Toward a behavioral theory of government–firm relationship behavior: Thick description of the dynamics of government's role in shaping China's domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism industry

Abstract

This chapter describes and applies concepts informed by the behavioral theories of the firm to investigate the macrocosmic dynamisms as embodied in China's travel agency policy changes. Through a focused thick description, the study reviews the evolution of China's travel agency regulations since its reform and opening up era and subsequently discusses the impacts and implications of the recent changes in China's travel agency regulations on the regional tourism. By reviewing the evolution of China's travel agency regulations and discussing the impacts of the recent changes in the 2009 Travel Agency Act on the regional tourism, this chapter demonstrates that (1) the government has undergone a learning process to integrate both internal and external evolution factors in regulating its travel agencies’ behaviors; (2) the government–firm relationship behaviors remain the center in the evolution of China's travel agency policies; and (3) the 2009 Travel Agency Act would act as a shock factor initiated by the government to change the routines in firm behaviors, and subsequently the population ecology in both China's and the regional tourism industry.

Citation

(Sam) Huang, S. (2010), "Toward a behavioral theory of government–firm relationship behavior: Thick description of the dynamics of government's role in shaping China's domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism industry", Woodside, A.G. (Ed.) Tourism-Marketing Performance Metrics and Usefulness Auditing of Destination Websites (Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 4), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 149-163. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1871-3173(2010)0000004012