The Future of Hotel Electronic Distribution: Expert and Industry Perspectives
Abstract
The variety and complexity of electronic distribution channels available to hotels has increased dramatically in recent years. Identifying and differentiate between such channels has become difficult, and the literature suggests that the complexity of the system is likely to further increase in the future. This poses a variety of questions; which channels are current most productive; which are likely to grow / decline in the future; and do all industry constituents agree on likely future scenarios? This paper reports on the findings of two complementary research projects – a Delphi study with experts in the field of hotel electronic distribution and an electronic survey of practicing industry managers. Both studies focused on establishing the range of electronic channels currently available to hotels, their current relative importance and on forecasting each channel’s future potential. The findings highlight the continued importance of “traditional” electronic routes – those that involve intermediaries such as Central Reservations Systems, Global Distribution System and the travel agent, while also confirming the increased complexity of the distribution environment. Analysis reveals that future hotel electronic distribution is likely to initially be centralised through a CRS, to flow through a variety of different routes and third parties to the customer, and ultimately use the Web as its communications medium.
Peter O’CONNOR
Associate Professor Department of Information Systems ESSEC Business School Ave Bernard Hirsch, BP 105, 95021 Cergy Pontoise, France +33 1 3443 3177
oconnor@essec.fr
Andrew J FREW
Professor Hospitality and Tourism Management Queen Margaret University College Edinburgh, Scotland +44 131 317 3596
Key-words:
Channels of distribution, hotel industry, future, Delphi method.
afrew@qmuc.ac.uk
Introduction
Go and Pine (1995) define a channel of distribution as one that provides "sufficient information to the right people at the right time and in the right place to allow a purchase decision to be made, and provides a mechanism where the consumer can purchase the required product". Effective distribution is especially important in the hotel sector, as the accommodation product is extremely perishable. Revenue from an unsold hotel room is lost forever, and thus selling each room each night at an optimum price is critical to profitability. As a result, the efficiency of a hotel’s set of channels of distribution is critical. Hotels have thus traditionally used a variety of simultaneous channels to help maximise their sales. These include distributing through other properties within their brand, joining consortia or other types of affiliation organisation, joining representative companies, using intermediaries such as travel agents, tour operators or incentive houses, and making use of an increasingly important portfolio of electronic channels, as will be discussed below. In each case, the objectives are to make information about the product conveniently available to the customer and to make it easier for them to reserve that particular property. This paper documents the current status and forecasts the future potential of hotel electronic distribution channels. By triangulating the results of a Delphi study and an industry survey, the opinions of recognised experts in the field of hotel electronic distribution and those of industry practitioners are contrasted in an effort to understand this highly complex and rapidly changing arena.
and because the distributor can get closer to the customer (Dube and Renaghan 2000). “Through their contacts, experience, specialisation and scale of operation, intermediaries normally offer more than a firm could do on its own” (Kotler, Bowen et al. 1996). Hotel companies also need distribution systems to make their products available to customers. However, in contrast to physical products, with hotels the intermediary rarely takes possession of the product to be distributed. The concepts of product flow, ownership flow and title transfer are not always applicable where intangibles are being distributed. Although the consumer must come in contact with the firm to receive the service, there is often little tangible evidence of the transfer of ownership or title. Instead it is information – about availability, prices, qualities and convenience – that is transferred, communicated and manipulated (Poon 1993). Information is acknowledged to be the "lifeblood" of the tourism industry, as in its absence, the potential customer’s motivation and ability to book are severely limited. This need for information is heightened by the intangible, complex and interdependent nature of the tourism product. Tourism is diverse (in many cases it is this heterogeneity that makes it attractive in the first place), is rarely purchased in isolation, and “the endless combinations and permutations of alternative travel routes, transportation modes, time and lodging accommodation make travel decisions difficult even for the initiated” (Kaven 1994). Recent changes in society heighten the importance of information. Leisure time has become a scarce commodity, and, thus the annual holiday or even the weekend break has increasingly become associated with risk; as Buhalis (2003) points out, "the greater the degree of perceived risk in a pre-purchase context, the greater the consumer propensity to seek information about the product". As a result, consumers seek out information to minimise the gap between their expectations and their actual experience and the fast, efficient exchange of data has become essential for effective customer service. Information technology facilitates this process and has become an almost universal feature of the sector. For hotel distribution, information technology based systems are more efficient than manual or paper based systems as they have no capacity limitations, offer infinitely more geographical reach, have a low marginal cost and can easily incorporate dynamic data such as room inventory and rates. However, simple information provision is not enough – a mechanism must also be provided to allow the customer to make a purchase (O'Connor & Frew 2001). The convenience of this element and the ease with which the consumer can complete the transaction is critical (Bennett 1993). Non-electronic channels usually have to be used in pairs to successfully generate a reservation as both an advertising medium (for example, brochures or guidebooks), and an interactive medium (such as, for example, a telesales agent or a travel agent) are needed to complete the transaction. Information technology based distribution systems can potentially fulfil both roles and thus allow travellers to make reservations in a fraction of the time, cost and inconvenience required of traditional methods, benefits that have changed the way in which travel goods and services are sold.
