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The concept of power in the literature is not conclusive yet and still contradictive. As contested concept, power have multi-definition in the literature. This study aims to construct a concept of power between organizations, state-owned enterprises (SOE) and communities in the context of community-based tourism in Borobudur, Indonesia.

Participants were 29 individuals representing SOEs (i.e. executive members) and local communities (e.g. village chiefs, community enterprise, managers and residents). Data collection was conducted through interviews, focus group discussions, field records and documents. Using grounded theory, the data were analyzed using open, axial and selective coding.

This study discovered that power was fluid. At first, power was a static resource then when it exchanged, it turned into relational/power interplay and at last, became output resource. There was a transformation of antecedent resources of power into a consequential source of power through relationship processes.

This study should be replicated in other settings for further research, for example, in a business-to-business context and business-to-government to develop a general framework.

Policymakers should be aware of such fluid power to ensure that community-based tourism programs can benefit all parties involved.

Findings from this study make several contributions to current literature as follows: this study extends from the existing theories of power, the community-based tourism context where this study was conducted represents actual social situation allowing it to be transferrable to real environment and elaborating theory of power into a comprehensive framework.

Existing literature shows conflicting views regarding street vendors in a place. They are considered both positive and negative. Their existence has rarely been examined from a combination of place-making and power theories. This research aimed (a) to identify the actors who transform Borobudur Food and Craft Market and the sources of power and actions carried out by these actors and (b) to find out the views of other actors about street vendors.

The design used in this study was an instrumental case study. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and photo documentation. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with several participants of as many as 12 persons consisting of 4 street vendors, 4 employees of the state-owned enterprise in charge of the Borobudur tourist site and 4 tourists. The data were analyzed through two-phased coding. To improve the credibility, participant validation was conducted.

This study made new findings. First, in a place, there are formal and informal place-making actors who transform the place with the sources of power they have and the acts of power they carry out. Both formal and informal actors can perform coercive and noncoercive acts of power. This shows the existence of contested power in a setting. Second, street vendors are viewed positively as well as negatively. Comprehensive policies need to be implemented by key actors to minimize the negative sides of the existence of street vendors and optimize the benefits from them.

Data collection was carried out when the Indonesian government implemented restrictions on public activities during the pandemic. At that time, tourism activities were very limited. In the future, researchers can use other techniques such as the self-report visual method because not all street vendors are fluent in expressing their opinions in interviews.

Both central and regional governments and local stakeholders can synergistically carry out a dialogue, seeking common ground to accommodate each other's interests. The next steps are to consistently apply the policies resulting from the dialogue and ensure that each actor plays a role according to their respective portion and authority.

Previous studies typically explain power as the possession of resources and relational attributes. This study has taken a different point of view, namely about acts of power contested in a certain place. Actors who have power are not always those who have formal legitimacy. Informal parties are considered powerless despite having power.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, there are 7,275 indigenous tourism enterprises in Indonesia. However, only 0.5% of these are certified as a sustainable tourism village. One of them is the Karangrejo village in Borobudur, Indonesia. This village is able to sustain their enterprise, which is a unique and rare context. This study aims to address this gap by examining the sense of place value created from the collaboration between actors, mapping the actors and their resources who have crucial roles in indigenous tourism enterprise, and examining the relations between actors, mapping the characteristics and efforts made by the indigenous tourism enterprise. The novelty of this research is the unique context that it takes place, and the use of comprehensive theoretical perspectives combining architecture, sociological social psychology and marketing/business theories in tourism context, which is uncommon for research in this area.

Participants in this study were 17 individuals, comprising Village Chief, accompanying state-owned enterprises, tourists, owners of micro, small and medium enterprises, village economic center manager and village-owned enterprises manager. Data were collected from interviews and field recordings using purposive sampling technique. The study design was a case study. The data were coded in two steps: first cycle and second cycle coding. Member checking with research participants was conducted to ensure data credibility.

This study revealed several novel findings. First, sense of place value was not merely perceived as material and nonmaterial components, but also as networks between actors that were involved in creating such components within (value) exchange framework. Second, the actors involved in the exchange were provider actor, external supporter actor, internal supporter actor, collaborator actor and consumer actor. Each of these actors owned one or a combination of material and nonmaterial values that are exchangeable. Mapping of the actors involved was discussed using a combined perspective of consumer-centric and balanced network. Third, exchange relations that occurred between actors could be balanced or imbalanced, depending on the amount of resource owned by each actor. Nonetheless, imbalanced relations because of discrepancies in the value contributions could still have positive impact because it was motivated by the intention to help others. Fourth, this study identified the importance of having characteristics as resource integrator/gatherer for indigenous tourism enterprise (provider actor) to ensure the economic sustainability of their business.

