Co-creation of value in smart ecosystems: past trends and future directions in tourism literature

Dr Estrella Díaz is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) and previously has been Marie Sklodowska-Curie Senior Global Fellow, leading a Horizon 2020 project entitled “Smart Tourism Challenges” as principal investigator (PI). Her studies have been published in Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Production Research, Journal of Consumer Behavior and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, among others. The quality of research activities has been rewarded with eight research awards, including the 2019 Highly Commended Award for Emerald Publishing, the 2017/18 Top Downloaded Article Award for Wiley publishing and the 2014 Highly Commended Award Winner for Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards. Estrella Díaz is accredited as Full Professor in Social Sciences. Since July 2021 she is a Full Academic Member of the Young Academy of Spain.

Dr Águeda Esteban is Full Professor of Marketing at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). She was Director of the Tourism Studies Institute, part of the State Department for Trade and Tourism (Spain). She has been a member of the Tourism Observatory, Ministry of Economy and Finance (Spain), representing the Universities and other institutions dedicated to training and research; Coordinator of the group of experts on Knowledge of the Horizon 2020 Strategic Plan for Spanish Tourism (Spanish Tourism Council). She has published in leading journals, such as Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Current Issues in Tourism or Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing.

Dr Christina Koutra holds a PhD from the University of Brighton, UK; and an MSc and a BSc from the University of Surrey, UK. She also holds an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship; and a UNWTO research grant; she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK, and a recipient of the Middle East and Africa “Women in Education Leadership Award”. She currently works as an Associate Professor in Management in Abu Dhabi University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Christina has worked, undertaken research, and delivered consultancy globally: the UK, Ghana, Peru, Nepal, Greece, Saudi Arabia, France, Vietnam, China, Nigeria, India and the UAE. She is an honorary professor in Coal University in Nigeria, the National Intercultural University of the Amazon, in Peru and Chandigarh University, in India. She presented in international conferences, delivered keynote speeches, authored and edited books and journal papers. Her research interests are mainly in Human Resource Management, Tourism Development, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Dr Sofia Almeida has worked for 15 years as a Marketing Director at the hotel marketing consortium, ARTEH® Hotels and Resorts. Since 2002 performs training functions in the areas of hospitality, marketing, digital marketing and training of trainers. Throughout her professional career, she was responsible for the marketing department of Gente and Viagens Magazine. Currently, she is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Universidade Europeia. Her research focuses on the areas of hotel management, networks, coopetition, hotel marketing consortia, tourism marketing, hotel branding and digital marketing. Sofia is a research member of the Centre for Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, Universidade de Lisboa.

Dr Rocío Carranza is Associate Professor of Marketing at Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR) and the University of Castilla la Mancha, Spain. Her research interests center around services and marketing communication and promotion. She has published in top leading journals such as Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and International Journal of Bank Marketing, among others. Some awards have recognized her research, including the Highly commended award Literati, granted by Emerald in 2019.