RESEARCH METHOD
The emphasis of this research lies in an attempt to understand why Thai domestic hotel chains enter foreign markets. Thus, this research adopts a phenomenological approach by seeking the meaning attached to international expansion by the exploratory study organizations. An interview-based research method, which has its chief emphasis on interviews in one to five organizations along with examination of relevant documents, is used in this study. Observation may occur, but if it does so, it tends to be in periods between interviews. It is worth noting that total participant and semiparticipant approaches were not permitted by the exploratory study organizations (Bryman, 1989, pp. 152–161). In selecting the international Thai hotel chains for inclusion in this research, a list of international Thai hotel chains published by the Tourism Authority of Thailand in 2004 was used. Four international Thai hotel chains are identified in this report. All four chains were approached to participate in this study. Of these, three agreed to do so and released relevant data for analysis. Besides this, given the sensitivity and the safety of the organization, all the three Thai hotel chains contributing to the research project were concerned about the con- fidentiality of the collected data. Confidentiality was guaranteed and it was ensured that all of them would be subsequently disguised in the research. The three participant hotel chains include Hotel Chain A (HCA), Hotel Chain B (HCB), and Hotel chain C (HCC). Fieldwork was carried out in Bangkok, Thailand, by using in-depth (face-to-face) interviews. A key theme in studies on internationalization is the management’s mind set, attitudes, and beliefs (Oviatt & McDougall, 1994). Patton (2002) suggested that the size of the sample depends on what the researcher wants to find out, how the findings will be used, and what resources the researcher has for the study. Consequently, in-depth information from a small number of people can be very valuable, especially if the interviews are information rich. Accordingly, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine key informants who had experience of direct participation in the formation of international expansion strategy or who were directly involved in international activities of the three Thai hotel chains. Importantly, the face-to-face interviews provided the opportunity for the researcher to raise additional questions and ensure that the desired information was obtained. The duration of each interview was on average 205 minutes, which should be considered long in a commercial interview situation. This number of interviewees was considered sufficient because of the depth of information gathered during the interviews, which has been saturated or repeated by informants. Also, further to Altinay’s (2005) suggestions, data analysis techniques used included coding analysis, which allows for constant examination of conceptual interactions and relationships, and the conditions under which they occur (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). A coding scheme was also derived from the literature, which reflected the research framework, highlighting the key reasons for internationalization (see Table 1). This coding scheme was used as a set of lenses to view the collected data. Each reason was treated as a code/pattern. Much of the data analysis consisted of breaking down the interview transcripts and notes, as well as documents into manageable blocks in order to classify them under each code/grouping. Theoretical memos or notes were written during the analysis (Altinay & Paraskevas, 2008). These theoretical notes and memos helped to cross-classify the variables logically, generate themes, and illustrate interrelationships. More specifically, they illustrated how different factors act upon and influence each other in hospitality organizations’ decisions to expand overseas. Significantly, due to different cultural norms, it must be remembered that most of Thai companies have a family-business organizational structure. All top-level executives who participated directly in the formation of international expansion strategy are from the ranks of main family members and close relatives such as fathers, sons, daughters, and uncles. This leads to centralized management and a centralized organizational structure, and also to there being few informants. However, the interviews covered all research questions and objectives. The interview questions were based on the literature review and the objective of the study.