The Role of an Intermediary Organization in the light of Sustainable Destination Development : A single-case study of Destination Jönköping AB

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The Role of an Intermediary Organization in the light of

Sustainable Destination Development

A single-case study of Destination Jönköping AB

BACHELOR THESIS WITHIN: Business Administration NUMBER OF CREDITS:15 ECTS

PROGRAM OF STUDY: Sustainable Enterprise Development AUTHORS: Alice Savu and Maja Ulander

TUTOR: Ulla Saari JÖNKÖPING: May 2020

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Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration

Title The Role of an Intermediary Organization in the light of Sustainable

Destination Development - A single-case study of Destination Jönköping AB Authors Alice Savu, Maja Ulander

Tutor Ulla Saari Date 2020-05-18

Key Terms sustainable development, destination development, sustainable destination development, intermediary, intermediary position, sustainable tourism, tourism industry, sustainable enterprise development

Abstract

Background: Sustainable development is considered to be one of today's most comprehensive challenges, which will require extensive changes, adaptations and innovation in all levels of the society worldwide. Simultaneously, the social and economic phenomenon of tourism has seen remarkable growth and development over the last decades, leading to become one of the fastest-growing economic sectors in the world, as well as a key component of the evolving socio-economic progress. However, the integration between these two requires extensive adjustments and further knowledge in the process of sustainable destination development, where this study takes an intermediary perspective.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to evaluate and explore how a tourism intermediary in Sweden is working with sustainable development and how they can utilize their position in the process of developing a geographical area as a sustainable destination.

Method: This thesis is a qualitative study with an exploratory nature, where in-depth phenomenologically based interviews build knowledge upon exploring the participant’s

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responses through a series of three separate interviews. Thematic analysis was used to find patterns and relationships in order to analyze and validate the raw data, which later was applied to frameworks and previous literature to strengthen and build a final analysis.

Conclusion: This study shows how sustainability efforts need to be enhanced and extended beyond internal processes to successfully strive towards sustainable destination development. By taking collective responsibility and putting more pressure on co-operations, creating strong networks to communicate and collaborate, incorporate internal education of sustainability and familiarize with frameworks and follow-up tools, the intermediary position can be utilized to its full potential.

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Words from Authors

Firstly, we would like to sincerely thank Johan Lind, manager of the tourism department at Destination Jönköping AB, for taking his time to contribute to this study. His insights and valuable expertise has made this research feasible, as well as raised several interesting

perspectives and honest acknowledgements. For great discussions and instructive explanations.

Secondly, we would like to thank our tutor Ulla Saari for great mentoring, guidance and valuable support throughout this research process. For believing in us when we struggled.

Thirdly, we would like to thank each other, for complementary teamwork as well as a passionate and hardworking performance to finish this thesis.

Furthermore, the process of this thesis has been extremely valuable and of great relevance to the program of study. To combine and integrate theoretical and practical learning, has evolved and created further understanding and knowledge in the complexity of sustainable enterprise development.

Jönköping, 18th May, 2020

--- --- Alice Savu Maja Ulander

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List of Translations/Abbreviations

Table 1

DJ Destination Jönköping AB

SDGs UN Sustainable Development Goals

Tillväxtverket Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional

Growth

TBL Triple Bottom Line

UNWP United Nations Environment Programme

UNWTO World Tourism Organization

Översiktsplan The municipal long-term comprehensive plan

Detaljplan Detailed sub-agendas to reach development,

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1. Introduction

The first chapter of this thesis introduces the tourism industry and its need for sustainability integration. This leads to the formulation of the problem statement and research purpose,

followed by the research questions.

1.1 Background

Sustainable development is considered to be one of today's most comprehensive challenges, which will require extensive changes, adaptations and innovation in all levels of the society worldwide (Tillväxtverket, 2020). In 2015, a historic agreement between the world's leaders succeeded, the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, referred to as SDGs; sustainable development goals, consisting of 17 goals that sets a framework and strategy for sustainable development and aims for creating a better future for everyone (The Global Goals, n.d.).

Simultaneously, the social and economic phenomenon of tourism has seen a remarkable growth and development over the last decades, leading to become one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world, as well as a key component of the evolving socio-economic progress (UNWTO, n.d.b).

In 2015, according to the World Tourism Organization´s platform, the tourism industry was measured as the third biggest category in export earnings and by that, contributed to 10% of the world's GDP, represented 30% of services exports and one out of ten jobs worldwide (UNWTO, n.d.a). Furthermore, it is said that tourism can be integrated both directly and indirectly in all of the 17 SDGs. This is strengthened by examples such as how tourism fosters economic growth and community development which may provide jobs and income creation, increase health and wellbeing and enhance education and gender equality. Additionally, tourism can play an important role in environmental knowledge, preservation and usage of scarce resources,

biodiversity and ecosystems services, as well as foster multicultural tolerance, human rights and prosperity (UNWTO, n.d.c; UNWTO, n.d.a).

Combining these facts, as tourism integrates people, planet and the economy, it is clear that tourism can, and must play, a significant role in the process of sustainable development to

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achieve the SDGs (UNWTO, n.d.a). However, the complexity of change is not to be underestimated. Brave leadership and extraordinary governance institutions, extensive collaborations and stable policy instruments, human capacity, new innovations and digital revolution is needed to achieve the desired effect. Furthermore, the adaptation needs to be included at a local, national and global level (IIASA, 2018).

This research will focus on the Swedish tourism industry, which has seen a steady increase in both national and international consumption during the last decade and had a total turnover of 337 billion SEK in 2018 (Tillväxtverket, 2019a). This contributed to 2.6% of the total GDP, an increase of 6% from 2017 and additionally created around 3000 jobs in the tourism sector in 2018. The interest and potential for Sweden as a destination to visit is therefore high. However, the pressure on the integration of sustainable tourism and sustainable destination development is noticeable. The aim of the government's tourism policy is that "Sweden should have a high attractiveness as a tourist country and a long-term competitive tourism industry, which contributes to sustainable growth and increased employment in all parts of the country"

(Tillväxtverket, 2019b, p. 40). Yet the increased international travel, the issue of climate change and environmental sustainability, in combination with the rapid growth of global tourism, are raised as main concerns regarding sustainable tourism development (Tillväxtverket, 2019b). At the same time, due to Sweden's position as one of the leading countries in the development of sustainable practices, Sweden is seen to have a great opportunity and competitive advantage on the international market (Tillväxtverket, 2019b).

