Seamus O'Brien

Sustainable culinary tourism and Cevicherías: a stakeholder and social practice approach

ABSTRACT This study proposes a theoretical framework based on stakeholder and social practice theory in the context of sustainable culinary tourism development. This framework emanates from the examination of issues affecting such development, and ways to adapt, from the perspective of a key SCT stakeholder group, restaurant operators, in a developing gastronomic destination. In-depth, face-to-face interviews revealed socio-economic and environmental issues, namely, perceived impacts from larger fish/seafood exports, over-fishing, and weather patterns affecting the quantity and consistency of product supply, which resulted in increased prices. Ethical and proactive principles, and taking the leadership in limiting socio-economic and environmental issues were the main ways to adapt. Moreover, operators were incorporating alternative fish/seafood products, reinforcing ethical conduct, rejecting unacceptable business practices, and strictly adhering to closed seasons/bans. Participants’ ways to adapt are strongly related to the tenets of the two employed theories; these associations will be discussed, and future research streams suggested.

‘We are only scratching the surface’ – a resource-based and dynamic capabilities approach in the context of culinary tourism development

ABSTRACT This study examines the potential for developing culinary tourism (CT) from the perspective of restaurant operators in Lima, Peru, and develops a framework of CT based on the resource-based view of the firm and the dynamic capabilities paradigm. Fourteen restaurateurs and managers were interviewed, including two internationally renowned food and beverage entrepreneurs. The findings reveal that Perus culinary potential is identified in various specific forms, including through the growing interest for local gastronomy among international visitors, the development of culinary neighbourhoods, the growing trend of pairing of foods and local beverages, and experimenting with lesser known local foods and dishes. Nonetheless, to maximise CTs potential, improved organisation within the industry, more knowledge dissemination of Peruvian cuisine domestically and internationally, and promoting other traditional products/dishes to maintain the momentum are vital. The usefulness of the proposed framework is presented, the implications of the findings discussed, and future research streams proposed.

'Every brew is a challenge and every glass of a good beer is an achievement': home brewing and serious leisure

ABSTRACT This exploratory study contributes to the body of knowledge of leisure research, investigating various dimensions related to home brewing, particularly reasons for and benefits from engaging in this activity through the lens of the Serious Leisure Construct (SLC). Although evidence suggests that home brewing has increased in popularity, to date, it has received limited attention from the academic literature. The study is based on the responses of 219 home brewers in Australia. The employed content analysis and word association identified the feeling of a rewarding and enjoying experience, affordability, sharing, brewing-to-taste, and socialising opportunities as key perceived benefits. In addition, various links between the findings and the SLC were identified. Overall, the findings revealing the seemingly multifaceted nature of home brewing, which combines tangible elements such as producing the craft beer, and intangible, for instance, sharing and socialising, highlight important theoretical and practical implications for leisure involvement.

Collaboration and the Emerging Craft Brewing Industry: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT In adopting various elements associated with the theory of collaboration, this exploratory study investigates collaboration in the context of predominantly micro- and small craft breweries. The findings revealed that collaboration within other brewers helped increase product quality, gain basic knowledge of new recipes, and enhance strategic knowledge about the industry. The applicability of the elements related to the theory of collaboration was confirmed. For instance, the element of stakeholders of a problem domain was aligned with the notion that craft brewery operators’ actions, including collaboration, can have significant impacts on the problem domain that brought them together.

Foreign Direct Investment in Rural Unitary Authorities: The Case of the North-West of England

This paper investigates the performance of inward FDI into the rural and urban Unitary Authorities or Districts of the North-West of England. The paper provides evidence that foreign-owned firms located in rural areas perform as well as domestic firms in the same rural context and as well that foreign-owned firms located in rural areas perform as well as foreign owned firms located in urban areas. However, foreign owned firms in urban areas perform worse vis-a-vis their domestic counterparts. Our results may suggest that foreign-owned firms still suffer from the so-called liability of foreignness, but do not suffer any competitive disadvantage by being located in a rural context