1. Background
The manner in which companies bring their products to the marketplace is a cornerstone of any competitive strategy (WTO 1997), with Porter and Millar (1985) specifically citing it as one of the primary activities of the firm. Channels of distribution are, by definition, “a set of independent organisations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption” (Lewis, Chambers et al. 1995). Middleton (1994) proposes that a “distribution channel is any organised and serviced system, created or utilised to provide convenient points of sale and / or access to consumers, away from the location of production and consumption, and paid for out of marketing budgets”. They are “the critical link in the marketing mix between supply and demand, consumer and producer” (Mill and Morrison 1985). However some authors regard their scope to be broader than this as the above definition effectively ignores the promotional and market research activities undertaken by a channel while also underestimating their information provision function (Buhalis 2000). Most companies that produce goods or services need assistance in distributing their products to the end user. Where this is a physical good (such as, for example, a soft drink), arrangements must be made to get that product to where the customer can buy it. Distribution channels accomplish this, overcoming the major time, place and possession gaps that separate it from those who would use it. Usually, the producer uses a wholesaler or broker to assist in distribution, as the cost of developing their own distribution channels can be prohibitive
Electronic distribution systems in tourism began as internal systems developed by the airlines for inventory control in the late 1950s. Subsequently travel agents were given direct access to the systems, allowing them to see real time availability and pricing information, and to make instant bookings. Airline deregulation accelerated travel agent’s adoption of technology, as a computerised system became to a large extent essential to untangle the increased number of flight and fare options. At the same time, most airline reservation systems began cross-selling complementary travel products to help offset their capital costs. While hotels initially loaded their various room types, descriptions and price categories into spare capacity on the airline systems, database architecture problems meant that the detailed information necessary to sell hotels effectively could not be incorporated. Most companies’ responded to these problems by subsequently developed their own systems with a more appropriate database structure, and subsequently electronically linked them to the Global Distribution Systems (GDS), as the airline systems became known. To facilitate this, interfaces had to be developed, which was both technical and expensive, and in most cases several were necessary as each GDS serviced different geographical markets. To minimise costs, the major hotel companies cooperated to create a “universal switch” – a bi-directional translator connecting any hotel reservation system to the numerous GDS platforms. As a result, each company only needed a single interface (between its system and the Switch), to give access to all of the major GDS systems. Despite this saving, the capital cost of developing and maintaining a Central Reservations System (CRS) is still substantial. For this reason, many companies currently out-source their electronic distribution (HEDNA 1997). Furthermore, the use of Destination Management Systems (DMS) could also be regarded as a similar strategy. DMS concentrate on distributing a wide variety of different tourism products focused primarily on the leisure customer, are generally government sponsored and pay particular attention to distributing smaller and independent tourism suppliers. However, with the exception of in a small number of European countries, the impact of DMS has been minimal, as most have failed to evolve into full commercial systems (Frew and O'Connor 1999). Until the early 1990s, electronic channels of distribution in the hotel sector were as described above – a cosy status quo where systems co-operated, rather than competed, with each other. Relationships were effectively linear, participants had a mutually beneficial role to play while data was distributed over proprietary networks and was not available to non-members. Use of electronic distribution was lucrative, but also expensive and lacked flexibility. Between 1993 and 1997, commissions and other reservation costs by approximately 117% (Waller 1999). This cost increase, coupled with advances in information technology, convinced many companies of the need to find alternative ways to distribute their product.
