A conceptual study of the strategic role of gastronomy in tourism destinations

The present study discusses the strategic role of gastronomy in destinations from the perspective of three theoretical foundations of strategic management, namely Resource-Based View (RBV), Emergent Strategy (ES), and Positioning Strategy (PS). Several concepts from the field of gastronomy are used, such as gastronomic identity, tourist behaviours (motivation, experience, consumption), a sense of place, and food image. Utilizing this multidisciplinary literature, the present study provides an integrative review and develops a model explaining the strategic role of gastronomy in tourism destinations consisting of three main components (the source, process, and form of a strategy). According to the suggested model, gastronomic identity is considered a strategic resource for destinations. Depending on the gastronomic identity, a differentiation strategy can be formed in a destination that involves the presentation of gastronomic products developed and offered by discoverers (entrepreneurs, researchers, and tourists) to the relevant markets. This strategy is the result of an emergent, rather than deliberate, strategic process. However, when destination managers and stakeholders realize that a gastronomy-based strategy has emerged, such a strategy can also be transformed into a deliberate strategy. The predictions of the model are supported by the conceptual and empirical findings of earlier studies.