M.A. Theses
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Browsing M.A. Theses by Author "Ertuna, Bengi."
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Item Benefits of networking for small hospitality businesses :|the case of Istanbul’s Sultanahmet area(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2020., 2020.) Çivi, Mehtap.; Ertuna, Bengi.Considering its contribution to economy through tourism revenues and employment, tourism is among the important industries in Turkey. However, the industry has faced serious problems in recent years due to the political and economic fluctuations in the country. During this period, a large number of small and medium sized hotels (SMHEs) have faced difficulties in sustaining their operations due to this fluctuations and, unfortunately, some had to cease their operations. Considering all these difficulties faced by small hotels, this study is undertaken to understand how they deal with these problems and use networking in running their operations and the perceived benefits of their networking activities. Thus, networking structure of these small hotels; frequency and purpose of their formal and informal networks and the benefits, if any, of networking activity are investigated in this study. Istanbul Sultanahmet area is selected as the context of the empirical study. Data is collected during the period April 27, 2019 - July 17 2019 using a questionnaire administered to owner/managers of 71 small hotels and four in-depth interviews with four owner/managers. Results indicate that although hotel owner/managers state the difficulties that they face in reaching resources, such as human resources and guests; the formal and informal networks that they utilize for gaining access to the resources remain insufficient in solving their problems. Rather than formal and informal networks of owner/managers, the results suggest the need for establishing specificpurpose networking platforms that involve relevant stakeholders.Item The effects of tourism on the subjective well-being of the residents of Cappadocia(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Ata, Selenay.; Ertuna, Bengi.World Heritage Sites represent an important attraction for prospective visitors to a destination. Although tourism significantly contributes to both national and local economies, it is of paramount importance to residents of destinations, whose lives are influenced by the prevalence of tourism activity to a great extent. Guided by previous research focusing on tourism’s effect on resident well-being, this study aims to investigate the relationship between subjective well-being of the residents and their perceptions of tourism and conservation in Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia. This descriptive research uses a quantitative approach, in which a survey instrument consisting of a happiness index and questions on tourism and conservation measures was administered to 178 residents in Cappadocia using a convenience sampling approach. Study findings demonstrate that positive perceptions of tourism and conservation reinforce community well-being in Cappadocia. These results’ implications for future research and policy-makers are discussed.Item Tourism, conservation, and subjective well-being in world heritage sites :|the historic areas of Istanbul(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2020., 2020.) Kuzuoğlu, Sina.; Ertuna, Bengi.This research focuses on the interrelations between subjective well-being, tourism activity and conservation efforts for residents living in Fatih, housing Istanbul’s World Heritage properties. Using a modified version of Happiness Index to capture perceptions of tourism and conservation, this research utilizes a household survey with 477 residents of Fatih district of Istanbul chosen via a stratified simple random sampling. Fatih’s neighborhoods in which data collection took place are categorized with respect their tourism focus, creating a spatial tourism variable. The differences according to demographic and spatial characteristics are determined on an item basis. Subsequently, using life satisfaction as a proxy dependent variable, the relationship between life satisfaction, well-being, and perceptions of tourism is investigated using binary logit regressions with respect to neighborhoods’ tourism focus. Findings reaffirm previous scholarship on subjective well-being in Turkey. Furthermore, they indicate that, in Fatih, residents in tourism-focused neighborhoods have more positive perceptions of tourism which also resonates in the likelihood of their life satisfaction. In line with these findings, distinguishing residents of World Heritage Sites in urban settings, and its ramifications for future well-being research in tourism-focused regions are discussed. The findings indicate that spatial distribution of tourism to influence patterns of subjective well-being in urban tourism destinations. In this context, social policy measures that would increase residents’ awareness in terms of cultural heritage and tourism are suggested.Item Turkey’s tourism social entrepreneurship ecosystem:|An assessment of the potential for hybrid value creation(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2019., 2019.) Farhoodi, Marveh.; Ertuna, Bengi.Turkey’s Tourism Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem: An Assessment of the Potential for Hybrid Value Creation Tourism offers a potential to create positive social impacts toward reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thus aligns well with the purpose of Social Entrepreneurship (SE). Yet, in Turkey, tourism SE fails in fulfilling its potential for contributing to SDGs. When aiming to reach SDGs, the ability of the SE practice to sustain itself becomes critical for long-term value creation for its stakeholders. Reaching this self-sustaining state requires an enabling context which provides for the needs of tourism SEs in order to become impact-focused enterprises. Conditions which enable value creation and self-sustainability of tourism social enterprises (TSEs) have not been thoroughly addressed in the literature, particularly in terms of their connections to social impact ecosystems. By focusing on hybrid value creation, this qualitative research explores the impediments faced by TSEs in Turkey to become self-sustainable impact-generating organizations. A preliminary analysis was conducted to identify the emerging themes and research gaps, and thus, the research focus. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with TSEs and intermediary organizations in the ecosystem. The findings showed that sustainable hybrid-value creation in tourism SE is affected by an intertwined set of factors acting in several layers and levels (i.e., the SE in tourism, the TSE; the social impact ecosystem; the tourism industry, and the overarching context). Based on the hybrid value creation characteristics of tourism SEs; their impact generation and growth patterns, areas of support failure in the ecosystem are identified, and elements of alternative support models are suggested.