SAMINT-HDU 20027
Examensarbete 30 hp
Oktober 2020
Perceptions of Open Data in
the Tourism Industry in Finland
Implementation, Use, and Links with Sustainable
Tourism Development
Teknisk- naturvetenskaplig fakultet UTH-enheten Besöksadress: Ångströmlaboratoriet Lägerhyddsvägen 1 Hus 4, Plan 0 Postadress: Box 536 751 21 Uppsala Telefon: 018 – 471 30 03 Telefax: 018 – 471 30 00 Hemsida: http://www.teknat.uu.se/student
Abstract
Perceptions of Open Data in the Tourism Industry
in Finland
Eveliina Anttila
Making data openly accessible and how to utilize data are becoming increasingly clear in business development. Therefore, succeeding in it can allow a tremendous competitive advantage in the tourism market. The previous research has been lacking to show how tourism enterprises and regions can utilize open data in their favor. In
this study, the implementation and the use of open data, and its interconnectedness to sustainable tourism development in Finland, are scrutinized. Visit Finland’s nationally launched open database is used as a case to examine the phenomenon.
The study relies on qualitative methods using semi-structured interviews, interviewing tourism businesses, and regional tourism organizations, who meet the criteria of early adopters, following Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory. The study is to explore what both groups think of the advantages, disadvantages, facilitators, and hindrances of the implementation and the usage of the open database along with how they see its linkages to sustainable tourism development.
The findings show that the overall perception of launching an open national database is affirmative. The significance of resource
management, communication, and collaboration in succeeding in the implementation of the open database is highlighted in the results. The study shows that the diffusion of innovations is a fitting framework for understanding adaptation processes in terms of this kind of innovation. The linkages between open data and openness as a culture with sustainable development shall be made much more clearly, as they are linked; however, people do not often know how.
The collaboration between tourism actors through organizational level management needs to be adequately navigated by increased awareness through communication. This way, the value of investing in open data can be perceived, and thus, the challenge of
continuousness, which is a challenge of diffusion, can be
overcome, and direct and indirect gains can be received by tourism stakeholders. The adaptation climate is favorable by accelerated competition in the global tourism market due to COV19, thereby urging tourism actors to take the digitalization leap. The study
shows how all comes down to people and their management of change. Behind every technological appliance, there are people whose shoes must step in order to understand the diffusion.
SAMINT-HDU 20 027
Examinator: Ulrika Persson-Fischier Ämnesgranskare: Birgit Pauksztat Handledare: Birgit Pauksztat
Table of Content
INTRODUCTION ... 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ... 5 2.1 OPEN DATA ... 5 2.1.1 Definition ... 5 2.1.2 Benefits ... 5 2.1.3 Critics ... 6 2.1.4 Opportunities ... 6 2.1.4.1 Transparency... 8 2.1.5 Challenges ... 9 2.1.5.1 Collaboration ... 10 DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION ... 12 3.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF INNOVATION ... 13 3.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOPTERS ... 14 METHODOLOGY ... 17 4.1 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ... 17 4.1.1 Sampling ... 17 4.1.2 Research process ... 18 4.1.3 Analysis ... 194.2 CONSIDERATIONS OF VALIDITY, AND ETHICS ... 19
4.2.1 Validity ... 19
4.2.2 Ethics ... 20
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ... 22
5.1 OPEN DATA PERCEPTION IN GENERAL ... 22
5.2 OPEN DATA AND BUILDING A DATABASE ... 27
5.2.1 Technical considerations ... 27
5.2.2 Management ... 28
5.2.3 Resources ... 29
5.2.4 Privacy ... 30
5.2.5 Internal and External Environment ... 30
5.2.6 Prospective Gains ... 31
5.3 COLLABORATION AND IMPLEMENTATION ... 33
5.4 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ... 34 CONCLUSION ... 40 6.1 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS ... 41 LIMITATIONS ... 43 FURTHER RESEARCH ... 44 REFERENCES ... 45 APPENDIX ... 49
10.1 ORIGINAL,FINNISH VERSION OF THE INTERVIEW GUIDE ... 49
2
Introduction
Introducing open data and using it for creating innovations and in tourism business development remain mostly undiscovered, and therefore succeeding in it can allow a leading position in the tourism market (Kosonen, 2019; Pesonen 2016). Learning to utilize it and becoming a forerunner in open data would give a competitive advantage within the tourism industry. Finland is aiming to seize this opportunity by launching a national open database in the tourism industry, starting from 2019 (Kosonen, 2019).
Open data means information that is free of charge, accessible for everyone while being licensed as reusable and freely modifiable for new purposes. Organizations, enterprises, and public administration produce the data, and they have shared rights to utilize it for their purposes. Open data is raw material for new development and innovation. Raw material can be statistics, pictures, and maps, as far as it can be stored in a format that is readable by a machine. (Helsinki Region Infoshare 2020; Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016)
Pesonen (2016) states that open data and its utilization in the tourism industry are at a stage, where it yet requires a vast amount of research. The previous research has been focusing on definitions and applications, and thus, has been lacking to display in what ways tourism enterprises and regions could utilize open data for their favor. Therefore, there is a demand for a more tangible approach by practical implications and suggestions. He advocates for hearing the viewpoints of enterprises and destination management organizations, as earlier it has been overlooked. (Pesonen 2016.) The sooner the tourism companies execute the new measures, the quicker they learn and improve their skills in open data (Kosonen 2019). There are multiple beneficiaries from that, such as enterprises, governments, and the public. The opportunities are related to enhanced decision making, effectiveness, and the creation of new business models and cash flows as the work is becoming more efficient. However, enough data is not opened, which means that reaching the full potential is not possible right now. (Gapgemini Invent 2020; Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016.) Therefore, more research is necessary to be conducted.
Referring to Kosonen (2019), it appears that the utilization of Visit Finland’s open database is primarily focusing on strengthening marketing at this stage. The open database is envisioned to enhance the visitor experience in Finland by providing a consistent destination image as well as giving out up-to-date information about services. (Kosonen, 2019.) Nevertheless, it is more than just that by its undiscovered potential in enhancing sustainable tourism development. For this reason, Visit Finland introduces the idea of embedding sustainable development into an open database. They have requested that in this study, further attention is provided towards scrutinizing the connectedness of the open database and sustainable development.
