Enhancing resilience and sustainability: an inductive approach to innovations in cruise industry

This study identifies key challenges to achieving a resilient and sustainable cruise industry, examines stakeholder actions, and proposes strategies to balance these objectives. Employing a qualitative multi-method approach, it develops a theoretical framework for a resilient and sustainable cruise industry grounded in multi-level, multi-dimensional, and multi-stakeholder perspectives. The research design combines: (1) a review of extant literature to identify key challenges and proposed strategies related to resilience and sustainability; and (2) a case study utilizing semi-structured interviews with key industry stakeholders to validate the literature review findings and uncover additional insights not readily accessible through published sources. By jointly examining resilience and sustainability, two objectives often studied in isolation, this study contributes to the cruise operations literature by offering a holistic and integrated framework. Additionally, it contributes to practice by providing actionable guidance for stakeholders aiming to foster an industry that is adaptable to disruption and committed to sustainable development.