Specifying Destination-Based Networks by Governance-Mode: A Social Capital Approach to Innovative Capacity in a Rural Destination of Azerbaijan

ABSTRACT

The capacity of rural tourism destinations to create new knowledge is generally considered to be at a low level - especially in an emerging country context, where inadequate networking even more impedes the acquisition, transformation and exploitation of new knowledge. Findings from knowledge-based tourism research support the idea that destinations’ innovative capacities are embedded in a juxtaposition of differently configured and co-located subnetworks whose characteristics are highly dependent on the state of social capital. The present study investigates these configurations in community destinations for differences in their suitability to foster innovation based on their specific social capital disposition. Based on a triangulated methodology, network configuration profiles further substantiate the relationships between external network characteristics, knowledge absorption processes and innovation on the case of a rural emerging country destination in Azerbaijan. Limitations arise from the cultural context dependency of the social capital dispositions which however offer a promising field for future comparative research.

KEYWORDS:

• Social capital
• innovative capacity
• network configurations
• destination governance
• emerging countries

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that supports the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, AS. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants. Any publication of individual datasets requires additional clearance through every research participant.

Notes

1 Thus in the following the term „destination“ refers to the community-type destinations only.

2 In analogy to the conversion of knowledge described in Section 2.

3 Especially at the interface between knowledge acquisition and transformation (Thomas & Wood, 2015).

4 Including institutional arrangements.

5 This reflects a high level of cognitive social capital.

6 However, findings from Jordan (Dörry, 2008) suggest that knowledge absorption can constantly shift power asymmetries within transnational relations in favor of emerging country destinations.

7 A template could be the so-called Social-DMO as presented by Schuhbert (2014).