Value co-creation under hierarchical constraints: Enterprise-led rural tourism development

This study explores how cultural and tourism enterprises enable emerging forms of value co-creation in rural tourism development, drawing on a community-based rural revitalization project in eastern China. Using value co-creation as the primary analytical lens and a multistakeholder governance perspective to examine participation structures and power relations, this study adopts a qualitative approach grounded in 17 semi-structured interviews with representatives from four stakeholder groups. The findings reveal that stakeholder engagement in this project operates within an enterprise-led and hierarchically structured governance arrangement, where participation is role-differentiated and strategically bounded. The enterprise functions as the central coordinator, integrating different resources, connecting stakeholders, and enabling operational participation while retaining control over key decisions. Value co-creation therefore develops unevenly across levels, with consultation, feedback, and operational co-planning coexisting with centralized strategic decision-making. Conflict management follows a similarly differentiated pattern: high-salience disputes are resolved through centralized authority, whereas lower-salience tensions are addressed through consultation and incremental adjustment. The study contributes to tourism research by showing how value co-creation can unfold under asymmetric authority within a transitional hybrid governance structure and offers practical insights for destination managers and policymakers seeking to support incremental and context-sensitive rural development initiatives.