Developing a conceptual model of collaborative entrepreneurship in the field of tourism

The success of tourism entrepreneurship projects in different destinations has always been affected by the stakeholders, and they also affect it. Without communication and cooperation with them, one cannot expect the realization of predetermined goals. Therefore, entrepreneurship in the field of tourism requires the consideration of the challenges that exist in the cooperation between the various stakeholders of the industry. In this regard, identifying and combining the views of all stakeholders can increase knowledge and awareness and reduce conflict in the long run. Nevertheless, how to create the necessary ground for the cooperation of tourism stakeholders in the entrepreneurial process is one of the serious challenges. In the face of this challenge, a collaborative approach to entrepreneurship has been proposed. Given the existence of a set of multiple stakeholders in the field of tourism, applying the collaborative approach in tourism entrepreneurship will be an efficient and effective strategy in promoting sustainable development. Accordingly, the general purpose of the present study is to develop a conceptual model of collaborative entrepreneurship in the field of tourism.

Given that the present study seeks to develop and present a model in the field of collaborative entrepreneurship in the field of tourism, in terms of purpose, it is in the category of developmental research. In the meantime, considering that this research seeks to identify cooperative entrepreneurship factors in the field of tourism and analyze them, in terms of nature and method, it is descriptive-analytical. Regarding the method of data collection and analysis, first, based on the inductive approach, the factors of the initial research model have been identified by reviewing the previous literature. Then, a structured questionnaire is used to validate the identified factors. The statistical population of the study includes the academics in tourism and entrepreneurship. In this regard, due to the lack of access to a list of the statistical population, sampling at this stage has been done by the snowball method. For analysis of the data, modeling structural equations have been used a variance-based technique.

In this research, the conceptual model of the research was tested through a structural equation model with a partial least squares approach. Accordingly, the relationship between collaborative entrepreneurship and characteristics, antecedents, and postoperative dimensions was evaluated. In general, the results showed that the dimension of antecedents, which includes components of joint project, complementary resources, interdependence, adaptability, flexibility, entrepreneurial orientation, trust, commitment and understanding, has a positive and significant effect on collaborative entrepreneurship (with a path coefficient of 0.711). The dimension of characteristics, which includes the components of social capital, intellectual capital, political capital, communication capital, discourse, consensus, coordination, participation and cooperation, has a positive and significant effect on collaborative entrepreneurship (with a path coefficient of 0.631). Also, the dimension of consequences, which includes components of economic value, competitiveness, partnership experience, welfare, effectiveness, risk-taking, knowledge management, creativity, and innovation, has a positive and significant effect on collaborative entrepreneurship (with a path coefficient of 0.824).

In recent years, we have always seen a change in the behavior of tourists, so that businesses in the field of tourism constantly try to survive by adapting their products and services to the wishes and interests of customers. The need for this is tied to entrepreneurship and tourism innovation. Nowadays, entrepreneurship is considered as the driving force of tourism, and providing services and products that meet the interests of customers depends on entrepreneurship and innovation. Of course, it should be borne in mind that tourism development is the foundation of entrepreneurship, but at the same time, the need for sustainable growth and development of tourism businesses also depends on entrepreneurship and innovation. In other words, tourism needs to integrate with innovation and entrepreneurship in order to continue its growth and development in the field of income generation and employment and to respond appropriately to the diverse needs of the market. Therefore, through entrepreneurship and innovation, it is possible to discover new markets and offer different products and services in tourism. In the meantime, it should be noted that recognizing and cooperating with stakeholders is a prerequisite for successful innovation and entrepreneurship. Therefore, due to the existence of multiple stakeholders in the field of tourism, to facilitate the creation of the necessary conditions for entrepreneurship and innovation, it is necessary for tourism stakeholders to cooperate with each other. Research has shown that the formation of cooperation among stakeholders in various matters, especially in the field of knowledge and resource sharing, will lead to the identification of more opportunities and, thus, will pave the way for entrepreneurship and innovation. This study was conducted with the aim of developing a conceptual model of collaborative entrepreneurship in the field of tourism. For this purpose, the concepts extracted from the research literature were categorized into antecedents, characteristics and consequences dimensions. Collaborative entrepreneurial antecedents include collaborative project components, complementary resources, interdependence, adaptability, flexibility, entrepreneurial orientation, trust, commitment and understanding. Collaborative entrepreneurship also includes the components of social capital, intellectual capital, political capital, communication capital, discourse, consensus, coordination, participation and cooperation. The implications of collaborative entrepreneurship include the components of economic value, competitiveness, partnership experience, well-being, effectiveness, risk-taking, knowledge management, creativity and innovation.