Many stakeholders, actors, and levels of society are involved in a sustainable development process where they act independently and cooperatively to achieve the goals of the destination. Tillväxtverket describes three important actors in the process of sustainable destination

development; decision-makers, developers, and performers (Tillväxtverket, 2017). The organizations that fall between authorities, public and private actors are called intermediary organizations and have an interesting position as a middle hand player connecting multiple actors (Kivimaa et al., 2019). Usually, their purpose intends to increase attention and attraction to the geographical area or destination, and strengthen its position on the competitive market, which is done by various methods such as branding, promoting, and initiating developing processes.

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Organizations such as Destination Jönköping AB, Höga Kusten Destinationsutveckling AB, Visit Umeå AB and Åre Destination AB are all examples of this type of organizations in Sweden.

Furthermore, this research will specifically focus on the geographical area of Jönköping municipality, as a tourism destination to visit. With its central location, in the middle of a triangle of the capital cities in the Nordic countries, Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen, the municipality has become a logistical center and the city of Jönköping has evolved to be an important commercial city. This has resulted in plenty of tourists passing by and more and more are choosing to stay and explore. The city of Jönköping has become the fourth most hotel dense municipality and one of the most restaurant dense cities in Sweden (Arrival Guides, 2019). When measuring overnight stays in 2019, Jönköping can see an increase of 2% of Swedish guests and 6% increase of foreigners, compared to the year before. This is one of the highest increases in overnight stays of a destination in Sweden (Turismnytt, 2020). However, when it comes to sustainability, new research published 15 may 2020 showed that only 38% of the inhabitants (that answered) consider the city to evolve in a sustainable and environmental friendly manner (Henriksson, 2020).

1.1.2 Case - Destination Jönköping AB

Destination Jönköping AB, in this research referred to as DJ, was founded in 2014, is a subunit of Jönköping Municipality and responsible for the tourism industry in the city and the

surrounding areas. The organization's purpose is to increase the attraction for the local

geographical area for new temporary visitors and tourism, and in that way generate growth. The organization today consists of twenty employees, which are divided into four main areas of focus; tourism, meetings, events, and theater/concert activities. Furthermore, it also consists of sections such as marketing, finance, visitor hosts, and project leaders.

The organization works with a wide range of efforts to increase and enhance visitor attraction by promoting as well as cooperate with external actors of all sizes (Destination Jönköping, n.d). DJ are certified by The Swedish Environmental Base (Svensk Miljöbas) since 2017. The

responsibility and mission is divided into eight statements presented in the “Special Ownership Directives” (Jönköping Rådhus AB, 2016, p. 1).

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Examples of those statements are;

• “Conduct long-term and strategic work concerning marketing and sales of the site Jönköping municipality as a visitor destination.”

• “Responsible for the geographical location of Jönköping municipality's brand.” • “Work to ensure that the municipality of Jönköping is perceived as an attractive

destination all year round.”

• “Collaborate with other actors to create new and develop existing attractions that

strengthen the image of the place Jönköping municipality, nationally and internationally.”

It is also stated that “In the municipality of Jönköping's current program for sustainable

development - environmental goals are set for the municipality's committees and companies. All companies in the Group must work on what is common in the programs and the goals that relate to the respective companies.” (Jönköping Rådhus AB, 2016, p. 3). Furthermore, DJ is financed by Jönköping Municipality and should work in line with the municipality's principles (Jönköping Rådhus AB, 2016, p. 1). Therefore, in this thesis, DJ is referred to as an organization. This, due to the typology of an organization as “an organized group of people who work for a shared purpose, such as a business or government department” (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). However, DJ can also be seen as a company but without the aim of earning financial profit for own interest.

1.2 Problem Formulation

“The net result is that all those involved in tourism have a huge responsibility to recognize the importance of its sustainable development. Tourism has immense power to do good. Yet it can also be the vector for the very pressures that may destroy the assets on which it

relies.”

(UNEP & UNWTO, 2005, p. 10)

The growing attention for sustainable development has pushed governance and policymakers to take action, which has enhanced and increased efforts for Swedish destinations to operate in a sustainable manner. As awareness of the integration between tourism and sustainability becomes clearer, more and more efforts are being initiated. In Tillväxtverket’s report from 2019, the need and demand for knowledge, statistics, and decision-making data are expressed, not only for

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improving and developing existing statistics and measurement methods, but also to produce new statistics and data (Tillväxtverket, 2019b). Across Sweden, intermediary destination

organizations have prospered to manage the process of destination development. These

organizations have a middle hand position working between municipalities, regions, local actors and stakeholders with the responsibility of coordinating and developing the tourism industry. However, little research has been found regarding the intermediary role, particularly concerning sustainable destination development. These organizations have been described as key catalysts of sustainable development (Hodson et al., 2013; Wieczorek & Hekkert, 2012), yet their strength in change processes are often overlooked (Parag & Janda, 2014). This awakened an interest for further research, and the decision to investigate and explore how such a tourist intermediary works with sustainable destination development and how they use their intermediary position. Therefore, this case study can amplify current limited research and provide new and focused findings which adds an interesting viewpoint on the significance of this position.

Moreover, this research aims to define, explain and critically discuss key concepts and basic theories linked to sustainable destination development, which in the next step will guide to investigate and analyze processes and factors that may affect the tourism intermediaries’ motives for its actions towards sustainability. Furthermore, this study will link relevant theoretical

knowledge within the field to the case study of DJ, in order to discover how an organization currently adapts and actively acts in the light of sustainable destination development. No investigations, evaluations, or analyzes have yet been found in the case of DJ in regards to sustainability efforts.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this research is to evaluate how a tourism intermediary in Sweden works with sustainable development and explore how they can utilize their position in the process of

developing a geographical area as a sustainable destination. To do so, barriers and opportunities are identified along the way to help understand an intermediary’s impact and responsibility, as well as show the potential of its position. This can provide further comprehension of the driving forces that work together for integration of tourism and sustainability efforts, and by that, a deeper understanding of sustainable destination development as a phenomenon.

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1.4 Research Questions

The following research question was formulated in order to evaluate and explore the current situation of the organization;

How does an intermediary organization work with sustainable destination development?

