Distributed Leadership in DMOs: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Amidst key emergent challenges for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and destinations triggered by changes in the funding and governance landscape for tourism on a global scale, Distributed Leadership (DL) has emerged as a promising concept to provide a collaborative framework for channelling resources and leadership to cope with such changes. Current evidence from academic literature discussing the importance of embedding shared forms of leadership is scarce, few studies discuss the application of DL in the context of DMOs. The key purpose of this conceptual study is to provide a critical overview of key DL contributions in the mainstream and DMO academic literature. The study seeks to examine the relevance of DL in the context of DMOs with the purpose to stimulate future empirical investigations in the application of DL in DMO organisations.