and it has had a profound effect on the way in which hotel products are marketed, distributed, sold and fulfilled. Perhaps the most significant effect is the shake up in distribution channels currently in progress. In addition to co-operating with each other as they did in the past, most channel participants started to compete by creating their own Web sites with information provision and booking facilities. The situation is well summarised by Dombey (1998), who describes it as “little short of a technological stampede. Up and down the traditional distribution chain, … providers are working feverishly to re-engineer their travel systems … to bypass both the GDS and the travel agent to create a direct link with the customer”. Paradoxically, in addition to there being more competition, there is also more co-operation. Most on-line sites need to offer multiple products (air, hotel, car, etc) from multiple vendors as their key attraction is that they are “full-service” and thus offer the ability to research and purchase an entire trip on-line. As a result, they need detailed content and reservation facilities for multiple products, which they can only get by cooperating with other intermediaries. Non-exclusive virtual alliances are being formed, with companies combining to develop new synergistic relationships. In essence, the level of mutual dependence between participants in the hotel electronic distribution arena has decreased and each intermediary now has the potential (and frequently the facility) to distribute directly to the end consumer. For example, many of the hotel chains have taken advantage of the opportunities presented by the Web. A 2002 survey of the top fifty hotel companies revealed that over 95% of chains had a company Web site, with nearly 90% of these providing reservation facilities to allow the customer to book directly (O'Connor 2003). Chain sites appear to be highly effective, with the majority of Internet bookings flowing through such sites rather than through the Web intermediaries (HSMAI 1999). The reduction in costs from the avoidance of GDS fees and travel agent commission are estimated to be substantial, with cumulative gross savings for the 2000 to 2003 period forecast to reach US$1.3 billion, representing an annual saving equivalent to 1.7% of total industry profits in 2000 (Ader, Lafleur et al. 2000). In effect, the arrival of the Web has upset the distribution apple cart and prompted major change in the hotel distribution arena. In addition to the rapidly expanding number of channels available, most of the channels are becoming interconnected, with each offering multiple routes to the customer. Clearly there is a need to establish a clear picture of the various channels available. Which are important now and which are likely to dominate in the future?
The development of the Web as an electronic commerce medium provided just such an opportunity. Most hotel companies have begun experimenting with Web distributing
2. Research Methodology
Two complementary research techniques were used to explore this issue. A Delphi study with experts in the field of hotel electronic distribution was used to develop a typology of the channels currently available and to forecast the future potential of each for the industry as a whole. This was followed by a survey of industry practitioners to validate the findings of the expert panel and to establish the industry viewpoint as to the current status and future potential of each channel. The Delphi panel was selected by identifying presenters on technology related subjects at major international hospitality and tourism conferences in the 30 months prior to the study. 42 experts accepted the invitation to participate and email was used as the communications medium. A three rounds study was used with an average response rate of 65% throughout. The sample frame for the industry survey was defined as the electronic distribution managers in the top 200 hotel brands, represent approximately 33.5% of units and the majority of bedroom stock on a worldwide basis. Focusing on chain hotels was a deliberate strategy, as although the hotel industry is dominated by small and independent properties, chain hotels tend to be better performing, in terms of both sales and profitability (Horwath International 2000), more likely to use technology and to have experience with managing technology based system (Buhalis 1999). While sampling was considered, the relatively minor resource increase necessary to survey the entire population was thought worthwhile. The research instrument was an electronic questionnaire, delivered by email, and addressed to named individuals within each of the selected companies. A response rate of 25 per cent was achieved, representing 36 hotel brands, over 21,000 hotel properties and nearly 600,000 hotel rooms. The mean number of properties within respondent companies was 625, while the mean number of rooms was just over 20,000. Respondents were asked to indicate the percentage of overall reservations estimated to originate through electronic channels. Their estimates ranged from 3% to 85%, with a mean of approximately 40%.
routes. For example, the term “GDS” is often used to describe a particular system. However GDS distribution can occur in many different ways (each with its own characteristics) depending on how the GDS is backwardly connected to the hotel and forwardly connected to the customer. It is these routes – from the hotel to the customer through various intermediary systems - that are important, rather than the facilitating systems in themselves. Using the concept of Porter’s value chain (1985) as a basis for differentiating between routes, the authors developed a notation format that uses abbreviations for each node to generate an unambiguous and unique name for each possible route. Thus, instead of a generic name such as GDS, a route might be described as, for example, H-CRS-GDS-TA-C or H-CRS-R-GDS-GW-C (for Hotel to Central Reservation System to Global Distribution System to Travel Agent to Customer, and Hotel to Central Reservation System to Representative Company to Global Distribution System to GDS based travel web site to Customer respectively). This notation was used over multiple Delphi rounds to develop and validate a typology of the B2C (Business to Consumer) distribution channels currently available to hotels (see Figure 1). This shows the range and complexity of the channels available and demonstrates how interconnected the channels have become, thus highlighting the difficult choice facing anyone managing hotel electronic distribution.