Open data relates to sustainable development by providing new jobs, better governance, enhanced transparency. The disclosure provides better monitoring and citizen engagement as well as economic progress. Open data is assumed to contribute to the global economy by creating $3 trillion to $5 trillion yearly. Additionally, open data is a central tool for sustainable development by aiding the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals. (Petrov, Gurin and Manley, 2016; Ebikeme et al. 2016)
3
Open data as a raw material can be refined for multiple purposes regarding sustainable development. The combination of data can be used for creating applications, e.g., showing queueing times, the quality of air, volume of noise pollution, and changes in opening hours. Furthermore, the visitor flows can be predicted, which could be used by making a more optimal and authentic experience for the visitor but also using it for urban planning. For example, by knowing how to direct visitor flows in a way that decreases the social and environmental burden of an attraction on the region (Pesonen, 2016.)
Despite the widely recognized advantages, launching an open national database in the Finnish tourism industry is not as straight-forward as it might be thought. Lots of data must be collected in order to reach the full potential of utilizing the open database. In order to do so, everyone is needed on board, from different organizational levels of the tourism industry. The question that forwards this study is how to get people on board and to commit to the process. The challenge of the study is how to diffuse the innovation to a daily basis of different actors. Managing a nationally launched open database is an ambitious undertaking, and it will require active engagement and collaboration between different actors, in order to enable adaptation. Succeeding in collaboration is firmly based on communication. Adaptation requires continuousness, and thus, the actors need to get committed to inserting data consistently. Undertaking the insertion of data into the open database is a matter of using human, financial and time resources, not to mention a matter of having adequate competence (Pesonen, 2016; Kosonen, 2019; Roger 1962).
The purpose statement of this qualitative study is to explore and understand what both groups, tourism businesses, and regional tourism organizations think of the strengths, weaknesses, facilitators, and hindrances of the implementation and the usage of the open database, along with how they see its linkages to sustainable tourism development. The overall aim is to give out information that can support integration of open data into sustainable tourism development. The diffusion of innovations is used as a focal framework to understand what helps forward the implementation and usage of innovation (Roger 1962).
The framework is commonly used in aiding adaptation of new concepts, though in the field of sustainable development, it is rather new. The framework helps to define the rate of which innovation will be adopted by explaining the characteristics of what makes an innovation to diffuse through a social system. The framework, frequently used, is one of the oldest social science theories. The strength of using it is its unlimitedness by being applied in various industries, cultures, fields and contexts. The diffusion of innovations is fitting to examine open data and sustainable tourism development that together are a novel amalgamation. (Roger 1962; Bansal, 2002; Horobin & Long, 1996; Ramus, 2001)
In order to attain an understanding of the research topic, these research questions are formulated in the following manner:
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing joint and open national tourism database from the perspective of regional tourism organizations and tourism businesses?
2. What are the factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation from the perspective of regional tourism organizations and tourism businesses?
3. What are the similarities and differences between regions and tourism businesses concerning implementation of open data and sustainable tourism development?
4
This study intends to explore and understand the implementation and utilization of open data and its connectedness to sustainable tourism development. There are several factors that cannot be overlooked. Without understanding the linkages between open data, sustainable development, transparency, communication and collaboration, and their causal connections, getting a comprehensive understanding of the research topic is not possible. Therefore, Visit Finland’s national open database launching is applied as a case to understand a bigger picture of the phenomenon.
5
Literature Review
In the following sections, definitions and critics of open data, advantages and opportunities of usage of data have discoursed. Transparency and collaboration as terms are introduced in these sections. Diffusion of innovations is used as a framework to get a better understanding of how people adopt innovation. Characteristics of innovation and adopters are viewed, explaining why and at which rate innovation diffuses through a social system.
2.1 Open Data
This section addresses the concept of open data. The term is defined to enable a real understanding of its meaning and to avoid misconceptions. Similar terms exist, such as open information and transparency, and thus, clarifying the differences is perceived essential. Open data in this chapter is presented in a manner of showing both sides, its opportunities, and its current limitations.
2.1.1 Definition
Open data means information that is free of charge, accessible for everyone while being licensed as reusable and freely modifiable and shareable for new purposes (Helsinki Region Infoshare 2020). However, open data is not equivalent to public information. Public information is often only viewable for everyone, whereas reutilization of open data is not only for public administrations’ purposes but co-ordinately also for citizens and enterprises reutilization. The open data is a raw material, which is stored in different forms such as in pictures, videos, 3D-models, and statistics. The concept of open data has been notable in the public discussion since 2009. (Helsinki Region Infoshare 2020; Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016; Shueh 2014.)
2.1.2 Benefits
According to (Shueh, 2014), the use and benefits of open data mainly relates to better governance, monitoring, reporting, engagement, public participation, increased amount of employment, and economic growth. Gapgemini Invent (2020) sees open data having multiple beneficiaries, enterprises, governments, and the public at the front. They state that initiatives towards data being open enable better accessibility to a larger amount of information; open data can be a tool for enhanced decision making and effectiveness, saving money by reducing costs and supporting achieving social and environmental targets. (Gapgemini Invent 2020.) A report by Capgemini Invent (2020) predicted that in 2016 the European open data market would be worth approximately EUR 200 billion. According to the report, by 2020, there will be nearly 100,000 new jobs in Europe revolving around open data. The market size for open data is estimated to have a 134,69-billion-euro growth potential, by 884 thousand workers more. According to the forecasts, open data can employ 1.97 million people both indirectly and directly in 2025, when the size of the market has expected to be 199.51 billion. (Capgemini Invent 2020.)
The direct gains related to new cash flows, such as creating new business models and products and to saving money by the management of work, become much more efficient. (Gapgemini Invent 2020). The Capgemini Invent (2020) argues on that the benefits are not only based on revenue but also on having better tools for managing and taking care of the environment, people's lives, and time. (Gapgemini Invent 2020.) Open data provides many opportunities if a large amount of data is made accessible (Pesonen and Lampi 2016).
6
Currently, much of the data is not open, and thus, the full potential of it cannot be reached for now. Furthermore, not all information is accessible and will not be accessible due to confidentiality and privacy matters. (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016.)
