A concrete action system in shaping an organizational field for root tourism exploitation. The case study of “Rete Destinazione Sud”

Framing of the research. Roots Tourism is a rapidly growing socio-economic trend among travellers, tourists and immigrants searching a connection with their ancestral locus. Purpose of the paper. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the relational dynamics among actors playing a central role in the institutionalization of an organizational field to exploit the opportunities deriving from RT. According to this view, another objective of this paper is to highlight the developing new forms of collaboration between the economic actors and stakeholders, using a fitting case-study singled out the “Rete Destinazione Sud” Methodology. The work presents a case study of a concrete project aiming at fostering the South Italy tourism destination, focused on a relationship model of value co-creation though multi-level agents’ engagement. The case is analysed through the lens of neo-institutional theoretical framework. Results. Form this study a strong interplay between institutional and local actors emerges, to develop a new way to network - in a bottom-up and top-down synergy. Research limitations. Analyzing a Concrete Action System is not simple for any scholar, due to the opacity of what in concrete happens referring to the complex dynamics underneath. Managerial implications. Roots tourism contributes to improve local and territorial development. Following the neo-institutionalist perspective, the work provides a contribution to the debates on the development of destination territorial strategies and its involvement in the organizational and multi-stakeholder configuration. Originality of the paper. This paper analyses the Concrete Action System through the neo-institutional perspective declined in a new organizational and institutional model, identified in “Rete Destinazione Sud”.