Throughout the process, an additional research question was adopted in order to explore the broader implication and realize the purpose of the research;

How can the intermediary position be utilized in the process of sustainable destination development?

1.5 Perspective Statement

The responsibility for sustainable destination development can be seen from several angles and levels. However, this research will take an intermediary perspective. Furthermore, the study is focusing on internal efforts, due to the ability to directly influence those decisions and actions. However, elements from external perspectives occur, in order to receive a wider picture, in cases such as collaborations or projects where outside influences play a major role.

1.6 Delimitation

In order to make this research feasible, several delimitations were necessary to implement due to a wide and complex area of research. Firstly, in order to make the research deep and meaningful, decisions were made to mainly focus on one case as the first-hand source of data, in order to receive valuable and in-depth knowledge, regardless of the challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19 that occurred during the research process. As previous studies had been done in recent years in the field of sustainable destination development in Sweden (a project presented by Tillväxtverket of five destinations, conducted over three years), authors did not feel the need nor the ability to conduct such a study. Moreover, little research was found on the specific role of intermediaries, as well as in-depth knowledge for such positions. Therefore, a decision was made to highlight this stance, and the destination of focus is delimited to the geographical area of Jönköping municipality. However, other perspectives, information and inspiration were gathered,

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used and compared from other similar broader cases/destinations in the sense of secondary data, to be able to compare and draw conclusions in a more generalized manner.

This research mainly takes an internal organization perspective when looking at DJ and their work, responsibility, and actions towards a sustainable destination development. This was done in order to be able to analyze the current position of the organization and due to the complexity and extensive workload of involving external factors that cannot be controlled. Looking at internal aspects gives an opportunity to directly identify potential areas of change, in order to step away from “business as usual”. Furthermore, the department of tourism was chosen out of four major departments within the organization due to the relevance of the topic. The research mainly focuses on domestic tourism because of the agreement DJ has with the regional

intermediary Smålands Turism, which are more exclusively responsible for the international tourism development.

To narrow the concept of tourism, challenges arise. Decisions were made to follow the definition of tourism by Tillväxtverket, which can be seen in the definitions list below. However, to narrow the scope of research and gain more depth, the interviewee was asked to mainly focus on

“private tourism”, namely the tourism that is based out of a tourist’s interest in the area. Therefore, focus on the tourism connected to business, and tourism connected to temporary activities, such as concerts or events were avoided. Private tourism can instead be connected to the original range of assets that are permanently located in the destination. This delimitation was done due to Tillväxtverket´s predictions of this specific type of traveling being the main one to increase in the near future (Tillväxtverket, 2019b) (however, these predictions were made before Covid-19, which is seen to have a radical impact on traveling/tourism). Moreover, transportation is a major debate in the tourism industry, however, this research does not lay an extensive focus on these factors, due to the lack of influence the intermediary organization has on those

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1.7 Definitions

Below, a number of key concepts and definitions used in the report are presented.

1.7.1 Sustainable Development

The core concept of this thesis is sustainable development which is a complex and greatly discussed concept. Sustainable development is often divided into three pillars, consisting of economic, social and environmental perspectives, referred to as the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) (Kenton, 2020). However, the most famous definition of sustainable development is found in the report “Our Common Future”;

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." (Brundtland, 1987).

1.7.2 Destination Development

The definition of destination development from British Columbia, Canada, is used for this thesis.

“Destination development is the strategic planning and advancement of defined areas to support the evolution of desirable destinations for travellers, with a sole focus on the supply side of tourism, by providing compelling experiences, quality infrastructure, and remarkable services to

entice repeat visitation.” (Destination British Columbia, n.d.).

1.7.3 Sustainable Destination Development

Therefore, the definition of sustainable destination development combines and refers to the two definitions above for this thesis.

“Sustainable Destination Development is the strategic planning and advancement of defined areas to support the evolution of desirable destinations for travellers, with a sole focus on the

supply side of tourism, which develops within the frames for a sustainable development ~ To meet the needs of the present generation, without compromising the needs of the future

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1.7.4 Tourism

It is important to be aware of the width of the concept of tourism. It extends over several different industries (restaurants, accommodation, transportation, etc.), sizes (local, regional, global, etc.) and activities (experiences, natural, cultural, etc.) which makes it complex to define. In Tourism: Principles and Practice (2008) it is stated; “It is a multidimensional, multifaceted activity, which touches many lives and many different economic activities. Not surprisingly, tourism has therefore been difficult to define” (Cooper et al., 2008, p. 11). In Tillväxtverket’s report “Tourism key concepts - Internationally recommended concepts and definitions for

tourism” the concept is described as;

“Tourism comprises the activities of a person travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes… By activities is meant social, cultural, and economic, carried out by people who

travel to destinations outside the person's usual environment." (Tillväxtverket, 2016, p. 6).

1.7.5 Sustainable Tourism

The World Tourism Organization and the United Nations describes sustainable tourism as;

“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

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2. Frame of Reference

The theoretical background is presented in this section, which highlights the existing body of knowledge and will provide information throughout the thesis and to strengthen and compare

with the empirical data collected.

2.1 Creating the Frame of Reference

When the main topics of sustainable destination development and sustainable tourism was decided, further research was conducted in order to find relevant connections, information, and previous data on the subjects. This was done to get a broad overview of the chosen topics and a stable background of relevant information. Keywords were identified, shown in the table below, and elaborated with in order to generate different combinations and a wider result. Searches were mainly done online, on web pages such as Google Scholar and Jönköping University´s internal database Primo. Furthermore, search results were focused from the years 2010 to 2020 to ensure updated research is used as most progress within sustainability developments have been done in the last decade. Some connections are made to references within articles, hence a few sources from before 2010 appear as well. The search focused on peer-reviewed articles, however book formats were included for complementary purposes. Furthermore, relevant theories, models, and frameworks for development within Sweden were found from Tillväxtverket and therefore evaluated as a valuable source and used in the theoretical framework.

Throughout the process, relevant and complementary articles were added due to newly

discovered areas of focus, found during the sequenced interviews. Suitable articles were chosen to get an additional view of the areas of “intermediaries” and “collaboration”. To guarantee the quality of the articles, all papers were checked using the Web of Science portal and ABS-list (see Appendix A). After analyzing the chosen articles, commonalities and differences were discussed in order to narrow down the topic, find research gaps and opportunities, and decide where to place a specific focus on.

