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The purpose of this paper is to examine the information flows, in terms of content and process, underpinning the sharing of knowledge by managers and owners. Such an examination reveals similarities and differences that will influence the generation and dissemination of knowledge used in tourism business operations and contribute to innovation.

This paper examines information flows within the theoretical and methodological framework of social network analysis. The findings were derived from a quantitative study of tourism managers and owners of a tourism hub in South-West England.

The main finding was that network structure characteristics determine the flow of information within owners’ and managers’ social networks. The owners of smaller businesses received information from several sources and, therefore, had fewer structural constraints and reported larger structural holes. In comparison, the managers had more brokerage opportunities to disseminate the information within their social networks.

This paper highlights knowledge sharing between tourism business managers and owners in an open network structure. First, an open network structure builds innovation through the provision of nonredundant information. This is determined through the effective size of structural holes and the dissemination of information through brokerage roles. Second, the knowledge capability of a destination is built up through the social networking of managers and owners. The generation and dissemination of knowledge in a tourism destination are facilitated by the social networking activities of managers and owners.

Managers and owners of tourism businesses require knowledge through information to assist with innovative business practices. The practical implication of this is that the social networks of managers and owners have different network characteristics, and that these differences result in consequences for the innovation of business practices. Another practical implication relates to the importance of managers in knowledge dissemination based on having several brokerage roles in the tourism destination.

These findings are important because an understanding of social networks and the flow of information is one of the keys to determining the influences on knowledge sharing within tourism destination knowledge networks of owners or managers and their potential contributions to innovation.

This article delves into the antecedents of business performance. The main aim of this study is to analyze the effect of knowledge transformation on business performance in firms in the tourism industry and how cognitive and structural social capital heterogeneously moderate this relationship.

The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 300 firms from the tourism industry in Arequipa-Perú. The analysis was performed by means of partial least squares structural equation modeling, using the Smart PLS software.

Our findings show that knowledge transformation is key factor for increasing business performance. The results also highlight the significance of interorganizational relationships in this effect and the importance of analyzing each dimension of social capital separately. Thus, it is observed that cognitive social capital enhances the relationship between knowledge transformation and business performance, while (Sari and Indriani, 2023) structural social capital hinders it.

The findings assist practitioners in developing a shared culture, values and goals with their contacts to improve business performance. Furthermore, firms should establish bridging ties with external agents to avoid be stuck in excessively dense networks. Relationships with institutions can act as a bridging agent.

This paper analyses the unresolved question of how knowledge transformation affects the business performance of companies in the tourism sector as well as how different dimensions of social capital influence in this relationship. Addressing these two critical, but as yet unresolved questions, this study draws on absorptive capacity and social capital theories as an overarching framework to present a conceptual model that integrates both theories in order to analyze the effect of knowledge transformation on business performance in tourism firms and the role of structural and cognitive capital on this relationship.

This study aims to provide a new overview and opportunities of blockchain (BCT), financial technology (fintech) and knowledge management (KM) over the past ten years. Its focus is on their potential to drive new value creation and innovation processes within the digital landscape of the tourism and hospitality.

This systematic literature review and sociotechnical approach employs a literature analysis, analyzing and synthesizing 62 relevant articles published in the past decade form e-databases (Web of Science and Scopus).

This study reveals that researchers frequently discuss the potential advantages and challenges of BCT, fintech and KM in this industry. These include establishing systems that prioritize transparency and traceability, addressing blockchain security concerns, enhancing financial transaction efficiency and trustworthiness, and promoting innovation and improvement through KM strategies. Furthermore, this review suggests that the application of blockchain, fintech and KM has the potential to create new markets and opportunities in the tourism and hospitality industry. This study provides insights into the state and implementation of technology-based and knowledge-based for tourism and hospitality in times of crisis and digitization era.

Shifting to new lens (refers to sociotechnical theory), from technology adoption strategy, it is important to stay updated with emerging technologies such as BCT and fintech and upcoming technologies trends must align with tourism and hospitality business objectives, customer expectations and market demands. From the socio-dimension, KM is not confined to technological tools alone. Instead, it is a strategic approach that emphasizes fostering a culture of open communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing within the team of tourism and hospitality industry.

Through a literature review approach, this study establishes a new foundation in tourism and hospitality such as analyzing research gaps, understanding benefits and challenges, supporting methodologies/theoretical frameworks and informing the future research opportunities. Additionally, a novel contribution is the inclusion of sociotechnical approach that is allocated into socio or knowledge resources perspective (knowledge management), and technical or technology perspective (blockchain and fintech) that drives tourism and hospitality innovation.

