Negotiating the impacts of policy interventions among tourism organizations: Adaptation and sensemaking

Abstract

Adaptation, as a response to changes in business environments, is imperative for organizations. Despite the significance of this issue to tourism businesses, the link between sensemaking and organizational adaptation is rarely studied in the context of policy intervention. This study investigates tourism organizations' adaptation strategies, using policy interventions for environmental protection in China as an example. Drawing upon interviews with 23 business owners and secondary documentary data, the results identify two stages of adaptation. In the first stage, there are convergent interpretations, and the sensemaking leads to reactive adaptions. In the second stage, the inconsistent policies stimulate various patterns of sensemaking among different types of businesses and lead to three approaches to adaptation: cost-based approach adaptation, targeted approach adaptation, and resilience-oriented approach adaptation. The analysis suggests livelihood diversification, occupation switching, and joining issue networks are common adaptation actions. Implications for policymakers and tourism organizations are discussed.