Next Article in Journal
A Bi-Level Optimization Model for Virtual Power Plant Membership Selection Considering Load Time Series
Previous Article in Journal
E-Learning Web-Apps Use Acceptance: A Way to Guide Perceived Learning Outcomes in Blended Learning
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 15
Issue 3
10.3390/su15032135
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles thumb_up
...
Endorse textsms
...
Comment
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

A Literature Review on Networks and Sustainable Development in Sea Tourism Entrepreneurship

by
Teresa Costa
1,2,3,*,
Maria de Lurdes Calisto
2,4,
Sandra Nunes
1,3,5 and
Margarida Dias
1
1
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Ciências Empresariais, Campus do IPS, Estefanilha, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
2
CiTUR—Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, 2769-510 Estoril, Portugal
3
Centre for Research in Business Science (CICE), 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
4
Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, Avenida Condes de Barcelona, 808, 2769-510 Estoril, Portugal
5
NOVAMATH—Center for Mathematics and Applications, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2135; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032135
Submission received: 14 December 2022 / Revised: 17 January 2023 / Accepted: 17 January 2023 / Published: 23 January 2023
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
The main objective of this study is to analyze scientific production from 2010 to 2021 using bibliometric analysis based on articles on social networks, stakeholders, and sea tourism published in scientific journals. In the first phase, the search criteria were chosen. In the second phase, the search was done on WoS and Scopus databases. In the third phase, papers unrelated to our study’s subject were excluded. The resulting data from the selection and exclusion criteria were compiled in the fourth phase. In the fifth phase, the data was coded using the NVIVO software, and finally, in the sixth phase, the results were analyzed. The study’s results suggest that the research related to social networks, stakeholders, and governance in tourism, particularly in sea tourism, remains an underdeveloped field. Notwithstanding, results suggest that social networks and stakeholder cooperation contribute to local sea tourism development. Considering that STEs are closely linked to local communities, this study’s findings can provide clues on future research on tourism development, public policies to support STEs, cooperation for co-creation, and information and tourism resource sharing.

1. Introduction

Despite the importance of sea tourism for local economic development [1,2,3,4] in many countries, its dissemination in scientific journals is not evident. Research on the specific field of sea (maritime or nautical) tourism is scarce compared to research on the broader tourism activity [5]. Even more scarce are the studies that associate sea tourism with networks. Even when words associated with networks are included in the search for articles on the topic, such as stakeholders (relationship, cooperation, collaboration between stakeholders) or governance (functioning in a network implies adequate governance), scientific research on this topic continues to be limited. We consider this a research gap since some studies show a fruitful relationship between these constructs, namely in the context of the current challenges tourism faces, such as sustainability issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, measures to manage a crisis in tourism are dispersed in the literature, and it is not easy to build a strategic framework for these measures [6]. Several studies highlight measures related to marketing and communication to disseminate an image of a safe destination [7,8]. Others focus on stimulating entrepreneurship and start-ups by creating more favorable ecosystems and a model of sustainable tourism development [9]. Several recent studies highlight the role of cooperation and networking.
Considering the importance of sea tourism for many European countries, particularly in the Mediterranean Basin and the Atlantic Coast, it is crucial to study the role of the social networks and governance in this specific context.
Therefore, two research questions emerge: (1) How does the literature address sea tourism small tourism enterprises (STEs) and their relation to networks and governance? (2) How does the literature address how networks and governance help sea tourism STEs to focus on sustainability?
The purpose of this study is to systematize the results from the literature concerning networks, stakeholders, and governance to develop tourism destinations and regions, namely sea tourism entrepreneurial activity. The object of this literature review concerns articles published in peer reviewed journals available from Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. We chose the period from 2010 to 2021 because we intended to review the most recent literature on the topics. Furthermore, 2010 was the first year that the activity started to grow after the subprime financial crisis, which had a negative impact on tourism. Therefore, these are articles published during ten years of constant growth of tourism worldwide, with consequences on sustainability, until the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.
This review contributes to the literature by allowing a better understanding of networks, stakeholders, and governance, in its relationship with STEs in sea tourism. Results are organized around three topics that may guide future research.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Small Tourism Enterprises and Sustainable Development

Tourism is an activity that propels the economy; nevertheless, this activity is vulnerable to macro-environmental events and different types of challenges. This vulnerability became even more evident with the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 that significantly affected tourism and entrepreneurial activity in tourism [10,11,12,13], particularly in countries where tourism is a strategic issue for their economy; the large number of STEs renders them crucial for economic recovery. They also have an essential role in job creation, social mobility, and local development [14,15,16]. STEs are also crucial for sustainable development. STEs have an active role in developing innovations [17] and adopting sustainable practices [18]. However, due to their characteristics, namely, having limited budgets and entrepreneurs running businesses on their own, they have great difficulties contributing to sustainable tourism development and frequently need external support [14,19].
STEs are at the frontline of tourism, and they can link all other stakeholders and form a social network to support business activity [20,21]. These social networks enable STEs to share resources and cooperate for reciprocal advantages [22,23], namely sustainability.

