why the private sector should embrace innovation as a way of achieving a competitive edge over rivals in the market. The paper also offers information that can be used when it comes to embracing change in their operations. Future researchers will also find this document useful. It will provide them with information about this industry and how innovation affects it in various ways.
Theory and Hypotheses
Background
Innovation in the field of tourism has been taking shape over recent years as competition in this industry has become increasingly stiff. According to Szutowski (2016), in the past, tourism relied heavily on nature and wildlife as the main attractions for people to come and visit. Countries that had unique natural landscapes and a variety of wild animals would attract tourists from all over the world. However, as competition tightened, the industry started experiencing significant changes in several aspects. The stakeholders came to realize that not all tourists want to see the wild animals or are interested in the natural scenery; many just simply want to have a good time relaxing in the resorts and beaches at their destination. As such, technology was introduced to help promote the security, comfort, and happiness of these tourists. Tourism now goes far beyond just having a highly diversified wildlife and a unique natural environment and landscape. Competition is increasing and cities, and individual tour companies, are forced to be innovative. They have to understand what all customers want and be able to present it to them in the most unique way possible. It is also important for these companies and government entities to anticipate future trends and be capable of adjusting their operations to meet the expectations of future clients.
According to a study by Zolait (2013), the government of the United Arab Emirates has invested heavily in the field of tourism to help diversify the country’s economy. For a long time, the country has been relying mainly on the oil and gas industries to sustain it. However, the time has come when the country has to look for alternative sources of income, and tourism has been designated as one of the best options available. To promote tourism in a country with a limited range of attractions, such as wildlife, was a big challenge, but the government and stakeholders were able to harness creativity and create something that international tourists had not seen before. The use of emerging technologies made it possible for the government to come up with structures and systems capable of attracting international tourists. Currently, Dubai City is home to the tallest building on earth (Katsoni & Stratigea 2016). The largest man-made island, Palm Island, is also found here. The innovation that has been witnessed in the field of tourism in Dubai has made it one of the top global tourism destinations. However, to keep pace with the global competition, it will be necessary for stakeholders to ensure that they remain innovative.
Literature Review
According to Szutowski (2016), Diffusion Innovation Theory is one of the most common theories that has been used to explain how and why people embrace innovative ideas differently. It is a fact that innovation makes work easier, lowers costs, and improves efficiency in product or service delivery. However, not everyone is open to embracing new and untested ideas. Some people reject the idea of embracing change because of their fear of using new systems that may require training. Others are cautious of the speed at which to adopt innovation because of the uncertainties about the value that such new inventions can deliver. Others just resent their skills being challenged when they are called upon to use new systems and structures.
Diffusion Innovation Theory identifies five categories of adopters of innovative ideas. Figure 1 below shows these stages.
Figure 1: Stages of Innovation Adoption.
As shown below, the first category is the early adopters who are the minority, often estimated to be about 2.5% of the population. They are very creative individuals who believe in always coming up with new ideas of addressing current or future problems. They use a lot of their time thinking of better ways of handling their tasks and do not shy away from investing their resources in these new methods. They remain very ambitious in their pursuit of innovative ideas. For Katsoni and Stratigea (2016), they do not necessarily register success with every idea; failures are as common as a success.
However, this does not stop them from thinking of better ways of achieving their goals through new ways of thinking. The second category is the early adopters. They form about 13.5% of the population. These are people who understand and appreciate the need for change but lack the know-how to lead the process. However, they are often willing to embrace new systems and structures as soon as they are introduced. They are keen on identifying innovations and investing resources to implement them. Just like the innovators, they get to benefit from the superior value that the new systems and structures have to offer. However, they also face the risk of the new idea of failing to deliver what it has promised.
The early majority, forming about 34% of the population, are those who understand and appreciate the need for change but are keen to ensure that they only adopt systems and structures that have been tested and proven to work. Matias, Nijkamp, and Romão (2016) refer to them as average people who need to be convinced that they stand to benefit from the innovative ideas before embracing them. They take their time to see how the innovators and early adopters are affected by the new systems before making any decisions. If they see that the innovators and early adopters are reaping the benefits of the invention, then they will not waste time in embracing the new system.
However, if they determine that the innovators and early adopters are negatively affected, then they will shy away. Ray (2015) says that in most cases these individuals are risk evaders. They are interested in the potential of new systems but they fear investing in something that would not give them a guaranteed outcome. They share the same concerns with the late majority that also forms about 34% of the entire population. These individuals know and understand that change cannot be avoided. However, they are always willing to wait as long as possible to undertake any change. As long as they can use the existing systems and structures to achieve the outcomes they desire, they will avoid any new technology. They only embark on change when it is clear they can no longer avoid it.
The last category, which accounts for around 16% of the population, is the laggards (Pappas & Bregoli 2016). These individuals strongly believe in tradition. They are not easily swayed into embracing any new systems or structures. They are skeptical about change and would do everything possible to ensure that they continue using traditional systems and structures. Druica (2012) says that they fear change because of some factors, including potential increased cost and needing to acquire new skills. They are always the last to employ change, and only when it is mandatory to do so.
