20 June 2016

Call for papers: "Smart Tourism: Linking Service and Digital Ecosystems"

For a special issue of the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing.

The challenging and vibrant scenario that is emerging as a consequence of social and economic dynamics is prompting both researchers and practioners to identify more efficient, effective and suitable managerial approaches (Jansen, 2000; Barile & Polese, 2010; Barile & Saviano, 2010; Golinelli et al., 2012). Among the different sectors and domains interested in the evolution of users’ and providers’ lifestyles and behaviours, tourism appears to be an interesting area of reflections (Buhalis, 1998; Weaver, 2000; Ryan, 2002).

In its core essence, tourism combines local resources with human competences and capabilities using the tools offered by information and communication technology (ICT) as ways to collect, understand and satisfy markets’ needs (McKercher et al., 2002; Trunfio et al., 2006; Zang et al., 2009).

In this vein, some relevant dimensions appear to be strictly related to the domain of smart tourism, such as relationships, services, ICT and ecosystems (Buhalis, 2003; Wöber, 2003; Beech & Chadwick, 2006). Therefore, the real challenge is to identify a suitable pathway to combining all these different concepts in a common and sharing interpretive and conceptual framework able to support a better approach to smart tourism management.

Building upon these reflections, this special issue aims to collect both theoretical and empirical contributions able to offer relevant advancements in knowledge in the management of smart tourism.

The issue will carry revised and substantially extended versions of selected papers presented at the International Conferences on Tourism (ICOT 2016), but we also strongly encourage researchers unable to participate in the conference to submit articles for this call.

Suitable topics include, but are not limited, to the following:
  • Smart tourism and service ecosystems
  • Smart tourism challenges: linking theory and practice
  • Institutions, people and processes in the smart tourism domain
  • The contributions of ICT to smart tourism
  • Theoretical contributions to and empirical observations on smart tourism
  • The role of information sharing and digital platforms in the emergence of smart tourism
  • Smart tourism and open innovation
  • Meanings, processes and implications of smart tourism

Important Dates
Submission of manuscripts: 18 October, 2016
Notification to authors: 18 January, 2017
Final versions due: 20 March, 2017

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