2.1.3 Critics
In the literature, the majority of the sources related to open data have a highly optimistic standpoint towards its potential. The favorable opportunities that the collection of open data can provide are highlighted. However, in the literature regarding transparency, closely linked to open data, more critical journals exist. Aarhus Agreement, ‘the Right to Know,’ and ‘Security Agreement’ are concepts that question whether open information is always an advantage. These concepts discourse the complexity of openness in an environmental context. They critically challenge the optimistic ideas of openness by introducing ideas such as disclosure, exposure to misusage of data, the complexity of choosing which vulnerable data to protect, e.g., official documentation, and data relating to intellectual property rights. It is difficult to draw a line between the protection of data, and the right of everyone to know. For example, open data regarding personal privacy, public security or animal tracking could expose to crimes, e.g., poaching, and thus, threatening sustainability by risking the existence of an endangered species. (Rose-Ackerman, 1999; Oksanen and Kumpula, 2013.) Ethicalness of disclosed data is a factor that must be present in the discussion of whether data should be open and accessible for everyone or not.
The discourse comprises terms such as ‘The Right to Know’ and ‘The Security Argument’, which are questioning whether everyone has the right to know and whether fully open and disclose data leads to anticipated results, to the preservation of biodiversity, as open access enables misusers to exploit the research data. (Alt and Lassen 2006.) Alt and Lassen (2006) talk about the right to know and the security argument, and the complexity of openness and transparency in the environmental context. The context is fitting to this study as the interest is in overall sustainability and understanding better openness as a whole, and it can explain the challenge of whether all data should be opened, and thus, everyone having the right to know or if data should remain concealed. As for sustainable development, inclusion and openly accessible data for everyone is a starting point (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016).
2.1.4 Opportunities
In the following sections, the potential outcomes of the usage of open data are presented from three perspectives, the overall outlook, regional organizations, and tourism business's perceived advantages and disadvantages. The opportunity in data sharing is that it can enable new kinds of collaborations between actors from different industries. For example, when open data is reutilized for creating innovations (Enkel et al., 2009; Pesonen and Lampi 2016). European Dataportal (2020) sees entrepreneurs as crucial actors in enhancing the utilization of open data as they are often the most innovative, and they continuously look for new business opportunities and finding new ways to gain competitive advantage. Smaller-sized entrepreneurs, start-ups are ones that can show the immediate benefits of utilizing open data by job creation and creating new business models. They see it that precisely small entrepreneurs are the ones that can lay the foundation for big corporate and public organizations. (European Dataportal 2020.) Presently, the Finnish tourism enterprises are mostly small-sized, and the utilization of open data remains little. It is partly a matter of lack of training and competence in technology. (Pesonen, 2016.)
7
The current and future trend is in trust-building and loyalty towards brands. “Collaborative consumption for example shows that you are no longer what you own but what you share Pesonen (2016)”. As Pesonen stated, the idea of openness, and sharing data openly will become the new norm. Disclosure and openness provide honesty and trust-building. The more data is made available and accessible for the public; the more transparent and honest the service provider is required to be. It is something that is not only a matter of technical execution but rather something that is fostered in the company’s culture and attitudes. Trustworthiness matters. (Pesonen, 2016; Gilmore & Pine 2007.)
Using open data as a monitoring and reporting tool is often highlighted in the context of sustainable development. When the data is visible to everyone, it increases the number of demanded action towards sustainability as companies, and people feel the need to be true to their words as it can be monitored whether they did as promised. It relates to trust-building and loyalty, which entails the concept of authenticity (Gilmore and Pine 2007) Today customer’s buyer behavior is mostly based on how authentically, genuine or ingenuine, they perceive the given offer (Gilmore & Pine 2007). In 2030, tourists seek richer and more profound experiences as ever. These people want to explore experiences that feel real, true, and original. (Amadeus 2015; Rural Finland 2017.) Authenticity in the tourism business and investing in it matters as when a customer perceives services as authentic, it can create an emotional bond. The emotional attachment creates customer loyalty, and thus, makes him return and use services again. (LikeWhere 2017.)
When there are data and key ratios available, the decision making in leading is more reliable as it is based on a piece of concrete information (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016). Open data can open new possibilities in terms of sustainability, such as enhanced water and electricity consumption due to better monitoring. IoT, which is a concept of “Internet of Things,” is a monitoring system, where an objective is connected to an identifier that allows transferring information to a network. For instance, comparing the current usage of water to key ratios will tell the enterprise how much savings or spending they have accumulated within a specified period. (Pesonen, 2016.) Furthermore, open data is a familiar concept when talking about smart cities, as a standard feature for smart cities is that public, governmental data is merged with the data received from different sensors. (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016; Pesonen and Lampi, 2016). These devices give information regarding things like traffic and air quality (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016).
Open data relates to sustainable development by providing new jobs, better governance, enhancing transparency, and thus, monitoring and citizen engagement as well as economic progress. (Ebikeme et al. 2016.) Open data is assumed to contribute to global economic by creating $3 trillion to $5 trillion yearly. Additionally, open data is recognized as a central tool in aiding achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals. (Petrov, Gurin, and Manley, 2016.) The study has shown that poverty reduction and enhanced transparency, disclosure of information, are interrelated (Alt and Lassen 2006).
Citizen Science is an excellent example of open data exchanges, which has proven to have very beneficial outcomes. Citizen science means data that is observed and collected by non-scientists. One of its benefits is bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and real actions. (Gallaghan & Gawlik, 2015.) An example of an application that is utilizing citizen science is ‘eBird,’ which is a database in which citizens’ collected data is submitted. In this application, data of where and when people have seen a specific bird species is inserted. The
8
database automatically creates a graphic representation of the data. eBird is a reliable data source in comparison to scientifically proven standardized surveys, and what is found is that the quality of data is equivalent, hence reliable. However, there is yet to be discovered that there is plenty of unknown potential in citizen science. (Gallaghan & Gawlik, 2015.) Citizen science is not an only thriving example of how open data is fostering environmental sustainability. Such as in Kenya, Haiti, and Brazil, they have succeeded using it for aid coordination in disasters (World Bank Group 2016.)
In terms of tourism and sustainability, these citizen science projects can be merged with tourism and sustainability. For example, tourists, during their trips, collect data about the environment and share it by inserting it to platforms that will automatically convert into statistics. (Brosnan, Filep and Rock 2015.) This statistic is used for different purposes, such as for conservation purposes or urban planning, and thus, giving knowledge of which places are environmentally sensitive. Given an example, designing locations for wind turbines can be based on this statistic. (Gallaghan & Gawlik, 2015)
In tourism, there is a lot of potential in open data and open databases. From the business perspective, it can give a tool to facilitate more personalized packages by tailoring services and products based on the information of the customer, and thus, meeting their wants and needs. It can save resources by focusing resources on the most useful objectives. Further, the service providers can offer better experiences which are matching what the customers truly need. (Bismart 2019.)
