Hospitality codes and social exchange theory : the Pashtunwali and tourism in Afghanistan

Coulson, Andrea B. and MacLaren, Andrew C. and McKenzie, Stewart and O'Gorman, Kevin D. (2014) Hospitality codes and social exchange theory : the Pashtunwali and tourism in Afghanistan. Tourism Management, 45. pp. 134-141. ISSN 0261-5177

[thumbnail of Coulson-etal-TM2014-hospitality-codes-and-social-exchange-theory] PDF (Coulson-etal-TM2014-hospitality-codes-and-social-exchange-theory)
Coulson_etal_TM2014_hospitality_codes_and_social_exchange_theory.pdf
Accepted Author Manuscript
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 logo
Download (416kB)

    Abstract

    The Afghan people are shrouded in rumor, myth and superstition. Drawing upon insights from military personnel, intelligence operatives, journalists and others, this study uses Social Exchange Theory (SET) to frame our understanding of their underpinning cultural code, the Pashtunwali. The study contributes both theoretically and empirically: The nature of the Pashtunwali highlights that SET cannot adequately frame some cultural exchange practices and a hybrid framework for negotiated and reciprocal exchange is presented. Furthermore, contextually, this is the first study that explores a code of hospitality through a social exchange lens to explore potential tourism development. A framework exists upon which commercial activity can be built without altering beliefs, social dynamics or day to day pursuits. For commercial development to be successful, it must yield similar or greater levels of income to those that currently exist, more importantly, traditions of autonomy and self-dependence will affect employment and training within an emergent tourism industry.

    ORCID iDs

    Coulson, Andrea B. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9534-1371, MacLaren, Andrew C., McKenzie, Stewart and O'Gorman, Kevin D.;
    CORE (COnnecting REpositories)