Abstract
This thesis focuses on the potentials and challenges that exist in developing and supporting nature-based activities through cross-sectoral collaborations between voluntary associations and other stakeholders involved in tourism. The starting point for this focus stems from the Denmark’snational tourism strategy from 2016, which shows that the Danish tourism sector is challenged due to a limited range of cultural and leisure activities available to tourists. Therefore, the strategy indicates that a number of Danish coastal and nature-based tourism destinations have the potential to develop internationally competitive nature-based outdoor activities. This was underpinned by national tourism organizations. Voluntary organizations play a major role in the potential for development of nature based experiences and activities, as the strategy recommends that the commercial outdoor tourism should be developed while maintaining the connection to the voluntary associations. In recent decades, there has been an increasing focus on the potential of voluntary associations in relation to solving public welfare tasks but with the tourism strategy, associations are given a new societal role since this is the development of a commercial business sector.
The tourism strategy emphasizes that the public sector has a more indirect role in the development of outdoor tourism by promoting tourism. The tourism strategy thus framed the development of nature-based tourism activities as a joint project or collaboration, where the roles are distributed so that the sports clubs develop, while the tourism companies commercialize and public bodies promote. The task of developing of nature-based outdoor activities is thereby characterized as a cross-sectoral project involving stakeholders from societal sectors.
Cross-sectoral collaborations on the one hand offers organizations the opportunity to contribute with their specific resources and thereby creating a pool of resources that enables problem solving, which was not available to the organizations, when working on their own. Therefore, it makes sense to collaborate across sectors in relation to tourism, as a wide variety of actors or stakeholders shape the tourists' experience of a holiday destination. However, on the other hand the different values and norms that characterize the individual sectors challenges cross-sectoral collaborations. Cross-sectoral collaborations are therefore often more conflict-prone and ineffective, and often ends in failure despite good intentions and potentials.
Because nature-based outdoor activities often have a physical aspect, they are often tied to voluntary sports clubs (idrætsforeninger), which is the most widespread type of association in Denmark. Almost half of all Danes are members of a sports club, and sports clubs are therefore, overall, the largest provider of leisure activities. Sports clubs possess knowledge and skills related to their activity and are familiar with the possibilities in the local area, therefore they could be an asset to the development of nature-based outdoor activities for guests and tourists. However, voluntary sports clubs are based on a committed community and therefore most sports clubs only have activities for their members. Thus, they do not have activities that are open to everyone. Therefore, the question is; what interest doe sports clubs have in developing outdoor activities for guests, who are only in the area for a short period of time, and thus will not be able to join the club-based community for a longer period.
There is virtually no research in this area and therefore only limited knowledge of cross-sectoral collaboration, where voluntary associations with a non-tourism related purpose (like the sports clubs) are involved in tourism. Therefor this thesis aimed to explore the potentials and challenges of developing and supporting nature-based activities through cross-sectoral collaborations between voluntary sports clubs and other stakeholders involved in tourism.
Research questions
Collaborations are not static. On the contrary. They must be viewed as an emergent process that evolves over time. To understand the collaborations, the thesis has focused on the process that develops, structures and formalizes collaborations. This was based on the following research question:
1. How do cross-sectoral collaboration regarding tourism-oriented outdoor activities between voluntary associations and tourism sector stakeholders arise, how are they organized, and how are stakeholders involved?
Organizations are only involved in long-term collaborations if they create value. Therefore, the thesis has also examined how collaboration creates value for the stakeholders. This was done through the following question:
2. What types of value and at what organizational levels does value creation take place in cross-sectoral collaboration between voluntary clubs and the tourism sector?
As the sectoral differences can influence the success of the collaborations, this thesis investigated how the sectoral differences respectively promote or challenge the collaborative process. This topic was examined through the question:
3. How do the sectoral differences of organizations play a role in relation to collaboration?
By answering the questions stated above, the dissertation contributes with new knowledge about the potentials and challenges of involving voluntary associations in cross-sectoral collaborations with private tourism companies.