2.1.4.1 Transparency
Open data and transparency are different concepts. However, it is essential to address the idea of transparency in order to understand the advantages of utilizing open data, and thus, to comprehend its possibilities as a contributor to sustainable development. Transparency is a monitoring tool which is in a pivotal position to expedite implementation (Scott et al. 2016) Transparency promotes disclosure and openness through openly shared information. The data needs to be inclusive by being open to everyone. (Schnackenberg & Tomlinson, 2014.) In this context, transparency is strongly related to data, such as what is the accessibility, reliability, and liability of the information. Transparency is often connected with being the foundation of trust by facilitating truthfulness through better monitoring. The keywords for understanding transparency in-depth are as follows: accuracy, accessibility, disclosure, clarity, openness, accountability, trustworthiness, reliability, and inclusiveness. (Schnackenberg & Tomlinson, 2014.)
The notability of openness, open data and transparency are recognized and highlighted in The Paris Agreement, which is a diplomatic convention agreed by 196 countries in 2015 to combat climate change and global warming, concerning sustainable development (Scott et al. 2016). The agreement places focus on enhancing transparency, as it is acknowledged that it could aid in carbon mitigation by improving consistency in communication, reporting, and monitoring. As it is mentioned in The Paris Agreement, the purpose of emphasizing transparency is to “build trust and confidence and promote effective implementation.” Further, sustainability challenges concerning tourism are noted and addressed in the agreement. (Scott et al. 2016.) Scott et al. (2016) outline how the Paris Agreement has an impact on the environment and tourism. The convention emphasizes the importance of transparency in order to achieve
9
sustainable development targets and to decrease carbon emissions. In the agreement, a network improving transparency is needed, especially in the tourism field, as monitoring does not exist in terms of the total quantity of the emissions. The tourism industry will face a challenge to meet the requirements of transparency targets as, first, the carbon emissions, caused by tourism, are estimated to increase from 50 to even 250 percent by 2050. Second, a consistent reporting and monitoring system does not holistically exist in the tourism field, which places pressure and a challenge on achieving the requirements of transparency. The idea of “enhanced transparency network,” as stated in The Paris agreement, is to build trust between different parties and to expedite implementation. (Scott et al. 2016.)
2.1.5 Challenges
The ethical and liability challenges in the concept of openness, transparency, and open data are complex. The question that arises is where to draw a line of what data shall be made open and why. The initiative for facilitating openness, exchanges of information, and reutilizing data for new purposes requires principles, laws, and rules that support it, and they will change eventually within time. The current challenge of liability is a matter of public fearing change. The hindrance of transforming into an open culture of data is mostly a matter of getting the government on board. The government often seeks direct benefits, such as increasing numbers of employees, and if open data can do it, then they will be interested in its value. In 2013, it was researched that usage of open data led to a $2 trillion increase in economic value worldwide. (Commission, 2019.)
New collaborations and partnerships can help create new business opportunities, better public services, and innovative ways to improve the lives of millions of people. Through dialogue, collaboration, and joint problem-solving, governments and their data users can realize open data’s potential as a powerful resource for generating social and economic value. (World Bank Group, 2016.)
While open data as a concept is not new, there is still a problem with interfaces, as they are not identical and easily applicable. Further, there is plenty of data existing, especially in cities, but it is stored in different places and maintained by different parties. It is found that the utilization of open data does not necessarily distribute evenly, e.g., not giving as much benefit to the decision-makers of smaller regions and neighborhoods in comparison to bigger ones (Bismart 2019).
In this study, Visit Finland’s launching is used as a case to view the implementation of an open database. The undertaking combines many actors from different organizational levels and different organizational cultures. In order to succeed in the diffusion of innovations, these actors must get on board. The open database requires continuously updated information from all actors to be functional and to reach its full potential. Without working together, collaboration, it can not be possible.
10 2.1.5.1 Collaboration
The primary question that forwards this study is how to get people on board and to commit to the process, linking to collaboration. The collaboration aims to include all the parties in planning and decision making for solving complex issues. (Jamal and Getz, 187.) Collaboration relates closely to sustainable development by being in a vital position in Sustainable Development Goals. SDGs 17 “Partnerships for the goal” is related to collaboration. The main aim of the SDGs is to eliminate all extremes, such as extreme poverty, extreme diseases, extreme hunger, and human being exposed to an extreme natural disaster (Sachs 2012). SDGs 17 aids to contribute to the implementation of all the other SDGs making ideas of sustainability into tangible actions. Collaboration is seen as the foundation by involving all the stakeholders such as governments, private sectors, non-governmental organizations, groups, and individuals, and thus supporting the implementation (United Nations 2019a; United Nations 2019b.)
Several obstacles may occur in implementing and being able to utilize an open database. 6aika project has been viewed and, in their report, they outline the learning lessons of cooperation between cities and businesses in Finland in terms of utilizing open data. The report reveals that often the data is in the wrong format and is not accessible for reutilization. Further, the reutilization requires competence, and yet, this competence is lacking. Even if there was the know-how, firstly, there is a need for knowing what to do with it. Currently, reutilization seeks innovative ideas, such as establishing new revenue models. The report points out the importance of collaboration. As there are multiple actors, it requires feasible management of the wholeness, which is executed by collaboration. However, in order to get actors to collaborate, engagement and commitment are required from all parties. The question that arises is how to ensure the continuity of the collaboration. It is not only a matter of will, but also a matter of resources and perceived benefits. The undertaking must consider the innovation users from the beginning in order to maintain their interest, such as giving profits and gains. Further, weighing how much resources it takes from them in comparison to what it gives as a return. (Eskola and Paavilainen, 2017.)
Similarly to Eskola and Paavilainen (2017) Visit Finland draws attention to same concerns regarding the utilization of open data. Visit Finland drives towards better management of Finland’s tourism, and as noticed in the literature written by their representatives, they discern the direct and indirect benefits in different spatial and scaling perspectives. (Kosonen, 2019; Hietasaari, 2019.) The challenge will be in the engagement of local enterprises. Undertaking insertion of data into the open database is a matter of using human, financial, and time resources, let alone a matter of having adequate competence. (Pesonen, 2016; Kosonen, 2019.)