Diffusion Innovation Theory also identifies five stages of decision making, as shown in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Stages in the Decision Innovation Process. Source: (Egger, Gula & Walcher 2016).
As shown in the above figure, the first stage is the knowledge stage where an individual is exposed to knowledge but lacks proper information. The stage is characterized by a situation where one lacks the inspiration to pursue an innovative process because of limited knowledge. The second stage is persuasion. As more information about the innovation becomes available, one gets increasingly persuaded to take on the innovative idea. An individual will get the drive to search for relevant information. The next stage is the decision-making process, which Carvalho (2015) considers to be the most important stage. One decides whether to accept or reject the innovation based on the gathered information. In case a decision is made to accept the innovation, the next step would be the implementation process. The new idea is put into practice as per the proposed method and strategies. Finally, there is the confirmation stage. At this stage, one evaluates the performance outcome after the implementation. Of interest, at this stage, is to determine if the new system is capable of delivering the value it has promised. If the innovation yields the desired outcome, then more investment may be made, otherwise, it will be terminated to avoid further loss.
Hypotheses
According to Alsos, Eide, and Madsen (2014), the government of the United Arab Emirates, private companies in the field of tour and travel, and other stakeholders have embraced emerging technologies as a way of ensuring that tourism is promoted within the country. Given the massive investments that have been made by these stakeholders into innovation in tourism, it is reasonable to expect to be able to determine the outcome of this investment and its overall impact on tourism. As such, the following hypotheses will be used in the study:
H1. Increasing innovation is having a positive impact on the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates.
H2. The stakeholders in the tour and travel industry are receptive to emerging technologies.
H3. Creativity and innovation will define the future of the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates.
Methods
According to Sheldon and Daniele (2017), a research project should have a clearly defined methodology that identifies individual activities and how they will be undertaken to ensure that the desired goal is achieved. The methodology section is also critical for the users of the document because it outlines how the conclusions and recommendations were arrived at and provide the basis for determining whether these can be taken as reliable and valid. Other scholars who may also be interested in conducting related research may also find the methodology section important because it sets out the steps that can be taken to achieve similar goals in their study.
Research Design
One of the first steps that a researcher must take is the definition of the research design. As Papathanassis, Breitner, and Groot (2014) note, the research design is determined by the nature of the study. Before a researcher can select a specific design, there should be a clear understanding of the primary goal of the study. In this research, the primary goal is to determine the impact of increasing innovation in tourism in the United Arab Emirates. The design chosen must be capable of meeting this goal in the best way possible. It must aid the collection of relevant data and in its analysis to ensure that the conclusions arrived at are based on evidence. That is why the researcher opted to use a descriptive approach as the appropriate design for this study. The research focuses on something that can be observed and its impact clearly described by the stakeholders who are directly or indirectly affected. The chosen design also allows the researcher to make personal observations in the environment of interest without alerting the subjects.
The researcher can determine how well these stakeholders embrace emerging technologies and innovation in their workplaces and how their performance is affected. Given an appropriate amount of time, the researcher can collect preliminary data about increasing innovation in the field of tourism and its impact on the tour and travel industry through observation. The design also allows the researcher to survey to confirm the information collected through observation. The respondents participating in the study will help shed more light on why some innovations are supported by stakeholders and others are not. They will also explain why other innovations are successful while others are not. When using this design, it is also possible to embrace the use of case studies. Sometimes it becomes necessary to narrow the research focus down to a particular phenomenon and explain how it developed the way it did. Case studies give a clear picture of what happened in a specific organization when an innovative idea was introduced, the approach that was taken by the stakeholders, and the outcome that was realized. It becomes possible to identify areas or weaknesses so that corrective measures can be taken for future projects.
Sample and Data Sources
Data needed for this project can be collected from both government and private-sector employees in the field of tour and travel. It is also possible to collect the data from the experts in this field. Given the constraints on time and resources, sampling was necessary to come up with a manageable size of respondents. Stratified sampling was used because of the need to have respondents from various backgrounds. The first stratum had government employees, the second stratum had private-sector employees, and the third stratum had experts in this industry. In each stratum, simple random sampling was used to identify individual participants for the study.
A sample size of 100 was selected from these three different categories. The participants provided primary data sources for analysis. They are individuals who have been part of the ongoing innovation in the tour and travel industry in the country as policymakers, policy enforcers, advisers, or employees. Some of them have witnessed the transformation in the country’s tour and travel sector and can explain to the researcher how technology and innovation have played a role in that innovation. The primary data sources collected have been used alongside the secondary data gathered from books, journal articles, and other relevant data sources.
Procedure
The procedure used in collecting primary data is in line with the academic guidelines. Before sampling, the researcher sought permission from the relevant authorities. After being granted permission, the researcher then embarked on identifying the respondents through the sampling method discussed above. The researcher contacted the participants to inform them about the study and to request their participation in the project as respondents. A questionnaire was then developed to help in guiding the process of primary data collection. The researcher interviewed the sampled participants who agreed to take part in the research. The primary data were analyzed using a descriptive method.