3.2 Importance of current channels
While multiple channels exist, some are obviously minor in terms of their impact and potential. To identify the more important ones, Delphi participants were asked to indicate which they considered be have the greatest effect on the business volumes of chain hotels. Similarly industry survey participants were asked to indicate which channels they felt to be most important for firstly chain hotels in general and secondly for their own brand. In each case, a voting system was used with respondents allowed to assign multiple votes to a channel if they felt it to be especially important. An analysis of the scores in the three situations is presented in Table 1. The consensus (with a high positive correlation) was that the “traditional” electronic routes are currently the most important for chain hotels. In all three cases, H-CRS-S-GDS-TA-C received the largest number of votes, followed closely by H-CRS-GDS-TA-C and H-CRS-C. However, the importance of the Web as a communications medium with the customer is also clearly demonstrated, with a cluster of channels that use the Web to bypass the travel agent node identifiable following the group discussed above. Thus, despite claims that the Web is of minor importance in terms of online sales for hotels, the survey results show that electronic distribution managers now consider it to be a major contributor to their volume of business, particularly when all Web based routes are combined.
3. Research Findings
3.1 A Typology of Distribution Systems
In the initial round of the Delphi study, panel members were asked to identify the electronic distribution channels currently available to hotels. Their responses amplified two inter-related problems already noted from the literature. Firstly, it was apparent that the terminology being used to describe electronic distribution was un-standardised, with a variety of different terms routinely being used interchangeably. While this could be as a result of the relative youth of the topic, or perhaps the rapid rate at which technologies and business models are changing, it was clear that a common vocabulary had yet to develop, even among experts in the field. The lack of standardised terminology contributed to the second problem - the difficulty in concisely and adequately identifying each channel. Existing terminology does not easily permit differentiation between
Hotel
Hotel Web site
Customer
Customer
CRS Web site
Customer
Hotel
CRS
GDS
Travel Agent
Customer
Switch
GDS-based Web site
Customer
Switch Co Web Site
Customer
Hotel
Web Intermediary
Customer
Hotel
Rep Company
Customer
Rep Company Web site
Customer
Customer
Hotel
DMS
DMS Web site
Customer
TIC
Customer
Figure 1 – A typology of hotel electronic distribution channels
Channel Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to CRS to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to CRS to Customer Hotel to CRS to Hotel Company web-site to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to Web intermediary to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to GDS web-site to Customer Hotel to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch web-site to Customer Hotel to CRS to GDS to GDS web-site to Customer Hotel to Rep Company to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to Web intermediary to Customer Hotel to CRS to DMS to Destination web-site to Customer Hotel to Customer Rep Company to
Expert View 55 48 47 43 17 18 15 15 13 15 23 12 12 12 24
Chain Hotels 123 75 68 59 52 46 44 40 40 37 37 31 31 28 24
Own Brand 116 63 86 56 34 33 29 36 31 42 30 21 22 25 22
the analysis. Content analysis techniques were used to analyse their responses and a variety of additional minor channels were identified, with a predominant emphasis on the Web as the penultimate communications medium with the customer – either through representative company based Websites, wholesaler or consolidator sites, specialised Websites (e.g. meeting or wedding planners) or through auction / name-your-own-price sites. These suggestions drew attention to how various third parties (for example wholesalers, web intermediaries, representative companies and even travel agent based websites) are likely to influence future volumes of business, and further increase the complexity of the hotel electronic distribution arena.
