Cooperative core competencies in tourism: Combining resource-based and relational approaches in destination governance

Community-based tourist destinations can be understood as networks of tourism service providers, which need to combine their resources and competencies to generate the overall holiday experience. Building on strategic management theories, the study aims at exploring the relationship between the destinations management’s reflexive capabilities and the cooperative core competencies of a tourist destination. By means of reflexive capabilities, destination management is suggested to be able to induce a high level of network quality, which in turn may be a pre-condition for the interlacing of the service providers’ competencies and resources, i.e. for the development of cooperative core competencies. Based on a quantitative survey in Bavaria, the results support these assumptions and indicate that reflexive capabilities may promote the development of cooperative core competencies in tourist destinations. The paper advances tourism literature by introducing, operationalizing and testing the idea of cooperative core competencies in the context of tourist destinations

Smart Tourism Destinations: Can the Destination Management Organizations Exploit Benefits of the ICTs? Evidences from a Multiple Case Study

Recent developments of ICTs enable new ways to experience tourism and conducted to the concept of smart tourism. The adoption of cutting-edge technologies and its combination with innovative organizational models fosters cooperation, knowledge sharing, and open innovation among service providers in tourism destination. Moreover, it offers innovative services to visitors. In few words, they become smart tourism destinations. In this paper, we report first results of the SMARTCAL project aimed at conceiving a digital platform assisting Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) in providing smart tourism services. A DMO is the organization charged with managing the tourism offer of a collaborative network, made up of service providers acting in a destination. In this paper, we adopted a multiple case studies approach to analyze five Italian DMOs. Our aims were to investigate (1) if, and how, successful DMOs were able to offer smart tourism services to visitors; (2) if the ICTs adoption level was related to the collaboration level among DMO partners. First results highlighted that use of smart technologies was still in an embryonic stage of development, and it did not depend from collaboration levels

On-Chip Contactless Four-Electrode Conductivity Detection for Capillary Electrophoresis Devices

In this contribution, a capillary electrophoresis microdevice with an integrated on-chip contactless fourelectrode conductivity detector is presented. A 6-cm-long, 70-µm-wide, and 20-µm-deep channel was etched in a glass substrate that was bonded to a second glass substrate in order to form a sealed channel. Four contactless electrodes (metal electrodes covered by 30-nm silicon carbide) were deposited and patterned on the second glass substrate for on-chip conductivity detection. Contactless conductivity detection was performed in either a two-or a four-electrode configuration. Experimental results confirmed the improved characteristics of the fourelectrode configuration over the classical two-electrode detection setup. The four-electrode configuration allows for sensitive detection for varying carrier-electrolyte background conductivity without the need for adjustment of the measurement frequency. Reproducible electrophoretic separations of three inorganic cations (K + , Na + , Li + ) and six organic acids are presented. Detection as low as 5 µM for potassium was demonstrated. In the development and optimization of miniaturized analytical systems, a delicate combination of science and technology originating from microelectronic device fabrication, electrical engineering, and analytical chemistry is essential. In this multidisciplinary field, microtechnology experts combine the demands from analytical chemistry and electronic instrumentation in the design and fabrication of novel analytical devices. 1,2 Chemical analysis systems, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or capillary electrophoresis (CE), always consist of the combination of a separation and a detection system. For separation, CE or CE-based separation techniques are highly suitable for implementation on the microchip format. Electrokinetic control of fluid transport eliminates the need for external components such as pumps and valves. The separation efficiency is relatively independent of the separation path length and is, therefore, more compatible with miniaturization than, for instance, chromatographic techniques. As far as detection is concerned, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is, at present, the most widely used detection technique in miniaturized analysis systems because of its high sensitivity. The drawbacks of LIF are its limited compatibility with miniaturization and on-chip integration and the requirement for labeling of most (bio) chemically relevant compounds. External devices such as the relatively large laser and the photodetector system strongly prohibit further miniaturization. The development of alternative detection methods compatible with miniaturization and full onchip integration is highly desirable. Since electrode deposition is a well-established process in microfabrication, the implementation of detection techniques utilizing integrated electrodes has become an attractive approach. Successful coupling of conventional CE with potentiometry, 3 amperometry, 4,5 and conductometry 6-10 has been reported in the literature. In addition, both amperometric and potentiometric detection were also implemented in chip-based CE systems. [11][12][13] The primary advantage of amperometric and potentiometric detection over conductivity detection is the high selectivity induced by the electrochemical reactions that take place at the electrode surface. Only electrochemically active compounds * Corresponding author: (tel) +31 (0) 15 278 6518; (fax) +31 (0) 15 278 5755