Measure
In this research project, the independent variable was the increasing innovation witnessed in the tour and travel industry. The dependent variable was the performance of the tour and travel industry. The measure that was to be determined was how the increasing innovation is affecting performance in the tour and travel industry. Using descriptive statistics, it is possible to determine the level of impacting the emerging technologies and innovations have had on the performance of the tour and travel industry within the country. The stakeholders involved will be able to explain this impact by referring to case studies or incidences where they witnessed how innovation affects the industry.
Analysis and Results
The analysis of the results will help in determining the impact of increasing innovation in the field of tour and travel. The primary data will be compared with the findings made during the literature review. In this section, the researcher will analyze the data that was collected from the participants to determine the impact of increasing innovation on the tourism industry.
Descriptive Statistics
The researcher conducted a descriptive statistical analysis to ascertain the views of each individual concerning the impact of emerging technologies on the tour and travel industry. The researcher posed open-ended questions to the respondents. A key question that was posited to the participants was:
What is the impact of increasing innovation on the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates?
According to the respondents, technology has had a massive positive impact on the field of tour and travel in the United Arab Emirates. For instance, the emergence of Airbnb has completely changed the approach that stakeholders take in this industry. Tourists from all over the world can now rent apartments or hotel rooms via an online platform even before starting their journey. It makes their work, and the work of the tour and travel companies, much easier. In the case of overbooking, hotels in Dubai have a platform where they can share and find alternative accommodation for their clients to eliminate or reduce cases of dissatisfaction among customers. According to one of the respondents, for the United Arab Emirates to reach its goal of 20 million tourists by 2020, integration of innovation is a fundamental requirement. Emerging technologies also make it easy for the industry to enhance and improve security provision for visitors and to ensure that they can move with ease from one location to another.
The following question was aimed at determining the future of the tour and travel industry in the country, given an increasingly globalizing and innovative world.
What is the future of the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates in an increasingly globalizing and highly innovative world?
The respondents feel that the country’s tourism sector is more likely to grow if the stakeholders continue implementing innovations to improve the quality of their services in the market. One of the respondents noted that within the next 10 years the tour and travel sector will account for about 15 percent of the country’s GDP if the current growth is maintained. The respondents noted that emerging technologies in such a globalized society will play an even greater role than they currently do.
Other Types of Analyses
The researcher conducted a statistical analysis to provide further clarification of the descriptive analysis. The researcher wanted to determine the view of the respondents regarding the relevance of emerging technologies in the country. The following question was posed to the respondents:
How relevant is technology in the field of tour and travel in the United Arab Emirates?
Figure 3 below shows the outcome of the analysis of the response that the participants gave to this question.
Figure 3: Relevance of Technology in the Tourism Industry. Source: (Developed by the author).
As shown in the above graph, the majority of respondents (over 90%) felt that, indeed, technology is very relevant in the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates. Only a few of the respondents (less than 5%) felt that emerging technologies are not relevant. They cited issues such as cyber threats as factors that have negatively affected tourism. Some also argued that the increasing use of technology is reducing the physical interaction between tourists and the local tour operators.
The researcher also asked the respondents to give their views about how the local stakeholders have received the emerging technologies. The following question was asked:
How receptive are the stakeholders in the tour and travel industry towards emerging technologies?
The response that the participants gave was analyzed using mathematical methods and the graph below shows the outcome.
Figure 4: How Receptive Stakeholders are Towards Emerging Technologies. Source: (Developed by author).
As shown in the graph above, an overwhelming majority of the respondents felt that stakeholders are somewhat receptive to emerging technologies. Many stakeholders appreciate the need for emerging technologies but the fear of the unknown, coupled with the financial consequences of introducing some of the technologies, often slows down the pace of implementation.
Is the investment made in innovative technologies proportionate to the returns?
When the above question was posited to the participants, their response was mathematically analyzed and Figure 5, below, shows the outcome.
Figure 5: Proportionality of Investment in Technology to Returns. Source: (Developed by author).
The chart above clearly shows that the vast majority of respondents feel that investment in technology is proportionate to the returns. They noted that when a company invests in innovation, then it is more likely to achieve success in operations than those who shy away from change. The respondents noted that the investment that was made to create Palm Island in Dubai has led to increased revenues in terms of increased numbers of tourists. As the tourists come from all over the world to see the largest manmade island, they end up spending in the local economy. The hospitality industry, tour and travel companies, and even the healthcare sector, all benefit from these additional tourists visiting. Also, the more a company invests in innovation, the more likely it is to come up with products that satisfy the needs of its customers uniquely.
Discussion
The above review of literature and analysis of primary data combines to provide a detailed understanding of how increasing innovation is affecting the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates. As one of the respondents noted, for a long time the United Arab Emirates was known only for its oil and gas. Foreigners who came to the country were primarily interested in the oil trade. However, that changed when the government started making heavy investments in the transport and communication sectors. The movement became easy and security improved.
