Towards a theoretical model of technology adoption in hospitality organizations

Technology is an important strategic asset for hospitality organizations to improve organizational performance and strategic competitiveness. However, adoption and diffusion of technology are complex processes, which are affected by a number of internal and external factors. As a result, understanding the factors affecting a hospitality organization's technology adoption behavior is of paramount importance to both practitioners and academia. This study proposes a model that describes the process of technology adoption in hospitality organizations. Specifically, two modifications of the existing Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) have been proposed in order to capture the adoption behavior at the organizational level.     

An exploratory study examining information technology adoption and implementation in full-service restaurant firms

The purpose of the paper is to explore and compare the current use of information technology-related advances in chain and independent full-service restaurants, the factors that motivate managers of these types of restaurants to decide whether or not to implement such technology, and how these managers perceive the impact of technology on the firm. A case study analysis involving four San Francisco Bay Area full-service restaurants was conducted to examine the framework of full-service restaurants to implement new technology. Propositions are developed that purport the information technology adoption and implementation characteristics of full-service restaurant firms while elucidating the distinctiveness between chain and independent firms.     

Using competing models to evaluate the role of environmental pressures in ecommerce adoption by small and medium sized travel agents in a developing country

This study investigates the factors that influence e-commerce adoption in SME travel agents in a developing country. The research is based upon a questionnaire survey of travel agents in Egypt and employs advanced statistical techniques to test a conceptual framework that extends the technology acceptance model. Using competing models the study examines the relationship between e-commerce adoption, perceived benefits, perceived barriers and environmental pressures. The results indicate that environmental pressures significantly affect the perceived benefits and barriers of e-commerce adoption, in addition to having an indirect effect on adoption behaviour. Insights are provided into the nature of relationships between the key factors that determine e-commerce adoption and the extent to which they can be used to develop effective strategies for SME travel agent re-intermediation in the global travel market. Implications are identified for practice and government policy in relation to the use of e-commerce in SME travel businesses in developing countries.     

Testing the effects of congruity, travel constraints, and self-efficacy on travel intentions: An alternative decision-making model

Travel decision making has been extensively studied. Various models and theories have been proposed to explain tourist behavior. Taking a new approach, this study applied the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) model to explain travel intentions. The MOA model suggests that motivation, opportunity, and ability are major factors influencing travel intentions. This study explored the role of self-congruity, functional congruity, perceived travel constraints, constraint negotiation, and self-efficacy on travel intentions.The proposed model and hypotheses were tested in the context of cruise tourism. An online panel survey was conducted with cruisers. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test both the proposed model and hypothesized relationships among the constructs. All hypotheses except one were supported by the data. The proposed model also had an acceptable fit to the data.     

Factors affecting E-Marketing adoption and implementation in tourism firms: An empirical investigation of Egyptian small tourism organisations

This study aims to analyze the different factors affecting the adoption of Electronic Marketing (E-Marketing) by Egyptian small tourism organizations. The study validates a conceptual framework extending TAM and IDT models to explain E-marketing adoption utilising a quantitative approach, in which data is collected based on survey strategy through questionnaires to address different levels of the study. Advanced statistical tools and SEM were used to analyze the collected data. The findings indicated that Egyptian tourism organizations internal and external factors have a great impact on the adoption of E-Marketing by such organizations. The findings also confirmed that IT theories (namely TAM and IDT) are valid in illustrating E-Marketing adoption by Egyptian tourism organizations. The results reinforce the importance of environmental factors on E-Marketing adoption and add to the extremely limited number of empirical studies that has been conducted to investigate E-Marketing adoption in developing countries.     

Understanding small firms in tourism: A perspective on research trends and challenges

Although small firms in tourism have featured on the agendas of policy-makers for several decades, academic interest over the same period has fluctuated. Certainly the flurry of activity that occurred during the early 1990s became a steady flow of somewhat fragmented output rather than the ambitious and coherent programme of research that was anticipated at the time. The paper traces progress in this field by reviewing inter-, multi- and disciplinary studies that contribute to current understanding of small firms in tourism and how this understanding articulates with wider debates within tourism studies. In so doing, it challenges some conventional wisdom and provides an agenda for future research.     

When tradition meets the new technology: An examination of the antecedents of attitudes and intentions to use mobile devices in private clubs

Mobile technology increasingly permeates the social fabric of the contemporary society and the business models of hospitality organizations, including the private club industry. Using data from a nationwide sample of members of private clubs in the United States, this research examined the manner in which system beliefs (i.e., usefulness, ease of use), subjective norms, and facilitating conditions influence club members’ attitudes and intentions to use mobile devices to make reservations for activities/facilities in private clubs. It was found that usefulness and subjective norms have an impact in developing attitudes, which in turn influence club members’ intentions to use mobile devices in clubs. Being the first study to examine the development of attitudes and intentions toward mobile technology in a club context, this study brings important theoretical and practical contributions.     