Requirements for destination management organizations in destination governance: Understanding DMO success

In current conceptualizations of destination management, destination management organizations (DMOs) are required to act as network managers. Previous research claims that DMOs capable of actively fostering collaboration between destination stakeholders are key to ensuring a destination's competitiveness. Yet, empirical investigations concerning the role of DMO success in establishing the competitiveness of destinations are rare. Even less is known about determinants of DMO success. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to better understand DMO and destination success by investigating the role played by networking capability. One key insight is that the effect of networking capability works through increased DMO authority, i.e. enhanced power and acceptance of the DMO within the destination network. Besides the advances in terms of content, our research also offers a relevant methodological contribution by introducing a recently developed approach in mediation analysis, which has so far received little attention in the tourism literature. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Towards a comprehensive view of tourism governance: Relationships between the corporate governance of tourism service firms and territorial governance

Tourism governance comprises different levels and has been tackled from diverse perspectives, including regional governance, destination governance and corporate governance. However, this piecemeal approach risks overlooking interdependencies. Therefore, this paper integrates the literature on the relationships between the various levels of tourism governance into a comprehensive framework and highlights a lacuna of tourism governance research on tourism service firms. To close this gap and to integrate the service firm into the overall framework of tourism governance, this paper empirically investigates the linkages between the governance of tourism service firms and the governance of destination management organisations (DMOs) in a qualitative, GABEK-supported case study. The findings suggest that destination governance influences the strength of these linkages: weak links between the governance of firms and that of DMOs may be due to specific deficiencies in destination governance. In particular, institutional incongruence is proposed to induce such weak links

Destination management organizations as interface between destination governance and corporate governance

Destination management organizations (DMOs) play a major role in managing destination networks and in fostering cooperation between destination actors. DMOs are central figures in the governance of tourism destinations. However, being organizations, their operations are also judged according to their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. This paper applies the concept of corporate governance to capture these internal performance indicators, and investigates its relationship to the external performance of DMOs as promoters of cooperation. Very few studies have considered such inter-dependencies between DMO performance and destination performance; and even fewer have explicitly analysed the relationships between the destination governance and the corporate governance of DMOs. Therefore, this research uses an exploratory, theory-generating case study approach to develop testable hypotheses for future generalizing research attempts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with several destination actors, and qualitatively analysed using the GABEK toolset. From this qualitative analysis four hypotheses emerged, which generally indicate a positive link between a DMO's corporate governance characterized by a broad stakeholder involvement, an efficient way of working, visible signs of performance on the one hand, and both the DMO acceptance and the level of cooperation in the destination on the other hand. © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Destination leadership: Leadership for territorial development

Tourist destinations often coincide with the most beautiful and attractive places. However, these places tend to be particularly sensitive, either from a natural or cultural point of view (or both). Additionally, quite different types of territories attract tourists – from peripheral regions to the largest city centers in the world. Thus, destination leadership must mean dealing with these diverse but, certainly always, sensitive environments. This requires balancing daring and progressive pproaches with more conservative strategies. Destination leadership means interpreting the various and specific natural and cultural contexts and plotting tailor-made future development paths. Therefore, it may be necessary to speak about Alpine destination leadership (Pechlaner and Volgger, 2014), island destination leadership, city destination leadership, and so on. We can summarize these thoughts by stating that destination leadership is about proactively shaping the future development of territories. Without doubt, this development needs to respect and thoroughly consider local networks and the history of these networks