Social
interaction is part of our everyday lives. Nowadays we even use social medias,
smartphones and many other devices to connect with other people without being
physically at a same place. However the importance of social interaction
especially accentuated when you are in an environment, where there are other
people present physically. In the cruise ships, this is usually the case;
people are spending their time in a liminal space where there are many other
persons.
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| Figure: Social interaction in simpleton form. (From: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ricke066/architecture/DVP4983141_Veer.JPG) |
Recently,
the social interaction in the cruise ship context has become a rising topic of
research. However the amount of studies is still quite small, when compared to
other more matured research fields, such as shipbuilding, consumer behaviour
and logistics, just to mention few. Thus the social
interaction was deemed to be an interesting research subject.
Our project team
Cruise
& Ferry Experience program unites technology, economics and art &
design in an innovative way to produce more comprehensive views on issues
related to the cruise ship and ferry industries. As you can commonly see from
your everyday lives, companies rarely work solely based on one specific
scientific area: Design offices hire programmers to deliver together products
and services to their customers. Logistics companies need people who understand
technology as well as economics to optimise their services. Cruise lines
employs shipbuilders, designers and economists to produce superior solutions
and ships for the existing as well as future customers. It is then never enough
to just employ one science area to solve a problem in contemporary world, where
everything is intertwined with each other.
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| Figure: The Cruise & Ferry program structure. (From program website: http://appmech.aalto.fi/en/research/marine_technology/cruise_ferry_experience/) |
The
project our group set out to explore was the innovative modular cruise ship
concept, the m2cell-concept made by Kauppi (2012)*. Oliver, our engineer
studied on the possibilities of building a narrow superstructure. Vesa, our
designer brought the concept to contemporary environment and defined a
framework for the realisation of the m2cell-concept. I as an economics student
investigated the possible customer groups for the m2cell-concept and their
preferences on spaces. Together, our researches provides a more detailed view
on the possibilities that m2cell-concept can offer.
*Kauppi, A. 2012. m²cell concept -an interchangeable module
system for cruise ship hotel space. Aalto University School of Arts, Design
and Architecture. Helsinki. (Thesis can be founded from the Cruise & Ferry
Experience web pages research section)
*Wu, Y. 2012. Motivation, social interaction and space
experience of individuals in group travel –Case m2cell-concept. Aalto
University School of Economics. Helsinki. (Entire thesis will be attached in to
the Cruise & Ferry Experience web pages research section in February 2013)
The research process
In
the beginning of the research project, two of us did not have much experience
about the cruise ships in question, unless you include the ferries that go from
Helsinki to near places. Therefore we went on an expedition. One reason for
that is to widen our views and familiarise with the current cruise ships in use.
Another cause was to gain experiences and knowledge not available otherwise,
which included observations and interviews with the workers and managers on
board the cruise ship.
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| Figure: Afternoon view of MSC Fantasia we travelled with. |
The
cruise trip was very fruitful and interesting, too. We gathered some materials
needed for our researches and the environment sparked off some new ideas on
what could and/or should be done to improve the overall experience of being on
a cruise ship. An additional plus was the possibilities of getting know the
other team members better. This was especially helpful when we progressed
further with our researches and if problems started to arise. In the end of the
cruise trip, we made a report that encased our dairies as well as some
analysis.
Of
course we also did other researches too. Together with Vesa, we did many expert
interviews with persons from key industries, which were mainly related to the
cruise industry. By myself, I conducted some expert interviews with the experts
from fields related more to my subject. Also I conducted five focus group
interviews to gain precious insights on people’s motivations and preferences
regarding the space. Secondary information sources were used frequently, too. The
data collected were then applied to the m2cell-concept.
Main results from the research
My
research area was the three different user groups and their space indications
on the m2cell-concept. The groups were chosen based on CLIA’s latest market
update in 2012 and the average size of the groups. Since the travel is usually
an event, the commonly used words for the people within these groups were event
participants. Additionally the group is usually called event group or just
event. The events are then following: family friends travel, incentives and
conferences.
The
focus group interviews were used to generate the results, which focused on the
motivation, social interaction and space preferences of event participants. In
the end of the research, a connection is found between the three areas, as demonstrated
in the graph.
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| Figure: The connection between the three areas leading to space experience. From Wu’s thesis (2013) |
Based
on the interviews, it would seem that a pivotal factor common for all three
events was the social interaction. Socialising needs were often mentioned as an
important motivation factor for participants to consider attending the event.
The relationship forming was also deemed as one of the main reasons for
initiating the process of participation. Additionally the preferences
influenced by the socialisation requirements differed depending on the type of
the event.
In
family friends travel, spaces for
group’s use was not as preferred as in other two. According to the
interviewees, the amount of variety
was rather the main issue influencing their satisfaction. However the interaction is still one of the most
important factors interviewees mentioned for this event. Though specific places
were not favoured, semi-private and private services were desired. In other
words, the family friends wished for varying amount of services from which they
can choose. Furthermore, these services should incorporate spaces that can be
more private for the groups. Nevertheless, the cultural preferences can cause some
implications on the spaces, as in China the crowd is sometimes more preferred,
whereas in Western countries one’s own space is usually more desired.
In
incentives the newness and group integrity was important aspects for the event.
Newness would mean that the cruise ships should include or at least provide
access to services that are novel for the group. In addition to the group
events, the socialising needs also imply that common areas should be built for
the groups. More clearly, the interviewees desired some nice places where the
interaction could happen. However in incentives, the view on these opinions
were not united. It could partially due to the nature of incentives in
different cultures, which usually involves some features of compel. Also the novelty
is not much deployed in these events. If well devised, the cruise lines could
utilise this market niche and provide superior solutions for the incentive
events.
In
conferences, the participants concentrate more on the networking and discussing activities. This would mean that infrastructure
should be built to around the socialising needs in the conferences. The view on
the factors was very uniform, which on one hand suggests that the practice is
quite standardised, but on other hand provides basis for finding new innovative
solutions to realise the needs and even explore yet unidentified needs. Overall
it would seem sensible to provide private spaces within the conferences for the
participants to have conversations and to interact with each other. However
this should be done so that it would not influence the experience of other
passengers outside the conferences, which would be another challenge.
As
the research was relatively large and scientifically interesting, I am
currently writing a Master’s Thesis based on the research findings. In the
thesis, I’ll try to provide yet deeper view with some theoretical background as
well as further managerial implications for the cruise lines. All in all, it
have been very joyful and productive to research with our team and within the
Cruise & Ferry Experience. Hopefully life won’t become empty now that our
research project has come to an end.
Thanks
for all the people who have assisted, participated and contributed to our
works! Wish you all the best!
Yali
