Towards a model to measure the efficiency of inter-organizational knowledge transfer for tourism destinations

Abstract

Tourism industry relies on destination-level knowledge transfer for innovation and competitiveness, yet slow adoption of knowledge management practices hinders the potential benefits. Academic studies on knowledge transfer and its efficiency are limited and very few have addressed this phenomenon at inter-organizational level particularly in a tourism destination context. We aim to address this gap by providing a conceptual model to extend research knowledge in this area. Drawing on social capital theory and knowledge management constructs, the model incorporates four pivotal dimensions: ‘structural,’ ‘relational,’ ‘organizational,’ and ‘knowledge’ properties, identified as effective antecedents of knowledge transfer through prior research. The proposed model is designed to be practically applicable and measurable in a tourism destination and includes a measurement approach based on a network perspective. The benefits of using such a model include a comparison between destinations, and the opportunity to illuminate the restraints within a specific destination for subsequent strategic management action.