Risk-induced competitive productivity in times of recession: a chaordic tourism decision-making perspective

This study aims to explore the interface of competitive productivity (CP) levels in times of turbulence.

Drawing from a sample of 507 Athenian holidaymakers, the study uses a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine the chaordic systems amongst perceived risks (social; destination; price; quality) in tourism purchasing intentions. It considers three grouping variables (age; monthly income; trip [domestic; overseas]). It further evaluates the effect sizes of those risks upon purchasing intentions by complementary using necessary condition analysis (NCA).

fsQCA revealed three sufficient configurations: price-quality nexus (micro); generated experience (meso) and perceived destination image (macro). NCA showcased that the effect size of the examined perceived risks is relatively low, while destination risks have the highest impact.

Only a few studies use fsQCA and NCA in the field of tourism and hospitality studies thus, their full potential and implications of exploring the interface of tourism decision-making components with CP levels are still unexplored.

This is the first study examining the nonlinearity of risk-induced decision-making triggers of holidaymakers affected by the recession in line with the principles of CP. Its theoretical contribution lays in the exploration of the interface of CP and its three levels of application (micro [tourist], meso [firm/business], macro [destination]) in times of turbulence. Managerially, it strengthens the assumption that CP and customer loyalty are strongly associated even in times of turbulence when destinations and firms should make a strong point to maintain their competitive edge. Methodologically, the study highlights the value of fsQCA for identifying multiple pathways, a relatively new method in tourism. Furthermore, it introduces NCA, a new complementary method in tourism research.