As competition for scarce resources increases, cities are turning toward marketing strategies to attract economic and social development. Innovation is a key component of success for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), but there is a need for additional empirical and theoretical development. Findings from this research based on analysis of interviews with 12 DMO leaders illuminate the need for (1) an innovation-centered organizational culture, (2) the ability to use external stakeholders as knowledge sources, and (3) the ability to use and develop knowledge internally. An organizational capabilities perspective is used to understand these influences. The results offer managers a road map for successful innovation implementation and benefit researchers by providing clarity into the antecedents of the innovation capability with the DMO context.
AnholtS (2007) Competitive identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities, and Regions. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
2.
AthensL (2010) Naturalistic inquiry in theory and practice. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography39(1): 87–125.
3.
BaggioRCooperC (2010) Knowledge transfer in a tourism destination: the effects of a network structure. The Service Industries Journal30(10): 1757–1771.
4.
BarczakGKahnKBMossR (2006) An exploratory investigation of NPD practices in nonprofit organizations. Journal of Product Innovation Management23(6): 512–527.
5.
BarneyJ (1986) Organizational culture: can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage?Academy of Management Review11(3): 656–665.
6.
BarneyJ (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management17(1): 99–120.
7.
BowenGA (2008) Naturalistic inquiry and the saturation concept: a research note. Qualitative Research8(1): 137–152.
8.
CamisónCMonfort-MirVM (2012) Measuring innovation in tourism from the Schumpeterian and the dynamic-capabilities perspective. Tourism Management33(4): 776–789.
9.
Cernas-OrtizDAD’SouzaDE (2010) The influence of dominant logic on dynamic capability: a theoretical investigation. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture, and Change Management10(2): 34–48.
10.
ChenCHuangJ (2009) Strategic human resource management practices and innovation performance—the mediating role of knowledge management capacity. Journal of Business Research62(1): 104–114.
11.
CohenWMLevinthalDA (1990) Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly35(1): 128–152.
12.
CooperDMSchindlerPS (2006) Business Research Methods. 9th ed. Columbus, OH: McGraw Hill Publishing.
DaspitJJ (2012) Absorptive capacity: an empirical examination of the phenomenon and relationships with organizational capabilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
15.
DaspitJJZavattaroSM (2014) Integrating innovation and absorptive capacity into the place branding process: a capability-based perspective. Journal of Place Management and Development7(3): 206–224.
16.
DayGS (1994) The capabilities of market-driven organizations. Journal of Marketing58(4): 37–52.
17.
DenicolaiSCioccarelliGZuchellaA (2010) Resource-based local development and networked core-competencies for tourism excellence. Tourism Management31(2): 260–266.
18.
DenzinNK (1971) The logic of naturalistic inquiry. Social Forces50(2): 166–182.
19.
DinnieKTanakaHCentenoE (2010) Branding the city of Sapporo: an innovation and network approach. Journal of Town and City Management1(3): 254–264.
20.
EisenhardtKMMartinJA (2000) Dynamic capabilities: what are they?Strategic Management Journal21(10/11): 1105–1121.
21.
FordRCPeeperWC (2007) The past as prologue: predicting the future of the convention and visitor bureau industry on the basis of its history. Tourism Management28(4): 1104–1114.
22.
FordRCPepperWC (2009) Skills, training, and experiences associated with success in the role of a convention and visitors bureau executive: an exploratory study. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism10(1): 1–26.
23.
GarciaRCalantoneR (2002) A critical look at technological innovation typology and innovativeness technology: a literature review. The Journal of Product Innovation Management19(2): 110–132.
24.
GibsonB (1997) North American visitor trends to the UK—is it time for a review of the product?Journal of Vacation Marketing3(3): 193–206.
25.
GretzelUFesenmaierDRFormicaS. (2006) Searching for the future: challenges faced by destination marketing organizations. Journal of Travel Research45(2): 116–126.
26.
HallCM (2009) Innovation and tourism policy in Australia and New Zealand: Never the twain shall meet?Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events1(1): 2–18.
27.
HankinsonG (2001) Location branding: A study of the branding practices of 12 English cities. The Journal of Brand Management9(2): 127–142.
28.
HankinsonG (2004) Relational network brands: towards a conceptual model of place brands. Journal of Vacation Marketing10(2): 109–121.
29.
HankinsonG (2009) Managing destination brands: establishing a theoretical foundation. Journal of Marketing Management25(1/2): 97–115.
30.
HannaSRowleyJ (2013) Place brand practitioners’ perspectives on the management and evaluation of the brand experience. Town Planning Review84(4): 474–493.
31.
HatchMJ (1997) Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
32.
HjalagerA (1997) Innovation patterns in sustainable tourism: an analytical typology. Tourism Management18(1): 35–41.
33.
HjalagerA (2002) Repairing innovation defectiveness in tourism. Tourism Management23(5): 465–474.
34.
HjalagerA (2010) A review of innovation research in tourism. Tourism Management31(1): 1–12.
35.