This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where governments imposed strict travel restrictions. Consequently, data from tourists were limited in particular, the lack of perspectives from international tourists. During the data collection, the government were still limiting international travelers to visit the country, hence only domestic tourists were able to visit. The perspectives of international tourists would have added valuable data. Because of pandemic, the data collection process was initially conducted online, which was then followed by in-person data collection. Online data collection is common in research; however, in-person data collection would have been more preferred, where possible, so that the researchers could directly observe the situation in context. Future research could be conducted after the pandemic ends. Furthermore, findings of this research asserted the importance of actors’ motives, situations, quality of the values and relational attributes, but had not discussed these in detail, especially from the perspective of each actor. Future research could address this limitation.

Enhancing material and nonmaterial sense of place value would involve multiple actors. Therefore, mapping of the resources owned by these actors as well as their roles is critical. To create sense of place value, synergy between actors is essential and could not be achieved by a single actor. Every actor is influenced by motives and circumstances when interacting with the other actor. Awareness of such motives and circumstances where the exchange takes place is necessary, to ensure that the cultivated relationship aligns with the goals and expectations. As exchange relations could be balanced or imbalanced, every actor also needs to be aware of their position and continuously evaluate it to avoid being constantly in a powerless position. Indigenous tourism enterprise could not singlehandedly provide every resource needed. Therefore, developing a character as a gatherer/resource integrator becomes crucial to gain access to all necessary resources. Currently, there are no tools available for identifying actors, resources and relational attributes. This could be a potential avenue for academics in this area. Further, the government should identify the best practice from the successful indigenous tourism enterprises, not only giving recognition awards or certifications to these enterprises.

Findings from this study have several contributions; among others, it discussed sense of place value of indigenous tourism enterprise more comprehensively, as the essential actors who exchange resources were identified. This study also underlined positive power imbalance, which had been generally seen as a negative dynamic. Moreover, this study highlighted that indigenous people, despite living by communal value (non-transactional) in their daily lives, would need to engage in transactional relations and develop resource integrator characteristics to maintain tourism enterprise. Indigenous people have often been seen from their communal side, while their transactional (non-communal) side has been rarely seen.

The purpose of this study is to investigate problems that emerged in indigenous community-based tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, to identify the actors involved and to identify values that were exchanged between actors during the pandemic. This research is crucial given the limited studies around indigenous community-based tourism during the pandemic, especially within the perspectives of value exchange theory.

This research used a constructionist paradigm with a qualitative case study design. Data collection included interviews with six participants, virtual observation, an open-ended questionnaire to 22 community members and 20 tourists, analysis of a book written by Sade’s customary chief and social media artifacts. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, where physical distancing measures were applied, therefore most data were collected remotely. Purposive sampling was used and research credibility was increased through detailed note taking, data sources triangulation and member checking. Data analysis was conducted with a coding process, which involved continuous iterations.

Problems identified were decreased revenue and power disadvantage suffered by indigenous community-based tourism. The actors involved in value exchanges varied, including value supporter (i.e. government, private sector such as television, university), value creator (i.e. tourist) or secondary value provider (i.e. travel agent). Values emerged in the interaction between actors in the network. Changes in value exchanges were in terms of value types, relationship intensity between actors and ways of doing the exchange. Non-human factor (i.e. non-actor) was also involved.

Due to restrictive circumstances (i.e. COVID-19 pandemic), the data collection procedure was limited to online communications and letter correspondence. Therefore, opportunities to capture the full phenomenon might be missed as the researchers could not physically meet with the participant.

It was possible for value exchange to alter due to situational factors, including a pandemic. Business diversification is needed by indigenous community-based tourism to achieve a power advantage. Values were found in the relationship between actors, hence, meeting channels or dialogue with other actors could be optimized.

The context of this study, which was indigenous community-based tourism during a pandemic contributed to the study’s originality. Research in this context, which used a clear theoretical framework such as value exchange theory, is scarce. Thus, opportunities for transferability are broad.