Local festivals,social capital and sustainable destination development: experiences in East London

This paper explores the nature of social capital arising from engagement in local festivals and the implications of this for the social sustainability of an emerging destination. Two case studies are developed from a longitudinal research project which investigates local festivals staged in the Hackney Wick and Fish Island area adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, UK between 2008 and 2014. This area has been directly affected by extensive development and regeneration efforts associated with the staging of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The two festivals considered here respond to the challenges and opportunities arising for local people as the area changes. One festival aims to foster a sense of community by creating shared experiences and improving communication across diverse groups. The other draws together the cultural community, links them to the opportunities arising as the area emerges as a destination, and attracts visitors. These festivals increase social capital in the area, but its distribution is very uneven. The accrual of social capital exacerbates existing inequalities within the host community, favouring the “haves” at the expense of the “have nots”. There are tensions between the development of social capital and social sustainability in this emerging destination.     

Doing femininity and respectability: social networks and social capital among female members of Dutch student organisations

This research explores the complexities that underlie the formation of women’s social networks at traditional social student organisations in the Netherlands, advancing theory on the intersectionality of gender and class in leisure space. Building on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social capital it investigates if these social networks are segregated, and to what extent their divisions depend on previously acquired economic, cultural and symbolic capital. It analyses the hierarchical structures and ‘ranking’ of women’s year clubs within student organisations, and examines how the enactment and achievement of femininity determines women’s ability to move through social space. Finally, it investigates the use of social capital for women’s career progression. Semi-structured interviews were held with 20 women who were current or former members of one of the most traditional Dutch student organisations, the corps. Their accounts were used to gather information about the meaning women gave to their membership, and shed light on the role of previously acquired capital in the formation of clubs. Our findings show that women’s previously acquired social capital allowed them easier access to corps’ space and advanced their ability to navigate it. The establishment and ranking of year clubs and their members demonstrate the power dynamics that operate within the corps and the way class underlines network formation. Femininity was deemed one of the important markers of respectability and the enactment and achievement of ‘proper’ femininity determined women’s recognition and position in corps space. Despite the hierarchies of placement in the corps, most women profit from the social capital they acquired during membership, and can use it in selective ways for career progression and acquisitions.     

Examining the relationship between social capital and community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations

A thorough understanding of the influencing factors and mechanisms of community resilience in tourism destinations is vital not only for recovery after disasters but also for strengthening the adaptive capacity of community residents to manage sudden change. This study aims to investigate the roles of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital in enhancing community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. Based on data derived from a survey of 691 residents of China's Dujiangyan scenic areas and Jiuzhai Valley National Park, this study used structural equation modeling to test the relationship between community residents' perceived social capital and resilience in tourism destinations. The findings suggest that the three types of social capital have significantly positive effects on community residents' perceived resilience in tourism destinations. In China's centralized political system, linking social capital is the most important type of social capital in community disaster recovery. An interaction effect between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is found. This study's results help managers and community residents cultivate social capital, improve community resilience and maintain sustainable tourism development.     

Structural social capital and hotel performance: Is there a link?

This paper attempts to fill three gaps how to: (i) operationalize the concept of structural social capital (SSC) for hotels; (ii) compare the effectiveness of different SSC measures at collective level; (iii) observe the ability of SSC to influence organizational performance.Six hypotheses were tested using the Livigno (Italy) hotel sector (84 cases). The results suggest that SSC is the strongest positive determinant of hotel performance, compared with weaker and generally not significant relations linking occupancy and control variables (category, size, location). The work shows the multifaceted nature of SSC.The topological network structure appears to be the powerful lever to manage seasonality for both well and poorly located hotels. In fact the correlation between SSC and performance is higher in off-peak periods. Findings confirm that social capital is a valuable asset, able to impact on performance. We conclude by identifying some research gaps.     

Tourism communities and social ties: the role of online and offline tourist social networks in building social capital and sustainable practice

Mobile connectivity enables the adoption of new ways to connect with social networks which are changing how we might, and could, seek support. In the tourism domain we increasingly blend online and offline presence to engage with social networks in the spatial location, at a distance and across time. This paper explores the forms of community that exist in physical tourism contexts, contexts not previously analysed through a community lens, and explores how mobile technology is creating connections within and beyond existing social networks. It examines how sustainable tourism can be enhanced by mobile connectivity through new space–time practices and using ephemeral interpersonal relationships to harness niche groups to create bottom-up social systems interested in sharing experiences, ideas and resources. Special attention is given to the concept of gelling socialities which proposes a less ridged network structure, and to the need to understand the increasingly liquid social dynamics of mobile social interactions. The paper adds to the theories surrounding community, social ties and tourism's value to society. It draws on data from in-depth interviews undertaken while designing and testing a collaborative travel app. It contributes to growing research into the new technologies increasingly available for sustainable tourism marketing and implementation.     

