Expenditure pattern analysis of cultural tourists at World Heritage Sites: an empirical evidence based on CHAID analysis

Nowadays, World Heritage Sites (WHS) have been facing new challenges, partially due to a different tourism consumption patterns. As it is highlighted in a considerable amount of studies, visits to these sites are almost justified by this prestigious classification and motivations are closely associated with their cultural aspects and quality of the overall environment (among others, Marujo et al, 2012). However, a diversity of tourists’ profiles have been underlined in the literature. Starting from the results obtained in a previous study about cultural tourists’ profile, conducted during the year 2009 in the city of Évora, Portugal, it is our intend to compare the results with a recent survey applied to the visitors of the same city. Recognition of Évora by UNESCO in 1986 as “World Heritage” has fostered not only the preservation of heritage but also the tourist promotion of the town. This study compares and examined tourists’ profile, regarding from the tourists’ expenditure patterns in Évora. A total of 450 surveys were distributed in 2009, and recently, in 2015, the same numbers of surveys were collected. Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) was applied to model consumer patterns of domestic and international visitors, based on socio demographic, trip characteristics, length of stay and the degree of satisfaction of pull factors. CHAID allowed find a population classification in groups that able to describe the dependent variable, average daily tourist expenditure. Results revealed different patterns of daily average expenditure amongst the years, 2009 and 2015, even if primarily results not revealed significant variations in socio-demographic and trip characteristics among the visitors’ core profile. Local authorities should be aware of this changing expensive behavior of cultural visitors and should formulate strategies accordingly. Policy and managerial recommendations are discussed.

Zeitgeist or chameleon? A quantitative analysis of CSR definitions.

Despite its increasing relevance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains hobbled by problems, variously charged as being chameleon, vacuous or an utterly meaningless concept. One reason is the absence of an agreed upon normative basis underpinning CSR. This is in large part due to the concept lacking a universally accepted definition. This paper explores how the concept of CSR has evolved over time drawing from 110 definitions of the construct. Using co-word analysis of definitions from 1953 to 2014, the study maps how the structure of the definitions has evolved during the field's historical development. The research uncovers the key terms underpinning the phenomenon, the centrality of these terms as well as mapping their interrelationships and evolution. The findings suggest that, despite the profusion and definitional heterogeneity over the six decades of the development of the field, there are six recurrent, enduring dimensions that underpin the CSR concept. These dimensions are economic, social, ethical, stakeholders, sustainability and voluntary. This paper makes several contributions to the academic literature. The systematic, quantitative analysis of definitions brings an objectivity that previous qualitative bibliometric analyses of CSR have lacked. The time period selected is substantially longer than previous analyses and captures the complete historical evolution of the concept. Moreover, the analysis provides the basis for the development of a new, comprehensive, yet concise, definition of CSR that captures all six of the recurring dimensions underpinning the concept.