Search results

The quality of strategic decisions made at the helm of corporations matters a great deal. Predominantly, research on strategic decision-making has focused on CEOs as if they decide alone. Yet in reality, even the most powerful CEO makes strategic decisions together with an executive board. This chapter offers a theoretical explanation of strategic board decision-making through the emotional contagion between the CEO and board members.

We used both previous research and qualitative material – two case studies and interviews with several dozen CEOs of large corporations as well as the board members of one of them – to build our theoretical model.

Our inBoard Emotional Contagion Model (inBECM) specifies the following individual–collective emotional dynamics: After a strategic affective event has triggered an affective discussion within the boardroom, the emotionally intelligent CEO communicates verbally in order to – through an emotional contagion – homogenize board members’ emotional states leading to shared sense-making of the event and – potentially – to improved decision-making.

Suggestions are made for the inBECM contribution to emotion theory. Implications are stated for the key role of emotion in improving board decision-making and strategizing.

The increasing need for the prevention and management of overtourism calls for more and improved visitor management (VM). Certain types of destinations or sites have implemented VM, such as nature parks that depict more controllable environments and involve only limited and clearly defined actors. Academic research on VM has mainly addressed protected areas and national parks, with a focus on environmental sustainability. The growing discussions around the term overtourism, in contrast, have largely centred around urban areas and the impacts on local societies, and, thus, socio-cultural sustainability. This chapter's overall aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the status quo and knowledge gaps related to stakeholder involvement in VM in the broader context of overtourism. We ask who, how and in what areas stakeholders should be involved in VM. A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus and Web of Science databases. The findings demonstrate that most studies applied a narrow and fragmented approach that focussed on one or a few stakeholders. Moreover, the strategies were mostly reactive instead of preventive and followed top-down approaches. Conflicts between stakeholders reveal risks to sustainable destination development, trigger overtourism debates and call for new approaches to VM. The chapter proposes a framework that suggests the chief VM responsibilities and stakeholders, concentrating on destination organisations, governments and residents. Also, it provides examples of participative methods, illuminates that VM should be proactive, sustainable and holistic and proposes better integration with destination management and local community governance.