This article (Eskola and Paavilainen, 2017) raises questions such as who has the skills to know how to convert the data into a correct format? Who knows what kind of data the enterprise wants to reveal, and where to draw the line of their trade secrets and everyone having the right to know? Inserting data will be an additional task to the work-life, which requires spending more hours in employees. Furthermore, how the entrepreneur benefits from the investment? Will there be only long-term indirect gains, or are there any short-term and direct gains that are visible sooner, and thus, keeping the stakeholders committed? In the next chapter, the characteristics of what makes an innovation adaptable are presented.
11
Transparency is found as an essential tool to expedite implementation by increasing openness and monitoring trustworthiness between actors (Scott et al. 2016). Open data utilization facilitates transparency. Trust is a foundation of beneficial collaboration, and through transparent exchanges, truthfulness, thus trust, can be created between people. As Hall (2010) has stated, trust is a glue that holds communities and societies together. Trust is a reliance on someone’s ability to do something – to get an anticipated outcome. It is the confidence within a community that everyone aims to contribute evenly or as agreed (Hall 2010). In the sustainable development goals, the main initiative aiding sustainable development, collaboration, and transparency through open data, is placed in the center of making implementation possible. Often the implementation of initiatives is lacking. Therefore, all these elements are linked, and they demonstrate the strong interconnectedness of sustainable tourism development and open data.
12
Diffusion of Innovation
The framework diffusion of innovations is one of the oldest social science theories. It explains at which rate innovation will be adopted by defining the characteristics of what makes an innovation to diffuse through a social system. The strength of the framework is that it is not limited in one industry, culture, context, and field. (Roger 1962; Bansal, 2002; Horobin & Long, 1996; Ramus, 2001.) The framework has a strong link with technology, and it is often used to explain the diffusion of technological innovation. For Roger (2003), the terms “technology” and “innovation” are similar and often used as a synonym in his framework. (Sahin 2006)
Diffusion of innovations is derived from two terms, diffusion and innovation. Rogers (1995) explains innovation as follows: “The process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. (p.10)”
Innovation is described in diffusion of innovations theory, and Rogers (1995, p.11) writes “…An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. It matters little, so far as human behavior is concerned, whether or not an idea is objectively new as measured by the lapse of time since its first use or discovery. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If the idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation…”
A characteristic feature of innovation is its newness. Newness means innovation’s perceivers being neutral towards it by not yet having any stance against or towards. (pp. 11 Roger 2010) In the study, the launching of Visit Finland’s national open database is used as a case, where innovation, as well as newness, are focal characters. Four main elements of Diffusion of Innovation are innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system. These attributes are found in every research conducted regarding the diffusion of innovations. To understand the term communication channels, it needs scrutinization of both terms. Communication is interaction by exchanging information between individuals and organizations aiming towards mutual comprehension (Rogers 1995, p.5) The information sharing is happening through a distribution system, aiming to channel the information from a source to a new recipient. (Roger 1995, p.204) The diffusion of innovations is stated to be firmly a social process, which is dependent on active interaction and communication between people and units. (Rogers 1995, p.19) The main communication channels are mass media and interpersonal communication. While mass media is perceived as a tool to reach out to more people and getting the word out (in first-stage knowledge) in the innovation-decision process, interpersonal communication is particularly central in the phase of persuasion, and perceived as a more effective tool in diffusion. (Rogers 1995.) The first two stages (knowledge sharing and persuasion of information) are more efficient when the people who interact with each other share similar traits such as values, norms, educational and socioeconomic background. However, the diffusion is more efficient, when the people may share a familiar background, yet possess some different traits and diversity in thought. (Sahin 2006). The diffusion theory highlights word of mouth and advertisement as key methods to accelerate the adaptation (Kamrad et al. 2005)
13
The strength of Rogers diffusion of innovation theory is that it stresses the importance of time in terms of how and in which speed rate an innovation is adopted. In many behavioral studies, the significance of time is underrated. The matter of time is seen in classification of adopter groups and the innovation-decision process. Furthermore, time has its impact on how the social system is shaped (Rogers 1995.) Rogers (1995, 23) defines a social system as “a set of interrelated units engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal.”. The social system and diffusion of innovation are strongly connected as diffusion occurs and goes through the prevailing social system by means of communication. Therefore, the system has a real effect on the nature of diffusion. (Roger 1995.)
Figure 1, The innovation-decision process (Rogers 1995)
The innovation-decision process demonstrates how the adaptation of an innovation proceeds further from one stage to another. It shows whether the innovation reduces the feeling of uncertainty within time or not. The knowledge regarding the innovation and the willingness to adopt it, received by an individual evolves by going through five stages. During these stages shown in the figure 1, the individual decides whether the perceived characteristics of innovation, advantages and disadvantages, are encouraging, hence, supports to continue with adaptation process. If the individual agrees to go through all stages, the stages chronologically are knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and finally confirmation. (Rogers 1995, p.172.)
3.1 Characteristics of Innovation
The characteristic of Innovation is to describe the characteristics on how to make adaptation more likely. Firstly, relative advantage shall be considered. In a nutshell, it is a matter of people’s perception of the advantages. Individuals perceive that the more beneficial the innovation, the faster is the rate of adaptation. Secondly, compatibility defines that the innovation is aligned with the peoples' and social system’s values, needs, experiences, and norms. Often adopting a different value system compared to a previous one is a slow process. Thirdly, complexity of the innovation determines how easy the innovation is to understand and to use. The more difficult the innovation is to use, obliging individuals to learn a new skill and understanding, the slower the adaptation process become. Fourthly, trialability can ease the adaption by letting people get a tangible experience of the innovation and thus to see its value and practicality. This can decrease the individual’s feeling of uncertainty. Lastly, observability shows how noticeable the innovation’s outcomes are. The more visible the positive results are in peer groups and social environment, the higher the likeliness is for other people within the environment to adapt it. (Rogers 1995, p.15-16.)
1. Knowledge 2. Persuasion 3. Decision 4.Implementation 5. Confirmation
14
Launching an innovation, the advantages and disadvantages shall be viewed carefully, as according to Gourville (2003), who has been interested in the resistance of change, the users must feel that there are seemingly more positive than adverse effects in order for the users to adapt. The amount of perceived benefits of these factors, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, triability and observability define how successful the adaption of innovation is. Scrutinizing these attributes facilitates the foreseeing of the success rate of an adaptation beforehand. (Rogers 1995, p. 15-16) According to Rogers (1995, p.18), if anything, diffusion is a matter of social process. Therefore, approaching the topic from the aspect of individuals, the ones representing tourism organizations and businesses are in the heart of the study.