As the government looked for ways of diversifying the economy, tourism became one of the most viable sectors that could be promoted to help in this strategy. With improved infrastructure and good security in the country, the government and other relevant stakeholders focused on improving the tour and travel industry. However, Peris-Ortiz and Álvarez-García (2015) note that the stakeholders were faced with one major challenge. The country is not blessed with the diversified wildlife that tourists often look for when going on holiday. An alternative had to be found to ensure that the country could compete and be just as appealing to tourists as other countries that do have a wide range of wildlife to offer. The stakeholders turned to technology, creativity, and innovation to help tackle this challenge.
As shown in the analysis of the primary data, technology has had a positive impact on tour and travel in the country. Stakeholders realized that the only way to attract tourists to the country is to create unique amenities not found anywhere else in the world. According to a report by Müller, Lundmark, and Lemelin (2013), Dubai became a focal point of tourism in the country. Through such innovative ideas, Palm Island, as mentioned above, was created. Some of the respondents interviewed noted that the island in particular has been attracting an increasingly diverse set of tourists, from numerous countries around the world. It is uniquely developed and its record-breaking size is a clear demonstration of the level of innovation embraced in this industry.
Tourists come to these manmade islands and can stay for weeks, even months, just to enjoy the beauty that it brings. Through creativity, innovation, and technology, the local stakeholders have found a perfect way to attract tourists despite the country’s limited traditional tourist attractions. The stakeholders have also used innovation and technology to create platforms that encourage expenditure when tourists visit the city of Dubai. Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building on earth and tourists come from both the developed and developing countries just to see this outstanding manmade structure. However, the stakeholders in the tour and travel industry have come up with ways to encourage these tourists to spend in the local economy as much as possible; Burj Khalifa has numerous shops and stores, selling a wide range of products to its visitors.
According to Papathanassis, Lukovic, and Vogel (2012), innovation has made it easier for the local players in the tour and travel industry to offer superior services to visitors. In the past, tour operators would wait for the tourists at the airport. Occasionally, these operates would be scrambling for the visitors, causing concern among the tourists. However, things have completely changed thanks to the technological innovations that have now emerged. Tourists now can contact their preferred tour companies well in advance of leaving their home countries. They describe what they want when visiting the country.
The tour operators then prepare the hotels, travel, and other services that they may need to meet their wishes. In parallel, the hospitality industry, heavily reliant on tourism for its growth, has also been keen to utilize emerging technologies to improve its performance. They work closely with the tour and travel companies via online platforms to ensure that the needs of their customers are met in the best way possible. Morpeth and Hongliang (2015) point to a further innovative idea that is also starting to emerge in the tour and travel industry, that of medical tourism. With modern hospitals equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and highly qualified staff, tourists can choose to visit the country for medical purposes as they visit the beautiful scenery and landscapes that the country has to offer.
Theoretical Implications
The findings of this study will have profound theoretical implications. The city of Dubai has been at the forefront of embracing emerging technologies as a way of improving its tourism sector. It is currently one of the top tourist destinations in the world and unmatched by any other city in the MENA (the Middle East and NortItegion. In fact, it is on par with other top global tourists’ destinations such as Paris (Weeden 2016). It is a clear indication that being an innovator or early adopter can help an entity to achieve great success. It is a reminder that concepts of Diffusion Innovation Theory are indeed important when managing emerging technologies and innovations. It also demonstrates how crucial it is to be an early adaptor or an innovator, especially in an environment that is as competitive as the tour and travel industry.
Managerial Implications
The findings made in this study can be of great help to those in managerial positions when it comes to managing innovation and technology in modern society. One of the most important recommendations resulting from this research project is that top managers should be ready and willing to embrace emerging technologies in their operations. In modern society, managers simply cannot ignore the relevance of emerging technologies. If they do so, they are at risk of putting a company, or even a government entity, into a vulnerable position. Management must not only be flexible enough to embrace change but also be vigilant to know when change is imminent, as well as what can be done to ensure that it is done smoothly.
The study also demonstrates the importance of stakeholders coming together and working as a unit. In Dubai, considerable success has been witnessed in the field of tourism as various stakeholders work as a unit to achieve shared goals using emerging innovations. Managers should learn to be consultative when faced with situations that require change. As shown in this paper, when different stakeholders are involved, then the outcome of a change process will not be significantly biased against any one section. The involvement of all the stakeholders also reduces cases of resistance. Given that the leaders actively involve these stakeholders before implementing change, they are likely to support the new systems and structures introduced.
The study also strongly supports the need to have proper communication channels to pass innovative ideas down to the stakeholders. As such, in the discussion, stakeholders can only be receptive to the emerging technology if they understand how it will affect them. They need to be sufficiently informed about the new technological approaches and how they will individually and collectively be affected. Early communication is also a sign of respect towards stakeholders. In some cases, the stakeholders may need some form of training to help them understand how they can work under the new systems brought about by the emerging innovations.
Limitations and Future Research
It is important to appreciate that this research project had several limitations. The biggest limitation was the time that was available for the study. As with any academic research, the researcher had to complete the project within a specific period, in line with set guidelines. The area covered when collecting the primary data was limited; the researcher mainly focused on Dubai when collecting primary data. As such, it would be beneficial if there could be additional studies that could widen the data collection to include participants from other parts of the county. Future research could also focus on how the local players on the tour and travel can become innovators and early adopters. It has been shown that most of these players are late adopters, always waiting to see how new inventions affect tourism in other parts of the world before embracing it. Rather, they should be encouraged to be creative enough to come up with best practices in the industry that can be emulated by other stakeholders from other parts of the world.
