Dalarna University's logo and link to the university's website

The aim of this study is to investigate what sets in motion the process that results in product innovations in rural micro-tourism firms. The point of departure is to place entrepreneurship as a process that precedes innovations. This approach enables the application of the opportunity-based perspective, on the study of 40 new tourism products. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with owner-managers of micro-tourism firms in rural Sweden. The focus of the analysis is on the formation of the entrepreneur–opportunity nexus. The findings suggest that in forming the nexus, three types of forces are at play: internal, supply chain dynamics and reaction to changes. The notion of triggering forces adds a new dimension to the study of entrepreneurial opportunities. The theoretical contribution of this paper to tourism research is twofold. First, it points at the generating moment as a step towards theorising innovations, and second, the findings contribute to the growing knowledge base about entrepreneurial behaviour in micro-tourism firms in rural areas. Finally, in a practical manner, the findings of this study should encourage tourism entrepreneurs to invest in exploring the value chain, regard tourists as sources of knowledge and be attentive to changes in circumstances.

We propose entrepreneurial bricolage as a framework that enables the description, explanation and exploration of the modus operandi of tour- ism micro-firms. Particularly, the notion of spatial bricolage constitutes fertile ground for further research and theoretical advances of sustain- able tourism entrepreneurship. The potential for rural tourism develop- ment is conditioned by entrepreneurs’ capability to utilise local physical and non-material resources sustainably. Thus, knowledge about the resourcing behaviour of micro-firms is paramount to understanding their role in promoting sustainable tourism. This study explores how rural micro-firms interact with their spatial environment to design tour- ism value propositions. Our analysis is based on interviews with eight- een owners-managers of tourism micro-firms in rural Sweden. We portray spatial bricolage as a resourcing behaviour that builds on the re-interpretation of existing resources, the unique features of the destin- ation and community involvement. The findings suggest that resource transfer facilitates sustainable development since it enables long-term planning and validates the entrepreneurs’ operation. Moreover, their small-scale enables rural tourism firms to utilise local resources in non- exploitative ways that minimise disturbance for other stakeholders.

For tourism micro-firms, networks embody a potential to pursue opportunities and compensate for lack of resources and missing skills. This study explores the ego-networks of tourism micro-firms. A focused approach that uses multiple name generators is applied to elicit significant alters and understand their functional characteristics. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of tourism micro-firms in rural Sweden. A block-model presents an abstract image of a tourism micro-firm’s ego-network. It accounts for alters’ attributes, location and number of functions they fulfil. The networks incorporate social, business-related and interest-based ties. The analysis brings forth the meaning that entrepreneurs assign to their relationships. Ownermanagers of tourism micro-firms incline to utilise existing ties in their immediate environment for multiple purposes. Cognitive proximity and personal comparability are crucial factors in determining with whom entrepreneurs associate. The micro-perspective provided by this study contributes to the growing body of tourism literature on networks, entrepreneurship and microfirms. Particularly, the block-model and identified network functions constitute a framework within which researchers can study the ego-networks of micro-firms. For entrepreneurs, this framework is a valuable reference point against which they can develop their ego-networks and understand how they can utilise the knowledge and resource embedded in them.

For micro-tourism firms, customers are a readily-accessible and highly important knowledge source that often remains unutilised. This study explores firm–customer encounters along the customer journey as learning opportunities. Based on data collected through participant observations, interviews and a review of user-generated content, this case study provides an in-depth look into the customer journey, with a Swedish micro-tourism firm. The findings suggest that the possibility to generate knowledge about experiential purposes is conditioned by the firm's ability to bestow encounters with an experience-like quality and promote the customers' transformation into participants. This is facilitated by involving customers, adopting an experiential discourse and utilising in-situ supporting moments to socialise. Firms can also learn about customers' subjective perception of value from user-generated content. The study concludes that in the context of learning from customers, small size provides micro-tourism firms with an opportunity to engage in personal relationships with their customers.