Sustainability and Ecotourism: the Learning Process of a Small Business in Mexico

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the implementation process of ecotourism, with the aim of understanding the different forms of knowledge generation and learning in a company with precolonial references. Theoretical Framework: This topic presents the main concepts and theories that support the research through the critical perspective of Organizational Studies. The binomial knowledge-organizational learning stands out, providing a solid foundation to understand the context of the research. Method: The methodology adopted for this research includes a case study based on a qualitative approach with a phenomenological approach. Interviews were conducted with members of the organizations and advisors who supported the implementation of the ecotourism model. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document analysis. Data were analyzed with an interactive model using an inductive approach. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed the influence that the origin and ownership of the land has on the process of conception and practice of ecotourism. In the discussion section, cooperation between community members stands out as essential in the management of knowledge and learning, and the achievement of organizational objectives. Implications of the research: These implications could cover the theoretical-methodological limits to understand these organizational forms that live between premodernity and modernity and the need to generate sustainable reproductive, consumption, distribution and maintenance systems. Organizational Studies present a critical vision in the analysis between the complementarities and contradictions that underpin the implementation and practice of ecotourism. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by exposing the nature of this type of organizations with precolonial references where ecotourism merges with the traditions, rituals and worldviews of the community, exposing tensions and paradoxes of an organizational model that incorporates contradictory elements and at the same time complementary, such as sustainable development. The relevance and value of this research is evident in understanding the knowledge-learning process from the perspective of the subjects and the practical application in the implementation of ecotourism based on the nature of land ownership.