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This paper draws on data collected through multiple approaches and presents an exploration of the early stages of a large sustainability-oriented rural tourism development project. Through a streamlined qualitative analysis, the study revealed four tactical moves deployed in the early stages of the project. The moves include instilling project legitimacy, forging a support network, anchoring the project, and mobilising resources and capabilities. Further analysis revealed that these moves tend to reinforce each other, and thus they require concurrent implementation. Subsequently, the study develops a framework delineating drivers, enablers, challenges, and key success factors for navigating the early stages of a large sustainability-oriented rural tourism development project. Intriguingly, the study contradicts the path dependence perspective, which is often used in project management research. Instead, it suggests that the early stages of such projects require tactical path creation involving well-calculated actions that serve as a breeding ground for valuable random incidents.

Achieving partner acquiescence is critical in interfirm exchanges because it allows the focal firm to achieve its desired outcomes. Using a case study on dyadic relationships between inbound tour operators in Tanzania and their overseas outbound partners, this paper investigates the effect of partner irreplaceability and distributive fairness on acquiescence, and the subsequent effect that acquiescence has on conflict. The case study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling on data collected from 129 dyadic relationships. Results show that partner irreplaceability and distributive fairness are positively associated with acquiescence, which in turn reduces conflict. The effect of distributive fairness on acquiescence was found to be larger than that of irreplaceability. In addition, the direct effect of distributive fairness on conflict, although not hypothesised, was found to be significant. This emphasises the importance of distributive fairness, and its role as a possible buffer to conflict in less acquiescent exchanges.

Drawing on extant literature and eight case firms, this paper explores reputational risk as an essential factor in selecting offshore locations. By categorizing and aggregating insights from the empirical data and the relevant literature, the paper identifies country reputational risk as a factor determining the firm's propensity to exclude specific offshore locations. However, its effect is contingent upon managers' interpretation of the critical elements of the business environment in a particular country. Thus, the study contributes by demystifying the role of ‘managerial inputs’, which are often neglected within international sourcing literature. Further, reputational risk is delineated as a higher-order construct comprised of three lower-order constructs: unethical practices, institutional weakness, and quality concerns. Our findings distinguish reputational risk from the CSR framework because the dimensions of reputational risk identified in this study transcend beyond the governance, ethics, environmental and social spheres of CSR. This way, the study contributes to a holistic representation of reputational risk that can allow researchers to match its broad predictors with broad outcomes.