Evolutions of Stakeholder Relationships & stakeholder Relationship: What do they imply to Tourism?

Gaton T

Published on: 2023-03-25

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to theorize long-term changes in family businesses and stakeholder relationships as "evolutions" using the theory of evolutionary economics, and to discuss implications for the future direction of the tourism industry using key concepts obtained from this theorization.

The first half of this study analyzes the changes in family businesses in Japan over the past century, as found by a series of empirical studies, and theorizes them as the "evolution of the family business” toward reducing the abuse of power due to the decrease in family capital, and strengthening cooperative relationship with stakeholders. Next, the changes in stakeholder relationships with family businesses are discussed based upon the analysis of the development of the stakeholder theory and the history of stakeholder relationships since the 17th century in Japan, and theorized as the "evolution of stakeholder relationships" toward the equal footing.

The second half of the paper discusses the implications for the future direction of (sustainable) tourism, using the key concept of "stakeholder relationships on an equal footing". The focus here is on tourists, who can participate in value-added creation together with other stakeholders, which leads to the transformation of the tourism industry into a value-added creation type and the possibility of solving the structural problems of the industry. In order to turn these possibilities into reality, the long-term perspective of tourism operators and the leadership of local governments are requisite conditions.

The importance of this paper is its contribution to the theoretical development of a family business (definition, heterogeneity, ownership, and evolution), stakeholder, by introducing new theory of family business evolution and stakeholder relations in the family business context. It also addresses new perspectives on tourism as value creation rather than mere consumption and the revitalization of local communities from the perspective of stakeholder relations.