Whale Watching: The Roles of Small Firms in the Evolution of a New Australian Niche Market

This chapter provides two comparative case studies focusing on the roles of small businesses in the development of a new niche market and traces their interaction with small communities. The cases are set within the context of the development of commercial leisure viewing of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in two coastal communities in Australia. Small businesses have been able to successfully develop a new niche market in one destination, but failed to in the other. These different outcomes are related to the economic developments and benefits in one destination while in the other region, social values appear to have dictated limits to the development of whale watching. The cases also provide insight into the dynamics of entrepreneurial development, the formation of supplier networks and the consequent development of standardized products