A cooperation network in the tourist industry is complex and consists of very different types of actors. The structure within the network, however, enables practical processes through which the actors may improve their competitiveness. This is shown in the doctoral dissertation of Arja Lemmetyinen, Licentiate of Economics, entitled 'The coordination of cooperation in tourism business networks'. The doctoral dissertation of economic science belongs to the field of marketing and will be defended at the Turku School of Economics on Friday 16 April 2010.
Business networks in the tourist industry are complex and difficult to control. The actors represent both the public and private sectors. Tourism networks thus consist of entrepreneurs and company employees, municipal representatives of the tourism business and, in particular,destination marketing or managing organisations (DMOs) taking care of the promotion of tourism. The complexity of the industry is also increased by the fact that tourism networks often operate in a multi-layered fashion at local, national and international level.
- In my research, I was seeking key means for coordinating cooperation between tourism networks, through which the actors can improve the competitiveness of the networks and of the companies operating in them. Several previous international studies of tourism have emphasised the significance of cooperation, for increasing the attraction of tourism not only for companies in the sector but also for regions. At the same time, they have highlighted the challenges, which the complexity of tourism has set for cooperation. This combination has been the basis of my own research, says Lemmetyinen.
For the purposes of her dissertation, Lemmetyinen observed seven tourism networks, some of them over a period of several years. The objects of research were networks partly funded by the EU such as the Mail Road, Cruise Baltic and Yachting in the Archipelago, as well as DMOs, which represented the Turku region (Turku Touring), Åland and the Roslagen region of Sweden. Research was carried out by conducting interviews.
The structures and processes of coordinated cooperation
Lemmetyinen found three structures for the coordinated cooperation of the tourism network: mental, material and technical. The processes created on the basis of these structures boost cooperation and thereby improve competiveness.
- A mental structure can be considered as, for example, the common brand of a network and its construction. For this, the members must specify common values and objectives, create a direction of operation and develop cooperation in an agreed direction, says Lemmetyinen.
A material structure and the process leading therefrom can be considered as, for example, the creation of a shared internet portal, and e-marketing carried out through cooperation. This particularly increases the resources of small companies and improves their competitiveness. Technical structures are, for instance, DMOs and their role as promoters of network cooperation.
- The role of DMOs may be the creation of new resources, an increase in communication or strengthening the sense of affinity of the participants in the network. The work of a coordinator may emphasise only some of these stages and still be productive.
The coordination of cooperation may also be studied in another context, as coordination is a key concept in networks. The results of research can to some extent already be generalised: the building of brands in networks, for example, also provides information for networks other than those of the tourism kind.
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Further information
Arja Lemmetyinen, tel. +358 50 520 0770, arja.lemmetyinen(a)tse.fi
The doctoral dissertation can be read at http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae4_2010.pdf