Business Models and Sustainability in Nature Tourism: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Samira Sahebalzamani,Giovanna Bertella

doi:10.3390/su10093226

Samira Sahebalzamani, Giovanna Bertella

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093226

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Sep 10, 2018
Citations: 23	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Abstract

This study explores the business model literature within nature tourism, focuses on its sustainability-related aspects, and adopts some of the results of the literature review by Reinhold et al. The research questions concern how scholars use and operationalize the business model concept in the context of nature tourism, and to what extent sustainability-related aspects are included and discussed. A literature review was conducted including a total of 18 scientific articles from various disciplines. The findings suggest that scientific literature about business models in nature tourism is very limited, both in relation to the number of articles and their content. With regard to the latter, the business model concept is sometimes adopted without any clear definition, sustainability-related aspects—especially those relative to the environmental dimension—are scarcely discussed, the perspective adopted is usually static, and innovation for sustainability is only marginally included. This indicates a clear gap in the literature and a considerable potential for future studies.

Highlights

This study presents a literature review concerning the understanding and operationalization of the business model concept in nature tourism, with particular focus on the extent and the way that this concept is discussed in relation to sustainability-related aspects
This study has presented a literature review of the business models in nature tourism with particular focus on sustainability-related aspects
The findings illustrate that the literature is still very sparse and the concept of business model in nature tourism is understood and used in a relatively limited way

Summary

Introduction

This study presents a literature review concerning the understanding and operationalization of the business model concept in nature tourism, with particular focus on the extent and the way that this concept is discussed in relation to sustainability-related aspects.The business model concept is broadly adopted by business and management scholars as a strategic construct delineating the underlying logic through which value can be created and captured [1,2]. This study presents a literature review concerning the understanding and operationalization of the business model concept in nature tourism, with particular focus on the extent and the way that this concept is discussed in relation to sustainability-related aspects. Some scholars explicitly relate this concept to sustainability [3,4], which can be described with reference to the “triple bottom line” short- and long-term impacts: economic, social, and environmental benefits and risks [5,6]. It is only recently that some scholars have adopted the business model concept in tourism and the literature is scant in regard to sustainable business models therein [8,9]. This study aims to contribute to such literature focusing on nature tourism, a form of tourism where sustainability-related impacts have concerned several scholars [10,11,12,13]. For the purpose of the study, nature tourism is understood in a broad way, comprising all forms of tourism centered on activities performed in wild nature as well as in more domesticated nature, including, for instance, adventure tourism, wildlife tourism, and rural tourism [14,15]

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