Considering the important role of knowledge management in the global growth of world economies, the importance of knowledge management in the tourism industry can hardly be overestimated. Knowledge management, empowering leadership and innovation can open new research prospects for online travel and tourism, thereby increasing organizational capacity. In this context, this study aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge management practices and transformational leadership, along with the mediating role in this relationship of leadership communication. Knowledge management practices are discussed through the lens of managers’/organizational perspectives working in the online travel and tourism industry.

Using a descriptive research method, the data were collected from a total of 174 managers/senior executives working in the online travel and tourism sectors. The proposed conceptual framework was evaluated using structural equation modeling through AMOS 21 and Process Macro (SPSS-Plugin).

The results revealed a significant increase in the adoption of knowledge management practices in the online travel and tourism sector under transformative leadership. The results also highlighted that effective communication is a vital contributor and significant complementary mediator in the relationship between transformative leadership and knowledge management practices.

The results of this study suggest that transformational leaders, who are equipped with the “high touch” nature of leadership and the “high tech” aspect of the contemporary workplace, are the best fit to manage online travel and tourism organizations. To have an adequate knowledge management system, knowledge managers should adopt a transformative leadership style and receive comprehensive training in developing leadership abilities such as effective communication competencies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that, in emerging online travel and tourism sectors, organizational knowledge can be managed through effective leadership communication.

Although research of entrepreneurial ecosystems has mainly focused on urban centers in developed nations, there is an emergent need to study the complexities of rural, regional and development contexts. Ecosystems in such settings are often characterized by the heightened importance assumed by environmental and social factors. This paper aims to document learning from participatory development and economic planning in the Galapagos, a setting in which the interplay between social, economic and ecological factors is critical.

This case study seeks to elaborate theory with qualitative data from an empirical context.

Reconstructed theory shows that in participatory development contexts, the entrepreneurial ecosystem constitutes a space in which competing interests contrast and conflict. Results from the Galapagos islands highlight the ability of local actors to successfully affect policy during local collaborative planning. The tensions between the economy, environment and society apparent in participatory dialogue indicate that a more nuanced approach to the interaction within entrepreneurial ecosystems is required.

This case study demonstrates the value of analyzing the processes and mechanisms for collaboration in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in sustainable development contexts. Results suggest implications for scholars researching entrepreneurial ecosystem networks.

Technological innovations provide huge opportunities to expand and revolutionize the scope of products and services offered. This is particularly true for tourism, which is undergoing significant changes due to the development of new technologies. The level of technology diffusion depends on several factors like the exchange of information among peers, and the attitude and shared perception among the contributors. The aim of the study is to explore the diffusion of technology in tourism with a specific focus on the social media discourse around new technologies. Thus, the paper investigates the level of interest in these new technologies analysing the information exchange occurring between individuals on Twitter in order to explore the influence of reciprocal networking.

To capture the attitudes expressed in the industry, the study analyses the ongoing discourse on Twitter as a proxy for the participants “interest in new technologies. Through a social network analysis of the tweets and retweets conducted over a period of nine months, the research maps the level of information exchange about the diffusion of new technologies. Moreover, the sentiment analysis provides an interesting overview of the individuals” attitudes towards the awareness or the adoption of new technologies.

Our analysis has provided several insights: (1) the information network on blockchain in tourism consists of participants who change very quickly over time (high turnover of accounts); (2) some contributors have an extremely important role in influencing the flow of information in the system (information centralization), they can have a generalist (discussing several topics) or a specialist (focusing on a specific topic) behaviour and this strategic choice influences their network's structure; (3) these central nodes also have an impact on the definition of positive and negative sentiment towards a topic (sentiment influencer).

The paper contributes to the literature on technology diffusion, by focusing on one of the preconditions of diffusion that is the shared positive attitude towards technological innovation. More specifically, we adopt a network-based approach, which is useful to explain the level of information exchange and the public discourse that can impact the shared perception and attitude towards technological innovation. The study also highlights the role of knowledge brokers in influencing this public discourse. Future studies can deepen the association between positive perception, higher levels of information exchange and increasing usage of specific technologies. Our results also suggest further exploring the opportunity to combine social media data and other sources of information to shed more light on the technological innovation diffusion processes.

This paper shows how practitioners can benefit from the analysis of information exchange about new technologies in tourism adopting a network perspective with the aim of understanding the level of influence among contributors. Moreover, the increasing interest in blockchain technology and the potential combination between social media data and other sources of information can offer promising insights.

The present study explores the level of technology diffusion through the analysis of information exchange on social media (Twitter). Furthermore, the dynamics of individual user behaviour offers a better understanding about media effects.

While previous research is focused on the users' perception towards the development of new technologies in tourism, the aim of this study is to investigate the dynamics behind the level of diffusion of information and awareness about these new technologies, which still represents an unexplored area of research.

The technological and digital revolution has introduced important changes in the tourism industry. However, capturing the extent of the new tourism 4.0 paradigm is still difficult. This study aims to assess the dimensions related to the concepts of industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem when considered simultaneously, and their role in promoting a new wave of competitiveness in the tourism industry.

A bibliometric study was conducted based on tourism 4.0, hotel 4.0, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem using 120 eligible articles published between 2008 and 2021 from the Web of Science database.

This study demonstrated the advances in industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality publications over 13 years and identified five interconnected dimensions: (1) knowledge transfer in tourism; (2) networking tourism innovation; (3) sources of tourism innovation; (4) smart tourism ecosystem and (5) innovation research in tourism. It was also concluded that tourism development should be a regional competence based on strategic networking and externalisation of regional knowledge flows.

This bibliometric review provides important implications and recommendations for several players of industry 4.0 in tourism and hospitality and policymakers. Not only did it make it possible to create a state of art, but also to categorise the existing interconnections between the dimensions of Tourism 4.0, Hotel 4.0, Tourism innovation and Tourism ecosystem to optimise its implementation and generate greater value. In addition, practical implications were inferred that improve the tourism sector’s competitiveness, helping strategic decision-making at the level of policymakers and actors in this sector.

Apart from state of the art, this bibliometric review made it possible to categorise the existing interconnections between the dimensions of tourism 4.0, hotel 4.0, tourism innovation and tourism ecosystem to optimise its implementation and generate greater value. Practical implications were inferred that improve the tourism sector’s competitiveness, helping strategic decision-making at the level of policymakers and several players in this sector.

This study addresses the existing literature gap in the interconnection of industry 4.0 with tourism and hospitality by describing the most relevant conceptual interconnections and setting practical implications for improving the competitiveness of the tourism industry. Furthermore, it integrates previous studies and outlines future lines of investigation.

The functionalities of tourist destinations as regional innovation systems (RIS) still show substantial deficits. Especially for destinations in developing countries (DC), this incurs a wicked problem when it comes to unfolding the potentials of tourism for social innovation and sustainable regional development. Determining factors for these weaknesses are manifold, complex, multi-causal and prone to inherent system-dynamics making it difficult for destination management organisations to proactively monitor and control them in the long term. Backed by empirical comparative findings from rural destinations in Azerbaijan and Ecuador, this chapter tracks down selected major drivers of this wicked problem both from a monocausal-linear and multi-causal-dynamic analytical perspective. As a primary outcome, a set of suitable indicators will be presented to serve as a monitoring framework for a social innovation governance of DC destinations.

Organisational learning drives tourism organisations towards more sustainable tourism. Digital transformation also provides opportunities for sustainable tourism development. This study aims to combine these perspectives and explore how digital transformation enables organisational learning to contribute to sustainable tourism, following organisational learning theory (OLT).

Based on a critical realist paradigm, this study focuses on developing an in-depth understanding of organisational learning in tourism organisations. Thirty qualitative interviews with tourism organisations participating in an executive development programme (EDP) show how tourism organisations create, retain and transfer knowledge.

This study demonstrates that the EDP initiates knowledge creation through content transmission and exchange, triggers knowledge retention through utilisation of digital technologies and reinforces digitalisation through data value creation. Furthermore, this study enables knowledge transformation as implementation, which contributes to the three pillars of sustainable tourism and facilitates the development of networks encouraging sustainable tourism.

This study identifies approaches that enable economic, social and environmentally sustainable tourism development by facilitating collaborations via digital transformation, digital technologies that guide guest streams, online mobility offers and online environmental awareness campaigns that reduce environmental impacts. Thus, this study strengthens OLT and has implications for organisational learning and tourism policymakers.

This study aims to integrate social embeddedness with learning society philosophy to explore how grassroots associations of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs can leverage their social network to co-create value.

A critical feminist perspective considers the intersectional experiences of Indigenous women tourism entrepreneurs from the rural Manasalu region of Nepal. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with local tourism stakeholders were carried out. Hermeneutics in tandem with Indigenous methods of analysis ensured consideration of Indigenous ontologies and social locations beyond being merely theoretically driven.

A paradox of Indigenous women’s empowerment emerged where several efforts for empowerment presented themselves as a double-edged sword. Individuals’ social capital and social support for the sustenance and stability of grassroots associations ensure collective and continuous learning through a value-creation framework.

Collective self-reflection and self-determination for knowledge creation and sharing amongst social ties shed new light on the role of an Indigenous standpoint on value creation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that captures how the intersectionality of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in grassroots associations use their social capital through contesting, leveraging and learning to transform their social network into a value network.