Fox Student Receives Best Paper Award

A research paper authored by a current PhD student Pauline Milwood at Temple University’s Fox School of Business has received the Best Paper Award at the second biennial Advances in Destination management Conference. Her is paper titiled, “Knowledge, Innovation and the Role of the Destination Management Organization: Integrating Stakeholder and Network Perspectives.”

Milwood was honored at the conference, which took place June 11-13, 2014 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. She co-authored the paper with her advisor, Dr. Wesley S. Roehl, a professor from Temple’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

“It felt extremely gratifying (to be recognized),” Milwood said. “The PhD program is extremely grueling. It kind of makes the thorns and challenges that develop in the process of doing research all worth it in the end.”

The paper integrates stakeholder and network perspectives to examine the role played by destination management organizations in developing competitive advantage. The research has implications for a wide range of entities, according to Milwood.

“The dynamic of government, business, and local residents’ roles comes into play when we’re talking about innovation development of a tourism area,” Milwood said.

In addition to its practical implications, the research enhances the theoretical ideas of network and stakeholder theorists.

“There is benefit to blending theories to better understand both structure and process dynamics of these relationships among public, private and third-sector interests, specifically as it relates to developing innovation in tourism,” Milwood said.

The Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, within which the paper will likely be published, co-sponsored the award.

regions: Philadelphia

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