Modularity approach to improve the competitiveness of tourism businesses

Abstract

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the scientific debate on innovation in tourism by focusing on modularity as emerging approach for creating personalized tourism experiences. The focus on modularity has two objectives. The first is to demonstrate that tourism offering can be conceived as bundles of products and services with growing relevance of knowledge; the second is to highlight how its adoption by tourism firms can enhance their competitiveness and contribute to assuring greater involvement of tourists in co-creating travel experiences. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts an exploratory approach based on multiple case studies to analyze two innovative tourism companies located in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). Findings: Categorized as integrators of a wide set of tourist products and services, the cases provide a consistent scenario for deepening understanding of the meaning of modularity in tourism. Research limitations/implications: The study offers an original contribution in determining the meaning of modularity in the field of knowledge-intensive services by demonstrating that the adoption of a modularity approach in the designing and offering by tourism companies can provide interesting benefits for their competitiveness and the greater satisfaction of customers. Practical implications: The study offers implications for companies and decision makers involved in delivering more personalized tourism experiences. Originality/value: Elements of originality can be identified in this contribution to the extension of studies on modularity in the service sector as well as for its strategic contribution at the co-creation of personalized tourism experience.