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Table 2

sustainable development sustainable tourism sustainable destination sustainable destination

development

intermediary organizations intermediaries

networks collaboration collaborative advantage

2.2 The Integration between Sustainable Development and Sustainable Tourism

In order to derive long-term sustainability, the TBL is a common tool of integrating different dimensions or “pillars” that influence sustainable development. It is important to highlight that all dimensions can act interdependently as well as be mutually reinforcing or in competition. However, a balance between them is crucial to create long-term sustainability.

• Economic Sustainability: Refers to economic activity and cost-effectiveness which can provide prosperity in all levels of society. A necessity for enterprises and activities’ ability to exist in the long-run.

• Social Sustainability: Refers to equal freedom and opportunities as well as respecting human rights for everyone. To make poverty less severe and to distribute benefits fairly. It highlights the preservation of local communities, strengthens life support systems, respects different cultures, and rejects any form of harm and exploitation for the individual or group.

• Environmental Sustainability: Refers to preserving and protecting natural resources and vital ecosystem services. It strives to conserve natural heritage, wildlife, and biological diversity and to take action for pollution and over usage of important natural components of the earth (UNEP and UNWTO, 2005).

Therefore, sustainable tourism should actively strive for balancing and combining all these three pillars in order to achieve long-term effect, which is highlighted by UNEP and UNWTO in their report “Making tourism more sustainable- A guide for policymakers” (UNEP and UNWTO, 2005).

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2.2.1 Issues and Challenges

The issues and challenges of sustainable destination development concerning tourism and

development have been fairly discussed throughout the years. One major commonality is the lack of general and accepted definitions of the topics (Wickens et al., 2015). Some of the most

common definitions comes from the Brundtland report and The World Tourism Organization and are stated above in definitions. However, criticisms regarding the definitions and its meaning for whom, for how long, and who decides what is enough/limits highlights the complexity, which is stated by Berno and Bricker (2001). The idea of a framework to guide tourism and destinations in the direction of sustainable development may seem useful and easy in theory, yet may face extensive challenges in practice. “A surplus of wishful thinking and a lack of realism and pragmatism in the sustainable tourism debate” (Berno and Bricker, 2001, p. 10). Therefore, the gap between a standardized definition of a sustainable tourism destination and the aspects of its practical implications is noticeable (Sharpley, 2009). In turn, the organizational and business mindset will have to change and include new ways of thinking in order to have an impact, as the mindset can help create incentives for development (Dwyer, 2018).

Another aspect of concern is the predominantly importance and priority that the economic pillar has in the equation of today's society. C. Hall argues that the multidimensional integration in sustainable tourism between economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects is prevalent in the theory. However, this faces a dilemma in practice when policymakers and decision-makers usually tend to be more interested and concerned about economic growth, than the eventual impact tourism may have on social and environmental aspects. Furthermore, this means this balance of sustainable development fails as the importance of economic growth lays as a success factor and dominant indicator for governmental systems and the policymakers (Hall, 2011).

This can be connected to the issue of measurement, mentioned by McKercher & Prideaux when comparing the measurements and valuing of the pillars of the TBL. The economic aspects are easy to calculate, measure, and value due to its numerical nature. However, socio-cultural and environmental aspects may change over a long time as well as are hard to grade and value. Therefore, this type of measurement and evaluation becomes far more extensive and complex, with several factors influencing at the same time (McKercher & Prideaux, 2014; Dwyer, 2018).

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In combination with the multidimensional integration between industries, sectors, and

stakeholders that tourism overlaps, the complexity and challenges arise even further. Therefore, according to Tillväxtverket, sustainable destination development is a process that requires increased knowledge and innovation (Tillväxtverket, 2017). Furthermore, comprehensive challenges are seen due to unclear responsibility between the public and private sectors. Development for a destination requires defined and structured roles, clear distribution of responsibility, and extensive and integrated collaboration between stakeholders of several industries and levels of society. Additionally, Tillväxtverket identified commonalities in the problems described among destinations in Sweden. These issues included; undefined limits, many actors and goals, lack of organization, short-seasons/few reasons to travel, many local entrepreneurs lacking knowledge, the quality of the entire destination, limited financial support for development, to collaborate is costly in the short term, environmental effects, lack of integration in politics and the municipality, transportation dilemmas and that the citizens of the destination are critical (Tillväxtverket, 2017).

Furthermore, tourism can have negative impacts in regards to the TBL. Tourism may lead to increased pressure on fragile ecosystems, degradation and disruption of biodiversity, contribute to pollution in terms of emissions and usage of scarce resources and may harm local

communities and influence dislocation of traditional societies and cultures (UNEP & UNWTO, 2005).

2.2.2 Factors and Benefits to Change

Although the issues and complexity are obvious when talking about sustainable tourism and sustainable destination development, the increasing need, pressure, and demand for it are noticeable. The agreement of the SDGs is one of the major milestones when talking about pervasive change worldwide and the focus lays on the process of sustainable development. The interest and attention for sustainability have never been bigger, simultaneously as it is one of the most challenging adaptations and processes of all time. Therefore, an increased demand for sustainable responsibility has raised pressure on national authorities, which in turn has

established requirements on regional, local, and individual levels in terms of laws, regulations, and long-term goals (Tillväxtverket, 2020).

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The increased market pressure towards sustainability is noticed as a strong indicator of change among many authors and organizations. In Visit Sweden's report “Visit Sweden- Globala trender

2019” identified six important characteristics in consumer trends affecting the tourism industry,

where sustainability lays as one of the top trends to keep track of (Visit Sweden, 2019). This is supported by Kastenholz who discusses new trends of tourism and the potential of a

correspondent market pressure towards sustainability (Kastenholz, 2004). This does not necessarily mean as direct consumer behavior but lies in the demand for the responsibility the company takes for social and environmental aspects. Additionally, due to increased access to fast information, consumers are more aware and concerned about environmental aspects such as CO2 emissions, as well as social factors connected to personal health or human rights, and therefore customers consider and evaluate the range of choices more carefully (Kastenholz, 2004).