Social Capital,political empowerment and social difference: a mixed-methods study of an ecotourism project in the rural Volta region of Ghana

Abstract

Claims abound regarding the empowering possibilities of community-based natural resources management (CBNRM). Social capital is seen as a key element towards that end, yet there is a paucity of critical research testing these connections. This study examines two aspects of social capital (cognitive and structural) in a community-based ecotourism (CBE) project in Ghana as they relate to social difference (notably gender and ethnicity) and political empowerment (i.e., access to political involvement, and political efficacy). Quantitative results highlight specific gendered and ethnic differences in political empowerment and social capital that, when combined with qualitative analysis, reveal how those inequities in ecotourism may be rooted in socio/cultural norms. In addition, a novel contribution from this study is that political empowerment seems to be partly mediated by peoples’ access to social capital. This suggests that, regardless of one’s gender and ethnicity, social capital helps to empower individuals. We conclude by describing what an intervention could look like in the context of this CBE project when informed by qualitative feminist as well as quantitative social capital analysis. Doing so we illustrate how a mixed-methods approach to the study of social capital and empowerment may offer important insights towards more equitable CBE.Abbreviations: CBE: Community Based Ecotourism; CBNRM: Community Based Natural Resources Management; NCRC: Nature Conservation Research Centre; FPE: Feminist Political Ecology; PCA: Principal Component Analysis; ANOVA: Analysis of Variance     

Solesolevaki as social capital: a tale of a village,two tribes,and a resort in Fiji

This paper advances understanding of the complex and adaptive nature of indigenous Fijian communities involved in tourism. It examines how tourism-related development has set the people of one Fijian village along two separate development pathways, and explores how preferential access to tourism benefits has created disparities within the community. Complex Adaptive Systems theory and Social Capital theory are used to conceptualise how over 40 years of tourism involvement has influenced development within an indigenous Fijian community. The findings argue that indigenous Fijian communities are non-homogeneous entities, which are constantly in transition, responding and adapting integratively to both internal and external changes over time. The findings show that the emergence of new behaviours and ways of life has led to the collapse of the pre-existing systems of social capital. As a response, community members retreated and regrouped, strengthening internal bonds and social capital in their smaller social units, leading to both dependency and opportunity-seeking behaviours among participants. Ultimately, the paper asserts that money alone does not lead to development, but rather tourism and access to a variety of capital do.     

Investigating the effects of offline and online social capital on tourism SME performance: A mixed-methods study of New Zealand entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial social capital develops through the accrual of resources gained from an entrepreneur's social ties. These are integral to entrepreneurial success, enabling access to financial, marketing, and human resources, and innovation. Entrepreneurs increasingly manage their networks through online platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. However, there are major gaps in the extant empirical research concerning how online social capital is manifested, if this differs from an in-person context, and the effects ‘online’ and ‘offline’ social capital resources on tourism business success. This study adopts a mixed-method approach to examine tourism entrepreneur's behaviours in building offline and online social capital, and their nuanced effects on firm performance. The results found tourism entrepreneurs' networking activity manifests in three distinct configurations, Active Online Networkers, In-Person Networkers, and the Less Engaged. Each configuration demonstrated varying effects on expected business growth and performance with regards to number of employees, sales revenues, and net profit.     

Destination social capital and innovation in SMEs tourism firms: an empirical analysis in an adverse socio-economic context

Abstract

This study examines the structural relationships between internal and external resources that explain the innovation of small tourism firms in adverse socio-economic contexts. Specifically, it analyzes two internal resources, human and organizational-technological capital, and the valuable intangible resources derived from social interactions between the agents in the destination (other companies, institutions, and community). The research hypotheses are tested by means of structural equation analysis applied to an empirical study of 180 tourism firms located in Isla Margarita (Venezuela). The findings confirm the importance of external resources derived from relationships with destination agents in the innovation behavior of tourism small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While business social capital affects innovative behavior directly, other types of internal intellectual capital mediate the relationship between innovative behavior and institutional and community social capital. It is the first to address the local community’s role in the innovation of tourism SMEs. The importance of integrating firm and destination resources should inform SMEs’ innovation policies in adverse contexts where the scarcity of resources make vulnerable the economic, social and environmental sustainability.     

Burgers for tourists who give a damn! Driving disruptive social change upstream and downstream in the tourist food supply chain

Using the theoretical lens of social capital, this paper examines the role of small tourist food businesses and their impact on the sustainability of the destination and local food supply chains. The paper analyses the experiences of small business owner-managers highlighting the complex and subtle nature of the socially responsible strategies used to progress sustainability in a tourist destination. The findings show that authentic lifestyles, motivated by intrinsic not just extrinsic rewards, are driving disruptive social change upstream and downstream in the tourist food supply chain. Small food business owner-managers are catalysts for “common” good, and as supporters for ethical and sustainable food chains have considerable local tourism influence and impact. Social capital strengthens their sense of destination ownership and fuels an obligation to protect their fragile tourist resources. The intersection between social capital, authenticity and responsibility among small food businesses in the tourist industry is demonstrated.     

Human capital in the Dubai hotel industry: A study of four- and five-star hotels and the HR challenges they face

Dubai brands itself as an international leisure and business center and home to the luxury hotel market. While hotel growth has been, and continues to be rapid, little is known about hotel employees, their demographics or how they feel about working in this industry. This article reports the findings of what is the first review of Dubai hotel human capital, noting there are significant difference in workforce demographics to other countries, for example, it is male dominated, highly educated, and employees note positive levels of organizational social capital. It also highlights potential challenges going forward.     

Analyzing the effects of social impacts of events on satisfaction and loyalty

The purpose of this study is to examine the social impacts of events on participants’ satisfaction and whether loyalty is a result of this satisfaction when taking attendance to event into consideration. This study uses data from a sample of 542 participants who participated in the Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival. Factor analysis was performed, and the data was sorted into seven different categories: community benefits, cultural and educational benefits, quality of life concerns, community resource concerns, attendance to event, satisfaction, and loyalty. Structural equation modeling was performed, and the hypotheses were tested using bootstrap confidence intervals in addition to classical testing procedures. The hypothesis results showed a direct effect on quality of life concerns and attendance to event. In events on satisfaction, there was also a direct effect on loyalty. In addition, there was an indirect effect on quality of life concerns and attendance to events on loyalty through satisfaction.     

How to create competitive advantage: the moderate role of organizational learning as a link between shared value,dynamic capability,differential strategy,and social capital

Based on the organizational strategy and capability perspective, we theorized a serial mediation-moderation analysis that links critical beneficial attributes of dynamic capabilities, differential strategies, social capital, shared goals, and organizational learning to creating competitive advantage. Results from a survey of 328 travel agencies were analysed to support our hypotheses. We found that travel agencies’ shared goals may influence competitive advantage through the characteristics of dynamic capability development, differential strategy implications, and social capital accumulation. We also found that organizational learning is the most critical attribute for improving the relationships between shared goals, dynamic capabilities, and social capital to achieve competitive advantage. The implications of these findings for managerial and theoretical frameworks are also discussed.     

Contingent effects of close relationships with suppliers upon independent restaurant product development: A social capital perspective

Despite recommendations that the restaurant industry more readily engage suppliers within their operations in order to expand capabilities, associations with restaurant business performance and supplier relationships remain unexplored in today’s current restaurant literature. This study assessed restaurant-supplier relationships from the social capital perspective and evaluated roles social capital played in product enhancement and new product development within the independent restaurant context. Results demonstrated that independent restaurant product enhancement was positively and linearly associated with social capital derived from restaurant-supplier relationships. Results also found that building social capital within restaurant-supplier relationships positively influenced new product development, but when taken to an extreme, it exhibited a negative association through an inverted curvilinear effect. Results provide new insights for future research and practice regarding independent restaurant supply management practices.     

Intellectual capital in the hotel industry: A case study from Slovenia

Human, structural and non-end-customer-relationship capital in the hotel industry need end-customer-relationship capital to reflect themselves in financial performance, as a study of the Slovenian hotel industry has shown.     