2.2. Networks, Stakeholders, and Governance

For some authors (e.g., [24,25]), a tourist destination involves a system of various stakeholders with common or related interests operating in a network. Managing and coordinating this network is essential to assure quality and develop competitive tourism products. These networks have sub-network groups arranged around a specific tourist concept, like sea or nautical tourism. Consequently, it is vital to balance stakeholder participation in tourism activities and processes and their involvement in destination management key decision-making [24,26,27,28,29].
Institutional and organizational answers by central management structures are essential [30]. That means that governance at several levels (firm-level and destination-level) is vital to maintaining attractive and competitive destinations.
There is a need to balance the dynamic, competitive forces, interests, and resources of different stakeholder groups through inter-organizational relationships [31]. That idea reinforces the importance of governance when stakeholders’ interactions are crucial for a destination or regional development. Governance refers to structures and processes and aims to understand the relationship between institutional design, personal relationships, and networks [32]. Good governance occurs when all public and private stakeholders can create synergies and successfully share power, expertise, and resources [33,34]. Consequently, the collaboration between stakeholders is crucial for good governance.
Several authors highlight the importance of collaborative governance in developing tourist destinations and regions through governance networks. Several studies address this subject, namely, how an innovative learning environment is used to emphasize the role of governance to promote coordination to manage shared resources [35], or the contribution of a community tourism governance approach to socio-economic benefits [36], or the importance of environmental governance networks in small island destinations [37], or even the importance of governance networks and different scales of networks and organizations for sustainable tourism development [27].

3. Methodology

Several established and emerging methods exist to conduct a literature review [38], which can be broadly categorized into meta-analysis, traditional narrative review, and systematic quantitative review. The present study used a systematic quantitative approach to map and review existing scientific production, from 2010 to 2021, on networks and sustainable development in sea tourism entrepreneurship. This approach was chosen because it emphasizes the systematic process of searching, extracting, and synthesizing a diverse and heterogeneous collection of interdisciplinary research [38].
Figure 1 shows a schematic of the systematic review process used in this study, an idea adapted from [38,39].
The review started by outlining the review aims and the research questions (phase 0) detailed in the introduction. Based on the review aims, a procedure was developed to guide the literature search.
In the first phase, the search terms were identified: Tourism; Sea; Nautic; Network; Governance; Stakeholders; Entrepreneurship; and COVID. Given the current context of COVID, it was decided to include the word “COVID” in the search criteria to try to deepen the extent to which the impact of this pandemic on stakeholders and social networks could be relevant topics for sea tourism. The search terms were grouped into the search combinations presented in Table 1, defining the screening criteria. Other criteria that guided the search process were year of publication (from 2010 to 2021); type of document (journal articles and reviews); subject area (all academic knowledge fields, given the exploratory character of this study); and language (English). The second phase involved applying the search criteria to the title, abstract, and keywords of articles from the selected databases, Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. This search resulted in 404 articles indexed to WoS and 349 to Scopus. After reading the papers’ abstracts, those not related to the subject of our study were excluded in the third phase. In some cases, the central theme of all the articles was the sea; however, not in the intended perspective. The exclusion led to a drastic decrease in the number of articles, resulting in 23 articles indexed in WoS and 28 in Scopus. As some of the articles were indexed in both databases, the final number of articles to analyze was 30. These remaining articles were thoroughly analyzed and compiled in the fourth phase, extracting the relevant information for further analysis. In the fifth phase, the data was coded using the NVIVO software, carrying out content analysis. Finally, in the sixth phase, the results were analyzed.