Theory and method
In order to answer the three research questions, the thesis has used a stakeholder theoretical approach. Collaborations require organizations to consider themselves as one of several mutually dependent stakeholders. By focusing on the collaborations as a domain, the focus of analysis shifts from the individual organization to the collaboration and the mutual dependence of the stakeholders involved. Using this domain perspective collaborations progress through five phases: antecedents, the problem setting phase, the direction setting phase, the structuring phase, and outcome. This made it possible to investigate, which prior and contextual situation led to the opening network initiative and how the purpose, locales and structure of the collaboration was developed. Which, also included an opportunity to investigate how and when the individual stakeholders were involved in the process. Related to the structuring, collaborations can be organized differently from informal and less structured network initiatives, through coordinations seeking reciprocity in the absence of actual rules, to fully formalized corporations. As this formalization develops, the management of the collaboration will also evolve. The domain theory describes the leading organization as a referent organization, which can be either a new organization established for the purpose or by designating one of the organizations involved. The referent organization is responsible for applying the necessary leadership or governance so that collaborative relationships and activities are regulated and established rules and basic values are maintained. This task strengthen organizations possibilities to perform meaningful actions in the domain. Referent organizations must have an understanding for the broader social field around the domain, but may not take over functions from the organizations involved. The domain theory thus provides a framework for analyzing how collaborations arise and are organized.
Due to the sectoral differences, the concept of value is understood broader than just economic value. Therefor the thesis will understand value creation based on four different types of value:
- Association value that arises from increased awareness and creates a form of transferred credibility.
- Transferred resource value that is generated by transferring resources from one organization to another.
- Interaction value consists of the intangible values, including reputation, trust, relationships, etc.
- Synergistic value is found when stakeholders combine resources and create better collaborative products which they could not have done individually
The four types of value can emerge at individual, organizational, cooperative and societal levels respectively. Thus, value creation can take place both for the individuals and organizations involved in the collaborations, in relation to the goals of the collaboration but also to the wider community. By looking at value creation based on the four types and levels, it was possible to analyze how the collaborations create value.
As value creation on societal level can go beyond the purpose of the collaboration, it requires a focus on both the collaboration and its context. This broader and deeper understanding of the collaborations is also needed to analyze how stakeholders' sectoral differences are brought into play in the collaborations. Therefore, the thesis applied case studies as methodology, as it allows examining the actual practices and the stakeholders’ assessments of the collaborations, while at the same time embracing various aspects, such as the type of collaboration, historical background and physical setting. The case study approach made it possible to analyze processes, contexts, actions and opinions over a period of time.
In order to gain an overview of existing collaborations between sports clubs and tourism companies on nature-based outdoor activities that could be used as cases, contact was made to 26 destination management organizations in Danish coastal and nature destinations. This resulted in 47 activities where voluntary clubs were involved in activities available to guests and tourists. Out of the 47 activities, three cases were selected to serve as empirical data. The cases were chosen in order to create diversity in the following areas:
- The sector to which the initiating organizations belong,
- Whether there are few or many stakeholders involved, and
- The degree of formalization of individual collaborations.
To ensure that the collaborations were comparable, it was set as inclusion criterions that at least one sports club and one tourism business were involved in the collaboration and that the collaboration has been running for one year or longer.
Cases
The three cases selected as the thesis's empirical data are:
The Saltum case
Saltum Strand Camping is a family driven camping site placed in Jammerbugten close to the beach and nature areas. The campsite has created a sports profile by collaborating with sports clubs and others. Through the collaborations with sports clubs, the campsite's guests are offered the opportunity to participate in, for example, Mountain biking and running activities. The campground also collaborates with local sports clubs on organizing events like an annual beach triathlon.
Riverfisher
For decades, voluntary angler clubs have struggled to ensure the survival of the salmon of Skjern Å (The river of Skjern). The struggle has now resulted in top quality salmon fishing opportunities in Skjern Å. Therefore, the municipalities of Herning and Ringkøbing-Skjern have initiated Riverfisher, which aims to promote angling tourism in the rivers of Central Jutland. In order to create a meeting place for local anglers and an information center for visiting anglers Laksens Hus (The House of the Salmon) has been established at Skjern Å. Riverfisher is dependent on collaboration with landowners who own the land along the river and the area's anglers clubs, who lease the fishing rights from the landowners.
