Why organizations join voluntary sustainable tourism associations: Implications for membership and sustainability monitoring systems

Abstract

With the use of institutional theory, we study why organizations join a voluntary sustainable tourism association and how the organization-association dynamics change over time. We find a disconnection between the joining and monitoring motivations for the association and its members that leads to conflicting forces and confusion, resulting in goal misalignment and loss of monitoring data. Voluntary associations need to accommodate for organizations' need of social identity, the desire to learn from each other and the sense of belonging from membership (mimetic forces), with the desire to institutionalize the members to behave in increasingly standardized way (normative and eventually coercive forces).

Tourism towards Sustainability and Innovation: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Some organizations join voluntary sustainable tourism associations, using institutional theory to achieve several positive implications for both membership and sustainability monitoring systems [31].…”

Beyond ethics: The transformational power of overlapping motivations in implementing strategic sustainability actions

“…This is the cluster with the greatest proportion of relational motivations, characterised by not generating sustainability transformations (González‐Benito & González‐Benito, 2005) but instead aiming to secure these companies' license to operate in the market and amongst their peers (Font et al, 2016; Russo & Tencati, 2009). The ethical stance that these companies take as a starting point is limited (Peters et al, 2020; von Weltzien Høivik & Shankar, 2011) as they adopt low intensity actions to superficially meet expectations (Lannelongue et al, 2014) and to fulfil their industry association's expectations (Peters et al, 2020). Beginners have a low level of competitive motivation compared to the two most advanced clusters.…”

“…Furthermore, their operations are essentially conducted by subcontracted third parties with limited opportunity for eco‐savings for the operators themselves (Adriana, 2009). Intermediaries such as tour operators have greater flexibility to redesign products and the operator's value chain than do companies that own stranded assets that would become redundant as a result of sustainability innovations (Font et al, 2008; Peters et al, 2020).…”

Competitive Intelligence through the Eyes of the Professionals

“…Associations have been the subject of extensive academic research that pointed to their important role in the development of relevant industries' ecosystems [Peters et al, 2019]. A 2018 special issue in the Journal of Management Enquiry focused on the roles and responsibilities of trade associations [Lawton, Rajwani, 2018].…”