Sustainable efforts can therefore be seen as a competitive advantage. According to

Tillväxtverket, Sweden needs more attractive and sustainable products and destinations, to compete in the international market and to capture the interest of visitors. Furthermore, sustainable destination development favors the community in the sense of job creation, employment, economic growth and welfare (Tillväxtverket, 2017). The interest for

environmental certification among companies and destinations in Sweden seems to increase, and therefore there is a need to better understand how destinations can contribute to sustainability, increase quality and in the next step enhance one's competitive advantage in the Swedish and international market (Tillväxtverket, 2019b).

Berno and Bricker (2001) discusses several challenges within sustainable tourism development, hence also reveal findings such as sustainable development within tourism facilitating long-term thinking and perspectives, enhancing the critical evaluation of tourism and its economic and financial focus. It draws attention to the importance of cross-case linkages between sectors and sub-industries and are beneficial for collaboration and co-operations. This comes along with increased consciousness and carefulness for future generations and to sustain and maintain the current attributes (Berno and Bricker, 2001). Furthermore, it can contribute to an enhanced symbiosis between people and the planet, increase awareness about sustainable issues and dilemmas, not only when traveling, but affect people's decision making, and stimulate

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investments, welfare, and prosperity even in remote and sparsely populated places (UNEP & UNWTO, 2005).

2.3 Frameworks for Sustainable Destination Development

When digging deeper in the sense of sustainable destination development and sustainable tourism in Sweden, a massive background work has been done by Tillväxtverket. From 2015 there are 23 posted reports on the topic of tourism, where six of them are directly connected to sustainable tourism and sustainable destinations. One of the most appropriate reports found for this research is the report “To work for sustainable tourism- Processes and methods for

sustainable operations within the tourism industry” The report was published in March 2020 and

is, therefore, one of the newer frameworks found in the sense of sustainable destination

development. In this report, the “Current Situation Analysis - A checklist of sustainability work

within the tourism industry” was found, which can be used in order to analyze and evaluate the

current position and to quality-review the sustainability work of an actor. This framework is based on the process of sustainability actions but specifies the practical implications of what needs to be done. It creates the basis for an action plan by identifying the current situation, visualizing the desired position and determining what needs to be done in order to achieve that position. The report also emphasizes the need for setting “SMART” goals which means goals that are specific, measureable, accepted, realistic and within a time frame. The goals should also be connected to global or national standards, and come to its full extent if integrated with broader internal/local agendas such as financial or community/municipality planning (Tillväxtverket, 2020).

Furthermore, to analyze and evaluate a more general business model of a company, in the article

“Stages of Corporate Sustainability: Integrating the Strong Sustainability Worldview” Landrum

created a new unified model which integrates the concepts of corporate sustainability and sustainable development. The model creates a broader sense of incorporated sustainability efforts, by adding further dimensions to the scale of sustainable integration (Landrum, 2017). The base of the model has been divided into five stages;

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0. Non-participatory (very weak sustainability): This refers to a defensive stage and a rejection of sustainability practices and integration. Do not see a demand for sustainable responsibility.

1. Compliance (very weak sustainability): Refers to the “must-do” thinking, which sees sustainability efforts as a duty or obligation. However, companies do provide welfare to the society.

2. Business-centered (weak sustainability): Refers to the characteristics of seeing

sustainability as an opportunity for achieving benefits for the company, such as financial profit, increase the company's competitive advantage, or capture value.

3. Systemic (intermediate sustainability): Responsibility moved from business-centered to broader efforts and common good, such as collaborations and partnerships. However, still not fully integrated with environmental/ecological science such as planetary boundaries, etc.

4. Regenerative (strong sustainability): Refers to businesses with a caring mindset such as “repair, restore, regenerate”, and managing the environment. To operate in a way that does not harm the biosphere yet contributes to a regenerative society. Takes

responsibility for production and consumption within the planetary boundaries. 5. Co-evolutionary (very strong sustainability): Refers to companies who operate in

harmony with the biosphere, instead of managing it. Where the relation between social and environment is equal and the transformation between economic values and power-structures is reformed.

Furthermore, stage (0) Non-Participatory was eliminated in the model, due to its lack of sustainable efforts, and it is argued that the (5) Co-evolutionary structure is mainly viable in theory. By this, it is possible to apply the long lasting sustainability efforts incorporated by companies and in that way evaluate and analyze their current position towards sustainable development as well as place the organization on a scale from 1-5 (Landrum, 2017).

2.4 Similar Studies in Sweden

In 2012, the Swedish government demanded to "carry out efforts to strengthen and develop sustainable tourist destinations and strengthen the innovation capacity, quality and

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competitiveness of small and medium-sized tourism and adventure companies" (Tillväxtverket 2017, p. 6). The mission was delegated to Tillväxtverket, which developed a project to enhance and develop the sustainable transformation within destinations. The project was conducted from 2012-2015 and followed five destinations in Sweden (Kiruna, Bohuslän, Vimmerby, Stockholms skärgård and Åre). All destinations developed their own strategy, long-term goals, and action areas in regards to their vision and circumstances. This study focused on the development process over time and success factors and barriers that occurred, through a pre-delimited time frame and for three main actors (decision-makers, developers and performers) in the decided geographical area (Tillväxtverket,2017).

Some of the major outcomes from the study were that the key to developing sustainable destinations is to invest in thoughtful and long-term collaboration with important actors of all levels of the destination including national, regional and local actors. Additionally, the tourism industry is integrated with several different social areas and plays an important part in the process of attractive and sustainable communities for visitors and residents, which leads to the next conclusion that extensive challenges can be seen in unclear responsibility between public and private sectors. Moreover, the project concluded the need and benefit of integrating sustainable destination development in larger processes and long-term goals such as the

community/municipality planning (Tillväxtverket, 2017). These were combined with the twelve common challenges described in “Issues and Challenges” above.

2.5 Collaborative Advantage

“Collaboration is a way of achieving together what collaborating organizations cannot achieve separately, and the gain is referred to as collaborative advantage” (Huxham & Vangen cited in Bryson et al. 2016). Collaboration allows governments, organizations and other actors to work across the entities’ boundaries and combine their strengths, knowledge and resources to work together to reach common goals that would otherwise not be met (Graci, 2013).

