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Abstract
As the ultimate decision makers in organizations, boards of directors have a strong influence on organizational success. This study contributes to better understanding of the mechanisms of boards within the tourism sector, more precisely, destination-based tourism organizations wherein several stakeholders collaborate. First, we examine how tourism directors perceive their roles including strategic, control and service roles. Second, as tourism organizations are in a constant need for development and innovation, we study the role of innovative climates as part of the board dynamics. Third, we compare limited liability companies with other tourism organizations to explore the influence of legal structure on the perception of board roles and innovation. The directors perceived the control and strategic tasks as the most relevant for the boards of tourism organizations. Furthermore, they reported generally high scores on climate for innovation with somewhat stronger emphasis on the performance-related climate factors “objectives – mutual and achievable goals” and “task orientation – focus on excellence” than the factors more closely related to social relationships (“support” and “participative safety”). Limited liability companies scored significantly higher on the control and strategic roles as well as the combined climate for innovation variable indicating a stronger investment in the organizations due to the legal responsibility linked to the role of director in such organizations.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
† Note: This manuscript was submitted before Gro Ellen Mathisen was assigned the role as Chief Editor of SJHT. It was handled and accepted by the special issue editors and went through ordinary peer review.