There often exists a skepticism regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of ASEAN tourism collaboration. The competitive nature of tourism, and the development gap between less-developed and developed member countries are some of the reasons ASEAN tourism is little more than a political gesture to the skeptics. In reality, the collaboration is slow-moving. Little is known about its mechanism let alone ways to improve it. Despite the continuous cooperative endeavor among the member nations since 1998 and the significant economic contribution tourism makes in the region, the ASEAN tourism phenomenon receives little attention from researchers. Hence, this research aims to answer two questions: (1) How do ASEAN countries collaborate in tourism? (2) What can be done to improve the collaboration? This research adopts a case study approach. It involves the formulation of theoretical propositions based on literature in political science and behavioral science. Primary data were collected from key stakeholders of ASEAN tourism by means of in-depth interviews. A total of twenty-one individuals participated. They represented nine out of the ten member governments, international organizations, industry associations, the academia, and consultancies. During the final stage of the research, congruence and discrepancies between the theoretical propositions and the empirical findings were identified, and a model of ASEAN tourism collaboration was constructed. One of the key findings is a recipe for success in intergovernmental tourism collaboration. It was found that three categories of factors facilitate ASEAN tourism collaboration and its implementation of policies: stakeholders ? especially the political will and commitment of national leaders; resources ? the technical and financial assistance provided by ASEAN dialogue partners; and cooperation management ? a flexible and ?conservative progressive? approach with a strong monitoring and evaluation mechanism. The contribution of this study is threefold. First, it fills an empirical gap by investigating a little yet known phenomenon that is politically and economically significant. Second, it contributes to theory development by extending the contextual boundaries of existing theories in intergovernmental collaboration. Finally, it provides directional and pragmatic policy recommendations on how to facilitate the collaborative process and on how to eliminate barriers to implementing the ASEAN Tourism Agreement.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1999. Schulich School of Business. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-230). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ39278.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-88). Also available online.

Since the end of the Cold War, the central puzzle of alliance theory is no longer why or how do alliances form, but (1) why do some alliances persist beyond the conditions in which they were created and (2) of these, why do some evolve in new directions ? Traditional realist scholarship cannot account for the persistence or evolution of military alliances when threats recede. This dissertation devises a model of alliance institutionalization and norm formation to explain and predict these processes. / When multidimensional threats exist, states facing a common threat ally, but they formalize and institutionalize the alliance so it can better manage multiple threats. Institutionalization encourages conditions conducive to persistence and evolution in two ways. First, by facilitating consultation and cooperation, it increases transparency, improves the performance of the alliance, and makes it costly for allies to renounce commitments or otherwise abandon one another. Second, institutions foster norms that in turn induce a form of attachment, or "loyalty" to the institution. / The strength of the norms embodied in the alliance and the allies' assessment of performance determine the behavior of institutionalized alliances. The alliance persists unaltered when performance is satisfactory, but norms are weak. It evolves, or expands its purpose and activities, when satisfactory performance combines with strong constitutive norms. Erosion occurs when strong norms encourage allies to salvage a poorly functioning alliance by curtailing its scope. Dissolution takes place when unsatisfactory performance and weak norms fail to prevent exit. / The most significant findings of this dissertation are that given institutionalization and norms, states do not exit an alliance immediately following a significant alteration in the strategic context or a decline in performance, but they try to preserve it. Only when these efforts fail will they curtail or dissolve the relationship. The dissertation tests the model by engaging in a comparative analysis of Cold War institutionalized alliances: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Warsaw Pact, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, and the Australia, New Zealand, and U.S. alliance. Therefore, policy makers should not assume that evolving institutionalized alliances are adversarial or rush to respond with destabilizing counter alliances and, to minimize the possibility of conflict, allies engaging in evolution must clearly communicate their objectives to non-participants.

<p>How does competition and rivalry within alliances affect outcomes and processes in civil wars? Towards addressing this inquiry, this dissertation presents a formal theory of alliance formation that takes into account both internal and external threats. The theory, presented in Chapter 2, focuses on how allying parties make decisions regarding resource mobilization for conflictual purposes, in the presence of both internal and external hazards. The model indicates that intra-coalition division should serve not only as a source of instability but also as a wellspring of strength for aligning militant groups. This leads to a peculiar result, whereby the internal factors enabling groups to overcome the problem of collective action may also contribute to the "conflict trap." Testable implications are derived and examined empirically via a new dataset on alliances between rebel groups during civil wars from 1944 to 2001. The series of logistical models in Chapter 3 indicates that alliances marked by rivalry and competition are indeed more likely to lead to rebel victories. Yet, the analysis also demonstrates that these types of arrangements are also significant predictors of war recurrence. The latter result holds irrespective of how the original conflicts terminate. Additionally, Chapter 4 of this dissertation presents a comparative analysis between two cases of civil war marked by competitive alliances. In addition to other factors, the cases suggest the relative size of alliance members, the influence external actors, and the presence of electoral institutions may either exacerbate or mitigate competition issues within alliances.</p> / Dissertation

No description available.