HjalagerANordinS (2011) User-driven innovation in tourism—a review of methodologies. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism12(4): 289–315.
36.
HobsonJSP (2003) The case for more exploratory and grounded tourism research. Pacific Tourism Review6(2): 73–81.
37.
HuangFRiceJ (2012) Openness in product and process innovation. International Journal of Innovation Management16(4): 1–24.
38.
IrvineA (2011) Duration, dominance and depth in telephone and face-to-face interviews: a comparative exploration. International Journal of Qualitative Methods10(3): 202–220.
39.
JamalTBGetzD (1995) Collaboration theory and community tourism planning. Annals of Tourism Research22(1): 186–204.
40.
KallioAHarmaakorpiVPihkalaT (2010) Absorptive capacity and social capital in regional innovation systems: the case of the Lahti region in Finland. Urban Studies47(2): 303–319.
41.
KavaratzisM (2004) From city marketing to city branding: Towards a theoretical framework for developing city brands. Place Branding1(1): 58–73.
42.
KavaratzisM (2012) From “necessary evil” to necessity: stakeholders’ involvement in place branding. Journal of Place Management and Development5(1): 7–19.
43.
KrippendorffK (2013) Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
44.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (2015) Who we are. Available at: http://www.lvcva.com/who-we-are/ (accessed 2 February 2015).
45.
LiX (2011) Sources of external technology, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability in Chinese state-owned high-tech enterprises. World Development39(7): 1240–1248.
46.
LiaoSFeiWCChenCC (2007) Knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability: an empirical study of Taiwan’s knowledge-intensive industries. Journal of Information Science33(3): 340–359.
MinnaertL (2014) Social tourism participation: the role of tourism inexperience and uncertainty. Tourism Management40: 282–289.
49.
MorganNHastingsEPritchardA (2012) Developing a new DMO marketing evaluation framework: the case of Visit Wales. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 18(1): 73–89.
50.
Naranjo-ValenciaJCJimenez-JimenezDSanz-ValleR (2011) Innovation or imitation? the role of organizational culture. Management Decision49(1): 55–72.
51.
NievesJHallerS (2014) Building dynamic capabilities through knowledge resources. Tourism Management40: 224–232.
PapathanassisAKnolleF (2011) Exploring the adoption and processing of online holiday reviews: a grounded theory approach. Tourism Management32: 215–224.
54.
PastrasPBramwellB (2013) A strategic-relational approach to tourism policy. Annals of Tourism Research43: 390–414.
55.
PikeSPageSJ (2014) Destination marketing organizations and destination marketing: a narrative analysis of the literature. Tourism Management41: 202–227.
56.
PorterME (1991) Towards a dynamic theory of strategy. Strategic Management Journal12(S2): 95–117.
57.
PrahaladCKBettisRA (1986) The dominant logic: a new linkage between diversity and performance. Strategic Management Journal7(6): 485–501.
58.
PratsLGuiaJMolinaF (2008) How tourism destinations evolve: the notion of Tourism Local Innovation System. Tourism and Hospitality Research8(3): 178–191.
59.
ScheinEH (2010) Organizational Culture and Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
60.
SchumpeterJ (1927) The explanation of the business cycle. Economica21: 286–311.
61.
SchumpeterJA (1934) The theory of economic development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
62.
SchumpeterJ (1950) Capitalism, socialism and democracy. New York: Harper.
63.
SørensenFSundboJMattsonJ (2013) Organisational conditions for service encounter-based innovation. Research Policy42(8): 1446–1456.
64.
SzymanskaE (2012). Marketing innovations in tourist enterprises—how to measure them and how to evaluate them?Economics and Management17(3): 1108–1114.
65.
TeeceDJ (1980) The diffusion of an administrative innovation. Management Science26(5): 464–470.
van den BergLBraunE (1999) Urban competitiveness, marketing and the need for organizing capacity. Urban Studies36(5-6): 987–999.
71.
VeronaGRavasiD (2003) Unbundling dynamic capabilities: an exploratory study of continuous product innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change12(3): 577–606.
72.
WangY (2008) Collaborative destination marketing: roles and strategies of convention and visitors bureaus. Journal of Vacation Marketing14(3): 191–209.
73.
WinterSG (2000) The satisficing principle in capability learning. Strategic Management Journal21(10-11): 981–996.
74.
YinRK (2011) Qualitative Research From Start to Finish. New York: Guilford Press.
75.
ZachF (2012) Partners and innovation in American destination marketing organizations. Journal of Travel Research51(4): 412–425.
76.
ZachFGretzelUXiangZ (2010) Innovation in web marketing programs of American convention and visitors bureau. Information Technology & Tourism12(1): 47–63.
77.
ZahraSACovinJG (1994) The financial implications of fit between competitive strategy and innovation types and sources. The Journal of High Technology Management Research5(2): 183–211.
78.
ZahraSAGeorgeG (2002) Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review27(2): 185–203.
79.
ZenkerSSeigisA (2012) Respect and the city: the mediating role of respect in citizen participation. Journal of Place Management and Development5(1): 20–34.
