Η υποστήριξη των επιχειρησιακών δραστηριοτήτων από το mobile business για τη δημιουργία και τη διατήρηση ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος : εφαρμογή στον ξενοδοχειακό κλάδο
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Keywords
Νέες τεχνολογίες ; Κινητό επιχειρείν ; Ψηφιακός μετασχηματισμός ; Πλαίσιο ΤΟΕ ; Πλαίσιο VRIO ; Ανταγωνιστικό πλεονέκτημα ; Ανταγωνιστική επίδοση ; Ξενοδοχειακός κλάδος ; New technologies ; Mobile business ; Digital transformation ; TOE framework ; VRIO framework ; Competitive advantage ; Competitive performance ; Hotel industryAbstract
The continuous evolution of technology has led to the creation of a new digital society, changing the conditions of individuals' daily lives and the business processes of companies. The importance of new technologies and the value created by their adoption and use is undoubtedly an important element of the contemporary society and business environment.
New technologies are becoming increasingly important in all business sectors, as their application offers numerous benefits, such as automation of business processes, better inventory management, reduction of total cost, increased efficiency, effectiveness and performance. These benefits support the companies’ ability to respond rapidly to - changing market needs and trends (Kopanaki, Smithson, 2013). As in today’s competitive environment, companies strive to survive and grow, they tend to widely use new technologies in order to effectively transform their resources and capabilities into strategic tools that will improve their level of performance (Sambamurthy, Bharadwaj, Grover, 2003). At the same time, the adoption of new technologies facilitates new business partnerships and helps companies to explore and expand to new markets.
Mobile or wireless business (mobile business), which is a category of e-business, has considerably grown in the recent years. It refers to the support of business processes and commercial transactions carried out via the Internet using mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops (Georgopoulos, Kopanaki, Pantazi, Nikolarakos, Vangelatos, 2013). Mobile business as a technological innovation has contributed significantly to the establishment of new business conditions and new consumer habits. Modern businesses tend to adopt its various applications, as it is not exclusively related to electronic transactions, but it also offers electronic communication between companies, suppliers and consumers. In particular, mobile business leads to the modification of existing processes and is largely adopted by new businesses, suppliers and consumers, as it helps to create added value and new opportunities for all parties involved. The benefits from the application of new technologies and mobile commerce create company’s superiority over other companies in the sector. This superiority is related to the «advanced» characteristics of
the offered product or service and establishes conditions for the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage.
The tourism industry, and especially the hospitality industry, is an industry where Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have caused significant changes both to companies and to their stakeholders. The tourism industry, which is one of the world's largest sectors with an important economic impact, faces a radical transformation with the adoption and implementation of new technologies and innovative business practices. The need for innovative tools has been further accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, more and more businesses in this industry are tending to adopt and implement new technologies and mobile business practices. Therefore, new technologies and mobile business are now an essential part of business operations in the tourism sector, and in particular the hotel industry. The adoption and use of new technologies not only enhance the operations and processes of hotel businesses, but also increase their performance and competitiveness. Consequently, new technologies and mobile business affect companies in many ways and thus, strategic decisions and strategic management can lead not only to the acquisition of a competitive advantage, but also to its sustainability.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the impact of mobile or wireless business on the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage for companies in the hospitality industry. Based on an extensive literature review and on existing theoretical approaches, the conceptual framework of the research was formulated. The framework, which illustrates the key variables associated with the subject of study and their interrelationships, formed the base for the development of the research hypotheses.
This study uses the TOE (Technological-Organizational-Environmental) framework to examine how technological, organizational and environmental factors influence the adoption and use of new technologies in hotel companies. It identifies how the adoption of new technologies affects the business performance and leads to the creation of VRIO (Value, Rare, Inimitable, Organized) resources and capabilities, which contribute to the creation of a competitive advantage and a sustainable competitive advantage, respectively. It also shows that the customer satisfaction has an impact on the creation of VRIO resources and capabilities. Finally, it examines how the competitive advantage and its sustainability affect the competitive performance of the company.
To test the research hypotheses, a questionnaire was designed based on the literature and the conceptual framework, and a survey was conducted through an electronic platform. The link was sent with a cover letter via email to 5.143 hotel businesses, rating of 3 stars to 5 stars, according to the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels. From the 360 responses collected, the actual sample was formed into 241 observations after processing and removing duplicates and incomplete responses, resulting in a new response rate (12.8%) on the actual sample size, as it is described in the sixth chapter.
The results and the main findings of the empirical research showed that the three dimensions of TOE framework have a positive effect on the orientation of the company to new innovations.
In particular, the technological context including IT expertise, existing technological resources and mobile services and applications positively affects the decision-making of the company for the adoption and application of new technologies. Regarding the organizational context, it appeared that business structure, innovation culture, resources and business processes, except from the business size, are statistically significant for the adoption of new technologies. As for the environmental aspect which includes the characteristics of external environment, such as existing legislation, external disruptions and customer readiness, it seems that there is a positive effect on the company's orientation towards new innovations. Additionally, it is confirmed that the company's orientation to new technologies has a positive effect on the company's performance regarding the adoption of new technologies, which in turn contributes to the creation of a competitive advantage. Furthermore, the combination of business orientation to new technologies and customer satisfaction has a significant effect on the creation of VRIO resources and capabilities. VRIO resources and capabilities appear to attribute positively to the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage. Finally, competitive advantage and its sustainability have a positive effect on a company’s competitive performance, achieving long-term benefits.