3.2 Characteristics of Adopters
The statistics on the characteristics of adopters shows how people divide into groups in terms of adopting an innovation. According to diffusion theory, the final decision, which the process is illustrated in figure 1 above, is firmly based on the first phase, knowledge, to what extent people are aware of the innovation (Kamrad et al. 2005). The five groups are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. The distribution of adopters are illustrated in the table 1 below (Rogers 1962).
Adoptation Order Adopter Type Percentage of the Population
1 Innovators 2,5 %
2 Early Adopters 13.5 %
3 Early Majority 34.0 %
4 Late Majority 34.0 %
5 Laggards 16.0 %
Table 1, The distribution of adopters following the diffusion of innovations (Rogers 1962)
The distribution of adopters (table 1) shows how many people of the population fit in each classification. The adopter curve (figure 2) is based on the distribution of adopters (table 1), and it is to illustrate at which rate and speed the classified groups adapt to the innovation. The classification of groups is based on their resistance to change and their will to try new things, such as innovations. The Innovators and early adopters are the first one, with interest in newness, innovation and have the resilience to change, whereas the laggards are resistant to change and find it very unpleasant. (Rogers 1995; Vakola, Tsaousis, and Nikolaou, 2004.)
15
Figure 2, The adopter curve based on the distribution of adopters retrieved from Kennedy, (2018, cited in Rogers 1962)
Early adopters are opinion leaders, who are already aware of the change and ready for it. Opinion leadership and innovativeness are factors that are emphasized by Rogers (1995, p.27). This group is asking for how, such as instructions on how to implement the change. Opinion leadership is a matter of the amount of influence one single person can wield over others (Rogers, 1995, p.27) Opinion leaders reflect the prevalent system’s structure. Opinion leaders either support or resist the adaptation of an innovation, and thus, they contribute to the perception around it. There are a few familiar characters of what makes an individual an opinion leader. Firstly, they are more active in interacting with others and having greater access to external communication. Secondly, they are often perceived as possessing a remarkable social status. Lastly, they are notably more inventive and ahead of the curve. However, what makes a person having a higher position in a social setting, having the best access to communication channels and being perceived as the most innovative, is strongly dependent on the social system and its structure and the prevailing norms and values. (Rogers 1995, p.27.) Innovativeness in this context is understood as an individual’s ability to adapt to new concepts. Innovative individuals adapt to them more rapidly than an average person (Rogers 1995, p.22).
Law of the Few Characteristics
Connectors Exceptionally social who can reach out to a
great number of people and spreading the word regarding innovations
Mavens Known for their vast amount of knowledge
on things and are great at giving recommendations due to their sincere interest towards informing
Salespeople Excellent at winning people over and
pursuing buying things by having skills to understand what drives different types of people
Table 2, A description of characteristics of the “The Law of the Few” (Redmond 2004)
It is found that there are three types of people that are in a remarkable position accelerating diffusion shown in the table 2 above. The concept is named as “The Law of the Few.” The
16
types are connectors, mavens, and salespeople. They share standard features such as having extensive social networks, and they are the ones with an influential position in their circle, and the ones who have lots of knowledge and can get the word out. The specific characteristics of the people representing these different three types are explained in table 2. (Redmond 2004.)
17
Methodology
The study is conducted as qualitative research. Semi-structured interviews are used as a data collection method. In this chapter, the chosen approach is described and shown why it can adequately study the specific research topic. In the research process section, each phase of what is done in the research is described in detail. The validity and ethics of the research have discoursed later in this chapter.
4.1 Qualitative Research
In this study, the interest is in people. To understand what tourism businesses and regional organizations think of the advantages, disadvantages, facilitators, and hindrances in the integration of a national open database, and how sustainable development is linked to it. The aim is to understand the overall phenomenon by examining these groups. Qualitative approach is chosen as it is the most fitting to understand people, social phenomena, groups, processes, occasions, roles, and interactions, and explicate reasons behind them, such as people’s behavior and decision making, and thus, this phenomenon. (Heikkilä 2014; Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman, 1987)
The chosen method for data collection is semi-structured interviews. The interest of the study is to understand how early adopters perceive the implementation and utilization of an open database. The participants are representatives of tourism businesses and regional tourism organizations. The target groups represent early adopters, who are the people most likely to adapt to innovation first and are indispensable for succeeding in the diffusion by being opinion leaders.
4.1.1 Sampling
The selected interviewees are early adopters in terms of the launching of an open national database in Finland’s tourism. The tourism business representatives were found through an Internet search and with the help of a professional acquaintance. The decision to contact a person was based on recommendations, reputation, and the values they uphold. The contacted people have shown by their actions an interest towards evolvement, innovativeness, openness, and sustainable development. The people included have a position within the organization that shows that they are opinion leaders, early adopters following Rogers’ framework (1995). The representatives of regional tourism organizations were selected based on their location. Visit Finland’s piloting phase for the open database has consisted of cooperation with specific regions, and therefore, there are representatives from five regions that have taken part in the piloting phase. They are perceived as fitting participants by representing early adopters who have an existing awareness and interest in innovation. The tourism businesses were also selected from these specific five regions, one to three participants per region.
18
The target groups are purposely selected to represent regional tourism organizations and tourism businesses, as they are the ones which Visit Finland’s open database is launched for, and are the end-users of the innovation. The open database is most dependent on their inserted information. Therefore, they are vital to have on board by understanding their perspectives. The semi-structured interviews allow the comparison of the differences and similarities between these two target groups and to see how aligned they are with each other. There have been 15 interviews in total, five with representatives of regional tourism organizations, and ten with tourism businesses. The name of the people, organizations, and enterprises and any identifiable characters are kept confidential. Qualities such as the type of an enterprise they represent, or their location, are not essential information for the reader and have no significant causation for the study results. The quality that is of interest to the study is whether the interviewee represents a tourism business or regional tourism organization.
