Walking on the light side

Abstract

PurposeGhost tours are an important part of tourism in many towns and cities around the world.Described as light dark tourism, they are a mix of the macabre and entertainment. Ghost tours are usually small business enterprises. In order for their venture to be sustainable, ghost tour operators must engage in effective entrepreneurial marketing practices. This study aims to evaluate the extent to which ghost tour operators employ entrepreneurial marketing within their business. Design/methodology/approachA qualitative bricolage approach is utilised as a way to explore the use of entrepreneurial marketing practices within ghost tourism; that is, a niche tourism product. Data were collected using 21 in-depth interviews, participant observation and analysis of venture websites. This study employed a two-stage data analysis procedure. FindingsFindings reveal that ghost tour operators practice several dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing that are often simultaneously present and interwoven through the practices ghost tour operators use, as identified by thematic analysis. Originality/valueThis study adds an entrepreneurial marketing lens to the light dark tourism literature.

Recent developments in entrepreneurial marketing: systematic literature review, thematic analysis and research agenda

“…Even if an entrepreneurial market orientation generally leads to increased firm performance, various studies offer divergent results regarding the precise impacts of different dimensions. Qualitative studies mostly find support for the effects of all seven dimensions (Kurgun et al , 2011; Krisjanous and Carruthers, 2018), but other studies consider categories of strategic and operational marketing elements (Morrish and Deacon, 2011; Kirchner et al , 2013). Quantitative studies reveal more nuanced impacts, such that Becherer et al (2012) find no support for the claim that the opportunity focus dimension affects SMEs’ outcome goals, but Sadiku-Dushi et al (2019) uncover a strong positive link with firm performance.…”

A New Dimension of Entrepreneurial Marketing and Key Challenges: A Case Study from Pakistan

“…These dimensions are proactiveness, risk management, innovation, customer intensity, resource leveraging, opportunity-driven, and value creation. These dimensions have been used as underpinning theory in many studies (e.g., Chaudhury et al, 2014;Krisjanous & Carruthers, 2018;Kurgun et al, 2011;Thomas et al, 2013;Yang & Gabrielsson, 2017) and other than that, there is a wide range of recent studies that have also used this theory at some point to support their research (e.g., Andersson et al, 2018;Hagen et al, 2019;Matthews et al, 2018). The current study has also used the dimensions of EM as the interview protocol to explore the practices of a graduate entrepreneur during the start-up phase.…”

“…Four of the EM dimensions, i.e., proactiveness, risk management, innovation-focused, and opportunity-driven, are derived by Morris et al (2002) from work on entrepreneurial orientation; two dimensions, i.e., customer intensity and value creation are derived from the work on market orientation; whereas one dimension, i.e., resource leveraging is commonly found in the entrepreneurship and marketing works of literature. Since the time seven EM dimensions are proposed, they have been used as a major underpinning theory in many studies (e.g., Chaudhury et al, 2014;Krisjanous & Carruthers, 2018;Kurgun et al, 2011;Thomas, Painbéni, & Barton, 2013;Yang & Gabrielsson, 2017), and other than that, there is a wide range of recent studies that have also used this theory at some point to support their research (e.g., Andersson, Evers, & Gliga, 2018;Crick, Chaudhry, & Crick, 2018;Hagen, Zucchella, & Ghauri, 2019;Matthews, Chalmers, & Fraser, 2018). However, despite been extensively used, rare attempts could be found in the literature to extend, upgrade, or modify these dimensions.…”

Unleash the Potential of Mystery, Ghost & Paranormal Tourism through the lens of locals in Kuldhara, Rajasthan, India: A qualitative study

“…It is noted that elements of ghost tourism destinations have two categories: authentic historical surroundings and ghostly locations. Krisjanous and Carruthers (2018) pointed out that authenticity plays a vital role in ghost tourism.…”