Conclusions
The tourism sector is increasingly becoming one of the most important pillars of the United Arab Emirates’ economy. The sector is currently relying on innovation and technology to ensure that it can deliver quality services to its customers in the global market. As such, in the discussions outlined above, although most of the stakeholders are cautious when it comes to embracing emerging technologies, they appreciate the need to embrace change in their operations. As a country that is not richly endowed with a wide variety of wildlife, the government and other stakeholders rely on innovation and technology to create amenities that can attract international tourists. The city of Dubai is currently home to the tallest building and largest man-made island on earth. It is a clear indication that these stakeholders are increasingly relying on innovation. It is clear that innovation has had a positive impact on the local tour and travel industry and has made Dubai one of the top tourists’ destinations in the world.
Reference List
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Druica, E 2012, Digital economy innovations and impacts on society, Information Science Reference, Hershey.
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Appendix
Questionnaire
How relevant is technology in the field of tour and travel in the United Arab Emirates? (Tick as appropriate)
Very relevant
Relevant
Somewhat relevant
Irrelevant
Very irrelevant
How receptive are the stakeholders in the tour and travel industry towards emerging technologies? (Tick as appropriate)
Very receptive
Receptive
Somewhat receptive
Unreceptive
Very unreceptive
Is the investment made in innovative technologies proportionate to the returns? (Tick as appropriate and explain your choice)
Very proportionate
Proportionate
Somewhat proportionate
Disproportionate
Very disproportionate
What is the impact of increasing innovation on the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates? (Kindly give an explanation)
What is the future of the tour and travel industry in the United Arab Emirates in an increasingly globalizing and highly innovative world?
Science and innovation have a critical role in the life of the current society. Still, people tend to see in different ways, as they pay attention to various aspects. In this way, some of them focus on positive influences of science and technological innovation while others consider the negative ones to be more critical.
Scientific development turned out to affect various spheres of life. It allowed industries to have more opportunities and overcome limitations, providing a possibility to automatize operations. Technological innovations extended the range of the products offered by organizations and improved their quality. Science and technology allowed to prevent many illnesses even though they also promoted the creation of new addictive drugs.
National security improves greatly, as new weapons are created. However, they also became more available, which increased crime rates. Environmental problems started to attract much attention after the Industrial Revolution. Science and innovation turned out to increase pollution in this way, but they also gave an opportunity to develop new strategies that can save the environment for the future generations.
Introduction
About two centuries ago the western society started to face streamlined technological changes that occurred due to the various innovations. For instance, previously people received energy with the help of the wind, water, and animals while now they have an opportunity to overcome such limitations and use the steam engine. Its creation quickened the development of the Industrial Revolution, and influenced people’s lives greatly, making more opportunities accessible (Rosen, 2003).
Soon, the railroad allowed to transport people and various products to different locations. The sphere of communication improved with the creation of the telegraph and telephone. Finally, electric lighting substituted candles, kerosene, and gas. In the 20th century, progress started to be associated with the technological development and innovations. The automobile and the airplane entered the lives of the general public, affecting the nature of cities.
Radio and then television provided an opportunity to get to know more about people and events that happened all over the world without leaving home. Information about the causes of diseases allowed to develop new effective treatments and consider how various illnesses can be prevented. With the course of time, computers appeared. With the help of the transistor, they became smaller but more powerful and less expensive.
Of course, nowadays the process of research and development is extremely different from the one that existed two centuries ago. It turned out to be international in character with increased opportunities and the production of new knowledge. The mix of science and technologies altered human life significantly. Technological innovations provided a lot of people with warmth and cleanliness. They improved the quality of nutrition and medical care as well as widened a range of transportation and entertainment opportunities. Thus, science and technology can be effectively used to simplify people’s lives and to meet human needs.
Material progress continues, but the usefulness of new creations depends on the requirements of the current general public. Societies tend to have different opinions and ideas about the innovation; that is why they are discussed in the framework of different spheres. The alterations provide an opportunity to consider each technology and tool very attentively to make sure that they will improve living conditions. Even though science and innovation can have both positive and negative influences on the society, they play enormous role in its life, affecting industry, healthcare, national security and environment.
Role of Science and Innovation
Advantages of Science and Innovation
With the help of science, a lot of innovations that can be used in everyday life are made. They make even basic operations much simpler, which appeals to the humanity. Today people use various technologies even without understanding their complexity. They utilize washing machines, microwave ovens, phones, TV sets and DVD players every day at home, as they make routine things comfortable and pleasant.
Science and innovation give the representatives of the general public many benefits and also make the life of people with disabilities easier and more convenient. For example, the creation of elevators turned out to be advantageous for all populations and even streamlined the transportation of heavy freight (Nicoll & Zimring, 2009).
