Empirical studies on humility in the area of organizational studies are still scarce, as are studies of humility in leadership. This research contributes to the literature by studying how the humility of leaders predicts the team's creativity through the mediating effect of psychological security and psychological capital. The sample includes seventy-three teams and their leaders, from forty firms operating in different industries. Leaders (n=73) described their own humility and team creativity. Team members (n=341) described the leader’s humility, and the team’s psychological safety and psychological capital. Structural equation modelling (LISREL; maximum likelihood estimation) was used to test the hypothesized model. The findings are represented in Figure 1 (control variables not shown) and suggest that leader’s humility predicts team creativity through team’s psychological safety (PsySafe) and psychological capital (PsyCap). Main limitations are the small sample size, and the fact that it is a convenience sample, which may limit the generalization of results. One may add the need to conduct longitudinal studies, as well as comparing among different regions or countries. These issues are addressed in the study. This paper contributes to the still limited literature relating humility and leadership. For organizations, if they want to be effective in innovating, they need to understand the influence of the mechanisms that the employees are exposed to and how they influence their creativity. Knowing the positive role of humble leadership in creativity development and employee motivation is particularly interesting for leaders working in the context of creativity as it is a way to facilitate the creativity of employees.

In the last decades, the innovation process experienced a significant evolution. From the early atomist models, the economy is moving towards systemic approaches based on interactive processes, strongly attached to the territories. Innovation networks are proliferating as the most suited framework for destinations to achieve a high innovation performance. However, there has been little research on the structure and dynamics of tourism innovation networks and how they can foster regional innovation. This paper applies Social Network Analysis to measure and identify the dynamics of cooperation within institutional tourism innovation networks and the role they play on tourism innovation. The study was applied to two Portuguese regions, Douro and Aveiro, where the top managers of institutions responsible for developing or supporting tourism innovation were surveyed. Results demonstrate that different social structures and patterns of cooperation create distinct impacts on regional innovation. It is concluded that tourism destinations characterised by diversified networks, i.e. networks comprising actors from different geographical locations and with distinct typologies, are in a better position to achieve a higher innovation performance. The paper advances strategic recommendations for tourism organisations to increase destinations’ competitiveness, by further developing the necessary conditions for innovation to occur.

TOWARDS SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN CITIES: LOCAL COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES

Health and wellness tourism should be particularly valued in the post-pandemic phase. It has the potential to be a strategic product that enhances the population’s well-being and quality of life, on social, physical, and environmental levels. Different proposals for specialized experiences that complement what the destination offers allow to position regions as health and wellness destinations. Thermal tourism should thus be encouraged as a specific product designed on the innovation and diversification observed in the related services and the benefits recognized for all ages. Considering the relevance of thermal springs and thermal tourists for the image, positioning, and development of touristic destinations, this research aims to identify the specific motivations of tourists that attract them to the practice of thermal tourism, to understand how the benefits for which thermal tourists search and their sociodemographic profile influence the motivations of tourists, and how those motivations determine the characteristics of travel. This research was developed on the North and Centre of Portugal for their relevance in the context of thermal springs and related touristic activities. To achieve the research objectives, a questionnaire survey was conducted among thermal tourists, through a non-probability by convenience sampling, using bivariate tests, such as Pearson’s chi-squared test, one-way ANOVA, and t-Student test. The results highlight that most respondents practiced thermal tourism due to leisure and relaxation benefits, such as the escape from daily stress, spend time with family, and being “pampered”; relaxation is the most valued motivation, followed by the search for psychological and physical well-being. The research found relations between the benefits expected by thermal tourists and their travel characteristics, such as the composition of the group, the general travel motivation, the chosen thermal destination, and the number of nights spent at the location. In thermal tourism, new challenges emerge, demanding the development of strategies, products, and services that respond to the needs of specific market sections.