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Unlike industrial innovations, service innovations cannot be protected by patents or designs. Thus, the implementation of innovation networks is often crucial to generate a sustainable competitive advantage. The focus in this paper is the main forms of inter-organizational networks that have led to service innovations. More precisely, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the characteristics of inter-organizational networks and the type of service innovations developed.

A typology of service innovations and a network analysis framework allowed us to examine the innovations implemented by two major French ski areas: Portes du Soleil and Paradiski. In total, the authors analyse the structure of 12 innovation networks.

The results show that, depending on the type of innovation implemented, networks differ in terms of type of partners involved and geographical scope. However, regardless of the innovation developed, it seems necessary to have a central actor to orchestrate the various partners and to use an economic regulation mode.

This paper gives advice to managers involved in touristic innovations management about the network they may build. For example, ski resorts that want to develop new offers must be open to external partners (companies that do not belong to the tourism industry and/or are not geographically localized in the resort).

The research documents characteristics of services innovation networks, a type of industry little studied as innovation researchers focused mainly on manufacturing firms.

This paper develops an optimal service design model by combining a conjoint analysis‐based optimal product design model from marketing with capacity and demand management strategies from operations management to determine a profit maximizing service facility. It extends optimal product design models to services by specifically modeling the interactive relationship between potential attractiveness of a service, capacity and waiting times. Additionally it extends current capacity‐demand operations models by modeling the impacts of different capacity/demand matching strategies in a competitive market. Combining these two perspectives provides a more direct link between customer perceptions of various service attributes, including waiting time and profitability. An example is shown where the model is applied to an existing ski resort. Data are incorporated from resort management, existing customers, potential customers and industry experts to determine the profit maximizing mix of capacity and demand management strategies for an actual ski resort. The results show that important insights about profit maximization are gained from a model that captures the effects of capacity and demand management strategies.

The article is a summarised version of a prospective study for the Swiss tourism region of Valais by the Institute for Public Management and Tourism (ITD) of the University of St. Gallen which has been achieved in April 2000. The Transformation Model has served as theoretical background. The Swiss Ski area industry was for a long time a driver of the tourism development in the Alpine regions. The transformation of this sector has a direct impact on the transformation of destinations and other sectors. The necessary changes, the business models and the problems of financing investments explain the transformation process. The analysis is based on two major scenarios. If the status quo — scenario is followed, it would not be possible to change the structures. In this case, the public sector has to support the sector with payments of about 1,5 billions of sfr for the next decade. In the other case of a more managed development, the strategies and the structure of the sector's enterprises have to guarantee a sustainable development. The authors are in favour of a vertical integration of a destination which can create economies of scope rather than for a horizontal integration and economies of scale.

Lenzerheide is an Alpine destination located in Graubünden. It rapidly developed approximately 40 years ago with the rise of winter sports and the affluence of Swiss families, particularly in the German-speaking parts of the country. The destination today is characterized by a considerable number of second homes and faces the challenge of an eroding market base. The need to renew or even reinvent the destination poses a major challenge for the concerned local actors and organizations. On the one hand, they have to agree on a strategy that goes beyond simple promotion and additional sports activities and therefore requires a major infrastructure development program. On the other hand, the current constellation of actors, public institutions, and private organizations, with their differing and diverging interests, barely ensures a common understanding and the effective realization of major projects. Stakeholder theory is a useful approach used here to understand the challenges in Lenzerheide.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

This paper aims to deliver a detailed understanding about the dynamics of entrepreneurial networks along the enterprise life cycle of hospitality enterprises.

Case study research was conducted, using in-depth interviews with hospitality entrepreneurs and additional material (e.g. website information). The data were analyzed applying the qualitative method GABEK (GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität – holistic processing of complexity) which enables researchers to reveal concepts and attitudes of interviewees.

Networks of hospitality entrepreneurs shift from local ties to industry-specific actor groups to local and non-local ties to actor groups inside and outside the industry. Throughout the enterprise life cycle, entrepreneurs prefer strong ties. The transition from one family generation to the next and changes in the competitive environment are important triggers of network configurations.

Future research should reproduce the findings and investigate the proposed relationships in representative samples from different regions and industries. The influences of different actors within networks provide fertile research opportunities.

Networks provide viable means for tackling the challenges of growth in the hospitality industry. The research provides managerial implications for how networks should be configured for meeting resource dependencies of different development stages.

Building on resource dependency theory, this research emphasizes which challenges the enterprise life cycle imposes upon network management in the hospitality industry. While past research has focused upon the early stages of the enterprise life cycle, this study investigates also later stages. Furthermore, triggers of network management are identified.

AVIATION has played and is playing an important part in the economic development of the Dominion of Canada. The mapping of huge areas has been accomplished with aircraft and the instruments and techniques of air survey and map plotting have been brought to a high state of development in the Dominion. Geological exploration has been facilitated and greatly accelerated by the aeroplane and air transport plays an indispensable role in connexion with northern mining operations. Aerial forest patrol and timber cruising arc widely used in the protection and development of the vast timber resources. In the far north the aeroplane provides a vital service to outlying posts and settlements, meteorological stations and trappers. In the organized air transport of passengers, mail and express, Canadian operations have developed from modest beginnings to the present continental network and services to the United Kingdom, Bermuda and the West Indies. The operational record of the scheduled services, in traffic, economy and safety, is impressive.

Discusses the 6th ITCRR, its breadth of textile and clothing research activity, plus the encouragement given to workers in this field and its related areas. States that, within the newer research areas under the microscope of the community involved, technical textiles focuses on new, ‘smart’ garments and the initiatives in this field in both the UK and the international community at large. Covers this subject at length.

The Upper Toggenburg is located close to major urban areas and is used mainly for overnight tourism. The destination has an urgent need for revitalization and faces dramatic challenges in renewing its products and markets. The newly created DMO, along with political and financial management by the cantonal government, raises issues related not only to the rejuvenation and the relaunch of the destination but also for the role of particular institutions. While the destination is clearly positioned in a declining phase, there are numerous efforts to overcome the critical situation; and some projects are promising. The life cycle concept and institutional analysis are useful approaches for the discussion of this case.

The Norwegian travel industry faces decline in important international tourism segments and needs an industry wide and future‐oriented strategy to face these challenges. Accordingly, a common understanding of future drivers and different scenarios for the industry is needed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Using the process of scenario analysis and drawing upon the involvement of the tourism industry, this paper describes the method, drivers, scenarios, and implications.

The research identified six important drivers with predictable outcomes: uneven global economic development, digitalization, climate change, consumer demand – return on time, centralization, and demography. The Norwegian economy and Norwegian politics were the two drivers that stood out as the most significant for the tourism industry, with a very uncertain outcome, and constituted the two axes of the scenarios. This resulted in four scenarios: Money Rules, The Urban Diamond, Opportunities for All, and Master Plan.

The four scenarios represent different economic value of international tourism in Norway. The Opportunities for All and Master Plan scenarios represent the greatest economic value for Norwegian tourism. They indicate great opportunities for tourism to become the “new oil” in Norway if the oil economy declines. The two scenarios differ with respect to the degree of governance control vs market liberalization. The scenarios will be used to identify implications and risks for different parts of the tourism industry, and to further explore how governance control and market liberalization may be combined.

The research identified six drivers which are significant for the Norwegian tourism industry. This resulted in four scenarios which are used to identify implications and risks for different parts of the industry.