The role of cooperation and institutional knowledge for the development of the Danish tourism industry

This paper discusses the importance of institutional knowledge and cooperation in the Danish tourism industry. In Danish tourism there is a need for further development both of products, processes and organisations. As the tourism industry is dominated by SMEs, actors outside the firm may play an import role for future development. The actors outside the firm are a heterogeneous group consisting of public authorities, tourism organisations, tourism trade organisations, researchand knowledge institutions and others. The paper focuses on how institutional knowledge may be transferred to firms through cooperation with tourism organisations and tourism trade organisations. The paper also investigates the influence of public policy and how changes in the financing of the tourism organisations may influence the magnitude and content of knowledge transfer.