MTB Partnership
In Varde Municipality, mountain bike clubs have established a number of mountain bike trails in municipal and state forests respectively. As the trails are established on public land, they are freely accessible to the public including the many guests and tourists, who visit the area. As interest in mountain bike activities has risen, wear and tear on the trails also rises and the maintenance burden on the clubs has increased equally. Therefore, a mountain bike club took the initiative to establish a partnership, in which tourism companies, DGI (a national sport association), Naturstyrelsen (the Danish national nature agency) and the municipality transfer financial funds or materials towards track maintenance. The area's tourism promoting organization, ProVarde, has been appointed as the manager of the project.
Conclusions
The cases show that the cross-sectoral collaboration between the sports clubs and the tourism sector are initiated due to a given situation or incident that motivates the collaborations. From there, they develop through the five phases through which the organizations are involved in negotiating the focus and structure of the collaboration. The case studies show that both voluntary associations, tourism companies and public institutions initiate cross-sectoral collaboration on tourism-oriented outdoor activities. Although the direction and the framework of the collaboration is negotiated between the organizations involved, the collaborations continues to follow the path or direction set out by the organization that take the initial initiative. Sports clubs most often initiate and engage in collaborations to solve a challenge, while companies (and public organizations) are more driven by potential. Therefore, collaborations initiated by the sports clubs address a challenge for the club, while the company-initiated ones fulfill a potential for the company. In spite of this, it is important to involve potential partners early in the process, as it allows individual organizations to apply their specific resources.
The collaborations can be organized and managed more or less formally. The examinations in this thesis indicate that in collaboration with many stakeholders involved, there is a greater need for formal organization and an appointed manager. Further, it seems that involvement of public organizations will result in increased formalization. However, even in informal collaborations with a few organizations involved, there is a need for a manager to ensure progress in the project.
Based on the three cases, the primary value creation from collaboration takes place at the organizational and collaborative level, whereby value benefits the organizations involved and by dealing with the issue collaborated on. Among other things, this happens by creating solutions that were not possible for the individual organizations on their own. In addition, the collaborations expand networks by creating new and expanding existing relationships between the stakeholders. Collaborations thus improve the possibilities for future collaborations.
Across the cases, the collaborations contributed to increased awareness and legitimization of the activities of the organizations involved. In particular, the clubs received this positive awareness and legitimacy of their voluntary efforts as something that benefits more widely and not just their own members. This gain is not necessarily visible to the clubs (or the other organizations), but it can help achieve political influence or funding e.g. if used strategically.
The cases show that development of the local community is a mutual area of interest across sectoral boundaries. Hence, local community evolvement can be a driver for collaborations for both businesses and clubs. Therefore, it is concluded that the benefits which collaboration may bring to the local community should be considered and articulated when organizations explore the opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration, as they can complement organizations' gain and serve as a common norm or starting point. However, this focus on the local communities was not relevant in the collaboration involving a non-local organization (association). Conversely, this was the only collaboration where there was a clear and direct value creation at the individual level. Overall, a picture thus emerges that involvement outside one's own local area requires a personal gain, while involvement in the local area may be more likely to occur with an expectation of gain for the organization or community. Particularly the clubs are focused on the organization's gain, so a focus on the societal gain should not stand alone, but be combined with a focus on the value creation the individual organizations achieve through the collaborations.
In relation to the question of whether sectoral differences play a role in collaborations, it is concluded, that collaborations between sports clubs and tourism companies have the potential to realize the benefits that may lie in cross-sectoral collaborations. The collaborations allow the organizations involved to apply resources that characterize their respective sectors. The associations are also given the opportunity to activate their organization-specific resources in the form of knowledge and skills related to their sporting activities. The tourism companies, on the other hand, do not contribute in the same way with organization-specific resources in the collaborations. They increasingly activate their organization-specific resources to ensure that collaborations create value for their own organization.
