A survey of corporate travellers in South Africa : towards a model for travel policy compliance

Abstract

A travel management programme allows an organisation to manage corporate travel expenditure, and through a well-formulated travel policy, to control its travel expenses. Traveller non-compliance of the travel policy is an increasing area of concern with surveys conducted amongst travellers showing various reasons for non-compliance, both deliberate and unknowing. This study goes beyond established reasons and argues that non-compliance may also be the result of underlying factors not yet fully investigated or recognised by management and industry in general. Two broadly conceptualised factors that influence travel policy compliance are identified. The first is termed corporate related factors and the second, personal related factors. The overall purpose of this study was to conceptualise and test a model of travel policy compliance based on these factors. To achieve this, a literature review as well as empirical research was conducted. Finally, a conceptual model for policy compliance was proposed which served as the framework for the empirical research and from which hypotheses were derived and tested. The empirical research was conducted as a formal, descriptive and explanatory study. Corporate travel management, Travel Management Companies (TMCs) and corporate travellers made up the target populations of the study. Non-probability sampling methods, namely purposive and convenience sampling were used in this study. The researcher used qualitative as well as quantitative methods to gather data. In depth interviews and the Delphi technique, a qualitative method; was used to collect data from TMCs and management for the purpose of establishing an exhaustive list of possible determinants of policy non-compliance. Quantitative methods used to collect data from corporate travellers included self-administered, structured questionnaires. A multinomial logistic regression modelling technique was used to test the conceptual model in order to identify the factors that have the most significant influence on policy compliance. A limitation of the study within which data analysis occurred was the low response rate. This limitation was taken into account in the interpretation of the results and the recommendations. The study shows a number of significant results and as such provides a valuable contribution to the corporate travel literature by being the first study of its kind to measure the impact of factors not previously identified. This study shows that travel policy non-compliance within organisations needs to be viewed at a much deeper level than previously considered. The results show corporate-related factors such as an ineffective travel policy, lacking control measures and perceived organisational injustice have a significant influence on policy compliance. Personal related factors such as self-interest could also impact policy compliance significantly. The results should enable corporate travel management to identify factors within their organisations that could lead to non-compliance. The implementation of the tested model could lead to a higher compliance rate within organisations and ultimately to considerable cost-savings.