Celebrity chef adoption and implementation of social media,particularly pinterest: A diffusion of innovations approach

Pinterest research is beginning to emerge, in part due to the importance of visually stimulating photos within hospitality and tourism. Photos are popular with many chefs for marketing, with some actively using Pinterest and other social media. Some of the world’s top celebrity chefs are a growing phenomenon as influential leaders of their personal brand as well as other goods, services, and causes. This research reports on a pilot study of how celebrity chefs have adopted and implemented social media, especially Pinterest, using the Diffusion of Innovations as a theoretical framework. The study found that of the top 48 chefs, all adopted Facebook, closely followed by 47 adopting Twitter; just 17 adopted Pinterest. The chefs’ social media and Pinterest implementation varied widely. This study sheds insights about social media, particularly Pinterest, extends innovation diffusion research, and serves as a base for future research of both celebrity chefs and social media.     

Information asymmetry in the innovation adoption decision of tourism and hospitality SMEs in emerging markets: A mixed-method analysis

Investment decisions, particularly innovation adoption decisions, can sustain long-term viability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, information asymmetry could limit the ability of SME management to make informed innovation adoption decisions. Even though information asymmetry is a multidimensional construct, prior literature has only focused on financial information asymmetry in such decisions. Therefore, the current study fills the research gap by conducting two separate studies: one analyzes World Bank Group data from 1250 observations in 11 emerging markets, and the other interviews eight SME owners and managers. The findings of the mixed-method studies suggest that financial, business regulation, and court information asymmetry decrease the likelihood of SMEs' product innovation adoption. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of information asymmetry in SMEs’ decision-making rooted in agency theory. Moreover, its methodological contribution lies in measuring information asymmetry with micro-level data.     

Consumer adoption of the Uber mobile application: Insights from diffusion of innovation theory and technology acceptance model

ABSTRACT

The sharing economy literature has largely concentrated on the examination of peer-to-peer accommodation platforms such as Airbnb, with little attention paid on other innovations in collaborative consumption. This study investigates consumer adoption of the Uber mobile application through lenses of two theoretical models – Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Technology Acceptance Model. The results suggest that relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and social influence have a significant influence on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which in turn lead to subsequent consumer attitudes and adoption intentions. This study demonstrates the integration of the two classic adoption theories.     

Sharing travel stories and behavioral outcomes: A case of travel

The benefits of tourism have been drawing a great deal of attention from tourists, community, and society alike. This study investigates how tourists' story sharing activities influence their post-purchase behavioral process, depending on different communication conditions. Two 2x2 between-subject experiments were conducted with recent travelers in the U.S. Results reveal tourists' post-purchase behavioral processes depend on what, how, and with whom they engage in post-trip story sharing activity. Findings contribute to the literature on purchase-driven happiness, self-enhancement, well-being, and communications by providing evidence on how different communication conditions alter the effects of tourists' story sharing on their post-purchase behavioral outcomes. Findings also suggest that destination marketers should apply strategies to encourage tourists’ story sharing activity.     

Socially responsible human resource management and hotel employee organizational citizenship behavior for the environment: A social cognitive perspective

Drawing on the social cognitive theory, this study intends to discuss the concept of socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) and empirically examine the impact of SRHRM on hospitality employee’s organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE). By a two-stage survey of 270 responses from one chain hotel group in Shanghai, China, our findings indicated that SRHRM had a positive impact on OCBE; moral reflectiveness fully mediated the relationship between SRHRM and OCBE. Moreover, the effect of SRHRM on moral reflectiveness and the indirect impact of SRHRM on OCBE via moral reflectiveness were stronger with lower rather than higher levels of responsible leadership. These results extend the macro-level factors in influencing hospitality employee’s environmental-behavioral intentions and provide significant insights into why and how SRHRM affects hospitality employee OCBE. Finally, we outline the results, theoretical and empirical significance, and propose future research directions.     