Unlike tourism companies and public organizations, the sports clubs see the active guests and tourists as co-practitioners. Hence the clubs have a form of activity-based community of interest with the guests. Further the clubs are focused on creating good sports experiences, while the companies (and public organizations) tend to focus on the underlying services, such as toilet facilities and leisure areas. Thus, the clubs contribute to creating a sporting destination that other practitioners find interesting to visit. In addition, the clubs own use of the nature-based facilities is a source for an ongoing analysis of the experience that guests will also have of the area, for example in relation to the state of maintenance and experience of congestion. The associations can therefore be a source for a form of ongoing visitor satisfaction analysis of the outdoor activity.
Most of the collaborations in the cases are characterized by a barter logic that traditionally belongs in the private sector. Thus, both the clubs and tourism companies enter collaborations with an expectation of having to provide something in order to gain a profit. But the sports clubs do not seem to have the same interest in economic profit as the tourism companies. So it can be concluded that there are sectoral differences regarding what profit or value the organizations expect from the collaborations. This difference can be an advantage in collaborations, as there is no need to compete for the same win. But common to the organizations is that the collaborations and tourism in general are seen as a means to organizational value creation.
The following key points summarizes the conclusions of the thesis related to initiating of cross-sectoral collaboration involving sports clubs and tourism companies:
- You have to want to collaborate in order to collaborate. Therefore, it is important to involve primary stakeholders early in the process, so that the organizations can clarify expectations and create a mutual framework for the collaboration. Involvement of stakeholders does not change the basic purpose of the collaboration but opens the dialogue about expectations related to gain and possible contributions.
- Rather focus on destination development, understood as community development, rather than just tourism development. Tourism in itself is not seen as an unconditional good, but all organizations across sectoral boundaries have an interest in the local community.
- Development of local communities can be a common starting point for collaborations in rural areas. But there must also be a dialogue focused on what value the collaboration can create for the individual organizations. In this context, it is relevant to see the concept of value broadly, as relationships, attention and legitimation can also be positive returns from collaborations.
- A manager is essential to ensure an ongoing progress and communication in the collaboration. This manager can be more or less formally appointed depending on the nature of the collaboration.
Related to the involvement of the sports clubs in development of outdoor activities as proposed by the national tourism strategy, the thesis's central conclusions are:
- The sports clubs are generally positive about tourism and its potential for the development of local communities. But tourism promotion action will not by definition promote the activities of the clubs. So if you desire the involvement of sports clubs it is important to also focus on how tourism promoting initiatives create value for the local community.
- The sport clubs must be equal parties in the collaboration. They enter collaborations with an expectation of gaining influence, contributing, and achieving a goal or gain. A gain that allegedly relates to their member activities.
- The sport clubs possess a number of resources that are relevant to the tourism sector, such as the ability to mobilize volunteers and an organization-specific knowledge of their sport and the conduct of activities and events.
- The sport clubs view guests and tourists as fellow performers. Thus there is a common interest between guest and host, which means that the clubs can take on a special role as local ambassadors.
- The sport clubs have a focus on promoting the quality of the activity. On one hand, this can help the collaborations to have a focus on what makes the activity or place interesting to visit. But the clubs ongoing involvement in the activities also provides a user perspective that can give the tourism sector an insight into how the activities are experienced by guests.
The fundamental theoretical contribution of the dissertation lies in the study of the cross sectoral collaborations between the sports clubs and tourism industry. A field and topic which has received minimal attention from academia, even though it, as shown in the dissertation, is a relatively widespread phenomenon. At least in Danish coastal destinations. By studying this lesser researched topic, the dissertation contributes with an insight into an ongoing practice. In addition, the dissertation contributes with several conclusions that nuance or add to existing theories and studies. These can be summarized to the following points:
- The initiating stakeholder largely defines the focus and direction of the collaboration. This initiative-effect, where initiatives in the antecedent phase influence the direction and the locales of the collaboration, challenges or nuances the existing theory of phase-divided collaborative process.
- A new graphic model combining theories of the collaborative process and the division of primary and secondary stakeholders is proposed. The model visualizes the interaction and impact of stakeholders in the phases of the collaboration and it allows a visual representation of the analysis.
