Power dimensions and influence reputation in tourist destinations: Empirical

evidence from a network of actors and stakeholders

Pietro Beritelli, Christian Lasesser
Reflection based on the article mentioned above by Lisa Hammertinger

In order to create empirical evidence concerning the power dimensions and the influence
reputation of actors in tourist destinations, Beritelli and Laesser first of all define four
dimensions of power: hierarchical power (vertical), knowledge and process power (horizontal)
and power over resources/assets. The goal of the research is to find out which one of those
dimensions affects actors influence reputation the most and if there are any differences among
the stakeholder groups concerning the perception of the influence reputation expressed trough
power dimensions.

First of all, the number of influential people in the destination chosen for the research turns out
to be rather small. From the approximately 17.000 people living in the destination, only 44
are considered to be influential actors, whereas most of them are geographically attached to
the area. These so called internals mention knowledge and assets as the most influencing
power dimensions, whereas externals value process power as more influential. This result might
show that locals have a greater knowledge of the influential actors in the network they might
know more about their knowledge, skills and what assets they have power over. In my opinion
this possible lack of personal relationships between locals and externals could be the reason
why the latter list process power as a more influential power dimension than knowledge. This
dominance of internal actors being named as particularly influential (and consequently being
interviewed for the research) might have contributed to the result that the power dimension
knowledge is valued as most important for the influence reputation for the overall network.

The research shows a difference between in-degree (how actors are seen by others) and out-
degree models (how actors see others). How actors are seen by others is more linked to their
influence reputation than how they see others. Also different stakeholder groups have different
results concerning the evaluation of power dimensions affecting influence reputation. Private
sector firms in the ski area or also hotels mention hierarchy as most influential, which in my
opinion makes sense due to the employer employee situation, and the public sector value
mechanisms and processes as more important concerning the influence reputation.

Due to the fact that power and influence reputation is so individually perceived by different
actors and stakeholder groups, an individual- and relationship-oriented perspective of
destination planning and development is highly recommended by Beritelli and Laesser.

This research framework leads to evaluating the actors perceptions from different ankles,
divided in out-degree and in-degree centralities, which provides a more valuable result in this
research of power dimensions. Also the differentiation between the stakeholder groups had an
important impact on the results of the study, as it shows that the way that stakeholder groups
see other actors is also the way they are perceived by others. A mentionable strength of this
research is the very detailed literature review that the approach is based on the research
gap was well explained and the study clearly creates new and valuable knowledge. A
possible drawback of this framework could be the fact that the different power dimensions are
not clearly defined at some points, like as the power dimension knowledge which could mean
knowledge about the network, knowledge about technical skills ect. The four different power
dimensions seem to be a limited number of dimensions that could have an effect on influence
reputation. All together the developed framework is clearly structured and well applicable to
especially social network research in my opinion.