The diffusion of eco-innovations in Australian tourism small to medium enterprises

The tourism industry, in its pursuit for sustainability, is undertaking innovative measure to continue growth while dealing with the scale and nature of global environmental problems. This has resulted in the development of eco-innovations across a range of industries, as a means of focussing on environmental quality and sustainability without limiting economic activities. In this way, studies have called for research into the Diffusion of Eco-innovations, that is, to explore how, why and what rate eco-innovations spread throughout a system (Karakaya, Hidalgo and Nuur, 2014; Ozusaglam, 2012). The ability to understand how and why an eco-innovation is adopted is an invaluable resource. This study, by utilising the Diffusion of Innovations theory as a model for eco-innovation diffusion, will highlight the processes of diffusion, key actors, drivers and barriers of eco-innovations and develop a conceptual framework for eco-innovation diffusion. This study draws on multidisciplinary literature from Diffusion of Innovations theory, eco-innovations, and tourism research to set up context and a framework through which eco-innovation diffusion can be explored. The role of the social system in the diffusion of eco-innovations amongst tourism Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is the focus of this study. Using a qualitative semi-structured interview approach, 17 interviews were conducted with SMEs across Australia who held Ecotourism Australia certification. The study found that while the social system plays a large role in knowledge awareness of eco-innovations, persuasion is fully reliant on an individual’s internal drivers and environmental ethics as opposed to external drivers