Unpacking the temporal and spatial dimensions of coopetition in tourism destinations

Coopetition, namely the co-presence of cooperation and competition is a new strategy that goes beyond the established business paradigms of competition and cooperation. This type of strategy is relevant in tourism destinations where competing, co-located companies also collaborate. In this paper we address the temporal, spatial and processual dynamics of interorganizational relationships in Italian and Finnish tourism destinations (i.e., Riviera Romagnola and Lapland). Our comparative study shows that cooperation and coopetition among tourism businesses often shift from a prevalently short-term basis to a long term one when public and private stakeholders understand the benefits accruing to cooperation in terms of enhancement of the brand image of the destination and attraction of a higher number of visitors, by leveraging the destination’s multifaceted assets