- As tourism isn’t guaranteed to benefit everyone, it is more relevant to focus on community development rather than tourism or destination development when it comes to the development of nature-based outdoor activities in rural areas.
- The sports clubs provide a perspective on the outdoor activities that can be understood as a focus on what makes the place worth visiting. By incorporating this perspective in the development of activities, the tourism sector will to a greater extent become a co-creator of the product on which they base their business.
The tourism strategy emphasizes that the public sector has a more indirect role in the development of outdoor tourism by promoting tourism. The tourism strategy thus framed the development of nature-based tourism activities as a joint project or collaboration, where the roles are distributed so that the sports clubs develop, while the tourism companies commercialize and public bodies promote. The task of developing of nature-based outdoor activities is thereby characterized as a cross-sectoral project involving stakeholders from societal sectors.
Cross-sectoral collaborations on the one hand offers organizations the opportunity to contribute with their specific resources and thereby creating a pool of resources that enables problem solving, which was not available to the organizations, when working on their own. Therefore, it makes sense to collaborate across sectors in relation to tourism, as a wide variety of actors or stakeholders shape the tourists' experience of a holiday destination. However, on the other hand the different values and norms that characterize the individual sectors challenges cross-sectoral collaborations. Cross-sectoral collaborations are therefore often more conflict-prone and ineffective, and often ends in failure despite good intentions and potentials.
Because nature-based outdoor activities often have a physical aspect, they are often tied to voluntary sports clubs (idrætsforeninger), which is the most widespread type of association in Denmark. Almost half of all Danes are members of a sports club, and sports clubs are therefore, overall, the largest provider of leisure activities. Sports clubs possess knowledge and skills related to their activity and are familiar with the possibilities in the local area, therefore they could be an asset to the development of nature-based outdoor activities for guests and tourists. However, voluntary sports clubs are based on a committed community and therefore most sports clubs only have activities for their members. Thus, they do not have activities that are open to everyone. Therefore, the question is; what interest doe sports clubs have in developing outdoor activities for guests, who are only in the area for a short period of time, and thus will not be able to join the club-based community for a longer period.
There is virtually no research in this area and therefore only limited knowledge of cross-sectoral collaboration, where voluntary associations with a non-tourism related purpose (like the sports clubs) are involved in tourism. Therefor this thesis aimed to explore the potentials and challenges of developing and supporting nature-based activities through cross-sectoral collaborations between voluntary sports clubs and other stakeholders involved in tourism.
Research questions
Collaborations are not static. On the contrary. They must be viewed as an emergent process that evolves over time. To understand the collaborations, the thesis has focused on the process that develops, structures and formalizes collaborations. This was based on the following research question:
1. How do cross-sectoral collaboration regarding tourism-oriented outdoor activities between voluntary associations and tourism sector stakeholders arise, how are they organized, and how are stakeholders involved?
Organizations are only involved in long-term collaborations if they create value. Therefore, the thesis has also examined how collaboration creates value for the stakeholders. This was done through the following question:
2. What types of value and at what organizational levels does value creation take place in cross-sectoral collaboration between voluntary clubs and the tourism sector?
As the sectoral differences can influence the success of the collaborations, this thesis investigated how the sectoral differences respectively promote or challenge the collaborative process. This topic was examined through the question:
3. How do the sectoral differences of organizations play a role in relation to collaboration?
By answering the questions stated above, the dissertation contributes with new knowledge about the potentials and challenges of involving voluntary associations in cross-sectoral collaborations with private tourism companies.