In the framework of working places and educational establishments, calculators, laptops, and printers are extremely helpful. They substitute previously used tools that entailed much paperwork and was difficult to work with. With the development of the industrialization, innovative technologies provide an opportunity to create processed and canned goods, bottle drinks, dresses, pants and a lot of other things that used to require much labor (Paula, 2011).
Today people are free to choose the product they want from the wide range of offerings while previously such chance was considered to be a privilege. Science and innovation also enhanced the sphere of transportation greatly. Ordinary people can refer to ground transport vehicles or may give preference to water or air transportation if the destination is distant. In this way, they can save much time, which is critical in the current rapid world.
The work of experienced scientists and their discoveries also entered the sphere of beauty. Today people pay enormous attention to the way they look like; that is why they believe the existence of the liposuction, breast implants, and various procedures that make individuals look younger and more attractive to be a great advantage. Scientific studies and their results allow to develop innovative medicines that prolong people’s life. New technologies provide an opportunity to detect illnesses in a short period of time as well as to find their causes and effective treatment. In this way, it can reduce death rates (Cook, 2011).
Innovations also made communication easier, faster and cheaper. People have a possibility to use smartphones that provide them with the opportunity to send messages, call, have video conferences, leave comments on the social networks, etc. There is no necessity already to wait for a long time for a letter sent from the other part of the world, as an e-mail can be received in less than a minute.
Disadvantages of Science and Innovation
Of course, science and innovation provided a wide range of opportunities for the society, a part of which were not even considered to be possible before. Still, it cannot be denied that some improvements entail adverse outcomes that affect people’s lives.
The representatives of the general public tend to become lazier, as they get used to the fact that a lot of operations can be streamlined with the help of special technologies. For example, they do not need to go outside and communicate with others or visit a library if they need some information. That is why some members of the society believe that people started to be less physically active, which influence their bodies and minds (Nicoll & Zimring, 2009).
Everything can be received from the television and internet. People do not even need to get up from the sofa, as they can use a zapper and a laptop. The youngsters are claimed to become addicted to such technologies, as they are a great source of the entertainment. As a result, teenagers are said to be more violent because they often perform such behavior when playing computer games. Nowadays scientists even discuss the situations when people are killed and injured because some individuals confuse virtual reality and a real world.
For example, such situation was observed in Russia, where a young man faced his enemy from the game face-to-face and killed him because he transferred the hierarchy and rules of that game to the reality (Online game rivalry ends with real life murder, 2008).
Modern equipment that is currently used by various organizations often has a negative influence on the environment. Innovative technologies produce harmful smoke that destroys the ozone layer. Many of them lead to the creation of waste that requires special utilization while its absence leads to the water, air and earth contamination. For example, drinking water pollution because of the gas industry operations was reported in Pennsylvania (Peltier & Fishbowl, 2016).
Even achievements in the sphere of chemistry and biology that provide an opportunity to create effective medicines have poor consequences. They extend the range of addictive drugs that can be illegally used, sold and transferred. That is why some members of the society believe that innovation and science have an adverse influence on health (Nicoll & Zimring, 2009).
Except for that, the negative effects of the innovation can be found in the development of the weapons and other military aspects. Of course, they are rather helpful in the framework of the national security, as they provide an opportunity to protect the country and its citizens. Still, it cannot be argued that with the creation of new weapons, they become more available. Ordinary members of the society start to buy guns, which increase crime rates within the community.
Finally, the concept of beauty is affected by the development of technology. While some enhancements are achieved with the help of innovations that are not invasive, others require operations and further image processing. Seeing photos that are edited with the assistance of Photoshop, teenagers tend to set unreachable ideals for themselves, which often leads to depression. The situation turned to be so absurd that almost a half of girls who are in the 1-3 grades are willing to be thinner while more than 75% of teenagers believe that their bodies require improvement (Vaynshteyn, 2014). They even tend to think that gaining weight is much scarier than having cancer or losing family, which shows that the views that are spread in the society are not decent.
Importance of Science and Innovation
The role of the innovation and science should not be ignored and underestimated. It has a great influence on people’s life, making it easier and more convenient or dangerous and more complicated depending on the situation.
All in all, science and innovation provide an opportunity to improve national security and social stability. They give more ways to receive energy, conserve it and utilize decently. Food technology allows to enhance the quality of the products and make them easier to storage and transport (Kasturi, 2009). The national economy and its efficiency can be improved by the growth of national income.
The gap between developed and developing countries can be reduced with the help of technological provision and donations. Technology intensification is rather beneficial for the organizations, as it can contribute to the value added production. Such societal change as the transition to an information society can be maintained due to the technological innovation and science. The creation of new tools in micro-electronics, computers, etc. can reduce the labor component and streamline automation.
The quality of people’s life can improve greatly because innovations made in the sphere of public health tend to provide more medial opportunities. Scientists receive a lot of possibilities to control diseases, treat and prevent them. Except for that, innovative technologies can be used to protect the environment and increase the productivity of the land. Information technology has social benefits, as it can be used to control urbanization. Finally, a new culture for the society can be created, as traditional and contemporary values can be combined (Role of science and technology for future development, 2000).