The emergence of strategic alliances has been recognized as a viable source of competitive advantage across most industries in the business world. It also holds true in the evolution of the shipping industry in Malaysia as the globalization of shipping and logistic services now prevails over traditional shipping business practices. / The purpose of this study was to examine the creation of value in strategic alliances. Drawing on the theories of resource dependence, transaction cost, and collaborative advantage as intellectual base, an integrative conceptual framework of value driven strategic alliances was developed to analyse the rationale behind mutual value creation in the processes of collaboration and networking. / Quantitative data was collected by mail survey using questionnaires which were developed and validated by an expert panel and fine-tuned by a pilot test. The reliability of the instrument was tested by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. As the alpha values were all above 0.8 all the constructs were found to have a high degree of internal consistency with this particular sample of respondents. The data collected were later systematically processed and analysed by appropriate statistical tools. / The results of this study contribute to existing knowledge of strategic alliances by bridging parts of prior theoretical voids in the value-based perspective. Shipping practitioners can also gain from this knowledge to better comprehend the implications of strategic alliances management in an effort to mutually create more value from their partnership. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

This study examines the perceptions of Human Resource (HR) practitioners working within privately owned companies in Thailand, about their role as a strategic partner. To clarify the evolution of traditional transaction-based HR management to a proactive and strategic approach, the multiple meanings and dimensions of the HR strategic partnership are critically compared to determine the extent to which they might add value to the organization. The study also examines the perception of HR practitioners about what influences them in becoming strategic partners. In addition, the extent to which HR practitioners in Thailand perceive that the HR strategic planning process is linked to the overall organizational planning process is examined and analysed. This study and the corresponding assessment instrument were created as an extension of two previous investigations into the extent to which HR practitioners were becoming more strategic within their business, with additional material for the assessment developed by the researcher. The questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 800 HR professionals who are current members of the Personnel Management Association of Thailand (PMAT) during the period of May 15 to June 15, 2004. A total of 314 respondents were either in the position of the HR Manager or the head of HR of their respective company. / The findings of this research reveal that the HR practitioners in Thailand do not have a clear and defined conception of the interpretation and perception of their strategic partner role. It was found that there were similarities and differences between the roles of the strategic partner and business partner, and that the clarity of the differences in the concepts of these two roles was not clearly defined within the literature. According to the perceptions of the HR practitioners, some of the major forces influencing them in becoming strategic partners seem to be that there needs to be support from the senior management executive, acceptance from and partnership with line managers, as well as increased personal credibility of HR practitioners. Additionally, the HR practitioners appear to hold an illusion regarding the existence of what they believe they are doing strategically, which does not necessarily match the reality of their position as HR and/or strategic partner within the company. Thai culture also has a notable impact on the ability of the HR manager to be a strategic partner in personal and social traits which limits in having a proactive strategic role. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

There often exists a skepticism regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of ASEAN tourism collaboration. The competitive nature of tourism, and the development gap between less-developed and developed member countries are some of the reasons ASEAN tourism is little more than a political gesture to the skeptics. In reality, the collaboration is slow-moving. Little is known about its mechanism let alone ways to improve it. Despite the continuous cooperative endeavor among the member nations since 1998 and the significant economic contribution tourism makes in the region, the ASEAN tourism phenomenon receives little attention from researchers. Hence, this research aims to answer two questions: (1) How do ASEAN countries collaborate in tourism? (2) What can be done to improve the collaboration? This research adopts a case study approach. It involves the formulation of theoretical propositions based on literature in political science and behavioral science. Primary data were collected from key stakeholders of ASEAN tourism by means of in-depth interviews. A total of twenty-one individuals participated. They represented nine out of the ten member governments, international organizations, industry associations, the academia, and consultancies. During the final stage of the research, congruence and discrepancies between the theoretical propositions and the empirical findings were identified, and a model of ASEAN tourism collaboration was constructed. One of the key findings is a recipe for success in intergovernmental tourism collaboration. It was found that three categories of factors facilitate ASEAN tourism collaboration and its implementation of policies: stakeholders ? especially the political will and commitment of national leaders; resources ? the technical and financial assistance provided by ASEAN dialogue partners; and cooperation management ? a flexible and ?conservative progressive? approach with a strong monitoring and evaluation mechanism. The contribution of this study is threefold. First, it fills an empirical gap by investigating a little yet known phenomenon that is politically and economically significant. Second, it contributes to theory development by extending the contextual boundaries of existing theories in intergovernmental collaboration. Finally, it provides directional and pragmatic policy recommendations on how to facilitate the collaborative process and on how to eliminate barriers to implementing the ASEAN Tourism Agreement.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Also available in print.