The sources of e-business competitive advantages between travel agencies and online travel service firms in China

Zhen Zhu and Jing Zhao

International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, 2011, vol. 5, issue 2, 160-179

Abstract: Knowledge about the most important sources of e-business competitive advantages in the travel industry would help to focus efforts in both academic and practical areas. This study develops a framework based on the resource-based view (RBV) to identify the sources of e-business competitive advantages and compare the differences of competitive advantages between travel agencies and online travel service firms. A Delphi study and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method were conducted, using 38 top managers from the top-ranking travel firms in China. The results indicate that the main differences in the sources of competitive advantages between travel agencies and online travel service firms are strategic initiatives and e-business capabilities. Theoretically, these findings contribute to the RBV by extending its application to examine the e-business competitive advantages in the travel industry. Practically, the findings provide insights for both the managers and the policy-makers in the travel industry.

Keywords: competitive advantage; travel e-business; travel agencies; online travel services; resource-based view; RBV; analytical hierarchy process; AHP; strategic initiatives; e-business capabilities; change management; China; electronic business; travel industry; e-travel services; electronic travel services. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=41513 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijiscm:v:5:y:2011:i:2:p:160-179

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().