In order to move forward with sustainable development, collaboration is considered to be crucial (Graci, 2013; Murray 2010) as solutions to such complex challenges are unlikely to be derived in one place and should not be expected to be solved by one party on its own (Murray et al. 2010; Macdonald et al. 2018). Collaborating facilitates the incorporation of multiple stakeholders

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which can be argued to be a moral obligation to involve all affected parties in the decision-making process. Engaging several parties gives more opportunities to integrate various stakeholder needs which helps build a wider acceptance of the policies and changes as more actors were involved in creating them (Graci, 2013). Furthermore, bringing many stakeholders into a problem-solving process of a complex dilemma, is an effective way to achieve a shared understanding for the issue (Macdonald et al. 2018).

However, collaboration can be very challenging as several agendas are being mixed (Doberstein, 2016) and goals, objectives and interests may not always be aligned and shared (Murray et al. 2010). The creation of common and shared goals, which is at the core of collaborative advantage (Bryson et al., 2016), demands well thought out planning, ongoing communication,

responsibility mechanisms and mutual trust between parties (Murray et al., 2010). Graci argues that the process of collaboration will only be successful if it is “open, consultative and aims to set objectives where each stakeholder will benefit” (Graci, 2013, p. 39). Roles and responsibilities need to be identified for each stakeholder in order for them to be able to contribute to the shared goals (Graci, 2013) and “exploit synergy; reduce duplication, and produce interaction” (Hudson cited in Murray et al., 2010).

Furthermore, in order to build strong partnership capacity for sustainable development, efforts such as education and workshops are needed in order to develop skills within sustainability practices. Events and gatherings creates opportunities for shared learning, networking and opens possibilities for partner involvement in decision making. This type of comprehensive

communication and information systems are needed in order to provide a shared knowledge and embracement for sustainable progress (Macdonald et al. 2018). From multi-stakeholder

inclusion, a holistic approach to sustainable destination development can be realized as collaborations can drive sustainability implementation and initiatives (Graci, 2013). 2.6 The Role of Intermediaries

Intermediary organizations work between actors within an industry- producers, consumers, entrepreneurs, and users- to bring together these actors and facilitate collaboration (Kivimaa, 2014). There is a great variety of intermediary organizations and include retailers, consultants, agencies, science parks, and distributors (Kivimaa, 2014; Stewart & Hyysalo, 2008).

Intermediary organizations are said to play an interesting role as they help create tangible networks and bridge together actors within the industry and these have the ability to shape,

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respond and maintain the needs and desires of consumers (Stewart & Hyysalo, 2008). Intermediaries take place in relation to specific actors, logics, populations, and practices to establish new spaces for creating possibilities that are not simply bottom-up (demand) or top-down (supply) (Medd & Marvin, 2007; Stewart & Hyysalo, 2008). They go beyond the capacity of a state, commercial business and social movements to explore how their interrelationships can generate an added value which can have a great impact on the drive for sustainable practices (Medd & Marvin, 2007).

Different types of intermediaries are identified according to which function they perform (Kivimaa et al., 2019; Van Lente et al. 2003; Parag & Janda 2014). Van Lente et al. suggest a difference between ‘traditional’ and ‘systemic’ intermediaries. While both types work in between actors to facilitate connections and to structure and support actors at multi-levels, a traditional intermediary functions in bilateral relations while a systemic intermediary functions in networks. Furthermore, they identify three key elements for a transition to sustainability and innovation which are articulation of options and demand, alignment of actors and possibilities, and support of learning processes (Van Lente et al., 2003).

In terms of sustainability, it is becoming increasingly important for these elements to function at the network/systemic level as sustainable development requires “long-term and complex changes in the way firms, research institutes, public agencies, intermediaries and others operate and innovate” (Van Lente et.al 2003, p. 65). A systemic approach helps further integrate and bridge together different actors, thus, strengthening the assistance for sustainable development.

Parag and Janda interestingly make another distinction between intermediaries and ‘middle actors’. They explore elements of agency, “willingness and ability of actors to make their own free choices'', and capacity, “the ability of actors to execute or perform these choices” (Parag & Janda, 2014, p.104). When levels of agency and capacity are high, change is more likely to happen. While ‘middle actors’ agency and capacity levels may not be very high compared to the top or bottom actors, their own qualities, expertise, and position in respect to other actors, help them play a key role in facilitating change. Agency and capacity can also function internally to make own changes in behaviors. Therefore, intermediaries have a high risk to avert from having

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any independent agency or capacity as they wind up as mediators rather than actors in the system (Parag & Janda, 2014, p.104).

The literature on ‘middle actors’ remains outright inadequate, while research on intermediaries has gained traction in comparison yet remains limited. However, both terms essentially aim to explain how the potential of the middle between different actors and top-down and bottom-up policies is overlooked. This middle position is full of opportunities that can aid a whole industry if effectively used and provides unique qualities that can become crucial in the transition towards sustainability. The literature on intermediaries' roles linked to sustainability is also very limited. Broadly, the literature addresses innovation intermediaries taking a more technical exploration of the concept (Kivimaa, 2014). There is a lack of definitions of intermediaries and their explicit role in their position between actors. Therefore, there is a need for research which reveals relationships and their interactions and the work of intermediary organizations as they are

important players in long-term and complex changes, such as implementing sustainability (Medd & Marvin, 2007; Kivimaa et al., 2019; van Lente et al. 2003).

Furthermore, Tillväxtverket accentuated three types of important actors in their study of sustainable destination development within Sweden. Firstly, the “decision-makers” which usually include politicians, business leaders, higher authorities such as the government and works on a strategic level in order to ensure the desired outcome. Secondly, the “developers” who work on a tactical level. They mostly work in a communication position with important actors and networks, therefore the developers must be able to integrate and lead processes

existing of both public and private actors. Additionally, “it is important that the developer has the ability and mandate to create, initiate and run the development processes required to move from words to action” (Tillväxtverket, 2017, p. 8). This position can therefore, be seen as a middle-hand player, intermediary or mediator/connector. Thirdly, the “performers” refers to the owners and creators of the products and services that the destination offers. These work on an

operational level and are mostly business owners, who are commonly run by their own decisions and business orientation (Tillväxtverket, 2017).

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3. Methodology and Method

The following chapter presents the research paradigm and method applied throughout the study to explain the philosophy of the research and how the study will be conducted.