4. Results

The preliminary search on the WoS database retrieved a total of 404 documents. Results considering the different search combinations are presented in Table 2.
The search in the Scopus database rendered 349 documents (Table 3).
During the third phase, these results were refined. After exclusion, only 23 articles retrieved from WoS were kept for further analysis. A similar process on the Scopus database rendered 28 articles. When cross-referencing both results, we ended up with a total of 30 articles, 21 that are indexed on both databases, 7 that are indexed only on SCOPUS, and 2 that are indexed only on WoS. The 30 articles are characterized in Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6. For each article, the publication year, title, the number of citations, journal name, h-index of the article, and quartile of the journal (in the year of publication and current), are presented.
Most journals are Q1 or Q2, and only a few are Q3. The h-index assumes values in a vast range, between 7 and 179.
Figure 2 presents the number of publications over the ten years in analysis available from both databases. There is some variability in the number of publications over the years, with 2018 having more publications (six).
The range of the number of articles published each year over the ten years is small. Although the evolution of the number of publications per year is not regular, it shows an upwards trend. Concerning 2021, only the first three months were considered, and results suggest an increase in publications.
Figure 3 shows the total citations per year and the average number of citations per article. Citations peaked in 2010, with 225 citations and an average per article of 75, followed by 2015, with 81 total citations and an average of 27 citations per article, and in 2016 where the 56 citations corresponded to a single article. As explained below, the peak of citations in 2010 results from the impact of only two articles.
An analysis of the 30 articles that constitute our sample reveals the articles’ main themes. Using NVIVO, a word cloud was generated (Figure 4). It is possible to verify that the words “Tourism Destinations”, “Network”, “Management”, and “Development” are the most referred to in the articles selected. Other words, also frequent, are “Stakeholders”, “Nautical”, “Innovation”, “Entrepreneurship”, “Business”, “Activities”, and “Local”.
After a complete reading of the 30 articles, we found that 14 more closely relate to the focus of this study: sea tourism STEs and their relation to networks, presented in Table 7.

5. Discussion

This study confirms the scarce research related to networks in sea (maritime or nautical) tourism, which is even more relevant considering that the articles selected were all published in journals of higher quartiles. It is also relevant to notice that in most articles, the approach concerning networks and stakeholders focuses on the destination level and not on the firm level. Only two of the most relevant articles study these topics at the firm level. Additionally, although the pandemic affected all parts of the tourism value chain globally, in our literature review, only one article addressed the role of networks and stakeholders in the COVID-19 context. Notwithstanding, this article suggests that adaptative resilience often results from collaboration [6].
Despite the scarcity of studies, results suggest the importance of cooperation and networking in overcoming tourism challenges through the emergence of new reconfiguration of local stakeholders and collaborations for innovation, developing new sustainable initiatives and, consequently, leading to more sustainable tourism destinations with greater added value [6].
Three main topics emerge from this review that may be seen as lines for future research. One of the topics concerns the potential for a virtual relationship of stakeholders within networks. This relationship appears essential in the 30 articles analyzed. Considering the most relevant articles, 8 of them refer to the importance of networks and stakeholders, namely in terms of the sustainability of destinations [40,41], successful destination brands [42], and high firm performance [43].
A second topic relates to tourism resources, their attractiveness, and how stakeholders use them in an eco-sustainable system. The management and harmonization of these stakeholders, and their use of resources, ensure tourism products’ quality and competitiveness [22,44]. Therefore, in this context, collaboration strategies and stakeholder collaboration contribute to successful destination brands [6,7,8,9,13,17,22].
A third topic concerns governance and networks. Governance and good leadership foster the development of a collaborative learning process that provides visible and tangible outcomes in turbulent times [25]. Some studies reveal that network managers who actively strengthen the network structure through trust-related management activities indicated more often that their networks were resilient to external pressure and market and competitive uncertainties [45,46].

6. Conclusions

This paper presents how the scientific production from 2010 to 2021 addresses social networks, stakeholders and governance in sea tourism and their contribution to overcoming difficulties and constraints of STEs and other stakeholders in the area. The databases Web of Science (main collection) and Scopus were used to survey the articles to analyze. Thirty articles were selected and analyzed.
Results suggest that the research on social networks, stakeholders and governance in sea tourism, remains underdeveloped. Despite the scarcity of research on the topic, this review includes articles published in high-quality scientific journals, and some highly-cited articles.
Notwithstanding the literature gap, the results suggests that social networks and cooperation between stakeholders contribute to local sea tourism development. Considering that STEs are closely linked to local communities, this study’s findings can provide clues to tourism development, highlight public policies to support STEs, promote cooperation for co-creation, and share information and tourism resources. The findings also suggest the relevance of governance and the importance of social networks and cooperation between municipalities, other public organizations, and STEs.
Any systematic review has limitations because of its nature. We used only two databases, which can be seen as a limitation. However, WoS and Scopus gather the most relevant articles in the area. Additionally, we restricted our search to titles, abstracts, and keywords. As a result, studies that address our focus topics may have been overlooked. Finally, the interpretation of the data is inevitably subjective. Nevertheless, the clear research process that we provide makes future follow-up studies possible.

