Ecotourism operators openly share environmental sustainability and management knowledge

Sustainable operations can be beneficial for businesses to decrease their environmental impact and can be monetarily advantageous through decreased energy costs. Ecotourism operators particularly depend on maintaining and improving the quality of the natural environment to ensure their business model is successful. Knowledge Management (KM), a theory that knowledge is more valuable when shared, can be useful for ecotourism operators to distribute information and educate audiences and staff about environmental issues. Environmental sustainability knowledge (ESK) is defined as approaching the natural environment with a sustainability mindset and engaging in actions that mitigate environmental degradation. Engaging in KM through sharing ESK would allow ecotourism operators to more efficiently protect the natural environment and their business interests. The researchers investigated whether ecotourism business operators regarded ESK as a valuable resource and how ecotourism managers engaged in KM and ESK sharing.

This study interviewed nine ecotourism operators in Australia, Malaysia, and Thailand to understand the reasoning and methods for operators sharing ESK. The authors selected operators that were known to engage in sustainability activities. The researchers interviewed CEOs, managers, directors, and key scientific staff to look at ESK sharing from the perspective of all staff. The researchers also conducted field observations to understand why operators share knowledge and to supplement the interviews. The field observations involved attending meetings, observing the operators, and taking photographs. To analyze the data, the researchers categorized ESK sharing into four key themes: 1) knowledge management, 2) knowledge sharing, 3) environmental sustainability, and 4) competency knowledge.

The researchers found that ESK was a valuable resource for ecotourism operators. The researchers concluded that environmental protection is important for ecotourism operators' business models. The shared need to protect the environment leads to ESK sharing, which in turn supports the operators' environmental objectives. All respondents agreed that operators could not successfully and sustainably operate without ESK. They shared these mindsets across all three countries despite national, culture, or economic development levels.

This study demonstrated that ecotourism operators care about environmental sustainability and willingly share their ESK with their staff, customers, communities. Operators accomplished this sharing through the use of education, training, work culture, environmental reporting systems & sustainability programs aimed at disseminating knowledge of resource consumption, biodiversity, recycling, and CO2 emissions sequestration projects. The researchers found that the operators developed and disseminated sustainability content for staff at all levels of the organization. Operators also promoted ESK among customers through workshops, discussions, and educating children about coral reefs and CO2 sequestration. They also strongly supported environmental and sustainability education in their local communities and for students.

Notably, ESK was shared among competitors. Ecotourism operators made programs, technologies, and processes visible for competitors to observe and replicate. They also collaborated in meetings, exchanging ideas and solutions to issues. It was found that the operators believed that limiting KM among competitors has negative effects on the environment and on their businesses.

There limitations to this study. The results of this study are specific to these operators; another study with different ecotourism companies may produce different results. Additionally, because the businesses were identified in the paper, ecotourism operators could have relayed information to the interviewers that would boost their reputation. More research is needed to understand whether ESK transfer occurs in ecotourism operators outside of those in this study.

The researchers suggest that ESK can improve sustainability initiatives in business and organizations, even outside of the ecotourism industry. They recommend that businesses engage in KM to mitigate negative environmental impacts, which can be detrimental to many businesses through increased energy costs.