From commons to stewardship: convergent institutionalization in community-based ecotourism

Community-based ecotourism research has identified numerous success factors, yet less is known about the institutional processes through which sustainable transformation is constructed and sustained over time. Using constructivist grounded theory, this study examines Soheili Village on Qeshm Island, Iran, a coastal fishing community recognized in the 2025 edition of UN Tourism’s Best Tourism Villages after an approximately fifteen-year transformation trajectory. Data comprise 51 in-depth interviews with cooperative members, livelihood actors, women producers, tourism operators, governance representatives, and external stakeholders, complemented by participant observation and documentary materials. Recognition is treated as a contextual marker rather than evidence of unqualified success. Findings identify three interdependent processes: cooperative governance of tourism commons, livelihood transformation through local value-chain circulation, and institutionalization of ecological stewardship around the Hara mangrove ecosystem. These are integrated through the core category of convergent institutionalization, which theorizes how governance rules, livelihood incentives, and conservation responsibilities become mutually reinforcing through iterative institutional work. The study also specifies boundary conditions: women’s productive participation was only partially translated into public visibility and decision-making voice, while recognition intensified scale pressures and rule-bypassing incentives.