Resumen de The diffusion and adoption of eco-innovations amongst tourism businesses: the role of the social system
Businesses within the tourism sector are increasingly engaging in innovative practices and measures to not only sustain growth, but also in response to the changing scale and nature of global environmental change. For some businesses, this has included the development and adoption of eco-innovations. While the tourism literature has considered the issue of business sustainability more broadly, the notion of eco-innovations represents a new area of inquiry with studies yet to fully investigate the adoption of eco-innovations amongst tourism businesses. Given this gap, this study utilises diffusion of innovations theory to explore the diffusion and adoption of eco-innovations by Australian ecotourism businesses, specifically focusing on the role of opinion leaders and change agents in influencing adoption decisions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 ecotourism businesses to explore the diffusion process and identify key actors influencing eco-innovation diffusion and adoption. Although the social system is a key aspect of diffusion theory, it was found that the social system plays less of a role with knowledge awareness and persuasion to adopt eco-innovations more likely to be derived from an individual’s internal drivers and environmental ethics, as opposed to external drivers such as opinion leaders and change agents.