Theory and method
In order to answer the three research questions, the thesis has used a stakeholder theoretical approach. Collaborations require organizations to consider themselves as one of several mutually dependent stakeholders. By focusing on the collaborations as a domain, the focus of analysis shifts from the individual organization to the collaboration and the mutual dependence of the stakeholders involved. Using this domain perspective collaborations progress through five phases: antecedents, the problem setting phase, the direction setting phase, the structuring phase, and outcome. This made it possible to investigate, which prior and contextual situation led to the opening network initiative and how the purpose, locales and structure of the collaboration was developed. Which, also included an opportunity to investigate how and when the individual stakeholders were involved in the process. Related to the structuring, collaborations can be organized differently from informal and less structured network initiatives, through coordinations seeking reciprocity in the absence of actual rules, to fully formalized corporations. As this formalization develops, the management of the collaboration will also evolve. The domain theory describes the leading organization as a referent organization, which can be either a new organization established for the purpose or by designating one of the organizations involved. The referent organization is responsible for applying the necessary leadership or governance so that collaborative relationships and activities are regulated and established rules and basic values are maintained. This task strengthen organizations possibilities to perform meaningful actions in the domain. Referent organizations must have an understanding for the broader social field around the domain, but may not take over functions from the organizations involved. The domain theory thus provides a framework for analyzing how collaborations arise and are organized.
Due to the sectoral differences, the concept of value is understood broader than just economic value. Therefor the thesis will understand value creation based on four different types of value:
- Association value that arises from increased awareness and creates a form of transferred credibility.
- Transferred resource value that is generated by transferring resources from one organization to another.
- Interaction value consists of the intangible values, including reputation, trust, relationships, etc.
- Synergistic value is found when stakeholders combine resources and create better collaborative products which they could not have done individually
The four types of value can emerge at individual, organizational, cooperative and societal levels respectively. Thus, value creation can take place both for the individuals and organizations involved in the collaborations, in relation to the goals of the collaboration but also to the wider community. By looking at value creation based on the four types and levels, it was possible to analyze how the collaborations create value.
As value creation on societal level can go beyond the purpose of the collaboration, it requires a focus on both the collaboration and its context. This broader and deeper understanding of the collaborations is also needed to analyze how stakeholders' sectoral differences are brought into play in the collaborations. Therefore, the thesis applied case studies as methodology, as it allows examining the actual practices and the stakeholders’ assessments of the collaborations, while at the same time embracing various aspects, such as the type of collaboration, historical background and physical setting. The case study approach made it possible to analyze processes, contexts, actions and opinions over a period of time.
In order to gain an overview of existing collaborations between sports clubs and tourism companies on nature-based outdoor activities that could be used as cases, contact was made to 26 destination management organizations in Danish coastal and nature destinations. This resulted in 47 activities where voluntary clubs were involved in activities available to guests and tourists. Out of the 47 activities, three cases were selected to serve as empirical data. The cases were chosen in order to create diversity in the following areas:
- The sector to which the initiating organizations belong,
- Whether there are few or many stakeholders involved, and
- The degree of formalization of individual collaborations.
To ensure that the collaborations were comparable, it was set as inclusion criterions that at least one sports club and one tourism business were involved in the collaboration and that the collaboration has been running for one year or longer.
Cases
The three cases selected as the thesis's empirical data are:
The Saltum case
Saltum Strand Camping is a family driven camping site placed in Jammerbugten close to the beach and nature areas. The campsite has created a sports profile by collaborating with sports clubs and others. Through the collaborations with sports clubs, the campsite's guests are offered the opportunity to participate in, for example, Mountain biking and running activities. The campground also collaborates with local sports clubs on organizing events like an annual beach triathlon.
Riverfisher
For decades, voluntary angler clubs have struggled to ensure the survival of the salmon of Skjern Å (The river of Skjern). The struggle has now resulted in top quality salmon fishing opportunities in Skjern Å. Therefore, the municipalities of Herning and Ringkøbing-Skjern have initiated Riverfisher, which aims to promote angling tourism in the rivers of Central Jutland. In order to create a meeting place for local anglers and an information center for visiting anglers Laksens Hus (The House of the Salmon) has been established at Skjern Å. Riverfisher is dependent on collaboration with landowners who own the land along the river and the area's anglers clubs, who lease the fishing rights from the landowners.
MTB Partnership
In Varde Municipality, mountain bike clubs have established a number of mountain bike trails in municipal and state forests respectively. As the trails are established on public land, they are freely accessible to the public including the many guests and tourists, who visit the area. As interest in mountain bike activities has risen, wear and tear on the trails also rises and the maintenance burden on the clubs has increased equally. Therefore, a mountain bike club took the initiative to establish a partnership, in which tourism companies, DGI (a national sport association), Naturstyrelsen (the Danish national nature agency) and the municipality transfer financial funds or materials towards track maintenance. The area's tourism promoting organization, ProVarde, has been appointed as the manager of the project.