Author Contributions

Introduction and literature review, T.C. and M.d.L.C.; methodology and results, S.N. and M.D.; discussion and conclusions T.C., M.d.L.C., S.N. and M.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by national funds through FCT—Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, within the project reference UIDB/04470/2020 and the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

  1. Ghosh, T. Sustainable Coastal Tourism: Problems and Management Options. J. Geogr. Geol. 2012, 4, 163. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  2. Mola, F.; Shafaei, F.; Mohamed, B. Tourism and the Environment: Issues of Concern and Sustainability of Southern Part of the Caspian Sea Coastal Areas. J. Sustain. Dev. 2012, 5, 2. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  3. Ghosh, T. Coastal Tourism: Opportunity and Sustainability. J. Sustain. Dev. 2011, 4, 67. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  4. Kabil, M.; Priatmoko, S.; Magda, R.; Dávid, L. Blue Economy and Coastal Tourism: A Comprehensive Visualization Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3650. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. Vázquez, J.P.A.; Tirado-Valencia, P.; Ruiz-Lozano, M. The Impact and Value of a Tourism Product: A Hybrid Sustainability Model. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2327. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  6. Dias, A.; Silva, R.; Patuleia, M.; Estêvão, J.; González-Rodríguez, M.R. Selecting lifestyle entrepreneurship recovery strategies: A response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tour. Hosp. Res. 2021, 22, 115–121. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  7. Maier, B.F.; Brockmann, D. Effective containment explains subexponential growth in recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in China. Science 2020, 368, 742–746. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  8. Pforr, C.; Hosie, P.J. Crisis management in tourism: Preparing for recovery. J. Travel Tour. Mark. 2008, 23, 249–264. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  9. Hall, C.M.; Scott, D.; Gössling, S. Pandemics, transformations and tourism: Be careful what you wish for. Tour. Geogr. 2020, 22, 577–598. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  10. McTeigue, C.; Sanchez, C.; Santos, E.; Walter, C.E.; Au-Yong-Oliveira, M. A Strategy for Tourism Growth, Rebound, and Revival: Promoting Portugal as a Destination Post-COVID-19. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12588. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  11. Abbas, J.; Mubeen, R.; Iorember, P.T.; Raza, S.; Mamirkulova, G. Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on tourism: Transforma-tional potential and implications for a sustainable recovery of the travel and leisure industry. Curr. Res. Behav. Sci. 2021, 2, 100033. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  12. Le, D.; Phi, G. Strategic responses of the hotel sector to COVID-19: Toward a refined pandemic crisis management framework. Int. J. Hosp. Manag. 2021, 94, 102808. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  13. Gössling, S.; Scott, D.; Hall, C.M. Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. J. Sustain. Tour. 2021, 29, 1–20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  14. Costa, T.; Umbelino, J.; Calisto, M.D.L.; Nunes, S.; Afonso, V.A. Impacts of Tourism and Residents’ Perceptions: A Study in the Regional Tourism Area of Lisbon. Eur. J. Tour. Hosp. Recreat. 2020, 10, 28–40. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  15. Medina-Muñoz, D.R.; Medina-Muñoz, R.D.; Gutiérrez-Pérez, F.J. The impacts of tourism on poverty alleviation: An integrated research framework. J. Sustain. Tour. 2016, 24, 270–298. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  16. Zhao, W.; Ritchie, J.R.B. Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: An Integrative Research Framework. Curr. Issues Tour. 2007, 10, 119–143. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  17. Yachin, J.M. The entrepreneur–opportunity nexus: Discovering the forces that promote product innovations in rural micro-tourism firms. Scand. J. Hosp. Tour. 2019, 19, 47–65. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  18. Wang, C.; Li, G.; Xu, H. Impact of Lifestyle-Oriented Motivation on Small Tourism Enterprises’ Social Responsibility and Performance. J. Travel Res. 2019, 58, 1146–1160. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  19. Baggio, R.; Cooper, C. Knowledge transfer in a tourism destination: The effects of a network structure. Serv. Ind. J. 2010, 30, 1757–1771. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  20. Miles, L.; Shipway, R. Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic As a Catalyst for Stimulating Future Research Agendas for Managing Crises and Disasters at International Sport Events. Event Manag. 2020, 24, 537–552. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  21. Zhang, L.; Zhang, J. Perception of small tourism enterprises in Lao PDR regarding social sustainability under the influence of social network. Tour. Manag. 2018, 69, 109–120. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  22. Costa, T.; Lima, M.J. Cooperation in tourism and regional development. Tour. Manag. Stud. 2018, 14, 50–62. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  23. Costa, T.; Galina, S. A relação virtuosa entre empreendedorismo e capital social: Um estudo em empreendimentos de turismo em espaço rural em Portugal e no Brasil. Tour. Manag. Stud. 2016, 12, 57–69. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  24. Gračan, D.; Zadel, Z.; Pavlović, D. The Stakeholders of Nautical Tourism Process in Destination Network: Topological Positions and Management Participa-tion. NAŠE MORE 2018, 65, 151–156. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  25. Wang, Y.; Fesenmaier, D.R. Collaborative destination marketing: A case study of Elkhart county, Indiana. Tour. Manag. 2007, 28, 863–875. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  26. Baggio, R.; Scott, N.; Cooper, C. Network science: A Review Focused on Tourism. Ann. Tour. Res. 2010, 37, 802–827. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  27. Erkuş-Öztürk, H.; Eraydın, A. Environmental governance for sustainable tourism development: Collaborative networks and organisation building in the Antalya tourism region. Tour. Manag. 2010, 31, 113–124. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  28. Selin, S. Elaborating the Role of Backbone Leadership Organizations in Sustainable Tourism Development: The Monongahela River Valley Coalition. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1367. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  29. Pechlaner, H.; Olbrich, N.; Schuhbert, A. The Living Lab as a Tool to Promote Residents’ Participation in Destination Gov-ernance Hannes Thees. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1120. [Google Scholar]
  30. Bichler, B.F.; Lösch, M. Collaborative Governance in Tourism: Empirical Insights into a Community-Oriented Destination. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6673. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  31. Lally, A.; O’Donovan, I.; Quinlan, T. Stakeholders engagement in destination management: A systemic review of literature. In Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference (THRIC); Mayo Institute of Technology: Galway, Ireland, 2013; Available online: https://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/516 (accessed on 24 November 2022).
  32. Beritelli, P.; Bieger, T.; Laesser, C. The New Frontiers of Destination Management. J. Travel Res. 2014, 53, 403–417. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  33. Garrod, B.; Fyall, A.; Leask, A.; Reid, E. Engaging residents as stakeholders of the visitor attraction. Tour. Manag. 2012, 33, 1159–1173. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  34. Wagner, O.; Peters, M. Can association methods reveal the effects of internal branding on tourism destination stakeholders? J. Place Manag. Dev. 2009, 2, 52–69. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  35. Vignieri, V. Destination Governance at Stake: Fostering Policy Coordination Among Decision-Makers of a Small Town. Tour. Plan. Dev. 2019, 16, 556–574. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  36. Keyim, P. Tourism and rural development in western China: A case from Turpan. Community Dev. J. 2016, 51, 534–551. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Charlie, C.; King, B.; Pearlman, M. The Application of Environmental Governance Networks in Small Island Destinations: Evidence from Indonesia and the Coral Triangle. Tour. Plan. Dev. 2013, 10, 17–31. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  38. Pickering, C.; Byrne, J. The benefits of publishing systematic quantitative literature reviews for PhD candidates and other early-career researchers. High. Educ. Res. Dev. 2014, 33, 534–548. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  39. Yang, E.C.L.; Khoo-Lattimore, C.; Arcodia, C. A systematic literature review of risk and gender research in tourism. Tour. Manag. 2017, 58, 89–100. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  40. Nicolosi, A.; Laganà, V.R.; Cortese, L.; Privitera, D. Using the Network and MCA on Tourist Attractions. The Case of Aeolian Islands, Italy. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4169. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
  41. Cehan, A.; Mihail, E.; Iațu, I.; Costa, C. Inquiring Structure and Forms of Collaboration in Tourism through Social Network Analysis. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8161. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  42. Perkins, R.; Khoo-Lattimore, C.; Arcodia, C. Understanding the contribution of stakeholder collaboration towards regional destination branding: A systematic narrative literature review. J. Hosp. Tour. Manag. 2020, 43, 250–258. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  43. Presenza, A.; del Chiappa, G.; Sheehan, L. Residents’ engagement and local tourism governance in maturing beach destina-tions. Evidence from an Italian case study. J. Destin. Mark. Manag. 2013, 2, 22–30. [Google Scholar]
  44. Bucktowar, R.; Kocak, A.; Padachi, K. Entrepreneurial Orientation, Market Orientation and Networking: Impact on Innovation and Firm Performance. J. Dev. Entrep. 2015, 20, 1550024. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  45. Kallmuenzer, A.; Kraus, S.; Peters, M.; Steiner, J.; Cheng, C.-F. Entrepreneurship in tourism firms: A mixed-methods analysis of performance driver configurations. Tour. Manag. 2019, 74, 319–330. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  46. van der Zee, E.; Gerrets, A.-M.; Vanneste, D. Complexity in the governance of tourism networks: Balancing between external pressure and internal expectations. J. Destin. Mark. Manag. 2017, 6, 296–308. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Sustainability 15 02135 g001 550
