Institutional Theory in Tourism and Hospitality - Paperback

by Anna Earl (Author), C. Michael Hall (Author)

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.

Author Biography

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.