Redefining Boundaries: Dominant Managerial Paradigms in Tourism

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Prof., Department of Media Management and Business Relationship,, Faculty of Business Management, College of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Tourism, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jibm.2025.392607.4948

Abstract

Objective
Academic research in the social sciences encompasses a wide range of disciplines, each seeking to understand human behavior and social structures through a distinct theoretical perspective and methodological approach, commonly referred to as a paradigm. A paradigm represents a researcher's worldview and philosophical perspective for generating knowledge. It guides every stage of the research process, from defining the research problem to selecting appropriate methods and conducting the study. Various paradigms have been formed throughout history because when a paradigm becomes incapable of solving problems and understanding phenomena, another paradigm forms to address the shortcomings of the previous paradigm. Therefore, they help better understand phenomena and solve existing problems. Existing paradigms include positivism, interpretivism, pragmatism, and criticality. In tourism research, paradigms determine what should be studied, how it should be investigated, and how the findings are interpreted. Accordingly, this study aims to identify the paradigms that have guided tourism research from 2010 to the present (2024) in understanding tourism-related issues and phenomena.
 
Methodology
A meta-analysis was employed as the research method, as it is regarded as a quantitative approach involving the statistical analysis of a large body of findings from individual studies to synthesize and interpret overall results. Descriptive statistics were conducted using Microsoft Excel and SPSS, and the required data were collected from the Scopus database.
 
Findings
The results show that in tourism studies from 2010 to the present (2024), the positivism paradigm is dominant, and most research has addressed tourism issues within this paradigm. Through this paradigm, studies look at tourism and its topics with a fixed, controllable, and predictable perspective. Paradigm interpretation is the second most popular paradigm in tourism studies to examine and understand the issues in this field. Through this paradigm, conducted studies believe that there is no single reality, and we deal with different realities as many people as we do. So, they want to become familiar with the experiences and perceptions of various people in the field of tourism. The pragmatism paradigm has the third position in tourism studies. Via the pragmatism paradigm, studies seek to reach the best solution and answer to the issues and problems in the tourism industry. They believe that they have what they have left for us. They have taken a critical approach at the end of the studies. The critical paradigm seeks to introduce criticism into the structures existing in nature and seeks to change the structures.
 
Conclusion
This study proposes directions for future research based on the current trends identified in the field.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Business Management
Volume 18, Issue 2
2026
Pages 617-636

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