Understanding knowledge flows within a tourism destination network
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights
ISSN: 2514-9792
Article publication date: 6 July 2020
Issue publication date: 29 September 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reveal those attributes of owners and managers that influence knowledge flows between owners and managers in a tourism destination network. The research question relates to whether homogeneity and/or heterogeneity attributes of the owners and managers are associated with the flow of information within a knowledge network.
Design/methodology/approach
Owners and managers of tourism and hospitality businesses in the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch conurbation were surveyed regarding their receipt of information from each other. Social network analysis (SNA) was applied to understand how job position, type of business, gender and education attributes influence the information flows within a knowledge network.
Findings
It was revealed that the ties or flows of information were influenced through the heterogeneity of the type of education attribute of a business owner or manager. Other attributes such as type of business, job position or gender were not associated with the receipt of information.
Research limitations/implications
The contribution of the paper relates to increasing the understanding of an underlying attribute that influences information flows between owners and managers of tourism and hospitality businesses within a tourism destination.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the understanding of a heterogeneous attribute that influences the flow of information within a tourism destination network.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the contributions of Supervisors including Professor Roger Vaughan, Dr. Jonathan Edwards and Dr. Miguel Moital. The analysis was developed at Professor Stephen Borgattis workshop during the Sunbelt XXXIV Conference, St. Pete Beach, FL, USA, and the author presented at this conference.
Citation
McLeod, M. (2020), "Understanding knowledge flows within a tourism destination network", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. 3 No. 5, pp. 549-566. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-02-2020-0017
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited