Destination Evolution and Network Dynamics

Abstract

Destinations have in the scholarly literature been labeled as communities of interdependent organizations that collectively coproduce a variety of products and services. The paradigm comes close to describing destinations as firms which are embedded in interfirm networks. Recent studies provide crucial insights into an understanding of destinations' orchestration and structuration as coproducing interfirm networks. However, systematic knowledge about how these systems evolve and develop is lacking. This chapter addresses this issue and elaborates how the concepts of scale-free and small-world networks together can explain the process of destination evolution. The discussion also suggests how such theorizing can spur avenues for future research.

Citation

Aarstad, J., Ness, H. and Haugland, S.A. (2015), "Destination Evolution and Network Dynamics", Tourism Research Frontiers: Beyond the Boundaries of Knowledge (Tourism Social Science Series, Vol. 20), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 141-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-504320150000020002