The benefits of holidaying for children experiencing social exclusion: recent Irish evidence

There is a general assumption in contemporary society that holidaying is beneficial in many ways. Yet, even in affluent societies, access to holidaying opportunities continues to be constrained by a variety of factors relating to inter alia income, gender, health and race. This is problematic because it means that sizeable minorities within advanced societies are being denied the benefits that researchers have attributed to the practice of holidaying. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in problematising the exclusionist nature of holidaying with researchers arguing that a lack of holiday opportunities may compound social deprivation, reinforce social problems and heighten social exclusion. A number of knowledge gaps have been identified including the extent to which holidaying benefits children and youth and those experiencing social exclusion. This paper aims to redress this knowledge deficit by reporting the findings of a study that examined the benefits of holidaying accruing to a group of children, and their families, experiencing social exclusion in Dublin. Using a variety of qualitative methods, the study found that access to holidaying opportunities contributed to quality of life and enhanced well‐being for the children studied. The benefits of the holiday extended beyond the time period of the holiday itself, and also extended beyond the children themselves into the wider family unit. A number of avenues for further research are identified.     

Promoting entrepreneurial orientation through the accumulation of social capital,and knowledge management

Management scholars and tourism practitioners emphasize the importance of knowledge management to and social capital of medium and small vendors’ entrepreneurial orientation. Constraints on medium and small vendors’ time and energy suggest that accumulating social capital is helpful to enhance knowledge management. Furthermore, how and why medium and small networks contribute to entrepreneurial orientation deserves further investigation. In this study, we offer hypotheses to shed insight on the interrelationships among critical attributes of social capital and further test the mediation role of knowledge management that may contribute to entrepreneurial orientation between medium and small vendors. We tested our hypotheses using data collected from 286 medium and small vendors in night markets located in different regions of Taiwan. Study findings identified different relationships among social capital, confirming our hypothesis that social capital affects knowledge management and its application. We further demonstrate that social capital and entrepreneurial orientation are fully mediated by knowledge management. Implications for future research on tourism industry management and medium and small firms’ managers are discussed.     

Social mediation in remote developing world tourism locations – the significance of social ties between local guides and host communities in sustainable tourism development

This article discusses the role of the local, or regional, guide as a social mediator between a host society and tourists, as a means of sustainable tourism development in developing world locations. The debate illustrates how previous studies have neglected this social aspect of mediation by tourist guides and partly absorbed it into the concept of cultural mediation. Empirical illustrations are offered from the context of small tourist group visitations to local villages in rural areas of Madagascar, where collective social norms still play an important role. A qualitative approach based on personal interviews with guides and on field trip experience and observation is employed. Empirical findings indicate that the inclination of the host society to welcome accompanied tourists is facilitated by the capacity of local guides to develop relatively strong social ties with the host society. It is suggested that the increased use of local guides with good social relationships with the local communities as against the mere employment of non-local accompanying guides working for centrally located tour operators can enrich the mutual experience quality in the encounter between visitors and hosts and support local sustainable development by enhanced local involvement. Implications for sustainable tourism practice are discussed.     

Understanding pioneering orientation in tourism clusters: Market dynamism and social capital

The aim of this paper is to study whether and how closed ties and diverse ties moderate the relationship between firms' market dynamism and pioneering orientation in a tourism cluster. We use original data on a sample of 215 firms belonging to the World Heritage Cities of Spain. The results show a curvilinear U-shaped relationship between market dynamism and pioneering orientation. This relationship is accentuated by higher closed ties, and is attenuated by higher diverse ties. Managers are advised to pay attention to changes in consumers’ needs so as to identify first-mover opportunities. Furthermore, firms located within tourism clusters might benefit from developing social capital. Specifically, managers should strengthen their closed ties when market dynamism is high and their diverse ties when the first changes in the market emerge.     

The effect of psychological capital on conflicts in the work–family interface,turnover and absence intentions

Using Conservation of Resources (COR) and congruence theories as the theoretical underpinnings, the present study develops and tests a research model that investigates the impact of psychological capital (PsyCap) on work–family conflict, family–work conflict, and turnover and absence intentions. The model also examines the effects of two directions of conflict on these employee outcomes. Self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience are the components representing PsyCap. Based on data obtained from frontline hotel employees with a time lag of two weeks in three waves in Romania, the results suggest that PsyCap mitigates work–family conflict, family–work conflict, and turnover and absence intentions. The results further suggest that PsyCap influences the aforesaid employee outcomes indirectly through family–work conflict. However, work–family conflict has no bearing on these outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the study.