Entrepreneurial reputation in destination networks

Only few scientific contributions have attempted to analyze the patterns of governance and major stakeholders in destination networks. This paper seeks to investigate the role of entrepreneurship in destinations with the major aims laying in the identification of relevant factors of destination governance and analyses of entrepreneurs’ impact on this process. Due to the great complexity of destination networks and the process characteristic of governance, a qualitative research approach was chosen. Case study research was conducted in four Austrian tourism destinations. Results unveil the importance of entrepreneurial reputation of actors, density of strong ties in the destination network and informal relationships between actors for destination governance. This paper concludes with recommendations for future research in the field of destination governance.

► We investigate destination governance processes of four alpine tourism destinations.
► The role of tourism stakeholders regarding destination governance is examined.
► Higher network density and tie strength lead to stronger group orientation.
► Higher network density and tie strength lead to more informal governance channels.
► Entrepreneurial reputation and network density influence destination governance.