3.1 Methodology

3.1.1 Research Philosophy

The research paradigm is made up of philosophical assumptions of knowledge development and influences the choices made throughout the study (Collis & Hussey 2014). Interpretivism is the overall research paradigm for this research which assumes social reality is subjective and shaped by people's perceptions. It takes a more humanistic approach and realizes the complexity of knowledge (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al, 2009). The ontological assumption concerns the nature of reality and raises questions about how the world works. In this thesis, reality is viewed as subjective, meaning reality is created from the perceptions and consequent actions of people, where multiple realities exist as peoples’ worldviews are created by their individual senses of reality. It is therefore necessary to study the underlying motivations to be able to understand the social phenomena (Saunders et al, 2009). As the researchers strive to go in-depth and understand the consciousness behind decisions and actions in the process of integrating sustainability in destination development, a subjectivist point of view is argued to be most appropriate.

The epistemological assumption concerns the theory of knowledge and how we know reality (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Following the interpretivist perspective of this study, researchers are highly involved in order to gain valuable information and insights as knowledge comes from interacting with the phenomenon and studying the subjective evidence. Actions are perceived in accordance with our own meanings which creates unique situations, hence there is great

complexity in understanding issues (Saunders et al, 2009). Therefore, the interpretivist perspective allows the gap between researcher and phenomenon to be minimized in order to capture the complexity of sustainability and tourism and highlight the underlying elements, which are suitable for this study (Saunders et al, 2009).

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3.1.2 Research Approach

Subsequent to the interpretivism paradigm, the approach to research is inductive. Inductive research is based on empirical observations from reality that is later developed into theories (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The authors of this thesis are gathering empirical observations in the sense of a sequence of in-depth interviews from reality, intending to discover and analyze actions, drivers, barriers, and areas of potential development. Therefore, the inductive approach is suitable. Additionally, the inductive approach is strengthened due to the study not consisting of a clear research question from the beginning, but is rather developed throughout the research process with the increasing observations of the phenomenon. Hence, this study goes from a practical process to a theoretical implication. Moreover, this study does not aim to test any hypotheses but rather draw findings that add to existing knowledge (Collis & Hussey, 2014). However, this research contains deductive elements in the form of application of models to the final analysis in order to ground the findings in theory.

3.1.3 Research Design

The design of the study is qualitative which enables “a deeper understanding of behavior, rather than a shallow representation of intentions” (Granot et al., 2012, p. 547). Furthermore, this study is of exploratory nature which enables the discovery of a single phenomenon and the clarification of the issue of interest to gain comprehensive insights on the topic (Saunders et al., 2009). Due to the complexity of the research topic, the exploratory design is suitable to decompose important aspects and in-depth information. Additionally, exploratory research allows the study to be flexible and adaptable from new data and insights and can encourage further investigation (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). This facilitates the topic to develop and become more focused together with new findings, in line with using a case study. Furthermore, this flexibility is well-suited for the use of sequenced in-depth interviews. Seidman introduces in-depth, phenomenologically based interviewing as a method of building upon and exploring the

participant’s responses, which is done through a series of three separate interviews. This method allows the researchers to place the phenomenon of sustainable destination development in context and elicit information regarding its potential use (Seidman, 1998, as cited in Granot et al., 2019). Moreover, context allows for exploring the meaning of the subject from various

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perspectives. This permits a greater sense-making of the subjective thoughts, values and stories of the participant, hence the researchers can dive much deeper in the subject, in comparison to a one-time interview (Granot et al., 2012). This technique is therefore well suited for a single-case study to be able to strengthen the quality of the research. Furthermore, the surrounding

limitations such as the available contacted participants influenced the decision of this design.

By adopting a case study design, the phenomenon can be investigated in its real-life context to gain an in-depth understanding and answer to the question ‘How?’ (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). Using a single case also provides the opportunity of going more in-depth with analysis as all efforts go into defining and understanding one particular phenomenon and creating a better foundation of knowledge of the specific case (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009).

3.2 Method

3.2.1 Sampling Process for Primary Data

The population is the item(s) under study which in this research is identified as tourist intermediaries in Sweden. The sample, which is the subset of a population, is DJ which was chosen through a combination of judgmental sampling and convenience sampling. This involves selecting participants based on their expertise within the subject under study and their

availability to participate. This is appropriate when the sample size is small and the aim is to conduct a particularly informative study (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al. 2009).

Furthermore, a single case study can reflect a typical or average case and therefore relate to other members of the population (Saunders et al. 2009).

3.2.2 Primary Data Collection

Following the inductive research design described earlier, three web-based interviews were held during a period of three weeks during April in 2020. The separate interviews were conducted with Johan Lind, tourism department manager at DJ. The in-depth interview technique was modified in the following way to suit the purpose of this study. After each interview, transcription was done together with thematic analysis in order to build upon the responses

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given. The first interview aimed to give an overall view of DJ and their perceptions in regards to sustainability and sustainable destination development, to be able to place it into context.

Transcription and thematic analysis was conducted, in order to determine a second, more narrow focus to be investigated in the second interview. Additional literature research was therefore done of this particular focus which created a base for the next interview guide. This process was repeated after each interview. Hence, the third interview could then provide the deep sense-making of the phenomenon that was pursued. In this way, the focus of the study evolved throughout the process and a more detailed exploration could be done.

3.2.2.1 Interview Structure

The interview guides were created with inspiration from Tillväxtverket’s previous reports of sustainable destinations to give a valuable and relevant base for further investigation. The interviews were non-standardized, semi-structured with predefined questions that guided the interview yet allowed for follow-up questions to emerge (see Appendix B for the interview guides). The semi-structure gives a more relaxed interview environment where the conversation can flow freely. To ensure all information was given by the participant and important answers were elaborated, or if an answer was not well understood, the interview questions incorporate probes. These can help provide clarity, define relevance, depth, dimension, significance,

comparisons, and address biases (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). This choice was made to make sure as much information as possible can be collected without putting constraints on answers or the participant due to the complexity of the subject. However, the third interview led to an open dialogue with only partly predefined questions and the aim of underlining “why” and going more in-depth of the identified focus determined in previous interviews.

3.2.3 Data Analysis

In order to make use of the raw empirical data collected, it needs to be analyzed to be able to understand its meanings and draw conclusions (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). The processes of transcribing and analyzing the data were done after each interview, before proceeding to the next one, which created a first section analysis. In the next step, the final

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analysis was formed where frameworks were used in order to apply and evaluate the case in a more generalized manner.

