我国旅游上市公司规模经济与范围经济研究

Economies of Scale and Scope in China's Listed Tourism Enterprises

旅游上市公司规模经济和范围经济研究对企业避免盲目扩张、改善多元化经营效率具有非常重要的参考价值。应用广义超越对数成本函数对我国旅游上市公司的规模经济和范围经济状况进行分析,规模经济研究结果表明:多数旅游上市公司存在规模经济,但有减弱趋势,部分公司存在规模不经济,并有恶化倾向;景区类上市公司的规模经济状况最好。总体范围经济研究发现:大部分公司存在总体范围不经济,且总体范围不经济性逐渐增强;景区类上市公司的总体范围经济性最明显。特定产品范围经济研究显示,酒店业务与旅行社业务、景区业务与旅行社业务的组合经营可以形成范围经济效应,但酒店业务与景区业务、旅游业务与非旅游业务的组合经营存在范围不经济。

Research into economies of scale and economies of scope has important reference value,especially when policy makers of tourism companies are trying to avoid blind expansion and improvethe efficiency of economic diversification. Based on a sample of thirteen listed tourism companies inChina, this paper applies a generalized translog cost function to investigate economies of scale andscope in tourism enterprises.The empirical results show that： 1. economies of scale do exist in most of the listed tourismcompanies, however this advantage weakens as time passes; 2. some companies experiencediseconomies of scale, the condition of which is deteriorating; and 3. the economies of scale of listedcompanies associated with scenic attractions are better than those of hotel listed companies andcomprehensive tourism listed companies. For global economies of scope, the results show that： 1. mostlisted tourism companies experience global diseconomies of scope, which also has a tendency toproduce economic deterioration; and 2. listed companies associated with scenic attractions experiencethe most obvious economies of scope. Specifically, the paper analyzes the product-specific economiesof scope in three tourism businesses. From the empirical results, we can conclude that the businesscombination of hotel and travel agency, and/or tourist attractions and travel agency can produceeconomies of scope, however the business combinations of hotel and tourist attractions, and tourismand non-tourism, will produce diseconomies of scope. Based on these conclusions, the paper providessome suggestions on scale expansion and diversification for tourism listed companies. First, as a resultof the weakened strength of cost reduction through scale expansion, tourism listed companies shouldtake a more cautious and rational attitude towards growth. This should be adjusted according to theprofitability of the industry as well as to the enterprise ？？s size and ability to control costs. Second, toexpand the benefits of scale economies, tourism listed companies should attach more importance toimproving the market competitiveness and efficiency of resource use, make efforts to accumulatecapital, talents, and efficient procurement systems, and invest in information technology. Besides theabove actions, tourism companies should also develop featured tourism products according to thechanging demands of tourists.For business diversification, tourism listed companies should reduce the scale of their nontourismactivities, especially those that are irrelevant to tourism. Second, tourist attraction companieswith better economic performance, and those that will assist in the operation of tourist attractions in thefuture, should consider developing a travel agency business. Those that are not performing well, buthave the intention of transforming their business, should take into consideration developing acombination of a travel agency and their hotel business. Hotel listed companies, as a result of thediseconomies relating to hotel business and non-tourism business, should consider reducing the scale oftheir non-tourism activities and try to develop a travel agency. Comprehensive tourism listed companiescan also take into consideration the development of new tourist attraction- based business. Finally, toimprove the efficiency of diversification and expand the benefit of economies of scope, tourism listedcompanies should strengthen the promotion of their brand image. This can help new businesses enterthe market more quickly, accumulate more professional management experience, and provide diverseskills training for employees, while also improving the efficiency of cooperation among firms in thisbusiness sector.This research also has some limitations, for example, the empirical results are based on a smallsample, and thus may be inadequate to support the conclusions. Second, the research does not analyzethe factors that influence economies of scale.