Different Views on Science and Innovation in Society of the Modern World
Industry
Research is critical for various industries because it gives more opportunities for them to improve. There are no limitations in the way they use the results of research studies. For example, a part of the chemical industry was created on the basis of scientific ideas. Its technologies, as well as those that belong to the semiconductor and biotechnology industry, were considered to be only some abstract promises from the very beginning.
Still, they turned into real objects soon. The growth of the science-based industries can be noticed even nowadays. Such industries are also depended on the technological innovations, as they provide a possibility to extend the range of the products. With the course of time, they are expected to be less affected by academic scientists. However, today they are still often the only ones who have the knowledge required for improvements.
In this way, a cooperation of scientists and engineers is required in order to cope with all possible problems and develop a decent plane design. Enormous amounts of money are constantly spent on such projects. Thus, a chance to get involved in such processes is received only by major organizations, as they are the only ones who have required technological knowledge and experience. The automobile industry is among the most mature areas. It needs fewer inputs from science and develops more slowly (National Academy of Sciences, 2016).
Technically self-contained industries and those that do not depend on the current science much are not really affected by the outcomes of the fundamental research. Such situation can be found in Japan, where productivity and product leadership are often obtained with the help of the strategies that are not really based on the scientific research, as they are focused on engineering.
Healthcare
Currently, society pays much attention to the improvement of the health status and prevention of illnesses. Science and technology turn out to be extremely helpful in this perspective, and the health sciences streamline the promotion of the well-being of the whole population. In fact, they are connected with various social and institutional structures. In this way, if something is discovered during the research, experimental products are likely to be created within a very short period of time. However, it does not mean that they will surely be beneficial, as their appearance in the market can require long lead because of the necessity to prove that the product is safe and efficient.
Still, the most critical issue that deals with healthcare and affects society’s health condition is its cost. Those medical products that are created due to the research and development procedures can reduce healthcare expenditures (Roehr, 2011).
Different vaccines, for example, prevent complications and do not let people get ill, which allows them not to spend money on other treatment. Such products as imaging devices and surgical procedures can be rather expensive, which increases healthcare costs. However, they improve overall care. Goods and procedures that reduce unit treatment costs make healthcare services more available, which is rather advantageous for the current society. As demand and total expenditures increase, the industry also has some benefit (National Academy of Sciences, 2016).
Thus, science and technical innovation affect healthcare costs due to the social and institutional structures that exist in this system. Society tends to reassess its health care system, and the main issue faced by it is the necessity to create administrative structures that will be able to enhance the development of medical technology, focusing on better services and reduced costs.
National Security
National security started to attract an enormous attention of the society after the World War II. With the help of innovative technologies created by the scientists, the country wanted to enhance its military advantage. For example, superior technology played a great role in the outcome of the Persian Gulf War, as it provided the Coalition with the opportunity to use “smart bombs” that improved the performance of the army greatly (Citino, 2001).
It is believed that military advantage can be received from the different sources of technology that tend to substitute one another with the course of time. In this way, initially, one part of industry provided hardware and software to the army. It was separated from civilian industry and had only one main customer. It was focused on the performance of the product while its cost seemed to be not so critical. Still, in the middle of the 20th century, the defense industry started to provide the civilian industry with its technologies.
Nowadays, innovations made due to the scientific research in the framework of the civilian industry tend to be even greater than those made by the defense industry, which shows the tendencies found in the current society (Role of science and technology for future development, 2000). Thus, it can be concluded the military depends on civilian technologies and national economic performance.
Today people are generally not so concerned about the wars even though some of them have not finished yet. They pay much attention to the improvements that can be seen in the framework of the civilian industry and the quality of life. The representatives of the general public are focused on the way they can make the life better, providing access to healthcare services, enhanced nutrition, sanitation, etc. As a result, the military faces the decline of defense budgets, which makes it need the re-examination of the base that deals with research and development.
Environmental Protection
Initially, people were not very concerned about the environmental problems, as they have never affected the life of the human beings. Still, such position altered greatly in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution provided the general public with numerous advantages but they turned out to have a negative impact on the environment. Thus, since that time a lot of attempts to prevent the degradation of the environment were made all over the world. Nevertheless, the issue is still on the front burner today.
The condition of the environment continues to worsen because of the emissions, effluents, indecent waste disposal, and deforestation. Improvements made in the sphere of science and technology allow to see such problems as global warming and the contamination of water. In some cases, people and their activities are perceived as the main causes of environmental problems (for example, companies tend to believe that utilization of waste is too expensive that is why they do not refer to special organizations and drop dangerous materials illegally, which increases pollution).
It is believed that in several decades there will be about 11 billion people in the world. In order to supply them with everything needed, the global economy should grow. Science and technology innovation are likely to prove that all these people will have enough resources for living and that out planet will still be ready to be used by them. Due to the improvements in the mentioned spheres, people will be able to utilize more efficient technologies.