3.2.3.1 Transcription

From each recording, the interviews were transcribed into a written form which was time-consuming yet beneficial as this process is interactive in nature. By going through the material thoroughly when transcribing, new insights, themes, and patterns develop (Saunders et al., 2009). The interviews were conducted in Swedish, and therefore the transcript, for natural reasons, was written in Swedish. However, meaningful quotes and paragraphs were later on translated to English for further connections and investigation.

3.2.3.2 Thematic Analysis

The six-phase guide for thematic analysis of qualitative data conducted by Braun and Clarke was used for this study and each phase was done after each interview. This type of analysis is a flexible method used to find patterns, relationships, and common themes. The first phase is

familiarizing yourself with your data which is done by transcription, as described previously, and

repeated reading. Secondly, generating initial codes is performed. These codes organize the data into meaningful groups and these are intended to be data-driven, meaning the codes evolve from the data and not from previous theory in mind. Thirdly, searching for themes is done to organize identified codes into overarching topics and the corresponding sub-themes. Phase four involves

reviewing, which ensures that the themes have been properly distinguished and helps create

meaning for the research questions. This phase might require going back to phase three to further review initial codes and themes and make sure they match the data set. After this, the analysis can move forward to phase five, defining and naming themes. This includes capturing “the essence” of each theme and how they represent the data set which is important to be able to write an in-depth analysis. Furthermore, it is important to consider the themes in relation to each other to be able to find relationships and patterns. The last step is to start producing the report. This should be organized to tell the story of each theme in a compelling, logical, and effective way to be able to establish valuable and arguable conclusions (Braun and Clarke, 2006) (see Appendix C for an extract and example of this process).

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Following this technique, phase one to five of the thematic analysis was done after each interview, including writing an interview summary and first sectional analysis which is

introduced in the empirical findings section. When these steps were completed, the final analysis was produced.

3.2.3.3 Application to Frameworks

In order to conduct a final analysis and further explore the result from the thematic analysis, implementation to the frameworks of “Stages of Corporate Sustainability”- model (Landrum, 2017) and “Current Situation Analysis- checklist of sustainability work within the tourism

industry” (Tillväxtverket, 2020) that was found in the literature review, was conducted. By this, a

broader and final result of the current position and stage of sustainable development could be achieved. Furthermore, implementations of frameworks can reveal additional perspectives to draw conclusions and further areas for advancements.

3.3 Ethical Considerations

When conducting research, ethics refers to the appropriateness of behavior for all stakeholders, namely those who become subjected/affected by the research. Therefore, research ethics is related to the formulation, clarification, design of the research, as well as how the data has been collected, and how the analysis and findings are pursued and if this has been done in a

responsible and moral manner (Saunders et al., 2009). Firstly, this research is built upon the interviewee´s voluntary participation. Anonymity was offered as well as the participant agreeing to an audio recording. Transparency was of great importance for the researchers, and the

interview guides were sent beforehand on the participants' request. The interviewee was well informed about the purpose and process in the sense of pre-delivered emails with descriptions, and uncertainties were further explained if necessary. No harm has been identified for any stakeholder.

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3.4 Trustworthiness

The four criteria identified by Lincoln and Guba (1985) are used to evaluate the analysis of this study in order to guarantee the quality and raise the validity and reliability of the research (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

3.4.1 Credibility

This criterion deals with validity, meaning whether the findings truly reflect the phenomenon (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). As this study uses a sequenced interview process, there is a prolonged engagement with the participant which benefits the ability to assess

distortions, clarify issues, and check for internal consistency. There are more opportunities to use probes, make observations, and do research to cross-check findings, to move past the first

impression stage to a more developed perception of the case (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

3.4.1.1 Triangulation

To strengthen the results of the data collection, data triangulation was used which enables the comparison of results with other types of sources to discover further intriguing insights and minimize the risk of drawing deficient conclusions (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). Firstly, the findings were compared with already existing secondary knowledge, such as found in the frame of reference. Furthermore, the findings were adapted into established models as described in applications to frameworks. Additionally, commonalities and differences were identified and used to cross-check findings and contrasted them with similar studies done of other destinations in Sweden, using previous data provided by Tillväxtverket. Furthermore, the data triangulation was strengthened by collecting empirical data at a time spectrum of three weeks, which can enhance accuracy (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

Investigator triangulation was used in the sense that the two authors worked independently for

the majority of time, on different geographical locations throughout the whole research process. This can minimize personal biases which is important considering the ontological assumption regarding subjectivity (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

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3.4.2 Transferability

Transferability assesses the generalizability, i.e. whether the findings can be applied to other cases or settings (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). As this study uses one single-case, the understanding of context becomes important. To be able to generalize the findings, they need to represent detailed and descriptive data in order to assess the appropriateness of transfer to other contexts (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Therefore, the transferability may be limited due to its specific case study of DJ and their context and settings. It is important to highlight the context and stages of development and implementation for sustainability the chosen destination has achieved and therefore may experience different circumstances. However, by providing rich and comprehensive data, capturing patterns and characteristics of a tourist intermediary, it is

expected that this research can be adjusted to other settings, due to its in-depth nature.

Furthermore, this method has not required any special conditions regarding time and location and is therefore seen to be easily transferable and modified.

3.4.3 Dependability

Dependability concerns the reliability of research, indicating whether the results will be the same if the study was replicated (Collis & Hussey, 2014; Saunders et al., 2009). According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), ensuring dependability requires the research process and data set to be stable, logical, and traceable. As this research has a high transparency, showing all steps taken and detailed findings from each interview, this study should be able to be produced by other researchers with a similar outcome. Furthermore, as the researchers themselves are the main instrument for collecting data, their processes should be well documented (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The authors of this study have safely kept original documents which are available if requested, together with complemented details in the appendices. Therefore, this study is evaluated to have high dependability.

3.4.4 Confirmability

The confirmability of a study refers to the accuracy of how the interpretations and findings are derived from the data, where the aim is for the findings to be free from researcher bias (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Researchers have kept neutrality by having no previous knowledge or perception

The Role of an Intermediary Organization in the light of Sustainable Destination Development : A single-case study of Destination Jönköping AB