Service-Dominant Logic in Smart Tourism: from value co-creation to digital business ecosystems

Abstract

The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the need for companies in the tourism industry to adopt a new mindset to change their strategy and meet the demands brought by the digitization of the industry. The research begins by describing the mindset that companies should adopt, namely that of the Service-Dominant Logic, a theoretical framework that assumes that the value of a service is always co-created by different actors operating within an ecosystem. Therefore, I will explore how this logic can be applied within the tourism industry and specifically how these concepts of value co-creation and ecosystem vision are integrated within the concept of Smart Tourism. Thus, the concepts of value co-creation and collaboration within an ecosystem are analysed and I will show how companies that adopt this mindset should begin to consider their tourist as an active part of the value creation process, should take advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies to change their business models and exploit the relationships with other stakeholders in the creation of a digital business ecosystem. The focus of my work will be based on the possibility for a digital transformation of Agenzia Lampo, an estate agency operating in different locations of the Veneto coast and I will focus my attention of the possibility of the creation of a digital business ecosystem in the area of Caorle and Lido Altanea.