Some individuals believe that scientific research and innovations made on its basis should be mainly used to protect the environment and develop green policies (Chen, 2008). They focus on the positive effects that can be maintained by the organizations on the everyday basis. People tend to believe that investment in the green competence can be rather beneficial for the enterprises. As the representatives of the general public are rather concerned about the condition of the environment, they tend to refer to the companies that make their activities and products friendly to nature.
People choose the company they want to cooperate with, taking into consideration its green innovation and green images. Thus, the way the waste is utilized and the products are created is extremely important for the success of the business. Under the influence of the general public, firms start considering environmental management and innovations as their advantages over the competitors.
The environment can be protected with the help of initiatives undertaken by the individuals and organizations. Different industries can maintain efficient usage of raw materials, which is likely to reduce the amount of waste and stop contamination before it turns into a problem. According to Khanna, Deltas, and Harrington (2009) “reducing and preventing pollution is an important goal of the new field of industrial ecology, which, by examining industrial processes, strives to maintain sustainable technological growth” (p. 85). Due to the increased interest of the society, science and innovation technology, environmental degradation is believed to reduce due to the efficient use of raw materials and prevention of the pollution.
Science and Innovation in Saudi Arabia
Science and innovation bring much improvement to the countries, where they are promoted, and Saudi Arabia is one of them. Intellectual property (IP) encourages countries to maintain creative operations and innovate. As a result, it has positive effects on the global economy. Fair competition is promoted, innovative products and methods are created with the attempt to provide the product that is more beneficial than the one that the competitors have.
The National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (NSTIP) that is implemented by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is focused on the support of advanced research. The private sector tends to do its best to give the country more opportunities in this framework. For instance, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company Armaco works with the organization known as King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology to improve research in oil and gas technology.
Their cooperation is mainly focused on the production of clean fuel, which is likely to appeal to the customers and bring increased revenue in this way. In the same way, Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation takes part in the project, the aim of which is the enhancement of the petrochemicals technology across Saudi Arabia. As one of the largest petrochemicals manufacturers, it receives much support that ensures a positive outcome.
IP laws are revised from time to time in order to meet the legal framework and enforce IP rights. In this way, the investment of these areas increase, which streamline the process of development. Such tendency is claimed to be integral to Saudi Arabia according to the NSTIP, because it can be used to create a knowledge-based economy. With such purpose, human resource capacities are extended, supporting research activities are conducted, required funding is allocated, and creativity and innovation is stimulated.
In order to implement the NSTIP, Saudi Arabia focuses on the KACST and other Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) organizations. Both public and private sectors maintain a large number of projects that are expected to improve the situation in the country greatly. They deal with “water technologies, biotechnology, advanced materials, nanotechnology, information technology, electronics, communication, oil and gas, petrochemicals technology, medical and health, space, energy, environment, agriculture, and construction” (Alsodais, 2013, par. 6).
Transferring and localizing technology is maintained by special centers. With the desire to enhance domestic innovative capacities, Saudi Arabia hires scientists, and technical professionals who have much experience in the sphere of technology and its areas. With the same purpose, a large amount of agreements is signed annually.
Saudi Arabia pays much attention to the oil and gas industries and developments that can be made in their spheres. It shows much concern about the environment and health. This presupposes the creation of strategies that can prevent pollution and improve access to the healthcare services with the attempt to enhance the quality of life.
Conclusion
The representatives of the society should pay more attention to the opportunities that are provided by science and innovation. They should consider the advantages that people can use in their everyday life, such as washing machines, microwave ovens, phones, and TV sets. Enormous help is provided to the people with disabilities, as they gain an opportunity to simplify their lives. Office operations and education also become easier due to the creation of calculators and laptops.
The possibility to make processed and canned goods allow to keep the food in a decent condition for a long time, which is beneficial for travelers. The sphere of transportation enhances, and persons can choose the means of transport that appeal to them more than others. In turns out to be easier to follow the tendencies in the beauty industry with the help of enhancement procedures. Finally, innovations also make communication faster and cheaper.
Still, the scientific development makes people lazier, providing them with the opportunity to forget about physical activities, which has an adverse impact on their health condition. The representatives of the vulnerable population that includes children and the youth mainly become addicted to technologies, which influence not only their bodies but also minds. Negative impact on the environment can be observed, as harmful smoke and waste require special utilization that is often ignored by the companies due to its expensiveness. New addictive drugs are created and spread through the society, which affects crime rates and health. The development of weapons and other military aspects not only protects the country but also increases the risks.
Thus, people who live in one society can have different views on the science and innovation because they tend to focus mainly only on the positive or negative aspects of it. Still, such perception is not negative, as it provides an opportunity to take into consideration different opinions when discussing the subject. They allow professionals to see the problem from opposite positions and evaluate it, discovering all sides of science and innovations. Except for that, obtained knowledge can be used to find a compromise and solution about the utilization of the innovations and discoveries in the world. Realizing what improves the situation and what makes it worse, can help the society to create plans, such as the NSTIP, and follow them to make the development as advantageous as possible.
Rosen, C. (2003). ‘Knowing’ industrial pollution: Nuisance law and the power of tradition in a time of rapid economic change, 1840-1864. Environmental History, 8(4), 565-597.
