OUR MONTLY RESEARCHER (BENEDICT MWAKABUNGU)
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
The topic of my doctoral research is “impact of microeconomic variables on tour operators’ company performance: empirical evidence from Arusha in Tanzania.” The study provides insights into the variables influencing the growth and performance of tour operator's companies in the tourism industry, specifically in Tanzania. It is also important for boosting the company’s performance by enhancing knowledge of the relationship between the selected microeconomic variables and firm performance, therefore contributing to the advancement of knowledge, and stimulating future researchers to conduct investigations in other service provision segments of the economy or other parts of the country. In other words, the discovery opens new avenues for future research in this field as it provides key information to tour operator firms to ensure that the performance of companies receives the utmost attention by stakeholders in the tourist industry in Tanzania because of its significant contribution to the growth and development of the country.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
The overall objective of this study was to examine the impact of selected microeconomic variables on the financial performance of tour operator companies in Arusha, Tanzania. The study revealed that service supply or provision capacity, capital structure, and the age of the company, which represents the experience of the company, have a favorable and statistically significant impact on the financial performance of tour operator companies in Arusha, Tanzania. The average descriptive findings on a five-point Likert scale also showed that most people agreed with most of the statements about how company growth affected the financial performance of tour operator companies in Arusha, Tanzania. However, the regression results revealed that company growth has a negative and statistically insignificant effect on the company's financial performance. On the other hand, the study revealed that the combined influence of company size and microeconomic variables had a moderating effect on financial performance. This is because the moderating variable, which is company size, had a positive and statistically significant impact on the relationship between microeconomic variables and tour operator companies' financial performance. It was found that the interaction between microeconomic variables and moderating variable was positive and statistically significant. This implies that company size affects the relationship between the ability to provide services, the growth of the company, its capital structure, its age, and its financial performance. Hence, firm size plays a key role as a moderating variable in this study.
How can the results of your doctoral research be utilized in practice?
The findings of this study are therefore expected to significantly contribute to the literature on tourism economics in developing economies, and Tanzania in particular, as well as to provide a comprehensive understanding of the conditions that have a substantial impact on the country's tour operators' prosperity. Moreover, the results of this study will help policymakers and tour operator businesses in Tanzania understand the tourism industry better, therefore making the industry contribute more to the country's economic growth and development. The contribution of the industry enhances the country’s gross domestic product, foreign currency earnings, and employment creation in the country.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
This study adopted a descriptive study design for selected microeconomic variables on the financial performance of tour operator enterprises in Arusha, Tanzania, because nearly all the data is numerical, allowing for quantitative explanations. The methodology outlines the tools and tactics that were used in the study. Research design is crucial in the planning and execution of a study as it assists in the identification and resolution of problems that may arise during the research and analytic phases to allow the researcher(s) to generalize the findings to a larger population. To obtain a sample size of 140 companies from the list of licensed tour operator companies in Arusha, a systematic random sampling strategy was employed. An econometric (multiple-regression) model with E-Views computer program version 12 was employed to examine the relationship among the variables under study and to investigate the moderating effect of firm size on the link between microeconomic variables and the performance of tour operators' companies operating in Arusha, Tanzania.
For further information, please contact:
Benedict Huruma Peter Mwakabungu via email bmwakabungu@yahoo.com or huruma.benedict@cbe.ac.tz, mobile number is +255 767 400940