Relational Governance in Fragmented Tourism Destinations: Brokerage and the Role of Family Firms

Purpose – Tourism destinations are frequently characterized by fragmented structures composed of numerous small and medium-sized firms that must cooperate despite the absence of formal governance mechanisms or dominant coordinating actors. While brokerage theory explains how certain actors bridge disconnected groups, it primarily conceptualizes brokerage as a structural network position and pays limited attention to the relational resources that sustain its capacity. Likewise, studies on destination governance have acknowledged the importance of relational governance but have only partially explored how family firms contribute to informal coordination processes. This study integrates brokerage theory, relational governance, and family business research to examine how brokerage contributes to coordination in fragmented tourism destinations and how kinship ties reinforce its ability as a mechanism of relational governance in contexts lacking formal coordinating institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a longitudinal case study design focusing on the tourism destination of San Vito Lo Capo (Southern Italy), a destination characterized by endogenous development, a predominance of locally embedded family firms, and the absence of a dominant destination management organization. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is used to reconstruct the evolution of interorganizational relationships by analyzing both commercial and kinship networks over time. Network indicators, including density, cohesion, modularity, community structure, and brokerage positions, are employed to examine changes in network structure and the relationship between commercial and family-based brokerage. Rather than testing causal relationships, the analysis investigates whether the observed evolution of network structures is consistent with the interpretation of brokerage as a mechanism of relational governance reinforced by kinship ties. Originality/value – The findings reveal a progressive increase in the overlap between commercial and kinship networks, together with a stronger association between commercial and family brokerage roles. Building on previous research, particularly Ruggieri et al. (2022), the study provides longitudinal empirical support for understanding brokerage as a mechanism of relational governance. Its originality lies in the two-wave network design, the specific measurement of brokerage, and the joint analysis of commercial and inter-firm kinship networks. Practical implications – The findings suggest that family firms may play a strategic governance role in destinations where formal coordinating institutions are weak or absent by strengthening brokerage capacity through trust, reputation, and long-term social embeddedness. Destination managers and policymakers should therefore recognize and engage locally embedded brokers when promoting collaborative governance initiatives. At the same time, governance strategies should balance the coordinating benefits of strong relational embeddedness with the risks of network closure and excluding actors not embedded in established social and family networks.