Institutional Theory in Tourism and Hospitality

Institutions are fundamental aspects for driving tourism and hospitality globally. They are the socio-economic "rules of the game" that serve to shape and constrain human and organisational interactions. This book is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of institutional theory in a tourism and hospitality context.

The complexity and multiple scaled nature of the institutional environment plays a crucial role in the development and formation of tourism destinations, attractions, organisations, and businesses, as well as influencing the activities of individuals. Institutional theory therefore provides a means to understand the complexity and processes of change at different scales of analysis and provides insights into the organisational and political basis of tourism policy development and implementation. Chapters introduce and expand on institutional analysis in tourism and hospitality, institutional theory in the social sciences, methodological issues, and future directions in institutional analysis in tourism and hospitality, making use of case studies throughout.

This book will appeal to students of tourism, hospitality, leisure, and events, as well as other social science disciplines. Providing a comprehensive overview of and guide to the application of institutional theory, this book will serve as a complete reference to institutional theory in a tourism and hospitality setting for years to come.

“'This book provides an important and interesting insight into the hospitality and tourism sectors. The focus on the institutional theory provides a refreshing view on how policy and governance can influence the rules of the game of the hospitality and tourism industry. Definitely a compulsory resource for students and novice researchers in various social science disciplines.' Jose Huesca Dorantes, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand 'While the importance of the institutional environment in understanding tourism is well recognized, a comprehensive review of recent advances in institutional theory from neighbouring disciplines and their application to tourism studies is missing. This book provides a thorough review of institutional perspectives in organisational sociology, economics, political science and international business and proposes an integrative framework with a rich discussion on how the different elements of institutional analysis can be applied to better understand tourism organisations. In addition, the book provides an excellent reflection on the methodological challenges of 'doing' institutional analysis. As such, this book will be of great value for students of tourism and in advancing institutional analysis in tourism studies.' Ziad Elsahn, University of Northumbria, UK 'This book must be welcomed as pioneer comprehensive research on the application of institutional theory to tourism and hospitality. Tourism and hospitality businesses are able to develop and flourish by understanding the institutional environment they operate in. This book is invaluable for researchers and university students.' Sergei Polbitsyn, Ural Federal University, Russia”

'This book provides an important and interesting insight into the hospitality and tourism sectors. The focus on the institutional theory provides a refreshing view on how policy and governance can influence the rules of the game of the hospitality and tourism industry. Definitely a compulsory resource for students and novice researchers in various social science disciplines.'

Jose Huesca Dorantes, University of Auckland Business School, New Zealand

'While the importance of the institutional environment in understanding tourism is well recognized, a comprehensive review of recent advances in institutional theory from neighbouring disciplines and their application to tourism studies is missing. This book provides a thorough review of institutional perspectives in organisational sociology, economics, political science and international business and proposes an integrative framework with a rich discussion on how the different elements of institutional analysis can be applied to better understand tourism organisations. In addition, the book provides an excellent reflection on the methodological challenges of ‘doing’ institutional analysis. As such, this book will be of great value for students of tourism and in advancing institutional analysis in tourism studies.'

Ziad Elsahn, University of Northumbria, UK

'This book must be welcomed as pioneer comprehensive research on the application of institutional theory to tourism and hospitality. Tourism and hospitality businesses are able to develop and flourish by understanding the institutional environment they operate in. This book is invaluable for researchers and university students.'

Sergei Polbitsyn, Ural Federal University, Russia

Anna Earl is a Lecturer in Management at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Her main research interests include the application of institutional theory to various disciplines, the relationship between government and multi-national enterprises in Russia and other emerging economies, and the internationalisation processes of multi-national enterprises. She is also interested in methodological issues related to conducting research in emerging and developed economies.

C. Michael Hall is a Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand; Docent in Geography, University of Oulu, Finland; a Visiting Professor in Tourism at Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden; and a Guest Professor in the Department of Service Management and Service Studies, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden. He has written widely on tourism, regional development, policy, heritage, food, and global environmental change.

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