A multilevel investigation of the cascading effect of entrepreneurial leadership on employee creativity: Evidence from Chinese hospitality and tourism firms

This study aims to elucidate the cascading effect of entrepreneurial leadership on fostering employee creativity in hospitality and tourism firms. Drawing upon multiple theories (e.g., the affective events theory and conservation of resources theory) and utilizing a multilevel mediation model, this study predicts and examines the cross-level indirect relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and employee creativity, which is sequentially transmitted through employees’ surface acting and work-related flow. Based on a 2-wave longitudinal design, survey data were obtained from multiple sources consisting of 47 leaders and 352 employees in Chinese hospitality and tourism firms. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analysis provides empirical support for the cross-level mediation model. This study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of the cross-level effect of entrepreneurial leadership on workplace creativity via surface acting and work-related flow in the service industry, which enriches the leadership literature in the tourism discipline.     

How and when servant leadership promotes service innovation: A moderated mediation model

Based on social learning theory, the current study examined how and when servant leadership could promote employee service innovative behavior (SIB) in the hospitality setting. Survey data collected from 1021 service employees and their 229 direct supervisors at 54 hotels showed that servant leadership was positively related to employee SIB, and employee customer orientation mediated such effect. Results also showed that employee age moderated the effect of servant leadership on customer orientation, as well as the indirect effect of servant leadership on SIB via customer orientation, such that these effects were stronger for younger employees. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Airport stops and flights on small airplanes as inhibitors of tourism-related air travel: A case study

This article discusses the extent to which prospective tourists' concerns about airport stops and flights on small airplanes inhibit air travel to tourist destinations, drawing on data from telephone surveys conducted in the Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas area. Respondents were queried about the extent to which one airport stop, two airport stops, and one airport stop followed by a flight on a small, propeller-powered airplane, respectively, would deter them from flying to a destination 1096 miles (1764 km) away. Findings suggest that marketers of similar destinations in similarly distant markets that are accessible by air only after two airport stops risk having their promotional appeals ignored by roughly half those who would prefer to reach such destinations by air. Moreover, those most concerned about such flight schedules were more likely than other respondents to have high incomes and to use the Internet to obtain vacation or travel information.     

Contingent work in the hospitality industry: A mediating model of organizational attitudes

It is widely accepted that work status has an impact on emotional attachment to the organization, because of the different ways in which the two categories of workers, contingent and regular, are treated in the same organization. This study aims to investigate the effect of work status on affective commitment and how this relationship is influenced by identification processes.     

Green human resource practices and organizational citizenship behavior for the environment: the roles of collective green crafting and environmentally specific servant leadership

Green behavior among employees can contribute to the green performance of organizations. Regardless of the salience of human resource (HR) practices in translating organizational strategy into employee behaviors, this role of green HR practices in shaping employee green behavior has been under-explored. Through surveys of the participants from tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, our study seeks to investigate how green HR practices impact organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE) at team and individual levels as well as the mechanisms underlying such effects. The results demonstrated the positive relationships between green HR practices and collective as well as individual OCBE. Collective green crafting was found to mediate these relationships. Besides, environmentally specific servant leadership served as a moderator to strengthen the effects of green HR practices on collective green crafting as well as OCBE at team and individual levels. We anticipate our research to solicit further investigations into mechanisms underlying the nexus between green HR practices and employee green behavior. Discussion on the implications for tourism practitioners is presented.     

The impact of information technology on hotel operations,service management and transaction costs: A conceptual framework for full-service hotel firms

This paper develops a conceptual framework that describes the impact of information technology (IT) on service management and transaction costs in full service hotel firms. It details how IT would help such firms to lower operations-related transaction costs. Further, the underpinnings of how IT would impact service management in full service hotel firms is discussed more specifically from a customer satisfaction point of view while focusing on two aspects, i.e. managing customer delight and the customer's role as a co-producer. Propositions are developed and a discussion on the impact of IT on firm profitability from a transaction cost perspective ensues while concluding with managerial implications.     

The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions for 2009 H1N1 influenza on travel intentions: A model of goal-directed behavior

Theoretically, in the tourism context this study introduced a new concept of non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) for influenza, and tested the impact of NPI on the behavioral intention of potential international tourists. This study also extended the model of goal-directed behavior (MGB) by incorporating the new concepts of NPI, and the perception of 2009 H1N1. The model found that desire, perceived behavioral control, frequency of past behavior, and non-pharmaceutical interventions predicted tourists’ intention but perceptions of 2009 H1N1 had nil effect on desire and intention. Personal non-pharmaceutical interventions were theorized as adaptive behavior of tourists intending to travel during a pandemic which should be supported by tourism operators on a system-wide basis. Practically, this study dealt with the issue of influenza 2009 H1N1 with the study findings and implications providing government agencies, tourism marketers, policy-makers, transport systems, and hospitality services with important suggestions for NPI and international tourism during pandemics.