Conclusions
The cases show that the cross-sectoral collaboration between the sports clubs and the tourism sector are initiated due to a given situation or incident that motivates the collaborations. From there, they develop through the five phases through which the organizations are involved in negotiating the focus and structure of the collaboration. The case studies show that both voluntary associations, tourism companies and public institutions initiate cross-sectoral collaboration on tourism-oriented outdoor activities. Although the direction and the framework of the collaboration is negotiated between the organizations involved, the collaborations continues to follow the path or direction set out by the organization that take the initial initiative. Sports clubs most often initiate and engage in collaborations to solve a challenge, while companies (and public organizations) are more driven by potential. Therefore, collaborations initiated by the sports clubs address a challenge for the club, while the company-initiated ones fulfill a potential for the company. In spite of this, it is important to involve potential partners early in the process, as it allows individual organizations to apply their specific resources.
The collaborations can be organized and managed more or less formally. The examinations in this thesis indicate that in collaboration with many stakeholders involved, there is a greater need for formal organization and an appointed manager. Further, it seems that involvement of public organizations will result in increased formalization. However, even in informal collaborations with a few organizations involved, there is a need for a manager to ensure progress in the project.
Based on the three cases, the primary value creation from collaboration takes place at the organizational and collaborative level, whereby value benefits the organizations involved and by dealing with the issue collaborated on. Among other things, this happens by creating solutions that were not possible for the individual organizations on their own. In addition, the collaborations expand networks by creating new and expanding existing relationships between the stakeholders. Collaborations thus improve the possibilities for future collaborations.
Across the cases, the collaborations contributed to increased awareness and legitimization of the activities of the organizations involved. In particular, the clubs received this positive awareness and legitimacy of their voluntary efforts as something that benefits more widely and not just their own members. This gain is not necessarily visible to the clubs (or the other organizations), but it can help achieve political influence or funding e.g. if used strategically.
The cases show that development of the local community is a mutual area of interest across sectoral boundaries. Hence, local community evolvement can be a driver for collaborations for both businesses and clubs. Therefore, it is concluded that the benefits which collaboration may bring to the local community should be considered and articulated when organizations explore the opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration, as they can complement organizations' gain and serve as a common norm or starting point. However, this focus on the local communities was not relevant in the collaboration involving a non-local organization (association). Conversely, this was the only collaboration where there was a clear and direct value creation at the individual level. Overall, a picture thus emerges that involvement outside one's own local area requires a personal gain, while involvement in the local area may be more likely to occur with an expectation of gain for the organization or community. Particularly the clubs are focused on the organization's gain, so a focus on the societal gain should not stand alone, but be combined with a focus on the value creation the individual organizations achieve through the collaborations.
In relation to the question of whether sectoral differences play a role in collaborations, it is concluded, that collaborations between sports clubs and tourism companies have the potential to realize the benefits that may lie in cross-sectoral collaborations. The collaborations allow the organizations involved to apply resources that characterize their respective sectors. The associations are also given the opportunity to activate their organization-specific resources in the form of knowledge and skills related to their sporting activities. The tourism companies, on the other hand, do not contribute in the same way with organization-specific resources in the collaborations. They increasingly activate their organization-specific resources to ensure that collaborations create value for their own organization.
Unlike tourism companies and public organizations, the sports clubs see the active guests and tourists as co-practitioners. Hence the clubs have a form of activity-based community of interest with the guests. Further the clubs are focused on creating good sports experiences, while the companies (and public organizations) tend to focus on the underlying services, such as toilet facilities and leisure areas. Thus, the clubs contribute to creating a sporting destination that other practitioners find interesting to visit. In addition, the clubs own use of the nature-based facilities is a source for an ongoing analysis of the experience that guests will also have of the area, for example in relation to the state of maintenance and experience of congestion. The associations can therefore be a source for a form of ongoing visitor satisfaction analysis of the outdoor activity.