4.1.2 Research process
The research proposal was formulated in February with the support of a supervisor. Collaboration with Visit Finland was requested in January. Visit Finland’s launching of an open database is used as an example case; however, the study itself is conducted as a nonaligned and as a part of master studies in Uppsala University. Although Visit Finland ‘s case is used to gain understanding, affirm and generate ideas of phenomena and of concepts and frameworks, the study also aims to find information that can simultaneously be supportive for Visit Finland and for its launching of an open database. Visit Finland has taken an interest to get new information about how sustainable development can be embedded in the open database. As Visit Finland’s name has been used in the data collection, the research questions and the interview guide were approved by Visit Finland before starting the interviews. The interest was piqued towards the topic in summer 2019 in Visit Finland’s seminar, whereas the importance of digitalization, openness, and sustainable tourism development in Finland were emphasized.
The period of interviews has taken place in April and May 2020. The interviews were originally meant to be conducted face to face; however, due to the COV-19, all the interviews were carried out through video or phone calls, using programs such as Microsoft Office Meetings, Skype, and Zoom. The interviewees were given a choice to either have an anonymous phone call or a video call as the means to conduct the interview, based on their own preference. As a researcher, to increase the reliability of an interviewer, the video camera was purposely kept open to allow the participants to see who is asking the questions and to whom they are sharing their information with. Moreover, in this way, the interviewees see the interviewer as a real person by seeing their natural facial and body expressions.
The interviews were conducted in the participants’ mother tongue, and thus, to increase the validity by increasing the comprehensibility of the interview questions, and enhancing the flow of the dialogue, and making the atmosphere for the interviewees more comfortable. Therefore, the participants are more likely to be able to answer to the interview questions in a manner of their own choice. These factors increase the validity of the chosen research method by enabling participants to answer sincerely, and thus, to gain more adequate data regarding the research problem. The interview guide has been translated into English for readers. Translation may have a moderate effect on validity, as the interviewees' responses and different terms used are translated from Finnish to English. However, what matters is that the
19
original version is conducted with the most convenient choice of language, rather than for example, with the help of an interpreter. Afterward, it is more facile to translate transcriptions to portray the acceptable form of the interviews, as an enormous amount of time and effort can be spent in the choices of words; hence, in translation. In the Appendix, the interview guides in both Finnish and English are attached to show what has been asked in order to respond to the research questions.
4.1.3 Analysis
Interpreting the research results, coding was used as a tool to sort the data. It was started by doing transcripts of all interviews. Secondly, the transcript text, in other words, what the people say, was sorted into themes inductively. After these themes were found, a mind map was drawn in order to make connections between themes and to find subcategories. Finally, the data was translated into English. The results are reflected with the theory presented in the literature review to draw conclusions of the phenomenon and come up with recommendations. A summary of the study results is sent to the interviewees in Finnish in their mother tongue, which has been an incentive to get interviewees to give their time and to take part in the study. Furthermore, as a matter of transparency, and thus, increasing trustworthiness, participants are given access to review the final paper. As one of the aims of the study is to provide information that can be useful to Visit Finland, there will be a set meeting to show research results.
4.2 Considerations of Validity, and Ethics
Validity and ethics are a foundation of qualitative research. In this chapter, validity and the ethics of the study are examined. Ensuring the anonymity of participants has been in the center of the ethics. The validity and ethics are argued to be strong in this study.
4.2.1 Validity
Validity is to argue whether the research manages to study the things that were wanted and if there is consistency in participants' responses and between theory and results. (Field, 2005; Ghauri and Gronhaug 2005; Creswell 2014, Grönfors 2011) The research process is described meticulously, and choices made in regards to the process are given reasons for. The research process is attempted to be described in a manner that anyone can reproduce the study with consistent results. Further, the results and theoretical framework reflect each other, as linkages, and thus, interconnections are found. To enhance the overall validity, there has been a supervisor who has reviewed the process from the external perspective.
In the interview guide, the purpose has been to ask questions about the same theme; however, with the same questions being asked in different ways and being placed in a different context, in order to see whether there is consistency in the responses. For example, the primary interest is in how to accelerate the implementation of innovation, new ideas, habits, and concepts. The same questions in different contexts were asked for two to three times. The formulation was only a little different. This way, the consistency can be discovered by examining whether the interviewees' answers follow through and are consistent throughout
20
the interview. In the interview guide, questions to find out if they practice what they preach were included. For example, to see if they value sustainability principles, yet in reality take no action towards it. In terms of open data, openness, and collaboration, most of the interviewees were consistent in their words. Regards to sustainability practices, the fourth of the interviewees pointed out that they should do more even though they place importance on sustainability principles. Mostly interviewees stick by their views throughout the interview. Only one remarkable inconsistency was found in the interconnectedness with open data, openness, and sustainable development. 13 out of 15 stated that the concepts are connected. When a follow-up question was asked to see how they see them being connected, 9 out of 13 could not define how.
Anonymousness makes people less hesitant to tell the truth. The interviewees were told that the results would be handled anonymously. Additionally, being on camera while the interview was not mandatory. From the beginning, it was made clear that the interviewer is a student at Uppsala University, representing a nonaligned party. Therefore, as a result of the aforementioned factors, it can be argued that the interviewees have given an original version of their perceptions and reactions.
Although the study’s results are translated, and translations can always lead to misinterpretations, translation is a smaller risk in causing misapprehension than using a foreign language with the interviewees. In terms of translation, after transcribing the interviews, there has been enough time to translate and choose words correctly to make the translation equivalent to the original version. The participants used their mother tongue, which gives them a comfortable feeling as well as a more natural and authentic way to communicate their real thoughts by using the most fitting expressions.
It is essential to make interviewees feel comfortable and to provide a safe atmosphere to speak honestly. The interviewees were shown interest in their respective backgrounds, by modest and open body gestures. While their speaking, notes have been written to show them that the interviewer is listening, and that their points are noted. The feeling of genuity and honesty were sensed throughout all interviews.
4.2.2 Ethics
Considering the ethics when conducting a study is very important. The choices throughout the research process shall be made to reflect consideration of ethics. Through email and at the beginning of the interview, the participants were informed about the purpose of the study and who are involved with it. It is a measure of increased transparency, and thus, being honest with the interviewees. Before starting the interview, they were asked whether they want to take part and allow recording. Hence the voluntary participation of interviewees was ensured. Privacy and anonymity are ethical considerations. Analyzing data requires aiming to stay as objective as possible. Interviewees were told from the beginning that the interview is a part of conducting a master thesis, and thus, will be publicly published and given to Visit Finland. The interviewees were promised to receive a copy of the final paper, and thus, having given their contribution, they are given access to the study. The study provides a comprehensive description of the interview results by giving multiple and diverse viewpoints regarding the themes, and thus, making it more truthful to a reader. Nevertheless, the result section puts an
21
emphasis on what the majority of the participants have brought up, and the conclusions are based on that.
