Abstract
This study responds to the need for theoretical and empirical research on value co-creation in
tourism. Previous research has mainly adopted a perspective centred on the collaborative relationships
between tourists and service providers, i.e., has been focused on a relationship called ‘one-to-one’.
According to the emerging trends in value co-creation theory, value co-creation activities, however,
are more complex. The research provides empirical support to previous general conceptualisations
of value-creation and brings some new insights to value co-creation involving multiple actors from
a perspective called ‘many-to-one’. The research is focused on the role of the most active stakeholder
in transformative tourism that represents ‘many’ actors as a whole – the social movement. The paper
describes a case on a transformative tourism initiative that is a particularly rich setting for expanding
value-cocreation in a network of activities’ research for a more complex understanding of value networks
in the tourism sector. The case study examines extensively the role of social movements in transformative
tourism development through value co-creation. The findings develop a more complex value
co-creation mechanism and enable the conceptualisation of the value co-creation process by identifying
drivers of collaboration, value co-creation activities, and outcomes. The research demonstrates the
potential of social movements for the development of transformative tourism in value co-creation and
has implications for both entrepreneurs and policymakers seeking to develop transformative tourism
and leaders of a new generation of social movements aiming to transform society.
Vidickienė, D.; Gedminaitė-Raudonė, Ž.; Simonaitytė, V.; Lankauskienė, R. 2023. The Role of Social Movements in Transformative Tourism Development: Lessons Learnt from a Case Study in Lithuania. European Spatial Research and Policy : Lodz Unversity Press. ISSN 1231-1952. eISSN 1896-1525. 30, 1, p. 79–101. DOI: 10.18778/1231-1952.30.1.04. [DOAJ; Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science); Scopus]