Figure 1. Systematic review process. Source: Adapted from [29,30].
Figure 1. Systematic review process. Source: Adapted from [29,30].
Sustainability 15 02135 g001
Sustainability 15 02135 g002 550
Figure 2. Number of articles. Source: The authors.
Figure 2. Number of articles. Source: The authors.
Sustainability 15 02135 g002
Sustainability 15 02135 g003 550
Figure 3. Number of citations. Source: The authors.
Figure 3. Number of citations. Source: The authors.
Sustainability 15 02135 g003
Sustainability 15 02135 g004 550
Figure 4. Word cloud from NVIVO (30 articles). Source: The authors.
Figure 4. Word cloud from NVIVO (30 articles). Source: The authors.
Sustainability 15 02135 g004
Table
Table 1. Combinations of search criteria.
Table 1. Combinations of search criteria.
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and network *
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and governance
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and stakeholder *
tourism and sea or nautic and entrepreneur *
tourism and sea or nautic * and COVID
tourism and (network* or stakeholder *) and COVID
Source: The authors. Legend: * after the search word means that any derivative of the word was considered—e.g., nautical; stakeholders.
Table
Table 2. Results of the first phase by combinations of search criteria (no. of articles)—WoS.
Table 2. Results of the first phase by combinations of search criteria (no. of articles)—WoS.
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and network *—95
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and governance—76
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and stakeholder *—153
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and entrepreneur *—20
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and COVID—4
Source: The authors. Legend: * after the search word means that any derivative of the word was considered—e.g., networking; stakeholders.
Table
Table 3. Results of the first phase by combinations of search criteria (no. of articles)—Scopus.
Table 3. Results of the first phase by combinations of search criteria (no. of articles)—Scopus.
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and network *—96
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and governance—70
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and stakeholder *—156
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and entrepreneur *—22
tourism and (Sea or nautic *) and COVID—5
Source: The authors. Legend: * after the search word means that any derivative of the word was considered—e.g., networking; stakeholders.
Table
Table 4. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2010–2015).
Table 4. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2010–2015).
YearTitleNumber of CitationsJournal NameH-IndexQuartile in the Year of PublicationCurrent Quartile
2010Analysing Tourism Stakeholders’ Networks88Tourism Review26Q3Q1
Improving Tourism Destination Governance: A Complexity Science Approach122Tourism Review26Q3Q1
Innovative Capability Development for Entrepreneurship: A Theoretical Framework15Journal of Organizational Change Management66Q2Q2
2011Send More Tourists! Stakeholder Perceptions of a Tourism Industry in Late Stage Decline: the Case of the Isle of Man 12International Journal of Tourism Research51Q1Q1
2012“To Get Things Done”: A Relational Approach to Entrepreneurship26Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism39Q2Q1
2013Residents’ Engagement and Local Tourism Governance in Maturing Beach Destinations. Evidence From an Italian Case Study50Journal of Destination Marketing and Management31Q3Q1
2014Queensland’s Coastal Planning Regime: The Extent of Participation in Coastal Governance4Planning Practice and Research40Q1Q2
2015Entrepreneurial Orientation, Market Orientation, And Networking: Impact on Innovation and Firm Performance5Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship23Q3Q3
Nautical Small-Scale Sports Events Portfolio: A Strategic Leveraging Approach23European Sport Management Quarterly29Q2Q1
Tourism Entrepreneurship—Review and Future Directions53Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism39Q3Q1
Source: The authors.
Table
Table 5. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2016–2018).
Table 5. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2016–2018).
YearTitleNumber of CitationsJournal NameH-IndexQuartile in the Year of Publication
2016Social Network Analysis in Tourism56Current Issues in Tourism64Q1
2017Fostering Nautical Tourism in The Balearic Islands6Sustainability68Q2
Complexity in the Governance of Tourism Networks: Balancing Between External Pressure and Internal Expectations16Journal of Destination Marketing and Management31Q1
Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Tourism Development in a Mature Destination7Tourism Review26Q2
2018Using the Network and MCA on Tourist Attractions. The Case of Aeolian Islands, Italy9Sustainability68Q2