The interviewer is a sustainable development student, which could make the interviewees conform, and make them answer and act more agreeable towards the interviewer’s presumed agenda. In order to increase the reliability of answers, the forming of questions was changed in order to get more authentic responses. No significant changes were noticed in responses.
22
Results and Discussion
The research results are represented following the themes that have appeared during the semi-structured interviews. The perceptions of tourism businesses and the representatives of regional tourism organizations are examined by comparison and opposition. The focal themes of the results are open data in general, advantages and disadvantages of open data, facilitators, and hindrances of implementation and utilization of the innovation, sustainable development, and its interconnectedness with openness and open data. In this chapter, the results are outlined by simultaneously analyzing and reflecting it with the theoretical framework. When presenting the results, care was taken to ensure the anonymity of the participants.
5.1 Open data perception in general
The participants were asked their stance on open data and what it is for them. All the participants have heard about the concept and were aware of the overall view of open data. However, some of the participants, especially the ones with a higher rate of expertise in open data, could define it more in detail, as it is defined officially (Helsinki Region Infoshare; Petrov, Gurin & Manley, 2016). Such as 10 out of 15 participants were able to define the term “open data” by bringing up characters as open data being accessible and free for everyone, reusable and is a raw material for multiple new purposes, its being in a specific format and open data’s readability through a machine. Nearly all participants were able to describe it on a surface level. Worthwhile noting is that the chosen interviewees possess a good position within their organization, such as being an entrepreneur and development manager and thus, might arguably have a broad awareness of the current tourism industry and its trends. Other features describing open data that are highlighted in the results were words such as trendy, topical, yet blurred, already utilized, a way of acting, precondition, openness, close to heart, yet many definitions, accessibility, not only public property, and gives added value.
23
Figure 3, The organizational structure in the tourism industry in Finland. Translated from Santala, Vesterinen, and Moilanen (2004)
The topic is relatively new, and the desire to interview early adopters within the tourism industry has been an ambitious objective and could have turned around differently. Therefore, the interviewees were asked in the early stage of the interview about their previous experiences concerning how they have been in touch with open data. Fortunately, the participants were emerging to represent the early adopters. The answers varied by someone being involved with developing the open database for Visit Finland to hotel’s open reviews, using information banks daily to using open data for marketing planning. What can be discerned from participants, all of them had a position within their circle, whereas they are actively involved with taking part in the discussion and implementation of new development in their organizations or enterprises. Through the entire interview, participants reflect a keen interest in being above the curve by showing in their responses having an awareness and vast knowledge of current and occurring trends, the condition of tourism and sustainable tourism in general, and having a keen interest in continuous evolvement. Based on the above, it is to argue that the desired target group, the early adopters, has been managed to choose.
The chosen participants in their interview responses have shown similar characteristics to “The Law of the Few”. These participants are not only early adopters but people with interest in spreading the word out by their knowledge and their excitement towards the innovation. (Redmond 2004; Rogers 1995). Their background, thoughts about sustainable tourism development and open database, their success rate in their field, enthusiasm towards newness, and their wide network show that these people at this stage are following the principles of being among “The Law of Few”, hence, is wise to get them on board.
The participants were asked about their relationship with Visit Finland. The response was determined by which kinds of organizations they represent. Regional organizations were more closely and frequently in contact with Visit Finland than smaller businesses. Tourism businesses were somewhat indirectly connected to Visit Finland through regional
24
organizations, and thus, regional organizations being the middlemen. As can be seen in figure 3 in the above, the stakeholder structure of the tourism industry in Finland exemplifies different positions and functions of organizations, and the connectedness and proximity of stakeholders, which affects communication and collaboration, hence, the overall awareness and view on what Visit Finland is currently carrying out and vice versa. In the responses, it can be recognized that tourism businesses have not been involved with Visit Finland previously, say the least directly, and they have a little knowledge of what Visit Finland is undertaking in comparison to regional organizations. It concludes how all the three stakeholders, in this case, have a different position, and the closer the stakeholder is to another, the more interminable the collaboration and communication is by having fewer hindrances.
The stakeholder structure is a matter that defines how communication goes through and through which channels and by whom. The relationships and organizations' proximity with each other in the stakeholder structure play a crucial role in defining how active the communication is. Figure 3 shows the stakeholder structure in the tourism industry in Finland. In Rogers’ (1995;1962) framework, the diffusion of innovation goes through a social system dependent on the prevailing communication channels. As the diffusion is principally a social process, the success of it is defined by the activeness of the interaction, communication and collaboration between the people and organizations (Rogers 1995).
The stakeholder structure was evident for each participant. In terms of succeeding in communication and collaboration, the primary responsibility is placed in regional organizations due to the structure of the organizations. The regional organizations are posing as middlemen, hence, placing the most central position in the collaboration between all three stakeholders. Both representatives of the regional organizations and businesses agreed on this. Although the greater responsibility of a successful collaboration between stakeholders is given to regional organizations, regional organizations stress the importance of Visit Finland taking a leading position as an executor of the whole process and carrying it out with clear commands along with tourism businesses being responsive and committed to the change.
The interest was to know how much background information participants had regarding the launching of an open database. Most of the interviewees, even the ones representing regional organizations, did not have or were lacking information about the undertaking, which was an unanticipated response. According to Kaisa (2019), the launching of an open database has been given the green light in the tourism field, and specific regional organizations have agreed to get involved with the pilot phase. However, only one representative of the tourism business has former been acquainted with the launching of an open database due to them being involved with designing the database. Further, only for 2 of 5 interviewed representatives of regional organizations, the details of the innovation adaptation process seem clear. All five have heard about the launching; nevertheless, the same three interviewees who found the details being yet undiscovered mentioned that not much had been yet executed from their side, instead put on hold, and they have been waiting for further instructions from Visit Finland. Some assumptions were drawn from this response. The lack of awareness from the regional organization side might be a matter of a few things, which allows only to give out suppositions such as the piloting phase not following the initial schedule, Visit Finland has not started the launching actively, deliberated choice of not promoting the innovation due to staging or lacking in communication and collaboration. Worth points out is that the perspective of Visit Finland is