3.3 Forecasts for the Future
As was discussed above, hotel electronic distribution is in a state of rapid evolution and thus a forecast of which channels are likely to be important in the future is clearly of interest. Both groups surveyed were asked to indicate whether they felt each channel was likely to grow or decline over the subsequent year. A five-point scale was used to measure their response and their forecasts are shown in Table 2. A positive attitude towards the future of hotel electronic distribution is apparent, with few channels forecast to decline and an arithmetic mean of 3.19 for the expert group and of 3.39 for the industry group, demonstrating how both feel that bookings volumes over these nominated channels is likely to grow in the future. Analysis of individual channels confirms many of the theories formed earlier. The continuing importance of the GDS from the industry perspective is clearly evident, with H-CRS-S-GDS-GW-C, H-CRS-GDS-GW-C and H-CRS-S-GDS-WI-C receiving mean scores of 3.87, 3.81 and 3.48 respectively. However, conspicuously absent from these routes is the travel agent node. This treat to the travel agent is again confirmed by the fact that the majority of the channels forecast to decline involve travel agents as the final “node” before the customer. At the same time, practically all of the channels forecast to grow involve the Web as the final delivery mechanism (i.e. the Web is used as the communications channel between the penultimate node and the customer). In particular, the direct to customer routes (H-W-C and H-CRS-HW-C) received relatively high scores (4.05 and 3.90 respectively). Similarly, the industry group placed H-CRS-HW-C as the channel forecast to have the most extreme growth (mean score = 4.4). Lastly, five of the seven channels forecast to grow significantly feature both the CRS as a node in the distribution chain and the Web as their ultimate communications medium with the customer. This would seem to give an indication of how hotel electronic distribution will develop in the near future – initially centralised through a CRS, flowing through a variety of different routes to the customer and third parties, but ultimately being delivered using the Web as the communications medium.
Hotel to DMS to Customer Hotel to individual hotel web-site to Customer
Table 1 - Relative Importance of Channels An alternative analysis is to examine the nodes in the distribution chain included in the channels suggested by the panel (Figure 2). When a node is given one vote each time it is mentioned in a channel, those most important as facilitators of hotel electronic distribution can be identified. Such an analysis reveals the continued overwhelming importance of the CRS in the hotel electronic distribution strategy of the hotel chains. In both expert and industry responses, the majority of channels have their origins in the CRS, irrespective of how they are ultimately delivered to the customer. Industry practitioners’ perceptions of the importance of the GDS and the travel agent in hotel distribution can also be clearly seen. These nodes received far higher numbers of votes from industry respondents than from Delphi participants, indicating that the viewpoint from those actually working in this arena is that this traditional route remains the primary one for chain hotels. That being said, the node analysis also shows the importance of the Web as a delivery mechanism. Both the expert and the industry votes highlight how the majority of channels use the Web as their communications mechanism with the customer. Although these votes are spread over multiple channels (e.g. direct web site, Chain web site, Web intermediary and Destination web site), collectively it is clear that the Web has become an important contributor in terms of reservation generation. Respondents to both surveys were also asked if channels had been omitted from
Hotel
Hotel Web site
Customer
22 24
CRS Web site
Customer
Customer
Hotel
CRS
GDS
478 534
348 416
56 59 64 86
Travel Agent
250 279
Customer
Switch
219 221
GDS-based Web site
Customer
Switch Co Web Site
Customer
36 40
Hotel Web Intermediary Customer
Hotel
Rep Company
65 68
64 89
Customer Rep Company Web site
0 0 23 31
TIC
Customer
Customer
Hotel
DMS
48 48
DMS Web site
Customer
Company
Industry
Figure 2 –Analysis of Importance of Nodes in the hotel distribution chain
Customer
13 0
Channel Hotel to CRS to Hotel Company web-site to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to GDS web-site to Customer Hotel to CRS to GDS to GDS web-site to Customer Hotel to individual hotel web-site to Customer Hotel to DMS to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch web-site to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to Web intermediary to Customer Hotel to CRS to Switch to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to CRS to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer Hotel to CRS to Customer Hotel to Rep Company to Customer Hotel to Web intermediary to Customer Hotel to CRS to DMS to Destination web-site to Customer Hotel to Rep Company to GDS to Travel Agent to Customer
Industry Mean Forecast 4.46 3.87 3.81 3.72 3.63 3.56 3.48 3.15 3.13 3.13 3.12 3 2.85 2.82 2.75
Expert Mean Forecast 2.4 3.8 3.8 2.8 3.3 2.1 2.3 2.4 3.7 3.5 3.2 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.9
second most attractive sets of channels are those in the upper left hand and bottom right hand quadrants. The latter currently have a high volume, but are forecast to decline in the future. In the analysis of the experts’ data, only two channels - the two “traditional” hotel electronic distribution channels (H-CRS-GDS-TA-C and H-CRS-S-GDS-TA-C) - appear in this quadrant. Such a viewpoint is supported by the industry practitioner data, which in addition to the two routes cited above also positions H-CRS-C in this segment. As was discussed earlier, the current importance of these three routes is unquestionable, but respondents feel that they will gradually be replaced by alternatives. Those in the upper left hand quadrant are obvious candidates, being currently minor in importance but forecast to grow. In both analyses, these focus practically exclusively on Web delivered channels. While each has a low current contribution to volume, their forecasts for the future are above average and thus are clearly ones on which hotel companies need to focus more attention.
