Facilitating data flow in digital innovation networks for tourism services: a process model of boundary work

Purpose This paper investigates how boundary work mechanisms facilitate data flow in digital innovation networks for tourism services (DIN-TS). It aims to extend boundary work theory from co located, artifact centric settings to distributed, data intensive and experience driven service ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal qualitative case study of HZSL Group, a large-scale integrated tourism conglomerate, was conducted from 2020 to 2024. Data include semi structured interviews with 25 participants, archival documents, project records and field observations. The analysis followed grounded theory procedures, which led to the identification of four boundary work mechanisms and a dynamic process model. Findings Four interrelated boundary work mechanisms enable data flow in tourism service networks. These are technological boundary alignment, organizational boundary bridging, market-oriented data monetization and institutional boundary governance. These mechanisms do not operate in a linear fashion. Instead, they engage in persistent tensions. Technological alignment tends to expose governance conflicts rather than resolve them. Institutional governance, in turn, enables risk mitigated data sharing. The study redefines boundary work as a recursive system that balances three pairs of tensions: integration and control, collaboration and competition, and value creation and appropriation. These tensions are intensified by the perishable, fragmented and experience centric nature of tourism services. Research limitations/implications Although the study provides a process model of boundary work, it does not fully resolve how the four mechanisms adjust their relative importance as a digital innovation network matures over time. The model also does not specify the exact thresholds at which institutional governance shifts from enabling trust to constraining flexibility. Future research is needed to explore how external shocks, such as regulatory changes or technological disruptions, reconfigure the balance among the four mechanisms. Practical implications Tourism enterprises should invest in joint laboratories, data alliances and transparent governance frameworks to operationalize boundary work. Policymakers can support cross sector data standards, compliance systems and incentives for data driven business model innovation. Originality/value This paper advances boundary work theory from a static coordination tool to a dynamic tension balancing process. It provides a context embedded process model, shown in Figure 2, that explains how boundary work continuously adapts to the distinctive constraints of tourism digital innovation networks.