Stakeholder contribution to tourism collaboration: Exploring stakeholder typologies, networks and actions in the cluster formation process

Business clustering as a collaboration strategy has proven successful in many regional destinations but research is still nascent in this domain. While recent research has offered insights into the cluster formation process, research is still yet to understand stakeholder typologies, networks and stakeholder actions and how they contribute to cluster formation. The present research utilised a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach in regional Queensland, Australia, to understand stakeholder interactions and actions between participants from local tourism businesses, local council, the local, regional and state tourism organisations. Findings reveal how different stakeholder typologies and stakeholder networks contribute to cluster formation. This study offers advancement of stakeholder theory through describing stakeholder typologies, presenting the Stakeholder Collaboration Continuum and unpacking stakeholder relationships and their contribution to cluster formation.