4. Conclusion
Overall the study has helped to generate a comprehensive picture of the current B2C hotel electronic distribution marketplace. In particular it has highlighted the continued importance of the “traditional” hotel electronic distribution channels – those that involve the CRS, GDS and the travel agent – in terms of their current contribution to volumes of business. Each of these routes has been in use for some time, and, although well proven, are characterised by a high distribution cost. This may be a factor in the phenomenal growth of Web based channels, which now generate significant numbers of reservations for the chain hotels, particularly when considered collectively. However most importantly it has revealed the increased complexity of the hotel electronic distribution environment, and how channels have become increasingly interconnected in their efforts to be the supplier of choice to the customer. It is likely that this trend will increase in the future, and that the tapestry of channels will continue to grow more complex and become increasingly influenced by Web-based third parties. No one channel seems to be emerging as being dominant, and thus its likely that most hotel companies will have to make use of an increasing number of multiple simultaneous routes to the customer in the future. While this in itself is beneficial as it increases the likelihood of the company’s product being placed in front of the right customer, it does raise issues in terms of management, control and cost. Maintaining descriptive information, room rates and availability data in multiple databases is administratively challenging and error prone, and failure to actively manage such data results in inconsistencies and customer dissatisfaction. A solution is suggested by the study’s findings. By feeding each of the multiple routes to the customer from the hotel chain’s CRS, data consistency could be assured with minimum effort. Although the lack of an industry-standard for reservations systems communication would mean that this solution would require the development of multiple interfaces, this is infinitely preferable to the confusion and inaccuracies that would occur if companies attempted to continue to manage multiple channels manually.
Table 2 - Future Importance of Channels (1 = greatly decline, 3 = remain the same, 5 = greatly grow)
Of course growth on its own is not an indication of how important a channel will be in the future. Growth must be combined with achieved volume to identify key channels. By plotting both sets of data in a matrix, the potential of each can be demonstrated and those on which most attention should be focused can be isolated. Results are presented separately for the Delphi panel and the industry group in Figures 3 and 4 respectively. In both analyses, the most attractive channels are those in the top right hand quadrants, combining high current volume with high forecasted growth. In the expert’s matrix, these include six Web based channels, making distribution over the Web a key distribution option. The continued role of the hotel CRS is also reflected here. Not only is the Hotel-CRS-Customer route the only non-Web channel in this segment, but four of the other six channels also include the hotel CRS as a node. In the industry respondent matrix, analysis of the corresponding quadrant reveals a cluster of channels with distinct unique characteristics. Each has the hotel CRS as their first node but uses the Web to communicate with the customer, lending weight to the theory formed earlier that the CRS will continue as the “powerhouse” of hotel electronic distribution, but that the way in which it will interact with the consumer will increasingly be Web based and dominated by third parties. The
Figure 3 – Matrix Analysis of expert panel responses
Grow
H-W-C
H-CRS-HW-C H-CRS-DMS-DW-C H-WI-C
H-CRS-GDS-GW-C
H-CRS-S-GDS-WI-C H-CRS-S-GDS-GW-C H-CRS-SW-C
H-CRS-C H-DMS-C
Low Volume
High Volume
H-REP-C
H-REP-GDS-TA-C
H-CRS-S-GDS-TA-C H-CRS-GDS-TA-C
H-GDS-TA-C
Decline
Figure 4 – Matrix Analysis of industry practitioners’ responses
Grow
H-CRS-HW-C
H-WI-C H-W-C
Low Volume
H-CRS-S-GDS-GWC H-CRS-GDS-GWC H-CRS-SW-C H-CRS-S-GDS-WIC
High Volume
H-CRS-C H-DMS-C H-CRS-DMS-DWC H-GDS-TA-C H-REP-C
H-CRS-GDS-TAH-CRS-S-GDS-TAC C
Decline
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