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

Abstract

tourism, innovation, cooperation, institutional environment, local government.

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 operators 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, a modest number of research findings presented in the literature indicate a rather high level of inertia of local authorities in creating appropriate conditions for tourism business development, thus putting in question the effectiveness of performed intermediary function in the process of knowledge transfer 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.