Implications of Social Networks for Chinese Rural Women Tourism Entrepreneurs: An Embeddedness Approach

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study explores the network embeddedness of women entrepreneurs in the rural tourism context. Through an analysis of 34 interviews with women entrepreneurs in rural China, the study reveals that participants faced limited support from industry actors. However, their relationships with socio-political actors were generally productive. The findings highlight the need for industry associations to offer targeted training programs for entrepreneurs. The study also identifies the benefits of strong ties with family, employees, and other entrepreneurs in terms of support and resources. Drawing on embeddedness theory, the study concludes that there are weaknesses in the structural embeddedness of social networks. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the network embeddedness of women entrepreneurs in rural tourism.

摘要

这项定性研究探讨了乡村旅游背景下女性创业者与其他利益相关者的网络嵌入。对中国乡村地区34位女性创业者访谈数据的分析结果表明，女性的创业过程通常缺乏行业相关人员的支持; 不过，她们与社会政治角色的关系通常是积极的。同时，研究还发现，女性创业者与家庭、员工和其他创业者建立牢固的联系能为其带来资源和支持。最后，研究基于嵌入理论得出结论，并揭示了社交网络在结构上的嵌入存在不足之处。总的来说，本研究对乡村旅游中女性创业者的网络嵌入提供了宝贵的见解。研究进一步呼吁行业协会为女性创业者提供适当的培训。

KEYWORDS:

• Women tourism entrepreneurs
• embeddedness theory
• rural tourism
• tourism policy
• China

关键词:

• 妇女旅游创业者
• 嵌入性理论
• 乡村旅游
• 旅游政策
• 中国

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2024.2356876

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fanny Manner-Baldeon

Fanny Manner-Baldeon is Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. Her research interests include affective science, transformative experiences, mental health and DE&I (E-mail: [email protected]).

Yan Wan

Yan Wan is a Ph.D. student in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. Her research interests include tourist behavior and family tourism (E-mail: [email protected]).

Mimi Li

Mimi Li is Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. Her research interests include tourist behavior, children’s tourism and destination marketing (E-mail: [email protected]).

Yiyi Jiang

Yiyi Jiang is the Deputy Head of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China (E-mail: [email protected]).

Xie Ting

Xie Ting is affiliated with the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China (E-mail: [email protected]).