Implications of Findings

The findings from this research have several implications for the body of knowledge surrounding tourism development, small-business owners and innovation specifically in the rural, resource-based context. One of the research objectives was to identify the opportunities and obstacles for small-business owners’ innovative behaviour (such as tourism product development, marketing and ICTs usage, and networking and partnerships). It was determined that the Self-Employment Benefits (SEB) program was one of the most influential stimulators amongst the small-business owners in the region. The value of investment in human capital in the form of training and knowledge can be, in some cases equal or more important than the physical capital investment (Wanhill, 2004; Nilsson, 2000; Nilsson et al, 2005). This was recognized by Swedish regional policy “in which a central element is the diffusion and spread of knowledge in order to stimulate innovative development at the local level” (Wanhill, 2004, p. 65). This

recognition of the importance of training needs to be reflected in government policy and support surrounding innovation and tourism development in the Top of Superior region.

129 There were numerous obstacles to innovation for small-business owners in the rural, resource-based communities (for example lack of networking, education, experience, training, timing, functioning associations, and support to established businesses). These findings add to the work of Romeiroa and Costa (2010); Page and Getz (1997) and Sundbo et al., (2007) who identified the lack of innovation among rural small-business owners due to: insufficient planning efforts, family business models, resistant to change, lack of support instruments, lack of networking, low educational levels and thus a consequent reduction in absorptive capacity for innovation. By identifying these obstacles to innovative behaviour and tourism development, government (municipal, provincial and federal) and tourism associations and

organizations can provide more opportunities for education, training and networking at convenient times (when they are not busy with customers, such as afternoons) and methods of delivery (such as online, class-room settings, or informal gatherings) for established small-business owners. It is also critical to recognize the impacts on the small-business community of a dysfunctional and non-representative tourism association; this was identified by those interviewed as a major gap in supporting tourism more broadly within the region.

This research also explored how the shift in occupational identity (Stenbacka, 2008; Lindsay et al, 2003) can affect the innovative behaviours of small-business owners for tourism development in rural, resource-based communities. Many business owners were unwilling and reluctant to do any business training, which may have been a result of their transition from working in the forestry industry to the more customer service- oriented tourism industry. The reluctance to undertake business training resulted in a lack of employee training, utilization of business plans, and measurements of customer service in the region. It is important to raise awareness and convince local non-

innovative business owners to seek advice and training. This finding provides an insight for governments (municipal, provincial and federal levels) regarding the current human resource capacities of these rural resource-based communities and the challenges they will face with shifting to tourism as an economic driver. Once again these perspectives highlight the importance of business training and education prior to business ownership, especially for those shifting from primary or secondary industries to those in the tertiary,

130 as well as the importance of program development for those businesses already

established.

Finally, this study was able to confirm the use of the ‘staples thesis’ in the contextual examination of tourism development in rural/remote, resource-dependent communities (Carson & Carson, 2011; Schmallegger, 2011; Schmallegger & Carson, 2010) such as the ones found in the Top of Superior region. The lack of entrepreneurial capacity and the devastating economic impacts of the closures of the pulp and paper mills on the communities (causing a lack of jobs and poor economic conditions) were directly related to the communities’ staples dependence. These communities have been reliant on a ‘staples economy’ and thus have had an external dependence on the required capital for staples development supplied by large corporations and government support, leaving little capacity for growth and an inability to deal with economic diversification and changes that these communities now find themselves facing (Carson & Carson, 2011; Markey et al, 2006; Baum, 1999). By examining the Top of Superior through the staples lens it helps provide insight into not only how attitudes towards tourism may have been shaped, but also how support for tourism, and specifically for the small- business owners in the region had been more of an afterthought by government once it became apparent that there would be no recovery of these industries. The recognition of the historical staples dependence in the region can provide government at all levels the insight into the ‘reliance’ behaviour and limitations of these communities directly caused by external industries and previous government support and that tourism, if developed to a high enough level, may become another ‘staple’. There is also the risk that these communities may never leave the staples dependent cycle thereby restricting these communities to a series of short-termed economic growth patterns dependent on external markets and conditions. The Top of Superior region communities must look at

diversifying their local economies beyond the reliance on traditional lumber and pulp and paper forestry sectors (Rosehart, 2008).