Lee-Ross, Darren (2014) Profit or pleasure: a study of lifestyle firms in Far North Queensland. In: Proceedings of the 12th Asia Pacific CHRIE conference. pp. 1-10. From: APacCHRIE 2014: 12th Asia Pacific Conference CHRIE conference: breaking barriers shifiting gears, 21-24 May 2014, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Abstract

This study discovered the nature of small to medium-sized accommodation-based hospitality firms in Far North Queensland, Australia. Fifty-one owner/entrepreneurs were interviewed via telephone using questions based on an existing set of lifestyle firm criteria. Owners of these firms did not subscribe to a commonly accepted idea of entrepreneurship. 'Lifestyle' factors motivated these people rather than profit and growth. These were living in a preferred location, an opportunity to be their own boss and to earn a reasonable living in support of a chosen lifestyle. The findings are based on a relatively small sample size and follow a deductive research design. Given the novelty of the field, future studies might consider using a more inductive approach to reveal differences between lifestyle businesses instead of treating them as an homogenous group. The provision of formal training appears to be problematic in that owners do not have many vocational skills. Also provision of training by the government and tourism agencies is inconvenient and irrelevant. These issues must be resolved to ensure professionalism within this sector and to capitalize fully on the economic benefit of tourism in the region. This study contributes to a novel research field. The findings are likely to make a useful contribution to the small existing body of knowledge given the likely overall cumulative impact of individual studies about lifestyle firms.

Item ID:	34355
Item Type:	Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN:	978-967-0173-13-9
Keywords:	tourism; hospitality; entrepreneurs; owners; lifestyle; small business
Related URLs:	Organisation
Date Deposited:	18 May 2015 22:55
FoR Codes:	15 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 1503 Business and Management > 150311 Organisational Behaviour @ 100%
SEO Codes:	91 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 9104 Management and Productivity > 910402 Management @ 100%
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