Most of the collaborations in the cases are characterized by a barter logic that traditionally belongs in the private sector. Thus, both the clubs and tourism companies enter collaborations with an expectation of having to provide something in order to gain a profit. But the sports clubs do not seem to have the same interest in economic profit as the tourism companies. So it can be concluded that there are sectoral differences regarding what profit or value the organizations expect from the collaborations. This difference can be an advantage in collaborations, as there is no need to compete for the same win. But common to the organizations is that the collaborations and tourism in general are seen as a means to organizational value creation.
The following key points summarizes the conclusions of the thesis related to initiating of cross-sectoral collaboration involving sports clubs and tourism companies:
- You have to want to collaborate in order to collaborate. Therefore, it is important to involve primary stakeholders early in the process, so that the organizations can clarify expectations and create a mutual framework for the collaboration. Involvement of stakeholders does not change the basic purpose of the collaboration but opens the dialogue about expectations related to gain and possible contributions.
- Rather focus on destination development, understood as community development, rather than just tourism development. Tourism in itself is not seen as an unconditional good, but all organizations across sectoral boundaries have an interest in the local community.
- Development of local communities can be a common starting point for collaborations in rural areas. But there must also be a dialogue focused on what value the collaboration can create for the individual organizations. In this context, it is relevant to see the concept of value broadly, as relationships, attention and legitimation can also be positive returns from collaborations.
- A manager is essential to ensure an ongoing progress and communication in the collaboration. This manager can be more or less formally appointed depending on the nature of the collaboration.
Related to the involvement of the sports clubs in development of outdoor activities as proposed by the national tourism strategy, the thesis's central conclusions are:
- The sports clubs are generally positive about tourism and its potential for the development of local communities. But tourism promotion action will not by definition promote the activities of the clubs. So if you desire the involvement of sports clubs it is important to also focus on how tourism promoting initiatives create value for the local community.
- The sport clubs must be equal parties in the collaboration. They enter collaborations with an expectation of gaining influence, contributing, and achieving a goal or gain. A gain that allegedly relates to their member activities.
- The sport clubs possess a number of resources that are relevant to the tourism sector, such as the ability to mobilize volunteers and an organization-specific knowledge of their sport and the conduct of activities and events.
- The sport clubs view guests and tourists as fellow performers. Thus there is a common interest between guest and host, which means that the clubs can take on a special role as local ambassadors.
- The sport clubs have a focus on promoting the quality of the activity. On one hand, this can help the collaborations to have a focus on what makes the activity or place interesting to visit. But the clubs ongoing involvement in the activities also provides a user perspective that can give the tourism sector an insight into how the activities are experienced by guests.
The fundamental theoretical contribution of the dissertation lies in the study of the cross sectoral collaborations between the sports clubs and tourism industry. A field and topic which has received minimal attention from academia, even though it, as shown in the dissertation, is a relatively widespread phenomenon. At least in Danish coastal destinations. By studying this lesser researched topic, the dissertation contributes with an insight into an ongoing practice. In addition, the dissertation contributes with several conclusions that nuance or add to existing theories and studies. These can be summarized to the following points:
- The initiating stakeholder largely defines the focus and direction of the collaboration. This initiative-effect, where initiatives in the antecedent phase influence the direction and the locales of the collaboration, challenges or nuances the existing theory of phase-divided collaborative process.
- A new graphic model combining theories of the collaborative process and the division of primary and secondary stakeholders is proposed. The model visualizes the interaction and impact of stakeholders in the phases of the collaboration and it allows a visual representation of the analysis.
- As tourism isn’t guaranteed to benefit everyone, it is more relevant to focus on community development rather than tourism or destination development when it comes to the development of nature-based outdoor activities in rural areas.
- The sports clubs provide a perspective on the outdoor activities that can be understood as a focus on what makes the place worth visiting. By incorporating this perspective in the development of activities, the tourism sector will to a greater extent become a co-creator of the product on which they base their business.
| Original language | Danish |
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| Date of defence | 15. Oct 2021 |
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| Publication status | Published - 30. Jun 2021 |