Tourism Activities and Companies in a Sustainable Adventure Tourism Destination: The Azores2Tourism and Management Studies−−
Welsh Legislation in a New Era: A Stakeholder Perspective for Coastal Management2Marine Policy86Q1
The Stakeholders of Nautical Tourism Process in Destination Network: Topological Positions and Management Participation2Naše More—International Journal of Maritime Science and Technology13Q3
Surfing Tourism and Local Stakeholder Collaboration5Journal of Ecotourism33Q2
Nautical Tourism: Generator of Croatian Economy Development3Pomorstvo7Q3
Source: The authors.
Table
Table 6. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2019–2021).
Table 6. Articles’ characterization—number of citations, h-index, quartiles (2019–2021).
YearTitleNumber of CitationsJournal NameH-IndexQuartile in the Year of PublicationCurrent Quartile
2019Collaborative Governance in Tourism: Empirical Insights into a Community-Oriented Destination2Sustainability68Q2Q2
Entrepreneurship in Tourism Firms: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Performance Driver Configurations28Tourism Management179Q1Q1
Factors Constraining International Growth in Nautical Tourism Firms3Sustainability68Q2Q2
2020Understanding the Contribution of Stakeholder Collaboration Towards Regional Destination Branding: A Systematic Narrative Literature Review4Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management28Q1Q1
The Dynamics Access on Tourism Governance in Wakatobi National Park0GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites9Q3Q3
Coastal Tourism, Market Segmentation, and Contested Landscapes1Marine Policy86Q1Q1
Inquiring Structure and Forms of Collaboration in Tourism through Social Network Analysis2Sustainability68Q2Q2
2021Benefit Segmentation of Pleasure Boaters in Mediterranean Marinas: A Proposal0International Journal of Tourism Research51−Q1
Analysis and Trends of Global Research on Nautical, Maritime and Marine Tourism1Journal of Marine Science and Engineering17Q2Q2
Selecting Lifestyle Entrepreneurship Recovery Strategies: A Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic0Tourism and Hospitality Research−−−
Source: The authors.
Table
Table 7. Most relevant articles in the sample.
Table 7. Most relevant articles in the sample.
AuthorsTitleHighlights
Agata Nicolosi, Valentina Rosa Laganà, Lorenzo Cortese, Donatella PriviteraUsing the Network and MCA on Tourist Attractions. The Case of Aeolian Islands, Italy
  • Explores the relational variables that can explain the attractiveness of the places and the propensity to visit them;
  • Contributes to the knowledge of the tourist understanding of fragile places with a strong tourist attraction;
  • Provides indications for better use of the resources present, oriented towards eco-sustainable hospitality systems and the environment.
Rachel Perkins, Catheryn Khoo-Lattimore, Charles ArcodiaUnderstanding the Contribution of Stakeholder Collaboration Towards Regional Destination Branding: A Systematic Narrative Literature Review
  • Investigates the complexities of destination branding for small tourism businesses in regional areas;
  • Uses a rigorous systematic narrative literature review process, revealing the challenges these destinations face in attracting sustained tourism;
  • Explores the concepts of collaboration, including strategies for collaboration and stakeholder collaboration, to understand how they can best contribute to successful destination brands;
  • Proposes a framework to explain relationships between the concepts and be used to direct future research in this domain.
Sølvi Solvoll, Gry Agnete Alsos, and Oxana BulanovaTourism Entrepreneurship—Review and Future Directions
  • Reviews and analysis of the current literature on tourism entrepreneurship reflecting the vital role of entrepreneurs and new firm start-ups within the tourism industry for innovation and value creation;
  • Discusses potential contributions from tourism entrepreneurship research to the mainstream entrepreneurship literature and vice versa.
Gunnar Tho’r Jo’Hannesson“To Get Things Done”: A Relational Approach to Entrepreneurship
  • Deals with the entrepreneurial process through a relational approach based on the actor-network theory;
  • Builds on a broad view of entrepreneurship, framing it as the capacity to perceive opportunities for change and the capacity to get things done;
  • Discusses four styles of relational ordering identified in the translation process of a particular tourism development project in Iceland.
Abdul Kodir, Risdawati Ahmad, Nanda Harda Pratama MeijiThe Dynamics Access on Tourism Governance in Wakatobi National Park
  • The aim is to identify actors who compete towards access and how they get, control, and maintain access to tourism governance in Wakatobi National Park;
  • Shows that numerous actors scramble to gain, maintain, and control access in tourism governance with different mechanisms mediated by authority, capital, markets, technology, social identity, and social relations.
Angelo Presenza, Maria CipollinaAnalysing Tourism Stakeholders’ Networks
  • The aim is to analyze the various relations existing in tourism networks, identified as complex and mutable entities where many stakeholders coexist;
  • Findings highlight the degree of preference among stakeholders, and the resulting information is the level of confidence in the network;
