Value Creation in Smart Destinations. The Case of Manchester

Value co-creation is crucial to the conceptualisation of smart destinations. The integration of smartness in tourist destinations for the co-creation of value can drive innovation and enhance competitiveness. While smart tourism considers the prominent role of data and the advanced ICTs for value creation and innovation, S-D logic and strategic management respectively recognise knowledge and skills as determinant to the integration of resources for value creation and source of competitiveness. The evolving smart tourism destination definition is consistent with the service ecosystem concept. Considering the dynamic and complex nature of value co-creation in a smart ecosystem, an interdisciplinary approach involving the smart tourism, strategic management and S-D logic domains appears to be appropriate. The purpose of this research study is to explore and expand the theoretical and practical understanding of the value creation phenomenon in the smart Oxford Road Corridor of Manchester, from the rare and uncommon supply-side perspective. In the light of the static and codified approach to knowledge and skills, this study adopts a social constructivist stance towards the investigation of inter-organisational knowledge, data sharing and smart ICTs use. In harmony with the interpretive-qualitative paradigm, the holistic single-case study guided the primary data (interviews) and online secondary data (documentary material) collection and analysis. The iterative coding process based on the thematic analysis of all data sustained the conceptualisation of the value creation process through the following major interrelated themes: value creation enablers, value creation components, value creation constraints, addressing (the) constraints, innovation, contextual factors. The critical discussion about the themes helped with the definition of a holistic view of the phenomenon through an integrative framework resulting from the combination of a procedural and structural framework. In addition to the provision of the frameworks to advance understanding of the value creation process in a smart tourism ecosystem, this study has theoretical significance in enriching and expanding the body of knowledge in each and all the theoretical domains. Understanding this value creation process in detail and from a holistic perspective has several practical implications for local stakeholders, city managers and, particularly, data managers, on the ground of the emphasis ascribed to data skills