Regional Sports Tourism Networks: A Conceptual Framework

摘要

Sports tourism is a widespread phenomenon with significant social, economic and ecological impacts. However, on an academic level sports tourism is a relatively new field of research. As a consequence, there is a relative dearth of work on theoretically informed explanations of the sports tourism phenomenon. This is particularly true for organizational aspects of sports tourism. To overcome this gap in research, a conceptual framework has been developed which provides a theoretically grounded perspective on the organizational structure of regional sports tourism (RST). Drawing on a theory of social networks, RST is considered as an interorganizational network based on mutual trust among involved actors. Three functional mechanisms of such a network of RST - cooperation, emergence and innovation - explaining the causal logic of this form of organization will be discussed. The concept of a RST network, presented in this paper, enables a theoretical explanation and understanding of individual action and collective structure in RST. Moreover, it provides a comprehensive framework for the operationalization and empirical analysis of organization in RST. Finally, several implications for further research and the management of RST networks can be derived from this approach.View full textDownload full textKeywordsRegional Sports Tourism, Cooperation, Organizational Structure, Interorganizational Network, Social Network TheoryRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2010.513146