  • Results confirm the importance of intensifying relationships between tourism companies themselves and between them and policymakers;
  • Offers a novel approach to developing network analysis in the tourism network literature.
Egbert van der Zee, Anne-Mara Gerrets, Dominique VannesteComplexity in the Governance of Tourism Networks: Balancing between External Pressure and Internal Expectations
  • Proposes a management perspective based on networks, personal relationships, trust, and reciprocity in order to enhance the ability of destinations to create a high-quality, authentic tourism experience;
  • The main conclusion is that while all interviewed network managers claimed they had adopted a ‘network approach’, most still spent most of their time and energy on traditional power-related tasks, such as the top-down provision of information, lobbying, and representing the network towards external stakeholders.
Andreas Kallmuenzera, Sascha Krausb, Mike Petersc, Julia Steinerc, Cheng-Feng ChengdEntrepreneurship in Tourism Firms: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Performance Driver Configurations
  • Investigates configurations of factors, both internal and external, that lead to high tourism firms’ performance;
  • Results reveal six different configurations, grouped into high or low environmental uncertainty settings, highlighting the relevance of multidimensional entrepreneurial orientation, financial endowment, and personal and professional networks.
Rodolfo Baggio, Noel Scott, Chris CooperImproving Tourism Destination Governance: A Complexity Science Approach
  • Describes the growing interest in complexity science as a framework for understanding social and economic systems has influenced the study of tourism destinations;
  • Discusses its theoretical and methodological implications regarding destination governance;
  • Adopts an adaptive management approach and discusses a valuable perspective for studying tourism destination governance, providing insights into its organizational structure and dynamic behavior.
Alexandra Cehan, Mihail Eva, Corneliu Iatu, Carlos CostaInquiring Structure and Forms of Collaboration in Tourism through Social Network Analysis
  • The aim is to operationalize a network approach in analyzing collaboration characteristics in tourism and then reveal structural weaknesses and strengths from a destination management perspective;
  • Results reveal a series of deficiencies inside the network, which have to be addressed by policymakers;
  • Contributes to the literature by advancing knowledge on particularities of collaboration among tourism stakeholders while also adding evidence to the utility of SNA in understanding relational dynamics specific to tourism destinations.
Cristóbal Casanueva, Ángeles Gallego, and María-Rosa García-SánchezSocial Network Analysis in Tourism
  • The aim is to establish how social network analysis (SNA) is applied to tourism, describe its principal elements, and inquire into its potential in developing tourism research;
  • Analysis of the articles that apply SNA research methods, published in tourism and hospitality journals, and the network of citations between their authors;
  • Results showed that the application of SNA in tourism-related contexts is rare and very recent, although a cohesive and relevant group of authors is currently applying it.
Alvaro Lopes Dias, Rui Silva, Mafalda Patuleia, João Estevão, Maria Rosario González-RodríguezSelecting Lifestyle Entrepreneurship Recovery Strategies: A Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • Focuses on revitalizing businesses run by lifestyle entrepreneurs, a significant class of pivotal importance in innovation in the tourism sector;
  • The aim is to identify the most relevant indicators to select the recovery strategies of these entrepreneurs;
  • Outcomes reveal that the priority is on innovation and the qualification of the entrepreneurs.
Angelo Presenza, Giacomo Del Chiappa, Lorn SheehanResidents’ Engagement and Local Tourism Governance in Maturing Beach Destinations. Evidence From an Italian Case Study
  • Analyzes residents’ perceptions, attitudes, and involvement in tourism development in a mature Italian ‘‘Sun, Sea, and Sand’’ tourism destination.
  • Findings are helpful for tourism policymakers in Italy and elsewhere, where there is a critical need for stakeholder management and other strategic management approaches in the public realm.
Source: The authors.
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Costa, T.; Calisto, M.d.L.; Nunes, S.; Dias, M. A Literature Review on Networks and Sustainable Development in Sea Tourism Entrepreneurship. Sustainability 2023, 15, 2135. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032135

AMA Style

Costa T, Calisto MdL, Nunes S, Dias M. A Literature Review on Networks and Sustainable Development in Sea Tourism Entrepreneurship. Sustainability. 2023; 15(3):2135. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032135

Chicago/Turabian Style

Costa, Teresa, Maria de Lurdes Calisto, Sandra Nunes, and Margarida Dias. 2023. "A Literature Review on Networks and Sustainable Development in Sea Tourism Entrepreneurship" Sustainability 15, no. 3: 2135. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032135

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop