Innovative Activity of Small Tourist Enterprises – Cooperating with Local Institutional Partners

Abstract

According to the open innovation model an effective strategy for increasing innovation and competitiveness of the region should be based on active and multilevel cooperation among actors of the local tourism business environment. It is commonly assumed that an exceptionally important role in creating a favorable environment for the cooperative practices in the region is performed by local authorities. Yet, modest number of research findings presented in the literature indicate a rather high level of inertia of local authorities in creating conditions for tourism business development, thus putting in question the effectiveness of performed intermediary function in the knowledge transfer process among tourist enterprises. Given the paucity of empirical evidence on effectiveness of innovation policy interventions at the regional level this article presents the empirical findings regarding cooperation in innovation between tourist enterprises and local institutional agents.

Keywords: tourism, innovation, cooperation, institutional environment, local government

JEL Classification: H70, L83, M20, O30